Text: Romans 13:8-14
Title: Love and Light (Double Feature)
Romans 13:8-14 8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
I. Love- Vs. 8-10
a. Always Owe Love
b. Always Show Love
c. Always Sow Love
II. Light- Vs. 11-14
a. Wake up
b. Get dressed
c. Get to work
There are few things in life more exciting than a two for one deal. When I was a kid there used to be double features at the movie theatre. I don’t think they do that anymore. I get excited when I get coupons in the mail for two-for-one deals at different restaurants. I have a coupon in my wallet right now for a two for one at Burger King.
So today I thought I would treat you all to a very special two-for-one sermon Sunday. You get two great mini-sermons today for the price of one. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean I’ll be preaching for an hour today.
In seminary they teach you how to put together a nice clean 3 point sermon. The key to a good three point sermon is to have some kind of alliteration or catchy connection between your three points. You know- have all the points start with the same letter or something.
Well as I was working on this passage I realized that I had not just one, but two really good three point sermons. Now these two sermons really are focused on one main point, living for Christ.
So far in chapter 12 and 13 we have seen Paul offer us some very simple, very straightforward advice about how we need to live out our Christian life now that we have been saved.
We will be looking at the last few verses in chapter 13 today. In this text Paul caps off this long section on how to treat others, with a strong exhortation to love. He follows this command to love up with an equally strong command to be light in the world. So today we are going to talk about what it means for us as believers to love and to be light.
Sermon #1 is all about love. Follow along as I read 8-10…
Now the idea that love has to be an essential part of our Christian life shouldn’t be new to you. We have already talked about the necessity of love when it comes to interacting with God, with other believers, even with our enemies.
We talked about how the kind of love that Paul speaks of is not merely an emotion, but a decision. It is a commitment. Feelings come and go, but love lasts through tough times.
In these verses Paul drives home again the importance of love. He starts by instructing us to always owe love. “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another,”
This comes on the heels of the last few verses that talked about paying taxed to those whom we owe taxes. He transitions by saying, don’t have any outstanding debts with anyone, except the ongoing debt to love.
This isn’t a prohibition of borrowing or lending money, it’s a reminder to make sure that you promptly and responsibly pay off your debts; except in one are. When it comes to love we will always owe that debt to God and others, and it will never be fully paid off.
What a great illustration of the extent of our love. Love should never run out, or dry up, or be exhausted. Love without limits or boundaries. Love is a debt that you will always owe everyone.
Next, Paul explains that by always owing love you will fulfill the law of God. Some people make Christianity out to be complicated or too confusing or too strict. But effectively living out the Christian life is pretty simple to understand. It isn’t always simple to do, but it is very easy to understand.
If you want to honor God, grow in your sanctification, and fulfill the requirements of the Bible, you simply need to always show love. It starts by understanding that you owe it. Even if you don’t think the other person deserves to be loved, it is a debt that you owe.
Next we have to show it. Demonstrate your love for others. Live it out, make it your lifestyle, make it your goal. Even in the midst of conflict, show love. Even in the midst of turmoil, show love. Sometimes being tough is the most loving thing you can do for a person.
Paul illustrates this point by reminding us of the Ten Commandments. Can you recite all of the Ten Commandments in order?
1. You shall have no other God’s before Me.
2. You shall not make any idols.
3. You shall not take the Lord’s name in vein.
4. You shall observe the Sabbath and keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and mother
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not bear false witness
10. You shall not covet
The interesting thing about these commandments is that they are really split into to groups. You’ll notice that the first four commandments are all about our relationship with God. Don’t have any other gods, or any idols, respect the Lord’s name. But the final six commandments are all about our relationships with other people. You see the distinction there.
Paul throws out four of these six commandments that deal with our relationship with each other. I guess Paul didn’t even have them all memorized in order because he leaves out a couple and mixes them around a little. But we still get the point. All the commandments can be summarized with this one simple statement- “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Again, if you can find a way to master this, than all the other aspects of living the Christian life will fall right into place.
The last point is that we need to always sow love. We need to spread it. We need to nurture it. We need to make sure that we never do anything to destroy our ability to love others, or destroy others ability to love us. Verse 10 says, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Real love does not wrong others. Real love doesn’t use others. Real love doesn’t take advantage of others. Real love is important because it can help people really see Jesus. It can help them come to an understanding of what Christianity is all about.
When we show love and do no harm to others it has a way of spreading. It has a way of growing. We need to be people who always sow love in every situation.
There is a story of a Baptist pastor during the American Revolution named Peter Miller, who lived in Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the friendship of George Washington.
There was a man named Michael Wittman, who for some reason hated Pastor Miller. He would do all he could to oppose and humiliate the pastor. One day Michael Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to die. Peter Miller traveled seventy miles on foot to Philadelphia to plead for the life of the traitor.
"No, Peter," General Washington said. "I cannot grant you the life of your friend."
"My friend!" exclaimed the old preacher. "He’s the bitterest enemy I have."
"What?" cried Washington. "You’ve walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in different light. I’ll grant your pardon." And he did.
Peter Miller took Michael Wittman back home to Ephrata--no longer an enemy but a friend.
When we sow love it spreads. It transforms people around us. It brings out the best in others. Showing uncommon love should be the biggest indication that you are a Christian.
