Romans
12:9-21
Good
morning! We are continuing on through
the second half of chapter 12 in Paul’s letter to the Romans. We’ve moved into a more practical section of instruction
and exhortation about how to live the Christian life.
Last
week, Carl shared the ultimate secret of how to live the Christian life. Do you remember? It is found at the beginning of Romans 12 in
verse 1, “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to
God—this is your true and proper worship.”
This doesn’t mean our outward body alone. Body here includes our physical body and also
our minds as verse 2 alerts us, “Stop conforming to the pattern of this
world. Be transformed by the renewing of
your mind.”
Carl
also shared about spiritual gifts as Paul wrote about them in verses 6-8. In thinking of last week’s passage and
preparing for today’s passage, I was reminded of I Corinthians 1:4-9:
I always thank my God for you
because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in Him you have been
enriched in every way--with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge-- God
thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack
any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be
revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless
on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into
fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:4-9
As
we go into today’s passage, this must be our foundation: Jesus Christ.
It is in Him that we have been enriched.
We are not lacking. We are
tremendously blessed in Christ. It is
through Christ that we are kept firm to the end. We will be blameless on the day of our Lord
Jesus Christ. God is faithful. That is our starting point. Let’s pray.
Lord
God, show us something freshly today.
Encourage us in how we live and act.
Proclaim Your great Name through us.
We pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.
Let’s
look at Romans chapter 12 starting in verse 9:
Love must be sincere. – Romans 12:9
The
following verses are going to show us several examples of love in action. You’ve heard the saying that actions speak
louder than words. That’s what we will see
here. The idea is that in our living,
Christ who is in us would be apparent in our actions. Sincerity, genuineness in love is key. In fact, it is a necessity. For love to be love, it must be sincere.
I
don’t think there is anyone who isn’t turned off by hypocrisy and even the hint
of it. Just on Friday, a friend shared
an encounter that they had had with a person I’ve not met. I have only seen this person in a video in a
sort of “candid” interview.
My
friend had gone into a meeting with several people he had not met before. As a courtesy and a demonstration of
friendliness, he just went around the room to shake hands before the meeting
started. The first person he encountered
introduced himself by his first name and warmly shook his hand. The second person who is a peer of the first
person looked at my friend’s outstretched hand, then looked him in the face,
and then returned to typing on his computer without speaking. Ouch!
Now,
I have these contrasting pictures in my mind.
I’ve seen this person in a prepared video, and he seems like a decently
friendly and generally likeable guy. On
the other side, my friend has experienced what seemed to be a completely
unnecessary rebuff from the same person.
There is some kind of disconnect in this case.
May
we be sincere in love. May our actions
be consistent. Yes, we will face all
sorts of situations. But overall, let us
strive to put love genuinely first.
Hate what is evil; cling to
what is good. – Romans
12:9
I
think we can look back to verse 2 that we already mentioned. We are to be transformed by the renewing of
our minds. We need to be transfigured,
made spotless. So, we shouldn’t be
exposing ourselves to thinking and information and media and movies and images
with content which is ungodly. We should
turn from these things. In Psalm 101:3,
David wrote that he would not set wicked things before his eyes, rather that
his eyes would be on the faithful. Let’s
be devoted to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in
love. Honor one another above yourselves. – Romans 12:10
Philippians
2:3 says it this way, “with humility consider (or value) others better than
yourself.” Does anyone do this
naturally? I don’t think so. Only a mind renewed by the Holy Spirit could
possibly do this. Again, I look back to
verse 2. We are to be transformed. We don’t transform ourselves by our own
effort (though we can hinder it by our own choices.) We need to invite the Lord to work in our
hearts.
I
will say that it is not a bad thing to think of ways you can honor others. Ask God and fellow believers to give you
ideas. Serving is one key way to honor
others. Encouraging and offering
compliments are other ways. Keep in mind
that love must be sincere, so if you’re thinking of saying something that you
don’t mean, think again.
Never be lacking in zeal, but
keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. – Romans 12:11
I
have been posting a quote at my desk for years.
The one I selected for posting at my desk this past week happened to
come from Ravi Zacharias. It says,
“You
can never understand what a distraction is until you understand what the
purpose or goal is.”
