Turn with me, if you would, to
Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, we finished
looking at these gifts that the Apostle Paul mentioned, and he's
now gonna begin mentioning exhortations to us. We're gonna pick up with
verse nine, but let's begin reading in verse one. Let's read down
to it. Romans 12, verse one, it says, I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice. holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world,
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you
may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God. For I say through the grace given
unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have
not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ,
and every one members one of another. Having then gifts, differing
according to the grace that is given to us, Whether prophecy,
let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith. Or ministry,
let us wait on our ministering. Or he that teacheth on teaching.
Or he that exhorteth on exhortation. He that giveth, let him do it
with simplicity. He that ruleth with diligence. He that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. Now Paul is gonna finish out
the chapter. with exhortations on how believers
ought to be and how they ought to live, what our character ought
to be, what our conduct ought to be. This is just exhortation
after exhortation. You'll just see it's one right
after the next. Before we see these, though, in light of ourselves,
Let's see them in light of Christ. That's where we always begin.
He is our inspiration, motivation. Let's see all of these in light
of Christ. I'm gonna read the rest of these
verses and let's view him in them. Verse nine says, let love
be without dissimulation. That means let it be without
hypocrisy. Let it be sincere. Was Christ's love sincere? Did He prove the sincerity of
His love to us? Prove it, not just say it, but
prove it. Greater love had no man than
Him. He laid down His life. So verse
nine says, let love be without dissimulation, abhor that which
is evil and cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned
one to another with brotherly love in honor, preferring one
another. He said, I came for my people.
I came for my sheep. That's who he associated with.
That's who he identified with, his sheep. Verse 11 says, not
slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. This is what he said. I must
be about my father's business. He said, father, the work you
gave me to do, I finished it. Finished it. Verse 12 says, rejoicing
in hope, Patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. That perfectly describes his
endurance of the cross. He rejoiced in hope. He was patient in tribulation,
continuing instant in prayer. Verse 13 says, distributing to
the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality. We had
a necessity, didn't we? It was necessary that he come. That's the whole reason he came.
Verse 14 says, bless them which persecute you, bless and curse
not. That is exactly what he did.
That's exactly what he did. Verse 15 says, rejoice with them
that do rejoice and weep with them that weep. He was touched
with every feeling that we have. He was touched with all our infirmities. Those verses where it says he
wept, you know, standing there at Lazarus's tomb and they looked
at him as he wept. He wept with those that wept. Verse 16, it says, be of the
same mind, one toward another, mind not high things, but condescend
to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, but he humbled himself. He put all of his reputation
aside. He made himself to be a servant.
He made himself to be like-minded with us. Verse 17, recompense
to no man evil, for evil. He recompensed to us good for
evil." It goes on to say, provide things honest in the sight of
all men, all men. Even Pilate himself said, I find
no fault in him. Verse 18, if it be possible as
much as life in you live peaceably with all men. Thank God he is
the prince of peace. Thank God he lived peaceably. with men. He is peace itself. Peace himself. Verse 19 dearly
beloved avenge not yourselves but rather give place unto wrath
for it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay sayeth the
Lord like a sheep done before his shearers. He opened not his
mouth. He didn't say anything. He did
not avenge himself. Verse 20, therefore, if thine
enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in doing so, thou shalt heap
coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good. Our Lord said that if any man
hungered for righteousness, He said, I will fill him. Open your
mouth wide and I'll fill it. He said, if any man thirst, let
him come unto me. The heaps of coals of fire, that
fire of his spirit, John the Baptist said, I'm baptizing you
with water, but one is coming with the fire of the Holy Ghost.
And that perfectly describes our Lord Jesus Christ. That is
who he is. That's what he did. Meaning that
was his conduct. That was his character. As soon
as a child of God sees that, that's all the motivation he
needs to want to be just like his Lord. We want to be just
like him. That is the goal. That is the
goal. In that moment that this body
lays down and we're done with it, we will obtain it. We're gonna be just like Him. That is, if our Lord didn't promise
that and repeat it and repeat it and repeat it, this sinful
flesh would cry, blasphemy, don't say that. But that's what He
said. We'll be just like Him. And seeing
that gives a child of God a heart to want to be that right now.
