Loving Unhypocritically

Well, I hope this little excursion,
brief as it is, into Romans 12 has been an encouragement to
you. It’s always a blessing to me
to go back to a passage that I thought I might never get to
preach again. We spent almost five years in Romans, and so
to come back into this great chapter of Scripture, is an encouragement
to me, I hope it is to you as well. If you would turn again
to Romans chapter 12, it’s a continuing consideration of this important
chapter, where Paul is speaking here about more practical issues
than in previous chapters. In light of the 11 chapters of
doctrinal instruction, deep theology, he has called believers here
in chapter 12 to sacrificial living. Present your bodies a
living and holy sacrifice, and that ultimately will be seen
in our transformation by God’s grace, by God’s spirit, and by
God’s word. making us more and more into
the image of Christ our Savior. So sacrificial living means not
only not being conformed to the world, but being transformed. And as we saw last Lord’s Day,
when a whole bunch of individuals are changed by God’s grace and
gathered, that has a wholesome and beneficial
effect on the church. The whole church reflects this
divine change, and as Paul begins to detail in verse 3, the church
becomes a church that not only thinks rightly, that is, with
sound judgment, a church that functions unitedly. as one interconnected,
interdependent body of believers, and it’s a church that serves
enthusiastically, each person exercising their very different
but God-given gifts. But as is often the case, as
soon as people begin to think and function and serve, as soon
as those gears of the wheel begin to mesh, Friction and even strife
soon arises. And this is what Paul begins
to address in verses nine through 13. It’s our demeanor toward
other believers. In my now 30 years of ministry,
I’ve seen the delicate fabric of Christ’s church frayed and
ripped apart too many times. And while I do not necessarily
see signs of that in our own church, at this moment, human
nature being what it is, we know that no fellowship is immune
to such trouble. I’ve become increasingly alarmed
as I look around at the state of the church, the church general,
the greater church. I’m not necessarily speaking
about our own local church, but when we see trouble in the greater
church, it’s probably just a matter of time before it trickles down
and infects our own. And so we have to be watchful
for signs of weakness, on a local church level. We have observed over the past
few years a bewildering number of people who have shown a cold
indifference to their local church. They have abused the precious
institution for which the Lord Jesus died. How can that ever
be? How can any believer ever flippantly
treat the very body of believers for whom Christ paid the ultimate
price? That’s the question that increasingly
has occupied my mind as I hear of these things. My observation
about the state of the church centers around the very basic
graces or virtues that seem to be greatly diminished in the
church in our day. Specifically, I’m troubled about
the saints’ attitude toward the church. Essentially, COVID taught
a lot of people that they did not need the church any longer. I see several disappointing areas,
three areas in which God’s people are supposed to excel. Love,
devotion, patience, These graces ought to be found in wholesome
measure in a local fellowship of God’s people. Their presence
is an indication of the Spirit’s work of salvation and sanctification
in the believers’ lives, and so an absence of them to any
degree. A lack of love, a lack of devotion,
a lack of patience, It should be to the professing Christian
a matter of great alarm. Unfortunately, we now frequently
see unwholesome measures of indifference, disloyalty, and even aggravation
between believers. And as a result, the church,
the institution for which Christ died, is itself abused. And so I’d like us to look at
these graces this morning, particularly that of devotion. It’s been my
sad observation that the more time that people have on their
hands, if that time is not spent in
the humble service of others, In the development and exercise
of genuine brotherly love, there are other things to which that
time will be given. Ugly, sordid, destructive things
that move into that void left by a lack of love. And so as
always, in light of God’s word, we have to examine our own hearts
in all of this and to call out to Christ for grace in whatever
is lacking. This morning I would like us
to consider Romans 12, 9 through 13. It’s a passage in which we
will find Paul discussing devotion. The devotion of God’s people
to one another. And he shows us exactly what
this devotion looks like. Would you read along with me?
