Last month we looked at the first half of Romans 12. Paul spent 11 chapters in this book outlining the doctrinal basis for our inability to save ourselves and God’s great plan of salvation including election, justification by faith alone, sanctification, and glorification. In Rom 5:8, Paul states that God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us. In response, beginning in Romans 12, Paul turns to how do we live in light of these great doctrinal truths. In my sermon last month, I began to make the case that Romans 12 was the love chapter of the book of Romans. We are to love God and love others fulfilling the two great commandments. We are to love God by humbling ourselves and recognizing our total dependence upon Him. We are to die to our selfish desires and offer our lives as a living sacrifice in service to Him. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to renew our minds by studying, memorizing, and meditating on His word. This allows us to discern His good, acceptable, and perfect will including loving others. We do that by loving others with affection and honor and using the gifts God has given each of us for the building up of the church. Today, I want to further my case for this being the love chapter of Romans. Similar to the more famous love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13, which follows Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts and teaches us that our gifts mean nothing if they are not motivated by love; Paul turns from discussing spiritual gifts in vs 3-8 to further instruction and practical application on loving others, including those in- and outside the church, and even those who greatly oppose the church.

⁹ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In v 9 Paul starts with let love be genuine, or sincere, or without hypocrisy. This is a summary statement of Romans chapter 12. As we learned last time, because we love God, we are to abhor what is evil and hold fast to what is good and we learn this through God’s revealed word. And as Paul tells us in chapter 13 of Romans we are to:

13:8  Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9  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." 10  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

Back to chapter 12 v10 Paul instructs us to love another with brotherly affection and to outdo one another in showing honor. We are to show love, to esteem, to value, and to show preference to other believers as if they were naturally a part of our family. So what does loving and honoring one another look like? Well the more famous love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us:

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful, ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Similar to his instructions on humility in v 12:3, Paul also urges us in Philippians chapter 2 to:

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

He goes on in this passage in Philippians to tell us to have the mind of Christ, who gave up his rights and became a man and died for us out of His great love for us.

So in summary, we love and honor others by putting away our own selfish desires and instead seeking the best interest of others following the example of Christ.

And when we do this, we are not to be slothful, but to be zealous and fervent in spirt, (literally boiling; with lots of energy) as if we are serving the Lord. Paul writing in Colossians 3, in the context of husband/wife, parent/child, master/servant relationships; says:

²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

We love and honor others, ultimately out of our love for God. And when we do so, we are promised an inheritance with Him, we glorify him, and we bear witness to him.

Joh 13:35  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." 

So genuine love is zealous for the family of God, seeking to do good for and to the family of God, serving them with our gifts, putting their interests ahead of ours, and always thinking the best of them.

Paul next gives us some examples and exhortations on how we can demonstrate this love for the brothers. V 13 tells us one way we can do this is to contribute to the needs of the saints. We can do this by using the gift of giving we discussed in v 12:8. At the heart of this is a desire to share and be generous with what God has given to us, because He has been so generous to us. 2 Corinthians9:7

⁷ Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Contributing to the needs of the saints can be done by giving actual money to the church through our tithes and offerings. These are then used by the deacons of the church to serve and support those who have financial need. You may want to give directly to someone you personally know who is in need. You may feel like you don’t have much to give, but remember God is not interested in the amount you give, but in your willingness and faithfulness to give like the poor widow who gave the two copper coins (Mk 12:42, Lk 21:2).

There are other ways to contribute to the needs of the saints besides giving money. It could be offering a service to someone in need at no cost; such as a car or home repair, babysitting, providing transportation or cleaning, helping with a move, etc. Be creative and ask God, “How can I show love by contributing to the needs of the saints.”

Another way to show love and contribute to the needs of the saints is to show hospitality. In fact, Paul tells us to seek, or to look for opportunities, to serve others. The Greek word here literally means to entertain strangers. Back in the time this letter was written, it was not safe to travel, especially for Christians. So, it was not uncommon for other believers to host believers from other towns or regions. This is something we should be willing to do. Host missionaries when they visit. If someone from another church is referred looking for a place to stay as they travel, open your home. I know several of you have opened your homes to others in the church who needed some place to stay. What a great way to demonstrate love and contribute to the needs of the saints.

