Last week we began our trek through the application portion
of Romans. Everything we will be told to do in this part of this epistle is
only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit which means none but the redeemed
can truly walk as Paul instructs. However, we all know that behaviors and
speech that looks like Christian life can be imitated by false brothers, so our
on-going mission is to keep an eye ourselves to make sure we see reasons for
the hope we profess.
Verses 9-18 are a series of short statements of
instructions, very much New Testament Proverbs as he contrasts good behavior
and attitudes with those which are bad.
Romans 12:9-18 (HCSB) Love
must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Show family
affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing
honor. Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in
hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Share with the saints
in their needs; pursue hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do
not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Be in
agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the
humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay anyone evil for
evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, on your
part, live at peace with everyone.
Love is to be without hypocrisy. These two are polar
opposites. Worldly love is self-seeking and must be hypocritical, so we don’t
lose face. We give birthday and Christmas gifts because we want others to think
well of us much of the time; usually feeling guilty if our gift isn’t valued as
highly as another or liked as much as another. This represents self-love and is
not biblical love, which is to seek what’s best for the person. Love in truth
can only truly be done when it’s done by the Spirit.
Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Do we stop and
ponder what is good, what is evil? Recall how at the end of a long road filled
with much sorrow, Joseph declared to his brothers that though they meant it for
evil, God meant it for good. Being locked up on false charges after surviving
being thrown in a hole and sold as a slave, who would have thought Joseph’s
life was good? We are short-sighted, selfish people – that’s why we can’t see
the good our Lord intends when we experience something unpleasant, which we
think is evil. That’s why we must be people of the Book wherein our God has
revealed what is good and what is evil, so we might live as wise a serpents in
this evil age, not being led astray by its agents.
Show brotherly or family affection with brotherly love.
There is One who is closer than a brother and He shows us what love is. He
disciplined Himself, withstood temptation that would cause us to crumble,
allowed creature He called into existence to mistreat and murder Him. Betrayed
by those He called to be apostles. After Peter had denied Him the third time,
he caught the eye of the Lord Jesus looking at him from across the courtyard.
Is was not the look of condemnation but of love, knowing the frailty of the man
yet loving him such that he became a stout man of God. Affirming one another is
not the bedrock of this type of love, teaching, exhorting, rebuking – all with
the aim of heralding Christ more clearly – is.
To out-do each other in showing honor – esteeming others
more than ourselves – is another aspect of biblical love. This is what the Lord
taught in Luke 14 when He advised people not to take the seat of honor at a
wedding feast, but wait to see if the host invites you to that seat. What James
(chapter 2) was talking about when told us not to give preference to the rich
man in the assembly but associate with the poor. How is that working out in
most churches? Yet the counsel of God is to out-do one another in showing
honor.
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