I know I can't be this perfectly, and you do too, but I want it. We desire it. So with that being
said, let's now look at ourselves in this. Let's see if the Lord
will confirm this more and more to us and conform us to it. So verse nine, it says, let love
be without dissimulation. That does mean without hypocrisy,
not fake, not fake. This is something our flesh needs
to be reminded of and needs to learn all the time. Cause this
flesh is flash that which is flash is sinful flash. And the exhortation is, let love,
let our love for each other be genuine. Let it be sincere. Let it be from the heart. Truly from the heart. Meaning,
not just in word, but in deed and in truth. That was our Lord's
love to us. Not just in word. He didn't just
write the word. He brought the deed. He brought
the truth. Let's prove our love to each
other. If we're gonna possess any of
these characteristics, our Lord is gonna have to give them to
us. We can't conjure them up because all we are is simple
flesh. He will have to give these to us. We cannot have anything
except it be given from Him. So let's ask him to give us this
sincere love for him and for each other. He said, if any man
ask a good thing in my name, I'll give it to you. And that's
a good thing. Lord, give me this sincere, true
love for you and for your people. Look with me, if you would, at
1 John 3. First John three, verse 18. My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. We can say, I love you. But that doesn't mean that our
words will be able to speak for our deeds. It can roll off the
tongue so easy and so fast. I love you. But that just does
not mean that our deeds will speak, our words will speak for
our deeds. If we show, though, I love you,
Our deeds will always speak for our words. Always, let me explain
what that means. We constantly say things to each
other through our deeds. Constantly, constantly. I can say everything that I need
to say by either gritting my teeth, storming right past you
and not saying anything to you, or putting a smile on my face,
heading straight for you and giving you a big old hug. I can
say all I need to say. A word doesn't even have to come
out of my mouth. Paul is saying do the second
one and mean it. And mean it. Put on a sincere
love for each other and show it. Show it, don't just say it. Show it. Look at 1 John 4, verse
7. 1 John 4, verse 7. It says, Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone
that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not
knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love
of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten son
into the world that we might live through him. Here in his
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent
his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God
so loved us, we are also to love one another. For Christ's sake,
let's make a conscious effort to put away anger and put away
pride and put away selfishness, which is what the flesh is so
prone to. It is so prone to self. Let's put all that away and make
a conscious effort to put on a sincere, heartfelt love for
each other. Let's not just think, how can
I say that to them? Let's think, how can I show that
to them? How can I show my love? Here's
how. Look with me if you would at
1 Corinthians 13. Here's how we can show our love. The word charity means love.
First Corinthians 13 verse four. It says love suffers long. It keeps putting up with. And
it keeps putting up with. And it keeps putting up with.
And it keeps putting up with. That's what it does. And it keeps
putting up with. How can I show my love to my
brethren? Keep putting up with them. Just keep putting up with them.
Yeah, but they're a bunch of sinners. Yeah, and so are you. And Christ keeps putting up with
you, and so am I, and Christ keeps putting up with me. Verse four says, Love suffers
long and love is kind. How can I show my sincere love?
Be kind. Just be kind. You see a lot of
ugliness in the world. There's a lot of ugliness. Just
be kind. Just be kind. Oh, the loving kindness of Christ
toward us. Verse four says, love doesn't
envy. It envieth not. It does not envy. Well, do you see what he just
got? Guess who just got the next big thing? His life is always so great.
My life is always a mess. Love doesn't envy. This is what
love says. That's what God gave to you. And this is what God
has given to me. That old illustration, It's been
told many times, but somebody said, if God sent two angels
to the world, one to rule it and the other one to sweep the
streets, neither one of them would care which job they had.
And they wouldn't. They wouldn't. They'd say, that's
what God has given you, and this is what God's given me. Verse four says, love vaunteth
not itself. It's not rash, it's not demanding. It says it's not puffed up. It's
not proud. Love is not proud. Verse five
says, love does not behave itself unseemly. It seeketh not her
own. It's not selfish. It doesn't
act selfish. It doesn't sulk and pout over
to the side when things are not going his or her way. And if that's what I'm doing,
there's no way my love can be sincere. There's no way. Verse
five says it's not easily provoked. You know how it is when, when
people are easily provoked, just the slightest thing and they
fly off the handle. Could you imagine if our Lord
was provoked, easily provoked in the things that we do in the
way that we are. He said, thinketh no evil, verse
five, thinketh no evil. Sincere love does not say, what
did you mean by that? It doesn't say that. I know that's
what you said, but I don't think that's what you meant by that.
Love doesn't say that. And even if the person did, even
if the person did mean something by that, love will just put up
with them and just keep on putting up with them. It won't be easily provoked by
him. It'll be patient. Verse six says
true, sincere love will not rejoice in another man's fall or another
man's sin. It'll only rejoice in the truth.
Verse seven says it will bear all things. It will believe all
things. It'll hope the best in all things. It will endure all things. Verse
eight says true, honest, heartfelt love will never fail another
brother or sister. Aren't we so thankful to know
that in the covenant of Christ's blood, he will never say to us,
he'll never say to us, I used to love you, but I just don't
anymore. Never. True sincere love will not fail
the one it loves. That's the love Christ has for
us. May He give that love to us for each other. All right,
look back with me at Romans 12. Verse nine goes on to say, abhor
that which is evil, cleave to that which is good, hate that
which is evil and cleave to that which is good. Believers sin
period believers sin. They do believers sin. Believers will continue to sin
until they are rid of their body of sin. They are centers, but
believers do not love their sin. They don't, they hate it. They
war with it. They struggle over it. They grieve
over it. And that's what a believer should
do with it. That's what a believer should
do with it. I used to know one person is in my mind in particular
a long time ago, but I've heard this so many times people say,
well, I'm just a center. I'm just going to keep on doing
anyway. You know, I might as well just go with it. No, sir. Absolutely not. Job said, I hate
myself. He said, I abhor myself and I
repent in dust and ashes. David said, against thee and
thee only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. He cried,
purge me. I know I'm still a sinner in
the flesh, but purge me. Cause me to hate evil and cleave
to that which is good. Let me be a witness. Let me be
a testimony. Let me be an example of not just
a sinner, but a saved sinner, a redeemed sinner. For Christ's
sake, abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good.
