Genuine Love (3 of 7)
Series: Love in Action
Lenny Ports
Romans 12:9-13
Let love be genuine (v. 13a).
GOSPEL TRANSFORMATION
The apostle Paul writes, ''Present your bodies [to God] as a living sacrifice'' (Rom. 12:1). He is urging the believers in Rome to give their lives completely to God, to say, ''Here's my life, God. It's yours.''
How do we get to the point where that's our desire?
What we need in our lives is not behaviour modification. What we need gospel transformation. What or who you love affects what you do. [Give an example of this.]
Paul makes his appeal ''by the mercies of God'' (v. 1). He's saying, ''Think about your sinfulness. Think about the mercy and grace of God. Think about the gospel.''
Paul says, ''Be transformed by the renewal of your mind'' (v. 2). That's how we're transformed. It's by thinking about the gospel more and loving God more. Then obedience becomes something we want to do.
So it's not ''I gotta be better.'' It's ''I am so grateful for what God has done for me that I want to give my life to him.''
LIVING FOR THE APPLAUSE
Paul writes, ''Let love be genuine'' (v. 13). These words really serve as a heading for what follows. Love is more than an emotion. Love shows up in what we do and say. We are to have the same kind of love that God has for us (i.e., a love that gives).
What's the opposite of ''genuine''? Fake. So Paul is saying, ''Don't appear to ...
Series: Love in Action
Lenny Ports
Romans 12:9-13
Let love be genuine (v. 13a).
GOSPEL TRANSFORMATION
The apostle Paul writes, ''Present your bodies [to God] as a living sacrifice'' (Rom. 12:1). He is urging the believers in Rome to give their lives completely to God, to say, ''Here's my life, God. It's yours.''
How do we get to the point where that's our desire?
What we need in our lives is not behaviour modification. What we need gospel transformation. What or who you love affects what you do. [Give an example of this.]
Paul makes his appeal ''by the mercies of God'' (v. 1). He's saying, ''Think about your sinfulness. Think about the mercy and grace of God. Think about the gospel.''
Paul says, ''Be transformed by the renewal of your mind'' (v. 2). That's how we're transformed. It's by thinking about the gospel more and loving God more. Then obedience becomes something we want to do.
So it's not ''I gotta be better.'' It's ''I am so grateful for what God has done for me that I want to give my life to him.''
LIVING FOR THE APPLAUSE
Paul writes, ''Let love be genuine'' (v. 13). These words really serve as a heading for what follows. Love is more than an emotion. Love shows up in what we do and say. We are to have the same kind of love that God has for us (i.e., a love that gives).
What's the opposite of ''genuine''? Fake. So Paul is saying, ''Don't appear to ...
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