The Transformed Church

Turn please, if you would once again, to Romans chapter 12. And just to quickly refresh the context, very scant this morning, Paul is speaking very practically beginning in chapter 12, following 11 chapters of doctrine. There is your review. He calls believers to sacrificial living, to present their bodies a living and holy sacrifice. And this sacrificial living means not being conformed to the world, but being transformed by God’s grace. And this transformation will be more and more into the image of Jesus Christ himself, by God’s grace, through his spirit and his word.

And as we saw last Lord’s Day, When individuals who are being transformed are gathered together in that institution called the church, there is an amazing and powerful impact. Such a group as we saw in verses 3 through 8 lives humbly, thinking realistically about themselves, They work in harmony as part of the one body of Christ, and they serve appropriately according to their own giftedness by God.

The problem is, as soon as people begin to think and function and serve together, as soon as those gears begin to mesh, friction and even strife soon arises. And this is what Paul addresses in verses 9 through 13, our demeanor as Christians toward other believers.

You might want to buckle up. I’ve seen the delicate fabric of Christ’s church frayed and ripped apart on numerous occasions in my 30-plus years of ministry, and even though I do not see signs of that in our church at the moment, human nature being what it is, we know that no fellowship is immune to such trouble. I become increasingly alarmed as well at the state of the church in our day, the greater church. I’m not speaking about every single local church, and I’m absolutely not necessarily implying anything about our church. But when we see trouble in the greater church, we have to be watchful for signs of weakness on a local level.

In the past few years, we’ve seen a disheartening season of behavior that directly affects the life and ministry of the local church. We have observed a bewildering number of people who have, by their cold indifference, abused Christ Church, the precious institution for which our Lord died. How can that be? How can any believer treat the very body of Christ with indifference? That remains a vexing question.

My observation about the state of the church centers around a few basic graces or virtues that seem to be greatly diminished in our day. Specifically, I’m troubled about the attitude of God’s people toward Christ’s church. And then equally importantly, their conduct towards his body. I see this manifesting itself in three areas where God’s people are supposed to excel. Love, devotion, and patience. These graces ought to be found in the church vibrantly thriving. Their presence is an indication of the Spirit’s work, not only of salvation, but of sanctification. An absence of God’s graces should be a matter of great alarm to Christ’s people.

Sadly, we can now observe in many churches the very opposite, indifference, disloyalty, and even aggravation. And in that, Christ’s body, his church is abused. This morning, I want to consider only one of those graces, devotion. If we are devoted to someone or something, we will invest valuable time attending to him or her or it. But it has been my disappointing observation that the more time people have on their hands, If that time is not spent, not invested in the humble service of others, in the development and exercise of a genuine brotherly love, other things, ugly things, empty things, even destructive things will fill that void left by a lack of love. Let me give you a few graphic examples. I’ve seen in these last years, an ungraciously critical heart that crabs at the slightest fault of a brother or sister in Christ, a self-centered, self-absorbed attitude that willfully refuses to serve his or her fellow believers, a cowardice that is more eager to hide and excuse their sin than to expose it to the light and repent.

a gracelessness that snubs all overtures of peace and reconciliation, a dawdling curiosity that wanders away from the truth and righteousness of God’s word, a nosy and harmful meddlesomeness in other people’s affairs, a wandering waywardness of spirit that disregards the fellowships of the saints, Someone who would rather die alone than live with God’s people. An inflated view of oneself and one’s opinions, a cold absence of any real brotherly affection.

It doesn’t have to be this way. It ought not be this way. And so, as always, in light of God’s Word, we have to examine our own life in view of this and call out to Christ for whatever grace is necessary.

So this morning, I would like us to consider Romans 12, nine through 13, a passage in which we find Paul discussing the devotion of God’s people to one another. What brotherly devotion ought to look like.

Romans 12, beginning in verse nine. 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 to consider Romans chapter 12, I pray that each of us would approach this passage with a sincere desire to examine his or her own heart by the timeless admonitions in this passage. That God, by his word and his spirit, would examine us thoroughly as to the degree of our own devotion to the saints of God, our fellow believers in Christ with whom we fellowship.

I want to talk to you this morning about the transformed church. We talked last week, for the most part, a happy gathering of people. And doesn’t that sound wonderful to know that not only my own heart is being transformed, but others are as well. And when we come together, it can be a beautiful thing. But Paul cautions us that we are to cultivate unhypocritical affection in Christ’s body. And that immediately tells us that hypocrisy is very real and very possible.

