“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; 11.Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12. Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13.Distributing to the necessity of the saints; given to hospitality.”
“Slothful” is not a word that we use every day. If we used it in public someone would likely say, “la-ti-da,” or “I don’t know what you mean.” It is an old word, but it is a word that we practice every day if we are not careful. The New Webster’s Dictionary defines it as: “lethargy, indolence, inactive, sluggish and lazy.” If you are like me, you might think that this could describe you on some days. Being slothful is bound to happen to us occasionally, but if it becomes a lifestyle it is tragic. Let’s take a look at not being slothful in spirit, and being fervent in spirit. Slothfulness usually denotes indifference. From the Christian standpoint, a slothful person is one who is indifferent to what is going on around him, and could care less whether people are Christians or not. It is certain that slothful people are not a dependable people. Even if they decide to do a Christian service, they do it so sluggishly that it does not get done. There is an alternative to slothfulness. What is the alternative to slothfulness? Paul wrote that the alternative would be to be “fervent in spirit.” Let’s see what Webster’s says about fervent: “glowing, ardent, zealous, intensity of devotion, intense.” I know the picture that forms in most people’s minds when they hear of a fervent Christian is a negative one. They get the picture of a self-righteous, legalistic, unloving, hate spewing person. That might describe some people who think they are fervent Christians, but I don’t think that is the kind of person that Paul had in mind. Some even think that a conservative Christian who really believes the Bible is overly fervent. Well, if I was given the choice between being a slothful, indifferent Christian, and an overly fervent Christian, I would choose the latter. The only way that a Christian can be “overly fervent” is to try to push his will on people and consider that his personal opinions are straight out of heaven. A fervent Christian is a loving Christian. Look what Paul wrote: “Be kindly affectioned to one another with brotherly love.” If we love the Lord fervently, we will love people fervently. We can’t love either one or the other, we must love both. 1John 4:20 relates to us: “If a man (or woman) says, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen.” We are not allowed to hate people, but we are allowed to hate sin, because it has caused, and is causing, the ruin of humankind. If a fervent Christian speaks to you about sin, he is not telling you that he hates you but is concerned about you. Fervency in love is important. It is recorded in 1 Peter 4:8: “And above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: for charity (love) shall cover the multitude of sins.” A fervent Christian is a humble person. Notice the next line: “in honor preferring one another.” This means to put others first. A fervent Christian is a praying Christian. I don’t believe that a Christian can be fervent without prayer. A fervent Christian acts on his or her faith: “distributing to the necessity of the saints.” This means to look out for the physical needs of fellow Christians, and, for that matter, our fellowman. A fervent Christian is “given to hospitality.” This means that fervent Christians welcome other people into their lives and into their fellowship. Someone once asked me who would I keep out of the church? My answer was that I would stand at the door and turn away everybody that Jesus would turn away. That kind of settles it – doesn’t it? Based on this text, are you a fervent Christian? I haven’t dealt with everything that has to do with fervency, but this has given us enough to chew on – hasn’t it? Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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