Romans #30

LOVE AND THE COURAGE OF MY CONVICTIONS

We all have our convictions. They may differ widely or be very close depending on the subject. Others may wonder why we hold such strong convictions about things that in their opinion matter not at all. Or they may be appalled that we don’t consider their convictions seriously for ourselves.

            For instance, some people are vegetarians for health reasons, because meat is loaded with cholesterols and such. Others are vegans because they oppose cruelty to animals in any shape or form. Still others love animals…right next to the mashed potatoes.

            I personally have a conviction that anything wrapped in bacon is edible. One time I even ate scallops wrapped in bacon and I didn’t even know what scallops were. Of course, after the meal, I went home and googled “scallops.” If not for the bacon…

            Personal convictions are very important to the apostle Paul. He spent three chapters in 1 Corinthians and two in Romans on the subject of our convictions and their relationship to Christian liberty. Now that we are saved by grace through faith what does our liberty permit? Almost anything it seems. Paul told the Corinthians, “All things are permissible…” (1 Cor 6:12). But not all things are beneficial.

            The question from our passage is this: Is there a time when my personal convictions disrupt the fellowship of the believers? And the answer Paul gives is this: Yes, when my personal convictions cause me to harm the faith of a fellow believer who does not share my conviction.

            If love is the supreme law of my life in Christ, how shall I live by the courage of my convictions?

What is a conviction?

Let’s pause for a moment and formulate a definition of a personal conviction.

            The word “conviction” does not appear in Romans 14 in the NIV but it best describes the differences that threaten the unity of the church in Rome.

1) A conviction is a strongly held belief. In v. 5 Paul advises his readers to be “fully convinced in his own mind.” Convictions are not just opinions but are beliefs that we act upon. “Women are lousy drivers,” is a prejudice. “Justin Trudeau should focus on being a father and husband instead of the Liberal leader,” is my opinion. I drive a Toyota because I believe they are a dependable car and good on gas – that is my conviction because I believe it and I act upon it.

2) The convictions Paul talks about are behavioral beliefs. Romans 14 does not center on the debate of what is true (Christ rose from the dead) but on what we should or should not do (is it okay to eat market meat?).

3) Convictions are inferential. That is, they are conclusions we reach when there are no hard and fast answers. Often they are based on our interpretation of Scripture but you would be hard pressed to quote chapter and verse to back it up.

4) Convictions do not define right and wrong; God’s word defines what is right and wrong. We know that murder is wrong – Scripture says so; even human law says so. Convictions take up where the Bible and law leave off. Convictions determine what my conduct will be when the Bible doesn’t say what to do. My convictions draw the line between what I will do and not do in the exercise of my Christian liberty.

5) Christian convictions are a matter of conscience. We read the Bible and gain an understanding of God’s ways and together with our conscience we feel guilt or affirmation.

6) Christian convictions are a matter of faith. As our knowledge of God’s word and our conscience determine our convictions, faith plays a role in the living out a conviction. We want to practice only those liberties we can do in faith. When we doubt what we are doing, we feel guilty because we are doing what our conscience condemns.[i]

1. Love accepts those who hold different convictions

With this in mind we turn to our text to study the problem Paul addresses and what he has to say about our convictions.

a) Who is the weaker “brother”? – In the continuing theme of love began in ch. 12 under the injunction “in view of God’s mercies,” Paul gets specific. There is trouble in the church at Rome. They don’t agree on what is acceptable behavior for believers. Paul’s answer begins, “Accept him whose faith is weak…” (1).

            Who is the weaker brother or sister? In this context it is not clear who Paul is referring to. Since the issue is about eating meat and observing special days we can pretty accurately figure it out. The meat question makes us think of former pagans who worshiped idols and ate meat at those temples as in 1 Corinthians 8. They could simply be ascetics who are trying to live a simple life. Legalists who read the OT and believed all of scripture should be obeyed might have insisted on a porkless diet (no bacon).

            The clues point most directly at Jews who became Christians though. Wanting to keep the traditions of their Judaism by honoring Jewish festivals and avoiding not only idol meat but any meat that isn’t kosher, these Christian Jews were abstaining and thought others should too.[ii]

            Paul called these “disputable matters.” In other words, it sounds like he thought they were being too strict, even fussy. This is obvious in that he calls them the “weak” in faith. Paul, who had been a zealous Jew, taught widely about his freedom from the Law because of his faith in Christ. The meat issue to him was a non-issue, but he recognized that to others it was still important.

