Paul’s Epistle to the Romans

New Community Church, Adelaide - Sermon series on Romans. Martin Luther tells us why this epistle is critical: “This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian’s while not only to memorise it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily,  as though it were the daily bread of the soul. Up to now it has been  darkened by glosses and by many a useless comment, but it is in itself  a bright light, almost bright enough to illumine the entire Scripture.”

Geoff Hohneck
Romans 12:9-10
25 August 2013

While it’s great to get up high for a bird’s eye view of the gospel, it is important and necessary to get up close with the details to understand how things are fleshed out. Likewise, in this passage, verses 1-8 gave us a bird’s eye view of the gospel. But now we come to the details that help to bring those ideas into action. And the first of those details is our love for one another.

But just what kind of ‘love’ is Paul talking of? To be sure, it isn’t the candy-coated, fuzzy kind of love that we see in popular culture. If we are to live as children of God, our love needs to be marked by the characteristics Paul identifies in this passage.

Sermon Outline:

1. Our love is to be sincere (vs 9)

2. Our love is to discriminate (vs 9)

3. Our love is to be affectionately devoted (vs10)