And we’ll just take verses nine through 13 this morning. Love
unhypocritically. Or, as some of your translations
may have it, 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. As we move into this chapter,
I pray that we progress with the sincerest desire, each one
of us, to examine our own hearts by these timeless admonitions
that are given to us by God, by His Word and His Spirit, that
they would examine us thoroughly as to the degree of our own devotion
toward the saints of God, the church, our fellow believers
in Christ with whom we worship. Now, before we dive headlong
into this, I need to lay out to you the structure of this
passage. I do this from time to time because
there are several translational difficulties in this passage. In the first place, there is
no main verb. A lot of times I will take you
and point you to the simple sentence of a passage. It’s rather difficult
to do with this one because there is no main verb. It’s not in
verse nine. It’s not even in the entire section
that we just read, nine through 13. But even without a main verb,
I do think that verses nine through 13 form an independent section. Those opening words that I just
read and translated for you, let love be without hypocrisy,
it sounds like a simple sentence. Complete with a subject and a
verb, it’s not. Translators have rendered it
so by providing two words, let and be. But the opening statement
is actually a translation of three Greek words, a noun with
a definite article, the love, and an adjective, unhypocritical. And without a
verb, I see this opening line as functioning as sort of a title
over all of 9 through 13. It’s a description, really, of
the entire section. Literally, it reads, love unhypocritically. We could render it positively
as genuine love. But to capture the subtlety of
what Paul is communicating here, more literally, we might translate
it as loving unhypocritically. And so we’ll stick with that
as the title for the entire section. Loving unhypocritical, it is
Christ-like, that is Christian love, about which Paul is speaking
here. Now we don’t know the specifics
of what was taking place in the Roman church. But the mere fact
that Paul even has to address the idea of unhypocritical love
is evidence itself of the potential for hypocrisy, a lack of genuineness
among them. As soon as we say the word unhypocritical
or the positive, genuine, we have to immediately suspect a
problem. Why should Paul have to say this? You see, love is not just a kind
face, a smile, a wave, pleasant words, but it’s a sincere, practical
affection for God’s people. In the case of the Romans, as
with a lot of churches, it was much easier to pretend. It was much easier to go through
the motions of brotherly love than it was to practice the real
thing. It must also have been a concern
in the Corinthian church because Paul goes out of his way to urge
a genuine love of those believers. 2 Corinthians 6, 6. James, you know, likewise, was
concerned for his churches that they too exercise wisdom that
was without hypocrisy. Peter too urged the scattered
pilgrims to whom he wrote, to a sincere love of the brethren. Hypocrisy is a very easy sin
into which a believer may fall. There’s always a temptation to
fake it with regard to brotherly love, to reduce it to mere talk
only. Otherwise, why would New Testament
writers need to say this again and again and again? No matter
what the situation or the day and age in which believers live,
they can always be tempted to project the outward appearance
of love, all the while holding it at bay in our hearts. It’s
a functional deceit. Godly commentator John Murray
posed the dilemma very well when he said, if love is the sum of
virtue and hypocrisy is the epitome of vice, what a contradiction
to bring these things together. How very unchristian he suggests
to feign love beneath a mask, to pretend Hypocritical love
is no love at all. This is the very thing that James
was addressing when he admonished his readers in chapter 2 of that
little book. James 2.14, what use is it, my
brethren? If someone says he has faith
but he has no works, can that faith save him? If a brother
or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and
one of you says to them, be at peace, go in peace, be warmed
and be filled, and yet you do not give them what is necessary
for their body, what use is that? That kind of emptiness is not
love, it’s not Christianity, it’s hypocrisy. John Calvin, identified as a
counterfeit love, which is not love at all. The only source
for genuine love is the Holy Spirit, and genuine love is the
only kind of love that the Spirit produces. In other words, if
the Holy Spirit is indwelling the believers, genuine love will
follow. It will be produced. But as erring
people, we tend to let the drafty air of hypocrisy taint and devour
the real thing. And because of that, we have
to guard our hearts. We have to examine our hearts
about hypocrisy, and we have to constantly plead that the
Spirit would shape in us unhypocritical, genuine love. That’s well and good, but how
do the words that follow verse 9 connect with that title? What I suggest is the title.
