The Purity of a Christian

Romans 12:9

May 25, 2008

Last Sunday morning, Paul gave us a fundamental statement

In regard to the Christian faith.

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

If we are truly grateful for God’s mercy;

We should each determine to lay our lives upon God’s altar.

And let God do with us whatever He desires.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Paul began to give practical applications,

As to how we are to live as sacrifices before God.

And it had to do with our spiritual giftedness.

In whatever way God has gifted you to serve the body,

Then serve as good as you possibly can.

Romans 12:7-8 “if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

But Paul is not finished revealing how to be a living sacrifice.

What comes next in the book of Romans

Is sort of The Ten Commandments of the New Testament,

EXCEPT THERE ARE 25 OF THEM.

They continue Paul’s thought on being

“a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God”

We hear statements that reflect a confusion about obedience.

“What is God’s will for my life?”

“I just don’t know what God wants me to do.”

Such statements that seem to indicate

That God’s will is in some way hidden from us.

But that is absolutely untrue.

God’s word is filled with simple and direct commands

That he intends for you and I to follow.

Paul gives 25 here, to help you be “a living and holy sacrifice”

AND LET ME REITERATE THE IMPORTANCE HERE.

Even though these commands seem brief and unweighty,

Do not fall into the trap that they are insignificant.

Each of this is an actual command from Holy God,

And each of them carries His absolute and complete authority.

Every command of God is to be obeyed

To the fullest extent in our lives.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 "Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD'S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”

He then ended the sermon by saying it again:

Deuteronomy 32:45-47 “When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, "Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law. "For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess."

And let us this morning take Moses’ words to heart.

“It is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life.”

These 25 simple commands,

Are not some insignificant, second rate, list of Christian suggestions,

They are commands from Holy God,

And He expects that each one will be obeyed.

The remainder of Ch. 12, then, focuses on obedience.

It also heavily rests upon the authority of God,

As the chief lawgiver, and our Lord and commanding officer.

For example:

Of the twenty-five separate commands given in this chapter,

Only two give any explanation as to why you should obey them.

Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord.”

Romans 12:20 "BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD."

The rest come with the understood explanation of

“because I said so.”

The simple point is that we are given 25 individual commands and we are expected to obey them to the fullest extent, simply because God said so,

And when we do, it is the fulfillment of the command to

“present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

This morning we begin this study

By looking at the first 3 commands in the list.

They certainly have the ability to stand alone,

But they all share the common theme of Christian Purity.

So this morning, let’s look at 3 commands about Christian purity.

#1 PURITY IN DEVOTION

Romans 12:9a “Let love be without hypocrisy.”

It is obvious here that we are referring to

The greatest of all Christian attributes, which is love.

And namely we are talking about our love for God.

In verse 10 Paul refers to our “brotherly love”,

Therefore this verse is best seen as our love for God.

There is no other place to start, when talking about obedience.

Every single command comes from our love for God.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

You can trace Israel’s failures right back to this command every time.

THEIR CHIEF FLAW WAS A FAILURE TO LOVE GOD.

They sacrificed, but it was empty religion…

They prayed, but it was out of obligation…

They praised, but it was the thing to do…

And therefore, God was continually angry with them.

God’s supreme command is that we love Him more than anything else, and all other obedience will rightly flow from that.

So it is fitting that the first command Paul lists

Has to do with our love for God.

It is also worth noting that

When speaking about love, we are not speaking about an emotion.

Although soap operas and Jr. High portray love

As an emotional condition, it is not.

Love is and always has been an action.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “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.”

Paul never mentioned what love feels like,

He only mentioned what love looks like.

You and I don’t need to know what love feels like,

We only need to know what love looks like, and love is a sacrificial action.

That is why Jesus would say:

John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

John would remind us of this as well.

1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”

And so you and I know that the command to love God,

Is a command to walk in true sacrificial obedience to God.

And Paul says here, “Let love be without hypocrisy.”

He begins that statement with the word “Let”.

This is something we are to allow.

It insinuates that if we are not careful

Hypocrisy will slip into and corrupt our true love for God.

And this can happen easier than you think.

If we are not careful, love for God can easily become nothing more

Than a few religious activities done for the wrong reasons.

A picture of this is most clearly seen in the Pharisees.

They were masters of hypocritical religion.

In fact Jesus would say of them:

Matthew 23:14 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”

They didn’t truly love God, they just wanted to look like they did.

Matthew 15:7-9 "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'"

Their love was riddled with hypocrisy.

It was outward, not inward.

It was only superficial.

Matthew 23:23-24 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

BUT WE ARE NOT TO BE LIKE THEM.

“Let love be without hypocrisy.”

He is calling for total purity in our devotion to God.

If you claim to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength,

Then really love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Don’t put on some sort of outward display,

Really love God with all your heart.

