Faith and Love: The Servants of the Church

This study in Romans is coming to an end! It is bitter sweet for me. I have learned so much and  been so blessed to study beside my sisters in Christ. If you are here and have not been able or did not know about the lessons that go with my posts, be on the look out  for a complete, free, workbook in my Romans study! Coming in 2017! 

Paul shouts out in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Are you shouting this same message with the Apostle Paul? Are you shouting it outside the church as well as inside the church? The preaching and teaching of the gospel inside the church builds up and edifies the body. I think sometimes we forget this truth. We can become so focused on the lost that we forget that our brothers and sisters in Christ need our love and encouragement as much if not more than anyone else. God gives a measure of faith and love as servants to His church for building up and edifying.

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Conforming to the Truth

Paul begins Romans 12 with a heart-wrenching plea to present ourselves to God a living and holy sacrifice. This is our spiritual service of worship to God. When we were dead in our trespasses and sins we walked according to the world. Ephesians 2:1-3. When the Holy Spirit brings us from death to life we are to live out the rest of our time in the flesh for the will of God. 1 Peter 4:2. We are no longer our own, “we have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”1 Corinthians 6:20.

How do we present ourselves to God a living and holy sacrifice? This passage gives us three ways I see in which to do this.

1. By the renewing of our minds.
2. Using our measure of God given faith
3. Humbly loving our Brothers and Sisters in Christ

The first thing we’re urged to do is renew our minds. According to Ephesians 2:3 as an unbeliever we lived our lives in the lust of our flesh. We indulged the desires of our flesh and our minds with everything from the world.  As a blood bought believer our minds need renewing. As we begin to renew our minds with the truth of the word we will begin to learn how to present our bodies to God as living and holy sacrifices.

Using Our Measure of God-Given Faith

We offer our bodies to God by using the measure of faith He gives for the building up of the body of Christ. “We, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individual members one of another.” Romans 12:5.  God gives to each member of the church a spiritual gift and a measure of faith in which to use that gift for the body. Our gifts differ according to the grace that God gives to each of us. We are instructed to not think more highly of ourselves and our gifts than we should. I need you and you need me. No one is better than another and no one gift is better than the others. They are different but not better. Do you know what your gift is? Are you using it according to the measure of faith that God gives?

Humbly Love Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Paul ends this section of chapter 12 with a call to brotherly love. We serve our church body with the love that God supplies. 1 John 4:19 teaches that we love because He first loved us. God calls us to devote ourselves to one another, to honor one another, and give preference to one another. When we begin to renew our minds through the word of God and the Holy Spirit begins to give understanding of godly biblical love it will show itself in:

• serving
• honoring
• hoping
• practicing
• blessing
• rejoicing
• persevering

in our actions toward our brothers and sisters in Christ!

There will be times that our brothers and sisters in Christ will be haughty in spirit. They will hurt us and speak all kinds of evil against us. How are we to handle this? Never take revenge but as far as it depends on you be a peace maker with your brothers and sisters. This is not teaching us to not address an issue. Part of making peace is going to your brother or sister in love and trying to work out whatever the situation is. When you do your best to make peace and there is still an issue, leave room for the wrath of God. Vengeance is His and He will repay.

Always remember:

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Love never fails… 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you! Matthew 7:12

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