The Believer's Duty In Relation To Others Series

The Believer’s Duty in relation to Other Believers

Romans 12:9-13

Over the last few weeks we have looked at the duty of believers.

Some things we were to add to our salvation…

Some things we are to take away from our lives…

Tonight we are going to look at how we are to treat each other.

Jesus taught a lot about how having Him in our lives should change us…and we are for the most part well aware of HOW we should treat others…it’s just that we rarely DO IT…

If we are going to call ourselves Christians…then we have a DUTY to live our lives in a way that expresses our confession…In other words, what we say we are ought to be readily apparent by our actions…

A young lady was soaking up the sun’s rays on a Florida beach when a little boy in his swimming trunks, carrying a towel, came up to her and asked her, “Do you believe in God?” She was surprised by the question but replied, “Why, yes, I do.” Then he asked her: “Do you go to church every Sunday?” Again, her answer was “Yes!” Then he asked, “Do you read your Bible and pray every day?” Again she said, “Yes!” But by now her curiosity was very much aroused. At last the lad sighed and said, with obvious relief, “Will you hold my quarter while I go in swimming?”

Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone had the faith in Christians that this little boy had?

If we will live (not talk) like our passage of scripture tonight tells (commands) us to…then it will be apparent to those we come into contact with that we are truly Christians…why is that so important? Three reasons…

1. In this is the Lord Jesus Christ magnified…this should be our life long goal.

2. When Christ is magnified, the church benefits…people come to know that the church is real in its love.

3. We grow Spiritually.

There are four things that if we would DO them, would change not only our live, but the lives of everyone we come into contact with for the better.

Romans 12:9 - 13 (NKJV) 9Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

1. We are to love without Hypocrisy!

1. The word "dissimilation" in the King James (anupokritos PWS: 1106) is correctly rendered “hypocrisy in the NKJV.

a. It means that a person does not just say "I love you," but he actually loves. He sincerely loves; he honestly and truthfully loves.

b. The love being spoken about is love for all men and not only for believers.

c. He must love them because God loves them and because they desperately need to know that Jesus Christ has come to earth to reveal God's love to all men.

2. There are four very practical ways the believer is to demonstrate his love for other men.

1. The believer is to love by hating evil. The word "abhor" (apostugountes PWS: 5) is strong, very strong. It means to hate with intense feeling, to loathe, to look upon with horror. Love desires the very best for people; therefore, love hates evil, for evil destroys human life. The believer stands against evil, doing all he can to fight...

• hunger and poverty • hurt and pain

• drunkenness and drugs • cursing and bitterness

• suggestive and enticing dress

• unjust and improper

• hoarding and divisiveness • disease and suffering • ignorance, godless education

• family divisiveness and divorce

• off-colored and dirty talk

• immorality and destructive sex •selfishness, greed

• corruption and death

The list could go on and on. The point is that the believer must love, and he shows his love by hating and fighting against that which is evil, not by sticking our head in the sand or turning blind eye to the sin and injustice in the world…If we are not going to cry out against these things…who is?

2. The believer is to love by cleaving to that which is good. The word "cleave" (kollōmenoi PWS: 600) means to join or fasten together, to attach, to cement or glue together.

a. The believer is to desire only the very best—all the good possible—for all people. This should be our goal when dealing with everyone.

Luke 6:35 (NKJV) 35But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.