Well, the remainder of verse 9 is a combination of two participles,
abhor and cling. Hating and clinging. And a more
literal translation would be simply abhorring the evil, clinging
to the good. And these two clauses function
as a kind of statement or principle, an enduring principle, as translated
in the New American Standard, abhor what is evil, cling to
what is good. And that is one substantial enduring
principle. Hate evil, love good. That’s
pretty simple. It’s a practical explanation
of the title. It’s stated as a universal exhortation,
true for all believers in any age, hate evil, love good. That sums up our Christian walk. And in it, Paul sets forth the
need of a solid moral foundation. Paul says it much more mildly
to the Thessalonians, abstain from every form of evil. any
such manifestation of falsehood in this fallen world. Now, I’ve
heard parents correct their children before against the use of the
word hate. I get it. For the most part,
that’s good. There aren’t many things that
we can or should justly hate, but evil is certainly one of
them. Evil is, as one godly Puritan described it, that malicious
iniquity which injures any person. That’s evil. The Roman Christians,
living amid a fallen, vulgar, hedonistic society, would have
instantly related to Paul’s words. The word abhor, which we don’t
use much anymore, expresses the strongest degree of disgust,
the greatest measure of hatred, of the vilest kinds of things.
Abhorrent evil is what put Jesus Christ on the cross. It’s not generally good to hate,
but as believers, we are to hate. We are to abhor that which is
evil. And at the opposite extreme,
there is this equally powerful word used for a response to what
is good, cling. I love that. The word elicits the image of
gluing or attaching oneself to someone or something. And in
this case, it’s good to which we are to cling, that which is
qualitatively good in God’s eyes. What does God see as good and
right and pure? At minimum, given the context,
this refers to the kindness that we render to others, help and
blessings, those things that positively benefit our fellow
believers. Prayer, encouragement, nourishment
from God’s Word, godly example. All of those things are good.
And Paul says, grab hold of those things 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 to the Thessalonians. Examine
everything carefully. hold fast to that which is good.
Things that are good inherently by character and by nature, good,
good in God’s estimation, whatever in God’s eyes is good. To whatever
degree we find such, we are almost literally here to cling, hold
fast, attach ourselves to it. And so what Paul issues here
again is this enduring principle true for any day and age, but
what specifically does this hating evil, clinging to good look like? And this is what Paul describes
in verses 10 through 13. This lengthy collection of words,
I see all of these lines arranged as one in a long running description
of this enduring principle. hate evil, cling to good. It’s an exhaustive list. Paul
fleshes it out thoroughly, what this looks like. And he’s setting
forth a description of abhorring evil and loving good. 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 under this title,
loving unhypocritically, this enduring principle, hate evil,
love good, we come to this list of particulars, verses 10 through
13. And mind you, in the time remaining,
we can’t possibly do real justice to these lines in 10 through
13. Not much more than a few comments
for each line is all we can do, but for our purposes this morning
it will have to suffice. Paul is laying before us, if
you will, a tapestry. A tapestry of what the Christian
life looks like. And rather than thinking of this
as a list of some heavy list of do’s and don’ts, Look at it
as a beautiful piece of fabric with each of these character
qualities as the individual strands woven into that garment. And I will tell you one more
thing. There is a remarkable feature about each of these qualities
as they’re presented. And bear with me. It’s as if
Paul is taking us on a tour of a large room. a large building
rather, with many different rooms. And as he walks into each of
the rooms, he begins the process of describing it. Each of the
features that Paul presents here, you can think of it as a sphere,
a realm into which Paul brings us. And it’s all, they’re all introduced
by that little preposition in. pointing to a subject together
with a special character quality that the Spirit will build into
believers. And I’d just like you to listen.
You can follow along. I don’t want you to get lost.
You can follow along, but listen to how it would literally be
translated. Verse 10, in the brotherly love
to one another, lovingly affectionate. That’s one room. In the honor
or esteeming of one another, a new room. In the honor or esteeming
of one another, preferring. In diligence, not troublesome.
