“HEALTHY COMPETITION” Romans 12:10
An editorial was written in response to a book entitled, “American Averages”. In it, the author described the average sermon. He claimed that the average sermon was 22.3 minutes long. If the sermon was shorter than 20 minutes, the listeners did not think they were getting their money’s worth; if the sermon was longer than 30 minutes, they may want a refund. (from article, “Defying the Law of Averages,” by Rev. Joel Boot) But from a pastor’s ECONOMICAL view point, if the sermon is longer than 30 minutes, the pastor deserves overtime pay!
But anyway…last week we looked at Romans 12:9 “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” If YOU have been given “agape, self-sacrificing Christ- love, it will be “without wax” (that’s the Latin meaning of “sincere”): It will be genuine and not melt away when things around you become heated. It will be “true-faced” love which others can count on because it is the kind of Love that Christ has given to you. When Jesus looked down from the cross in all His suffering, He prayed: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
It is Love that is “without a mask”, without HYPOCRISY. It will not SAY one thing, and DO another. God’s great Love was unmasked on the Cross. He DID what He promised to do: HE DIED to provide gracious and merciful forgiveness for you and He arose so that you would have NEW LIFE and HIS LOVE…starting now….and lasting FOREVER!
Four “Greek” Loves
Briefly look at the four types of love which were used in the Greek language. 1. “EROS” is the physical, sensual love which is to be practiced only between a husband and wife in the context of marriage. This Greek word for love is not actually used in the New Testament.
2. “AGAPE” is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. It is used a couple of hundred times in various forms in the NT. John 3:16 tells us: "For God so loved (agapao) the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Today we look at Romans 12:10: “Be DEVOTED to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.”(or give preference to one another above yourselves.) In this verse, two other Greek words for “LOVE” are used:
“PHILIA” means “close friendship”, like a brother. A “Philos” was actually one of the bridegroom's friends who on the groom’s behalf asked the hand of the bride”, in other words, the “BEST MAN”- the closest friend or brother. (Brotherly love: “Philadelphia”)
The fourth is “STORGE”, or the love within a family. You cherish your family. So in Romans 12:9-10 we have the three types of love mentioned in the NT, but the greatest of these is “agape”.
3 Qualities of Christian Living and LOVING: Be Devoted !
We are going to look at 3 Qualities of Christian Living and LOVING: “Be DEVOTED to one another.” Be Devoted! “DEVOTED” is the compound word philo-storgos: It includes “philia”, the Love of a friend or “the Best Man”, and the love and affection between family members, “STORGE” of a family. It is that special affection shared between members of God's family – people born-again, divinely adopted by God, and serving the same heavenly Father TOGETHER. 2 Corinthians 5:14 says: “For the love (agape) of Christ controls us,(we are glued to that love) having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.”
Now there are very few biological families that are actually “FUNCTIONAL”; most are “DYSFUNCTIONAL” in some way, but that is not God’s Will for the family. God’s Will is that there would be devoted love and affection between family-members. Did you ever have a “black sheep” of the family, always going in the opposite direction of the rest of the family? Maybe you WERE the black sheep? How did that work out for the rest? Not well. The GOAL is perfect unity and love, DEVOTION, and YOUR DEVOTION to that goal WOULD BE EXTREMELY Beneficial and HELPFUL to the rest of the Body. This is not a scriptural suggestion, but a Spirit-breathed expression of the Will of Christ for the Body for which He gave His blood: Be devoted to one another.
Be Devoted in Brotherly Love.
Secondly: “Be DEVOTED to one another in brotherly love.” The word is philadelphia, or BROTHERLY LOVE. Here the word for LOVE (philos) is combined with the word for “Brother” (adelphos). In 1 Thessalonians 4:9 it speaks so clearly: “Now as to the love of the brethren,(philadelphia) you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love (agape) one another.” Do you realize what God is telling us? If you have received God’s “agape” Love in Christ, you WILL be devoted to your brothers AND sisters in Christ. You will be devoted to “Philadelphia” (brotherly love) and to Family Love.
Why is this? We have been born into the same spiritual family by adoption. We have the same Heavenly Father. We share the same Savior, the Lord Jesus. We wouldn’t dream of letting our physical, “flesh and blood” family down without a heartfelt apology for our shortcoming. We don’t stay away from them because we have family bonds that go much deeper and further than anything else. How much deeper could a bond be, than sharing ETERNAL LIFE together, on account of Jesus’ shed blood. That makes HIM OUR “BLOOD BROTHER”, not by physical birth, but by the deepest bond in all of the Universe.
