Romans 12:6-11

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

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God gives various gifts to each person. Some receive the gift of prophecy, some the gift of service, and others receive the gift of teaching, exhortation, or giving. Although the types of gifts differ, the purpose for which God gives them is one. It is to enable us to serve God and love our neighbors through the gifts we have received.

As weak human beings, we receive God's gifts and fulfill the mission entrusted to us by the Lord. When we seek to work for the Kingdom of God and the gospel, God pours into us the necessary ability and wisdom to accomplish that work.

However, if we boast about ourselves or become proud with the gifts received from God, the Lord takes those gifts away. For example, if a person who has received the gift of healing the sick or casting out demons uses it to make money and elevate himself, he loses the guidance of the Holy Spirit and eventually falls into the deception of Satan.

Satan also sometimes acts in a manner similar to the work of the Holy Spirit. However, Satan distorts God's Word, teaches falsehoods, makes people disobedient, and deceives them so they cannot repent, eventually leading them on the path of destruction.

On the other hand, the gifts given by the Holy Spirit make a person humble. A person who has received the gifts of the Holy Spirit forgives and serves others, and thinks of God and others before himself.

However, a person influenced by Satan becomes proud. He elevates himself and thinks that others should serve him. Such a heart breaks harmony, causes disputes, and destroys the community.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit cause us to serve one another. Therefore, they allow us to live in peace and harmony wherever we are—in the church, the home, and society. Ultimately, we discern whether it is the work of the Holy Spirit or the work of Satan through the fruits of that person's life.

Satan also prophesies and manifests many powers. However, Satan's purpose is to make people follow worldly desires instead of God's will. Satan makes people satisfy only their own greed and prevents them from thinking about the circumstances and position of others.

Conversely, the Holy Spirit makes us obey God, love our neighbors, and leads us to a life of humility and service. Therefore, we should not look at the ability or the gift itself, but examine whether the fruit gives glory to God and leads people to love and harmony. That is the important criterion for discerning the true gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:12-16

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

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Rejoice, looking toward the hope of living forever in heaven. Be patient in the midst of tribulation and always devote yourself to prayer. Tribulation and suffering are like shields that protect Christians from falling into the lusts of the world. The desires of the flesh constantly tempt us. If one harbors sin in the heart and does not repent, one eventually commits sin in action as well. When a person in such a state receives God's discipline, he abandons his sinful thoughts and turns back. A person who was heading toward hell changes his direction to the path of heaven.

Before entering the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of love, we must practice a life of love on this earth. Those who bear the fruit of love enter heaven. Help the saints who are struggling, supply them with what they need, and strive to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you and do not curse them. If you repay evil with evil, the world will become even more filled with evil, and it will become a world like hell. However, when you repay all persecution and evil with good, the dark world becomes bright and the kingdom and righteousness of God are revealed.

Living like this does not mean losing out. God, who examines everything accurately, rewards those who do good with abundant grace and blessings. Furthermore, He leads those who obey and repent until they leave this world into heaven.

A Christian who bears the fruit of love and repents of his shortcomings is a person with true faith. Conversely, a Christian who cannot forgive others and lives a selfish life has a dead faith. Just as a body cannot move when it is dead, an unspiritual soul cannot do the will of God. No matter how much Bible knowledge one has, it is useless if one does not practice the Word in life. A person who practices the Word of God is a person with living faith.

Do not be haughty. The mind that elevates itself comes from pride. Putting one's own thoughts ahead of God's Word is pride. Abandoning God's Word is abandoning the Lord of salvation, and it is leaving the path of heaven and going to the path of hell.

Selfish worldly wisdom is not God's wisdom. Rather, lowering oneself, yielding, and achieving harmony with neighbors is the wisdom to receive God's blessings. However, humans are weak beings who cannot perfectly practice the Lord's words. Therefore, we must always repent of our shortcomings and rely on the Lord's grace and help.

Romans 12:17-21

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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If you repay evil with evil, the vicious cycle is not broken. If that happens, the whole world becomes increasingly filled with evil, eventually hastening the Lord's judgment. Therefore, God's people must achieve peace with all people by doing everything in a good way. We must become those who brighten a world filled with the darkness of sin with the Lord's good light.

Heaven is a kingdom filled with love. Therefore, we must practice living in the kingdom of love starting from this earth. Those who believe in Jesus and bear the fruit of love become citizens of heaven. The Lord promised, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Even if you suffer an unfair incident, God's people must not take personal revenge. The matter of revenge must be left to God. God himself will judge and repay. If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. By doing so, the enemy's face will burn, and his conscience will be pricked. Thereby, he too can bow before God.

We must overcome evil with good. Light overcomes darkness. Satan incites human greed, causing them to hate and fight each other. If God's people crave worldly things and fight among themselves, they eventually become slaves to Satan. Christians can also momentarily fall into worldly greed. However, they must quickly realize and repent to escape that greed.

When you harbor worldly greed, the devil accompanies you; when you harbor a good heart, the Holy Spirit accompanies you. What the devil gives is pain and lack, but what the Holy Spirit gives is peace and abundance. Therefore, we must always examine what we are harboring in our hearts.

A person realizes the state of his own faith through the evidence that appears in his life. It is not only important to live well in the world. It is more important to correct one's wrongs and walk with the Lord while looking at the evidence appearing in one's life. In all things and all situations, we must align ourselves with the path to heaven. We must not be overcome by evil, but be those who overcome evil with good.