In the spirit, boiling. In the Lord, serving. In hope,
rejoicing. In tribulation, enduring. In prayer, remaining constant. In the saints’ needs, fellowshipping. In the love of strangers, pursuing. Let’s look at each of these nine,
and as I said, it’ll be brief. Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love. Literally, he says, in brotherly
love. In this realm of brotherly love,
be lovingly affectionate toward one another. We know the quality
of brotherly love well. It’s that beautiful word in the
Greek, Philadelphia, right? the love of the brethren. This
is a word that Christianity practically coined. No society knew of this
kind of love before the church, Christ’s church. And it’s this
chief quality of Christ’s church. And as such, Paul tells the Thessalonians,
as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to
write you. For you yourselves are taught
by God to love one another. It’s a natural reflection of
being indwelled by the Spirit of God that we love one another.
This brotherly love is a natural result of our salvation. That’s
what Peter says, 1 Peter 1.22, since you have, in obedience
to the truth, purified yourselves for a sincere love of the brethren,
fervently love one another from the heart. And so this so-named
brotherhood, this brotherly love cannot possibly be in name only. We have a common father, God
himself. We’re part of one family, the
family of God. But there’s an element here I
don’t want us to overlook. It identifies one of those three
virtues that are waning in the church, that of devotion. This is the only occasion in
which this word is used in the New Testament. But the meaning
is very clear here. It speaks of a dedicated, committed,
loyal devotion to the church, to the brothers and sisters in
the fellowship. You’re not devoted to a building.
You’re devoted to real, living, breathing believers in Christ.
This is a beautiful string of words in the brotherly love to
one another, lovingly affectionate. Those words lovingly affectionate
are more simply translated sometimes as devoted. But that doesn’t
do justice to the richness of this word. It refers to the natural
affection that we see between a parent and a child. And it
insists that this brotherhood is to be marked by that same
kind of affection, tender, gentle, sincere. These are the devoted
members of a spiritual family. It would be easier, more tolerable,
less painful to lose a limb than to have one believer be
disloyal and detached from his or her spiritual family. But
there’s another quality, another room into which Paul takes us.
In the second statement of verse 10, give preference to one another
in honor. Literally, in the honor, here
we are in this room, in the honor or the esteeming of one another,
preferring. It’s a simple virtue, but impossible
to duplicate outside of God’s grace. This too is a Christian
virtue. And the word translated here,
give preference, it can have a variety of meanings. It can
mean to anticipate or to surpass, or I think the best is to lead. The translation here is subtle,
but it refers to going before others by way of example. preferring
one another. In short, it’s spiritual leadership. And it’s somewhat of an irony
that, get this, we are to take the lead role in deferring to
others. It’s a beautiful image. Paul urged the same thing of
the Philippians. With humility of mind, regard
one another as more important than yourselves. Neither of these
verses speak of a literal superiority of one over the other, but a
humble consideration as if it were true. The world can and does bicker
and war for position and power and recognition, but it cannot
be so in the church. It simply cannot be so. There
need not be jockeying for position. There shouldn’t be a push for
notoriety, a manipulative wrangling to be first. This is the attractive
virtue here of selflessness that seeks honor and favor, not for
ourselves, but for our brothers. It does away with self-seeking.
Since we are only too eager to recognize our brother as more
deserving of honor than we, how hard can that be? After all,
he too is made in God’s image. For her too, Christ died. And in them too, the Holy Spirit
dwells. I love the way one faithful brother
put it. Spiritual religion Christianity. Christianity is the noblest school
of courtesy, acclimating us to the refining power of the divine
presence. In other words, we feel our sanctification
every day, don’t we? We get used to it. We understand
that God is working on us, correcting us, shaping us after the pattern
of Christ. Christianity is the noblest school
of courtesy, acclimating us to the refining power of the divine
presence and continually rebuking the self-regard which is the
essence of discourtesy. We are other-oriented. That’s
our calling in Christ. It’s not about us. There’s a
third room into which Paul takes us. It’s in verse 11. Not lagging
behind in diligence, literally, in diligence, not troublesome. Now in this statement, diligence, diligence is the subject at hand.
