Love Without a Mask: The Nuts and Bolts of Christian Affection Text: Romans 12:9-13
Introduction: Doctrine on its Feet
We have spent eleven chapters in the book of Romans climbing a theological Mount Everest. Paul has taken us through the depths of human depravity, the heights of justification by faith alone, the intricacies of God's sovereign election, and the glorious, unbreakable chain of our salvation in Christ. After such a breathtaking ascent, it is tempting to want to set up camp at the summit and just enjoy the doctrinal view. But Paul will not let us do that. Christian doctrine is never a museum piece to be admired from a distance. It is not an anesthetic to make us comfortable. It is a potent stimulant, intended to get us moving. Doctrine is for doing.
And so, in chapter 12, Paul brings all that glorious theology down from the mountain and puts it to work in the marketplace, in the home, and in the church fellowship. He begins with the great call to present our bodies as living sacrifices, which is our logical, spiritual worship. Our minds are to be renewed, not conformed to the spirit of the age. This transformation is not so we can win arguments, but so we can live out the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. After addressing spiritual gifts, Paul then gives us a rapid-fire series of exhortations that are the nuts and bolts of this transformed life. What does a living sacrifice look like on a Tuesday afternoon? It looks like this passage.
This is not a list of suggestions for the spiritually elite. This is the baseline standard for Christian behavior. This is what normal Christianity looks like when the gospel has truly taken root in a community. Our secular world talks a great deal about love, but it is a sentimental, squishy, and ultimately selfish kind of love. It is a love that is defined by our feelings, our preferences, and our self-fulfillment. The love Paul describes here is something else entirely. It is rugged, it is discerning, it has sharp edges, and it is fiercely loyal to Christ. It is a love with a backbone.
As we walk through these verses, we must see them not as a disconnected list of religious duties to check off, but as the organic fruit of a life that has been crucified and resurrected with Christ. This is what happens when the mercies of God, which Paul spent eleven chapters detailing, truly grip a man's heart. This is doctrine on its feet, walking around, and getting its hands dirty.
The Text
Let love be without hypocrisy, by abhorring what is evil, clinging to what is good, being devoted to one another in brotherly love, giving preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, being fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, persevering in affliction, being devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality.
(Romans 12:9-13 LSB)
Sincere Love and Moral Antithesis (v. 9)
We begin with the foundational command, which governs everything that follows.
"Let love be without hypocrisy, by abhorring what is evil, clinging to what is good" (Romans 12:9)
The command is for love to be "without hypocrisy." The Greek word is anypokritos, which means "un-hypocritical" or "without a mask." A hypocrite was an actor in a Greek play, someone who wore a mask and pretended to be someone he was not. Christian love is not to be a performance. It is not a polite, plastic smile we put on for Sunday morning. It must be genuine, sincere, and from the heart. It is easy to say "I love you" in the abstract. It is much harder to love real, complicated, and sometimes difficult people without pretense.
But Paul does not leave this as a vague, sentimental exhortation. He immediately defines what this sincere love looks like in practice. It is not a mushy, indiscriminate acceptance of everything. Real love has a sharp moral compass. It operates on the principle of antithesis. Sincere love works itself out by "abhorring what is evil" and "clinging to what is good."
Notice the strength of the verbs. We are to "abhor" evil. This is a visceral word. It means to hate it, to shrink from it in horror, to find it utterly repugnant. This is not mild disapproval. This is the kind of reaction you have to the smell of rotting flesh. And on the other hand, we are to "cling" to what is good. The word means to be glued to it, to be cemented to it. This is not a casual preference. It is a tenacious, white-knuckled grip on goodness.
This is where our generation gets Christian love completely wrong. The world's love is defined by tolerance, which means you must never abhor anything, except perhaps the man who says you should abhor something. But biblical love is not neutral. It takes sides. It hates sin because sin destroys the people God loves. It hates lies because lies enslave the people God loves. A love that does not hate evil is a counterfeit love. A doctor who "loves" his patient but refuses to hate the cancer that is killing him is no doctor at all. And a Christian who claims to love God and his neighbor but will not abhor the sin that dishonors God and destroys his neighbor is a hypocrite, wearing a mask.
The Character of Christian Fellowship (v. 10)
Paul now applies this sincere love to our relationships within the church.
"being devoted to one another in brotherly love, giving preference to one another in honor" (Romans 12:10 LSB)
The love we are to have is "brotherly love," philadelphia. This is the affection of a family. The church is not a club we join or a weekly event we attend. It is a family we are born into. We are to be "devoted" to one another with this family love. The word here speaks of a tender, cherished affection. It is the natural love that parents have for their children and siblings have for one another.
