Sermon Romans 12:9-21 Live in Harmony

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

New Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sermon Romans 12:9-21 Live in Harmony

September 3, 2017

On on the third of June of this year, a detachment of Islamic fighters from ISIS rode in a white van toward London Bridge.   When they arrived they used the van as a weapon killing 8 and injuring many others.  Then the Islamic fighters entered a popular nightclub with hunting knives.   The London Police brought them down with a hail of bullets. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/world/europe/uk-london-attacks.html

Two weeks later James T. Hodgkinson arrived at a baseball field in Northern Virginia.  He asked if the players on the field were Republican or Democrat.   When he found out that they were Republican he started shooting.  Five people were injured including Rep. Steven Scalise.  Members of the Capitol Police shot the gunman preventing further bloodshed.  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/congressional-baseball-gunman-had-list-gop-lawmakers-names-n773571

On Saturday, August 12, a group of White Supremacist protesters came to a park in Charlottesville Virginia.   They were confronted by counter protesters.   Violence erupted.   The President of the United States tweeted, “ We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Let's come together as one!”   Less than a  half hour later a White Supremacist rammed his car into a group of people killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring 19 others.  http://wjla.com/news/nation-world/charlottesville-violence-a-timeline-of-events

This has been a summer of violence.   It is time for the church to take a stand against violence and hatred.  It is time for us to show the world a new and better way.   For this we turn to the Bible.  We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

NIV Romans 12:1 I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

In the Book of Romans, Paul talks realistically about a world filled with sin.   He asks:  what should Christians do, living in a world of sin, but desiring to be reconciled with God, and to live a better life?  The typical answers to this question usually revolve around obeying the law or trying to be a better person.   But sin is too strong for these solutions.   We have been following the law, and we have been trying to be better people.  But sin still seems to be in control in our world and in our lives.  What are we to do?   

Paul’s answer is that our only hope, to get out of this mess, is for God to mercifully intervene.   God has to do something to reconcile people to himself and with each other.  God has to do something to free us from sin in our lives.  God must act, and He did.  In Jesus Christ, God has reconciled people to himself.  In Jesus Christ, God has freed us from slavery to sin.  In Jesus Christ, God forgives us and restores us to new life.

And if God has graciously done all of this for us, then what should be our response?  Out of gratitude, we come to worship and praise God, and we leave here to love and serve a world that desperately needs us.

Paul tells us that in worship we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.   In ancient times people would bring an animal to be sacrificed in worship.   The animal would be killed.   But God no longers wants a dead sacrifice.  He wants a living sacrifice.  He wants your body, alive.  He wants your mind, your hands, and your feet to do His mission in the world.

Paul tells us that this is our spiritual worship.  In ancient times non-Jews would worship spirits.   They would make images of wood or metal or stone to represent spiritual realities.   They believed that these spirits did things to affect the world.  Paul said that we don’t worship spirits.   The God we worship has a body, a resurrected body.  And so we worship this God with our bodies.   We worship Jesus Christ with our minds, our hands, and our feet do His mission in the world.

So what is it that we do with our bodies to worship Jesus Christ.   One thing we do is to gather around the table to commune with him as we share the bread and wine.   But this is only part of what we do with our bodies.    We must go beyond this.  Paul says that we must do nothing less than a total transformation of our minds.  Only after a total transformation can we hope to know what God wants us to do and live lives pleasing to him.    And thankfully, by the grace of God, we do receive new lives.

And what to these new transformed lives look like?   What would the church look like if we were all truly transformed by God?   We would look something like this.

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

If we really received transformed lives as a gift from our creator then our love for one another would be genuine.   In the world around us love is an illusion.   People pretend to love each other.  In reality, their love for others is just a show.   In a world stained by sin, love is little more than a handshake and a warm greeting.   In most churches that is as far as love goes.   But if we are truly transformed our love for each other would be genuine.

Genuine love looks like this.  First, we would never look down on people as inferiors.  We would think of others as superior to ourselves.   A homeless person comes to the church for a handout.  In a world of sin, we think we are better than this person.    But with a transformed mind and genuine love, we realize that this homeless person was created by God.   And this person has come to church to seek God’s mercy.   This person must be held up and honored by us.

The second aspect of genuine love is that we pray the joys and concerns of others.  When someone is looking for a job, we pray with them filled with hope that God will help them find one.   When someone is sick, we pray with them filled with hope that God will heal them.  When someone is suffering from the effects of personal sin,  we pray with them filled with the hope that God will forgive them.  And when someone has been healed, or a relationship restored, or a new child has come into the world,  or a new marriage is about to be consummated, then we pray with great joy and gratitude to the God who made all this possible.

The third aspect of genuine love is that we serve those in need.   When someone comes to a soup kitchen to find a warm meal we use our bodies, our hands, and feet, to relieve their hunger.  When someone needs a place to sleep on a cold winter’s evening we use our bodies to find them suitable shelter.  And we let them know about the gracious and compassionate God we worship.

We know that God has transformed our minds with genuine love when we think of others as better than ourselves when we pray for others filled with hope that our prayers to be heard, and when we serve with joy people who need our love.   

It is easy to love our neighbors here in Middletown.   But what about our enemies?  What about Islamic terrorists and white supremacists?  Are we called to love them too?   Well, yes.   

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In 2014 a group of Neo-Nazis came to Wunsiedel, a city in northeast Bavaria, to march near the grave of Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess.   The Christians there wanted to respond appropriately.   So they came up with the idea of an involuntary walkathon.    They asked people to contribute money for each step the Neo-Nazis took in their city,   Each step raised money for an organization that helped young people get out of Nazi hate groups.   When the marchers arrived they were surprised.  They were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd.   They saw signs thanking them for participating in the walkathon.   The people of the town setup rest areas where that marchers could receive water and bananas to give them endurance on the walk.  The town encouraged the Neo-Nazis to march further and further so they would raise more and more money. Every meter they walked raised another ten euros for the good cause.  As the march ended the town’s people warmly thanked the protesters for the “contribution” they gave.  They raised $12,000.   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/18/neo-nazis-tricked-into-raising-10000-for-charity

This is how the people of Wunsiedel blessed those who persecuted them and heaped burning coals on their heads.  They turned weeping into rejoicing.  They repaid evil with good.  They brought harmony to a people living with dissension.  How did they do all of this?  They received the gift of genuine love from our loving heavenly Father.

All of this is available to us.  We receive genuine love from God as a gift.  In gratitude, we follow him as he establishes a harmonious world.   God working through us is the answer the world needs to deal with problems it faces.  So let’s love one another, and live harmoniously together.

Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, we grieve with so much violence in the world today.   Help us to be sources of hope for those who desperately need it.   Help us to be role models of love that others can follow.   Give us the gift of genuine love.  And send the Prince of Peace, in whose name we pray.  Amen.