Hold Fast to What is Good

“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)

Let (agape) love be genuine. This love is from God who is love, and so this love centers in moral preference, and it means to prefer what God prefers. And God prefers all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant). And so, if we love with this love, and if our love is genuine, we will prefer to live through Christ, choosing his choices, and obeying them in his power.

And the opposite of genuine is fake, phony, and hypocritical. This happens when people put on masks and false personas in order to impress other people, in order to get their approval, or sometimes in order to hide their own secret sinful lifestyles. So this is a false love which is not really love at all, for it does not have as its center the concerns and will of God or the needs of others, but it is selfish in nature. And this can also be lust disguised as love which is selfish and not about meeting the true needs of others.

Now, if we are truly loving God and other humans with this agape love, then we are going to abhor what is evil, because we will hate what God hates, and we will hate what brings harm to others and that which is opposed to God and to his will and purpose for our lives. And so we will abhor any form of entertainment that is opposed to God and to his holiness and righteousness, and that displays all sorts of wickedness. And we will abhor participating in any form of evil that is against God and harmful to others.

And if we hold fast to what is good, this good is from God, and so it is defined by God, and it is the opposite of evil. So this good will include all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands. This good will consider the needs of others and the will of God above any selfish desires one might be tempted to yield to. And if we hold fast to this good we will embrace it and it will become a part of our lives and what we are committed to doing, and not evil.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Now with regard to our fellowship with the Lord Jesus and our commitment to him, we should not be lacking in zeal for the Lord and for his service, and to do his will. But we should be fervent (zealous, eager) in spirit, within our inner being, and our desire should be to serve the Lord Jesus in all that we are and think and feel. That should be the most important thing in our lives, to serve our Lord and to be who he has called us to be, and to be doing his will and purpose for our lives, to the glory and praise of God.

Yet, if we are serving the Lord Jesus with our lives, in truth and in righteousness, and if our love for God and our fellow humans is genuine agape love, and if we honestly do abhor all that is evil, and if we are those who cling to what is good and is of God, and if we are fervent in spirit in serving our Lord with the gifts he has given to us in the areas of ministry to which he has assigned us, we are going to face tribulation. Satan will be out to take us down, and even fellow “Christians” will reject and persecute us because of our seriousness of our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord.

So we need to be patient in such tribulations and not lose hope, but to keep clinging to what is good and abhorring evil and following our Lord wherever he leads us in doing and in saying whatever it is he wants us to do and say. And this requires that we be constant in prayer, too. And this doesn’t mean that we are praying 24/7 but that we have open communication between us and God 24/7 to where we can talk with him, and him with us, anytime of day or night, regardless of what else we have happening at any time.

And we are to be those who are generous and who contribute to the needs of the saints. And the saints are all God’s people who are his called out ones, who are called to be holy, to live lives which are separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, by his Spirit. And needs are necessities and not necessarily wants. And they can be physical, emotional, mental, and/or spiritual in nature. So we must be led of the Lord in meeting these needs.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

Love Must Be Genuine 

An Original Work / October 22, 2013

Based off Romans 12:9-21

Love must be genuine.

Hate what’s evil; cling to good.

Love each other with affection.

Show respect for ev’ryone.

Never lack in your zeal.

Serve the Lord with diligence.

Rejoice in steadfast hope.

In affliction, patient be.

Keep on praying; share with others.

Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute.

Feel with others sympathy.

Be not filled with conceit.

Daily sit at Jesus’ feet.

Live in harmony with others.

Live at peace with ev’ryone.

Repay not to someone

With the evil he begot.

Do not take your revenge;

Leave it to the wrath of God.

If your enemy is thirsty,

Give to him something to drink.

Do what’s right for mankind.

Evil: overcome with good.

https://vimeo.com/114695549