            Some of our own disputable matters are not so clear in identifying the weaker brother or sister. Who has the stronger faith? The one who drinks alcohol moderately? Or the one who abstains on principle? With many of our convictions we can find an endless debate on who the weaker person is.

b) Why we need to accept the weaker brother – Regardless of whether you are weak or strong we need to accept each other. Just to be clear though, the stronger believer is the one who has a deeper faith and a greater grasp of grace and Christian liberty. Weaker saints tend to be more legalistic. It’s still sort of fuzzy who is holy versus legalistic. Whatever the case it is easy to look down on other believers and pass judgment whether you are weak or strong.

            There are four reasons given in our text for accepting the other brother or sister:

i – God has accepted him (3-8): “The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him” (3). If God has accepted that person, meat-eater or not, then we must accept him too. If this were a matter of who Christ is (human-divine) then there is a problem. But to disrupt the fellowship of the church over what we eat or drink is nitpicky.

ii – Christ died for him (9): The reason God accepts him is because he believes that Christ died for his sins. This the defining act that draws us together as a people – Christ’s death. “Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” (9). This is what determines whether we belong to the Lord.

iii – He’s family: By virtue of our faith in the one true God and his Son Jesus Christ, we have become a new family. “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother?” (10a,b). Earlier in v. 4 Paul had asked who we were to judge someone else’s servant. God is the master of us all and we cannot judge another person when we have no clue what they are struggling with. I was brought up in a home that shunned the three big vices: smoking, drinking and dancing. As a child if I saw someone smoking I automatically assumed they were not a Christian. Smoking is unhealthy to be sure, but is it not one of the disputable matters? Most smokers would love to quit and I will not add to their guilt by judging them. I accept them as fellow believers who struggle with us all to control our behaviors.

iv – God is the judge: Ultimately God is our judge and he will convict us each personally through the Holy Spirit who works in our lives to change that which God wants changed. “For we all stand before God’s judgment seat” (10c), and “…every tongue will confess to God” (11c). God is a far more just and fair judge than you and I can ever be. On disputable matters, Paul urges, leave it to God.

2. Love practices personal convictions with caution

Whether you think yourself enlightened and free in your faith, or you think yourself faithful and others as liberal in what they allow, Paul urges both, stop judging.

            But if you are among the so-called strong in faith, Paul has a further word: “…make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way” (13).

a) “Look before you leap” – This cliché cautions us to think before we make a decision. Aptly it applies to this situation in that if we leap we need to remember that others are watching what we do and may assume that it’s okay to leap too, even though it goes against their better judgment.

            In our text specifically, Paul wants to discourage behavior on the part of a strong person that would cause a weak person to eat food that he or she thinks is forbidden. If the strong were to hurt the weak in this manner, then brotherly love, which Paul encouraged earlier in this letter, would be violated.[iii]

            A weaker brother who thinks it is wrong to eat meat, either because it was sacrificed to an idol or simply is not kosher, does so because the stronger Christian did, violates his own convictions. When I exercise my liberty and cause a weaker brother to stumble, I have sinned in exercising my liberty, even though is consistent with my own convictions.

            Love is the standard we live by, so “If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died” (15). For the sake of others, look before you leap.

b) Decided by the Kingdom principle – What is Christianity about? Rules? Fitting a pattern or mold created by our sense of tradition or worldviews? Is it about what we wear to church or what dialect we speak?

            Paul sets us straight about our faith by introducing the Kingdom principle. He wrote, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men” (17-18). This is the guide we use in considering our personal convictions. How so?

            The kingdom of God is not about disputable matters, things that are not specifically commanded by God. It is about righteousness which we receive as a gift for believing in Christ – it is not earned, it is given, and this by grace. So we can’t earn it by eating and drinking or doing the right things. The kingdom is about peace in relationships within God’s community. It is about joy, the product of community life. And it is brought together by the Holy Spirit who dwells in and among God’s people creating community life.

            And if we have to sacrifice a few rights, freedoms, convictions and liberties for the sake of God’s kingdom, for the sake of community, for the sake of our brother or sister, isn’t it worth it? Jesus died for them, so “yes.”

c) Do I build others up? – This is a question pertaining to the kingdom of God, specifically each other within the kingdom.

            “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall” (19-21).

            Edification – to build up – that’s what that means. Judging others tears them down. Criticism rips apart. Is your opinion so crucial that it is just busting out of your chest, wiggling up your trachea to spit out in words, possibly deflating the object of your verbiage, that you cannot hold it back? Really? We Christians are in the business of building up. So what if the details are not perfect?

d) Keep your convictions to yourself – We admire people who act on the courage of their convictions. It is heroic when they stand against the flow and stand for righteousness. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. Some convictions are solid – like the conviction to share the gospel. Others are important but personal.