First of all, this morning, I want to look at the necessity of genuine love, the necessity of genuine love. Paul says, simply let love be without hypocrisy. There are a few translational difficulties as we begin to consider the structure of this passage. To begin with, there’s no main verb, not in verse 9, not all the way down through verse 13, no main verb. And yet, even without a main verb, I do believe that these verses, 9 through 13, form an independent section. The opening words, let love be without hypocrisy, sound like they form a simple sentence, But it’s not, not in the Greek. Translators have rendered it as such by providing the words let and be. The opening statement is actually translated from three Greek words, a noun with the definite article and an adjective. Love unhypocritically. Without a verb, I see this whole thing functioning as sort of a title over the entire section here, 9 through 13. Literally, it reads, love unhypocritically. And what Paul is calling his readers to here is to practice genuine love. The mere fact that Paul has to even address this with the Roman church suggests that there might have been a report of hypocrisy, a lack of genuineness among them.

And as soon as we say the word unhypocritical or genuine, we have to immediately suspect the problem. Why should Paul have had to say this? You see, love is not just a kind face not just pleasant words, rather it is 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 just go through the motions of brotherly love than it was to practice the real thing.

We know that Paul was concerned about insincerity in the Corinthian church because he goes out of his way to urge them to practice genuine love. James, likewise, was concerned for his churches that they exercise wisdom that was without hypocrisy. Hypocrisy was a problem in those churches as well. And Peter as well urged the scattered pilgrims to whom he wrote to a sincere love of the brethren. You see, there’s always a temptation to fake it with regard to brotherly love. to reduce it to mere talk only. Otherwise, why would all of these New Testament writers need to say it again and again?

No matter the situation or the day and age in which we live, we can always be tempted to project the outward appearance of love, all the while holding it at bay in our hearts. It’s functional deceit. Godly commentator John Murray posed the dilemma well when he said, if love is the sum of virtue and hypocrisy is the epitome of vice, what a contradiction to bring these together. Very un-Christian, he says, to feign love beneath a mask. Hypocritical love is no love at all.

This is the very thing that James was addressing when he admonished his readers in 2.14. He said, what use is it, 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, 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.

There are several potential pitfalls in the exercise of brotherly love. Sometimes people put on a show of affection, but they know deep in their heart it’s not genuine. They know exactly what they need to do to be perceived as showing love. Well, that’s bad enough, but sometimes we even deceive ourselves into believing that our efforts are sincere, even though we know they’re not. We know we’re harboring disdain for someone, and both of those elements are hypocritical.

The only source for genuine love is the Holy Spirit. And genuine love is the only kind of love that the Holy Spirit produces. But as erring people, we tend to let the drafty air of hypocrisy taint and devour the real thing. We must guard our hearts against hypocrisy and constantly plead that the Spirit would shape in us unhypocritical, genuine love. And in order to describe what this is or what it looks like, Paul not only gives us the necessity of genuine love in verse nine, but in the two lines that follow, the tenets of genuine love. Glance at those if you would. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Very simple. We’re called to unhypocritical love, and Paul tells us what that looks like. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. These two participial phrases, abhor and cling, illuminate the opening thought. A more literal translation would simply be abhorring the evil, clinging to the good. These two clauses function as a kind of statement of principle, essentially. Hate evil, love good. This is a timeless exhortation. This is appropriate for believers in 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, abstain from every form of evil, any such manifestation of the fallen world in which we live. Evil is, as one godly pastor said it, that malicious iniquity which injures any person. That’s evil. Roman Christians living among a fallen, vulgar, hedonistic society, they would have instantly related to Paul’s words here. That word abhor, which we don’t utilize much at all anymore, it expresses the strongest degree of disgust and the greatest measure of disdain, and that of the vilest kinds of things. Abhorrent evil is what put Jesus on the cross. As believers, we are to hate that which is evil,

And at the opposite extreme, there is an equally powerful word used for a response to what is good, cling. The word elicits the image of gluing or attaching oneself to someone or something, and in this case, good, which is qualitatively good in God’s eyes. What does God think is good and right? And at minimum, given the context, this refers to kindness that we render in service to others, help, blessings, things that positively benefit fellow believers, prayer, encouragement, nourishment from God’s word, a godly example. Paul says, grab hold of what is good and do not let it slip away. Paul echoes that same exhortation to the Thessalonian believers when he said, examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good. Things that are good, inherently good by character and nature, good in God’s estimation, we are to grab and to not let go.

