Romans 12:9-12 (NIV)
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Paul next writes a number of individual exhortations on how to live together as a body. Since the Church in Rome is a single body, it is vital that each member support the others, faithfully uphold each other in prayer, and never work against anyone else in the body. Such conflict, plotting and division is much like cancer in a human body, sapping resources and attacking and destroying the whole body by destroying individual parts.
Love must be sincere. Each Christian must work for the good of others, not for personal gain. It is far too easy to shift into a “what’s in it for me” attitude when demonstrating love by performing works of mercy or charity. Instead, the motive must pure agape love such as Jesus demonstrated with His own disciples and on the cross (John 13:34-35).
Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. No subtle “gray areas” are to be allowed among God’s people. No compromise must be allowed with anything evil, or even questionable. Instead, even the slightest trace of evil is to be hated, detested and rejected outright. And good, which always lies in the exact opposite direction from evil, is to be sought after and embraced.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. These two are closely related. Paul uses the word “philadelphia” in this exhortation, which literally means “brotherly love”. True brotherly love is based solidly on agape love, and thus can only be found among those who belong to Jesus. And since we all come to God only through faith in Jesus, we are all equal before God. In God’s sight, among believers there are no boss-worker relationships, no master-slave relationships, no socially better-socially inferior relationships, where one person is exalted above others. Instead, all are on the same level, pastor, prophet, layperson, or child, and all must treat each other as brothers, equals, equal before God, and equal in importance to His mission.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. All three of these exhortations build on each other to demonstrate a single truth. As those who serve the God of the universe in His quest to save all humanity from an eternity in hell, there should never be laziness, procrastination, or lack of passion. Everywhere there is a harvest waiting to be brought in, and every new moment brings a chance that a part of that harvest, a precious human being, will breathe their last here on earth and be lost forever. That truth should move all God’s people to be zealous for the kingdom work that He has given us.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. These three go together as well. Every one of God’s people will experience troubles, frustrations, and even persecution, simply because we live in the world (John 15:18-21). But, as Jesus reminded His followers, He has overcome the world (John 16:33). What is needed during the hard times are hope, keeping our focus on what God has promised; patience, that is longsuffering, which will enable us to stand strong and never give up; and faithfulness in prayer, through which we will keep our relationship with God strong, and be able to receive all that we need to succeed.
Father, each of these opening exhortations could yield a whole sermon. But they are also clear enough and simple enough to be put into immediate action. As I live out Your will, Your calling on my life today, help me to keep each of these in mind, and to live them out successfully in Your strength and power. Amen.