Living Out Genuine Love and Honor in Christ

 

Summary

In our study of Romans 12:9-11, we delve into the Apostle Paul's instructions on how Christians should conduct themselves in their relationships with others, both within the church and in the wider world. Paul transitions from discussing spiritual gifts to addressing the broader principles that should govern Christian behavior. The two foundational principles he emphasizes are love and the abhorrence of evil. Love, as Paul describes, should be genuine and without hypocrisy, fulfilling the law of God. This love is not merely a superficial or obligatory affection but should resemble the natural, instinctive love we have for our family members.

Paul challenges us to love our fellow believers as if they were our blood relatives, emphasizing that our relationships within the church should be characterized by warmth and sincerity. This love is not something we can manufacture through sheer willpower; it is a result of understanding our shared identity in Christ. As Christians, we are born into a new family, the family of God, and this spiritual kinship should manifest in our interactions with one another.

Furthermore, Paul instructs us to honor one another, which involves evaluating and respecting the gifts and contributions of others. This respect is not about false modesty or denying our own gifts but about recognizing that all we have is a result of God's grace. By esteeming others and acknowledging their God-given gifts, we foster a spirit of unity and humility within the church.

Ultimately, these principles of love and honor are not just ideals to aspire to but are essential for the health and witness of the Christian community. They require us to examine ourselves, to understand our own unworthiness, and to appreciate the grace that has been extended to us. In doing so, we can genuinely prefer one another in love and honor, reflecting the character of Christ in our lives.

Key Takeaways:

- Genuine Love: Our love for one another should be genuine and without hypocrisy, resembling the natural affection we have for family members. This love fulfills the law of God and transforms our relationships within the church. [02:01]

- Abhorrence of Evil: Christians are called not only to avoid evil but to actively hate it. This hatred of evil should be as intense as God's own hatred of sin, driving us to cling to what is good. [02:41]

- Spiritual Kinship: As members of God's family, we should love our fellow believers as if they were our blood relatives. This spiritual kinship is a profound reality that should shape our interactions and relationships. [05:53]

- Honoring Others: We are to honor one another by recognizing and respecting the gifts God has given to each person. This involves a true evaluation of others and a willingness to esteem them above ourselves. [21:43]

- Humility and Self-Examination: True humility comes from a proper understanding of ourselves and our unworthiness. By recognizing that all we have is a gift from God, we can avoid pride and genuinely prefer others in love and honor. [39:05]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:31] - Introduction to Romans 12:9-11
- [01:15] - Fundamental Principles of Christian Conduct
- [02:01] - The Principle of Genuine Love
- [02:41] - Abhorrence of Evil
- [03:24] - Paul's Detailed Instructions
- [05:02] - Brotherly Love and Natural Affection
- [06:36] - Loving Fellow Believers as Family
- [09:19] - The Role of Doctrine in Love
- [10:59] - Spiritual Kinship in Christ
- [13:46] - Practical Implications of Spiritual Family
- [17:56] - Distinction Between Liking and Loving
- [20:51] - Honoring One Another
- [25:08] - Preferring Others in Honor
- [39:05] - Humility and Self-Examination

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Romans 12:9-11

Observation Questions:
1. What are the two foundational principles that Paul emphasizes in Romans 12:9-11? How do these principles relate to Christian conduct? [01:15]
2. How does Paul describe the nature of love that Christians should have for one another? What analogy does he use to explain this love? [05:02]
3. According to the sermon, what is the significance of honoring one another in the Christian community? [21:43]
4. What does the sermon suggest is the relationship between humility and self-examination in the context of Christian behavior? [39:05]

