Genuine Love

If God’s people would, as I predicted
to you last Lord’s Day, if you would take your Bibles and turn
to Romans 12, Romans chapter 12. For those of you who were not
with us last Lord’s Day, welcome to our annual meeting, or at
least an extended portion of it. As we typically in our annual
meetings as a church have what I call a state of the church
address talking about the circumstances of our church, the circumstances
this year being what they are, I decided to take not one but
three weeks to consider several passages of scripture that speak
to concerns that I observe. We’ll get back to our study of
First Corinthians soon, sometime soon. But for now, I wanted to
address these concerns that I’ve observed, especially over the
past year, that there are some basic Christian graces that seem
to be very much diminished in the church, not just in the church
greater, but unfortunately, even in our own little church. These
are attitudes and subsequent conduct that ought to be found
in wholesome measure in a local fellowship of God’s people, but
instead are found in unwholesome measures. And these three particular
areas, which we began to consider last week, love, devotion, and
patience, When those are lacking as a result, the church, the
church for which Christ died, is itself abused. That’s been
my observation this past year as a pastor with my eyes, particularly
on this local flock, that we need to examine ourselves regarding
these three graces because their spirit imparted virtues. The presence of such is an indication
of the Spirit’s work in both salvation and sanctification
of our lives. And so the absence of them, to
any degree, should be, to the professing Christian, a matter
of great alarm. I spelled it out, I applied it,
if you will, in graphic terms as we closed last Lord’s Day,
that in an attempt to get us to examine our hearts, these
are some of the things that I pressed us to consider. Is there in me an inflated view
of myself or my opinions? Is there in me a cold absence
of any real brotherly affection? Is there in me an attempt to
hide or excuse my sin? Is there in me a critical heart?
Is there in me a wayward wanderingness that disregards the fellowship
of God’s people? Is there in me a self-centered,
self-absorbed attitude that willfully refuses to serve my fellow believers? Is there a gracelessness that
snubs all overtures of peace? Is there a harmful meddlesomeness?
Is there a curiosity that wanders away from the truth? The purpose
of those passages that we’ve set our minds to over these next
few weeks, as always, is to get us to examine our own life in
view of these passages and to call out for whatever grace is
necessary. If these virtues are largely
absent, we must call out for the grace of salvation all over
again. If these virtues are weak, we
must cry out for the grace of repentance and growth. It’s the
testimony of scripture that the same God who saves us will sanctify
us. And therefore, if the fruit of
sanctification is absent, we may have need to call upon God
all over again for salvation. And so as we move to the second
of three passages of scripture, Romans chapter 12, we progress
with a sincere desire to have each one of us examine our own
hearts by the timeless admonitions that are given here. This morning,
as we consider Romans 12, chapter 12, verses 9 through 13, we find
that Paul is discussing the devotion of God’s people to one another. and specifically what that devotion
looks like. And then finally, and again,
Lord willing, we will land in Ephesians 4, 1 through 3, where
Paul begins his truly epic address regarding Christ’s church with
an admonition to godly patience with one another. And so I ask
you to pray. I ask you to pray that God, by
his word and by his spirit, would examine you thoroughly as to
the degree of your own love and devotion and patience toward
the saints of God, the fellow believers with Christ and with
whom we fellowship. If you would, Romans 12, I want
to look at just verses 9 through 13 this morning. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to
what is good. Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love. Give preference to one another
in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord. rejoicing in hope, persevering
in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of
the saints, practicing hospitality. And I want to begin by telling
you, I can tell you what this passage is not. It is not a Valentine’s
message. I did not select this passage
to be preached on this day for that reason. The fact that this
passage mentions love, again, brotherly love, is purely coincidental. Let’s set our course here as
we begin to look at this very involved passage because it is
not as if Paul just indiscriminately drops this passage on the Roman
Christians. As it is, he has given the church
11 full chapters of weighty doctrine. Some of the weightiest in all
the Bible. In chapters 1 through 3, you will recall that Paul
established the fact that they had all sinned, Romans 3, 23. Both heathens and Jews were sinners. In chapters 4 and 5, thankfully,
