ROMANS:ROAD TO RIGHTEOUSNESS
How Love Impacts our Relationships
Romans 12:9-21
Jerry A Collins
SCC
How is our
love to be transformed?
How is our
service to be transformed?
How are
our relationships to be transformed?
How is our
relationship to evil doers to be transformed?
Whenever we talk about something
being transformed, we expect to be referring to something that has changed.
Something that is different from what it used to be. His attitude has been
transformed. His demeanor has completely changed. He is responding differently
than I had expected. This is what we have been talking about in Romans 12. A
transformation in our lives as vs 2 taught us. A transformation of spirit. A change that
turns us into different people. In our passage we learn about this
change and what areas it effects in our lives. In vs
9-16 it is transformation in our relationship to believers. In vs 17-21 it is transformation in our relationship to
unbelievers. What is actually transformed when we follow Christ?
1. A TRANSFORMATION OF OUR LOVE TO ONE ANOTHER 9-10
(1) Love must be genuine 9a.
We cannot keep loving the way we have been. There must
be a change. This is God’s love and it’s very nature
is sincere. Our love must be like that. No pretense. No Hypocrisy. Not skin
deep. Genuine. Real. Sincere. True. At end of each day we should be able to look
back and see where our love has changed something or someone. It takes
initiative. It is proactive. Our love must be transformed into something brand
new.
(2) Love must be without
sentimentality 9b. While hating evil we are also to love good. Literally to be glued to it. We should not just hate
the obvious evil we would all agree exists but to hate it in every form in
which it appears. Hate the fact that people are unloved. Do you hate evil?
Unfortunately, we can become immuned to evil and lose
our since of horror of it’s presence amongst us. It is the balance we have
between hating all kinds of evil and simultaneously clinging to what is good as
God defines that.
(3) Love is family affection 10a.
The idea of devoted and brotherly love
is that natural affection we have in family relationships. Bros and Sis have
naturally special bond and that kind of relationship exists between each one of
us in Christ. All believers are in Christ and have a special bond described as
the natural affection of family. Do you have that? Do you give that?
(4) Love honors others 10b.
Giving recognition and appreciation to one another in Christ.
Can you see great value in each other because of our bond in Christ? So much is
about me. Whose life is different now because of your humble service and
preferential treatment of them? Outdo one another in showing honor to each
other.
2. A TRANSFORMATION OF OUR SERVICE TO EACH OTHER 11-13
(1) Be productive 11. The
idea here is to not be lacking in speed. Urgent and in a
hurry. Time is short. Do not lose your energy. If you have been a
believer for a long time don’t pass the baton but
speed up your service for the Lord. Now is not the time to slow down. Don’t
stagger. Energy for what? To serve
the Lord. To fight sin. To
disciple people. To study the Word. How do you
do this? Keep up your spiritual fervor. Apollos is a
model of someone who maintained fervent diligence in his service (Acts
(2) Be patient vs 12. Hope is always future. Meditate on what is
coming. Don’t get sidetracked by the here and now.
Take the best moment you have ever had in your life and it is not even close to
what heaven will feel like (1 Cor 2:9). Here is the
balance though. Patient in affliction. Be an optimist
but at same time be a realist. Patient is longsuffering. God is meeting my
needs. So I can use the resource of prayer and be devoted to that in my life
here on earth. I can communicate messages to my Father in heaven while I am
here on earth and that provides a tremendous resource for me.
(3) Be providing vs 13. It says contributing to the needs of the
saints, i.e., that is practicing hospitable. That’s how you do that. Pursue
this. Open up your resources. Don’t be American but be xian
here. An open heart—an open hand—an open door.
Whatever resources God has given you, use them, your house, your stuff, your
money, your food—keep it available.
3. A TRANSFORMATION OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TO EACH 14-16
(1) Desire God’s best for those
who do not desire yours vs 14. The same
message Jesus gave in Matt 5. The temptation is to respond tit for tat. But we
should never retaliate and that goes against every grain of our humanity. Our
old nature had absolutely nothing in common with this attitude.
(2) Have empathy vs 15. Rejoice and weep. Become so other-centered
that you have no concern for your personal profit. Be moved by the joys and
sorrows of others in body of Christ. We can secretly wish the worst on others
or refuse to join in on others victories because we think of ourselves first.
Jealousies take over. Envy grasps our attitude. Tale time to
understand the experiences of others.
(3) Live in harmony vs 16. This is basic to being able to empathize
with one another. Negatively, don’t feel superior thinking of yourself more
highly. Positively, associate with lowly people. Don’t set yourself up against
one another. No competition between us all of whom are in the family by God’s
grace. While committed to Christ then committed to His church. Work out being a
family. Pride always sets you against another.
4. A TRANFORMATION OF RELA WITH EVIL DOERS 17-21
Here the emphasis moves from one
another to all people. 3 negatives begin the discussion here:
(1) Never repay evil vs 17.
(2) Do not take revenge vs 19.
(3) Do not be overcome by evil vs 21. Each of these seem
to say same thing in different ways. The idea is that there is no revenge or
retaliation for us. So do we just allow evil to triumph then? Not according to
the context. 3 positives counter balance these.
(1) Be careful to do good things
in eyes of others vs 17. Just to refuse to
give evil is not enough. It contrasts with taking initiative to make peace that
is in your power to make.
(2)
To not take revenge is countered with 2 positives. First,
leave room for Gods anger vs 19b. It is Gods
prerogative to take revenge not ours. Don’t do it. Second, love and serve evil doers vs 20 (Prov 25). This doing good may
result in conviction and shame of the evil doer. Feeling
uncomfortable because of neighbor’s love. The guilt may convict him in a
gentle manner and then win them over. That is the idea.
(3)
Overcome evil with good vs 21. Do not respond evilly to evil. Responding evilly will
only double it—add to its tally. Now we have double-trouble. Good reduces
evil’s tally and diminishes it. Do good, bring peace, serve humbly, win over
enemies—this is the kind of transformation that God brings into our lives.
(1)
Determine to serve the greater good and bests
interests of one another.
(2)
Desire to serve others rather than be served by them.
(3)
Develop your capacity of concern by actively seeking to understand what is
happening in one another’s lives.
(4)
Diminish the impact of evil around you by performing good things to counter it.