Love in Action
Romans chapter 12:9-21
Introduction-
Good morning, if you could turn to Romans chapter 12. We will be looking at Paul’s letter to the church concerning our everyday actions. He lays out how as believers we should be representing our faith and our relationship to the Lord and to the people we come into contact with.
Last week, I quoted D.L. Moody “Catch on fire for Jesus and people will come and watch you burn” many people liked that comment- This morning I ask you do you like it enough to live it out in your life?
You see people are watching, what are they going to see? A person on fire for the Lord or are they going to see a struggling Christian that never seems to be getting the right foothold of their relationship with the Lord?
Romans chapter 12:9-13, but first let’s have a word of prayer-
Prayer-
Father, today I ask that as believers, we would take a look at our relationship with you and also how that relationship would affect those we come into contact with- Are we who we say we are and do unbelievers desire to be around us because the love of Jesus is shining in our lives? Would you speak to each one of us today so that we could have the right relationship with you and with those around us? May we be the same person at all times.
Romans chapter 12:9-13 Read from Bible
Apostle Paul presents to his congregation and I present to you this morning ways we are to live our lives everyday.
Wither we are having a bad day or a good day.
Wither we are in sickness or in health.
Wither we are blessed or going through a trial.
The chapter begins with how we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord.
It is no longer us living but Christ who lives in us!
The Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us and desiring to empower us to live productive and sacrificial lives for Christ.
He then tells us that we belong as Christians to something much bigger than ourselves and that we are… as believers a part of the body of Christ.
Again, we see that as believers, it is not about us as much as it is about Him who lives through us.
Then he picks it up in verse 9 about love.
Hang on- Jesus does not want us to love like the world because we are different- at least we should be more Christ-like the longer we are believers.
There has to be a time when mercy gets involved and forgiveness happens not because someone deserves it, but because it is what Christ would do.
The same kind of mercy and forgiveness that was shown to you by our precious savior.
Minister George Whitefield while watching a criminal going to the gallows said “There, but for the grace of God, go I”
There is a way of forgiveness that pushes people deeper into the muck of life and then there is forgiveness that lifts them up out of the mud and restores them.
Real forgiveness is based on love and never superiority. (Being a Christian forever)
Paul records several everyday ways for living the life that God intended for a believer.
He then gives us guidelines for living and fellowshiping with our neighbors.
Shows us how we are to approach good and evil that we are faced with everyday.
(9) “Love must be sincere-Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”
We can read that as your love must be sincere. You must hate what is evil and cling to what is good.
Let’s break that down - He is talking to the church- he is talking about your love, my love as believers.
It must be completely sincere.
It must be the real deal.
There must not be hypocrisy, acting, no ulterior motive.
No ulterior motive- wow! That would get a lot of us in trouble- Most relationships start by attraction and what we want…right? Like Matt Lablanc who played Joey Tribbiani from the TV series friends… “How you doing!” Flirting with loving others, but not seriously loving others for the right reasons.
Some call it cupboard love- your eye is on the prize. You are being nice because there is something that you want. The motive is to get that person to like you because you like them.
That might work for a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship- it has to start somewhere- but what about if you were nice to someone just because you want something they have/ something that they can do for you.
In women/ men doing that to the opposite sex, we would call them a gold digger.
Jesus tells us John 13:34-
“A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another.”
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
If we love the Lord the way that we should, then we must love others the same way. The longer I am a pastor, the more I see that we need the love of Christ to be operating in our lives. CHURCH PEOPLE
Church People not talking to each other
Church People not sitting next to each other.
The Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s
The Have’s and Have Not’s
Of course I am talking about other churches-
Jesus had spent 3 years grooming these men to disciple others and they were needing discipling themselves!
Just as I have loved you… (point) and you… and you… you are to love others!
Not just those that love you or those you are trying to get to love you.
Not just your family and friends.
Not even just your neighbors- EVERYBODY! Repeat and stir…EVERYBODY!
Our relationship with the Lord is based upon his love for us and his forgiveness. It was not because we deserved it, it is because He chose to love us and forgive us.
How many people could be sitting in these chairs if they/we could forgive someone?
If Jesus could forgive those that crucified Him, could we forgive those that have done us wrong?
How do we love like Jesus? Certainly not like the world does- The world loves to get. Jesus loved so He could serve.
Two different worlds.