            And in these personal situations Paul has this to say, “So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God” (22). That is surprising isn’t it?

            Let’s use a fictitious scenario to illustrate this point. Suppose an older brother from a foreign country comes to visit. He makes a statement in a living room full of people that his grandmother told him the moon is made out of cheese, and since she would never lie to him, it is most certainly made out of cheese. I have a conviction that the moon is not made out of cheese. But I have a higher conviction that Jesus died and shed his blood for me and my brother and that we should not belittle one another and that we build each other up. This conviction is certainly higher than the one I have about the moon. Therefore, I save my conviction about the moon for some other time when I can privately discuss the moon with my brother. And perhaps we never talk about the moon because what is more important is my brother’s spiritual journey with Christ

            I do not want to be overbearing with my convictions. On the other hand I must not be lazy in my pursuit of God, for Paul also said, “Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil” (16). (Harry Potter story). Most of our personal convictions are those disputable matters. When we open our mouth to defend the courage of our convictions let it be about Christ, and let it be motivated by love for others.

Conclusion

Now how does this really apply to us in our fellowship?

This truth touches our reality when a congregation like ours with different generational, cultural and personal preferences meets for worship every week. Paul affirms your preferences. It is good to like what you like. We are all different. And you do not need to change what you like. God likes that you like it and that our likes are not the same. He loves variety. He made us unique so that we are not all the same.

            “Your ecclesiastical preferences, insofar as they help you worship God and follow Jesus, are good. If you partake and give thanks, God is praised. In-depth expository sermons and punchy homilies, 19th century hymns and 21st century songs, loud music and quiet music, hands up and hands down, ancient liturgies and modern informality, Bible studies and accountability groups, activism and contemplation—it’s all good. If you like old music, praise God. If you like new music, praise God. He likes both old music and new music. More importantly, he likes people who like old music, and he likes people who like new music.”[iv]

            One of the most important points in Romans 14 is something that Paul does not say: that the weak (whoever they are) in faith must change their view. He does not agree with them and he hopes they will change or grow. But he does not tell them to change.

            Christ did not die for music. Christ did not die for precisely 70 minute worship services. Christ did not die for food or drink or any other disputable matters, he died for you, for me. He sacrificed himself, leaving an example that we sacrifice for each other, whatever that means in terms of church.

            What do we do then?

            First, be careful that your actions do not lead someone to do something that goes against their own personal convictions and thereby sin against their conscience. The use of alcohol certainly comes to mind in this regard.

            Second, be careful that your theological correctness does not sound practically insensitive. It is better to do right than to be right. And the right thing to do is love.

            Third, give those who plan and lead our worship services the benefit of the doubt. They are working and praying and striving to bring us into the presence of God through the music they pick. They are not trying to offend anyone, but bless everyone.

            Give each other the benefit of the doubt on disputable matters. It’s called “grace.” We don’t know what others are going through or what battles they are facing. Perhaps they need our guidance through the spiritual morass we call life. Let’s build each other up, for the sake of Christ who died for us all.

                                                                        AMEN

           

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[i] Adapted from Bob Deffinbaugh’s sermon Love and Liberty: Liberties Love Won’t Take

[ii] John Stott, Romans p. 363-364

[iii] Scott Grant, sermon What is unity worth?

[iv] Grant

Romans #29

OUR ONLY OUTSTANDING DEBT

Debt has been the main subject of the political debates in the U.S. presidential race. Personal debt is growing for many North Americans and sits like an ominous gray cloud over our finances. Some stats say we own about 40,000 of the billion dollar Canadian deficit.

            Have you ever wished someone would pay off your debts (credit cards, mortgage)? In 2002 the Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in Norfolk, VA made that wish come true for some. One Sunday of every month, the pastor, Bishop C. Vernie Russell Jr. chose one family from the church to come forward, and the congregation took up an offering to pay off their debt. Over a period of 14 months, the church collected 340, 000 dollars to rescue 59 of the church’s families from debt.[i]

            That is a radical gesture. It seems almost too incredible to grasp. I don’t know how we would even begin to convince ourselves to do something like that at KEMC.

            But the principle behind this lavish gesture is a biblical one.  “When you were dead in your sins … God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us … he took it away, nailing it to the cross” (Col 2:13-14). God paid the debt our sin had incurred with the love he showed us on the cross where his Son died. Our debt is paid.

            We can never repay God for his kindness and love. Yet such a grand act of love begs a response. This response is not in any way “paying God back” and yet we speak of it as owing it to God. What is this response? Loving others.

            Loving others is how we begin to “pay back” the unpayable debt of God’s love for us. Paul in Romans 13 returns to the theme of love after his interlude on governments. Or did he ever leave the theme of love? What does loving others look like in the life of the disciple of Jesus?

