         |
|
True Love Romans 12:9-21 |
October 24, 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum |
As the major league baseball season heads to it's conclusion in the World Series and the NFL season continues it's long march to the Super Bowl, I have found myself amused, once again, by the strange and diverse ways that the fans of various teams choose to identify themselves.
--Diehard Raiders fans, of course, dress in silver and black and don all manner of menacing costumes and masks, all with a silver and black theme.
--Packer fans are immediately recognizable by the tasteful slices of cheese they wear on their heads.
--And if you watched the Yankees-Red Sox series you quickly learned that Yankees fans oftentimes gleefully identified themselves by asking that wonderfully profound and insightful question, "Who's your daddy?"
I have to imagine that a sociological analysis of what these various identifying behaviors say about each group of fans would be a most intriguing study. And it got me thinking, what if Christians decided to come up with a similar kind of identifying mark or behavior? I wonder what we would ultimately choose to identify ourselves as followers of Christ?
--Crosses worn as jewelry around our necks?
--Cute little fish symbols on the trunk of our cars?
There's certainly nothing wrong with either of those as public declarations of our allegiance to Christ but, the truth is, we really don't need to convene a meeting to select a universally agreed upon Christian identifier because Jesus has already picked one. Christians are to be recognized by their love. In John 13:35 Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Jesus wants us to stand out from the rest of the crowd by the distinctive quality of love that is manifested in our lives. And it is this distinctive quality of Christian love in action that is the focus of Paul's attention in the second half of the 12th chapter of Romans, which we will be looking at this morning.
If you were with us last week when we looked at the first half of chapter 12, you'll remember that we were urged to actively and steadfastly resist the corrupting influences of the world so that God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, could begin to renew and transform our minds so that we begin to think and reason the way that God thinks and reasons. And we learned that one of the things that happens as this process of renewal and transformation unfolds is that our ability to discern God's will increases. We are blessed with the joy of knowing that our lives are in synch with the will of God.
Now, in verses 9-21, we're going to see that this process of renewal and transformation also changes dramatically our understanding of love. The love that is described in these verses is not the kind of love that our culture encourages or that we are naturally inclined to seek or give. The love that is described here is that thoroughly distinctive kind of love that identifies us as Christians. This is the kind of love that Jesus had in mind when He said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples."
The Foundation of Christian Love: Sincere and Strong
The passage begins with a two-part thesis statement that stands over the rest of the passage. Verse 9 begins like this, "Love must be sincere." This is really not so much a call to any kind of action as it is a straightforward statement of fact. Love is sincere.
The Greek word translated there as, "sincere," means genuine, true and without any hint of hypocrisy. The point, here, is that the love that identifies us as Christians is not something contrived or staged or calculated rather Christian love always reflects the true character and content of our hearts.
Then, at the end of verse 9 Paul tells us that the love that is distinctively Christian is not only sincere, it's also strong. He writes, "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."
Oftentimes, what passes for love in the world…in our culture…is actually little more than warm, fuzzy feelings. Consequently, once the feelings disappear so, too, does the love. It's a weak version of love, at best. But the love that identifies us as Christians is strong. And Christian love draws it's strength from the fact that it's not rooted in feelings, it's rooted in the truth. And unlike feelings, truth doesn't change. Truth endures and empowers.
Consequently, when this sincere love that is rooted in the truth recognizes evil it doesn't embrace it, condone it or encourage it…rather, it opposes it forcefully. As Paul says here, love "hates" what is evil. Why? Because doing anything else would be insincere.
And, when this sincere love that is rooted in the truth recognizes good it doesn't apologize for it, or hide it or get embarrassed by it…rather, it pursues it and clings to it with all it's might. Why? Because doing anything else would be insincere.
1 Corinthians 13:6 says, "Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth." When you combine that with Romans 12:9 what you see is that this unwavering commitment to truth is not only a great source of strength for Christian love it's also a great source of joy as well.
So, now that Paul has established the over-arching theme that Christian love is both sincere and strong, he proceeds to identify a series of specific actions that Christian love produces. He begins, in verses 10-13, by identifying some of the ways that Christian love shows itself in our relationships with other Christians.
Loving Other Christians
He begins in verse 10 writing, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love." The key words there are "devoted" and "brotherly love." Taken together they describe the kind of loving devotion and commitment that we see at work in the very best of families.
--It's an affectionate and mutual love that makes every member in the family feel welcome and important.
--And it's a level of devotion that gives everyone in the family a sense of security as they work together in the best interests of each other individually and the family as a whole.
Christian love produces church families that are characterized by this kind of familial love and devotion.
As verse 10 ends we see a second way that love is demonstrated in our relationships with one another, as Paul writes, "Honor one another above yourselves." To "honor one another" conveys the idea of mutual respect. Christian love shows itself in a respect for one another that is rooted in the knowledge that there is no such thing as an unimportant or unnecessary member of the family. As we saw last week, God has gifted us and drawn us together in such a way that each of us has a unique and essential contribution to make to the healthy functioning of the family. So love not only prompts us to respect each other but it also prompts us to find greater delight in giving honor to others than in seeking it for ourselves.
In verse 11 we find a third way that love is demonstrated in our relationships with one another. It says, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." The love that God nurtures in us through the power of the Holy Spirit fills us with a burning, energetic and enduring desire to serve the Lord. Love drives apathy and complacency right out of our lives and fills us with a passion to fully utilize the spiritual gifts that God has given us to build up His body. Folks, people who have been changed by the love of God are not content to be spectators; love compels them to be servants.
