There's No Fear in Love Part 3

Part 3: Love is Intentional - Romans 12
Pastor Ray-ann Dela Fuente
February 23, 2025

Opening Verse:
“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”
Romans 12:3 NLT

Introduction:
Welcome to another Beautiful Sunday here at The River of Faith Church! Today we are in part three of our new series I entitled “There’s No Fear in Love.”
In this series we will look at the plain and most basic Biblical meaning of Love as defined in the Scriptures. We will learn about its most fundamental application in our lives and define it as God defined it in His Word.

Main Pointers:
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” Romans 12:1-3 NLT

1. Be a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God.

A. Our lives now are the real living sacrifice that is pleasing to God. When we choose to not be conformed by this world but be transformed into a new person that is the sacrifice that is acceptable to God.
B. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life this is what the world has to offer. Everything that appeals to our fleshly appetite. God desires the complete opposite for us.
C. “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” 1 John 2:15-16 NLT

2. Real love is never pretentious but intentional.

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” Romans 12:9-13 NLT

A. In some other translations it uses the term “to love with no hypocrisy.” This love centers around sincerity and being genuine. The kind of love that delights in honoring each other.
B. “You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your
heart.” 1 Peter 1:22 NLT

3. Love overcomes evil.

“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans 12:14-21 NLT

A. Everything that it says here seems to be telling us to do the exact opposite of what our sinful nature would want to do. We don’t want to bless those who persecute us and we don’t want to feed our enemies.
B. Now that we have the love of Christ in our hearts all those things that seemed impossible before is now possible. Love overcomes evil and we don’t let evil overcome us but we overcome evil by doing good.
C. “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1 John 5:4-5 NLT

Conclusion:
Love is stronger! It is stronger than any evil in this world. If we allow ourselves to be consumed by evil and hate we will be blinded by the true power of the genuine love that comes from God. It is His love that set us free from all of our evil doings. Love is greater than any evil in this world. We have the victory and we have overcome. Thank God for the victory we have inChrist!