Romans 12:9-13: "Learning to Live in Christ"

As Chapter 12 has moved to the living out of the deep theological truths we learned through the first 11 chapters, Paul continues to encourage and exhort the believer in living for Christ. In the first 8 verses of this chapter Paul has shown us our "spiritual service of worship" which is living our lives as a sacrifice to God. Paul continues this in vv. 9-13, where he rapid fire gives us spiritual disciplines to strive for.

Paul begins, "Let love be without hypocrisy". Here Paul is calling to mind a personal duty of the Christian to love, and to do so without being hypocritical. This is the complete act of selflessness as we look to truly love by putting others ahead of ourselves. Love is a willful devotion to others. I John 4:16 says, "God is love, and the on who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him". As we know from I Cor. 13 that love is the highest spiritual gift, for any other gift that we exercise with the absence of love, means nothing to God. Love, being most effective when it's source is drawn out of the deep love that Christ had for us. The source of our love must come from the love that Christ first showed us. If we are constantly mindful of all that Christ has done for us, our natural response should be love for Him and His commands. We must fight against the temptation to love only those who love us, or to "love" only those that we can get something from in return, is in fact hypocritical, and not love at all.

On the flip side, we are not to just love without hypocrisy, but we are to "abhor what is evil". Rooted in our love for Christ is a hatred for what he hates. MacArthur writes, "Evil is the enemy of God and the enemy of love, and it is to be as fervently abhorred as love is to be fervently coveted". It is a constant battle with every believer to put off the old flesh and hate what we used to love. However, God is holy and righteous and as we read in Ps. 5:4, "For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You" we must run from that which God hates. When we receive the new Spirit of God in us when we are saved, our new heart desires for that which is good, and right and holy. We then must battle our old flesh that still desires the lusts of the flesh. MacArthur writes, "Greater exposure to evil should invoke greater resistance to it, no matter how often or how intensely we are confronted by it. We must 'examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good [and] abstain from every form of evil' (I Thess. 5:21-22)".

So, not only are we to "abhor what is evil", but we are then to "cling to what is good". This brings to mind Philippians 4:8, which reads, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute; if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things". Not only are we to seek out that which is good and desire it in our life, but we are to "cling" to it. By clinging to good, we cannot cling to evil at the same time. We must desire to fill our lives with good things, pleasing to God, and cling to them no matter the cost. We must learn to derive our joy from the things of the Lord, and "abhor what is evil".

Paul now shifts in his discussion of living in Christ from ourselves, to our relationship to others. He writes, "be devoted to one another in brotherly love". It is easy to spot a group of believers. They stand out in their desire to love and care for one another. Within the body of Christ their is a supernatural affection between those who recognize what they have all been saved from. MacArthur writes, "For the very reason that God is our common heavenly Father, love for each other should be as natural and normal as family members' affectionate love for each other". When we become Christians we inherit a whole new family, and we must treat each other as such. May we always remember to be "devoted" to one another, rather than quarrel or hold grudges against other in the body of Christ. To God this is very serious, in I John 2:9-11 John writes, "The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes".

Continuing with our relationship to others in the family of God, Paul writes, "give preference to one another in honor". When we honor and esteem others above ourselves we honor them and honor God. If we are called to be devoted to our brothers and sisters in the Lord, it will be natural that we will affectionately hold their best interests ahead of our own. When everyone in the body of Christ is putting the needs of others above their own, we are functioning the way God intended us to. MacAthur writes, "to honor is to show genuine appreciation and admiration for one another in the family of God".

Not only are we to esteem others more than ourselves, but Paul says we should not be "lagging behind in diligence". According to MacArthur this could be rendered, "not lazy in zeal and intensity". If we are clinging to the things that are good, we should be doing it with diligence. The gifts we have been given by God we must be diligent to exercise them. We must live our lives with the understanding that evil is always close to us and ready to cease us when we are weak, therefore, we must be diligent to "cling to what is good" and "abhor the things that are evil".

We are also called to be "fervent in spirit". MacArthur explains, "Whereas diligence pertains mainly to action, being fervent in spirit pertains to attitude. Literally, zeo means to boil and metaphorically to be fervent. The idea here is not of being overheated to the point of boiling over and out of control but, like a steam engine, of having sufficient heat to produce the energy necessary to get the work done". As hard as it may be, we must strive to do all things with passion and zeal, unto the Lord, so that we may be an example to others. If we are to do the right thing, but with the wrong attitude this is not pleasing to the Lord. In this section it is in context with "serving the Lord". Therefore, we must be passionate and zealous about our obedience to our Lord in service.

Because we have Christ and have been saved from our sins and given a new heart that is pleasing to God, our proper response should be "rejoicing in hope". The Christian walk is not always easy. The world we live in is moving in the completely opposite direction, and it is in the "hope" we have that we can get through our temporary life here on earth. We are to have a joy and inner peace within us that is not affected by external circumstances, for we are firmly rooted in the unchanging God. It is because of this hope that we have that Paul can also say to be "persevering in tribulation". MacArthur writes, "because we have perfect assurance concerning the ultimate outcome of our lives, we are able to persist against any obstacle and endure any suffering". Let's be diligent to remember the hope we have during trying times and joyous times and through any circumstance remember our testimony.

In order for us to be mindful of all that we are called to do in the previous verses, we must be "devoted to prayer". Prayer is a complete surrender of our will. As a Christian on our knees in prayer, we are telling God we can't do this on our own and we desire you to guide us and strengthen us as you deem necessary. It is convicting to think of my devotion to prayer. By devotion, it would be a way of life, steadfast and unwavering. Are we only going to God when things are tough? Do we remember to praise God when things are going well? How much time do we actually spend thinking about God and about others that would lead us to prayer? MacArthur writes, "devoted, steadfast prayer should be as continual a part of a Christian's spiritual life as breathing is a part of his physical life".

Very much like Paul had just previously mentioned the gift of giving with liberality, he here mentions that we are to help in "contributing to the needs of the saints". The whole idea of coming together at church is corporate worship to God. It is a coming together of a group of believers. We read in Acts the amazing generosity and care of the early church, as each would give of what they had so that others that had need could partake equally. It is a sharing and fellowship that is so sweet among believers that we are looking out for the needs of those around us. It is only when we are esteeming others above ourselves that we can be sensitive to the needs of those around us, and then it takes the fervency and passion of service to the Lord that will drive our desire to fulfill those needs.

Lastly, and very much linked to the previous gift is that of "practicing hospitality". MacArthur writes, "The literal meaning of that phrase in the Greek is, 'pursuing the love of strangers'. In other words, we not only are to meet the needs of those people, believers and unbelievers, who come across our paths but are to look for opportunities to help". This is yet another example of how we can minister to those around us and show us of the hope we have within. All of these disciplines are spoken about that we might live excellently and give others an example of living for Christ. I pray that these would all be evident in me and draw those around me to Christ.