1. The One thing you always Owe

Context: We have to remember that the theme under which these teachings come to us is found in Romans 12:1-2. “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercies…” Paul says, referring to the great sketch of our salvation laid out in Romans 1-11. Everything following 12:1-2 is a practical response to the wonderful mercies of God in Christ Jesus.

            When Paul spoke of loving our enemies and not retaliating in revenge, he continued that theme as he moved into submitting to government authorities. Revenge belongs to God and he placed the power of justice in the hands of the State. Our work is to love; the State’s job is to administer justice. There is great freedom for the Christian in this.

a) Owning the debt of love – So as Paul continues the theme of love it appears that he moves into the realm of debt and paying taxes, which is true in a minor sense.

            “Let no debt remain outstanding…” (8a) is easily misunderstood as referring primarily to loans and credit cards or the taxes mentioned in v. 7. However, the term Paul uses here is not used in the sense of financial debt or obligation. It actually has a broader sense of obligation or duty. Within the context of this passage it is nothing less than love that Paul refers to in regards to our true debt.

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law” (8). This is a debt that we are urged to own joyfully in light of God’s tremendous love. It is not a debt that can be paid as it is a continuing debt, an endless debt.

What about actual debt? Does Paul mean for us to ignore the financial debts we have incurred and focus only on the debt of love? I believe Paul would say that when I love others, I fulfill the law – not ignore it. Meaning that in fulfilling my higher duty assures that I will obey my other duties. Loving God will not hinder me from loving others, and loving others will not keep me from my obligation to obey the law or pay my debts. Part of paying my debts is maintaining a character of integrity as a Christian and testimony of God. As I pay my financial debts and obligations I hope to show that my faith in God means something in the tangible world. Loving others means giving them what I owe them. If we don’t do that how will they perceive our love?

b) “Love your neighbor as yourself” – Love fulfills the law. All of it. We have a sampling of the Ten Commandments, the so-called social commandments, given to us in verse 9. We have these commandments in the negative “Do not” format. Why does Paul speak of what love will not do?

            Paul has already spoken of love in the positive in 12:3-21 and how we are to behave. He now speaks of love in relationship to the law. Law tends to be negative as the law tends to prohibit people from actions that would harm other people. The law focuses on the prevention of evil more so than on the promotion of good, though good is in mind. So we have these examples:

Do not commit adultery: Love does not break the marriage covenant. Not yours and not anyone else’s. True love values the virtue of others and will not lead anyone to sin. Adultery damages not just the two people involved but families, friends and the church. Adultery is a sin against love.

Do not murder: Love does not rob someone of their life. We believe in the sanctity of life from unborn babies to the elderly (abortion and euthanasia are not options).

Do not steal: Love does not take what does not belong to it.

Do not covet: Coveting underlies all sins. It sees what others have and is not content. This harms my neighbor because it leads me to wish that my neighbor were deprived of something he owns so that I could possess it.

            These and other commandments are summed up in one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is the second greatest commandment that Jesus taught. Remember the first? He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37). The first commandment has a boundary that begs the extreme limit of human ability (all your heart, soul, mind). To God we always say “yes” and never “no.” Everything Jesus did when he walked Palestinian soil was yes to God: preaching, healing, eating with the 12, and retreating to be with God.

            The commandment “Love your neighbor” also has a boundary: “as yourself.” It too is a high calling but self-care is not the limit of human ability. Loving our neighbor does not mean we have to do everything for our neighbor. Saying “yes” to God may mean saying “no” to my neighbor.

            However, the calling we have is to view our neighbor from a perspective of love. As we do this we will seek his or her good and we will avoid doing anything that will harm him or her.

c) Love sums up the law – If love fulfills the law does that mean we can ignore the law? That’s not what Paul had in mind. Rather, as we think about how we conduct our lives we see that the act of love satisfies the requirement of the law. If we love others, we won’t commit adultery, murder, steal or covet. Love subordinates self-interest in order to serve others.

            I read about humility this week and was taught again about its nature. Humility is not self-abasing so that I put myself down in order to lift others up. Humility is such that I am so busy thinking about you that I am not even thinking about how I need to humble myself.

That is love: investing in other people emotionally, spiritually and physically at cost to ourselves. If we do not invest in others and deposit what we have in our own account it will not gain interest and we will be on the verge of relational bankruptcy. Putting our love in others multiplies the investment.

James agreed with Paul, he said, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right” (Js 2:8).