Proverbs
28:14 says, “Whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.” Stay soft to the things of God. Stay “stirred up.” Don’t be distracted.
Everyone
is unique. Something that gets one
person excited may be uninteresting to someone else. Encourage one another. Spur one another on to love and good
deeds. (Hebrews 10:24)
Be joyful in hope, – Romans 12:12
I
caught a story this week about a service non-profit working in childrens’
hospitals in Atlanta. The reporter
followed a pair of clowns who were sharing physical comedy and songs and jokes
that really ministered to the kids who were definitely laughing and parents who
shared their thoughts in separate interviews.
The group calls their work humorology.
Though it is now viewed as a blessing, there was a time where it was not
so well accepted.
Some
doctors haven’t appreciated them. In the
early going, the humorology founder met a doctor. The doctor told him, “Clowns don’t belong in
a hospital.” And he responded, “Neither
do children.”
Another
of the clowns shared how their work is a ministry because they are connecting
with kids and adults and staff and are trying to show love. Another shared how though the children might
be in pain, they are not sad. They can
still laugh and experience joy even amidst the sorrow.
We
too should be joyful in hope. There is a
certainty in our hope. It is a cause for
joy … Romans 5:5 says, “Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out
his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.” Christian hope is like the hope of interest
paid on a loan. Though it has not yet
been received, it is guaranteed. Be
joyful!
Patient in affliction, – Romans 12:12
In
John 16:33, Jesus told us we will all experience trouble. Therefore, we must develop patience.
I
have a sense that God allows some things to happen specifically for developing
patience. I thought of a couple of
examples, but then I decided they were more about teaching me wisdom and
prudence than patience. God is able to
teach more than one thing in the same lesson though.
Faithful in prayer. – Romans 12:12
For
this one, I want to show a short video of Herschel Martindale. Herschel is the speaker in the video series
we’ve been watching at 9:45. He also
happens to be a key person in the founding of Clemson Community Church. He celebrated his 90th birthday earlier
this year.
I
find it a bit funny, but Herschel is supposed to be asking for prayer. Instead, well, you’ll see.
https://vimeo.com/359441395
(4:38)
We
should seek to maintain communion, connection, with God. Praying continually (I Thessalonians 5:17).
Share with the Lord's people
who are in need. – Romans
12:13
This
is one to think about and to plan for looking for times and places where you
can support those in need. There are
also chances to bless in an immediate need.
On Friday, one of my coworkers took up a collection to bless another
coworker whose niece died this week after a difficult battle with cancer.
It
turns out that a significant amount of their extended family lives out west and
were staying with this one family here. My
coworker had found out about this, and wanted to bless them and to help provide
for their needs in hosting and caring for their own extended family. It was incredibly thoughtful and it was
something that needed quick action.
Practice hospitality. – Romans 12:13
When
I think of hospitality, I think about my Aunt Joan. She never had many valuable possessions
though she did have quite a collection of memorabilia and clothes. She never married though there were many
suitors over the years. She cared for
her mother until she died. She never was
much of a cook. In fact, I can’t recall
eating a single thing that I know my aunt made.
She never owned a home. The “house”
she did live in for the last 10-15 years was maybe 1000 sq. ft. duplex which
was more than enough space for one person.
The
thing was there was always something going on at my aunt’s house. She was constantly entertaining sizeable
groups of friends and relatives in that tiny house of hers. One saying used to describe these events
would be that there were so many people in such a small space “you couldn’t
stir ‘em with a stick.”
People
who could cook would cook food to bring to my aunt’s gatherings. There were friends who were basically adopted
into the family. Even though I lived
hours away, I knew some of them.
My
aunt didn’t have any valuable material things to give. She didn’t serve, at least not in the sense
of doing works. Other people including
my parents would come and clean her house even before my aunt got sick. A germaphobe would not have been comfortable
there.
But
… my Aunt Joan was the most loving, most hospitable person you will ever
meet. She always thought you were
wonderful and beautiful and she would tell you.
Even when you thought it was completely absurd, her confidence in her
own opinion was infectious. She was
always glad to see you, and she was sincerely glad. You just wanted to be around her, everyone
did.
