SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Love displayed in the family/Church (vs 9-13).
• (a). Love is genuine (vs 9a):
• (b). Love is good (vs 9b):
(2). Love displayed in a hostile world (vs 14—21).
• Principle #1: Love fights evil with good.
• Principle #2: Love is sensitive to other’ feelings.
SERMON BODY:
Joke:
• Well on Thursday the people of the UK voted,
• Out went Rishi Sunak and in came Sir Keir Starmer.
• As a final gesture before he resigned,
• Rishi took his former cabinet members out for a meal.
• The waitress asked him what he would like to eat, and he replied, the roast beef.
• She then said, “and what about the vegetables,”
• He replied, “They will have the same!”
• TRANSITION: In most elections there is little love or respect between the parties,
• They are constantly finding faults in each other’s polices and performances,
• And highlighting them and criticising them.
• In the Church the opposite should be true,
• Instead of finding ways to criticise and find fault,
• We should be looking to encourage and each other build up.
In this next section of the book of Romans:
• It may seem a bit unconnected with what has gone before.
• Remember last we looked at Grace/spiritual gifts that God has given to his Church.
• Then straight away in verses 9-21
• The apostle Paul discharges a series of rapid-fire instructions,
• That fire out like bullets from a machine gun,
• And often without much connection or clarification.
• In fact, we have 30, that’s right 30, 3, 0-- commands. 30 exhortations,
• And they are all connected around one theme, which is love,
Question: Sound familiar?
Answer:
• Think of another list of spiritual gifts that is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
• Remember that straight away in the very next chapter,
• We have that great chapter on love (1 Corinthians chapter 13)
I think the principle is,
• God gifts his people so that they can demonstrate the type of love mentioned,
• We will see that love outworked in two primary areas.
• In the Church (vs 9-14):
• In the world (vs 15-21).
Ill:
• Story told of a man who needed to draw water from a well,
• But the wooden bucket next to the well looked to be useless,
• Because it had been sitting next to the well in the hot sunshine,
• And unused for a long time.
• The man could see daylight between the wooden slats of the bucket.
• Certainly, this bucket would never hold water again.
But an older man came along to the well and tied the bucket to the rope,
• And let it drop into the water below.
• Then he waited and waited and waited.
• After a few hours he pulled up the bucket and it was full of clear, cool well water,
• And the bucket was no longer leaking,
• The reason being,
• The water had re-hydrated the dry wooden slats,
• So that they swelled and fitted back together as originally designed,
• And the bucket was useful again.
• TRANSITION: What water was to that bucket,
• Love is to a local Church.
• It swells our lives and plugs the gaps by making us be what we ought to be.
Quote Bible commentator James Montgomery Boyce:
"Love is not some mushy emotion that embraces all, forgives all, forgets all, and requires nothing.........
In fact, you will notice at once in our text Paul does not even define love.
He passes immediately to how love functions".
Ill:
• We would probably say, “Love is proved by actions and not words!
• I love the play and also the movie Fiddler on the Roof.
• It's a musical, with some great songs and it has some great funny parts in it.
• But the part I am think of is when the father named Tevye,
• Asks his wife Golda a question,
• They've been married a quarter of a century.
• And he turns to her and says… let’s watch the clip!
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/h_y9F5St4j0?si=uOw5l68tkJNeaC60
• (SINGING) do you love me?
• Maybe he is waiting to hear is, oh, I have this warm, fuzzy feeling about you.
• But rather she says to him,
“for 25 years. I've washed your clothes; I've cooked your meals. I've cleaned the house. I've given you children. I've milked your cow. If that's not love, what is?”
• TRANSITION: Golda nails it,
• Because Love is a verb. Love is willing to act on something.
• The rest of this chapter (#12), beginning in verse 9,
• Can be summed up with the word love.
Note:
• Now with 30 commands to look I am not going to even try and cover them all,
• So, we will divide these verses into two main headings.
• And focus on a few key truths.
(1). Love displayed in the family/Church (vs 9-13).
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor 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.”
(a). Love is genuine (vs 9a): "Love must be sincere".
• Christian love is not to be an act, or a show.
• It is not to be hypocritical (as some versions translate it).
Ill:
• Years ago on the Greek stage,
• Actors did not have the props or the resources we have today.
• Actors would come out on the stage with a few different masks on a stick,
• Like a happy face, or a sad face, or a sombre face.
• And they would put the mask on and speak through the mask,
• TRANSITION:
• And our word hypocrite came to mean somebody who wears a mask, or an actor.
• So, the Bible word for “hypocrite” implies being “an actor.”