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of spiritual kinship influence the way Christians should interact with each other, according to the sermon? [10:59]
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that genuine love can transform relationships within the church? [02:01]
3. How does the sermon explain the importance of abhorring evil and clinging to what is good in the life of a Christian? [02:41]
4. What does the sermon imply about the role of humility in fostering unity and avoiding pride within the church? [39:05]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your current relationships within the church. How can you demonstrate genuine love that resembles the natural affection for family members? [05:02]
2. Identify an area in your life where you might be tolerating evil. What steps can you take to actively abhor it and cling to what is good? [02:41]
3. Think of a fellow believer whose gifts you have not fully recognized or honored. How can you show appreciation and respect for their contributions this week? [21:43]
4. Consider your own sense of humility. How can you practice self-examination to better understand your unworthiness and appreciate the grace extended to you? [39:05]
5. How can you cultivate a deeper sense of spiritual kinship with other members of your church community? What practical actions can you take to strengthen these bonds? [10:59]
6. Reflect on a recent interaction where you may have failed to honor someone else. What could you have done differently, and how can you apply this lesson in future interactions? [21:43]
7. In what ways can you encourage others in your church to prefer one another in love and honor? How can you lead by example in this area? [20:51]

Devotional

Day 1: Genuine Love Transforms Relationships
Our love for one another should be genuine and without hypocrisy, resembling the natural affection we have for family members. This love fulfills the law of God and transforms our relationships within the church. Genuine love is not a superficial or obligatory affection but a deep, sincere commitment to the well-being of others. It is a love that mirrors the love of Christ, who loved us sacrificially and unconditionally. This kind of love requires us to look beyond our differences and embrace each other as members of the same spiritual family. [02:01]

Romans 13:8-10 (ESV): "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

Reflection: Think of a relationship in your life that needs genuine love. How can you show this person love that is sincere and without hypocrisy today?


Day 2: Abhorrence of Evil and Clinging to Good
Christians are called not only to avoid evil but to actively hate it. This hatred of evil should be as intense as God's own hatred of sin, driving us to cling to what is good. Abhorring evil means recognizing its destructive power and choosing to distance ourselves from it. It involves a conscious decision to reject sin and embrace righteousness, aligning our hearts with God's standards. By clinging to what is good, we cultivate a life that reflects God's holiness and purity. [02:41]

Amos 5:14-15 (ESV): "Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph."

Reflection: Identify an area in your life where you have tolerated evil. What steps can you take today to actively reject it and pursue what is good?


Day 3: Spiritual Kinship in God's Family
As members of God's family, we should love our fellow believers as if they were our blood relatives. This spiritual kinship is a profound reality that should shape our interactions and relationships. Understanding our shared identity in Christ helps us to see each other as brothers and sisters, united by faith and purpose. This kinship calls us to support, encourage, and care for one another, reflecting the unity and love that God desires for His church. [05:53]

Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV): "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord."

Reflection: How can you strengthen your sense of spiritual kinship with someone in your church community this week?


Day 4: Honoring Others and Esteeming Their Gifts
We are to honor one another by recognizing and respecting the gifts God has given to each person. This involves a true evaluation of others and a willingness to esteem them above ourselves. Honoring others means acknowledging their contributions and valuing their presence in our lives. It is an expression of humility and gratitude, recognizing that every gift is a manifestation of God's grace. By honoring others, we foster a spirit of unity and mutual respect within the church. [21:43]

Philippians 2:3-4 (ESV): "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Reflection: Who in your life can you honor today by acknowledging their God-given gifts and contributions?


Day 5: Humility and Self-Examination
True humility comes from a proper understanding of ourselves and our unworthiness. By recognizing that all we have is a gift from God, we can avoid pride and genuinely prefer others in love and honor. Humility requires us to examine our hearts and motives, acknowledging our dependence on God's grace. It is a posture of surrender and gratitude, allowing us to serve others selflessly and reflect the character of Christ in our lives. [39:05]

James 4:10 (ESV): "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."

Reflection: In what area of your life do you struggle with pride? How can you practice humility and self-examination today to align your heart with God's will?

