ESSENTIAL DISCIPLESHIP: AN ESSENTIAL DEVOTION
Romans 12:9-11
Main Idea: The essential devotion of a disciple is to love others outrageously.
This morning we are going to talk about the essential devotion of a disciple is to love others outrageously. If you are devoted to something you make it the center of your life. We are saying that if we are to become complete and competent followers of Jesus Christ then we will make love for others the center of our life. John Ortberg says, "If we are serious about loving God, we must begin with people, all people. And especially we must learn to love those that the world generally discards." (Love Beyond Reason, p. 18).
You’ll notice, though, that I have added a qualifier to this devotion of love. I have said that we are to love others "outrageously." If something is outrageous it goes beyond the limits of what is usual. The love that is essential to a disciple’s life and to which we are to center our life is to go beyond the limits of what is usual, normal or expected. There was no one who defined more clearly with his life, his actions and his words what outrageous love is more than Jesus.
He said in the Sermon on the Mount, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" (Matthews 5:43-47)
He told his disciples on the night of his arrest. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another… My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends...This is my command: Love each other." (John 13:34-35, Jn. 15:12-13, 17)
He would then demonstrate that love by going to the cross to pay the price for all of our sins. There would be no more outrageous love. The song we sing says, "Amazing love how can it be that you my God would die for me? Amazing love I know it’s true I’ll live my life to honor you in all I do." The essential devotion of a disciple is to love others with Jesus’ outrageous love.
What does outrageous love in the life of a disciple look like? Paul describes it for us in our text for today as love that is absolutely authentic, love that will exceed the ordinary, love that will break the limits of the expected and love that refocuses life.
Outrageous love is what I call absolutely authentic (Romans 12:9). Paul says, "Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them." Other translations say, "Let love be without hypocrisy" (NASV) and, "Love must be sincere." The word for "hypocrisy" is a word that meant "to be an actor on a stage." It is the opposite of what is sincere or authentic. Something is authentic when it describes or defines the reality of something. If we say that something is "virtual reality" we mean it is as close as real can be without being real. If something is real then it is completely and absolutely authentic.
Hypocritical love, "virtual reality" love is one of the most deadly elements within a disciple’s life and in the body of Christ. Judas was the example of hypocritical love by betraying Jesus with a kiss. There is nothing more disgusting and reprehensible in a Christian’s life than hypocritical love because it is a contradiction of the truth. If someone is acting in a love that is hypocritical you can never really know if they support you. You can never really tell if they even like you and you get the sense that you are being played or manipulated.
If the love you have for someone is absolutely authentic then it will mean three things:
So let me ask you, "Who is it you are pretending to love?" If your love is not sincere and real then it is nothing more than an act. Virtual reality and simply hypocritical. What if you can’t love authentically? Then don’t pretend. Until you allow God to love then the best you can offer is courtesy. It may not be love but its not hypocrisy! Outrageous love is absolutely authentic.
Outrageous love also exceeds the ordinary (Romans 12:9). Paul says, "Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of good." What you hear Paul saying is that when it comes to relationships in the Body of Christ there are some actions we take that go beyond the ordinary. He says first that our love is to exceed ordinary resistance, "Hate what is wrong." The action described here is to immediately and strongly have a horror of what is wrong. The problem we have is that we have allowed our enemy Satan and our culture to so confuse us that if we are anything other than tolerant of what is wrong or evil then somehow we are rejecting the person who commits acts of sin. There are things in our life and in others’ lives and in our culture that call on us to exceed ordinary resistance. When it comes to sin in my life and in yours, God hates sin so much that he was willing to exceed ordinary resistance—he allowed his Son to die for our sins!
The second thing he says is that we are to "Stand on the side of good." Another translation says, "Cling to what is good." The phrase is the same one used for marriage. We are to exceed ordinary acceptance and hold on to someone radically. It is easy for us to accept someone or something if it is good but are we willing to exceed ordinary acceptance and aggressively support or defend what we know is good in someone. Outrageous love is love that exceeds the ordinary.