There’s a third element to Paul’s admonition to cultivate unhypocritical affection in the body of Christ, not only the necessity of genuine love and the tenets of genuine love, but the examples of genuine love. And Paul pulls out all the stops and gives us a very exhaustive list. Glance at 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, devoted to prayer, pardon me, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

Paul issues a principle again that is good for any day and age, but what specifically does abhorring evil and clinging to good look like? And so he gives us this lengthy collection of words. Paul describes in these verses, 10 through 13, one long-running description. Want to know what it means to eschew evil, hate evil, and love good? The Spirit is at work in us. This is what our lives will look like. It’s not as if parts and pieces of this are optional. The Spirit is desirous of producing all of this in every believer. Now, mind you, in the time remaining, we can’t possibly do these lines justice, the justice that they deserve. Not more than a few comments per line is all we can really do. But for our purposes this morning, it will be enough. What Paul is doing is laying before us a tapestry of what the Christian life looks like. And rather than thinking of this as some ominous list of do’s and don’ts, look at it as a beautiful piece of fabric with each one of these character qualities as the individual strands are woven into that fabric. That’s what the Holy Spirit is doing and purposes to do to completion in every believer’s life.

There’s a remarkable feature about the way each of these qualities are presented. It’s as if Paul is taking us on a tour of a large home, and he’s describing each of the different rooms in that home, each of these features or spheres that Paul addresses. Could it best be introduced by the preposition in? pointing to a subject together with the special character or quality that the Spirit is building into believers.

Just listen, I’d like you to listen, if you would, to this, if you were to literally render this section. In brotherly love to one another, lovingly affectionate. In the honor esteeming 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 examine these a little more fully. First of all, be devoted to one another in brotherly love, or as we just saw it, with regard to our love of one another, lovingly affectionate. We know that this quality of brotherly love, well, it’s that beautiful word in the Greek, Philadelphia, right? The love of the brethren. This word is a word that Christianity practically coined, but certainly exemplified. No society embraced this kind of love before the church, and this is the 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 to you. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. This is such a basic grace. Brotherly love is the natural result of our salvation, so says Peter, 1 Peter 1.22, since you have, in obedience to the truth, purified yourselves for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another from the heart. It’s the most natural thing in the world.

And so this so-named brotherhood, this brotherly love, cannot be in name only. We have a common father, God himself. We are part of one family, the family of God. But there is an element here that I don’t want to overlook. It identifies one of those three virtues that is on the wane in the church, that is devotion. Devotion especially to Christ’s church and her people. This is the only occasion in which this word is used in the New Testament, but the meaning is very clear. It speaks of a dedicated, committed, loyal devotion to the church, to the brothers and sisters of Christ in a particular fellowship.

This is a beautiful string of words, in the brotherly love to one another devoted. But the lone word devoted doesn’t seem to do justice to the beauty of this Greek word, It refers to the natural affection of parents and children. And we might better translate it as lovingly affectionate. Paul’s use of it here insists that this brotherhood be marked by that same kind of loving affection, tender and gentle, sincere, the same kind that you find in a family. Believers’ loving affection must be fixed upon that which Christ loves. The gathering of the redeemed, Christ’s church. Secondly, not only be devoted to one another in brotherly love, but give preference to one another in honor. It’s a funny sentence to translate into English. In esteem of one another, in considering what you think of one another, preferring. It’s a simple virtue, but one impossible to duplicate outside of God’s grace.

The word translated here, give preference, can have a variety of meanings. To anticipate, to surpass, to lead. And so the translation is very subtle here. To go before others by way of example or preferring one another. It means to go before someone, to lead, to give an example. In short, it’s spiritual leadership. And it’s somewhat of an irony because we are to take the lead role in deferring to one another.

Paul urged this godly conduct of the Philippians with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. Philippians 2, 3. Neither of these verses speak of a literal superiority of one over another, but a humble consideration as if it were true. We treat others as if they are more important than ourselves. The world can and does bicker and war for position and power and recognition. That cannot be so in Christ’s church. There need not be jockeying for position, a push for notoriety, a manipulative wrangling to be first in the church. This is the attractive virtue of selflessness that seeks honor and favor all the time. Here we seek it not for ourselves, but for our brothers. that does away with self-seeking, since we are only too eager to recognize our brother as more deserving of honor than us.

How hard can that be? After all, he too is made in God’s image. For him too, Christ died. And for him too, the Holy Spirit dwells.