The proverb that “Blood is thicker than water” implies that family ties (blood) are always more important (thicker) than the ties you make among friends (water). It generally means that the bonds of family and common ancestry are stronger than the bonds between unrelated people (such as friendship). How devoted are you to your family? Did you shed your blood for your physical family or did anyone in your family shed their blood for you? If you have received Jesus’ blood as forgiveness for your sins, and you love and serve Him as a result, you should love and serve His brothers and sisters in the same way.
1 John 4:20: If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” Both of these verses takes “LOVING” your brothers and “kicks it up a notch”. They actually elevate the Believer’s responsibility to a higher level, to love the Church (and a lost world) the way that God Loves you. SO… As individual parts of the Body of Christ, we will not let each other down: As the Redeemed-bought by the Blood of Christ- BODY will be DEVOTED, RELIABLE, and full of LOVE for Christ and the rest of the body, because it is the WILL OF God for us as followers of our Lord Jesus.
There is no doubt that this is God’s Will for His Church; the question is: Does MY will coincide with His? Thy will be done on earth, in me, now, as it is in Heaven.
In Honor give preference to one another
“Be DEVOTED to one another in brotherly love;” Be DEVOTED by giving preference to one another IN HONOR.” (proegeomai time, pro-uh-gay'-o-my) This means that each of us is to show the highest respect to each other by being the best example possible of deference, submission, and reverence toward the other. Philippians 2:3 says it so clearly: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Why don’t we kick this up a notch and make it God’s positive command for us; “IN EVERY SINGLE THING YOU DO, esteem others instead of thinking of yourself.” (Or, Christ’s command, treat others the way you want to be treated! Love your neighbor in the same way that you value yourself.)
This is probably the toughest part of God’s instruction because it goes against every fiber of our earthly, worldly self-centered selves, which constantly scream out: WHAT ABOUT ME!?!??
2 Peter 1:17 says this: For when He (JESUS) received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased ." Why was God the Father exuberant over Jesus at His Baptism and on the Mount of Transfiguration? Because of His obedience to God’s Perfect Will and His Humility in facing the Cross, Jesus is the one to be honored.
To Honor is to put oneself aside in order to acknowledge and recognize the position of another. The SUPREME honor belongs to our God and Savior. “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Rom 11:36) To honor is to give up your self-centeredness for the benefit of others; it means to humble yourself for the sake of others. WE honor God our Savior by giving preference, reverence, submission, consideration, and deference to others before ourselves. We love others as we love ourselves. We honor God by Putting the welfare of the Body of Christ ahead of our own welfare.
Romans 12:10 in New Revised Version defines HEALTHY COMPETION within the Body of Christ; it says: “Outdo one another in showing honor.” If we are going to Compete in any one way within the church, it should be in outdoing one another in holiness, in kindness and consideration, in reliability and honesty, and in sincere love and service. That is the way of Christ and the way of the Cross.
OUTLINE
I. 4 Greek Loves:
1. “Eros”: sensual, between husband and wife. (not used in NT.)
2. “Agape” is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. (Jn 3:16)
3. “Philia”: close friendship, like a brother.
4. “Storge”, or the love within a family.
II. 3 Love Qualities of Christian Living
1. Be Devoted (philo-storgos): 2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love (agape) of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.” The GOAL is to be DEVOTED, and YOUR DEVOTION to that GOAL WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL to the rest of the Body.
2. Be Devoted In Brotherly Love (philadelphia) 1 John 4:20, 1 Thessalonians 4:9: If you have received Jesus’ blood as forgiveness for your sins, and you love and serve Him as a result, you should love and serve His brothers and sisters in the same way.
3. In HONOR give preference to one another (proegeomai time): (Philippians 2:3 Rom 11:36, To Honor is to put oneself aside in order to acknowledge and recognize the position of another.
Placing the welfare of the Body of Christ ahead of our own welfare.
Many times in scripture, “honor” is coupled with the word “glory”. To honor is to give up your self-centeredness for the benefit of others; it means to humble yourself for the sake of others. Glory is to attribute to the other their rightful position and praise.
HEALTHY COMPETITION: “Outdo one another in Showing HONOR.”