Now, as we move on to verse 12 we see 3 more actions that spring from Christian love. It says, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
The first part of verse 12--"be joyful in hope"--tells us that Christian love shows itself in an abiding spirit of joy that is not rooted in our present experiences but rather is rooted in our confident expectation of all that God has promised us. In Romans 8:18, Paul wrote about, "the glory that will be revealed in us." Well, folks, it's the promise of this coming glory that is the basis of our present joy. And that means that our joy cannot be shaken by the changing circumstances of our lives because our joy is not built upon our circumstances.
The middle section of verse 12 describes the way that love shows itself when the circumstances of life turn hard. Rather than wilting in the face of life's difficulties, Christian love gives us the strength to endure…to, as Paul says be, "patient in affliction," mindful of all that God has in store for our future.
And at the end of verse 12 Paul points us to the lifeline that makes this patience possible as he encourages us to be, "faithful in prayer." That word "faithful" conveys the idea of "holding fast" and "persisting." So, the picture that begins to emerge looks something like this--when times get tough God's children don't cave in, lash out or run away instead they are drawn by love to their Father, confident that He will give them the strength they need to endure.
Finally now, as we come to verse 13, we see two more actions that love produces in our relationships with other believers. Verse 13 says, "Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."
The Greek word translated here as "share", is "koinonia", which is oftentimes translated as "fellowship." Koinonia is the word that is used throughout the New Testament to describe the special quality and the unique character of the relationship that is only shared among fellow Christians because it's a quality and character of relationship that is created by all that we share in common through our connection to Christ. So the point that Paul is making here is that we are so closely bound together as brothers and sisters in Christ that, when we discover that one of our brothers and sisters is in need, we will joyfully make whatever sacrifice is necessary to respond to that need. And there are many in this place today who could testify to the fact that this family responded in exactly that way in their time of need.
And the phrase that ends verse 13, "Practice hospitality," reminds us that our love for one another doesn't just move us to open up our wallets when a need is present…it also moves us to open up our homes. Again, it speaks to the quality of the bond that exists between us that we are ready and willing to welcome one another into our homes.
From time to time I run across people who respond to the discovery that I am a pastor by telling me that they are also Christians, they just don't go to church anywhere. And they offer a wide variety of reasons to support their Lone Ranger approach to Christianity. But in the end, I am usually left with the impression that the main reason they haven't plugged in to a church family somewhere is mostly because they've never seen it done right. Well, folks, what we have here in these verses is a picture of church family done right.
It's a family of believers in which everyone is lovingly devoted to one another; in which every individual member is highly valued and constantly encouraged to serve the Lord with whatever gifts they have and where everyone is quick to joyfully and sacrificially share whatever they have to help each other in their times of need.
Folks, when the church family works the way God designed it to work, it doesn't just work for some people, it works for everyone.
Loving Our Enemies
Now, as we move on to verses 14-21 Paul shifts his focus away the ways that love prompts us to act toward one another in the church, to the ways that love prompts us to relate and respond out there in the world where people sometimes oppose us, dislike us and even seek to do us harm.
Beginning in verse 14 he writes, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." Paul's first instruction to us is very similar to Jesus' admonition in His Sermon on the Mount when He said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…" (Matthew 5:43-44) The point is that love empowers us to resist the natural human desire to respond in kind. If someone hits you, our first impulse is to hit back harder. But love empowers us to break that cycle that only serves to escalate the level of anger.
He continues in verse 15, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." The point here is that this love that God is growing in us opens our eyes to the fact that those who oppose us are still just people whose lives are filled with the same range of dynamics that fill our lives and then love empowers us to act toward those people with kindness and compassion.
Paul continues to develop this theme in verse 16 saying, "Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." Folks, the very thought of Christian elitism is repulsive. The point here is that love frees us from the constraints of pride and ego so that we can freely engage with all people in a spirit of compassion and concern.
Paul develops the theme further in verses 17-18 saying, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Folks, God does not expect us to do what is not possible. And the truth is, there is simply no way to interact peaceably with some people. But love does compel us to know that we have done everything in our power to create peaceful relationships with everyone.
Finally, then, Paul completes his lesson to us in verses 19-21 saying, "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.'"
The basic admonition here is clear, namely, that revenge is something that God reserves solely for himself. Our part is to make sure that all of our actions, even toward our enemies, are grounded in love. And while that final comment about heaping burning coals on our enemies' head is a bit obtuse, Paul seems to be saying that it's OK to take a little bit of pleasure in the knowledge that if all of our kindness doesn't win our enemy over, it may just irritate the fool out of him.
So, now that Paul has completed his lesson, he helps us to step back just a bit see the big picture of God's desire for us. In verse 21 he writes, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." It sounds very similar to his admonition at the beginning of this chapter, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world…" Why? Because God has a better plan for you. And, in this case, that better plan is to resist the urge of fighting evil with more evil and, instead, to fight evil with good. And the reason this plan is better is because fighting evil with evil only makes us more like our enemy. But fighting evil with good makes us more like Jesus. And ultimately that's the goal that God is working accomplish in all of His children.
© Copyright 2004 Pastor Tom Marcum