Paul addresses salvation. that such is by faith that we
are justified, that is, made righteous by and only by our
faith in Jesus Christ. That opens up quite naturally
in chapters six through eight into a lengthy and full discussion
of the subject of sanctification. The process that is initiated
and performed by the Holy Spirit, by which we are more and more
and more conformed to the image and character of Christ. And
then to round out the doctrinal portion of this epistle, he merges
into a discussion in Romans 9 through 11 into God’s sovereignty. And so this greater portion of
Romans, chapters 1 through 11, we might characterize as the
indicative portion of Romans, the facts of the case, the doctrinal
foundation. And there you have an overview
of the entire 11 chapters of Romans in a single paragraph. But doctrine, is not presented
in scripture only for knowledge sake. Those truths must be applied,
and that brings us to chapter 12. And in chapter 12, Paul begins
to unfold the more practical section of this epistle, the
applicational section. Having set forth the indicative
facts, he moves to the imperatives, if you will, to the so what of
his letter. And in so doing, Paul moves effortlessly
into a discussion of what will be found in the lives of the
followers of Christ. Those virtues which the Holy
Spirit is producing. if indeed the individual is in
Christ. And incidentally, with regard
to that indicative imperative balance, we have the same doctrinal,
practical, indicative imperative breakdown as Ephesians 4 transitions
as we will see next week. Well, As is often the case, I
need to lay out to you the structure of the passage. And it’s crucial
that I do so in this particular passage, especially because there
are a host of translational difficulties. In the first place, there’s no
main verb. Not in chapter or not in verse
nine, not even in the entire section, verses nine through
13. One cautious commentator rendered
this admiring glance at this passage. He said, note the remarkable
coordination of participles, adjectives, infinitives, and
imperatives. We don’t want to just be tourists
fondly admiring this passage. We want to delve in and determine
as far as we’re able what it means. And even more, what it
means for us, what is God’s expectation of us, how do we respond to what
God says here? And so, without even
a main verb, I will tell you that I do believe that verses
9 through 13 form a section. And so we have to pause and examine
it very carefully. Here is what I see. The opening
words, let love be without hypocrisy, verse nine, they sound like a
simple sentence, complete with a subject and verb. It is not. Translators have rendered it
as such. But it is actually a translation
of three little words, a noun with its article, and an adjective. Love, the noun, and unhypocritical,
the adjective. And I see it functioning really
as a title over the whole section, verses nine through 13. And I
might translate it personally as Loving Unhypocritically. It’s a pretty good title. Or
if you want to state it in the positive, Genuine Love. And so let’s stick with that
for a moment. The title for the entire section, verses 9 through
13, is Genuine Love. And that’s well and good, but
how does that connect with the rest of the passage? Well, as
I see it, the next portion is a combination of two participles,
what I call simply ING verbs, because they can be translated
by the verb form ending in ING, going, running, and the like.
And these two participles function as a kind of a statement of principle,
an enduring principle. And as translated in the NAS,
abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. But as I said,
these are participles and to translate them as such, a more
literal translation would be simply abhorring the evil, clinging
to the good. That’s the principle. It is one
substantial enduring principle. Hate evil. love good in its simplest
form. And so we have the title for
this section, genuine love, the enduring principle. What do we
do with the rest? This lengthy collection of words
in verses 10 through 13. And I can tell you that I see
all of those lines lining up as one long running description
of the enduring principle. what it means to hate evil and
to love good. It’s an exhaustive list of particulars,
but it’s not as if Paul is issuing a checklist here where a believer
can rate his or her performance in each category, feeling good
in some occasions and not so good in others. He’s setting
forth a description of what abhorring evil and loving good looks like. It’s not as if parts and pieces
are optional. If the spirit is at work in us,
this is what our life will look like. And so again, the loaded
title, genuine love, the enduring principle, hate evil, cling to
good, the exhaustive particulars, verses 10 through 13. Let’s go
back to verse 9. Verse 9, where we look at the
very loaded title, genuine love. Let love be without hypocrisy. I’ve told you already that this
string of word really translates three, a noun, an adjective,
and an article. The meaning and the function
are simple, genuine love, unhypocritical love, love without hypocrisy.