But this family affection is not just a feeling; it has a practical outworking. We are to give "preference to one another in honor." This means we are to be actively looking for ways to esteem others as more significant than ourselves. It is the very opposite of the world's way, which is to jostle for position, to demand respect, and to fight for our own honor. The Christian way is to be in a constant, friendly competition to see who can honor the other more. It is to outdo one another in showing respect. Imagine a church where everyone is trying to get the best seat for someone else, to praise the work of another, to promote the reputation of a brother. That is a church saturated with the gospel. This is humility in action, and it is the only known antidote to the pride and envy that so often poison church life.
The Christian Work Ethic (v. 11)
From our relationships, Paul turns to our responsibilities. Christian love impacts our work ethic.
"not lagging behind in diligence, being fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11 LSB)
First, "not lagging behind in diligence." The word for lagging is the word from which we get "slothful." Christians are not to be lazy. We are not to be slackers. Whether it is in our jobs, our homes, or our service in the church, we are to be characterized by zeal and earnestness. This is because we understand that all our work is ultimately "serving the Lord."
This is the key that transforms all labor. The Christian doesn't just work for a paycheck. The Christian homemaker isn't just cleaning a house. The Christian student isn't just studying for a grade. We are serving King Jesus. This reality should make us "fervent in spirit." The word fervent literally means "boiling." Our spiritual lives should not be lukewarm or stagnant. There should be a holy zeal, a boiling energy, that comes from the Holy Spirit and animates all that we do. We serve a resurrected Lord who gave His all for us, and the only sane response is to serve Him with all the diligence and fervor we can muster.
The Christian's Posture in the World (v. 12)
Paul then describes the internal disposition of a believer as he navigates a fallen world.
"rejoicing in hope, persevering in affliction, being devoted to prayer" (Romans 12:12 LSB)
This is a three-legged stool of Christian endurance. First, we are "rejoicing in hope." Our joy is not based on our present circumstances, which are often difficult. Our joy is based on our future hope, which is absolutely certain. We have a guaranteed inheritance, an unshakable kingdom, and an eternity with Christ. This hope is the anchor for our souls, and it is the fuel for our joy, even when things are grim.
Because our joy is in our hope, we are able to be "persevering in affliction." The word for persevering means to remain under a heavy load without collapsing. Affliction is not an elective for the Christian; it is a required course. Jesus promised us that in this world we would have tribulation. But we are not to be surprised or undone by it. We persevere, we endure, we stand fast, because we know that the affliction is temporary and the hope is eternal. We know that God is using the affliction to shape us into the image of His Son.
And what sustains this hopeful perseverance? We are to be "devoted to prayer." The word means to be continually committed, to persist in it. Prayer is the lifeline. It is how we access the grace and strength we need to rejoice in hope and persevere in affliction. The Christian who is not devoted to prayer is like a soldier who goes into battle without ammunition. He will not last long. These three are bound together: our hope fuels our perseverance, our perseverance is sustained by prayer, and our prayer is offered in hope.
Practical, Sacrificial Generosity (v. 13)
Finally, Paul brings it all home with two very concrete expressions of Christian love.
"contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality." (Romans 12:13 LSB)
Christian love is not just a warm feeling in the heart; it is an open hand. We are to be "contributing to the needs of the saints." This means sharing what we have, our money, our resources, our time, with fellow believers who are in need. The early church took this so seriously that they sold property to care for the poor among them. This is not communism; it is voluntary, cheerful generosity, motivated by our family love for one another in Christ.
And we are to be "pursuing hospitality." Hospitality is more than just having friends over for dinner. The word literally means "love of strangers." We are to actively seek out opportunities to welcome people, especially fellow believers, into our homes. In the ancient world, where travel was dangerous and inns were often brothels, this was a vital ministry. In our fragmented and lonely modern world, it is just as vital. A home that is open to others is a powerful apologetic for the gospel. It is a tangible demonstration of the welcome we have received from God in Christ. Notice that we are to "pursue" it. This is not a passive waiting for opportunities to fall into our laps. It is an active, intentional, strategic pursuit.
Conclusion: The Logic of the Gospel
This entire section is the logical outworking of the gospel. Because God has loved us without hypocrisy in Christ, we love one another without a mask. Because Christ abhorred the evil of our sin and clung to the good of His Father's will, even to the cross, we too hate evil and cling to what is good. Because we have been adopted into God's family, we are devoted to one another with brotherly love. Because Christ humbled Himself for us, we seek to outdo one another in showing honor.
Because He served us with ultimate diligence, we serve Him with fervor. Because our hope is resurrection, we can rejoice in the midst of affliction. And because He has opened the door to the Father's house for us, we open our homes to others. Every command in this text is simply a call to live out the implications of what God has already done for us in Jesus. This is not about trying harder. It is about living out the new identity that is already ours in the gospel. This is what a living sacrifice looks like. It looks like love.