Romans 12:9-21--Marks of the True Christian

Romans 12:9-21
English Standard Version

Marks of the True Christian
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.

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We have talked in the past about Christianity being an issue of "being" and not an issue of "doing."  It is not a religious system of "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not" commandments.  Paul says here the first identifying mark of a Christian should be love--our love for God, our love for Jesus, our love for the Word of God and our love for the people of God whom God loves.  We are love the things that God loves and abhor the thing that God calls "evil," and only God gets to make the decision what is lovely and what is abhorrent.

One of the ways in which we will be identified as Christians is because we will love one another.  There's actually a hymn with the chorus, "And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.  Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love." It focuses on practical ways we should be unified and love each other.  We are not just to love one another, but also to serve one another a Jesus commanded when He washed the disciples' feet at the Last Supper.  We are to have an urgency and zeal about the work we are called to do and not be slothful about it.  We are to be slaves of God and of righteousness giving our immediate and total obedience to our Master.

We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn and grieve with those who grieve.  In all things we are to be prayerful and remember to give thanks and be joyful in all things--even the things that feel and taste bitter to us.  We are to contribute to the financial needs of the saints personally and through our tithes and offerings as a church.  We should be benevolent as individuals and as a community of believers, addressing the needs of our congregation first and also the needs of the community that God has places us in and even giving to the needs of others around the world (especially those doing gospel-centered work) so that the gospel can be proclaimed through our words and our works.  How we use our money says a lot about where our heart is.  We are to pray for each other in all things at all times and we are to be hospitable to each other.  That doesn't just mean inviting each other over for a meal, but take in the missionary family who is home on furlough.  Maybe house a Christian college student who is away from home and needs a home-away-from-home and could use a family to look out for them and keep them from the influence of all the things that are being done on campus.  Be quick to take care of someone's kids when they have an emergency and treat them as your own.  Let your Christian friends come to you to talk about anything and everything and focus your conversation on the Word of God and prayer.  Take care of those in your church who have been hit by disaster or unexpected job losses--don't make them look to the government for charity.  Let the world see what we mean when we say we are all one family and one Body by how we treat one another--especially in our times of greatest need and how we give of our time, talent and treasure to always be there for one another.

​Now sounds like a line right out of the Beatitudes, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them."  Apparently these Christians in Rome either never heard that or needed to be reminded (we often need to be reminded of things especially if it's been many years since we heard it).  I already pointed at Paul telling these Christian brothers to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.  We should be people who have empathy one for another.  No one likes a friend who is jealous and sour about their success and no one needs a friend who tells them "you just need to have joy and be happy" when they are going through a rough time.  We are to walk every step of the way together through the parts that seem good and the parts that seem bad--all of it is really good though as it all accomplishes God's intended purposes in us and through us.

We are to live in harmony and be at peace with one another--a peace that comes us having the Spring and mind of Christ to unite us (I just talked about this in my recent video posted on 5/2 for the members of my Discipleship Discord going through The Gospel Project).  We are to be humble--not haughty for pride is one of the character traits of Satan and his kingdom, but Jesus the King of Kings and Lord of Lords humbled himself to take on the form of a servant with no rights or privilege.  We are to do likewise.  We are not to be elitists and think of anyone as "unclean" or "untoucable" or "deplorable" or below/beneath us.  We are to associate with the lowly so that they see that God loves all men and all women and all children, not just those of power, privilege, popularity and wealth.  We are never to substitute our own wisdom or the wisdom of the world for the wisdom of God.  We are to always be reliant on God and His Word to convey His wisdom to us, and we should not see to add to or take away from His wisdom.

We are not to take vengeance on one another.  "Do not repay evil for evil, but overcome evil with good," and we should "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (this is especially true for our brothers and sisters in Christ, though it applies even to those who are not in the family of God).  We are to live honorably among all--that is to be "above reproach," and as much as it is up to us, we should try to be peacemakers and be at peace with all men.  We know this will not always be possible because light and darkness cannot coexist, but we should not be out tearing everyone to pieces and then expecting them to want to be our family members.  Who wants to associate with a family member like that?  You keep your distance from them because they are not safe to be around.

Again, we are told never to avenge ourselves, but this time the emphasis is on that it is God's job to pour out His wrath on those whom He says deserves it.  The wrath of God has already been poured out on Christ for all those who are in Him, so we are no longer children of wrath, so we should never desire for God's wrath to be poured out on any of our brothers or sisters in Christ.  We should also be careful about wishing for God's wrath to be poured out on the unsaved because at one time, that was us.  God is longsuffering and great in mercy so that He may draw many to repentance.  We should desire that all men experience the the injustice that was done on the cross where the one who who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of Christ so that no one should have to experience the absolute justice of the one the Judge of the living and the dead.  He has promised, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," because all the sins ever committed were committed against Him.

We are then told we are to act contrary to the wisdom of the world and love our enemies.  We are to give food to those who are hungry and give drink to those who are thirsty--even if that person is our enemy.  How backwards is that?  Think of the parable of the Good Samaritan here.  "Kill them with kindness" is a modern phrase that goes along with this one about heaping hot coals upon their heads.  They want you to give them reason to hate you--don't do it.  They will be so upset that they can't find reason to attack you and even if they try your reputation will proceed you and no one will believe them.  "Do not repay evil for evil, but overcome evil with good."