It’s Christ-like, that is, genuine Christian love to which Paul
is urging here. We don’t know all the specifics,
but the mere fact that Paul even has to address this here with
the Roman church suggests that there was evidence of hypocrisy.
a lack of genuineness among them. Love is not just a kind face. It’s not just pleasant words,
but it is a sincere, practical affection of God’s people. In
the case of the Romans, as with a lot of churches, it was much
easier to pretend. to go through the motions of
brotherly love than it was to practice the real thing. It must
have been a concern in the Corinthian church because Paul seems to
go out of his way to mention genuine love in 2 Corinthians
6. James likewise was concerned
for his churches that they exercise wisdom that was without hypocrisy. Peter, too, urged the scattered
pilgrims to whom he writes, to a sincere love of the brethren. That’s always the temptation,
to fake it with regard to brotherly love. Otherwise, why would these
New Testament writers need to say it over and over again? No matter the situation or the
day and age in which believers find themselves, We can always
project that the outward appearance of love may be present when all
the while we’re holding it at bay in our hearts. It’s functional
deceit. Godly commentator John Murray
posed the dilemma well. Listen carefully. If love is
the sum of virtue, And hypocrisy is the epitome of vice. What
a contradiction to bring these things together. But leave it to John Calvin to
draw back and deliver an arrow to the heart of hypocrisy. Calvin
said this. It is difficult to express how
ingenious almost all men are in counterfeiting a love which
they do not really possess. They deceive not only others,
but also themselves. While they persuade themselves
that they have a true love for those whom they not only treat
with neglect, but also, in fact, reject. The state of a man who
believes that he is loving when he is not is even worse than
that of a man who pretends to be loving, knowing that he is
not. Only genuine love is produced
by the spirit. The spirit only produces genuine
love. But as erring people, we have
a tendency to let the drafty air of hypocrisy taint and begin
to devour the real thing. We must guard our hearts against
hypocrisy and constantly plead that the spirit would shape in
us unhypocritical, that is genuine love. Well, that’s the title. The loaded title is genuine love. That’s what Paul is addressing
here. Look at the enduring principle
at the latter half of verse nine. The enduring principle is abhor
what is evil, cling to what is good. Now, as I’ve said, this
latter portion of verse 9 functions as a declaration of enduring
principle, a practical explanation of the title that opens the section. What does genuine love look like?
It looks like abhorring what is evil and clinging to what
is good. It’s stated as a universal exhortation. True for all believers of any
age, hate evil, love good. In it, Paul sets forth the need
of a solid moral foundation. Paul says it much more mildly
to the Thessalonians. To them, he just said, abstain
from every form of evil. Any kind of manifestation of
evil from the fallen world, we are to avoid. But here he says, hate it. And I’ve heard parents correct
their children before against the use of the word hate, and
I get it. And for the most part, that’s
good. There aren’t many things that we can justly hate, but
evil is certainly one of them. Evil, as godly Robert Haldane
described it, is that malicious iniquity which injures any person. It’s inherently evil. The Roman
Christians living in the midst of a fallen, vulgar, hedonistic
society would have instantly related to Paul’s words. That word abhor, which we don’t
use much anymore, expresses the strong degree of disgust of the
most vile kinds of things. It’s not good to hate. But as
believers, we are to hate, that is, to abhor that which is evil. Think of it this way. This will
help. Abhorrent evil is what put Jesus
Christ on the cross. And at the opposite extreme here
in this short little sentence, this principle, there is an equally
powerful word used for our response to what is good. Cling. Paul says, grab hold of it and
don’t let what is good slip through your fingers. Not only are we
as believers to abhor evil, we are to cling to that which is
good. And Paul echoes this same exhortation also to the Thessalonians,
examine everything carefully, hold fast, cling to that which
is good. Things that are good inherently,
by character and nature good, that are limited by God’s opinion
of what is good, whatever and whoever in God’s eyes. And to whatever degree we find
such, we are almost literally here to glue ourselves to it,
to attach ourselves, to take hold and not let go. And so what
Paul issues here again is an enduring principle true for any
day and age. But what specifically does it
look like? What does genuine love that hates
evil and clings to goodness look like? This is Paul’s consideration
in verses 10 through 13. We have the loaded title, genuine
love. We have the enduring principle, hate evil, love good. And now
we have the exhaustive list of particulars in verses 10 through
13. be devoted to one another in
brotherly love, give preference to one another in honor, not
lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,
contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Now, mind you, In the time remaining,
we cannot possibly do all of these lines in verses 10 through
13, the justice that they deserve. Not really much more than a paragraph
per line is all we can do. But for our purposes this morning,
that will have to suffice. Remember, we’re not preparing
to complete a checklist here where we can one by one ponder
our guilt and innocence. Paul is laying out, think of
it as a tapestry of what the Christian life looks like. So rather than thinking of this
as some innocuous list of do’s and don’ts, look at it as a piece
of fabric. With each one of these character
qualities as the individual strands that are woven into that fabric.