Jesus when he left the 99 sheep to go fetch the one stray sheep- The math just don’t add up- Why risk the 99?
Some say:
They should have known not to leave the area.
I am not their keeper.
Only the strong survive mentality
It won’t make sense unless you are the one that He went after.
What… Go talk to a stranger and make the first move- Christianity is suffering because there are not many willing to love by sharing their faith and pointing them to a savior that loves them.
Love sincere the verse says, and hate that which is evil and cling to that which is good.
By who’s standard do we base that? By the Lord’s standard of good and evil- Everything should go past the desk of Christ-
What would Jesus say about it?
What would Jesus do?
What would Jesus think of it?
The infinite beauty of holiness is the staying away from sin. He says that we must have the mind of Christ when we are calling things good and evil. What we want is to please the Lord more than we want to please ourselves.
What most people hate is the consequences of evil
If the fear of the consequences of doing evil outweigh the desire to be righteous, then we are doing it for the wrong reason.
We are one body of believers and we are family.
Trying to reach out to a world that desperately needs to know that Jesus loves them.
We are not to act like strangers because we share the same heavenly Father.
(10) “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Some of the biggest problems in churches and families, what has caused many splits down through the ages is instead of loving each other, we have come into the house of the Lord and demanded our privileges and positions.
Nothing will destroy love and unity like demanding special privileges or being so thin skinned that you are always upset at something somewhere.
Brotherly love- 1 John 4:20
“If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
John 13:34
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another."
"This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you ....This I command you, that you love one another."
Brotherly love is a test of our spiritual condition
(11) “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
I do not find people lacking zeal- I find them lacking spiritual zeal-
They love their sports
Love their kids involvement in anything they do
They love their hobbies, vacations, toys.
I find that the first thing that suffers is spiritual zeal because if you put the things of God on the back burner, it doesn’t get used and what does not get used becomes stale, stagnant, or misplaced.
Christians may burn out but they should never rust out. If they are doing what the Lord wants of them, I believe we would see less burning out also.
Christians are in an internal and external battle for what is important in their lives and Luke warm never causes spiritual fires.
The risen savior could not stand Luke-warm. Rev. 3:15-16 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!”
He tells the church at Laodicea that you don’t realize that you have become pitiful, blind, poor, and naked, because you are lukewarm.
Being lukewarm is the loss of passion- What should be your first love is not your first love.
We fail to make time for God in our daily lives
Putting self ahead of God
Putting family ahead of God
Putting job ahead of God
Results of loss passion
Spiritually bankrupt
Little substance to your faith
Usefulness to the master is diminished
Nothing to draw upon in your time of need.
Easily deceived
Cure to lukewarm
Recognize it and desire to do something about it
Be zealous for the Lord and repent- make a change- turn around .
Scripture says- he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
What if you took a minute to evaluate where you were at spiritually- To give yourself a number- 7, pretty good, 4 needs some help. Whatever that number for you is, could you bring it up 1-2 spiritual degrees?
Would that not make a difference in your life?
If you did an act of kindness?
If you show somebody some love that
Would it not make a difference in someone else’s life that you would be investing in?
(12) “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Joyful, hopeful, and faithful in prayer- would that take you up a few degrees spiritually?
Christians know that because of who we are in Christ- that we are not hopeless no matter what circumstance we are going through.
There are no hopeless situations in life; there are only men and women who have grown hopeless about them. There can never be such thing as a hopeless Christian.
We are to persevere in prayer
There should not be one day that you go without talking to your Lord.
We rob ourselves of the strength of the Lord when we forget the Lord in our day.
Last one for today-
(13) “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality”
Hospitality is the giving of oneself to others- it is not always about money.
One writer has said that Christianity is the religion of open hands, open hearts, and open doors.
The same that Christ did for us
To practice hospitality is to make sure it is a part of your day. It will grow your faith and grow your love for God and love for God’s people.
I know I have thrown a lot at you. This passage is full for the believer to love like Christ.
Next week, we plan to look at the rest of this verse as we see some people persecute us in trying to love like Christ and what is our response.
This morning… how about you just focus on where you are in your love for God?
Is God first in your life?
Do you love Him the way that you should?
If not, that is the first step in repairing the relationship.
How about taking a minute and let the Lord speak to you about it and what you should do to make it better. He will show you ways to bring it up a few degrees.
Response time-
Prayer-
