August 30, 2026 "We Must Not Pretend To Love"

Paul says these things are good and right and true and beautiful. They sound simple...until we try to do them. The church in Rome was the location this letter was headed, and Paul was writing to a deeply divided church. So where are we in the letter? We're about three quarters of the way through. The first part of the letter is filled with all sorts of theology: sin, grace, mercy, Jesus, life, death, atonement, reconciliation. Theology that is deeply beautiful. Then we get to chapter 12; he says, "Therefore." In other words, all that theology has to become more than a simple set of beliefs. It has to transform us so we are living into it. "Love must be sincere." No pretending. No performance. No religious theater." Be devoted to one another in love." Devoted. It means we don't leave when things get complicated. Devotion sticks around for hard conversation, when a crisis of faith happens - when questions come. Devotion sticks around after the diagnosis, in the hospital, through the treatment. This is one of the most powerful things we can give to others. Not answers. Not explanations. Just presence. "Do not repay evil with evil." Evil tends to reproduce itself. Someone has to ask the question: who will stop it? "Enemies - feed them - give them drink." The good news isn't about defeating enemies. It isn't about winning. We can disagree without dehumanizing. We can create healthy boundaries without hate. We can work for justice without violence. All of these things are what it looks like to allow beliefs and theology to work on us and transform us to live into the new humanity God is creating in us and through us. Speaker: Aaron Vis Scripture: Romans 12:9-21 http://bible.com/events/49658096