2. As Different as Night and Day

Paul now brings us to a place to consider the motive and the means for loving our neighbor as ourselves. With this understanding we will find that the life we lived for ourselves will be different from the life transformed by the renewing of our minds because of chapters 1-11. This difference will be as obvious as night and day.

a) The “Why” of love: Christ is near – What is our motivation for working at the debt to love one another?

            Paul wrote, “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (11).

            An old farmer had a grandfather clock that went haywire and chimed fourteen times one midnight. He jumped up and said, “Wake up, Nellie, it’s later than it’s ever been before.” Time is a factor in this text and the time is now. The hour has come to wake up from sleeping. Were the Roman Christians growing oblivious to their calling to follow Christ like the church at Sardis? Were they becoming calloused to the commands of the Great Commission?

            We need to know the time. It was night and now it is day; darkness has passed with the coming of the morning light; sleep is done – time to get up, time to be about the tasks of the day.

            For the past week or two I have waken at 3 or 4 in the morning. The first thing I do is roll over and look at the clock. The second thing I do is think, “Oh good, it’s not time to get up.” Then 6 o’clock hits and my body refuses to get out of bed. I have to rehearse why I must until my brain takes control of my body and heaves a body part out of the covers. One of the problems of waking so early is that it’s not light out yet.

            When the light dawns, you get ready, get dressed and start moving. It’s as simple as that. But now the urgency is intensified; Paul says, “our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” What does he mean?

            In blunt: Christ is near. We could take this to mean that Jesus is returning soon and we ought to live our lives in view of his return. But after two thousand years we could also deduce that this motivation is not really urgent. So it is probably not the Day of the Lord Paul refers to when he calls us to demonstrate our love. What he does mean to say is that the time left between the day of their initial salvation and the day of their final salvation is diminishing. And for us too, there is less time to serve the Lord now than there was when we were first saved. There is no time to waste.

            We have each been given a limited time to live this life. Life is brief as it is. Paul urges us then to love others as the best way to spend our time, especially in view of the great salvation we have in Christ.

            Our salvation is what Romans 1-11 is all about. We were a race of rebels looking for ways to live for self and incur God’s wrath. We were in need of salvation because we all sinned and fell short of the glorious standard of God. But while we were still sinners Christ died for us (here is the model of love we are to follow). We died with him and rose with him and now nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus if we believe that all of this is true. Now we look forward to his blessings instead of his wrath.

            This salvation is nearer now than when you first believed. And in view of this we gotta get lovin’.

b) The “How” of love: Wearing Christ – Loving God and loving others brings about a necessary change in how we do love. Paul contrasts again the night and the day and the activities of each: “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (night vs. day; dark vs. light) Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy” (12-13).

            We are encouraged here to make a stand against the darkness that we can so easily engage in and live counter-culturally. It used to be that there were activities that we shunned as being “worldly,” but we have since balked at that label as being legalistic. Christians do not want to seem holier- than-thou so we have become permissive. There may be a fine line between legalism and holiness however. The line is in our attitude about such things. Some things are clearly deeds of darkness but when we exist in darkness we don’t recognize them as dark deeds anymore. I believe it’s time to shed light on those things.

            When the light of Christ hits the darkness men and women are changed radically. In the Welsh revival that occurred around the turn of the 20th century, 100,000 outsiders were added to the churches. "Drunkenness was immediately cut in half, and many taverns went bankrupt. Crime was so diminished that judges were presented with white gloves signifying that there were no cases of murder, assault, rape or robbery or the like to consider. The police became ‘unemployed’ in many districts. Stoppages occurred in coal mines, not due to unpleasantness between management and workers, but because so many foulmouthed miners became converted and stopped using foul language that the horses which hauled the coal trucks in the mines could no longer understand what was being said to them, and transportation ground to a halt."

            Why is it that when the gospel floods a people like this in revival they give up certain vices? Because those things are not important anymore and love finds itself incompatible with those vices in regards to others.

            Chrysostom, the great preacher of the early church, said, “…nothing so kindles lust and sets wrath ablaze as drunkenness and tippling…Wherefore, I exhort you, flee from fornication and the mother thereof, drunkenness.”[ii]

            Paul wrote, “…make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (NASB 14b). Make no room for sin in your life; give it no place in your life. If you are going to love others what place do these things have?

            No, instead, if we are going to walk in love, how do we do it? Paul confessed in Romans 7 that when he tried to do good it was tainted with sin. It cannot be done in the flesh – the flesh must be crucified, put to death. If we are going to walk in love we must “…clothe (ourselves) with the Lord Jesus Christ” (14a).

