A PICTURE OF THE TRUE CHURCH

 

Romans 12:9-21

 

What separates the church from society as a whole? What makes the church so unique in a fallen and broken world system? What is the church supposed to be known for? I think Paul gives a perfect picture to what the church is to be known for here in the pages of Scripture. (v9-v21). Paul gives us some clear examples of what the church is supposed to be, and do, as we wait out these last days.

Let love be genuine

Abhor what is evil

Hold fast to what is good

Love with brotherly affection

Outdo one another

Do not be slothful

Serve the Lord

Rejoice in hope

Be patient in tribulations

Constantly in prayer

Contribute to the body and seek to show hospitality.

 

These are characteristics of the Spirit-filled life. “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” John 15:8. Paul said, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Eph 2:10. To be more blunt! These are mandatory list of traits that characterizes the Spirit-filled life. This is what the Gospel produces in our sanctification and in this church age. Paul gives us a grocery list of character traits that we are to demonstrate for the glory of God in the Christian life. I want us to examine these attributes of the church a little closer to see where we as individuals and as a church NEED to improve. Why? So that our worship of our Great God, is genuine and acceptable towards Him, and His glory, and for our good.

Let Your Love Be Genuine. (v9)

 

Love occurs in the Greek four different ways.

 

Eros love, which is sensual between a husband and his wife.

Stergo love, which is affections between a parent and their child.

Phileo love, which is a general love for people outside your family.

 

Peter said, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”

 2 Peter 1:5-9

 

This brotherly/sisterly love brings us to what Paul is talking about here. Agape love, which is used to describe God’s love and this love, is to be imitated by His church. And this love is unconditional because God’s love sees past your sins and sees Christ, and your confession through the gospel. Love is the supreme virtue for the Spirit-filled life. And this love must not be fake but genuine. Why? John Gill said, "Love", which is the cement of the saints, and the bond of perfectness, without which all the gifts that men have, the profession they make, and works they do are of no avail, and they themselves nothing.” That means your love for one another must be purely and sincerely. We are to manifest love that is genuine, sincere and authentic. Not with hypocrisy" because our love to God should be done with all our heart, soul, and mind. Our, my love, to Christ should be with sincerity, and so it is where it is right, hearty, and genuine; towards God, since He is the searcher of hearts. Peter said, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,” 1 Peter 1:22

Abhor What Is Evil, Cling To What Is Good. (v9)

 

We are to hate one thing and to love something else. “Abhor” is hatred of the highest degree, it’s not a mild displeasure our dislike. We are to loathe evil; we are to see evil as an assault on the character of God. (Murder, abortion, sexual immorality, gossip, haters, slanderers and so on.) This hatred is directed to everything that is evil and contrary to God. The Hebrew writer said, “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions." Heb 1:9. We are to despise all evil and “cling, holdfast” which is the root word in the Greek for “glue”. We are to “hang on tightly” to what is good and hate what is evil. And we are to love what God loves; and hate what God hates. This glue as R C Sproul said, “We are to hang on tightly to that which is good, allowing it to be cemented to our souls so that we do not drop or lose it with the next wind of cultural fantasy that comes our way.” Paul warned the church of Ephesus about this present evil age, “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” Eph 4:14. The Psalmist wrote, “You who love the LORD, hate evil…” Psalm 97:10. What is holding fast to what is Good? Peter said, “For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." 1 Peter 3:10-12

Love With A Brotherly Love By Outdoing One Another. (v10)

This is devotion to the Christian family, not obligation, but with a loving desire. This love is taught by God and encouraged all the more through His word. “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,” 1 Thess 4:7-10. This is how the world is to recognize us as followers of Christ.

 

We do this by outdoing one another in the family of God. Yes! Did you catch that? We are commanded to outdo one another. It almost sounds like Paul is saying we are to compete against one another. No, we are to show honor towards one another. What does it mean to outdo one another? We are to seize opportunities to honor, affirm and express appreciation to others in the family of God. The idea of the Greek verb is that of “taking the lead in something; being out in front.” If we think of honor as showing appreciation and esteem, a pretty good paraphrase for this command is “take the lead in showing appreciation and esteem.” In Mark’s gospel we see this outdoing in the negative and Jesus quickly rebuked His disciples. “And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." Mark 9:33-39. The disciples were not taking “the lead in showing appreciation and esteem.” Instead they were trying to attract attention to themselves and talk about how great they were, how faithful they were. The church has enough these self-righteous, me–centered Christianity. You and I are in a race together, but we are not racing against one another. We are to encourage and show honor where honor is due, and lift each up in the body of Christ. Because the alternative is to tear down and the church has enough of those people already.

