Angelic Conflict part 218: Human history (the Church) – Rom 12:1-21; 1Co 1:10-13; 4:4-5; Mat 7:1-5; 5:38-42; 1Sa 24:1-22.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 218: Human history (the Church) - ROM 12:1-21; 1CO 1:10-13; 4:4-5; MAT 7:1-5; 5:38-42; 1SA 24:1-22.

 

ROM 12:9Let love be without hypocrisy [lacking in pretense or show, but genuine]. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.

 

PSA 45:6-7

Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever;

A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.

 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness;

Therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee

With the oil of joy above Thy fellows.

 

ROM 12:10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love [philadelphia]; give preference to one another in honor;

 

"preference" - prohge,omai[proegeomai] = to go before and lead, showing deference to another, preferring one another.

 

"honor" - timh,[time] = a valuing, a price paid or received, a sense of value, honor or esteem of something valuable.

 

As we have defined agapan love: A mental attitude love from mature virtue that recognizes the value of an object, which produces a preference and a regard for its benefit, without sin, nor motivated by any affection or attraction.

 

This love the world has never known and will not know apart from the salvation in Christ.

 

ROM 12:11not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

 

 “not negligent or slothful in zeal - hot, boiling, or glowing in spirit - serving as a slave the Lord.

 

ROM 12:12rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

 

"rejoicing in hope" = rejoicing in tomorrow and all the rest of tomorrows.

 

This is to be true whether we have been given good news about tomorrow or bad.

 

PRO 31:25

Strength and dignity are her clothing,

And she smiles at the future.

 

Persevering [hupomeno] in tribulation is to remain under it, not attempting any human solutions to get out from under it, not defending yourself, not needing to always be right, and patiently waiting for God's deliverance.

 

All God's ways are counterfeited by satan. According to a pamphlet published by the Buddhist Church of America, patience and perseverance matter more than the blood of crucifixion, [God] sacrificing his own being on the cross. God is not a creator ... does not judge or punish ... is not transcendent and is not a deity of fear and mercy. In Buddha's own words, ""Seek in the impersonal for the eternal man, and having sought him out, look inward - thou art Buddha ["enlightened one"]." The implication, which is in all gnosticism as well as eastern religions is that there is a life force and it is in everything. It is good and bad, ying and yang, and for one to achieve enlightenment or nirvana one must find the balance between good and evil. George Lucas grabbed hold of this in the Star Wars epic with the use of the force, an energy which runs through all things and can be harnessed for use by the few. The force had a good side and a dark side.

 

Devotion to prayer is continuing to be steadfast in your communication with God.

 

ROM 12:13contributing to the needs of the saints [graciously giving to RF], practicing hospitality.

 

"hospitality" - filoxeni,a [philoxenia] = literally the love of strangers. Christian travelers from other cities were common in the early church.

 

MAR 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." 29 Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, 30 but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 "But many who are first, will be last; and the last, first."

 

HEB 13:1-2

Let love of the brethren [philadelphia] continue [meno - abide]. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers [philoxenia], for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

 

Agape is to be without hypocrisy [ROM 12:9] and so is philadelphia [1PE 1:22]. Agape is a virtue and so is philadelphia [2PE 1:7]. We are to abide in agape [1JO 4:16] as well as philadelphia [HEB 13:1].

 

Agape is mentioned far more in the NT because its application is much broader than philadelphia.

 

ROM 12:14Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not.

 

ROM 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

 

ROM 12:16Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

 

God returns to the theme of verse 3 very quickly since it is of supreme importance and since mankind is addicted to thinking of himself and how all things affect him personally and he is addicted to recognition for deeds done or victories won [short sightedness]. We are all in the same boat as unworthy fishermen [fill in your profession]. We are all evil from our youth. No matter how the world may estimate a person as lowly or noble, in God's eyes we are all lowly and unworthy, but made to partake in the divine nature as believers.

 

GAL 2:12-13

For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.

 

MAT 9:11-12

And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners?"