            When we put on Christ we let him live through our lives. We show his love when human love is inadequate. We show his love when we are offended and to those who wish to be our enemies. Putting on Christ means depending on Christ to live his life, his grace, and his love through us by means of his Spirit.[iii]

Our only outstanding debt as followers of Christ is to love others as God has loved us. This is the one thing we will always owe. And as we learn to love like Christ loves our lives will be as different as night is from day.

            Francis Chan sat next to a Muslim one time on a plane to Africa. Eventually he asked the Muslim about his beliefs, and then he asked Chan about his. When Chan told him how Jesus had changed his life, he said, “I hope you’re not one of those radicals.” He said he used to wait on tables and have Christians preach at him. Obviously he had been turned off by Christians and Chan did not know how to proceed.

            Then the Muslim asked Chan why he was going to Africa. Chan replied, “I went there a few years ago and I saw these kids who had nothing. I saw them digging through trash heaps looking for water, for food, for anything. There’s no education. They’re just dwindling away.” Chan told him that it broke his heart to see such poverty and when he returned home, he started selling what he could and got friends to do the same.

            The Muslim just looked at Chan, eyes getting big. He said, “That is amazing to me. I prayed that I would meet someone like you. I’ve never understood the charity of some Christians – why they would sacrifice their own stuff for someone that they might not even know. Tell me more about this.”

            Now he was interested.

            What changed for this man was hearing that Christians loved. That opened the door for the gospel of Jesus.[iv]

            “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:9-11).

            Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.

                                                            AMEN

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[i] SOURCE: SermonCentral Staff. Citations: “Manna from Heaven” by Andrea Billups and Laurie Meyers. People Magazine, August 5, 2002. Colossians 2: 13-14.

[ii] C.E.B Cranfield Romans, p. 334

[iii] Bob Deffinbaugh, sermon Love, Law, and the Last Days

[iv] Francis Chan in Thinking, Loving, Doing  ed. John Piper, p. 105

Romans #27

IN VIEW OF GOD’S MERCIES…LOVE

God loves us. More than a feeling of fancy based on good wishes and fluffy rainbows, God has shown us how much he loves us. His Son hanging on a cross is love in action.

            How do we respond to such incredible love?

            Paul taught, “In view of God’s mercies…to offer our bodies as living sacrifices.” In other words, worship him. Under that same urging phrase, “In view of God’s mercies…” Paul now urges his readers to love. In fact, all of Romans 12-15 are a continual challenge to let love govern our relationships. Love is the essence of discipleship.

            In our text today, we who follow Jesus are encouraged to make love the hallmark of our relationships in the church, in our neighborhood and even with our enemies.

1. How the followers of Jesus love other followers

Paul’s recipe for Christian love seems like a potpourri of different sayings, but there is a flow to the thoughts he writes. What does real love look like in the community of believers?

a) Love in the real world – First, Paul teaches, “Love must be sincere” (9a). The meaning here is that love is to be “without hypocrisy.” Hypocrites were originally actors in a play, so Paul is saying that the church should not turn itself into a stage where we pretend to love each other. Love belongs in the real world. Sincere love for each other leaves no place for hypocrisy. We can all tell when someone is pretending to be our friend or worse perhaps, tolerating us. Love among followers must be genuine.

            In connection to this, we read “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (9b). Love is not blind but sees what is evil among us and responds to it. It may be the evil in our own attitudes or actions towards a fellow believer, or it may be an evil in their own life. The point is that we are to be so devoted to the beloved brother or sister that we hate every evil that is incompatible with his or her highest good.

b) Love looks outside itself – Love for others in the church has been spoken of in the past as brotherly love. We might call this “family love” as it was meant to be in its truest sense. This is what Paul meant when he said, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves” (10).

            “Brotherly love” gives preference to our brothers and sisters in Christ, placing them above ourselves. In opposition to this kind of love is the false notion that we have to love ourselves first before we can love others. This way of thinking insists that we cannot love God or others until we have first come to love ourself. But then I am only capable of loving you as I love myself. To Paul, this is hypocrisy.[i]

            The story is told of two goats that met each other on a narrow ledge just wide enough for one goat to pass. The two goats faced each other and wondered, “What shall we do?” They could not back up, that would be too dangerous. They could not go around because the ledge was too narrow. Now, if the goats had no more sense than humans they would have began butting each other until one fell over the ledge. Instead, one goat lay down and let the other walk over him.

c) Love looks for ways to serve – The goats illustrate an attitude we could have in the church. Do we let others have their way? Do we look for ways to serve or build up a brother or sister?

            “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (11). Love energizes us to serve others. Not only that, but love for others in the church spurs us on to look for ways to serve others.

