“Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9
In Romans 12:9-21, Paul continues his discourse on Christian duty and actually lists 25 different
attributes of a true believer. The Christian, who has been consecrated as a living sacrifice, will be unlike
anyone else in this world. They are no longer sensual, but spiritual, and as such, they will love, not as the
world does, but as Christ loves.
A careful reading of the gospels will clearly demonstrate for us the love of Christ. He loved those
who loved Him, as well as, those who rejected Him. At Calvary, we see Him praying for those who
despised Him. And, as a result of this unconditional love for the unlovable, two men, a Jewish thief and a
Gentile Centurion, were converted to faith that day. The Biblical word for this type of unnatural self-sacrificial
love is “agape”. It was a word that the Greeks seldom used, for this kind of love was often
viewed in Greek culture as foolishness and weakness. In The New Testament, it is this Greek word that
has been co-opted to describe the kind of love that indwells a Spirit-filled Believer. It is a God kind of
love. Paul begins his list of Christian attributes in Romans verse nine, by saying: “Let agape be
without hypocrisy….”