Recognize that you owe a debt of love to all men. It is a debt that will never be fully paid. Make every effort to show the love of Christ to all men. It might be the only connection to Christianity that they have. And finally, constantly sow love wherever you go. Love never harms, but always helps.
Pray?
OK, now for sermon #2.
Camille and I have been married for twelve years. After being married for awhile, you get to know each other fairly well. One thing that I have noticed as a difference between myself and Camille is how we deal with Saturday morning.
On those Saturday’s when we don’t have much going on she likes to sleep in, then lay around in her pajamas for a few hours, and then have breakfast, and then at some point in the day get dressed.
For me, as soon as I wake up I get dressed and then get to work on something. I don’t have a lot of time during the week to work on projects around the house, so when Saturday morning comes I like to get out and mow the lawn or paint something, or clean the garage. I usually don’t even think about eating until sometime around noon.
Sometimes I get frustrated and want her to get dressed and come outside. But I have to remember that she works hard all week too and her idea of relaxing on a Saturday is different from mine. I like to wake up, get dress, and get to work, and then spend the majority of the afternoon unconscious.
Well apparently Paul sees things the same way I do. In this passage Paul instructs all of us to respond to the light by waking up, getting dressed, and getting to work. Follow along as I read verses 11-14…
This passage is a great summary to all that Paul has been instructing us to do in the last few chapters. It is time to love, time to obey, look at your watch, check out the time, things are drawing to a close. The night is over and it is time to wake up.
Paul says, “for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.” What exactly does this mean? Some say, “I thought we were already saved”. So which is it? Are we saved or are we close to being saved?
The answer lies in our understanding of the salvation process. Remember in the first half of Romans Paul went into great detail about the doctrine of salvation. With that understanding in mind this verse makes perfect sense. Can you begin to see why it was so important for us to take our time and really dig deep in those first chapters of this book?
That doctrinal understanding will be the foundation to a healthy and effective Christian life.
If you can remember back to our discussion of the doctrine of salvation, you remember that Paul dealt with three separate aspects of salvation. The first aspect was justification. That is where we are declared right before God.
It is like a court declaring someone not guilty. Justification doesn’t come through being good or working for it. It comes from Jesus taking the penalty and paying the debt for us. All we need to do is trust in Him. We are saved by faith through the grace of God. This part of salvation happens immediately at the point in which we place our faith in Jesus.
The second aspect of our salvation is sanctification. This is the ongoing process where we become more like Jesus. This is where our old nature is replaced with a new nature. This is where God helps us to overcome sinful behaviors. This process is a gradual one that lasts our whole life.
The last stage in our salvation is glorification. Glorification is just a big theological word for going to heaven. When we pass on from this life we move on to spiritual and physical eternity in God’s presence. It is the final stage in the whole salvation process.
It’s this last phase that Paul is referring to here in verse 11. Our final rest is almost here. Our eternal home is near. It even closer now than when we first placed our faith in Jesus. It’s coming soon.
I think Paul is referring to two things here. He’s talking about how each of us individually is drawing nearer to heaven, and he is talking about how this present age is drawing to a close. Christ is coming back soon. His return is even closer now than it was when we were first saved. If these words were true two thousand years ago in Paul’s day, then the time is even closer for us. There is coming a day when Christ will return in triumph.
So Paul’s instructions for us is that we wake up. The first part of verse 12 says, “12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near.”
The sun is rising. The day is coming. Wake up. Once you wake up the next thing you need to do is get dressed. Look at the second half of verse 12… “Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
The night is over for us. The night is often symbolic of darkness, evil, and sin. It is under a cover of darkness that evil deeds are often done. That time in our lives is passing. It is fading. The day is dawning. Therefore, it is time to get rid of the habits, behaviors, and lifestyle that we used to live and clothe ourselves in the armor of light.
Take off lying and put on integrity.
Take off stealing and put on charity.
Take off sexual immorality and put on purity.
Take off foul language and put on encouragement.
Take off anger and put on love.
Take off pride and put on humility.
Take off anything that stands between you and God and put on a close, personal, meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. Live your life with real meaning and purpose, and expectation of the day when you will see Him face to Face. We don’t have to wait until we die to begin the process of shedding our sin nature and clothing ourselves with Christ.
Wake up, get dressed, and get to work. Verses 13-14 says…
“13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
Paul expects there to be a real change in our lives. He expects real action and real growth and real development. He expects us to get out there are get the job down. We are to behave properly, as we would during the day. No longer do the kinds of evil and sinful things that are only done in the dark. Live you life in the light of the son.
Paul gives a helpful list of the kinds of things that are often done under a cover of night. Carousing and drunkenness are two things that are often done at night. But we are to live our lives in the light of the son.
Sexual promiscuity and sensuality are also done in the dark. But we are to live in the light of the son.
Strife and jealousy are characteristics of people who can’t get along, who are only concerned with themselves. They are hard-hearted and live in the dark. But we are to live in the light of the son.
Wake up, get dressed, and get to work. Paul summarizes in verse 14…
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
Ok, there’s your double feature. Love and Light. Obviously we can see how these two things are intertwined. It is through our love that we reflect the light of Jesus to the world. The more we love the more light we shine. The more we love the more we grow.
Live a life of love because you know that the night is over, the day is dawning, and we are now living in the light of the son.