There’s a third. Example that Paul provides, be devoted to one another, give preference to one another. Verse 11, not lagging behind in diligence. Literally, in diligence, not troublesome. The second statement, diligence is the subject. The Christian life is one of faithfulness, diligence. One described it as the outward manifestation of zeal. Your zeal is in action. in your service to Christ. It speaks of actively and passionately living out our faith. Paul urged the same thing of the Galatians. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap. In other words, there is to be no weariness in well-doing. tiring of certain ministry expectations. 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 their duties and devotions, to cut spiritual corners, to live a spiritual life of casual ease, We’re called, remember, to offer up a living sacrifice, a perpetual act of worship by our lives.

The exhortative portion of this verse, not lagging behind, literally means not troubling, sluggish, hesitant. The Christian life is not dead or idle or lazy. It’s lively, energetic, earnest. If we’re called by God, bought by Christ, and indwelled by His Spirit, how can we burn out or render a half-hearted effort? We do all that we do to the glory of God, do we not?

The fourth example that he provides there in verse 11, fervent in spirit. Literally, in spirit boiling. There’s a longstanding debate here about whether the spirit here is the Holy Spirit or the human spirit. And rather than being drawn into an endless skirmish, I can say that in the end, it’s inconsequential. Because ultimately, whatever flame of holy passion that we have is fueled and sparked by the Holy Spirit anyway. Nevertheless, I think that Paul’s pointing here to our human spirit. that it should be boiling, fervent, passionate.

The same phrase is used of that zealous preacher and winner of souls, Apollos, who Luke identifies in Acts 18.25 as being fervent in spirit. 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. And he insists that we not be people of big promises and empty words, but people of vigorous action.

Five, number five, devoted, giving preference, not lagging, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Literally, in the Lord, serving, which means it’s going to be a feature of every believer’s life. 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. And we might even call it the motive or the reason for the diligence of effort.

The subject again is in the Lord. That is the sphere about which Paul is speaking. The room, if you will, that he’s entered. And the expectation is serving. And I love the simplicity of this description. No matter what we do, whatever role you have in the church, no matter in what capacity you serve, ultimately you’re not serving a building. You’re not even serving the people in the building. You’re serving the Lord.

This isn’t a mild word here, it refers to wholehearted, vigorous effort, like that of a slave. Paul uses this word in his testimony of labor among the Ephesians, that he served the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials. Nothing could stop him, because he was ultimately serving the Lord. And as such, the Christians labor in this world, and whatever he or she does for the sake of Christ and his kingdom is a sacred undertaking.

Peter in his first epistle says that we are not to use our God-given freedom as a covering for evil self-indulgence, but we are to use it as bond slaves of God. We are not free to do whatever we please.

Glance again at verse 12. As we come into verse 12, Paul continues his list, rejoicing in hope. Literally in hope, rejoicing. The subject of fear is hope. Exhortation is rejoicing. And we understand this idea of hope that it’s not just wishful thinking. We’ve talked about this so many times. As we grasp at its significance, we cannot keep from rejoicing.

Because godly hope is the settled confidence in God’s willingness, his ability, and his faithfulness to fulfill his promises. That’s hope. We know that God’s going to do it. How can we not rejoice in that? We can count on it. You see, 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, the trials, the pain, the heartache, the unrest, the strife,

Hopeful outlook though is not an end in itself. Hope in Christ produces joy in Christ. This is Paul’s great declaration earlier in the chapter five of this very epistle when he says, we exult in hope of the glory of God. Our settled confidence, our hope is still future, but that hope is our motivation for worship. Joyful rejoicing.

again at verse 12, if you would, in tribulation enduring. And here we’re led right back to the very things which our hope might enable us to look beyond in joy to our tribulations. The subject in view is tribulation. The expectation is endurance, trials, tribulations, persecutions, difficulties in this life. They’re going to come. They’re part of this life. Jesus himself forewarned, in this world, you have tribulation. They’re inevitable. And they’re designed and ordained by God for our testing and for our proving. God disciplines you as sons, Hebrews chapter 12.

And if you think about it, tribulation, the difficulties of this life, this is the only sphere in which endurance can really truly be modeled. You don’t endure in times of bliss. You just sit back and enjoy it. Paul didn’t just preach this, he lived it. In Acts 14, after he had just been brutally stoned and left for dead, he recovered only 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 heaven.

Paul embraced it. Trouble comes. He says it comes with the territory, the tribulation of this life that stems from the world’s hatred of Christ. We just happen to be in the way. Again, Romans chapter five, Paul echoes this truth there as well. We exult in our tribulations. We’re thankful to suffer with Christ. And exalting is the very means of enduring them. If God’s Spirit is at work within us, we can count on God’s grace to enable us to endure these trials faithfully. This is not a bitter, stiff-up-our-lip kind of thing that wills passively to tough it out. Instead, it’s the spirit-energized, supernatural ability to persevere through and not around such difficulties.