 

Do Not Be Slothful But Serve The Lord (v11)

Do all things with enthusiasm and care. Slothfulness is laziness, this prevents good, but it does invite evil. Prov 18:9 says, “Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.” Laziness produces nothing but false security and hope; the Spirit-filled life is to be in the business of doing things unto the Lord. Jonathan Edwards said, “Those who have come to Christ have been born again and given a spirit of zeal to pursue the things of God with a sense of urgency and with hunger and passion. Therefore, it is the duty of every Christian to press into the kingdom of God, making that the main business of life.” So what are we to do that we don’t become slothful? The Scriptures say, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Eph 5:15-16. We serve the Lord with every aspect of our life in our home, in the church, at work, and at play; while the days are evil. And we do this with a fervent spirit, that means to “boil in spirit” this suggests plenty of heat to produce to be productive with the right amount heat and control. Remember God knows if you’re slothful or not. "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Rev 3:15-16. We should be busy people, busy with the things of God.

 

Rejoice In Hope And Be Patient In Tribulation. (v12)

 

We wait patiently for the wonderful return of Christ, which are the completion and our ultimate redemption. We hope in absolutes, not in uncertainties as the world lives. We rest and find great comfort in the absolute certainty that the promises of God for the future will come to pass. Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:3-9

 

It’s this reality and truth that gives us the strength to endure tribulations or whatever comes before us with hope. Tribulations are what we call the pressures of life, to be squeezed like an orange into a glass for your morning breakfast. We face tribulations with patience, we endure, persevere hardships; it’s to remain under the weight and pressure without succumbing. Peter a man who was faced with much tribulation comforted the saints with these words, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” 1 Peter 4:19

Constant In Prayer (v12)

 

We should never be a prayer-less church family, or a prayer-less Christian. This would be an oxymoron to not pray in the Christian church or the Christian life. This is our personal and corporate communion with God. Understand! God doesn’t need our prayers to do anything, but He desires that we call upon Him, and communion with Him, with every breath we have been given. We do this as an act of obedience to the Godhead. Isaiah wrote, “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6

 

Prayer is…… 

Crying to God……… Psalm 27:7 “Hear, O LORD. when I cry with my voice.”

Pouring out the soul……1 Sam 1:15 as Hannah did.

Drawing near to God……Heb 10:22 “let us draw near with a true heart.”

Pleading with God….. Exodus 32:11

Bowing the knees…… Eph 3:14 “for this reason I bow my knees.”

We are to do this with thanksgiving despite how things turn, or work out, for you and me. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Phil 4:3-6

It’s a miracle in and of itself that God hears our prayers;

let alone chooses to answer them.

Contribute To The Body By Showing Hospitality. (v13)

 

This is not merely entertaining, but opening your home to fellow believers.

 

This is a love on demonstration without hypocrisy.

It’s a genuine investment in one another, as we seek to walk and grow together in evil days.

 

We, the church, are to be known for its hospitality,

this is an important virtue throughout the ages.

 

In the Old Testament the Jews had no place to call home because of their enslavement in Egypt. After their liberation they wondered in the desert for decades. And when God finally brought them into the promise land, God told them never to forget where they came from. And this reminder was to show hospitality to the strangers in their gates. They were to open their homes and hearts to visitors. "You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 22:21

In Deut 10:17-19 we read, “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

 

Hospitality is looking for nothing in return, they do it because they are reminded of God and what He has done for them. The same principle applies to the early church believers through Christ. We do this because we truly love the church, without complaining. We demonstrate hospitality because God has given us a place of rest, a home; and we never know who that sojourner might be seating in our pews or walking up to our doors. “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Heb 13:1-2

This is how you and I are supposed to live our lives every day. This is what brings God the most glory as His church on earth. This is what our acceptable worship looks like. If we fail to do this then we need to ask ourselves,

 

Why am I here?

The church is a family who loves together, works together, stands on truth together. The church willingly faces opposition, and hatred, from a fallen and broken world together. Remember Paul said “Therefore” at the beginning of this chapter as a way of encouragement to what has been previously said. We are to make this our daily aim; we are to persevere for the glory of His glorious name. 

We have the structure, now the body needs to do its part.

Let’s love other beyond what you came in with this Sunday morning.

Let’s abhor the evil of this world and call it out as we see it.

Let’s stand strong for what is right and good and that has eternal value.

Let’s love the family of God the way God intended us too; with humility and showing honor to one another.

Let’s not be lazy and disinterested and complacent, but invest in one another.

Let’s serve the Lord here in this place, while we still have air in our lungs.

Let’s rejoice anew every day because of the eternal promises of God.

Let’s endure hardship as good stewards for the glory of His name and the gospel confession.

Let’s never stop praying ever, for this church family, and those around us locally or distant.

Let’s seek to find ways to be hospitable as we grow and mature in grace.

 

This is to be our daily aim, our goal; because I know I fail at many of these, each and every day. And that is no excuse! It’s my sinful, selfish, heart, and it needs to stop. Why? I love Christ and the family of God, and also love those who were created in His image who have not yet responded to His Good News!