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The end of Chapter 12 reveals the essence of the gospel story, love overcoming evil. Let's begin this lesson with a reminder of who we are in Christ. First, I am made in the image of God, with an ability to respond and relate to God. Secondly, I am filled with the Spirit of God. God is at work in me through the problems and pressures I am going through this day. Thirdly, I am part of the plan of God. God is working out all things to a great and final purpose in my life and on the Earth, therefore, what I do today has significance and meaning. Do you want practical Christianity? It is hard to think of anything more practical than to love, honor and serve one another, pray for one another, and meet one another's needs. This lesson teaches us that sincere love is the virtue that defines genuine Christian service. Paul spends much of the remainder of this letter explaining what God-like love is and how it is worked out in life circumstances. The key concept that separates godly love from human love is that God-given love must be sincere. Christian love is not just words. It is the kind of love God has, pure and sacrificial. You sacrifice yourself, your energy, time and resources. It is not selfish or possessive. No one can love like this by himself. You need the Holy Spirit in your heart to love like Christ. This lesson is designed to help take the focus off of ourselves and put it on God and His provisions. A principle given in verse 9 is, hate what is evil; cling to what is good. It is not always a sin to hate. If we do not hate what God hates, we are not godly. We must hate murder, lying, theft, sexual immorality, child abuse, divorce, misusing the Lord's name and other sins the Bible teaches us about. This does not mean we are to hate the person caught in the sin! Christians are to ask God for help to stand against the sin and also do everything he can to show the sinner God's love. Romans 12:9 couples two antonyms, love and hate, to teach us about righteousness. In our post modern world where personal autonomy has become god, we are taught by society to not judge wrong, and even to accept it as right. However, the Bible teaches us that there are wrongs and evils. If we are to love as God loves, there will be things for us to hate. (see Proverbs 6:16-19). Many churches, in their desire to be relevant, have become lukewarm in their condemnation of what the Bible clearly teaches as sin. In striving to show God's love, they have forsaken the fact that God is also holy. The church has also taken on many of the characteristics of the world. It is unacceptable that the divorce rate in our American churches is almost as high as that of the world. Have we forgotten the words of Malachi 2:16, "I hate divorce," says the Lord. The ordination of individuals actively involved in a homosexual relationship is in direct opposition to Romans 1:24-27. Our complacency towards adulterous relationships shown in movies and on television has affected our ability to call it what it is, sin. Christians must understand, thanks to God's love for us and His work in us, we have victory over sin. We can choose to cling to what is righteous both personally and in our churches. As Micah 6:8 tells us, "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does God require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Sincere love, as revealed in verses 10-13, is centered on Christ. In Christian work there is always a threat of "burn out." Paul spoke of this in Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you know how easy it is to get discouraged. Our zeal, fervor, joy and hope must always be centered on who we are serving, Christ. (Romans 12:10-12) We will only bring His love, healing and victory to others by depending upon His Spirit in us. Paul encourages us to continue in prayer, for it is in prayer that our eyes are taken off the task and we reach the source of our strength. He understood that we can get tired and neglect prayer precisely when we need it most. Jesus was aware of this, too, which is why He taught about prayer so often. It is prayer that enables Christians to be zealous, hopeful, patient, generous and fervent, not holding back, but moving forward with determination, commitment and conviction. Jesus set the example when He took the very nature of a servant, and became obedient to death! (Philippians 2:7-8) Practical Christianity comes down to very basic principles of living. Are we willing to place Jesus Christ as Lord over our lives, and are we willing to share our lives with the needs, hurts, and joys of others? The world will always set up caste systems to make one person more important than another. The Jewish people wanted to make Jesus their king, but Jesus came to be their servant. Verse 16 reminds Christians that we should live in harmony with on another. There can be no room for pride or conceit in the family of God. The elitism and division of our day is based less on religion and race, and more on wealth, power, and education. Paul is reminding us to think of ourselves with sober judgment, not to be proud or conceited. We are to see others with God's eyes. We need to stop thinking of other people as being above or beneath us. The proper perspective is to regard everyone as a person made in God 's image, with potential for everlasting fellowship with Him. Now we come to the most difficult matter of all. Paul moves to how we should treat those who persecute us because of our relationship with Christ. We are taught that instead of hating them back, we are to love them, even as Christ loved us and prayed for us when we persecuted Him. We will never be able to do what verses 14, 17-21 outline unless we understand two things. 1) It is 'natural' to want to strike back at people who are hurting us. 2) The only way to overcome this evil tendency is to do good to others. Ultimately there is only one real "good", for people to come to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you desire to show Christ's love to those who persecute you? Paul was eternally thankful for the mercy given to him when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:5, 17-18) Even though Paul had been persecuting Christians, God transformed Paul, gave him new life and used him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. (Acts 9:15) Practical Christianity is following the example of our Teacher. As we think of God's patience and mercy towards us, we can begin, through His Spirit, to show mercy and forgiveness to others. As Christians we know that evil exists in this world. Sometimes evil must be resisted even to the point of armed conflict. Christians can rightly contribute to their country's defense in time of war and can also rightly defend themselves if attacked. What Christians cannot do is take revenge. We must never be overcome by evil, letting it control our motives and actions. It is God's job to avenge. It is our job to be obedient and trust God. Verse 20 is often misinterpreted to mean that we are to use good as a weapon. However, this verse is best understood in the context of John 13:34-35, "A new command I give you: Love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Perhaps those 'burning coals' of love in action will be kindled to become 'tongues of fire' (Acts 2:3) as the Spirit brings them to repentance and life. The biblical method of
subduing an enemy is by overcoming evil with good. We cannot do this in
our own strength. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do everything through
Him who gives me strength." Christians know strength and victory is
found in only one place. Our victory is in the resurrected Lord Jesus
Christ and our relationship with Him.
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