• It means to pretend like you are someone or something that you are not.
• Quote: Matthew Henry (1662-1714. British Nonconformist minister and author).
• He once said, “hypocrisy is to do the devil's work in God's uniform.”
ill:
• I would guess that Collins is the great English dictionary.
• In the USA it would be Webster’s dictionary that is the best.
• In November of 2023 they announced their word of the year,
• The word they chose was very telling!
• The company announced that they had chosen the word, “authentic,”
• In an age of misinformation and plagiarism,
• We all want something that is real, genuine, authentic!
• TRANSITION: 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul go there first!
• He wrote, "Love must be sincere".
• The family of Jesus Christ is to speak and act in love,
• That means we should be honest with people, but we should also be gentle!
• Quote: “The hand of honesty but wearing wearing the glove of kindness”.
(b). Love is good (vs 9b):
"Hate what is evil; cling to what is good".
• Don’t you find it odd that after talking about genuine love,
• The apostle Paul immediately talks about hate.
• And he mentions hate as a command!
• Question: Why?
• Answer: Because part of authentic love is authentic hatred.
Ill:
• A party of school children were being showed around a hospital.
• The nurse who was guiding them round asked if anyone had any questions.
• One child put their hand up and asked,
• "How come the people who work here are always washing their hands?"
• The nurse gave the answer; "They are 'always washing their hands' for two reasons.
• First, they love health; and second, they hate germs".
The apostle Paul warns us about the germs of “evil” which we are to hate:
• A popular concept among non-Christians is that Christians should love everything.
• But this verse says, "No", we are to be discriminating.
• The Christian is to be an example in showing love,
• On the other hand, he/she is to; "Hate, abhor, be separate from what is evil".
• So, every day you and I have to make choices.
• Do we take the good or the bad courses of action,
• Paul says that the mind that is being transformed (vs 2),
• Will cultivate a deep hatred for evil and a firm attachment to the good.
NOTE: Have a good long look at verse 11.
• NIV:
• “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.”
• KJV:
• “Not lagging in diligence but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
• J.B. Phillips:
• “Let us not allow slackness to spoil our work and let us keep the fires of the spirit burning, as we do our work for God.”
This verse gives us the motivation for this family love.
• Don’t be slack, lagging or lacking in zeal in ‘serving the Lord’.
• That's the key, ‘serving the Lord.’
• It is our love for God and our service to God that spills out in loving others.
• If we love God the Father, we must love the Father's children as well.
• It’s the ripple effect mindset,
• i.e. Drop a stone in the middle of the water and you work your way outward!
Note:
• Then in verses 10-13 we have 8 phrases of how love should be expressed:
• That’s your homework!
• Go home and sometime this week spend some time looking at them.
(2). Love displayed in a hostile world (vs 14—21).
Ill:
• Years ago, there was a Christian T-Shirt that was quite popular.
• It was a picture of sharks and piranha fish etc all swimming in one direction,
• And swimming in the opposite direction was the Christian fish symbol.
• TRANSITION:
• The point being we live in a hostile world, we are swimming against the tide.
• What is true for us today was true for the first readers of this letter.
• Remember that this book is called, The book of Romans.
• And although each book is for all Christians of all ages,
• Never forget that each book was first written and sent to,
• Specific people experiencing specific problems.
As the name suggests, this book was initially written to a group of Christians living in Rome.
• The Church in Rome was probably a network of house congregations.
• And not a single gathering of Christians meeting in one building.
• Some Bible commentators identify up to five house congregations,
• From studying chapter 16 of this letter.
• #1: vs 3-5, congregation of Pricilla & Aquilla.
• #2: vs 10, congregation of Aristobulus.
• #3: vs 11, congregation of Narcissus.
• #4: vs 14, congregation of Asyncritus & friends.
• #5: vs 15, congregation of Philolgus & friends.
• And Rome was becoming a very hostile environment for followers of Jesus.
• Life was already hard for them, and it was only going to get much harder for them.
• To live out their Christian faith in the world of Rome,
• Was to invite hostility into their lives.
• So, to encourage and help them the apostle Paul gives this advice.
If you scan the verses and you will see 4 negative commands (vs 14,17,19 &21).
Ill:
• It’s twice as hard being positive than it is being negative.
• To prove the point, take a pen and draw a minus (negative) sign.
• Easy enough, just one stroke of the pen, right?
• Now draw a plus (positive) sign. –
• How many strokes of the pen did that take?
• Like I said, it’s twice as hard being positive than it is being negative.
• TRANSITION: The apostle starts with the negative,
• But finishes with the positive!
