Study of Romans 12 – Verse 9

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9 NKJV)

    Three small sentences. Three direct commands. Let’s understand them better so we can obey them better.

“Let love be without hypocrisy.”

    Love, in this verse, is ‘agape’ – the benevolent, selfless love that seeks the best interests of the other person. Agape love is not based on feelings; it is a choice, a determined commitment to the well-being of others. In the Greco-Roman culture, power and self-interest were valued, so this selfless, sacrificial love was something new and quite different.

    This sacrificial, benevolent love is to be without hypocrisy.

    The phrase without hypocrisy comes from a single word in the Greek language: ‘anupokritos’ (Strong’s Greek #505). The ‘a’ at the beginning of the word means ‘not’ and the remainder of the word (‘nupokritos’) means ‘actor or hypocrite,’ so without hypocrisy means ‘not an actor.’ An actor is someone who wears a mask and deceives; making us believe they are something other than what they truly are.

    Our love is to be without hypocrisy. We are not to say we love and then do the opposite – consider 1 John 3:18 – we are to show our love through sincere, caring deeds.

    Our love for God needs to be sincere. We say we love Him, then we show that we love Him: by holding fast to Him (Deuteronomy 13:4), by always going to Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Thessalonians 5:17), by listening to His commands (in His word, James 1:21-27), and by doing what He says (John 14:15, 21, 1 John 5:2-3); we will also praise Him (Psalm 92:1-2, 1 Peter 2:9) glorify Him (Matthew 5:16, John 15:5-8).

    Our love for our brethren (and all others) needs to be sincere. When we say we will visit them, pray for them, call/message/text them, we need to do it. We help bear the burden of difficulties (Galatians 6:2) by being there for them. We each do our part (Ephesians 4:16), we prove ourselves to be reliable and trustworthy through our conduct. We see a need and we do what we can to fill it (2 Corinthians 9:7-8). Another way to show love for our brethren (and others) is to commit ourselves to God and do what He says, so that we can be a good example (1 Timothy 4:12-13), a wise counsel (James 3:13-17), and a true help to them (1 John 5:2-3).

    We need to back up our words with sincere, careful conduct. Actions always speak louder than words. Does your conduct back up your words, or are you playing the hypocrite? Are you acting a part for the sake of politeness or habit, then forget what you've said as soon as the moment passes? I know that I’ve been guilty of this very thing, maybe you have been too. Let’s determine to work on this so our love can be sincere.

“Abhor what is evil.”

    Abhor means to detest, to utterly hate, to loath, to be repulsed by. We need to utterly hate what is evil; we are to reject sin and any form of unrighteousness, wholly and completely.

    The evil that we are to detest is anything bad, wicked, or malicious. This includes both actions and intentions that are morally wrong or harmful, anything that goes against God’s commands.

    Again, in the Greco-Roman culture, anyone who created chaos or disorder in society was considered ‘evil,’ but to Christians it was anyone/anything that was in opposition to God’s will and His righteousness.

    We need to be careful that we do not call evil good and good evil (see Isaiah 5:20-21). We need to study God’s word and do what it says so that we can learn to accurately discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:14).

    Are you willing to utterly hate evil?

“Cling to what is good.”

    Cling means to join, to cleave, to unite, to adhere. It comes from a word that means to glue together.

    When Romans 12:9 states that we are to cling to what is good, God, through the apostle Paul, is commanding us to give ourselves entirely to good, to labour for it, to be joined and fastened firmly together with good.

    Consider the relationship of a husband and wife (Matthew 19:4-6) – they are to be joined together, they cling to one another, they labour for one another and selflessly love one another for their lifetime because they are united before God in marriage. We understand what kind of bond that is in God’s eyes, so when He tells us that we are to cling to what is good, we are not to let go of good (or of doing good); we are to join ourselves to the commitment of doing what is good for the rest of our lives.