Quotes


Let love be without dissimulation love of God love of our neighbors love is the fulfilling of the law if we but loved as we should and without a simulation we should be keeping the law love is the food of the law and our Lord you remember in his teaching summed it up in the same way thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy mind and all thy strength than thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself if only we always remembered that and did it how different the church would be and though different the world would be [00:02:51]

As Christians we are not to be negative we're not just to be nice little people who don't do things we're to be filled with a positive hatred of evil we are to abhor it with the whole of our being it is to be as hateful to us in our measure as it is to God himself and on the contrary we are to cleave to that which is good hold on to it be glued to it be such that we cannot be separated from it now there you've got the two principles that govern the whole of this question of Christian comfort [00:02:48]

Our brotherly love as Christian people in our relationships as Christians with one another in the church and they will square he says that this brotherly love of ours is not to be something merely superficial or official it's not merely because we are associated together in the same church or something like that he says it must go beyond that he says your brotherly love should really take on something of the character of the love that you have to members of your natural families to which you belong [00:05:44]

The only way to be sure that you are can be affection to one another with brotherly love is this to pay attention to and to respond to the exhortation in the first verse of the chapter I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God you work that act that therefore and the mercies of God and you can't do it otherwise in other words you don't approach the question of feelings directly that is always fatal feelings are always the result of something else and feelings are the result ultimately of understanding and of thought [00:09:19]

You realize that as a Christian you are born again you've got a new nature and you realize that the same thing is true of all other Christians you have started in your life you've been born into a new life yes but you've also been born into a new family so does every other Christian so now you see that you and every other Christian are members of the same family that you really are related to them in this extraordinary manner [00:10:37]

We are always ready to do things with regard to our relatives that we won't do with other people we are ready to correct the other people's children for doing certain things which we don't correct our own children for doing that's human nature you defend your own you make excuses for your own you're always on the defensive for your own you can always understand what they're doing now what he's saying is that should be equally true of your relationship to one another as Christians [00:15:28]

It is important that we should draw the distinction between liking and loving even in the natural since you don't like each member of your family as much as you like others no I'm not prettier to justify this or to criticize it I'm just saying it is effect but though you may be in exactly the same relationship to do people you don't have necessity like them to the same extent you want to love them to the same extent but you're not ever commanded to like them to the same extent [00:17:41]

A Christian should feel a closer bond with another Christian then he feels with a relative who is not a Christian it's true of necessity the new nature is in us we are all children of God we belong to the family of God and it's a relationship that are not only going to last while we're in this world of time it will last throughout eternity there will be no end to it now then since the Apostle makes certain that this quality is being manifested in your brotherly love one to another more and more [00:19:46]

It is your evaluation and others it is what you think of others and this in turn becomes the respect that you show one to another as the result of your estimation of one another and of the gifts that others have that's what he means by our in honour preferring one another it carries the idea if you like of reverence and of respect it is your whole estimate and evaluation of others and there but of course in turn determines you are behavior with respect to them how you treat them and especially how you treat them in terms of yourself [00:21:58]

The Apostle you see is rarely inculcating here is this he is rarely saying that there is to be no room nor place for pride in the Christian life that's what he's concerned about that we must be never guilty of pride it's another way of putting what our Lord puts in one of his Beatitudes about meekness and poverty of spirit blessed are the meek know that's really what it is or take the way in which our mud has put it very plainly in in a bit of teaching that is regarded in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel according to st. Luke [00:31:04]

The Apostle clearly works it out in his own case he marvels of the fact that he's a Christian at all and we all not a marvel at the same thing if we ever lose our sense of wonder at the fact that we have ever become Christians we have already victims to this disease in the sense we must never lose this sense of one why are we different what does only one answer it is entirely the result of the grace of God furthermore the Apostle is amazed and astonished that here everybody should ever have been called to be an apostle [00:38:30]

You will find that inevitably you are Renault not preferring one another and there to it this third and last consideration if you like look at your service and all of us look at our service what a poor service it ends you see you can only boast of it when you're not rarely examining it you're looking somewhere else but examine your service realize exactly its character and its quality when you realize the gift of the Spirit to you when you realize the character of the work what is it you remember that our Lord again said he put this thing right once and forever [00:42:07]

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Transcript
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