• But notice the apostle is not just being negative for the sake of negativity.
• These negative commands are also four comparisons between good and evil.
• It is like he is saying, “don't do it this way but do it that way.”
Ill:
• Think of the beatitudes of Jesus and compare the beatitudes of modern society.
• (Matthew chapter 5 verse 3-11).
• Quote: From the writings of J.B. Phillips:
"Happy are the 'pushers': for they get on in the world.
Happy are the hard-boiled: for they never get hurt.
Happy are they that complain about they get their own way in the end.
Happy are the blase': for they never worry over their sins.
Happy are the slave drivers: for they get results.
Happy are the knowledgeable men of the world: for they know their way round.
Happy are the troublemakers: for they make people take notice of them.
• TRANSITION:
• The lifestyle of Jesus is unmistakably different.
• The apostle Paul agrees, and says, “don't do it this way but do it that way.”
Look at the 4 commands:
• “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (vs 14)
• “Do not repay anyone evil for evil” (vs 17)
• “Do not take revenge” (vs 19)
• “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (vs 21)
These proverbial sayings are so simple and so practical.
• Our love should be independent of the treatment we received from others.
• So, they may curse us, but we will bless them.
• They may hate us, but we will love them.
• They may avenge against us, but we will not reply like for like.
Note:
• All of us agree with that in theory,
• But most of us will struggle to put that into practice.
• I would say that it is impossible to do in your own strength.
• That is why we need to be connected to Jesus Christ.
• Back to verse 1, we live for Christ.
• Verse 2 reminds us he does the transforming,
• He empowers us to consistently live this way.
Ill:
• Years ago, a little boy, lost, homeless and very hungry, found himself at a seaport.
• Where he watched barrels of treacle being unloaded from a ship,
• Into a warehouse on the quay.
• As one of the cranes swung the barrels from ship to shore,
• The rope broke and one of the barrels fell and broke open near the boy.
• Seeing the treacle pouring out before him,
• The little boy lifted up his eyes to heaven and prayed,
• “Lord, oh for a tongue equal to the task!”
• I guess as we look at these instructions from the apostle Paul,
• Many of us are thinking; “Oh for a HEART equal to the task!”
Two principles jump out at me from these verses.
Principle #1: Love fights evil with good.
• This attitude is seen in these four verses.
• Verse 14: “you; bless and do not curse.”
• Verse 17: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.”
• Verse 19: “Do not take revenge… but leave room for God’s wrath.”
• Verse 21: “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”
Ill:
• This photo is a friend of mine from Speakers Corner. Hyde Park. London.
• Chris is a former Moslem who has converted to Christ.
• As a result, he is abused verbally and sometimes physically.
• But when the Moslems are swearing and insulting him,
• His reply is, to tell them, “I bless you in the name of Jesus and I will pray for you!”
• Everyone looking on can see the difference between the two faiths!
• TRANSITION: Now, verse 17 can be used as a guide to the rest of these verses.
• “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.”
Principle #2: Love is sensitive to other’ feelings.
• According to verse 15,
• The Christians in Rome are to be so immersed in the life of their community,
• That they know the houses where there are joy and laughter,
• They know the houses where there are tears and sadness!
• And they should respond accordingly!
ill:
• We have to make sure we are not 'rabbit hole Christian':
• Popping out of our holes, racing off to Church.
• Meeting with likeminded 'rabbit hole Christians':
• Then racing back home again to our insulated warrens.
• TRANSITION: We are in thew world but not of the world.
• We are called to be insulated against the world, not isolated!
• These verses make it clear we need to have contact with unbelievers.
• And that contact has to be more than surface contact!
In verse 16 the apostle says, “be willing to associate with people of low position.”
• TLB: “but enjoy the company of ordinary folks.”
• GNB: “Have the same concern for everyone.”
• Message: “Make friends with nobodies;”
Ill:
• Let me suggest that is one aspect of what it means to be godly! Or Godlike!
• We are only here today for that very reason!
• God himself, “enjoys the company of ordinary folks.”
Ill:
I love the verse in Luke’s gospel (chapter 15 verse 2).
“But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.””
• The very reason the Pharisees and the teachers of the law moaned at Jesus,
• Is the very reason we praise him this morning.
• “This man welcomes people like you and me!”
• He, “enjoys the company of ordinary folks.”
Note: People will see us (that is the unchurched:
1. They will see our diversity,
2. And they will see our harmony.
3. And that witness will commend our gospel to those who are outside!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=qDxFWNvd5sPCkGHNswK13tt5JU2C2tbp
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/MZhwloXCpRA