She
could sing though she rarely did that anymore.
She would go and sing in funerals of her friends up into her 80’s. In fact, she postponed her first chemotherapy
appointment so that she could go sing at someone else’s funeral. That was my Aunt Joan.
She
was not only incredibly thoughtful and caring.
She was funny. She would say the
most hilarious things. Even when she was
in the hospital for her cancer, she was still putting on makeup. Someone asked why she was bothering to put on
makeup in the hospital. Her reply was
she wanted them to think she was worth saving.
Last
year, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we were on the way to spend the
holiday with my parents. As usual, we
had to drive through the town where my aunt lived. She was in a nursing home facility then. I thought it was getting too late to
stop. My mom let us know as we were
driving that we should stop anyway. She
knew we needed to stop that very night, so we did. Melissa and I and our kids all were
there. I’m sitting by the bedside of my
aunt with Elijah in my lap. My mom texts
me and says maybe we shouldn’t take Elijah in because how bad my aunt is
doing. Too late for that.
She
was so weak, and breathing was difficult, but she knew we were there and knew
who we were. We sang for her as was one
of our usual things to do when we were visiting. We prayed for her. She was so tired, fading in and out of
consciousness, and it was getting late, so we got up to leave, saying our
goodbyes. Her goodbyes and thanks for
our visit followed us into the hall. I
could hear her voice clearly blessing us and looking forward to see us again
and loving all of us. As hearty and
gracious as she gave her goodbye, I expected I would visit her again on our return
trip from my parent’s.
But
no, she died that same night. I still
marvel when I think of it. There she was
loving and blessing us, making us feel special and appreciated. Words cannot express how much I miss her.
The
command is to practice hospitality. You
won’t necessarily get it right the first time, but keep practicing. There’s no such thing as too much love. Hospitality is bigger than you might
imagine. It’s not about cooking or
turned down beds. It’s about love.
Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse. – Romans
12:14
I
think this may be easier said than done when you are seriously persecuted. We need to remember that a persecutor is a
lost person who may not know the wrong that they are doing. I’m not in any way trying to justify
wrongdoing. It’s just that if they are
persecuting others, the persecutor is already under the curse of judgment. They need Christ.
When
someone has done me a favor or good especially, if I know they are an
unbeliever, I have prayed Lord do not forget their kindness to me, your child.
Rejoice with those who
rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. – Romans 12:15
Neither
of these is always easy to do, but sometimes rejoicing is more difficult than
mourning. I remember when I was a
student at the university. A group of us
was together at the amphitheater. A
friend of someone in the group had gotten a scholarship. We all were happy, at least outwardly. I remember going back to God with that one
specifically. I was jealous. Why did that person get a scholarship like
that but I didn’t. I don’t know why that
one was tough for me, but some situations require more humility from us than
others.
Some
translations will say to weep with those who weep rather than mourn with those
who mourn. It is more about the display
of sadness. I think we can keep that in
mind that in those times where we don’t know what to say, we don’t need to say
a lot. A few words of acknowledgement
and comfort can be enough. I remember
talking to one of the residents at Brookdale after his wife had died. He was frustrated that someone introduced him
saying he had just lost his wife. He
said, “I didn’t lose her. I know where
she is. She’s with Christ.” We can learn what to say over time. It is a loving thing to be united in grief.
Make
an effort to go to visitations and funerals.
They are both a privilege and a responsibility. It’s not easy a lot of times, but it is good
to support family and friends and coworkers.
I remember a card I got after attending a funeral where I never even had
the chance to talk to my friend and coworker.
He wanted me to know that just seeing me there was a comfort to him. Don’t underestimate the value of your
presence alone.
Live in harmony with one
another. – Romans
12:16
What
is harmony? It is not unanimity. It is agreement and congruity. Things fit together but they are not the same
thing. We cherish the same views and
understanding.
Do not be proud, but be
willing to associate with people of low position. – Romans 12:16
Is
there anyone who went to see the Downton Abbey movie? Do you know the series? A PBS high-style drama focused on the
intricacies of a British manor in the early part of the 20th
century. The cast of characters spans
the whole range from the Lord and Lady of the manor to the servants and tenants. I haven’t seen any Downton Abbey since the
first season, but I did see a review of the movie.
