"Our Best Behavior" PRAY When I was a little boy, before going to visit in another home, either relatives or friends, or sometimes when we were expecting guests into our own home, my mother would often say, “I want you boys to be on your best behavior.” I don’t know that she ever really defined “best behavior”, but I was pretty sure I knew what she meant. It included things like not being loud and obnoxious, not running wild through the house, not fighting over toys, not picking on each other or others. In short, Mother wanted us to behave – to allow the adults to enjoy their time together. In the twelfth chapter of Romans Paul begins to talk about our behavior as Christians. As followers of Jesus Christ, as people who claim to live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, how should we behave? If we truly want to give our best to Jesus, what does that look like? Of course, Paul is not talking about our behavior when we know someone is looking. Paul is talking about the standard for Christian behavior all the time, in every situation. Paul began chapter 12 by reminding us that Christians are called to be different. We are called to be different from the world. “Do not be conformed to this world,” Paul said, “but be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (12:2). We looked at that three weeks ago. In was in John’s Gospel that we heard Jesus say, “I am the way.” As Christians we choose to follow the way of Jesus, rather than the ways of this world. The transformation begins when we decide to follow Jesus, when we give our lives to him. That is the subject of the last third of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul addresses the question: “What does it look like to live transformed lives?” or “How should Christians behave?” First comes the recognition that it’s not all about me. I’m not the center of attention. When we give our lives to Jesus, he becomes the center. In verse three Paul says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” Then beginning with verse four Paul reminds us that we are part of something much larger, much greater than ourselves. We belong to the body of Christ. Each one of us is an integral part of the body of Christ. We are united and knit together through our faith in God and by the power of the Holy Spirit. And each one of us is uniquely gifted to serve within the body. The church thrives when we offer our individual talents and abilities back to God in loving service. That’s what Brian talked about last week. In our text for today Paul looks at the role of love in shaping our behavior as Christians. I want us to focus on verses 9 through 21. I invite you to follow along as I read. First I will read verses 9 through 13. READ Romans 12: 9-13 Did you notice how Paul’s style of writing changed in this section? Most of the time Paul writes in long flowing sentences, often with many parenthetical phrases. But beginning here, with verse nine, the sentences are short and the subject matter shifts from sentence to sentence. It is as if Paul is making a list of behavior traits for Christians. And the first trait is “Let love be genuine.” However, a study of the Greek text, the original language of the New Testament, reveals an even greater distinction. In the original text this first phrase, “Let love be genuine”, has no verb. Literally, it should be translated: “the genuine love,” or “the sincere love,” or “the authentic love.” Paul may have well intended for this phrase: “The genuine love,” to serve as a heading for all that is to follow. This passage still contains a list of character traits for all who would be called Christian. However, rather than “Let love be genuine” being the first of several traits, “Genuine Love” is the one trait Paul wants us to focus on. Jesus commanded us to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Now Paul says lets look as some examples of that kind of love. If we have been truly transformed by the love of Christ, then the love we express toward others will be truly genuine, and this is what genuine love looks like:
We hate evil and
cling to good. That’s what love looks like. That’s what genuine love looks like. But there is more. That’s the easy list, because Paul doesn’t stop with verse 13. He continues on for eight more verses. And beginning with verse 14 the demands become far greater – the expectations are more radical. Verses 9 through 13 mostly deal with our inner orientation the way we relate to those close to us. Beginning with verse 14 Paul forces us out of our comfort zone. Please follow along with me as I read verses 14 through 21. Read Romans 12: 14-21, In this section Paul reminds us that we are called to live in harmony, not just with fellow Christians, but with all people. He takes his authority directly from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5: 44). Paul says, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” The love that flows from a heart transformed by Jesus Christ goes far beyond the normal boundaries of human love. Jesus expressed that depth of love from the cross, when he asked God to forgive the very people who were killing him. The Apostle Paul witnessed that kind of love the day he participated in the stoning of Stephen. Stephen died praying for the men who were stoning him, asking God to forgive them. Surely that outpouring of love and faith made an impact on the young Paul. St. Augustine believed it did. Years later he wrote: “The Church owes Paul to the prayer of Stephen.” Jesus lays the same claim on our lives. We are called to love even those who persecute us and pray for them. We don’t think much about persecution in this country. We enjoy tremendous freedom – freedom to come and go, freedom to say and do as we please. However, there are Christians living in many parts of the world who face real persecution every day. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters who risk imprisonment or death because of their faith in Jesus Christ. And we need to advocate through every peaceable means to bring an end to all forms of religious persecution around the world. We may never face religious persecution. However, there are other forms of persecution and suffering. Most of us have experienced the pain of loss, the sting of rejection, or the distress of heartache. You may have been injured unjustly or betrayed by someone close to you. Hurtful words and deeds can deliver a crippling blow. When you have been wounded by another person or group of persons, by their hurtful words or actions, how did you respond? We always have a choice. We can retaliate – “Return evil for evil” – or we can choose the way of Christ – the way of forgiveness and reconciliation. Many of us struggle with this issue of forgiveness. Some of you still bear the deep scars of pain and loss. God wants to lift that burden from you. God wants to bring healing into your life and restore you to wholeness. However, I don’t believe it is possible for God to restore us until we let go of the resentment and anger that we carry. The great miracle of forgiveness is that once we begin to forgive others God can bring healing to us. Jesus calls us to turn the other cheek. Does that mean we just give in to evil? Does that mean we let evil have free-reign, no matter what? Does that mean we tolerate anything and shut our eyes to everything? No! As Christians we need to confront evil and take a strong stand for that which is good and right and just. However, our approach toward evil is not to return evil for evil, but rather to overcome evil with good. We are called to enter into the joys and the sufferings of others. We experience the love of Christ when we stand with our brothers and our sisters in their times of joy, but also in their times of need. We are called to promote harmony and strive for peace. We are called to share the love that we have received from God with all people, under every condition, no matter what. That is what genuine love looks like. Is it going to be easy? No! We still live in a world soaked in evil. Is this normal behavior? Not according to the world! We must battle constantly against the tendency to conform our behavior to this world. Is it possible? Not by ourselves. We need each other. We need to stand together on this journey and help each other along the way. And we need the help of the Holy Spirit! But it is possible! For we can do all things through Christ who is our strength. AMEN!
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