Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Romans 12:14 Christians are to be not only "wise as serpents" but also “harmless as doves” (Mt. 10:16). We are required not only to love those who love us (which is easy) but also to love those who hate us (which is really difficult). It is what …
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Romans 12:13 Another way that love manifests itself is in providing for the needs of believers, and is also a mark of genuine faith (1 Jn. 3:17-19; Jam. 2:14-17). The word given in the second half of the verse translates dioko, which …
Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Romans 12:12 These three things must go together. We cannot be patient in tribulation if we are not rejoicing in hope and being constant in prayer. On other hand, those who are rejoicing in the hope they have in Christ will …
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12:11(ESV) These three things go together. The first two tell us how we are to serve the Lord. Negatively, we are not to be to “weary in well-doing” (Gal. 6:9). Positively, we are to be fervent in the service of Christ – the …
Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Romans 12:9b Note the contrast – love of the brethren (9a) and hatred of evil (9b). Love is not real if it is not accompanied by an abhorrence of sin. We are told to abhor sin; this is important. Paul does not merely tell us to abstain from …
Let love be without dissimulation. Rom. 12:9 The phrase "without dissimulation" means to be genuine; it literally means to be “without hypocrisy” . The point is that it is not enough to pretend to be loving, we must be actually loving. It is easy to put on a façade and to deceive ourselves that we …
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things …
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:12-13 We must not privatize the faith. To do so is to …
And upholding all things by the word of his power. Hebrews 1:3 Jesus our Lord upholds all things. He is sovereign in creation, and he is sovereign in providence. I’m so thankful for this reality. Paul put it this way: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in …
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and …