Respond in the flesh or in Love

(Rom. 12:21) "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." This verse should have a profound impact on any believer who desires to see the blessing of God on his ministry. I have personally learned over the years that my reactions are just as important as the message that I preach. When conflict or persecution arises in our lives because of our witness, we have a choice to respond back in the flesh or to respond back in the love of Christ. The attack of evil is a common practice toward those that preach Christ, but in order for us to be victorious and see the power of God work in the hearts and lives of those that do evil to us, we must practice good back. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual. For example, (Lu 6:27-28) " Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you..." We have not been called to be vindictive, or hurtful, but rather to love all men, even if the men we love hate us, or do wicked things to us. Evil can be overcome, but it must be done God's way. Goodness is what performs the miracle !

Character

In (Rom.Chp.12) the most important character quality of the Christian, is love. We have been command here in this chapter to practice love by "being kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love," and as we continue, we also see that in order for us to treat one another with this affection it is important that we 1) "bless, and curse not." This teaching comes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. You see, it's not so easy to do good back to people that do bad to you, but the command is still the same regardless. We are to bless back. 2) "Rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with those that weep." It's easy to weep with those that are down, but it's not so easy to rejoice with those who are blessed and we're not. So love does not envy the success of others, but rejoices with them. 3)"Mind not high things" Love does not elevate itself above others or judge some as less important. Conceit is a terrible sin that chooses to elevate self, and look down on others.

Hospitality

(Rom. 12:13) 1) "Distributing to the necessity of saints;…" In other words, we of WSBC should be willing to help out one another when in need. The word distribute, means to partake or share in, but necessity could mean anything from money to just lending a hand. The key to this verse is to just be willing. God didn't call the church to pay one another's bills, but He did call us to help out when times get tough. Knowing that we have each other's back is a tremendous strength, and encouragement, and usually just enough to keep us going in hard times. 2) "given to hospitality," means to be given over to the practice of entertaining people. The problem with the church today is that we are no longer close brothers and sister in Christ, but rather casual acquaintances. To practice hospitality we must learn to open up our lives, and homes to the fellowship of the saints. The love of Christ demands that we love one another not just in word, but also in deed.