Peter Barnes | Romans 12:9-10
SERMON NOTES
BEING LOVING
(Romans 12:9-10)
Love is all you need, sang the Beatles. No, it is not.
1. Love is sincere.
– 12:9a; ‘without a mask’. See Luke 22:47-48
– love can easily be disguised selfishness; love can hurt at times (Prov.27:6)
– 1 Peter 1:22
2. Love is holy.
– 12:9b,c; see Ps.97:10 and Mark 3:1-5
– Pope Francis I: ‘Who am I to judge?’ and people who think that love means accepting all. No, love abhors evil.
– it clings to the good (Matt.19:5 – same word)
3. Love is humble and brotherly.
– 12:10; in the one family (Matt.12:46-50)
– 1 Thess.4:9; Heb.13:1
– Phil.2:3; Calvin: ‘As there is nothing more opposed to brotherly concord than the contempt which rises from pride, while each esteems others less and exalts himself, so modesty, by which each comes to honour others, best nourishes love.’