Because as with a piece of fabric, the failure of one thread means
the eventual failure of the entire garment. I want to point out one additional
remarkable feature of these 10 lines, verses 10 through 13. Each one of them could best be
introduced by the preposition in, pointing to a subject. A feature, a sphere, together
with the very special character quality that the Holy Spirit
is building into believers. Now, if you just read along in
your translation, I can tell you, you’re going to get stuck
or lost. I would just like you to listen,
if you would, to how it might literally read. if we were to
employ what I just suggested. Each one introduced by the preposition
in, the subject, and then the particular character quality
that the Spirit is building in to believers. Just listen. In the brotherly love to one
another, devoted. In esteeming one another, preferring. in diligence not troubled, in
the spirit boiling, in the Lord serving, in hope rejoicing, in
tribulation enduring, in prayer continuing, in the needs of the
saints fellowshipping, in the love of strangers pursuing. Let’s look at the first, verse
10. be devoted to one another in
brotherly love, or as I just translated literally, in the
brotherly love to one another, devoted. The first thread is
not all together different from the exhortation that we considered
last Lord’s Day. First Thessalonians 4, 9, remember,
let the love of the brethren, and we are to excel Since we
talked so much last Lord’s Day about brotherly love, let’s let
that stand. But there’s an element here that
I don’t want us to overlook, because it’s the very reason
that drew me to this passage. It identifies one of those three
virtues that is on the wane in the church. Remember the three,
love, devotion, and patience? It’s the virtue here or the grace
of devotion, especially devotion to Christ’s church, devotion
to the people of it. And while it’s only this is the
only occasion on which this word is used in the entire New Testament,
the meaning is clear. It speaks of a dedicated, committed,
loyal devotion to the church, to the brothers and sisters of
the fellowship. These are the devoted members
of a spiritual family, a local, visible gathering of Christ’s
followers. And as such, it would be easier
more tolerable, less painful to lose a limb than to have such
one be disloyal, to be detached from the spiritual
family. Puritan pastor John Brown exhorted,
wherever you see the image of your Lord, Wherever there is
a consistent profession of the faith of Christ, there we ought
to fix our Christian affections. And having fixed them, we are
not easily to allow them either to abate or to be transferred. We are to be devoted to one another
as believers. Look at verse 10, there’s a second
line. Give preference to one another
in honor. Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love. Give preference to one another
in honor, or literally, in esteem of one another, preferring. This
is not a simple virtue. To duplicate outside of God’s
grace, it’s impossible. It’s simply understood, it’s
impossible outside of the Spirit’s work in our lives to reproduce. The word translated here, give
preference, can have a variety of meanings. It can mean to anticipate, to
surpass, to lead. And so the translation here is
subtle. To go before others by way of
example. preferring one another. It’s
somewhat of an irony, literally considered. Listen to this. We are to take the lead, the
lead role in deferring to one another. Wow. Or as Paul urged the Philippians
with humility of mind, regard one another as more important
than yourselves. Neither of these verses speak
of a literal superiority one over another, but a humble consideration
as if it were true. This treatment of our brother
does away with self-seeking, since we are only too eager to
recognize our brother as more deserving of honor than we. After
all, he, too, is made in God’s image. For him, too, Christ died. And in him, too, the Holy Spirit
dwells. How hard can that be? The world can and does constantly
bicker and war for position and power and recognition, it cannot
be so in the church. If anything, we should be outdoing
one another in deference to one another. There need not be a
jockeying for position, a push for notoriety, a manipulative
wrangling that seeks to be first. This is the attractive virtue
of selflessness that seeks honor and favor, not for ourselves,
but for our brothers. Look, if you would, at verse