It is for discipline that 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. Would you glance again at verse 12? Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. In prayer, literally, remaining constant. Subject to prayer, we know. The expectation, continuing or diligent, painstaking devotion that is evasive to the Christian, isn’t it? Here in verse 12, there’s a progression, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. The only way to enjoy the other graces, hope and endurance, is to exercise the third, prayer.

Prayer, deep, sustained, engaged communion with God 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 came across in verse 10, the Greek word here is different. The word that Paul uses here speaks of an absolute commitment to tireless effort in sustained communion with God, unceasing perseverance in prayer. The early church set the tone here. Acts 114, these all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer. Acts 242, they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer.

And hence, Paul’s exhortation that we are to be devoted to prayer, the very thing in which we might be tempted to abandon when life’s challenges mount. Paul says, double down and devote yourselves to prayer. And we often commit ourselves, someone gives us a prayer request or we see something or hear something that we promise to pray about. Can I just encourage you, as soon as you hear of a need, as soon as you see a cause for which to pray, you know that the Lord is laying it on your heart, pause right there and pray out loud for whatever need you see. We glide into verse 13, contributing to the needs of the saints. We’re literally in the needs of the saints, fellowshipping. Beautiful. As we rise from our knees of prayer before the Lord, Paul closes in verse 13 with two final expected elements. This is what the Holy Spirit’s doing in all of us. Our Christianity cannot be limited to private devotions. We also have to watch for practical opportunities for service.

And the subject here simply is the needs of the saints, God’s people, our fellow Christians. 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 in his judgment of the sheep and the goats. What does the faithful provide those in need? I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in naked and you clothed me sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. They provided something to eat. Something to drink, lodging, clothing, consolation, companionship. It’s simple. God calls us to contribute to the basic needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But I’ll tell you immediately that this word contribute, it’s too mild a word to me to translate the original word here. The word you may know it is koinonia. fellowship. It’s a oneness. Paul says that if the Spirit is sanctifying us, we will function as partners in fellowship with the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ. This shouldn’t be too difficult for us. We’re members of the same body. As Paul urged the Philippians, do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. That’s a church.

There’s one final example that Paul provides at the end of verse 13, not only practicing hospitality, pardon me, not only contributing to the needs of the saints, but practicing hospitality. in the love of strangers, literally, pursuing. Subject here is the practical care for strangers. You know the word well, hospitality. The word translated as hospitality here refers literally to strangers, foreigners, those from another place, another city. And while it would point primarily to the duty of providing for Christian travelers, it certainly would not exempt us from aiding unbelieving strangers. No, this hospitality is not a dinner party for your friends. Christianity is a worldwide brotherhood, and a brother, even though from afar, if he’s needy, is to be cared for as if he were your closest friend. The exhortation here is practice. In short, do it. Practice hospitality.

And this is not a mild word either. It is the word that can be translated to pursue or persecute. It speaks of a zealousness to seek out such opportunities. Don’t just think about it. Don’t just talk about it. This word, a lover of strangers, implies not merely a readiness to act. It speaks of one who ferrets out these needs, watches for them, observes, notes, inquires, digs, provides, arranges, and gets just such needs handled. Handle them. Most people will take someone in as a favor if you ask them, but this is the individual who carefully and respectfully discovers such needs in their observation.

The bottom line is that genuine love, if we are to hate evil and cling to what is good, it is ultimately a tapestry, a work of God’s Spirit weaving these virtues into our life, into every believer. And that list tells us that we have lots of room for growth, doesn’t it? We’re far from an ideal, brotherly affection, genuine love. Knowing human nature as I do, I trust that the Lord has convicted you of the areas where you need God’s grace. Let’s call for it now.

O merciful God, We do thank you and praise you for the work that you’ve begun in us. We thank you for our salvation and we thank you as well for this process that you’ve begun in us, our sanctification. Lord, we do pray that you would so work in us that you would cultivate in our little church a transformation that you would make us to be different, certainly different than the world and sadly different than some churches. We pray that you would cultivate in us a true and genuine love for one another.

Lord, show us by these examples where we fall short. And Lord, we plead with you for the grace to grow and change.

Lord God, if there are any among us who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, no amount of diligence in keeping these things in this list will ever save anyone. These are the things that must be produced by the Holy Spirit after salvation. And so, Lord God, we plead, if there are any here who do not know our Lord Jesus, that you would work in their hearts and draw them to yourself through faith in Christ for salvation.

We thank you and we praise you. In Jesus’ name, amen.