CHRISTIAN RELATING SERIES
ROMANS 12: 9-13
LOVE IN THE FAMILY OF GOD
A small boy sat with his mother in church listening to a sermon entitled, "WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?" The preacher punctuated his message at several key points by asking, "What is a Christian?" Each time, he pounded his fist on the pulpit for emphasis. After one of these the boy whispered to his mother, "Momma do you know? Do you know what is a Christian is?" "Yes dear," the mother replied, "now try to sit still and listen." As the preacher was wrapping up his sermon, once again he thundered "What is a Christian?" and pounded especially hard on the pulpit. At that point the boy jumped up and cried, "Tell him Momma, tell him!"
What should be the attitude of born again believers toward fellow Christians? It is possible to exercise spiritual gifts in an unspiritual way. God’s family is not to be conformed to the natural living of this world but to the supernatural living which is produced, directed, and empowered by God’s own Spirit. Supernatural living is transforming the outer life by the inner life being conformed to Christ-likeness. How this productive, disciplined obedience occurs in the Christian and the body of Christ is by agape Love. Love is the circulatory system of the spiritual body, which enables all members truly connected to Christ to function in a healthy harmoniously way. If a believer is walking in the Spirit and experiencing the Love of God he or she will see these specific commands come about in his or her life in greater and greater ways. So let’s look at the various precepts of love in the family of God, starting with our personal responsibilities and then our duties within the Family of God (CIT).
I. PERSONAL DUTIES, 9.
In verse nine Paul mentions three personal duties of supernatural living. "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good."
The first duty commanded is to "let love be without hypocrisy." The greatest virtue of the Christian life is love. Love represents unselfish, self-giving, willful devotion. This Agape love is an honest love not hypocritical or a love mask. Agape love centers on the needs and welfare of the one loved. This love is genuine, sincere love that is without hypocrisy or pretense. It is untainted by self-centeredness.
The Greek word hypocrisy (hypokrites) was used for play-acting. The church must not be turned into a stage. Love must not be an act but must be real. Yet there is such a thing as pretense-love. This veneer of love has been with Christians from the beginning when it was displayed in Judas’ betrayal of Jesus with a kiss. The sham or pretense of his love was unmasked when he sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver. Love must not be faked, must not consist of empty words and actions. Sincere love helps others become better Christians.
The next Christian duty is to hate what is evil. It may seem strange that the command to love is followed by the exhortation to hate. Agape love is not a blind sentiment. It is so passionately devoted to God that it hates its opposite which is evil (Ps. 97:10).
Evil is the enemy of God and the enemy of love. Hatred, abhorrence or loathing of evil engenders an avoidance of it. We are to love what God loves and hate what God hates.
The third personal duty of supernatural living is to cling to what is good. The verb cling (kollao) came from the word for glue (kolla) and was used of any bond- physical, emotional, or spiritual. As servants of Christ we are to bind ourselves to what is good (agathos), that which is inherently right and worthy.
The good is "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute." And "if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise," Paul continues, "let your mind dwell on (or cling to ) these things" (Phil. 4:8) [MacArthur, John. N.T. Com. Romans. Moody. Chicago. p. 187. ]
You cannot hold a fast grip on what is good until you hate what is evil. As we separate ourselves from the way of the world and fill ourselves with the Word of God, the things that are good will more and more replace the things that are evil.
II. DUTIES TO THE FAMILY OF GOD, 10-13.
Verses ten through 13 teach ten duties of believers to fellow members in the family of God. These references as to how Christians are to relate to each other begins with Christian fellowship in verse 10. "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor."
Paul sees all believers as having one Father (Rom. 8:15) and constituting one family (Eph. 3:15). The bonds which unite God’s family are more secure and longer lasting than those that bind together earthly families (Lk. 14:26). Therefore we are to have brotherly (adelphos) or family type affection (phileo) for one another in the family of God. [From where we get our word Philadelphia, city of brotherly love]. The word be devoted translates a word (philostorgos) which describes our natural affection for relatives, typically the love of a parent for a child. Both these words were originally applied to blood relationships but are now applied to the tender, warm affection which should unite the members of the family of God.
If we are "devoted to one another in brotherly love" it is natural that we will give preference to each other in honor. Love in the Christian family is to express itself in mutual honor as well as mutual affection. To honor is to give genuine appreciation and admiration for one another in the family of God. Christians have been re-created in the image of God and each has a unique contribution to make in the kingdom of God. We are to be quick to show respect, quick to acknowledge the accomplishments of others, quick to demonstrate genuine love by not being jealous or envious. If you need to compete or win, try to outdo others in showing honor. Triumph at putting others first.
