Sermon Romans 12: 9-21
Story A young police cadet was taking his final exam for the police academy. And he was confronted with this question:
“You are on patrol in the outer city when an explosion occurs in a gas main in a nearby street.
On investigation you find that a large hole has been blown in the footpath and there is an overturned van nearby.
Inside the van there is a strong smell of alcohol.
Both occupants—a man and a woman—are injured.
You recognize the woman as the wife of your Chief of Police, who is at present away in the USA.
A passing motorist stops to offer you assistance and you realize that he is a man who is wanted for armed robbery.
Suddenly a man runs out of a nearby house, shouting that his wife is expecting a baby and that the shock of the explosion has made the birth imminent.
Another man is crying for help, having been blown in the adjacent canal by the explosion, and he cannot swim.
Describe in a few words what actions you would take.”
The young man thought for a moment, picked up his pen and wrote,
“I would take off my uniform and mingle with the crowd.”
An amusing story -but it got me thinking:
If the police uniform makes a policeman distinctive from others then what uniform makes a Christian distinctive
And if the police uniform carries with it responsibilities then what responsibilities does wearing the Christian uniform give us?
Well the Christian uniform is not the cassock and surplice that a clergyperson wears on Sunday.
Rather the uniform lies in the way we live.
It is a uniform we wear that can be easily seen and yet requires “no putting on each morning or taking off at night”
What is it then
Perhaps we should go to Jesus for the initial answer
In Jn 13:35 Jesus said this:
This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
He also told us that the two greatest commandments were to
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Mt 22;37-40)
In Greek - the original language of the New Testament - there are four words in Greek that are translated by our word: Love
1. Agape (???p? agápe):
This is divine, unconditioned love.
It is the unconditional love that we as Christians receive from God as agape love.
2. Eros (???? éros):
Romantic love. Often equated in ancient Greek, with desire. Sometimes this is also equated with "lust".
3. Philia (f???a philía):
Philia expresses love and friendship which is "platonic".
4. Storge (st???? storge)
This love is best translated as natural affection.
(my thanks to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_words_ for_love)
But of these four loves -it is the “Agape” Love that goes to the very heart of the Gospel.
God doesn’t want us to run round keeping lots of
rules and regulations.
He does NOT want us to wear ourselves out - by observing various extravagant religious practices – however good they may be.
You don’t have to be an achiever in God’s eyes – it’s your attitude of heart that He’s interested in
The Christian’s uniform is “Love with a new heart” that God gives us
But what does this uniform look like
This uniform is described in Romans 12:1-3
Paul writes this:
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
In other words, if we claim to be Christians – it is not simply accepting the creeds. No it is more than that. It is living the consequences of what we believe.
We are saved by believing in faith in Jesus Christ ( we called that SALVATION – a one off event) but once we are saved through Christ we enter a process of making us more like Christ (we call that Sanctification)
St Paul puts it like this in Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
In other words, once we become Christians God has things for us to do
And in our reading from Romans today, Paul sets out some of these “good works”. Note we don’t get saved by the Good Works but we are blessed by God if we do them.
St Paul said this in Romans 12:
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil;
cling to what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves.
. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual
fervour, serving the Lord.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer
13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
16 Live in harmony with one another.
He gives us seven areas of our lives to work upon.
1. Love Good – Hate evil
2. Care about one another in Church and your family
3. Keep close to God and be kean on how God wants you to live
4. Be a steady person, one who is strong when bad things happen, one who can be strong to support others in crisis too.
5. Be generous to those in need where you can
6.Do good to those who do bad to you and don’t hold a grudge
7. Get on with each other. There is alaways one that starts and argument.
And if we work on these and become changed people, then we can expect to see our churches grow.
People are attracted to people who wear the Christian Uniform (ie live the way God calls them to live ie are true disciples)
It is said that people make up their mind whether or not to come back to a church again in the first five minutes.
Do they feel welcomed and do they feel they belong?
But it is more than that. People sense if there is love in a congregation.
How do you get love into our lives?
1. Well firstly this can happen through prayer. Once we are Christians we can ask and allow the Holy Spirit to change us – to make us more Christ like. Be open to what the Holy Spirit tells you to do.
Area of concern: It seems to me that one of the biggest areas that we can as Christians be different is by not bearing a grudge when someone wrongs us.
Sadly we are often not different
There will be people who have crossed us and annoy us – and even hate us.
How should we respond?
Story: In New Romney there was a lady who used to come to Holy Communion each Wednesday but never took communion, because she could not forgive some relatives who had wronged her some 20 years or so earlier.
Dale Carnegie in his book: “How to stop worrying and start living says” (on p125).
“….when Jesus said: Love your enemies he was not only preaching sound ethics.
He was preaching 20th Century medicine.
When he said “Forgive seventy times seven, Jesus was telling you and me how to keep from having high blood pressure, heart trouble, stomach ulcers and many other ailments”.
Romans 12 gives us a very good start to understanding what God wants to do in our lives if we will let him
That’s how we start to put on the uniform that makes us as Christians stand out.
And if we feel we are deficient in one or more areas, may I suggest that we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to change our hearts.
In Ezekiel 11:19, God himself spoke about the New Covenant which we as Christians live under when he said
19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.
Why is this so important?
Because that goes to the very heart of the Gospel for those of us who are Christians.
Are we willing to allow God to change the way we are? If so, we need to read our Bibles regularly to find out for ourselves what God’s will is for us.
And sometimes what we read is telling us that we need to change
And we need to pray, so we can hear what God is telling us to do – and then do it.
Sounds simple but it will take you a lifetime to complete it – if indeed you ever do.