11. We’ll take a running start at it from verse 10, be devoted
to one another in brotherly love, give preference to one another
in honor, not lagging behind in diligence. Or literally, in
diligence, not troubled. Diligence here is the subject
at hand. It speaks of that which Paul
seems to address in Galatians 6, 9. Let us not lose heart in
doing good, for in time, due time, we will reap. In other
words, there is no weariness in well-doing. The Christian
life is one of patience and faithfulness and diligence. As believers,
Paul is urging the Roman Christians to be zealous in their efforts,
tireless, energetic, faithful. They cannot allow themselves
to grow complacent and slothful in duties and devotion, to cut
spiritual corners, to live a spiritual life of casual ease. It is appropriate here to to have
you glance back to the opening verse of this entire chapter,
Romans 12.1. Would you just look there briefly? Romans 12.1, where Paul says,
I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual service of worship. Back, if you would, to verse
10. 10 and 11, because the exhortative portion of this verse literally
means not troubling, not lagging behind, not hesitant. The Christian life cannot be
dead or idle or lazy. It is instead lively and energetic
and earnest. If we are called by God, bought
by Christ and indwelled by the spirit, how can we burn out or
give a half-hearted effort at anything? We are called to do
all that we do to the glory of God. There’s a fourth line to consider,
be devoted to one another in brotherly love, give preference
to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence,
fervent in spirit. Or as I literally translated
it, in the spirit boiling. Wow. There’s a bit of a question here.
debate really about whether the spirit here is the Holy Spirit
or the human spirit. And rather than being drawn into
an endless debate, I can say that in the end, it’s inconsequential. Because ultimately, whatever
flame of holy passion that we have is both fueled and sparked
by the Holy Spirit. So I think Paul here is pointing
to the human spirit, that it should be a boiling, fervent,
passionate life that we lead. And as such, this quality stands
in contrast, if you look at it, to the immediately previous one,
doesn’t it? What Paul says there negatively,
not lagging behind in diligence, he says here positively, fervent
in spirit. And there’s essentially a capstone
to those three statements. We find it at the end of verse
11, be devoted to one another in brotherly love, give preference
to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence,
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Or quite literally, in
the Lord, serving. This feature really seems to
be the culmination of the other two in verse 11. Indiligence
not lagging and spirit fervent in the Lord serving. The subject
again is in the Lord and the expectation is that we are serving. That’s what the spirit is producing
in us. And I love the simplicity of
the way this is described. No matter what we do. No matter
what role or capacity we serve, ultimately, we are not serving
people or buildings or things. We serve the Lord. And make no mistake, this is
not a mild word. As if we’re on a rotation and
every eight weeks we might have to step in and fill some need. This word represents a wholehearted,
vigorous effort like that of a slave. In our Shepherdology class, we
just reviewed Paul’s testimony of this very feature. Acts chapter 20, when he labored
among the Ephesians, he reminded them, he called them to remember
this, that he served the Lord with all humility and with tears
and with trials. And because he was serving the
Lord, nothing could stop him. Nothing would make him quit because
he was serving the Lord. As such, the Christian’s labor
in this world and whatever he or she does for the sake of Christ
and his kingdom is done in the full light of the realization
that such is a sacred undertaking. Do you realize that no matter
what you do, either in or outside of the church, it’s a sacred
undertaking. It is unto the Lord. There’s
another line. And we find it in verse 12, be
devoted to one another and brotherly love, give preference to one
another and honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent
in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope. Or literally. In hope, rejoicing. The subject or sphere here is
hope. The exhortation is rejoicing.