The Christian life is one of faithfulness, diligence. One
described it as the outward manifestation of zeal. Zeal isn’t what you
feel and hear. Zeal is what bubbles out into
the way that you live. passionately, actively living
out our faith. It speaks of that which Paul
seems to address in Galatians 6, 9. Let us not lose heart in
doing good. That’s zeal. Let us not lose
heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap. In other words,
there is no weariness in well-doing. As believers, Paul is urging
these Roman Christians to be zealous in their efforts, to
be tireless, energetic, faithful. They cannot allow themselves
to grow complacent, to be slothful in their duties and their devotion,
to cut spiritual corners, to live a spiritual life of casual
ease. And it’s appropriate here to
glance back at the opening verse of this entire chapter. 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. The exhortative portion of those
verses literally means not tribbling, not lagging behind, not hesitant,
not pouting, You see, the Christian life is not dead or idle or lazy. It is lively. It is energetic.
It is tireless. It is earnest. It doesn’t quit.
If we’re called by God and we’re bought by Christ and we’re indwelled
by His Holy Spirit, how can we burn out or give a half-hearted
effort? We do all that we do to the glory
of God. There’s a second statement, another
room mentioned in verse 11, three in all, fervent in spirit. Literally it reads, in the spirit
boiling. There’s a bit of a question here,
a debate about whether the spirit here is the Holy Spirit or the
human spirit. And rather than draw ourselves
into an endless skirmish, I can say that in the end, it’s inconsequential. Because ultimately, whatever
flame of holy passion is fueled and sparked by the Holy Spirit
will be evident in a believer’s life.
Nevertheless, I think Paul here is pointing to our own human
spirit. That it should be boiling, literally, fervent, passionate
about the things of God, about the Word of God, about the church,
about the gospel. This same phrase is used of the
zealous preacher and winner of souls, Apollos, remember? In
our study of the book of Acts, Luke identifies in Acts 18.25,
he calls Apollos fervent in spirit. He was a man who wouldn’t quit,
wouldn’t be stopped. And as such, this quality stands
in contrast to the immediately previous one. What Paul says
there negatively, not lagging behind in diligence, he says
here positively, fervent in spirit. Not so much people of big promises
or empty words, but people of vigorous action. That’s a Christian. There’s a third quality, yet
another room into which Paul takes us at the end of verse
11, serving the Lord. Very plain. Literally translated,
in the Lord, serving. And this feature really seems
to be the culmination of the other two in verse 11. Indiligence
not lagging, in spirit fervent, in the Lord serving. We might
even call it the motive or the reason for diligence. Diligence
of effort, fervency of spirit. The subject again, as I said,
is in the Lord. That’s the sphere, the room into
which Paul takes us. But the expectation there is
serving. If you’re a Christian, you’re
called to serve. And I love the simplicity of
this description. No matter what we do, whatever role or capacity we
have, we serve. Ultimately, we’re not serving
people or buildings or things. We are serving the Lord Jesus
Christ. This isn’t a mild word, either.