Verse 11 references three ingredients in Christian service. "not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;"
Not lagging behind in diligence, could be rendered "not lazy in zeal and intensity." Whatever is worth doing in the Lord’s service is worth doing with diligence. The Lord’s service is to be done with conscientious, careful, persevering effort. There is no room for sloth and slackerness in the Lord’s work. Slothfulness in Christian living holds back the Lord’s blessings (Heb. 6:10-12).
The source of this enthusiasm or fervency is not to be simply of man. If a Christian is set on fire, it is the Holy Spirit who must do it. Not only should saints take care not to quench the Spirit, resist the Spirit, or grieve the Spirit, they should earnestly ask the Holy Spirit to fill them with zeal, which is the enthusiasm needed for properly carrying out their Christian service or duties. Fervency requires energy. So many failures in life are causalities of indifference and lack of commitment.
Whatever we do for the brethren should be done because we are serving the Lord. Our supreme purpose is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and our power to fulfill that service is from Him.
While serving the Lord we cannot permit our zeal to grow cold. We are thus admonished by another triplet in verse 12. "rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,"
The hope, or confident anticipation of future fulfillment of the Word, is intended to stimulate present joy and rejoicing. This confident expectation of God fulfilling the promises in His Word to us, in us, through us, and for us, gives us hope. As we let this hope begin to expand in our being it brings rejoicing. Fellowship with Jesus and anticipation of eternal fellowship with Him is to us the source of abiding joy.
This rejoicing in hope enables God’s children to persevere in tribulation whatever its form or severity. Living the supernatural life inevitably brings opposition; from satan, the world and sometimes even sparks resentment by fellow Christians. Without rejoicing in hope the Christian life is hard to endure. This enduring indicates strength to bear up under the load (or stress), plus the persistent application of this strength. Though hope opens the door to being able to rejoice in our tribulations (Rom. 5:2ff), the ability to persevere in tribulation is not a product of human will power or toughness, but is a gift of God’s grace [from our abiding in Him]. Therefore Paul immediately adds be devoted in prayer.
One reason the Lord allows His children to go through tribulation is to drive them to Himself. Without constant communion with God, joy and endurance in such circumstances is impossible.
Paul immediately adds be devoted in prayer. Devoted (proskartereo) literally means to be strong toward and carries the ideas of persevering and unwavering. Devoted prayer should be as continual a part of a Christian’s spiritual life as breathing is a part of his physical life.
Verse 13 contains two forms of sharing. "contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality."
Many saints have urgent needs, not all of them are physical though certainly that is included. There are so many needs; some physical, some emotional, some spiritual, and some mental. Contributing is from koinoneo, which means to share or participate in or with. The noun form koinonia is often translated fellowship or communion. This is mutual sharing or partner-shipping together. People mutually or back and forth share their needs and resources with each other.
The last responsibility to fellow believers that Paul mentions in this section is that of practicing hospitality (not entertainment which focuses on the host instead of upon the guests). The phrase in Greek is literally pursuing the love of strangers (philozenia, Heb.13:2). Hospitality was especially important in those days because inns were few and far between and those that existed were often unsafe or unsavory places. Christians were to open their homes and tables not only to each other but to strangers they encountered as well. These encounters became major avenues for sharing their faith in Jesus.
CONCLUSION
This section gave us a series of short exhortations or commands. These statements relate to a Christian’s relationship to other Christians. The Christian’s life cannot be lived without Christians loving each other. This love cannot be in pretense because a show will not enable us to honor and care for each other as God commands.
Leonardo da Vinci characterized AN ARCH as consisting of two weaknesses, which leaning against one another make a strength. In some respects this is also a good definition of community. God has designed the church so that its members, though weak individually, would collectively contribute to the strength of the whole. The body of Christ strengthens itself as each part does its work (Eph. 4:16).
Become thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ who are different from you. Let your strengths balance their weaknesses and be grateful that their abilities were given to make up for your deficiencies. God has brought us together for the purpose of glorify in Him and building His church. As we learn how to related in Christ’s love the building up of His body will occur to a greater and greater degree.
As we go through this series on how God expects Christians to treat others, let God make your heart tender toward others in our fellowship and if there is someone at outs with you or someone you have offended, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and make things right. You will be amazed at how it improves you relationship with God, with yourself and with others.
