Romans 12:8

Romans 12:8

Romans 12:8-9 says, "Or he that exhorts, on exhortation: he that gives, let him do it with simplicity; he that rules, with diligence; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."

In this part of Romans Chapter 12 Paul is listing some of the gifts that have been given to believers. In listing the gifts, his emphasis is on the fact that we must be careful not to neglect the gifts that have been given to us. In looking at this passage of scripture from one point of view, we are talking about Christian gifts, some of which you may have and some of which you may not have.

But from another point of view, we are looking at more than a list of spiritual gifts. We are also looking at a list of Christians virtues: things that all Christians should possess and things that all Christians should do. God does give us spiritual gifts, but these gifts only increase in usefulness as we make an effort to put them into practice. The same is true of all Christian virtues. Your faith will grow as you exercise your faith. The more that you look for opportunities to use your faith, the more that it will grow. The same is true of every spiritual gift and every virtue that is listed here in Romans Chapter 12.

There is a gift of prophecy, which refers to obtaining a message from God and then delivering that message to others. In one sense it is accurate to say that one must have the gift of prophecy in order to prophesy, but in another sense, we can say that any believer can grow and increase over the years in the capacity to go before the Lord and find something to say and then to say it. Every Christian can learn to ask Him and to trust Him to give them things to say about Him and about His Word. Paul indicates in First Corinthians 12:31 that the individual believer does have some control and some involvement concerning which gifts he will be able to exercise. It says, "But covet earnestly the best gifts."

Four gifts are mentioned in Romans 12:8: exhortation, giving, ruling, and showing mercy. The word that is translated exhortation comes from the Greek word "paraclete", which means one called alongside. The same Greek word is used in the New Testament to refer to the Holy Spirit, and is sometimes translated "comforter." Jesus told the disciples that when He left the earth that He would not leave them comfortless: the Holy Spirit would be given as the constant companion of the believer. He would be the one called alongside to comfort, to exhort, and to encourage. According to Romans 12:8, not only is the Holy Spirit the Comforter of the believers, but believers are called to be comforters of each other and especially those who have the gift of exhortation.

The wisdom, the capacity, and the ability to give of one’s substance is also a gift from God. Giving is a gift. Some believers have a special capability to give that other believers do not have. They have this capability because they have been gifted by God. They know where to give, when to give, and how to give. Someone who has the gift of teaching is given understanding by God, and then they give their understanding to other believers. Someone who has the gift of giving of their substance is given things by God, and then God gives them the wisdom of where to share their substance. For someone who has the gift of giving, they are reminded of one thing: give with simplicity. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, you should give so that even your right hand does not know what your left hand is doing, let alone others around you. One must never give in order to draw attention to oneself or to gain an advantage for oneself, because the gift of giving was given to them in order that other members of the body of Christ might benefit in a spiritual way. Giving is a spiritual gift and therefore must be done in a spiritual way.

Christmas is a time in which we celebrate the spirit of giving. The most important basis for Christmas is God giving His Son. Jesus came into the world as a baby for the purpose of eventually becoming a man and dying for the sins of the world. That was the ultimate gift. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." When Jesus was a baby, others brought Him gifts in order to honor Him for who He was. The three magi brought Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

There is a fictional story of a fourth wise man that presents a good message about the meaning of giving. As the story goes, there was a fourth wise man who missed the caravan when the other three left to find the baby Jesus. He started late and alone, and when he finally got to Bethlehem Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus had already departed for Egypt. The gift that he would have given to Jesus was a bag of gems, but he was unable to give his gift to the baby Jesus. As the years went by, the goal of the fourth wise man was to save his sack of jewels so that if he ever found where Jesus was, he would eventually be able to also give his gift of jewels to Jesus. But there came a day when the man heard of a poor widow woman who was about to lose her home and end up on the street and alone. He thought that he could at least spare one of his jewels for her. Later he heard of a child who had contracted a terrible disease and needed financial assistance to be able to afford the services of a doctor. He also gave one of his jewels for this need. Because he had this world’s goods, he could not shut his heart of compassion for those around him, and the day came when he gave his last jewel to someone in need. Eventually the man grew old, and much to his own surprise; he heard that Jesus was now teaching near the Sea of Galilee. He finally got to make his journey to meet Jesus, as the other wise men had done so many years before. But when the fourth wise man met Jesus, he told Jesus that he was sorry that he no longer had the gift of jewels that he wanted to present to him. Jesus said to the man, "For as much as you have done this unto the least of my children, you have done it unto me." This is not a true story, but it is a good illustration of the true meaning of giving to God.

Romans 12:8 says that "he that rules should rule with diligence". The word "rule" speaks of being responsible for something. Everything that you have, God has given to you, including your responsibilities. If you want to know what God wants you to do, part of that answer is very clear for everyone: He wants you to fulfill your responsibilities. He that is faithful in a few things will be given more things to rule. We will rule with Christ in His kingdom, and one of the purposes of this life is to prepare us for the responsibilities that we will have in the next. Some believers have a gift to take on more responsibility because of how practical they are and how organized they are. If you have such a gift, you can use it not only to the accomplishment of your own affairs, but also in the service of God.

