HONORING ONE ANOTHER

“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.”  (Romans 12:9-10 NLT)

We can honor others in one of two ways. One involves ulterior motives. We honor our bosses so they will reward us, our employees so they will work harder, the wealthy so they will contribute to our causes, the powerful so they will use their power for us and not against us. God’s way involves love. As Christians, we honor people because they have been created in God’s image, because they are brothers and sisters in Christ, and because they have a unique contribution to make to Christ’s church. Does God’s way of honoring others sound too difficult for your competitive nature? Why not try to “outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10 ESV)? Put others first! 

-- From the “Life Application Study Bible”

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INCARNATE HOLINESS

“Then, with the crowds listening, Jesus turned to His disciples and said, ‘Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.’”  (Luke 20:45-47 NLT)

We might argue that the Pharisees hated Jesus because He was so critical of them. No one likes to be criticized, especially people who are accustomed to praise. But the venom of the Pharisees went deeper than that. It is safe to assume that had Jesus said nothing to them they still would have despised Him. His mere presence was enough to cause them to recoil from Him.

It has been said that nothing dispels a lie faster than the truth; nothing exposes the counterfeit faster than the genuine… The presence of Jesus represented the presence of the genuine in the midst of the bogus. Here authentic holiness appeared; the counterfeiters of holiness were not pleased…

The Incarnate Christ is no longer walking the earth. He has ascended into heaven. No one sees Him or speaks audibly with Him in the flesh today. Yet the threatening power of His holiness is still felt. Sometimes it is transferred to His people. 

-- R. C. Sproul in “The Holiness of God”

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