Marks of a True Christian (Pt.1)
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Rom. 12:9). As part of a larger passage in which Paul encourages his readers to live as transformed followers of Christ, we come upon this triad of Christian characteristics. First, we are told our love should be genuine. That word is translated from the Greek “anupokritos,” which is made up of two words, “an” (not) and “hypokrites” (actor or pretender). In fact, that is where we get the English word “hypocrite” from. Combined, the two words carry the idea of not pretending or being without hypocrisy.
To put it another way, Paul is telling his readers, and by extension, us, that our love should not be hypocritical (insincere). It should not be based on looks, status, or acclaim. It should be a love that is authentic and true because it is that which defines who we are as Christians. Are we not given an example of that type of love in Christ? His love was not self-serving but instead served others. That is the type of love we should aspire to have for others: that is genuine love. The second one is “Abhor what is evil.” The Greek word for abhor is “apostegeo.” It is a combination of “appo” (from) and “stygetos” (hateful) and carries the meaning of strong repulsion. In doing so, we actively reject anything that is morally repugnant in order to stand proudly as children of God. The concept of hating what is evil is not uncommon in the Bible.
It could be argued correctly that it is a major underlying theme throughout the Word of God. Peter has this to say on the matter, “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (1Pe. 2:1). In Jam. 1:21, the author says we are to “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness.” The theme of putting away sin is never far from the mind of the authors of the epistles and who did they get their message from if not God? Here is the problem, though. We find it hard to hate evil because a small part of us revels in certain kinds from time to time. Someone hurts us, and we desire revenge. James says we desire and do not have, so we murder. We covet and cannot obtain, so we fight and quarrel.
These are the kinds of things that are evil because they steer us away from righteous living before God and into the tempter’s snares. We should abhor evil so much that we can do nothing but put it aside. A perfect example of that is Pro. 6:16-19, “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Like God hates sin, we should also.
The last of the triad in our selection today is “hold fast to what is good.” If we love genuinely and hate all evil, making sure to flee from it as quickly as possible, we will have no choice but to do good. That is what we should strive to do as Christians. If we do that, it pleases God and, as a bonus, infuriates the devil. The devil is full of glee when you partake in evil and love with a “me-first-and-only” attitude, but hold fast to what is good and watch him squirm. A good scripture to direct us in fulfilling today’s triad is 1Th 5:15, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”
Genuine love will not seek revenge. It will hate evil so much that it will not allow itself to be drawn into the devil’s traps. Instead, it will hold fast to what is good by doing good for everyone. That is fundamentally how we prove our status as adopted children of the Almighty. The best way to genuinely love and hold fast to all that is good is to make sure that we read and study our Bible and pray fervently. Moreover, we should surround ourselves with like-minded Christians as we help and encourage each other to reach spiritual maturity.