True Love
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Romans 12: 9
This clarion call for action not only teaches us what love is, but what it isn’t also, a distinction some seem difficult to understand. There is a great chasm between true love and its false image.
Our society is comprised of many mask wearers. Such leads to deception and confusion. The life-style of many is a charade involving play-actors.
Our genuine love is to be without “dissimulation,” hypocrisy. Synonyms help understanding the meaning: deceit or deception.
It means don’t pretend to be what you are not or to say what you don’t really mean. Some speech is like the iridescent scum on the surface of water veiling the black depths of a pool of hatred.
The love advocated is “agape” love, selfless and sincere, always desiring the best for others. Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward people generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always have a natural inclination, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered, people we love. Love seeks the welfare of all.
Now what love is not. It is defined by the last part of the text: “Abhor that which is evil.” You do so by loving the good so as not to deny it. Abhor is an interesting word translating “dbelusso” which is a strong word, literally meaning to turn away from that which stinks, is foul, to detest. That calls for a strong response to hypocrisy.
If you genuinely love the good the opposite, evil, is automatically abhorred. At times this calls for loving the person while abhorring what they are and/or what they advocate. Such energy of moral recoil from evil is perfectly consistent with honest love, for it is things, not people, that we are to abhor; and it is needful as the completion and guardian of love itself.
Proverbs 6:16–19 lists seven things the Lord hates: pride, lying, murder, evil plots, those who love evil, false witnesses, and troublemakers.” Notice that this passage does not include just things that God hates; it includes people as well. A sower of seeds of discord, not just the sowing, but the sower. This list is not all inclusive, Scripture notes additional things. Almost every other partial list of things God dislikes begins with pride.
In summary God notes a lifestyle He dislikes: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5: 20)
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.”
Good News, God Sees You
“Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.” Psalm 33: 8, 18, 20 – 22
Some potential home builders go to an architect asking him to plan their new home. Often the home builder has in mind what is wanted, he just wants him to draw what he wants.
Often people profess they want God to allow what they want rather than seeking what He wants. When He is allowed to plan for us it is the best possible though it might not be what we wanted. By building what the architect planned, it eventually becomes obvious it was best. So it is with God’s plan for us.
Three qualities of persons for whom He plans are noted in the text.
First, “the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him.” Our fear of God is not terror, but love. We fear lest we disappoint Him. It means to hold Him in respect and His precepts to be for our good. Such are constantly under His gaze. Thus, He knows our needs.
A second quality is that they “rejoice.” A fresh baptism of divine love results in rejoicing as expressed in worship.
A life that is too busy to worship is busier than God intended it to be. True worship will give life meaning. It will wonderfully animate your whole life from the center outward. Rejoice!
We become increasingly like the One we worship.
Next, they trust God — Vs. 21. He is:
Our provider — Vs. 20 “our help.”
Our protection — Vs. 20 “our shield.” Anything that gets past Him as our Shield is intended to be our opportunity to respond in His way.
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. In the moment he signed it every slave in the entire United States was free. That, however, didn’t mean that every slave immediately enjoyed liberty. Some masters hid the fact from their slaves. Some slaves didn’t believe the good news. Some thought it was not possible.
For them to be truly free they had to hear the good news. They had to believe the joyous news. Next they had to consider the good news as being a fact, not just for slaves in general, but for them personally. They had to trust their liberator.
To be truly free they had to assert their freedom and refuse any longer to be a slave. The same steps are true for salvation. They are essential for the Lord to be your personal provider and protection. The benefits are incomparable.
Spiritual Growth – Part Six
“….Grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.” II Peter 3:8
“….add to your brotherly kindness….”
Love is the capstone of the other attributes. This love involves love for the Lord and His standards. The passage began with faith and ends with love. The list ends with love as the vertex of the entire passage. The word translated love chosen from among several Greek words is agape. In the New Testament it is the word describing the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God. It is selfless, not seeking response, but giving because it is the natural inclination of the heart. It is free and unconditional.
When you express yourself in terms of agape love, you’re putting others before yourself. It’s the feeling that lives inside of you, encouraging you to make the life of others slightly better.
The Greek word agape translated “love” in the New Testament is different from other types of love. The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, and willful delight in the object of love.
Love reaches its optimum as expressed in John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
That should solicit from us the response noted in Mark 12: 30, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.”
Check yourself out on each of these often and correct your course as needed to grow in grace and knowledge. Start now with no future fatigue in the effort.
We are to give “all diligence” to growing in these attributes. Such requires time and effort. Memorize the traits in order to incorporate them into your lifestyle.
For “He who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness….” If you lack these things, it shows you have “I trouble.” We are shortsighted, unable to see God, only ourselves.
Living by this standard results in a spiritual life “For if these things are in you and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Spiritual Growth – Part Five
“….Grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.” II Peter 3:8
“….add to your godliness….”
Brotherly kindness is reflecting godlikeness to others. The Greek word used for brotherly kindness is “philadelphia.” It has a stronger meaning than kindness. This is the only instance in the NT where this word is translated as “brotherly kindness.” In all other instances philadelphia is translated as “brotherly love.”
Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35)
Brotherly love was the byword of the early church.
Believers have something that others do not have. There is a common bond that unites us to each other. Though we are different in many ways, we all have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in [us] all…” (Ephesians 4:5,6). We are different superficially, but the same in essential spiritual ways. There is more that unites us than divides us.
Leave it to scripture to define brotherly kindness for us. This attitude is to put others before self. The more we focus on others rather than self, the easier it becomes for us to cultivate brotherly kindness. “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.” (Romans 12: 10) If we are to get rid of our self-centered attitude, and “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” (Philippians 2; 3,4)
As spiritually akin we should constantly fill the soul of others with love, sunshine, and joy each day of our lives.
In this passage godliness and brotherly kindness are linked because kindness is the moderator of godliness.
Kindness, brother love, is the means by which the world knows His followers.
“Let brotherly love continue.” (Hebrews 13:1)
Spiritual Growth – Part Four
“….Grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.” II Peter 3:8
“….add to your perseverance….”
Godliness is the highest of standards. Develop traits typical of Him.
Godliness is being God like in character.
There is a price to pay to be godly. You have to expect and respond positively to the standard of the world. Set your face like a flint resolving to stand fast.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12: 1, 2)
The value of bodily exercise is well known. The contrast with spiritual exercise showing the comparative value is noted: “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” (I Timothy 4: 8)
Cicadas proliferate in certain areas. They come out every seven years and leave a lifeless shell they had shed. It was just an empty form of the living creature that had once been there. The slightest pressure on that empty form would cause it to crumble. That is a graphic of “a form of godliness.” It bears some resemblance to the real thing. But there’s no life in it. Some people faithfully go through a form of religion that bears resemblance to the real thing; but in reality is dead and lifeless?
Individuals spend much time accumulating material goods which are temporary. The eternal value of godliness is beyond compare. “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness….” (II Peter 3: 11)