We’ve talked much about this word hope. And as we grasp its
significance, we cannot keep from rejoicing because this hope
is not the wishful thinking of the world. but it is the settled confidence
in God’s willingness and His ability and His faithfulness
to fulfill His promises. We can count on it. Hope sets its eyes on the future
with an absolute confidence. It is as good as done. And this allows us to look beyond
the temporal difficulties of this world We know them, we see
them, we live them. Trials, pain, heartache, unrest,
strife. But we look beyond. But the hopeful outlook is not
the end in itself. Because it leads inevitably and
directly to joy, rejoicing. Hope in Christ is joy in Christ. This is Paul’s great declaration
earlier in chapter five of this epistle. When Paul says there,
we exult in the hope of the glory of God. This is an amazing truth. Our settled confidence, our hope
is still future. And yet that hope is our motivation
for worship, for rejoicing in the here and now. There’s yet another, another
thing that the Holy Spirit is producing in the lives of those
who believe in Christ Be devoted to one another in brotherly love,
give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind
in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in
hope, persevering in tribulation. Or literally in tribulation,
enduring. And here we’re led right back
almost as if by the scruff of the neck to the very things which
our hope enabled us to look beyond. He brings us back face to face
with our tribulations. The subject in view is tribulation,
the expectation is endurance. That’s what the Holy Spirit is
producing in the hearts and lives of believers. Jesus himself forewarned. In this world, you have tribulation. And if you think about it, tribulation,
difficulties in this life, it’s the only sphere in which endurance
can truly be modeled. Isn’t that amazing? And, you know, Paul didn’t just
preach this, he lived it. In Acts chapter 14, after he
had just been brutally stoned and left for dead, He recovered
by God’s grace, got up, went back into the city, not once,
but twice. And this was his testimony. Through many tribulations, we
must enter the kingdom of heaven. Basically, he says it comes with
the territory. There is the tribulation of this
life that stems from the world’s hatred of Christ. We just happen
to be in the way, don’t we? In the passage from which I just
quoted Romans chapter five, Paul echoes this same truth as well,
that we exalt in our tribulations. We’re not thankful for them,
but we’re thankful in them. And really exalting in them is
the very means of enduring them. Trials, tribulations, persecutions,
difficulties in this life, they will come. They are an inevitable
part of life. And they’re designed and ordained
by God for our testing, for our proving. God disciplines us as
sons, the writer of Hebrews says. We can count on tribulation in
this life. And if God’s spirit is at work
within us, we can count on God’s grace to enable us to endure
them faithfully. This is not the bitter, stiff
upper lip kind of thing that passively tries to just tough
it out. This is the spirit energized,
supernatural ability to persevere through and not around particular
trials. As Peter states it, if and when
you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure
it. This finds favor with God. Thomas Manton very pointedly
said that a wicked man suffers, but he does not endure. A wicked
man suffers, but unwillingly with murmuring and blasphemy. But the godly man endures. That
he bears the affliction with patience and constancy without
murmuring, fainting, or blaspheming. He sees God’s design in it and
he trusts his God. Such godly, steadfast endurance
is only possible by God’s sustaining grace. And without such, we shake our fist at God. Yet without a hitch here, Paul
points to the source of such divine supply. How do we endure? Look at verse 12, devoted to
prayer. be devoted to one another in
brotherly love, give preference to one another in honor, not
lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. Or literally, in prayer, continuing. The subject is prayer, we know,
the expectation is continuing, diligent, painstaking, devotion. It just seems to evade us. especially
in the subject of prayer. But here, too, there is a progression,
rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. The only way to enjoy the other
graces of hope and endurance is to exercise the third, prayer. Prayer that is deep, sustained,
engaged communion with God is the God-ordained means of tapping
into God’s rich supply of divine grace. Now here, even though
translated with the same word, devoted, the word that we crossed
in verse 10, it’s a different word here in the Greek. It speaks
of an absolute commitment to tireless effort in sustained
communion with God. The early church set the tone,
didn’t they? Acts 1.14, these all with one mind were continually
devoting themselves to prayer. Acts 2.42, they were continually
devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 6, 4 of the apostles,
when they appointed deacons, said that it allowed them to
devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Paul carried that forward when
he wrote to the Colossians, devote yourselves to prayer, keeping
alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. It’s the very
thing that we might be tempted to leave off, to quit when life’s
challenges mount. Paul says, double down, devote
yourselves to prayer. And as we rise from our knees
of prayer before the Lord, Paul closes verse 13 with two final
expected elements. be devoted to one another in
brotherly love, give preference to one another in honor, not
lagging behind in diligent, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,
rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,
contributing to the needs of the saints. Or literally, in
the needs of the saints, fellowshipping. Our Christianity cannot be limited
to private devotions. We must also be watchful for
practical opportunities for service. The subject here simply is the
needs of the saints, God’s people, Christians, and their needs will
vary as widely as the path coursing across the sky. And it’s important
to note that Paul here points to needs, real needs, genuine
needs, not a supply of their greedy desires. What does it
include? Jesus provided a an excellent
explanation of it in Matthew 25. Remember in his judgment
of the sheep and the goats, what does he address there? What is
the faithful? Believer provide for those in
need. Verse 35, I was hungry and you
gave me something to eat. Simple. I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited
me in naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me.
