Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
In the verses we are looking at today we have some of the marks of a true Christian. Genuine love must be there. Genuine love is rooted in God. The Greek word translated as “dissimulation” means “sincere”. There is no room for phoney pretences. Genuine love begins with caring about the soul of the person. We do not look at the person as a marketing agent or as someone we can use as a stepping stone to get to where we want to be.
To “abhor” evil is to detest it. There can be no room for evil in the saved person’s life. Every saved person will sin, but the saved person cannot make light of sin. The saved person needs to cleave to that which is good. He seeks out a good local church and he is faithful there. He honours God in his choices of employment and leisure. His life is centred around serving God.
In verse 10 love is further defined for us. We need to have that brotherly love for one another. The saved person is not looking to exploit others. The saved young person that is looking for companionship is not looking to abuse the other person. Marriage comes before intimacy. Marriage comes before children. That is what genuine love is all about. No Christian man can just move in with a woman and live together. No Christian woman can do so either. There is no escape clause in a Christian marriage. Genuine love is a gift from God. God does not cast off His children. We have already seen that in the book of Romans. God chastens His child, but He never casts him off. God is not looking to fulfil some selfish lust in His dealings with man. He requires that man glorify Him. He is worthy of glory. He knows that when man knows Him and serves Him, man will find peace and happiness. The person that puts self first is miserable and unfulfilled.
The saved person sees value in others. As we mentioned earlier, he does not look at others as stepping stones to be abused for his own benefit. That goes to relationships as well as all other aspects of life. The saved person seeks to honour others where possible. It is not possible to honour sin. We have already seen the need to abhor evil.
In verse 11 we see the importance of a proper work ethic. The boss should not need to check up on your work all the time if you are saved. You need to present yourself as honest and interested in what you are doing. You need to be willing to learn and apply yourself in all areas. To be fervent in spirit means to be on fire for the Lord. It means desiring to be the best servant of God you can possibly be. If that is the attitude, then the boss will be able to trust you. He will know that whatever he asks of you, you will give 100% effort.
Notice that you are serving the Lord. You may be hired by an ungodly boss. He may be a grump at times. He may show up at the job drunk at times. You show him a better way. You do not indulge in his sin. You treat him with respect and show him the blessing of knowing the true God.
The reason you can have a good attitude is because you have a hope that is solid. The saved person does not just work for a pay check to pay the bills and then be broke again. The saved person knows that there is more to life than what this world has to offer. He sees a brighter future because he knows he is going home to heaven one day. Sometimes that is difficult to see when you are given a less than pleasant task. That is where prayer comes in. We always need to be praying and asking God to help us to have a right attitude to life.
In the Christian life you will find tribulation. Not many people will appreciate a true Christian. Even some bosses do not appreciate a true Christian. Most of the bosses I have had have respected my requests to be able to attend church services faithfully. I cannot think of any boss that did not allow me to be faithful in church. I do not know if they complained about that to others, but I never heard about it. I tried to set a good example and to work honestly and it went well. Some of the co-workers I have had were not so kind. Some would try to lay a trap for me. It was important to have a right response in those situations. As we already noted, prayer is an important factor. We need to be continuing instant in prayer. If I am cursing and laughing at dirty jokes I cannot be instant in prayer. If I am being polluted by trashy music, I cannot be instant in prayer. Many churches use trashy music themselves. It amazes me how people can assume they are worshipping God with the CCM and rock that is being passed off as Christian. There needs to be a desire to be taught what good music is. The Holy Spirit indwells the true child of God and He will never agree to the trash used in most churches today.
In verse 13 we see that we need to be ready to distribute to the necessity of saints. We looked at that yesterday. The local church is not a food bank and a money trough for the ungodly. Ungodly people often think that churches are rich and they should be willing to give money for a tank of gas or for some groceries. Often times, they want the money, rather than the goods. If they take the goods, they often discard things they do not like. Saved people that have a genuine need are thankful for the help they are given.
Jesus did not put a full course meal before the 5,000 men besides women and children. There was bread and fish. That was the meal. I doubt if they had any butter for the bread or any tartar sauce for the fish. The people had been fed the Word of God all day and they were thankful for the material food they received before they headed home.
The saints need to be given to hospitality. Again, if a saint has a genuine need and you can give them a meal or a place to rest then be ready to do that. Over the years we have had many people staying at our house. We have had many people around our table as well. We have also had the privilege of staying with other people at times. That is what Christianity looks like. It is real. It is not all about me. It is about serving God in whatever capacity He designs for me.
We cannot meet this requirement in the flesh. We need to be saved and walking in the Spirit in order to be able to function as God designed us to do.
Pastor Bartel