    Three small sentences. Three direct commands. How can our love be without hypocrisy? God, in His wisdom, gave us the answer: by abhorring what is evil and clinging to what is good! The more we cling to good the more we will come to abhor evil; the more we cling to good and abhor evil the more sincere our hearts will become! We will grow to love – in deed and in truth – from a sincere heart!  

    Be sincere in your love for God – let your love for Him be without hypocrisy by abhorring what is evil and clinging to what is good! Be sincere in your love for your brethren and all others by abhorring what is evil and clinging to what is good.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

You can do it! So can I!! 

Wisdom From Above is… Without Hypocrisy

    Hypocrisy is acting under a feigned part; it is deceit, being fake, and pretending. We can find further details when we look to the Bible:

A hypocrite…

…is a vile person and is no benefit to others (Isaiah 32:6)

…could not come before God (Job 13:16)

…will be joyful but for a moment; he will perish forever like his refuse (Job 20:4-7)  

…is without hope if God takes away his life (Job 27:8)

…in their heart will store up wrath, and their life ends among the perverted persons (Job 36:13-14)

…will destroy their neighbour with their mouth (Proverbs 11:9)

…will condemn others for their sins, but refuse to see their own (Matthew 7:3-5)

…will sound a trumpet, stand in the streets, and they disfigure their faces so they can be seen by men to be “righteous” (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16). Their hearts seek after the temporary glory that comes from men.

…say but do not do (Matthew 15:7-8)

…appear to honour God, but their minds are focused on earthly (carnal, selfish) things (Matthew 15:7-8, Mark 7:6)

…will not/cannot discern spiritual things; they are too focused on self and worldly wisdom (Matthew 16:3, Luke 12:56)

…appear righteous to draw men to them – even seeking men to “convert” them, but corrupt those who are taught by them (Matthew 23:13-14)

…will be delivered to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 24:51)

…is in league with those who practice malice, deceit, envy, and evil speaking, all of which keep you from desiring the pure milk of the word (1 Peter 2:1-3)

    We are to be without hypocrisy.

    The term “without hypocrisy” comes from a single Greek word: anupokritos (Strong’s G#505) it is the quality of being genuine, sincere, and without pretense.

    Our love is to be without hypocrisy (Romans 12:9, 2 Corinthians 6:6, 1 Peter 1:22)

    Our faith is to be without hypocrisy (1 Timothy 1:5, 2 Timothy 1:5)

    Consider the church in Laodicea that Jesus described in Revelation 3:15-16. He said that they were “lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot” (v16) – if they had been hot, they would have been zealous for God and His way, if they were cold they would have walked away completely, but, instead, they were proclaiming to be followers of Christ and not living as followers of Christ. We cannot be one way in the church building and another in our homes/communities/work. In behaving this way we not only bar ourselves from God and His blessings/promises, but we also keep others from finding and following Him. A hypocritical example belittles God, His word, and the church; it will further weaken weak brethren and leave the lost to their hopeless groping.

    When we seek wisdom that is from above, we will learn to remove any masks we have put on. We will do our best to be sincere and genuine to all as we humbly serve God and help others. We will be consistent in our conduct, not behaving one way with some people and another way with others. If your family, friends, co-workers, companions in your hobbies/leagues, and your brethren were all asked to describe you would they all be in complete agreement or would they each begin describing contradictory versions of you that the others were not aware of?

    Wisdom from above is without hypocrisy. It is exhibited by genuine people who honour God with their lives. People who are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16-17) who carefully walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:3-6), proving themselves to be His disciples in every aspect of their lives. They do not carry a basket to cover up their light when they are around certain people (Matthew 5:14-16), but will remain true to God and His way; they will humbly help their neighbour, and happily work as though they are doing it for God (Colossians 3:23).

    A life flourishing in wisdom that is from above – a life without hypocrisy – is what we all need to be striving for – are you ready to begin?

You can do it! So can I!!