            Serving can be thankless. There is often too little thanks or encouragement for what you do. Sometimes there is opposition to what we want to do for the Lord or others and we feel like quitting. In times like this sacrificial service must not only be motivated by love but also maintained by love. It is the love we have for the Lord that ultimately encourages us.

            Perhaps we look too much to our own fulfillment in service rather than faithfulness. If we seek to fill some void we will be frustrated in our attempts to love others. But if we simply want to be faithful to what the Lord tells us, there will be a greater staying power in our service.

d) Love clings to hope in troubled times – It is usually in troubled times that we find the opportunity to help someone in the church. We bring meals; we offer financial help; we lend a hand; we visit in the hospital. While these are acts of love, without question, there is something missing.

Paul adds, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (12). In this short exhortation is hidden the fact that we serve in the name of the Lord Jesus. Barclay said, "The Christian hope is the hope which has seen everything and endured everything, and has still not despaired, because it believes in God. The Christian hope is not hope in the human spirit, in human goodness, in human endurance, in human achievement; the Christian hope is hope in the power of God."[ii]

So the offered meal and the extra money are good and necessary but they are empowered by the hope we have in Christ. Hope that he will come again; hope also that in the meantime we have a God who loves us and cares for our needs. That needs to be spoken when we bring this gift.

e) Love puts privacy in its place – It is far easier to bring a meal than to offer one in the home. We have become a very private people who believe that our homes are our sanctuaries, a place to get away from work and the pressures of life outside. As a result we seldom show hospitality in our homes. We are slow to open our homes to guests because the house is not clean enough or the food is not fancy enough.

            Paul said, “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality” (13). What people, even church people, need these days is friendship. Sharing with those in need is sometimes no less than a time of visiting. Many feel exposed and perhaps embarrassed when people come into their homes – like an invasion of privacy is taking place; we feel naked. In truth, sharing the intimacy of our homes is the intimacy everyone craves. We want to see the real “you” as expressed in your home.

            When we get past that hurdle then maybe we can begin to show hospitality to the newcomers to our community. Hospitality is one of the ways we show love for each other.

2. How the follower of Jesus loves others

Like a ripple effect love cannot be contained in the walls of the church community. It spreads beyond its original impact affecting others where they live. So as Paul continues his recipe for love it begins to include the fringe people, the outsiders to our faith – though in truth these could apply to the insiders too.

a) Speak positively – When we speak of each other in our church it is worth considering, “Do I speak a blessing or a curse on the subject of my conversation?” “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (14).

            For if we speak curses on our brother or sister – for whatever reason: we don’t agree with their views; we don’t like their attitude; they insult us, so we think – what will those outside our community think of us? Will they perceive that we love each other? If we speak curses on one another, will speak ill of them too? Why would they want to be a part of that?

            Love speaks positively. Sometimes we speak the truth about one another. Hey, we are imperfect people who do stupid things. Can we speak a positive as well as a negative about our brother or sister, or the seekers in our community? The Apostle Peter said, “…love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

b) Have a heart - Viktor Frankel, a well-known secular psychiatrist, wrote of his incarceration in a Jewish concentration camp, where he was confined to a small room. Through cracks in the boards, he could see the stairway immediately behind his wall. Hearing a thumping sound, he peered through the cracks and saw a German soldier dragging the dead body of his fellow-prisoner down the stairs. So great was his own suffering that Frankel confessed feeling nothing at all; in his own suffering, he had become isolated and emotionally uninvolved in the sufferings of his fellowmen.[iii]

            We can fall into the same trap of apathy when we allow our suffering to overwhelm us. For this reason Paul said, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (15). Love identifies with the joys and successes, the pain and the sorrows of other people. Love calls on us to have a heart for the believer and the unbeliever alike in their situation.

c) Treat everyone as friend – Living in the age of suspicion that we find ourselves in it is difficult to trust strangers. Some of the people we do know leave us with questions. But love seeks out friendship with everyone. Paul said, “Live in harmony with everyone. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited” (16).

            Jesus was a friend to the friendless. He associated with people that the elite frowned upon. One thing I am sure he found among these rough people was an absence of pretense, snobbery, and judgment. They had nothing to lose by being genuine and welcoming. Love speaks positively, shares the heart of a neighbor, and seeks friendship in all places.

3. How the follower of Jesus loves an adversary

Love that responds to God’s mercies does not slow down. As followers of Jesus we find ourselves in a radical predicament. Jesus forgave the people who murdered him; he invites us to follow his example and love our enemies. How we do this is shocking to a world that believes in retribution.

a) Be good; live good; do good – Revenge is categorically forbidden for the follower of Jesus – never is it to be practiced nor done to anyone. No exceptions are named; no excuses are accepted. Why? Four reasons: 1) Even society recognizes that revenge is wrong; 2) revenge just breeds hostility; 3) revenge is God’s prerogative, not ours; and 4) revenge plays into the hands of evil and we are to do good.

