Romans 12: Part 6

Romans 12: Part 6

After giving concrete examples of spiritual gifts and encouraging people to use their gifts, Paul urges his audience to have sincere love. Literally he says "Love must be sincere." (Romans 12:9a) There is more to this verse, but I wanted to dive into this topic, before continuing with the rest of the verse next week. 

Subject: Love

Love. This seems like a simple enough concept, but let's dive into the Greek language. There are 3 main types of love: eros (physical/sexual love), phileo (brotherly love), and agape (Godly or unconditional love). Paul uses Agape here. We can look up this verse using Strong's Numbers (G26) thanks to online resources such as Blue Letter Bible. This can give us a deeper understanding of the text as we can read the definitions, as well as see how else it was translated in the Bible and what the other verses say. 

Now Paul did not put a possessive adjective in front of this subject. He didn't say "Our love..." or "Your love..." or even "God's love..." Without a qualifier like that, we can take a very broad approach. Are we loving people and God with an unconditional love? Even when we disapprove of the choices that they make? Even when we are annoyed or frustrated by them? Even when they don't talk or act like we want them to? Unconditional love means that nothing that a person says or does could diminish our love for them. This is a powerful love that Paul uses as his subject here.

Verb: Must Be

One way to approach a study of Scripture is to note what is not said. This can be just as informative as what is actually in the text. For example, Paul said "Love MUST BE Sincere". 

He didn't say "Love SHOULD BE Sincere" (i.e. this is our goal/ideal, but we won't always reach it)

He didn't say "Love WILL BE Sincere" (i.e. if we love someone, we will ALWAYS have this sincere love)

He didn't say "Love IS Sincere" (i.e. this is a core trait of love) 

He didn't say "Love MIGHT/COULD BE Sincere" (i.e. some Christians could possibly have this trait, but it's not universal to ALL Christians)

He said "Love MUST BE Sincere". (i.e. this is a critical trait of love, that we need to ensure is present in our love)

MUST BE implies a necessity, something that has to be present. In order for Agape love to be present, it needs the trait (sincerity) that comes after this verb. 

Adjective: Sincere

The Strong's Number for "Sincere" is G505. These numbers are tied to the KJV translation of the Bible, so while the NIV translates this word as "sincere", the KJV uses "without dissimulation". Other parts of Scripture translate this word as  "unfeigned" and "without hypocrisy". In other words "sincere". If something is sincere, it is free from deceit, hypocrisy, and falseness. In other words, it is earnest, genuine, and real. 

This is what our love MUST BE. 

It must be without deceit, hypocrisy, and falseness. Sometimes it hurts to be told the truth, but if we keep the truth from people, we are preventing them from learning the information that can allow them to grow into more Christ-like disciples. Hiding the truth or actively speaking falsely reeks of insincerity. 

It must be earnest, genuine, and real. This kind of love has a real reaction to people. It may not be the reaction they want or expect, but it is truly your own reaction. Sometimes people expect a big greeting or "thank you", when some of us prefer to give a simple greeting or "thank you". Being sincere means we give the genuine response instead of trying to fit ourselves into other people's molds of how we *should be*. 

We must love each other and God sincerely.

Questions to Wrestle With

Take time this week to consider: 

-In what ways do you love God and those around you unconditionally? 

-In what ways do you try to put conditions and limits on your love for God and others? 

-How did the different verbs change the meaning of the sentence? 

-Which verb has the highest requirement for a Christ-follower? 

-Why do you think Paul chose this phrasing for the verb? 

-In what ways does your love have deceit, hypocrisy, and falseness? 

-In what ways does your love need to be more earnest, genuine, and real? 

-Is your love for God and others sincere? 

Romans 12:9a

New International Version (NIV)

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