IS YOUR LOVE LEGIT? MARKS OF SINCERE LOVE

Summary of Passage

Christian Characteristics of Sincere Love. Concerning…

• Evil: abhor it
• Good: bond to it
• Honor: esteem one another
• Diligence: not lazy or hesitant
• Motivation: boiling over
• The Lord: bond-service
• Hope: with rejoicing
• Tribulation: with patience
• Prayer: constant
• Christian needs: sharing in them
• Love of strangers: aggressively pursue

Bless persecutors.  Rejoice with rejoicing ones, weep with weeping ones.

Live in harmony – not proud, but with the lowly.

1. Behavior Anchored in Theology (12:1-2)

1. Characteristics of Our Passage (12:9-16)

• Practical
• High expectations
• Bullets for love
• Apostolic Application

1. Sincere Love & Brotherly Affection (12:9-10, 12-14, 16)

• Called to be tenderly loving, kindly affectionate to – real feeling
• ALL believers - our corporate witness. Practical Steps
  • Start small
  • Pray for the Spirit’s power
  • Be humble
  • Prefer one another
  • Remember they are family
  • Participate in their needs
  • Pursue hospitality – know them

2. The Indispensability of Diligence & Fervency (12:11)

• There is urgency in doing God’s work – get psyched
• It is freeing to be the Lord’s bond-servant
• Diligence is not optional, but varies with life’s stages/seasons
• At you at your bandwidth?
• Fervency enables diligence. What are you enthusiastic about?

3. A Test of True Love – Rejoice & Weep (12:15)

• An extension of loving others as yourself
• The greater difficulty of rejoicing
  • Combating your selfish
  • Amidst your morning
• It’s about family favor, not fairness
• Be honest, be sensitive, be sincere

Our Strength?  The Hope of the Gospel