Fellowship of Saints

In this sermon on Romans 12:13 titled “Fellowship of the Saints,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones challenges the listeners to show hospitality. Preaching from Romans 12:13, one of the first things he clarifies is the true Pauline meaning of hospitality. In the book of Romans (and in other places in Scripture), the biblical meaning for hospitality is “loving strangers.” This means that when the biblical authors command believers to show hospitality, their command is one of evangelism rather than only fellowship with the saints. An important element of the Christian existence paired with hospitality is indeed contributing to the needs of the saints. Separate from hospitality but similar, Dr. Lloyd-Jones preaches that contributing to the needs of the saints shows the love of God within the hearts of Christians. A privilege that God has given His believers is that they may share in their suffering instead of enduring alone. Other Christians should be a welcome and wonderful sight for believers because of the burden and the privilege the saints carry. Dr. Lloyd-Jones exhorts his listeners by saying that Christians submit too much to the needs and expectations of the world. Rather, Christians must be the light of the world and share the good news of Jesus Christ with all those they come in contact with, especially through hospitality.