Don’t be a half-hearted follower of Jesus.

That never bodes well for a person.

Luke 8:14 "The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

They are the half-hearted followers, and they are not saved.

True Christians are commanded to “Let love be without hypocrisy.”

So first, Purity in Devotion.

#2 PURITY IN DISCERNMENT

Romans 12:9b “Abhor what is evil;”

We as believers are not to tolerate evil;

We are certainly not to participate in evil.

But Paul goes further here: “Abhor what is evil;”

A true believer is called to have “Purity in discernment”.

First we are called to be able to discern good from evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”

We as believers had better spend enough time in the word of God,

That we can actually tell the difference

Between what God calls good, and what God calls evil.

Then do exactly has Paul says here.

“Abhor what is evil;”

This ties to the previous statement, since love:

1 Corinthians 13:6 “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;”

You cannot love God and love unrighteousness,

Nor can you love unrighteousness in a brother or sister of Christ.

We are called as believers to “Abhor what is evil”

WHAT IS EVIL?

We know disobedience is evil.

Numbers 32:13 "So the LORD'S anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed.”

Idolatry is evil.

Judges 2:11 “Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals,”

Deception and gossip is evil.

Psalms 34:13-14 “Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.”

Unbelief is evil

Hebrews 3:12 “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”

Boasting is evil

James 4:16 “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”

Jesus gave a list of what is evil

Mark 7:21-23 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

And a Christian is to “Abhor what is evil.”

And this is seen not only here, but throughout the Scriptures.

Psalms 97:10 “Hate evil, you who love the LORD…”

Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.”

8 times in the book of Deuteronomy Moses says:

“You shall purge the evil from your midst.”

WE UNDERSTAND WHY.

It is because God hates evil,

And we are called to have the mind of Christ.

Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”

In fact, there is a stiff rebuke, for the hypocrite

Who claims to love God, yet who also loves evil.

Psalms 50:16-21 “But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? "For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. "When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. "You let your mouth loose in evil And your tongue frames deceit. "You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son. "These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.”

I get so sick and tired of hearing Christians refer to blatant sin and say,

“Who am I to say that is wrong, I’m not a judge.”

Statements like that are made by people

Who care more about what people think, than what God thinks..

The Bible is clear, we are to hate what God hates.

As Christians, we are no longer to love the world,

We are to love God, and we should hate what is evil.

Psalms 1:1 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”

Psalms 101:2-4 “I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil.”

When Jude penned his letter, he wrote of evangelism.

Jude 20-23 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”

Paul also said:

Ephesians 5:3-5 “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

And we could go on and on and on.

It is a simple command that you and I are to apply to our daily lives,

As we seek to live for the Lord.

We are to have purity in discernment.

It is not acceptable for a Christian

To condone, tolerate, or participate in evil.

“Abhor what is evil;”

If we truly seek to be like God, and if we truly have His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, then we should truly hate sin.

Even Paul mentioned that while struggling with sin:

Romans 7:14-15 “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”

We must “present our bodies a living and HOLY sacrifice, acceptable to God”

And that means we must:

“Abhor what is evil”

First – Purity in Devotion

Second – Purity in Discernment

#3 PURITY IN DESIRE

Romans 12:9c “cling to what is good.”

In other words, it is not enough, simply to hate evil.

There is an action that is required.

“cling to what is good.”

What is it that you want in life?

What is it that you pursue?

WOULD GOD CONSIDER IT GOOD?

WHAT IS GOOD?

God is good.

Matthew 19:17 “And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

The word of God is good

Romans 7:12 “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

Prayer is good

1 Timothy 2:1-4 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Praise is good

Psalms 147:1 “Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.”

Moral purity is good.

1 Corinthians 7:1-2 “Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.”

Integrity is good

Ephesians 4:28 “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”

And notice the Bible says that we are to “cling to” it.

The Greek word for “cling” is KOLLAO

It comes from the word KOLLA, which is the Greek word for “glue”.

The idea is that you find what is good, and you stick yourself to it.

EVIL COMES NATURAL

So we are called to hate it.

BUT GOOD DOESN’T COME NATURAL

So we are called to search it out and cling to it.

You must search it out, and never let it go.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Colossians 3:1-3 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Paul told Timothy

1 Timothy 6:9-12 “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

He told him again in a second letter

2 Timothy 2:22 “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

The commands are simple.

The life of a Christian is a life of purity.

We are commanded to be sincere: Purity in Devotion

“Let love be without hypocrisy”

We are commanded to be clean: Purity in Discernment

“Abhor what is evil;”

We are commanded to be innocent: Purity in Desire

“cling to what is good.”

So this morning, I just want to encourage you

“to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

AND DO THAT BY WALKING IN PURITY BEFORE GOD.

Love Him genuinely

Hate what He hates

Love what He loves

THIS IS YOUR WORSHIP.

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”