Photo by Sarah Penney on Unsplash

Romans 12:10-13 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; 11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

Romans 12:14-16 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16 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.

Your Life Proves Your Salvation

A few weeks ago I preached a message from Romans 12 called “Products of Grace”. The Christian is a product of Grace.

When God saves us, He has a goal for us. His goal is not to bring us to Heaven, but to use us to bring Heaven to earth.

The Church is a precursor of Heaven, the Kingdom of God on earth. Saved by Grace through the sacrifice of His dear Son Jesus, we are called to live as citizens of His Kingdom. The Church is to be a place of life and light, hope and joy. Those who are in the Church are supernatural beings, born of God, indwelt by God, to the glory of God.

What we are looking at today is not the works you must do to be saved. These are the works that come from a saved life. These are to evidence that saving faith has occurred in a life.

Biblical Salvation is both a supernatural event and a supernatural process.

When you repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then God applies the Blood of Jesus Christ to your spiritual account. We are saved because Jesus bore our penalty. We are saved because the Son of God became the Son of Man, and as the Son of Man died in our place. The Bible says:

Ephesians 1:7 (AP) {In Jesus} we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of his grace

Coming to God with empty hands, we reach out in faith to Jesus. We are broken creatures, without hope save for Jesus. God applies the Blood of Jesus Christ to our lives, and changes our eternal status before Him. We are …

Romans 3:24 … justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

When God saves us through Christ, He saves us not IN our sins, but FROM our sins. The salvation event changes our hearts. We come from DARKNESS and into LIGHT.

Whereas before Christ we were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) God moves into our lives. Through His partnership with us we are changed. Jesus did not just die for us so we could continue in sin. He died for us to free us from sin and death, to bring us into HIS Kingdom.

1 Peter 2:24 (ESV) {Jesus} Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.

The Christian daily dies to sin and lives to righteousness. The Christian is not the same as a lost person. The Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Through the Event of Salvation, you have been moved from one state to another. The Scripture says:

Colossians 1:13 (KJV) {God} hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son

If you are a Christian, you have been changed, and are being changed. None are ever good enough for God’s righteousness. Born into this world, “we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). But born again by the power and Spirit of God (1 Peter 1:23), that self same Spirit indwells the Christian (Romans 8:9) and begins to draw you away from the darkness and into the light of God.

Christians Are In The Family Of God,
and MUST Show It!

The Family of God has standards that God will draw you to. If you are indeed saved, you love the family of God. If you are religious, you love yourself.

The Mark of the Christian is a love not of self, but of others in the Body of Christ. The dead love themselves. The living love the Lord & His Kingdom.

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another

Word Study: Those in the Family of God are to be “kindly affectioned”. This is but one word in the Greek, philostorgos, which means “to love those and show affection toward those in the family”. Pastor Cliffe Knechtle was asked the question, “Why aren’t you Catholic?”. His response was spot on! He said:

“We are Orthodox {Bible Believing} Christians, which means I really don’t care if you’re Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, whatever. Too many Catholics don’t know Christ. Too many Protestants don’t know Christ. The issue is not simply are you Catholic or Protestant. The issue is how have you responded to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ?”

Have you genuinely put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Christianity is not an ethics code, nor a moral platform, but a supernatural change that God brings to your life.

The Christian lives in a supernatural relationship with God daily, and that relationship encompasses others like you. As Jesus is, we are being changed to be.

Christians love other Christians. In fact, the world teaches “put yourself first”. But our faith teaches:

Romans 12:10 in honor preferring one another

The New King James translates this is “in honor GIVING PREFERENCE to one another”. The New International Version translates this as “Honor ONE ANOTHER ABOVE YOURSELVES”. The intent of the passage is that, if you’re saved, put your fellow believers first. There is a spiritual problem when a person says “I’m a Christian” and yet shows the same selfishness that the world shows. Jesus said:

John 13:34 (KJV) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 15:12 (KJV) This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

IF you have been born again, IF God is in your life, IF you are members of Christ’s Kingdom, THEN it stands to reason that you will strive to bless others rather than be waited on.

Romans 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord

Word Study: In the Church, you will love your brothers and sisters. But outside the Church you won’t be a bum. You’ll not be slothful, oknērós, sluggish, causing grief. Those who love Jesus are uniters. They are team players. They are “FERVENT IN SPIRIT”, zéō, which means “to be on fire”.

Christians are excited in their service for the Lord. You are not to give of yourself grudgingly, but willingly, as for the Lord.

In the Parable of the Talents Jesus spoke of three servants (Matthew 25:14-30). Jesus said:

Matthew 25:15 (KJV) unto one {servant} he gave five talents, to another {servant} two, and to another {servant} one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

When the Master returned, the first two servants doubled what they were initially given. But the third servant did nothing. He was slothful, oknērós. The Master took away his talent, and gave it to the most fervent servant. Jesus said,

Matthew 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

What is that “outer darkness”? Is it a reference to hell? I don’t think so. The Bible tells us that “God is LIGHT, and in Him is no darkness” (1 John 1:5). When you are slothful, God withdraws His blessing. God withdraws His Presence.