The Bible says in Romans 12:8 that he that shows mercy should do it with cheerfulness. It is interesting that the showing of mercy would be listed as a spiritual gift. Since we have received mercy from God, we have learned from Him what true mercy is all about. No one is better than God at showing mercy, but some believers are better than other believers at doing so because they have the gift for it. It is not in the nature of humans to show mercy. It comes much more naturally to take vengeance. But the human is a little bit like God when we show mercy. “To err is human, but to forgive divine.” Notice that Romans 12:8 says to show mercy with cheerfulness. It is not enough to be merciful: the admonition is to show mercy with cheerfulness. To show mercy grudgingly is too unlike God, and would ruin the effect that the mercy would otherwise have on the recipient. The Bible says that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance. God enjoys showing mercy and He gives us opportunities to have the same enjoyment. Perhaps one of the reasons that the Lord will permit something bad to happen to you from the hand of another person, is so that you can subsequently show mercy with cheerfulness and thus be more like God. Should not those who have received mercy know how to show it also?

Romans 12:9 says, "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." When the Bible says, "Let love be without dissimulation," it means without hypocrisy. It means that love should not be fake or phony or shallow. It should not be feigned. The origin of the word “hypocrisy” in the Greek language is interesting to note. It came from one of the words that can be translated “to speak” or “to say”, and it came to mean “to speak” or “to say” in the context of an act or a play. In other words what was being said was not the real thing, because the words were part of an act. They were feigned words. To be a hypocrite is to be a fake: it is to say one thing when something else is true. It is to act out a part.

To love is the most important commandment in the Bible. It is also the most difficult to obey. It is an admonition for every believer. Everyone who has come to know the love of God through Christ should have as a life-long goal to learn how to better love: to love God, to love one’s neighbor, to love the lost, and to love the other members of the body of Christ. In the context in which love is mentioned here in Romans Chapter 12, we must notice that it is listed right along with gifts of the Spirit. The fact that Paul is talking about spiritual gifts is first given in Romans 12:6. As Paul moves further into Romans Chapter 12, he makes an almost unnoticeable progression from talking about the specific gifts of the Spirit that are given to individual believers, to talking about Christian virtues that every believer can have.

There is a fine line between a spiritual gift, with which some believers are gifted; and a spiritual virtue about which all believers are admonished to practice. In a certain sense they are both the same. For a believer to be able to make any of these actions a part of his behavior whether we are talking about gifts or virtues, the believer is dependent upon the grace of God. For both of them we are also somewhat dependent upon our own efforts. We must agree with and cooperate with God and make a certain amount of effort if our spiritual gifts are going to be exercised and if any Christian virtues are going to be realized in our lives. Some people have the gift of love. The kindness and affection that they are able to show is a gift from God. Others have to work much harder at it, and even when we do; we seem to have such a long way to go. That is why we are reminded of the importance of love. In First Corinthians Chapter 12 when Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the gifts of the Spirit, he emphasized the importance of love in Chapter 13 by writing perhaps the greatest description of the importance of love that can be found in human literature. He said in First Corinthians 13:2, "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing."

We are told to love, but we are also told that there are things that we should not love. Romans 12:9 says, "Abhor that which is evil, and cleave to that which is good." In the truth that God has revealed to the world, one thing is very clear: there is a difference between good and evil. A line has been drawn in the sand. On one side is evil and on the other side is good. Sometimes competition in the world is negative and counter-productive: people sometimes compete when they ought to cooperate. But there is one area in the world where there is a definite and clear competition and contrast: the battle between good and evil. Although, a Christian should be careful not to use the methods of the world in the battle. For example, we are told to love our enemies. But there is a difference between good and evil; and we are told to abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good. We can love our enemies and still draw the line where it needs to be drawn.

You will find out just about everything there is to know about a person by finding out what they like and what they do not like, what they love and what they hate. We are told to; “abhor that which is evil” because God does. It says in Proverbs 6:16-19; "These six things does the Lord hate: yes, seven are an abomination to him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brothers."

Romans 12:10 says, "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another." For the second verse in a row, we are reminded to love one another. In Romans 12:9 the Greek word "agape" is translated "love". In this verse the Greek word "filadelphia" is translated as brotherly love. The emphasis being on the fact that Christians should care about each other in the same way that members of a family should care about each other: because in fact Christians are members of the same family, the family of God. The bond that you have with the human family will last only a lifetime, but that with the spiritual family will last forever.

The Bible says, "in honor, preferring one another." In any human relationship, to honor one another is extremely important. If one person were to show a lack of honor or lack of respect for another person, there is very little that could do more to hurt the relationship. We have put it into our marriage vows to promise to honor one another, because we know how important it is. Some marriage counselors think that the showing of honor and respect for one another is the most important factor to a successful marriage. One marriage counselor has said that he can listen to a couple talk to each other, and he listens for two or three key things when they communicate. If he detects that there is any dishonor or lack of respect shown by either party, then he can predict that the relationship is headed for big trouble. Evidently the same is true concerning the relationship of Christians with one another.

Key elements to any successful friendship or relationship are the little acts of kindness and politeness that will only be done if the individuals honor one another. And they will also only be done if the individuals put into practice the second half of Romans 12:10 which says, "preferring one another." Humans are naturally self-centered. It comes very easy for any person to think of themselves and of their own needs and their own rights: to put themselves first and to put others last. But as believers, in regards to our friendships and our relationships, we are told to put others first and ourselves last.

Romans 12:11 says, "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." It is more important to be a witness by what we do than by what we say, and there is no worse testimony than laziness. The reason that we should not be slothful in any matter in which we are involved is because we serve the Lord. No matter who is your supervisor or your manager, you must not forget that you are serving the Lord in what you are doing. God has given you the job that you have, and you will answer to God one day for how well you have performed it. Jesus said of His own life, "I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work." And the Bible also says that "whatsoever you do in word or deed, do it as unto the Lord and not unto men."

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