Evidence of God’s Life Changing Grace

Transcript

GRM 900
05/02/2004
Evidence of God’s Life Changing Grace
Romans 12:9-13
Gil Rugh


Romans chapter 12. We’ve talked in Timothy about some of the characteristics of apostates and those who corrupt the church and their negative influence. We’ve heard testimonies tonight of the positive transformation brought about in the lives of those who turn to Christ. In Romans chapter 12 Paul moves to talk about the amazing change that God brings about in the lives of those who are saved by His grace. Paul began the book of Romans by saying that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And you think about that—the power of the omnipotent God turned loose in a life to bring about salvation. We would not expect anything other than radical transformation and change. As the book of Romans made clear in the opening chapters, our situation, our condition in sin is so serious that nothing but the power of God can bring about salvation. The book of Romans is about the salvation of God. It moves in an orderly course from our sinful condition to the righteousness God has provided to the transformed lives that come through the sanctifying work of the Spirit of God as a result of our salvation. Talks about the sovereignty of God in salvation, shows how it related to Jews as well as Gentiles.

And then in chapter 12 he begins to walk through some of the specifics and some of the details of salvation as we live our lives. And chapter 12 began with an exhortation to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God, that ongoing recognition that I am no longer my own, I have been bought with a price, the salvation that has been accomplished in my life by God’s grace through God’s power. Now it means I live a life that is pleasing to Him, that is honoring to Him.

I just want to pick up on some verses beginning with verse 9 in the middle of chapter 12, which demonstrates something of the transforming power of God in our lives. It is real and as those now who live for the Lord, who recognize they belong to Him, their lives are His, the bodies in which we live are His. We are to demonstrate His character and the beauty of the change that has come about in our lives.

He talked about spiritual gifts leading into this and how we are to exercise those abilities that God has given us for the good of others, the service that He has equipped us to render. Then picking up with verse 9 he says let love be without hypocrisy. We’ll see as we move through this list how short, sharp and clear each of these instructions are. They are not elaborated or developed, but these are qualities and characteristics that ought to be seen in our lives. A genuine love is the beginning point. You know it’s interesting, up to this point in the book of Romans the focus on love has been on God’s love for us. Romans chapter 8, at the end of that chapter, what shall separate us from the love of God, which is ours in Christ Jesus. It’s been a focus on God’s love for us but remember now we have become partakers of the divine nature and now something of the beauty of His character is seen in us. Here we are now demonstrating to others the beauty of God’s love now manifested in and through us; we who have been the recipients of His love now demonstrate His love in our relationships to one another. It’s a love produced by God in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 is love. That gracious love, that self-sacrificing love that God demonstrated so richly to us is now to be true in our lives and in our relationship together. We talked about the functioning of the body together with the various parts, with what we call spiritual gifts in the verses leading into this. We are reminded that we’ve been brought together into a relationship with others. Foundational relationship is with God. We have fellowship with God as a result of the wonder of our salvation. Remember I John, John began that epistle by talking about the fellowship we have with one another, and our fellowship is with God. So, we have a relationship with one another, we have become the family of God. He is our heavenly Father. So now we live in a family relationship together and that family is to be characterized by a consuming love, a genuine love.

It says, let love be without hypocrisy. We want to be sure that we are not trying to manifest something that’s not genuine. This is to be a love that’s not put on, a love that’s does not pretend, a love that’s not shown just for the show of it. It’s an unhypocritical love, it’s genuine, it’s real, it’s not counterfeit. It is a real putting of others before ourselves.

Turn over to I Peter chapter 1, I Peter chapter 1, toward the back of your New Testament. You get all the way to the end of the New Testament; you can come forward and you’ll run into the epistles of Peter. I Peter chapter 1, Peter talks about the wonder of our salvation, our redemption. Verse 18 of chapter 1 he says, “knowing you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers.” You don’t get saved by adopting your parents’ religion. You’re saved with the precious blood of Christ, as of the lamb unblemished and spotless, only through faith in Him. Then you come down to verse 22, “since you have an obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren,” brotherly love there, Philadelphia love. You have purified your souls for this brotherly love, a family love. Fervently love one another from the heart; and there that self-sacrificing, agape love. We are to fervently love one another from the heart. You know not just love one another, but a passionate, sincere, earnest love from the heart. Why? You’ve been born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable—the living and abiding Word of God. When you are saved you are changed, you are born again. This is a life-changing experience because you have been brought into relationship with the living God and His power has brought about new birth in your life. The result of that is, you were purified for this purpose. So, you can enter into love, a love relationship with God and with His children. So be fervent in your love for one another.