There is a ministry of our church that demonstrates the outrageous love that Paul describes in these verses. It shows love that is authentic and love that goes beyond the ordinary to help people be free from the hurts, habits and hang-ups that restrict their life. Celebrate Recovery shows outrageous love by receiving you as you are but loves you enough to not let you stay that way. Kathy Holler is the director of that ministry and will tell us their story this morning:
Outrageous love breaks the limits of the expected (Romans 12:10). Paul said, "Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other." Now what Paul does in this verse is to take the idea of love in a disciple’s life and describe it in deeply intimate family terms. Other translations say, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love." The love in verse 10 is on a different level than the love in verse 9. The love here is to be uniquely focused on other believers within the Body of Christ and that the love demonstrated is to be like that between members of your family. It is to be love that mirrors the bond of love ideally found in a family. So we can say that outrageous love accepts you like you are part of the family.
If I go to someone’s home or if someone comes to your home, you expect to be received courteously or politely. But if it is family or someone you love like family then you are going to break the limits of courtesy and politeness and accept them into your home. I realize that we are not going to know or be able to accept into our life everyone at this level but the question is whom are you accepting into your life like family? Are you closing yourself off from the relationships that are to allow you to demonstrate the outrageous love of a disciple?
Paul goes on to say that we’re to "take delight in honoring each other." I love this statement because it really says, "Stumble over yourselves" in honoring one another or take the lead in honoring one another. When I was a boy there was a Looney Tunes cartoon that featured two goofy gophers named "Mac" ‘n "Tosh" that were always so polite to each other that it became pathological they rarely got anything done or done in the way it was designed. That’s what I think of when I see this verse. It is love that stumbles over itself to honor you like a celebrity. Again it is expected that we be courteous and polite to others but this is love that breaks the limits of what is expected.
Do you see the condemnation that this verse brings to when we are exclusive with relationships in our church? Does the person who is the unknown in our church receive the same attention as the well known? I have watched us literally stumble over ourselves in Sunday School or worship to be sure we notice someone who is known when the unknown is treated maybe courteously but they are not received as family nor are they honored like a celebrity. What would it mean if we decided to break the limits and treat people so outrageously? Outrageous love breaks the limits of the expected.
Outrageous love is absolutely authentic, exceeds the ordinary, breaks the limits of the expected but it wonderfully helps us to refocus our life. (Rom 12:11). Paul admonishes those Christians with three words of encouragement: "Never be lazy in your work," "Serve the Lord," and do that "enthusiastically." It’s as though Paul knew that life has a way of so wearing us down that we lose our ability to focus on anything of value. Again, the words he uses are fascinating because they essentially mean don’t burn out emotionally, don’t let the flame die spiritually and keep your focus on service to Christ.
Outrageous love that refocuses life helps someone to restore their energy, be revived spiritually and have their purpose renewed. There’s a song by a musician named Jay Farrar that says, "Somewhere along the way the clock runs out. Somewhere along the way it all stands still…You’d better find a focus before you are out of the picture." Life and love have a way of causing us to lose our focus and when we do we are out of the picture of God’s purpose for our life. We need someone who will love us enough to restore us, revive us and renew us.
One of the ways our church chooses to love people outrageously is by providing a ministry to help people find their focus again. The ministry is called "First Hope." First Hope is a counseling ministry under the direction of Dr. Sara VanScoy that restores those in despair, renews their reason for living and moves persons toward a purposeful relationship with Jesus Christ.
Sara VanScoy:
Is the love you have as a disciple love that is outrageous? Is it love that is free from pretending and manipulation? Is it love that exceeds ordinary resistance to wrong and exceeds ordinary acceptance of good in someone? Is it love that is willing to break the limits of the expectations of courtesy and politeness and love someone like family and treat them like a celebrity? Is it love that is willing to see someone who has just lost their focus in life and says, "Let me help you get back in the picture?" That kind of outrageous love is to be the essential devotion of a disciple!
Not long before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the congregation at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church:
"If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize; that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards; that's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody." (William Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, Abingdon Press, 2002, p. 53)
May it be for each of us that we say, "As a disciple of Jesus Christ I am devoting myself to trying to love someone outrageously."
Sunday, August 8, 2004
Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor
First Baptist Church
Jonesboro, Arkansas