CHARACTER TRAITS

Romans 12:9-21

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

January 30, 2005

In studying together the twelfth chapter of Paul’s great letter to the Romans, it has been my hope that we sense God’s call afresh and anew. As you will remember, Paul begins this chapter with the individual’s commitment to God and the call, not to be conformed to the world, but rather to be transformed by the renewing of one’s mind. This is to be done with a view towards God’s lavish love and tender mercy found in Jesus Christ.

Paul then continues by addressing the fact that God not only calls us to commitment, God also calls us to community, as we function together in the Body of Christ. As individuals, we have each been given special gifts by the Holy Spirit to be used for the common good. All of these gifts are to be used and employed for the good of the church and for the advancement of God’s work in the world.

In our text for this morning, we move on from commitment and community to character. In community together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, there are to be found character traits that are part and parcel of what it means to be together in God’s family.

Paul lists quite a number, and all of these deserve serious consideration. Due to the limit of our time, however, we can consider a few of them, while remembering that all of these are critical to the health and well-being of the Body of Christ.

I

THE FIRST TRAIT THAT PAUL MENTIONS

IS SINCERE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.

Paul says simply, yet profoundly, “Love must be sincere.” (v.9) Literally, he states that love must be “without hypocrisy.” This Greek word, from which we get the English word “hypocrisy,” actually comes from the experience of the Greek theater. It means “without a mask” and it refers to actors who would carry different masks to indicate the specific role they were playing. The mask would correlate with a comedy, tragedy, or melodrama.

What Paul is saying then is that our love in Christ must not be pretentious, superficial or in the sense of play-acting. It is very important for Paul to say this because we know full well that people can be very good at play-acting. In commenting on this text, John Calvin notes that:

It is difficult to express how ingenious almost all (people) are in counterfeiting a love which they do not really possess. They deceive not only others, but also themselves, while they persuade themselves that they have a true love for those whom they not only treat with neglect, but also in fact reject. [i]

Here, we need no illustrations given, do we? I dare say names of certain individuals immediately come to our mind. But the danger of course, is that someone may be thinking of you … or of me!

The kind of love to which you and I are called should be the “genuine article,” it should be sincere. Casting all masks, all pretense, superficiality and hypocrisy aside, we are to seek the welfare of others in the same manner as that of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Such love is a demanding kind of love, a love that requires much of us, in the renewing not only of our minds, but in the renewing of our hearts as well. This kind of love requires much prayer, in the sense of our closing hymn for this morning, that God make us a blessing, as the light of Jesus shines through us, for it is only in His love that we can then truly love others.

II

ANOTHER CHARACTER TRAIT FOR THE FAMILY OF GOD

IS THE HONORING OF ONE ANOTHER.

In verse 10, we are told, “Honor one another above yourselves.”

Fifty years ago, a popular Bible scholar and commentator put his finger on a major problem in the church. In commenting on this verse, Dr. William Barclay spoke not only as a professor of divinity at the University of Glasgow, but also in having served as the pastor of Trinity Church in Renfrew, Scotland for many years.

Listen and see if his commentary does not still ring true for so very many churches still today:

We must give each other priority in honour. More than half the trouble that arises in Churches concerns rights and privileges and places and prestige. Someone has not been given his or her place; someone has been neglected or unthanked; someone has been given a more prominent place on a platform than someone else – and there is trouble. [ii]

It is sad, isn’t it, that so many churches have divided or split over such relational issues. Doctrine is critically important, but I would dare say that division in the church has been caused by relational issues just as much as over doctrinal issues, if not more! If we would only make a diligent effort to honor and encourage each other, rather than seek a name and fame for ourselves, how much less strife there would be in the family of God.

Paul makes the very same point in Philippians 2:1-11, in which our “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” who became a servant for our sake and our salvation. The very essence of His life and His mission was that of caring for others, and caring not only for whole groups of people, but for individuals as well.

Julia Ward Howe certainly had this perspective. You may recall the fact that Mrs. Howe was the author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and that her estate was on Union St. in Middletown, here on Aquidneck Island.

She valued the dignity of each and every human being made in God’s image. As a consequence, she was involved in many societal issues, including being deeply involved in seeking the emancipation of slaves during the Civil War.

On one occasion, she sought the help of a U.S. Senator for the liberation of a slave who was in a most desperate situation. The Senator exclaimed in a rather haughty and boastful way, “Madam, I’m so busy with plans for the benefit of the whole human race that I have no time to help individuals!" Angered by the man’s obvious lack of pity, Mrs. Howe replied, “I’m glad our Lord never displayed such a callused attitude!”

