The Supremacy Of LoveSample

Sincere Love

This passage specifies four very practical ways the believer is to demonstrate his or her love for others. 

1. The believer is to love by hating evil. The word hate is very strong. It means to despise with intense feeling, to loathe. Love desires the very best for people; therefore, love hates evil, for evil destroys lives.

2. The believer is to love by clinging to that which is good. The word cling means to join or fasten together, to attach. The believer is to desire only the very best for people and to work for everyone to know and experience the good.

3. The believer is to love by loving other believers, by being kind and devoted toward them. We are a family of children who have been adopted by God as His sons and daughters; therefore, the church is to live in love, and living in love is peace. 

4. The believer is to love by giving preference to others. The word honor means to reverence, respect, esteem. The believer is to take the lead in esteeming and expressing respect for others. Imagine a church full of believers with each taking the lead in esteeming and honoring the other. What a picture of true love and care. 

To summarize, we are to love others with a pure and sincere love, being completely free of selfish motives. Scripture calls us to love others for themselves because they are fellow human beings who have the same emotional and spiritual needs as we have, needs which can only find their fulfillment in Christ. We must love them because God loves them and because they desperately need to know that Jesus Christ has come to earth to reveal God’s love to all people. 

Study Questions:

· When you read Romans 12:9–10, how does it make you feel? 

· Which one of the four practical ways to demonstrate love is most difficult for you? Why do you think that is?

· Can you say that you consistently love with pure and sincere motives? If not, how can you begin to love more purely and sincerely?