It’s a love of action. We now give ourselves to doing what is best for others, just like we do in our physical families. We sacrifice, we do what is good. What do parents do? They sacrifice, they give of themselves, they do without, they suffer the inconvenience and so on. Why? They’re doing it for the good of their children. And so, there is a family love there. Well God says there ought to even be a greater depth and commitment in our love for one another as His children. Jesus said this would be the great mark of His followers. John 13:34-35, “by this all men will know you are my disciples if you have love for one another”, this unhypocritical love, this fervent love, genuine love. That’s why a person who claims to be a child of God that doesn’t want to be involved with God’s people raises red flags. There’s something wrong. How can we love one another and demonstrate the reality of our salvation and be fervent in that love and demonstrate its genuineness—well I don’t even want to be around you; we are a family.

Back in Romans chapter 12, and that is a blessing. We belong to God; we belong to the family of God, and we are to be genuine in our love for one another. You’ll note that is something we have control over. You say I can’t help it; I don’t have any feeling for them, I don’t like them. Well, we are to have an unhypocritical love. Maybe I need to get apart with the Lord and say Lord first I must deal with my love for you. I don’t have any love for your children, your family. Lord, it probably reflects on the love I don’t have for you. Because the Bible does tell us if we love God, we love those who are born of God. So really, I must get back and say Father I have to settle something. First of all, I need to clarify my relationship with you and its genuineness. Then Lord I’ve not been as passionate in my love for you and as genuine in my love for you as I must be. That’s reflected in my lack of a real genuine and fervent, passionate love for your family. So let love be without hypocrisy.

Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Abhor what is evil, and the verb used here, abhor, denotes something that is hated. There’s a compete hatred, an abhorrence of something. The idea that love means an acceptance. There was a sad article in the paper this weekend, some of you have commented on it to me. It has to do with sexual lifestyles and homosexuality and acceptance of that. You know when you really love someone, you don’t want them to destroy themselves. You know something is wrong, you talk to a parent and say do you love your children? Oh yes, I really love them, I do all I can do to encourage their heroin habit. I just want them to know, I want them to have what they want, and I just do all I can to encourage them in taking drugs. You say that’s not love. So, love does abhor what is evil. It wants to stay away from what is evil and it doesn’t want evil in those that they love, because sin is always destructive. The wages of sin is death. So, it’s not genuine love. They say oh that’s not a loving church, they don’t accept everyone just as they are. Well no. Genuine love doesn’t do that, genuine love wants what is best and good for the others. I don’t love you if I want your ruin, I don’t love you if I want your destruction. So, the child of God, that’s contrary to love and it’s contrary to my relationship with God because evil is contrary to the character of God and it’s contrary to what God is in His being. So genuine love will involve a true hatred of everything that is evil and sinful, that is contrary to God’s character. Jude, in the 23rd verse of his short letter, Jude 23 said, we are to be hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. I mean we just abhor and hate things polluted by sin, don’t want anything to do with that. It’s contrary to the character of my God, my ability to honor Him and see His purposes accomplished.

Rather we cling to what is good; that word translated cling is another strong word. It can mean to glue or fasten something together. It’s used of the marriage relationship in Matthew chapter 19 verse 5, where we are glued together, fastened together in that bond. Believers are glued or married to that which is good. So, you see here we have a genuine, unhypocritical love, we hate what is evil. Not because we are self-righteous and see ourselves as better than others, but by God’s grace our eyes have been opened to know the living God, to know something of the ugliness of sin, its ruinous character, its destructive nature, that it is offensive to the God that I love. So, we abhor it, we cling to what is good, we are joined to what is good, what is consistent with the character of God, His revelation. We something that is changed now. The world’s concept of love is polluted and corrupted, and they see it as judgmental and unloving to speak about evil and to hate evil. If you read that article in the paper, referred to churches that aren’t accepting. They gave a listing of churches that are accepting of those who practice this lifestyle; and you’ll see there’s a consistent pattern—they also are churches that reject the Word of God. That’s not genuine love. Love wants the good of someone else, the best for them. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, in order that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.

So, I realize the world misunderstands. They think we’re being self-righteous or think we’re better. But that’s not an excuse, I mean in certain areas they acknowledge it. Certain things done to children, that’s terrible. We say well why would you be so judgmental? What do you mean judgmental? Everyone knows that that is destructive to a child, you wouldn’t want that done. Well, when you turn to the Word of God you find out the God whose character is love has revealed that sin is destructive and ruinous. It is never good for the person. Naturally we hate what is evil and want to reveal it as evil. And when things are brought to the light of the Word of God, they are revealed for what they are, and sin is revealed as sin.