V15 tells us we also show love to our brothers and sisters in Christ by rejoicing and weeping with them. In v 5, Paul says we are members one of another. And because of this, another way Paul put it in 1Co 12:26 :

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 

Rather than being jealous, which is often our natural response when someone has something good happen to them, rejoice with them when something good happens to them. When a brother or sister first repents and believes, we can rejoice along with the angels; that what was once lost, is now found (Lk 15:10). We can rejoice with them when we see spiritual growth in their lives. Rejoice with them when they have opportunities to share the gospel, when they have a new insight into Scripture and how they’ve applied it in their lives, and when they’ve seen an answer to prayer. Sometimes we might weep and rejoice with them together as the express godly sorrow over sin that leads to repentance/forgiveness, growth, and victory over sin. (2 Cor 7:8-10)

I would say generally rejoicing comes more easily for us than weeping with our brothers. When someone is struggling with sin, when they weep over the death of a loved one or over one who has gone astray; It can be difficult to know how to support them. Often during these times, at least initially, what our hurting friend needs is not a religious platitude, or a confrontation of their sin or situation, but someone just to mourn with them in their struggles. In time though, we can often comfort them with the comfort we have received from God and Scripture, especially if we have been in similar circumstances. 2 Cor 1:3-4:

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Who better to help with struggles with a particular sin, than someone else who has struggled with that sin as well? Who better to comfort someone diagnosed with cancer, who has lost a loved one, who has gone through a divorce, who has had a loved one walk away from the faith; than someone who has had similar experiences? A caution is not to assume that because you have had a similar experience, that you know exactly how they feel. Make sure to ask questions and listen to them. After you have a better understanding of what they are experiencing, you can share how God has comforted you in a similar situation and encourage them with Scripture that has encouraged you.

So, we can demonstrate our love for one another by contributing to the needs of others and by, rejoicing and weeping with them.

Because we are all still wrestling with our sinful nature and we are sinners being sanctified, we don’t always love as we should; and sometimes despite our best efforts to show love, we can come into conflict with others. So, another way Paul instructs us to love one another in v 16 is by seeking to live in harmony with one another. Echoing back to v 12:3, we love by being humble, or not being haughty, not to thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think, never being wise in our own sight. We are to seek to associate with the depressed and down cast. We must put others interests ahead of our own, 1 Corinthians 10:24:

²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

We are not to seek to be socially or intellectually superior:

1Co 8:1  Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. 

And we are not to show favoritism or partiality:

Jas 2:8  If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. 9  But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 

We cannot always control how others respond to us, but as in v18 we are to do what we can do to seek to live at peace with others. One area that can lead to disharmony which Paul addresses in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10 is areas of opinions or disputable matters. Instead of proudly expressing our “rights” we are to defer those “rights” to the one who is “weak” Rom 14:13, 19; 15:1-2:

¹³ Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

¹⁹ So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ² Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 

Paul also writes in 2Co 13:11;

  Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 

A helpful resource we have used in our family and we went through together in CTR several years ago is The Peacemaker by Ken Sande and the Young Peacemaker by Corlette Sande. Briefly they promote the biblical approach of in conflict, we are to overlook an offense and forgive if we can (Prov 19:11, Col 3:13, 1 Pet 4:8). If we cannot, we are to examine ourselves, taking the log out of our own eye (Mt 7:5) and confessing our own sinful choices, then lovingly confront in a respectful and kind way (Eph 4:15, Col 4:6). If we are unable to resolve the conflict, we are to seek help in resolving the conflict (Prov 11:14, Mt 18:15-17). Another good resource Anna and her team have used is Peace Pursuit. I put several copies of their Quick Start Guide on the back table, and I’ll provide a link on the church GroupMe where you can download it. Quick Start Guide – Peace Pursuit

And Paul tells to pursue peace with all men, including our enemies, which we will delve into further shortly. If we remember the God who loved us and sought peace with us, even when we were his enemies; should we not show the same love and peace to others?

So, we are to love others by meeting their needs, rejoicing and weeping with them, and living in harmony with them, pursuing peace with them when we are able.

In these instructions on genuine love, there is some overlap between our love for our brothers and loving our enemies. Because we are sinners interacting with other sinners there will be conflict at times. So, Paul in addition to specific actions of love, instructs us on attitudes that can help us to continue to love others such as being humble and peace loving. In v 12, he additionally tells us to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer.)

One way we can be patient and rejoice in hope is through the encouragement of the Scriptures, Romans 15:4-7:

⁴ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶ that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Through the study of the Scriptures, we understand that hope is not a wish, but a confident expectation. And what do we hope in? The hope of the glory of God (Rom 5:2)

Psa 16:9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.  10  For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

Tit 2:13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 

Romans 8: ¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved

So when there is conflict, hope in the glory of God. Know there is a time coming when we will all be surrounded by perfect love and peace.

In addition to rejoicing in hope, we are to be constant in prayer. We cannot love others, particularly in difficult situations, in our own strength. We must be in communion with God and lean on his strength, power, and peace; and this is fueled by prayer.

Eph 6:18  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 

1Th 5:17  pray without ceasing

Writing in the context of 2 sisters in the church in conflict, Paul writes:

Php 4:6  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Confident hope and praying allows us to be strengthened and gives us patience in tribulation as we may experience opposition and persecution from others. The word patience literally means to stay under or bear up under trials. And remember the words of Jesus:

Joh 16:33  I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." 

As Christ overcame evil with good, so can we (V21).