It refers to a wholehearted, vigorous effort like that of
a slave. Paul used this word in the testimony
of his labor among the Ephesians in Acts chapter 20, that he served
the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with trials. Nothing
could make Paul quit. Nothing could stop him because
he was ultimately in the service of the Lord Jesus. And as such,
the Christian’s labor in this world, in whatever he or she
does, is for the sake of Christ and his kingdom. That’s it. There
is no other motivating factor. It’s a sacred undertaking to
be a Christian. And so Peter in his first epistle
says that we are not to use our God-given freedom as a covering
for evil, for self-indulgence, but we are to use it as bond
slaves of God. We are not free to do whatever
we please. And then Paul glides effortlessly
into verse 12, into another room. This one, hope, rejoicing in
hope. And this little phrase literally
would be translated, in hope rejoicing. This is the realm
I’m in. It’s a realm of hope. And how
can you not rejoice in that realm? That we have hope of eternal
life. We have hope of salvation. We
have hope of the glory of God as God’s Word paints such a rich
picture of this virtue. The subject is hope. The exhortation
is rejoicing. And we understand this idea of
hope. It’s not like the world has of hope crossing our fingers,
wishful thinking. As we grasp the significance
of hope, it’s a settled confidence in what God is doing. We can’t
keep from rejoicing. Look at our world. Look at the
state of it and the condition, the direction of it. God wins. God wins. Ultimately, God wins
every time. Because this godly hope is a
settled confidence in God’s willingness, ability, and faithfulness to
fulfill His promises. It’s a settled hope. We can count
on it. See, hope sets its eyes on the
future with an absolute confidence. It’s as good as done. And this allows us to look beyond
the temporal difficulties of this world, the trials, the pain,
the heartache, the unrest, the strife. We can look beyond all
of that. But a hopeful outlook is not
an end in itself, because it inevitably leads directly to
joy, rejoicing. Hope in Christ is joy in Christ. This is Paul’s great declaration
earlier in chapter 5 of this letter when Paul says, we exalt
in the hope of the glory of God. We see the finish line and we
are overjoyed at the sight. Our settled confidence, our hope
is still future, but that hope is our motivation for worship.
Joyful, rejoicing. Look also at 12, verse 12, into
that middle statement. Persevering in tribulation. Persevering
in tribulation, or literally, in tribulation, enduring. And
here we’re led right back. It’s almost like Paul takes us
by the scruff of the neck to the very things which might trouble
our hope, which might sap our trust in the future. Our tribulations. The subject
in view is tribulation, the expectation is endurance. Jesus himself forewarned,
in this world you will have tribulation. We all have tribulation. Trials
come. Persecution comes. Difficulties
in this life is assured. They will come. This tribulation is not light,
and we shouldn’t make light of it. This kind of tribulation
refers to deep, significant trouble into which many of us have already
fallen. These tribulations, these trials
are an inevitable part of life. They are designed, they are ordained
by God for our testing and our proving. God disciplines you
as sons, Hebrews 12. And if you think about it, tribulation,
the difficulties of this life is the only sphere. If you think about it, tribulation
is the only sphere in which endurance can truly be modeled, lived out.
Do you realize that? We have no idea what endurance
looks like until we’re tested, until we face a trial. But Paul doesn’t just preach
this principle, he lived it. In Acts chapter 14, you remember
that story? After he had just been brutally
stoned to death, left for dead. He recovered by God’s grace and
went back into the city not once but twice. This was his testimony. Through
many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. He says it comes with the territory.
tribulations of this life or what stems from the world’s hatred
of Christ, we just happen to be in the way. Romans chapter 5, again, Paul
echoes this truth, well, we exalt in our tribulations. We’re thankful
that because we see the tribulation, we can see past the tribulation
to the hope of the glory of God And exalting in them is the very
means of enduring them. If God’s Spirit is at work within
us, we can count on God’s grace to be able to endure these trials
faithfully. This is not a bitter, stiff upper
lip kind of thing that wills itself to passively tough it
out. It’s the Spirit-energized, supernatural
ability to persevere through, not around, such difficulties. Paul says it this way, it is
for discipline you endure. Such godly, steadfast endurance
is only possible by God’s sustaining grace. And without a pause, Paul
points to the source of such divine supply there at the end
of verse 12. Look at the third statement,
devoted to prayer. Literally, in prayer, in this
room, in this realm, in this sphere of prayer, we are remaining
constant. We don’t quit. The subject is
prayer. We know the expectation, continuing,
diligent, painstaking, devotion. It seems to evade us, though,
as Christians, doesn’t it? And here, too, verse 12, there
is a progression. Would you look at it? Rejoicing
in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. Those three
belong together. This is the only way to enjoy
the other graces, hope and endurance is to pray. And this prayer is deep, sustained,
engaged communion with God. This is the God ordained means
of tapping into God’s rich supply of sustaining grace. Now here. even though it’s translated with
the same word devoted 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. It’s an unceasing
perseverance in prayer. The early church set the tone
here, didn’t it? Acts 1.14, they all with one
mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer. Acts 2.42,
they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching,
to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Acts
6.4 of the apostles, we will devote ourselves to prayer and
to the ministry of the word. And so Paul’s exhortation to
the Colossians, devote yourselves to prayer, the very thing in
which we might be tempted to abandon in our hopeless despair
of our trials. Paul doubles down, devote yourself
to prayer. May I challenge you to try this
approach? We often hear of a need and we verbally commit to pray
for it, and then life happens, right? And a week later, we remember
somebody gives us the prayer update. Thank you for praying. Isn’t that the most convicting
moment of all? Try this. As soon as you hear
of a need, take a moment. It doesn’t have to take long.