So, we abhor what is evil and we cling to what is good. We are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Now we put these two together already in I Peter chapter 1. You’ve purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren. Therefore, be fervent in your love for one another. Now we are to be devoted to one another in love, we have a love that gives of ourselves, it is self-sacrificing. We have a love for one another that is a family love, a brotherly love, the warmth of that relationship we have with one another. There is a bond together, we are a family; and you know this family even supercedes our physical family. There is a depth there—you have physical family members that have never been born into God’s family. Your relationship in God’s family with fellow believers is a stronger bond, evidenced by the fact Jesus said you cannot love father or mother more than Me and be My follower; that relationship supersedes other relationships. That follows on then. Give preference to one another in love, give preference to one another in love. We want to give honor to others. You know doesn’t it follow on; these things are interrelated. We see the graduating seniors that were presented to us this evening. Are any parents sitting out there saying I’m jealous. Why should they have my child up there, giving them credit? I resent that they would put my child up there and give them honor instead of giving me the honor. You say nobody is sitting there. Everybody is sitting there, that’s my child and I’m proud and honored. That’s the way it ought to be in a family. We’d say something wrong with that parent, they went out of here in a huff saying they shouldn’t be honoring that child. I resent that they would get honor I think I should get. There is something wrong with that parent. Well, that’s not a family. We’re talking about being devoted to one another in brotherly love and naturally follows then we want to give preference to one another in honor. We really love one another, we’re a family, we delight that others in the family get honor. I want to do what I can to be part of seeing that they’re honored.

Turn over to Philippians chapter 2. You know the Bible addresses this clearly in a number of places. You know why? It’s not a natural function. Sadly, we see the flesh wanting to assert itself all too often, even in those who have been born again. That’s why Paul wrote to the Philippians in Philippians chapter 2. He says to them in verse 3, “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. But with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” That means don’t be looking out for your own personal interests, but for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus—genuine humility. We ought to recognize others in the family. You know we don’t all have the same abilities. In the family someone may excel in their scholastic abilities and another child may not. But another child is superior in some other areas, maybe sports, maybe personal relationships. We don’t know. Compared to the sibling they are different. In the family we learn to appreciate that my brother, my sister, they have qualities and abilities and characteristics that are superior to mine. I want them to be honored for that. That’s the way it is in God’s family. I look around—is there jealousy? No. We delight because we are part of the family. When someone in our family is honored, we are honored, we delight in pushing them to the fore, telling others about them and their abilities. We don’t want to be characterized by selfishness or empty conceit, as verse 3 of Philippians 2 says. This all ties together because what? We are one family. Verse 2 says be of the same mind, we’re united in spirit, intent on one purpose. I mean there is a unity to characterize us as God’s people.

Come back to Romans chapter 12 verse 11, not lagging behind in diligence. You know as God’s children there is to be a zeal and enthusiasm and passion about our lives. One person put it this way. In lives which are truly being transformed by the renewing of the mind, which is where Romans 12 started, there is no room for slackness or sloth, for that attitude which seeks to get by with as little work and inconvenience as possible, which shrinks from dust and heat and resents the necessity for any exertion as a burden or imposition. Not lagging behind in diligence. You know I may not have the abilities that someone else has, but I can be as hard a worker as someone else and do all I can to be as diligent as I can with what is entrusted to me. Paul had to remind the Romans; we all have a tendency to want to wind down. That tendency grows with the passing of time, the longer we’ve done something perhaps the harder it is to keep it going. Some people are really good at the start, they throw themselves into it, but they lose interest seemingly quickly. The longer things wear on, the harder it is to keep at it; but we are not to be lagging in diligence.

Paul encouraged the Galatians in Galatians 6:9, “let us not lose heart in doing good. For in due time, we shall reap if we don’t grow weary.” We don’t quit, we don’t stop. Sometimes we get tired, but we’re not going to grow lax in our diligence. Sometimes we stop for a breather, sometimes we take a rest, but we’re not going to lag behind in diligence. The positive side of that, we’re going to be fervent in spirit. The negative side, not lagging behind in diligence. How would you say that positively? Fervent in spirit. I like that word fervent; it refers to something that is boiling or fiery hot. We have a song that says you deserve a fiery love. That’s what we’re talking about, a fiery spirit, a burning spirit. This is what is acceptable to God.

