Christ's Law Of Love Series

Christ’s Law of Love.

Romans 12:9-21

There are lots of Christians who seem to think that because salvation is a free gift of grace, that there are no laws involved with the faith anymore. That there are no more commandments. They seem to think the New Testament is a collection of suggestions, principles, and guidelines. They balk at the idea of rules.

But as we see from this morning’s passage, and from other parts of the New Testament, you know that’s not true. There still are rules in the Christian faith.

I’m going to limit myself to three observations; I might not say a lot about the individual commandments we just read. I want to give a framework for why a passage like this is included in our Christian faith. How does it relate to growing into the people God wants us to be?

I. God’s love always keeps God’s law.

Romans 13 says that love is the fulfillment of God’s law. Paul lists a number of commandments – do not covet, steal, lie, bear false witness. This is how we love our neighbors. This is why now, during the COVID-19 crisis, we aren’t meeting together in an enclosed space. It isn’t out of fear, and certainly not out of worldliness. It’s out of concern for our neighbors, those in the congregation (especially the elderly and those with respiratory illnesses), and also the unsaved neighbors around us.

God’s love always keeps God’s law. Not all Christians think that. Certainly, the world doesn’t think it. The world thinks love is sex, or some generic kindness, and often they think it means that love has no rules. That isn’t true. Love fulfills God’s law.

That’s because of God’s own nature. It says in the letter of 1st John, chapters 1 and 4, that God is light and love. God’s very nature is righteous and loving. They’re both true. Love and righteousness unite in God’s person. You can’t really separate them. They’re not the same thing, but they find unity in God. As one of the psalms says, at the cross mercy and righteousness kissed. That’s why God’s love never sins.

The reason God never sins is because He is love. In the famous “love chapter”, 1st Corinthians 13, you learn that love is ethical, as the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, once said. A person can’t love God and knowingly break His laws at the same time.

II. Love always involves attitude and action.

I remember an unfortunate situation, where a man became ill and went to the hospital. A local pastor went to visit him. The sick man had a close relative, who accused the pastor of only visiting because he thought he “ought to.” That’s a very odd way of thinking. A lot of love involves doing what you should, no matter what mood you happen to be in. I would much rather have someone feed me when I’m starving or clothe me when I’m freezing, then just say, “Be blessed, brother” and walk on because they weren’t in the mood.

There are people who don’t seem affectionate, but in reality they are loving. And there are people who give off a vibe of being loving, but they don’t act very loving. This is why it’s important to connect attitude and action. The Romans 12 Bible passage lists attitudes and actions.

For example, some people think Christianity doesn’t involve hating, but that’s not true either. If you really love righteousness, you will automatically hate what’s evil. It doesn’t mean you’ll take personal revenge, but, as King David said, “Lord, because I love you, I hate the wicked.”

That seems alien to modern American evangelicalism. It doesn’t mean we wish the wicked to go to Hell, but we have taken sides. By taking sides with Jesus Christ, we have taken sides against those who hate Him. Even Paul in 1st Corinthians 16 wished anathema on those who actively hate Jesus Christ. So it’s a part of virtue to love what is good and hate what is evil.

The passage talks about serving the Lord with “zeal”. Think of fizzy pop. I hate flat pop. Have you ever drunken flat pop? It’s nasty. The only reason to drink pop half the time is because it’s fizzy. In the same way, God wants us to be fizzy with enthusiasm for Him. Christ criticized the Ephesian church because, even though they had all their doctrines in a row, and were good at testing truth, they had lost their original love for Him.

The passage tells us to rejoice in hope. We have some earthly hope that the world’s governments will be able to deal with this virus. But Christians have the hope of everlasting life. We will go to Heaven, whenever and however we die, and then one day rise again in joy forever. And that hope works backward into our current emotions, no matter how difficult our situation is. Every Christian has a happy ending. Every problem is temporary, even if they last for years.