Romans 12:13: Meeting needs in the church

Outline

• What
• Why

Introduction

The true mark of an inner healthy spiritual life is an overflow in service to others. Paul has been calling upon us to stoke our hearts to be fervent and not slothful; he has been calling us to sustain ourselves in difficulty, his thoughts naturally turn then to commands which speak about the practical outworking of a heart that is fervent and prayerful. Romans 12:13, ‘Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.’ Paul has made mention of contributing to the saints in 12:7-8, which speak about serving and contributing generously. Those verses are more concentrated on those with gifts and offices concerned with those things, where this verse is impressing upon all the universal responsibility on all believers. Just as all Christians are to love, hate evil, rejoice in hope, etc., so we are all to contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

As we look at this verse we will break it down in two ways. Firstly, we want to look at its part and what is being commanded, and then secondly we will look at why, and some biblical motivations for meeting the needs of the saints.