God will not walk with you if you are slothful, lackadaisical, Laodicean. God will not walk with you in the dark.

Jesus told the Laodicean Church:

Revelation 3:15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

When we walk slothfully in our faith, we come under the present judgment of God. When God withdraws His Presence, then there is “weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth”. It’s a place of misery. Oh Beloved, don’t go there!

Tried, We Don’t Give Up, But LOOK UP!

Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant (proskartereō, to be earnestly devoted to) in prayer;

Those who love the Lord and His Church “rejoice in hope”. When Abraham was yet childless, he kept looking toward the Promise of God. The Bible says:

Romans 4:18 (KJV) Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Our God is faithful! Focus on God and His promises. Focus on Him when things get bleak. You very rarely see Abraham not waiting and praying to God. Our Lord Jesus Christ often prayed all night long. You can focus on the bad thing – or you can focus on God in prayer.

When Israel stood at the brink of the Promised Land, they focused on the giants in the land and not on the Great God Who sent them. When we try to do it in our own power, we will inevitably fail.

Beloved, you were not saved by your works. You will not progress in your Christian walk by your own power. Seek Him Who is able. ABIDE in HIM.

Abide not in fear. Abide in HIM.
Abide not in uncertainty. Abide in HIM.
Abide not in darkness. Abide in Him.

Run to cover. Run to Him. Run to Jesus, the One Who saved you, and now possesses you. I love that wonderful Psalm 91.

The devil will tell you that you can be saved, and follow evil or the darkness. But God tells you that you MUST ABIDE in Christ. When you ABIDE, we are told … listen to me, Church!

Preach This! Psalm 91:1-7, 9-11 (KJV) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. 3 Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; 6 [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee. … 9 Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

The “the secret place of the most High” is the Grace of God, the narrow way of Jesus. The world takes that WIDE path that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13), but we who are His take the NARROW WAY (Matthew 7:14), the Way of Christ. Those who walk with God believe “in Him will I trust”. He is with His children. He will not abandon His Beloved. Abide in Him Who saved you.

The Grace Oriented Mind

Romans 12:13-16 Distributing to the NECESSITY of saints; given to hospitality. 14 BLESS them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16 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.

The Christian is given Grace. We, in turn, are Gracious to others. We give where needed. We give hospitality. We love the unlovable. We give empathy to others. We treat others the way that we want to be treated. We are not puffed up.

Most of all, we choose not to be land fills.

I heard this the other day, and it helped me so much. I hope it’ll help you. Many people live their lives outside of the will of Christ, and as a result the garbage of sin builds up in their lives. As their garbage grows, they become like garbage trucks. You pass by these people frequently as you go through life.

The ROAD RAGER who nearly runs you over, then curses you.
The LINE CUTTER who jumps in front of you.
The CRITIC who is always finding fault.
The KNOW IT ALL who is superior to you.
The RELIGIOUS NUT that wants to run your life.
The PERPETUAL VICTIM who blames everyone.
The BELITTLER who tell you you’re worthless.

I could go on and on. There are more like that. You’ve met them. You know what I’m talking about. These are people who have chosen not to abide in Christ, but in self. The Bible says of those who toy with sin:

Romans 3:17 … the way of peace have they not known

Isaiah 59:8 … The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways..

They have no peace. Sin has brought GARBAGE into their lives. Wherever they go, they carry cast off junk and rotted stuff – they cling to this like garbage trucks. These garbage trucks let things build up, then they want to come to YOU, and dump their garbage on GOD’s PROPERTY (which is YOU).

Beloved, you are not a landfill. You are a child of the King. You are the Light of the world. You are Priests unto God. Don’t let others dump their garbage on you – for YOU belong to God!

Romans 12:17-21 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Refuse to receive their garbage. Live in the sure certainty that God loves you. Share grace with the struggler, and do good toward them when they do evil towards you. Don’t let them anger you. Don’t let them control you. You are not a land fill – you belong to Jesus.

The way to Heaven is always ascending, not descending. It’s hard at times. But refuse to be a landfill. Be a light. Be a Child of the King. Our hymn of invitation is “Wherever He Leads, I’ll Go”. You’ll be singing this in just a moment. Listen to the words:

Take up thy cross and follow Me
I heard My Master say
“I gave My life to ransom thee
Surrender your ALL today”
Wherever He leads, I’ll go
Wherever JESUS leads, I’ll go
I’ll follow my Christ Who loves me so
Wherever He leads, I’ll go.

May God touch your hearts with His Word. Amen.