I was in prison and you came to me. They provided something
to eat. Food, something to drink, lodging,
clothing, consolation, companionship. That isn’t too difficult for
us, is it? God calls us in the basic needs
of our fellow believers to contribute. But I’ll tell you immediately
that word contribute is too mild a word to translate the original
here. The word, you probably know it,
is koinonia. Fellowship. Paul says that if
the Spirit is sanctifying us, we will begin to function as
partners in fellowship, koinonia, in the needs of others. This should not be too difficult
for us, should it? Charles Hodge said it this way,
believers are in fellowship in everything. Because they are
members of the body of Christ. The members of the same body
have the same interests, feelings and destiny. The joy or sorrow
of one member should be the joy or sorrow of the others. The
necessities of one are or should be. The common burden. As Paul urged the Philippians.
Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also
for the interests of others. And he closes with one last observation
of what the Spirit’s doing in the hearts and lives of his people,
be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Give preference
to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence,
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, persevering
in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of
the saints, practicing hospitality. The subject here is the practical
care of strangers, not necessarily people from the church. And the exhortation here is practice. In short, do it. Practice hospitality. Don’t just think about it. Don’t
just talk about it. The word here is a lover of strangers,
and it implies not merely a readiness to do, but an activeness in watching
for such opportunities. The word translated hospitality
here refers to strangers, foreigners, those from another place, another
city. And while it would point primarily
to the duty of providing for Christian travelers, it would
certainly not exempt us from aiding unbelieving strangers. But I’ll tell you, this hospitality
is not a dinner party for your friends. Christianity is a worldwide
brotherhood and a brother, even though he’s from afar, is to
be cared for as if he were our closest friend. And as we might
expect, the expectation here too is no mild word. It’s the word that can be translated
to pursue or persecute. As such, it speaks of a zealousness
to seek out such opportunities. This is the person who ferrets
out needs, observes, notes, inquires, digs, provides, arranges, and
just plain gets it done. Most people will take in someone
as a favor if they’re asked politely. This is the individual who carefully
and respectfully discovers such needs. And insofar as they’re
able, handles them. The bottom line is that genuine
love, if we are indeed to hate evil and cling to what is good,
is ultimately a tapestry, a work of God’s spirit in weaving these
virtues into the life of every believer. Listen to the caution
of a godly pastor of days gone by. Envy, wrath, selfishness, love
of the world with coldness and all the concerns of religion
have possessed the place of it. And in vain shall men wrangle
and contend about their differences of opinions, faith, and worship,
pretending to advance religion by an imposition of their persuasion
on others. Unless this holy love be again
reintroduced among all those who profess the name of Christ,
all the concerns of religion will more and more run to ruin. The very continuance of the church
depends primarily on faith in Christ, but secondarily on the
continuance of this love. Where this faith and love are
not, there is no church. Peter echoed that same sentiment,
the same sentiment as Paul in Romans 12. where Peter urged
faith and moral excellence and knowledge and self-control and
perseverance and godliness and brotherly kindness and love.
And then he says this, if these qualities are yours and are increasing,
they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is a very big if. I’ve asked you to allow the spirit
to examine your heart, would you do so now? Our merciful King, we humble
ourselves in your glorious presence. And Lord. We know that these
are not things that we must do necessarily. And yet, Father,
if they are lacking in our lives, we know that we are in need of
grace. And if they are completely absent,
as some in this room, no doubt must admit. Lord, we pray that
you would so work in their hearts, bring them to repentance for
sin and to faith in Christ. Lord, for us. For those who do
believe in Christ. For those who have placed their
faith in the Savior. Lord, if we’re faulty in these
areas, we are weak. Grant us the grace to examine
our hearts and to plead with you. For continuing work in our
own hearts. That we as people and our church. Would be what you have called
it to be in this world. We thank you and we praise you
in Jesus name. Amen.