One
of the recurring questions of the series and the movie was whether inequality
must breed enmity? According to the review, the once-and-for-all answer of this
final movie was an emphatic, no.
Thankfully, the movie shuns the thought that merit is only found in
those who rise to high positions. At the
same time, it illustrates that although everyone cannot attain to a high
position, we shouldn’t presuppose that no one should.
All
people are valuable in God’s eyes. (John
3:16)
Do not be conceited. – Romans 12:16
What
is conceit? Literally in the Greek here,
it means not to be wise in your own eyes.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it to have excessive appreciation
of one's own worth or virtue. We talked
about humility earlier and putting others ahead of ourselves. Part of that means not to have too high of an
opinion of ourselves.
Remembering
people’s names and greeting them is a good way to value them. I greeted a lady at work on Friday by name
who I don’t see often. I asked her how
she was doing. She laughingly said she
was doing pretty good if someone “important” like me knew her name. I laughed in return and said I didn’t know
about being especially important, but I reassured her that I did know her name
and she was an important person.
Do not repay anyone evil for
evil. – Romans
12:17
This
can be hard to do, especially when it’s a sibling. We are going to have to face facts that we
will from time to time have to overlook an offense. There is a proverb about this. Proverbs 19:11 tells us that wisdom gives
patience. And, it is to your glory to
overlook an offense. Do you want to be
prestigious? Overlook an offense that
comes your way. Do not respond in kind.
Be careful to do what is right
in the eyes of everyone. – Romans
12:17
This
is really hard. What does this
mean? Jesus did not do what was right in
the eyes of everyone. I think we should
go ahead and combine it with the next phrase.
If it is possible, as far as
it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. – Romans 12:18
I
think we can consider the “if it is possible” and “as far as it depends on you”
to apply to both thoughts of doing what is right in the eyes of everyone and
living at peace with everyone. I hope
for you this is always possible.
However, I do not think that it will always be the case.
Again,
this is a matter of prayer, the Spirit working in us, and seeking counsel. It is not easy to figure out certain
situations. Living at peace often has to
do with honor and respect. If someone
does not feel respected, then it is a lot easier to get frustrated. Do you treat people with respect, thinking
more highly of them than you do of yourself?
Matthew
5:9 is a good encouragement to pursue being a peacemaker. “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be
called the children of God.”
Do not take revenge, my dear
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." – Romans
12:19-20
The
two quotes in these verses are Old Testament passages. The first is from Deuteronomy 32:35, the
second from Proverbs 25:21-22.
Judgment
and vengeance are not our responsibility.
God will handle this. We on the
other hand should treat an enemy with kindness.
There
is some differences in the way commentators regard the last phrase about heaping
burning coals. I think to our minds,
this would mean the enemy would be humiliated to have his enemy treat him
well. There are some who think that
heaping burning coals is to provide coals for restarting a fire, in other words
a blessing. Either way, the idea is the
kindness challenges the enemy’s thinking, blesses him, and hopefully makes him
a friend. Paul did stop quoting Proverbs
25:22 before he reached the end. The
result of helping an enemy is that “the Lord will reward you.” You will be blessed, too.
Do not be overcome by evil,
but overcome evil with good. – Romans
12:21
Herschel
mentioned being an overcomer. Romans
8:37 says that we are in fact more than overcomers. What
is our expectation? Will we always get
what we want or expect? Maybe not. But may we not be twisted or corrupted by
evil.
The
devil cannot create anything new, he can only corrupt what God has made. And, he’s constantly at work trying to
derail, to distract, to disturb the way of God.
We shouldn’t be surprised when confronted or challenged. And, we should not be overcome, but rather we
should seek to overcome. How? By offering our bodies as living sacrifices,
by being transformed by the renewing of our minds, by loving others
sincerely. God has won the victory in
Christ. We can have confidence to walk
in the light as He is in the light.
Let’s
pray.
Lord
God, enable us to live out of these many exhortations we have looked at
today. Glorify Your Name through Your
people, we pray. Amen.
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