Romans 12:9 (DRB)

Passage

Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good,

Nearby Context

Romans 12:7 Or ministry, in ministering; or he that teacheth, in doctrine;

Romans 12:8 He that exhorteth, in exhorting; he that giveth, with simplicity; he that ruleth, with carefulness; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good,

Romans 12:10 Loving one another with the charity of brotherhood: with honour preventing one another.

Romans 12:11 In carefulness not slothful. In spirit fervent. Serving the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "love", "without", "dissimulation", "hating", "evil", "cleaving", and "good". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "love" and "without", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "He that exhorteth in exhorting he that..." into verse 10's "Loving one another with the charity of...", so "love" and "without" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "love" and "without" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.