Romans 12:9-21
These verses are the basis of what practical living for a Christian looks like. They are the orthopraxy (right conduct) to the Christian life. They give us clarity to what Paul meant when he said, “cling to what is good”. (Romans 12:9)
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (Romans 12:11)
- Never be lacking in zeal
- The opposite of never is always. Paul is saying zeal must be an enduring quality in our life.
- Zeal has two outcomes:
- Diligence. Getting things done. A stick-to-itiveness.Don’t coast through life. Don’t put your life in neutral. Don’t coast in your faith. (1 Corinthians 15:58; Revelation 3:15-16)
- The ability to get worked up about something that needs changing.
- What kind of things work you up? Trivial things or things that matter?
- But keep your spiritual fervor
- The word “keep” implies that we can lose our Christian pursuit.
- Spiritual fervor directly translated from the Greek means: “with respect to the Spirit boiling over”. Paul is saying, have so much of the Spirit moving and working in your life that He is overflowing from within you. (Galatians 5:22-23; Acts 1:4-5,8)
- 4 Things the Holy Spirit brings into our lives:
- The ability to talk about Christ boldly. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
- Help when we are weak. (Romans 8:26)
- Hope in a hopeless world. (Romans 15:13)
- He helps us to experience the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)
- Serving the Lord
- This is where we put our focus. What the spiritual fervor and passion is for.
- This involves being motivated to do what you need to do in making your Christian life work. It involves effort.
- This is making God your end goal in all that you do. It is serving God with all you’ve got.