            The bottom line is consistency. If we claim to follow Jesus then our reaction to evil done to us needs to reflect that claim. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. (BUT) be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody” (17). Everyone is watching to see how we will react. We are called to a higher standard, to God’s standard and that standard is love. Revenge never expresses the love that Christ has commanded us to give.

b) Seek Peace – The best option for a follower of Jesus is to seek peace with your adversary. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (18). Of first priority is to pursue peace instead of revenge. But I appreciate how Paul puts this: “If it is possible” and “as far as it depends on you.” These are not exemptions or “outs” as if to get out of having to make peace; this is a reality that in some cases you will not be able to make peace. The important thing is that the life of love urges you to make peace on your end. If it is not accepted by the person who has something against you, what can you do but give it to God in prayer?

c) Trust in God’s justice – In some situations there is an obvious need for justice. When you have been wronged in a grievous or even criminal manner we all agree “something must be done.” Can we trust God with this need for justice?

            “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mind to avenge; I will repay’” (19).

            Philip Yancey once wrote, "The problem with revenge is that it never gets what it wants; it never evens the score. Fairness never comes. The chain reaction set off by every act of vengeance always takes its unhindered course. It ties both the injured and the injurer to an escalator of pain. Both are stuck on the escalator as long as parity is demanded, and the escalator never stops, and it never lets anyone off."

            James said, “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (1:20). We do not see what God sees and we do not know what God knows. If we take revenge, be it in words or actions, we have no idea if we are even aiming at the right target.

d) Love your enemies – Sounds like something Jesus would say. He might have given this advice as well: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink…” (20a). As we do good to our enemies, we show an unsaved world how God defeats sin. This is the gospel in action. On the other hand, if we allow the sins of others to respond in sin, we have been defeated by sin.

            A woman wrote to "Pulpit Helps" to explain a miraculous lesson her family experienced. During one of their family Bible readings as new Christians, they ran across the verse, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Romans 12:20 RSV). She writes: Ours sons, 7 and 10 at the time, were especially puzzled. "Why should you feed your enemy?" they wondered. My husband and I wondered too, but the only answer John could think of to give the boys was, "We’re supposed to because God says so." It never occurred to us that we would soon learn why.

Day after day John Jr. came home from school complaining about a classmate who sat behind him in 5th grade. "Bob keeps jabbing me when Miss Smith isn’t looking. One of these days, when we’re out on the play ground, I’m going to jab him back.

I was ready to go down to the school and jab Bob myself. Obviously the boy was a brat. Besides, why wasn’t Miss Smith doing a better job with her kids? I’d better give her an oral jab, too, at the same time!"

I was still fuming over this injustice to John Jr. when his 7 year old brother spoke up: "Maybe he should feed his enemy." The 3 of us were startled. None of us was sure about this "enemy" business. It didn’t seem that an enemy would be in the 5th grade. An enemy was someone who was way off... well, somewhere.

We all looked at John. Since he was the head of the family, he should come up with the solution. But the only answer he could offer was the same one he had give before: "I guess we should because God said so."

"Well," I asked John Jr., "do you know what Bob likes to eat? If you’re going to feed him, you may as well get something he likes." "Jelly beans," he almost shouted, "Bob just loves jelly beans."

So we bought a bag of jelly beans for him to take to school the next day, and decided that the next time Bob jabbed John Jr., John was simply to turn around and deposit the bag on his "enemy’s" desk. We would see whether or not this enemy feeding worked.

The next afternoon, the boys rushed home from the school bus and John Jr. called ahead, "It worked, Mom! It worked." I wanted the details: "What did Bob do? What did he say?"

"He was so surprised he didn’t say anything - he just took the jelly beans. But he didn’t jab me the rest of the day!" In time, John Jr. and Bob became the best of friends - all because of a little bag of Jelly Beans.

            It seems "enemies" are always hungry. Maybe that’s why God said to feed them.

So who’s jabbing you in the back?

            “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (21).

It seems that in churches there is always a bit of jabbing going on. How will you respond?

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love each other, God lives in  us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:11-12). His love is made complete in us – what a humbling and awesome thought. Whether it is in the church, in our community or in our most hostile relationships, how we love points to God and is the evidence that we have understood God’s mercies to us.

                                                AMEN

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[i] Bob Deffinbaugh, sermon What is this thing called Love?

[ii] William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans

[iii] Deffinbaugh, sermon Loving your enemies: Overcoming evil with good