All right, what is good? If we're gonna hate the evil
and cleave to the good, what is good? He is good. His word is good. His gospel is good. His worship is good. Fellowship with his people is
good. So good. Verse 10 says, be kindly affectioned
one to another with brotherly love. He's saying love each other
as members of the same family. You will put up with a lot from
your own family that you won't put up with from anybody else. You know that? He said, God's people are family.
One family, one father, one husband, one brother, One mind, one spirit,
one body. Love each other like you love
family. The end of verse 10, he said,
in honor, preferring one another. What does he mean by preferring
one another? He means preferring one another. That's what he means, preferring
one another. Sheep need sheep. Sheep need sheep. When sheep are all alone, they're
weak, they're defenseless, they're
vulnerable. Sheep need sheep. How can two walk together except
they be agreed? When it comes to the relationships
that a believer has in this world, His or her most profitable relationships
are the ones with other believers. You have the same mind, you have
the same goal, you have the same heart, you have the same priority,
and that priority is Christ. Christ, he's at the center of
everything you do. Not only can relationships with
unbelievers be unprofitable, But in some cases they can be
very dangerous, very, very dangerous. They will take your mind. They
will take your goal. They will take, they'll take
your priority away from Christ, away from Christ. Brother Henry
Mahan used to say, if you don't want the flu. And I'm sure this
will get changed to a whole nother disease, a whole nother virus.
But he used to say, if you don't want the flu, don't hang out
with people who have the flu. Now, if that just meant sin,
well, we all have sin. You can hang out with anybody
you want. But more deeply, this is what
that's saying. If you don't want to have a lacking heart for Christ, because you know how prone we
are to it, that indifference, that coldness. If you don't want
to have a lacking heart for Christ and a lacking desire for Christ,
then don't hang out with those who have a lacking heart for
Christ and a lacking desire for Christ. If you don't want to
love and feed on and revel in your own sin, Then don't hang
out with those who love and feed on and revel in their own sin.
I mean, just. It's not that we're better than
them. Not at all. Not at all. It's that rarely
will the believer influence the unbeliever. All believers have
good intentions and they say, well, I'm going to try to influence
them and win them to Christ. Rarely will the believer influence
the unbeliever. Almost always, it's the unbeliever
who influences the believer. And this is the reason why. The
unbeliever does not possess the new nature of Christ. That means he has nothing in
common with the new nature of the believer. He can't. But the
believer still possesses the old sinful nature of the flesh,
and he has everything in common with the unbeliever. So if God
doesn't give both of them a new nature, if God does not do the
work, it can only go one way. That fellowship, that union,
that communion, it can only go one way. It can only go to the
sinful nature of the old man. So for our good, our Lord, through
the Apostle Paul, he warned us that evil communications corrupt
good manners. That's 1 Corinthians 15, 33. And he said in 2 Corinthians
6, 14, be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what
communion hath light with darkness? All of God's people cry, but
for the grace of God, who am I? I'm the chief sinner. That's what all of God's people
cry. But this is what God has said. This is what he said he's
made his people to be in Christ. And so he went on to say, come
out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord. Now,
clearly, Clearly, we all have family members who are unbelievers. We work with unbelievers. We have pleasant acquaintances,
and I do mean very pleasant acquaintances, with unbelievers. Our desire
and our command is to witness to them. Witness the gospel to
them, go out into them and preach the gospel. But what he's saying
is for our good and for our growth and for our profit, sheep need
to be with sheep. Sheep need to dwell with sheep. Sheep need to spend their time
with sheep. They need the fellowship of sheep. And the reason is because when
two or three sheep are gathered together in his name, he's in
the midst of them. There's a reason why he didn't
say one, he said two or three. But we need to spend our time
feeding with sheep. We need to spend our time resting
with sheep. That will comfort us. You'll
find it to be so. You're with unbelievers, and
oh, may the Lord have mercy on their souls, but there's just
unrest, and there's an inner turmoil, and then you come together
with God's sheep, and the conversation goes to Christ, and it's like,
oh, I needed this. That feeds my soul. That writes
me again. I see the path again. It'll strengthen us, it'll encourage
us, point us to Christ. So for that reason, he said,
love each other, cleave to Christ with each other, be kindly affection
to each other, and he said, prefer each other. May the Lord help
us to do that. All right, you're dismissed.