Turn over to the book of Titus. We’re in the pastoral epistles, and we’re in I Timothy, but in Titus chapter 2, a passage we looked at not too long ago. Verse 14, Christ gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, satisfied to half-heartedly proceed. No. People for His own possession zealous for good deeds. There is a zeal, a passion. Remember what Jesus said of the church at Laodicea? I have something against you, you are neither hot nor cold, you are lukewarm. He said I’d rather you be cold than lukewarm. Hot is wonderful, cold is better than lukewarm. We tend to think lukewarm; you know I’m getting by, I’m going my own pace, doing it my own way, nobody is saying I’m burning up anything but that’s all right, I’m okay. It’s not okay. Christ remembers the church at Laodicea, I’m going to spit you out of my mouth. I can’t take the lukewarmness, that indifference about the things of the Lord. Give the followers of satan credit, if we can put it that way, they’re passionate in their service for him. Why should the people of the Lord be impassionate, indifferent in their service for Him.

Come back to Romans chapter 12. Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. That’s what our lives are about now. You are no longer your own, you’ve been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body, I Corinthians chapter 6 verse 20. Servant, it’s the word for being a slave. At one time we were slaves of sin, we had been made slaves of righteousness. We are now slaves of the living God; we are serving Him. What else would we do for Him? You’re a servant of the Lord. When I’ve done everything, He’s commanded, all I can say is I’m at best an unprofitable servant. How would I ever think that it’s good enough to do less than my best?

Another writer wrote, when discouragement overtakes the Christian and feigning of spirit as its sequel, and they follow. When you get discouraged, you lose heart and you find it hard to go on. When discouragement overtakes the Christian and feigning of spirit as its sequel, it is because the claims of the Lord’s service have ceased to be uppermost in our thought. You know it energizes me to think I’m doing this for the Lord, I am honored in this what seems to mundane and wearisome to be serving the living God. That’s whatever I do, I do it as unto the Lord. That energizes me. What wearies me is looking around and seeing circumstances and situations which are discouraging. I sometimes have to step back, remind myself, I am a servant of the living God, I am His slave and I’m doing this for Him. So that fiery service for the Lord.

Verse 12, rejoicing in hope, blessing upon blessing. Joy and hope are key concepts for us as believers, and so we have joy in our hope. We are rejoicing in our hope. You know the very fact he has to talk to us about not lagging behind in diligence, being fervent in spirit in our serving the Lord. That reminder, serving the Lord is a wearisome task. There’s joy in it because we do it in hope, but you know the initial enthusiasm and excitement has a way of wearing off and then it becomes hard work. I’ve shared with you before, now that I’m at this stage in my ministry I can look back and when I was young I though it would get easier, I thought the difficulties would be less. Because you do anything for 40 years you get a routine, and it seems like you just do it. But many of you have been believers a long time, served the Lord a long time. It doesn’t get easier. We know what we need to do, we know what we must do and in a sense with the majority comes that determination to keep doing it because it’s what needs to be done. That’s not characteristic of your children. Your 3-year-old doesn’t have that kind of determination. What comes to us with maturity? Joy. There is joy in serving the Lord, even when I’m plodding, even when I’m battling, even when it seems like I’m using all my energy and it’s hard to tell I’m even moving forward. But Lord I look at the hope you’ve given me, and my heart is filled with joy and rejoicing, then the troubles of this life are put in perspective.

Paul has dealt with this already in Romans and we don’t have time to go and look at it. But in chapter 5 and the first 5 verses he talked about perseverance and perseverance work in our lives. In Romans chapter 8 verse 16-25. Peter in I Peter chapter 1 verses 3-9, verses we looked at recently, the same kind of idea.

Where is he going? We are rejoicing in hope, next phrase, persevering in tribulation. What contrast. We have rejoicing in our hope and that goes hand in hand with persevering in tribulation. Jesus said in John 16:33, “in the world you will have tribulation. Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Doesn’t say in the world you won’t have tribulation because I have overcome the world. He says in the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer because I have overcome the world. So, I’m rejoicing in hope, but I have to be persevering in tribulation. At times it’s more difficult, at times it seems less difficult. But be assured, as we have talked about in our study in Timothy, we are in a war. It will not be over until Jesus Christ comes to gather us in glory or we take our last breath and pass through death to glory. So don’t have any illusions, we’ll have to keep persevering. We can expect it may get worse, but that’s all right. We’ll keep on rejoicing in hope, as we keep on persevering in tribulation.