So thus far today, we have seen that genuine love involves loving our brothers and sisters by serving them, meeting their needs and showing hospitality; rejoicing and weeping with them; praying with them and for them; and being humble, patient, and pursuing peace and harmony with them.

Paul then challenges us to go even further - to show love to those who oppose us and may be our enemies. Jesus did the same in Matthew 5:

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Jesus (c/w Lk 6:27-36) and Paul in v 14 instruct us to bless those who persecute us and not to curse them. Bless means to speak well, to thank, or invoke a benediction upon. It’s where we get the word eulogy. Paul wrote:

1Co 4:12  and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13  when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. 

And Peter wrote:

1Pe 2:23  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 

And when we do as Jesus did, we receive a blessing:

1Pe 3:9  Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 

In v 17, we are told not to repay evil with evil (c/w 1 Thes 5:15), but instead to consider what to do that would be honorable in the site of all.

1Pe 2:12  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 

I confess this is something that is difficult for me. I often have a self-righteous attitude toward those who oppose me. I have used derogatory names and labels for them, avoided associating with them, and lacked compassion for them. When we are facing conflict with those who oppose us and the gospel, we should treat them with dignity and respect as a fellow image bearer of God. We should think the best of them, pray for them, and do everything in our power to speak and think well of them.

Paul knows our natural response to those who do evil and oppose us is to not return good or blessing, but to curse, to repay evil for evil, and to take revenge. Here he gives us the high calling of not being overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good (v21). In vv 19-20, Paul tells us not to take revenge or to try to personally avenge ourselves. That is the providence of God, and he quotes from Dt 32:35. I want to refer you to Mark’s excellent sermon he preached over Thanksgiving on the sin of revenge where he reminded us in Lev 19 that taking revenge is the antithesis of loving your neighbor.

Lev 19:18  You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Paul goes on further in the next chapter (13:4) teaching that it is the role of the civil government to be an agent of God’s wrath and justice. We are never to take vengeance into our own hands. And as we just saw in 1 Peter 2:23, when the government doesn’t get it right, and they often don’t, we can entrust ourselves to Him who judges justly.

Echoing the words of Jesus recorded in Mat 5:33-34 & Lk 6:27-30, Paul tells us that instead taking revenge, we are to feed our enemies when they are hungry, to give them something to drink when they are thirsty. In other words, instead of repaying evil with evil, return evil with good and kindness and blessing. Then he adds this interesting phrase “for by so doing you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Paul is quoting from Proverbs 25:21-22. Matthew Henry suggests this could be understood as either:

“By so doing you will 1. “Melt him into repentance and friendship, and mollify his spirit towards thee” (alluding to those who melt metals; they not only put fire under them, but heap fire upon them; thus Saul was melted and conquered with the kindness of David, 1Sa_24:16; 1Sa_26:21) - “thou wilt win a friend by it, and if thy kindness have not that effect then,” 2. “It will aggravate his condemnation, and make his malice against thee the more inexcusable. Thou wilt hereby hasten upon him the tokens of God's wrath and vengeance.” Not that this must be our intention in showing him kindness, but, for our encouragement, such will be the effect. To this purpose is the exhortation in the last vers, which suggests a paradox not easily understood by the world, that in all matters of strife and contention those that revenge are the conquered, and those that forgive are the conquerors.”

So, Paul finally summarizes showing love to those who are against us by saying, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” I can think of no better example of this than Christ himself, who instead of calling down a curse and destroying those who were crucifying him, instead said

Luk 23:34  And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

By willingly giving up his life in the most heinous act of evil of all history, the murder of the innocent Son of God; Jesus overcame that act of evil men with the greatest good of all history, securing the salvation of all His elect. May we be so loving and forgiving.

There may be someone here today that has been in conflict with God and has not received his forgiveness and peace. If you would like to know how you can experience God’s love and be at peace with Him, I encourage you to talk with Pastor Nate, myself, your parents, or someone you trust about this.

So, loving others, including our enemies, involves returning blessings for curses, seeking to honor and serve them, seeking to overcome evil with good, that they might see Christ in us and turn to Him.

So over these 2 sermons on Romans 12, I hope I have convinced you that Romans 12 is another “love chapter.” In it we see that we are to love God by offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him by renewing our minds, discerning his perfect will. We are to abhor evil and hold fast to what is good. When we use the gracious gifts God has given us, we love Him, by loving his body, the church. And we love others by building up and serving other believers. We are to humbly seek to live in harmony with one another, pursuing peace, honoring one another. We help meet one another’s needs and share joy and sorrow with one another. We also love others, even our enemies, by showing acts of kindness, never taking revenge, and by so doing overcome evil with good. When we do this Christ is glorified and others are drawn to Him. Let’s offer our bodies to God and may He so transform us to be loving sons and daughters who love and honor one another that we turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6).