Take a moment, bow your head in prayer, and pray for that
need right then and there. With or without the person. With
them is better. Pray for them right there. But
with or without the person making a request, go before the throne
of grace on their behalf. And then, and quite effortlessly,
Paul glides into verse 13. Contributing to the needs of
the saints. Literally, in the needs of the
saints, fellowshipping. You see, as soon as we rise from
our knees of prayer before the Lord, Paul closes verse 13 with
two final elements. Our Christianity cannot be limited
to our private devotions. It just can’t. We have to be
watchful for providential opportunities for service. The subject here
is simply the needs of the saints. That’s the room, the realm into
which we’ve stepped It’s God’s people, it’s Christians, fellow
believers in Christ, and their needs will vary as widely as
the path of the sun in the sky. Jesus provided a divine explanation
of it in Matthew 25, his judgment of the sheep and the goats. Remember
that? What did the faithful provide? I was hungry and you gave me
something to eat. I was thirsty, you gave me something
to drink. I was a stranger and you invited
me in. I was 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, fellowship, simple. God calls us to contribute to
the basic needs of our brothers in Christ. But I’ll tell you
immediately that this word contribute is far too mild of a word to
translate the original here. The word, and many of you may
know it, is koinonia. It’s fellowship. Their trouble is our trouble.
Their trial is our trial. Their need is our need because
we are in fellowship. Paul says that if the Spirit
is sanctifying us, we will function as partners in the needs of others. This shouldn’t be too difficult
for us because we are all members of the body of Christ, right?
As Paul urged the Philippians, do not merely look out for your
own personal interests, your own needs, but also for the interests,
the needs of others. And then Paul lands on this one
final exhortation in verse 13. Takes us into one final room.
It’s a sweet room, a pleasant room. Not unlike a kitchen, where
a lot of things are taking place. It’s maybe even a favorite room.
practicing hospitality. Or in keeping with our translation
of this lengthy list, in the love of strangers, pursuing. That’s an interesting translation
to us, isn’t it? The subject here is the practical
care of strangers. That’s hospitality. Having a
dinner party for your favorite friends is not necessarily hospitality. The word translated as 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, we should
do that, it certainly would not exempt us from aiding unbelieving
strangers. And no, as I said, this is not
a dinner party for your friends. That’s not necessarily hospitality. Christianity is a worldwide brotherhood. And a brother, even though he’s
from afar, if needy, he is to be cared for as if he were our
closest friend. The exhortation here is to practice,
in short, do it. Don’t talk about it. Do it. Do
something. Don’t just talk about this idea
of hospitality. Don’t form a committee. Serve. The word is the lover of strangers.
It implies not merely a readiness to do it, but an activeness and
watching for such opportunities. And the expectation here, practice,
is not a mild word either. It’s the word that can be translated
to pursue or to persecute. We are to go about looking for
opportunities, zealously seeking to exercise this kind of hospitality. This is the person who ferrets
out needs, who observes and notes and inquires and digs and provides
and arranges. And they are the kind of person
that just gets these needs met. Most people will take someone
in as a favor to someone else if asked nicely. This is the individual who carefully,
respectfully discovers such a need and meets them. It’s hospitality. The bottom line is that genuine
love, if we are indeed to hate evil and cling to what is good,
is ultimately, as I said, a tapestry. It’s a work of God’s Spirit in
weaving these virtues into the life of every believer. Would
you examine your own life before him now in prayer?