Mrs. Howe had the proper perspective, I believe. As Jesus looked at the value, worth and dignity of each individual, so should we … and even more so as the family of God, as brothers and sisters in Christ, one to the other. We are to honor one another.

III

YET ANOTHER CHARACTER TRAIT FOR MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY GOD:

THAT OF SPIRITUAL FERVOR.

In verse 11, we read: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

As members of the Body of Christ love, honor and serve in Jesus’ name, the Kingdom of God advances in our world. But this advancement can also slow down considerably, when members of God’s household get very tired and weary, and lose their zeal.

For this reason, there is the need for balance, between times of devotion and times of duty, between times of building ourselves up in the faith, and times of exercising our faith in the work of the kingdom.

Our Lord maintained such a balance in His earthly ministry and walk among us. All the Gospel writers note distinct patterns in His life, which included being alone with the Father in prayer in solitary places. He also spent time in intimate fellowship with His disciples, and with Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus. As was his custom, Jesus was also often to be found in the synagogues. From such a balance, our Lord drew strength, and so should we. We serve the Lord best when the fire within is kept burning.

G. Campbell Morgan, a noted English pastor of a former generation, once told a true story that illustrates well this point.

A lady said to me some years ago, ‘I’m tired of this worldy life. I’m going to give myself to Christ. I know what it means; I will have to do all the things I most dislike, but I am determined to be a real Christian.’

Dr. Morgan didn’t see this woman in that particular town for another year. But during that year, this woman had obviously been earnest and sincere, deliberately taking the time to know Christ, to love Christ, to grow in Christ and to serve Christ. When Dr. Morgan returned to the town, this woman was the very first to welcome him.

‘Do you recall what I said to you when I rededicated my life?’ I told her I certainly did. Then she looked at me, and the light of God was on her face as she exclaimed, ‘But it’s been so different, Dr. Morgan! When I began to follow Christ, I felt that I would have to do all the things that were contrary to my desires. But now I do what I want every day, because God has made me pleased with the things that please Him!’ [iii]

Don’t miss the impact of those words: “God has made me pleased with the things that please Him.” When our lives in Christ maintain a healthy balance, the more earnest we live with Him and for Him. We do indeed find that God makes us pleased with the things that please Him!

IV

IN THE MIDST OF MANY, PAUL NOTES ANOTHER TRAIT:

THAT OF PERSEVERANCE.

In the twelfth verse, we read, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

“We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us,” said Paul elsewhere.[iv] Conquerors. This does not mean, of course, that life is never hard ... it often is. So many of us, if not all of us, can surely testify to this fact.

It does mean, however, that members of God’s family can approach times of affliction differently –finding joy in a sure and certain hope, and strength in believing, trusting prayer. With this in mind, someone once said to another facing great affliction, “Suffering colors all of life, doesn’t it?” “Yes,” he said. “But I propose to choose the color.”

We can also persevere in the work of God’s kingdom, knowing that God’s timetable may not be our own. Regardless if we function in the body of Christ in a soup kitchen ministry, Christian education, maintenance of our buildings or as a pastor, sometimes there seems to be a lack of success, as we would have it. But God doesn’t call us to be successful, God only calls us to be faithful.

For example, it took seven long years before William Carey, the so-called “Father of Modern Missions,” saw a Hindu come to faith in Jesus Christ. But that Hindu was a “new creation in Christ.” And many more followed after.

For those who labor long, the 19^th century Scottish pastor George Matheson spoke the truth:

To lie down in time of grief, to be quiet under the stroke of adversity, implies a great faith; but nothing requires greater strength than to work. To have a heavy weight in our hearts and still to run the race; to have anguish in our spirits and still perform our daily tasks – that is Christlike in its character. The hardest thing is that most of us are called to exercise our patience, not in the sickbed, but in the busy street of activity. [v]

I have said this so many times before, but we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, of those of persevering, persistent faith and faithfulness. We are surrounded this morning by the names of dozens of witnesses whose names are etched in stained glass, those who have endured and persevered in God’s work.

And there are dozens and dozens more - etched in the stained glass of our memories – men and women whom we have personally known, who fought the good fight and who finished the race. To this day, their lives speak deeply to us of perseverance. By God’s grace, perhaps one day, you and I will be known for the very same trait as they.

Character traits: there are so many to be found in these few verses. In Romans 12, Paul begins with commitment, moves on to community, and concludes with character. All worthy of note and of practice - in your life and mine!