We have talked a lot about the gospel lately. We have learned about grace, faith, works, and how it all fits together. In light of that, I thought it would be helpful to talk about what a Christian should actually look like. So, for the next 13 days I want to walk through a daily devotional of Romans 12:9-21. The ESV translation of the Bible subtitles this section: Marks of the True Christian. How fitting! These verses will give us an inside look at who God will start shaping us to be once He saves us by His grace.
Starting The Daily Devotional
Every day, we will have a short writing on the website, as well as a short video on our Facebook page. Each day’s writing and video will discuss one verse from this section in Romans 12. I pray that God would use these short teachings to mold us all into the characteristics that we will be discussing! Again, like we talked about in our last post, we cannot muster up these characteristics on our own. It is God who changes us and causes us to follow His ways. Let’s start today with the first verse in this section of Scripture.
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” (Romans 12:9)
Let love be genuine. Have you ever met someone who said the right things, but you could tell that it wasn’t genuine? I’m sure we all have! Love is nothing if it is not genuine. Empty words are not enough. True, genuine, Christian love can actually be felt. It is tangible. When God saves us by His grace, He will start giving us a real love for one another. We will start showing the love that we have been freely given in Christ. Our world needs more love. It is desperate for real, genuine love.
Abhor What Is Evil
Abhor, hate, cast away what is evil. Once we are set free by the gospel, God starts to give us a distaste for the evil things that once enticed us. Incredible! Let us partner that amazing truth with our own effort to snuff out any evil in our lives. We do this by clinging to good. Actively holding fast to, and filling our lives with good things, gives little room for evil to show up and have space in our lives. It is hard for evil to invade a life that is full to the brim with good. Be proactive, then, and cling to, value, and fill your life with good things!
True Christians pursue genuine love in their lives. They experience the genuine love that God has given them, and they then go and show it to the world around them. True Christians also hate what is evil. God radically changes their hearts and pushes them away from it. They also actively pursue and cling to good things to minimize the room for evil to show up in their lives. The best part? God empowers the true Christian to grow in both of these areas.
Walk in His powerful grace today. Pursue genuine love. Fill your life with good things. Verse 10 coming tomorrow as we continue our daily devotional!
Don’t forget to keep up with this daily devotional on our Facebook page!
- Reflect on Romans 12:9. Do you notice these characteristics in your life?
- What is your biggest takeaway from this short devotion?