EXHORTATIONS (PART 2)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

Romans 12:9b

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Exhortations.

The Bible is full of them.

What are they?

The dictionary would tell us that they are words spoken in such a way to encourage or to motivate someone to think or behave in some manner.

As we look at the final thirteen verses of Paul’s letter to the Romans, we find a whole treasure trove of exhortations and they are serving as the basis of this eleven devotion series which is simply titled “Exhortations”.

Yesterday, we looked at exhortation number 1 which simply urged us to make sure our love is sincere, to care for another with legitimacy. Today, we see the matter of good and evil take center stage in the second half of verse 9 which says this:

“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 9b

Now, hate is a very strong word when used in any context but especially in the Bible. It’s helpful to turn to the actual Greek word used here and that is “apostugountes” which means to abhor or despise. This helps us understand this particular exhortation better for evil is nothing short of anything sinful, anything in disobedience to the behavior that God demands and expects.

God abhors and despises sin and the evil acts it leads a person to commit. Paul reminds us earlier in this letter to the Romans that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (3:23). This means that without a Savior, people are separated from God and firmly in the sights of His judgment and wrath.

Did I mention He despises and abhors sin?

Well, this is a predicament that God could have left His people in but He didn’t. Instead, He offered up His one and only Son Jesus as an atoning sacrifice so that anyone who would believe in Him wouldn’t perish but gain eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus paid the sin penalty of any sinner who would put their hope in Him for salvation, a gift given by a merciful and caring heavenly Father.

How can we show our gratitude for the saving work God has done through Jesus His Son?  

We can start by hating sin and the evil it breeds but we also can emphasize the second half of this exhortation and “cling to what is good”.

You see, when we cling to what is good then there’s no room for evil to find its way into our behavior. We hold onto good so tight that sin can’t separate us from it.

There’s just one problem. None of us are strong enough to keep our grip on good perpetually and that’s by design because God doesn’t want us to rely on our own power but rather His. He wants us to hold onto Him so He can help us cling to good, the goodness that comes naturally when we are connected to the perfect source of every good thing (James 1:17).

In the end translation, we ensure both part of this exhortation are satisfied through our relationship with the Lord God Almighty. Place your full attention and devotion on Him and He will make sure you despise and abhor sin as much as He does while always keeping you attached to good.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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