There is an assurance, it will come to us in II Timothy chapter 3 verse 12, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. That just adds to the tribulations. We have the facts of life, the trials and turmoil and difficulties. Then added to that is the opposition of the enemy of our souls, a world that hates because it hates our Savior, the devil who hates us because we belong to the living God, and on it goes. But we continue to persevere, devoted to prayer. In the face of trials, conflicts, difficulties that want to wear us out, you know we have one who said I’ll never leave you nor forsake you. He is the one who has assured us that whenever we come to the Father and ask in the name of the Son, He will give us. This is the honor and privilege of the believer, to be devoted to prayer. You know I think if there’s one area that we could make a dramatic difference in our lives, we’d say let’s be more devoted to prayer. To follow I believe it was Luther who said my days are so busy I can’t start them without at least 4 hours in prayer. I need to remind myself the time best spent is the time I spend talking with my Father, casting all my cares upon Him because He cares for me. Seeking His greater blessing, seeking wisdom that only He can give, seeking grace and strength that He promises to give me, seeking Him to work in lives that only He can change, and I can’t, devoted to prayer, giving myself to prayer.

Contributing to the needs of the saints. A little mixture here, go back and forth. My life is involved as the child of God with my God, my life as a child of God is involved with the people of God. I go from being devoted to prayer to contributing to the needs of the saints. Couldn’t he have put this in better order and categorized things? They are categorized. This is the functioning of the family, and I go from perhaps my knees in prayer, praying for someone, to using my resources to helping someone. Now one is not more spiritual than the other, it’s all part of what I am as part of God’s family. Like being a parent. You don’t get the privilege of just categorizing your life like that. It involves doing this and this and this and this and this. So devoted to prayer doesn’t mean well I’m free to ignore the needs of other believers because I’m praying. What do you mean? Contributing to the needs of the saints, so I’ve taken……… There are many passages, and we won’t take the time to go through it, but it’s part of our privilege. The word contributing is the word koinonia, the way we’re familiar with it in English, and it’s a word that means fellowshipping. We are fellowshipping, participating in the saints. This is one of the ways we’re involved in one another’s lives. Paul gave great instructions on that to the Corinthians in II Corinthians 8 and 9. Doesn’t mean we support the lazy. II Thessalonians chapter 3 qualifies that. If you don’t work you don’t eat, but we do help those in need.

Practicing hospitality, as we conclude that. The word practicing means to pursue, to strive after. We look for opportunities to be warm to other people, to open our lives to other people, our homes to other people, to be a friend to them. That’s not something we’re open to if it comes to us, it’s something we pursue. The word practice means to pursue, to strive for, to seek after, to aspire to. We look for these kinds of opportunities.

What a list, let me just read you through the list. I made a list of the things that we’ve covered here, as believers. The spirit of God has changed us, what are some of the things to be part of our lives? We’re to have a genuine love. We’re to hate what is evil. We’re to be glued to what is good. We’re to have a warm family love. We’re to put others first in honor. We’re not to be lax in diligence. We’re to be fiery hot in our service. We’re to be characterized by joy because of our hope. We’re to persevere in tribulation. We’re to be persistently devoted to prayer. We’re to be involved in fellowshipping with the saints and helping to meet needs. We’re to be looking for opportunities for hospitality, sharing our lives with others. These are the kind of things now that characterize us as God’s family.

What an honor, isn’t it? I’m glad I’m not saved to live in isolation. I praise God for my relationship with Him, but I also praise God for my relationship with other believers. It may sound pious to say I have everything I need in the Lord, and I do because He has provided everything I need. But one of the things I need is a family and He has given me that. Because when I entered into a relationship with Him and He became my heavenly Father I ended up with a whole realm of brothers and sisters, and that’s what the church is to be. The local church is the family of God in this place. It’s easy to talk about I want to be involved in the family of God over there, and over here and out there. But you know here’s the family I am a part of. Doesn’t mean I don’t do things perhaps with or for other believers in other places, but this is my family. I belong here, God has blessed me. If everybody else forsakes me, family and friends, my God will not, nor will the family of God of which I am a part for time and eternity. The blessings of our salvation.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the richness of your work in our lives. Lord common things, but things so precious and important. To know that we belong to you, that you will never separate us from yourself, we will never be separated from your love. You are not only with us, but you are also in us. We are assured that you will never leave us nor forsake us. We are part of your family, we are blessed with brothers and sisters who love us, who are committed to care for us, to serve us in serving you. We are privileged to give our lives for one another. Father, we are never alone, we are never forsaken. We have you and we have those who belong to you. We pray that the richness of our life in Christ might bring joy to our hearts, might bring us confidence and peace in the midst of difficulty, in the midst of pain, in the midst of loss. We belong to a family that is not only for time, but for eternity. We are safe, we are secure, we are part of what will last for eternity. We rejoice in that; we take comfort in it. Lord, may the passion of our lives and the zeal we demonstrate in our service be just further evidence of what you have done for us and in us through your Son in whose names we pray. Amen.