Genuine Love, pt. 1

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

Romans 12:9-13 (ESV)

We are called to genuinely love one another. Let us look at the aspects of genuine love.

1. Genuine love is marked by abhorring evil.
We cannot love evil and genuinely love each other. Our nature is to love that which is opposed to God (Psalm 14, Romans 3:10-18). Why is abhorring evil before holding fast to good? I would say that it is because, in order to genuinely love each other, we must rely on the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit because abhorring evil goes against our sinful state.

2. Genuine love is marked by holding fast to good.
Since we have "put off" loving evil, what now do we "put on"? Loving that which is good (Philippians 4:8). Because of the grace that God has shown to us in saving us from our sins by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, we, in gratitude, desire that which is good and of God. Therefore, we can (are able to) love because God first showed us genuine love.

3. Genuine love is marked by loving one another with brotherly affection.
As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should honestly care about the state of each other's souls and earnestly yearn that each lives a life worthy of the Gospel. That means we should continually encourage, correct, and spur on one another. What brotherly affection looks like will be addressed in other parts of this series.

4. Genuine love is marked by outdoing one another in showing honor.
Genuine love is not the task of one person. Because of the grace that we have been shown, we should want to love showing honor and encouraging each other so much that we do it more and more with each time and more than someone just did. Be careful! This is not to be rooted in pride. It is based in glorifying God. That is why we should "compete" in doing it, for God's glory.

5. Genuine love is marked by not being slothful in zeal, being fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
Be passionate! Zeal is the enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance. Focus on the last part of the definition: tireless diligence in its furtherance. Genuine love is displayed by tirelessly devoting our lives to the Gospel and its furtherance. That is how we show genuine love to unsaved people. We share with them the greatest news that they could hear! The news that can save their souls! Also, genuine love is rooted in serving the Lord. As we serve the Lord, genuine love will flow from our actions.

6. Genuine love is marked by rejoicing in hope, being patient in tribulation, being constant in prayer.
In other words, genuine love is marked by faith! [Application: Seek to apply this point to Howard's message from last Sunday (8/6).]

7. Genuine love is marked by contributing to the needs of the saints and seeking to show hospitality.
Love that is genuine does not commit the sin of partiality (James 2:1-13). Love does not have "sides" or "favorites." Genuine love is humble and sacrificial. Acts 2:45 demonstrates the care and desire (Philippians 2:3-4) that is needed in genuine love. There is no room for selfishness in genuine love.