Romans 13:1-5

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

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All authority comes from God. Therefore, we must obey worldly authorities within God's Word. We should not recklessly oppose worldly authorities and should know how to fear them as is proper. This is because God uses the rulers of the world as His servants. Those who do evil receive punishment through them, and those who do good deeds receive praise.

Worldly rulers carry swords. That sword is a terror to those who do evil, but it is not a terror to those who do good.

However, this word does not apply as it is when worldly authorities become extremely corrupt, abandon even their basic conscience, and become tools of Satan to intentionally persecute Christians. During the Japanese colonial period, worldly authorities forced the worship of Japanese idols at Shinto shrines and prevented the belief in Jesus. God's people cannot follow such demands.

Also, when the state forces laws that violate God's Word and the truth of the Bible, Christians cannot follow those laws. For example, if the state, in the name of an anti-discrimination law, prevents saying that what the Bible calls sin is sin, and forces disobedience to God's created order and holy commandments, God's people must obey God rather than men. However, this does not mean hating or harming people. Christians must love everyone, but they cannot abandon God's truth that calls sin, sin.

Christians must obey worldly authorities within God's Word. We must pay taxes to the state, fulfill the duty of military service, and keep traffic laws and social order.

We do not do good just because we are afraid of the state's law. We must first live according to the good conscience that God has given us. A good conscience follows God's Word. God's Word is absolute good and is more honest and complete than any state's law.

Those who keep God's commandments of love become a light in a world filled with sin. They become those who achieve peace in places filled with greed and strife.

When Christians are zealous for good works, unbelievers are also moved and come to believe in Jesus. Keeping the commandments of love is true evangelism. Attempting to evangelize while committing evil can bear no fruit.

Romans 13:8-10

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

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The purpose of believing in Jesus is to love God and love your neighbor. The one who loves another has fulfilled the law of God.

The law said to us, "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not covet," and it told us not to commit various other evil deeds as well. This eventually means do not do evil to others, but do good. This is love. The one who loves another does not do evil to others.

Even if you cannot memorize the entire law, the one who considers his neighbor as precious as his own body and loves him is the one who fulfills the law. Love is the fulfilling of the law.

Jesus said:

"Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Just as I have forgiven your faults, you also must forgive your neighbor's faults."

In the Old Testament era, God gave the Ten Commandments to His people through Moses. And in the New Testament era, He gave the commandment of love through Jesus.

The Old Testament Ten Commandments and Jesus' commandment of love are in the same context. However, the New Testament commandment has a deeper and more fundamental meaning. The New Testament commandment is a more strengthened commandment than the Old Testament one.

In the Old Testament, it became murder only when you took another's life. However, in the New Testament, just hating another is committing murder, and just harboring lust is committing adultery. Sins committed in the heart also send people to hell.

Heaven is a kingdom filled with love and peace. In heaven, everyone lives happily with the Lord. They always bear the fruit of love and live joyfully and happily with their neighbors. This is the Lord's final goal.

The Lord trains us to live a life of love on this earth first so that He can let us live in such a heaven. Therefore, those who practice a life of love receive blessings on this earth and will enter heaven in the future. Bearing the fruit of love is a godly life.

1 Timothy 4:7-8

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Those who accept Jesus as their Savior are given Jesus' commandments. We must keep the Lord's commandments with all our might. This is bearing the fruit of love.

However, we do not keep the commandments of love 100% perfectly. That is why we must live repenting every day. Through a life of repentance, we who are lacking always remain in the Lord's embrace.

Romans 13:11-14

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

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When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we become children of God. God's Word is given to the children of God, and a life of obedience to that Word is required. The first obedience is to repent of sin. Those who have repented of sin must strive not to commit the same sins as in the past, and must fulfill the role of salt and light in a world filled with sin.

The role of salt and light is to live a good life. Christians must always strive to broaden their hearts, forgive others, and achieve harmony with other people through good words and good deeds. However, because humans cannot achieve 100% perfect obedience, all Christians must strive to repent and obey daily.

A life of repentance and obedience is essential for Christians. However, there are too many Christians who only have a lot of Bible knowledge but do not live a life of obedience and repentance. Such people are those who believe in human doctrines more than God's Word. Christians who have abandoned Jesus' words are all like chaff. Chaff will be thrown into the fire of hell on the last day.

However, those who strive to obey the Lord's word and repent are classified as wheat believers. They will enter heaven on the last day. Those who have not achieved a life of repentance will carry their sins and go to hell, but those who have achieved a life of repentance are forgiven for their sins by the blood of Jesus and go to heaven.

Those who have repented must bear fruit in keeping with repentance. That is to forgive others and pursue a good life. Those who have repented must follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes us bear the fruit of love, cast off all evil, and live in harmony with our neighbors with understanding and love. This is a life that bears the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

However, Christians who believe in human-made doctrines and theories and live according to the lusts of the flesh are bearing the fruit of Satan. The closer it is to the time the Lord comes, the more we must live a life of repentance and obedience. Only Christians with such faith are recognized as children of light. Christians who do not repent are children of darkness.

Therefore, do not just attend church, but live like children of light. Do not get drunk, do not be sexually immoral, and do not fight or be jealous because of worldly things. We must put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This means washing away sins with Jesus' blood and living according to Jesus' words.

Living according to the lusts of the flesh while attending church is not following the Lord, but following Satan.