Welcome back to Basic Training. We have 2 weeks remaining in our study of the book of Romans after today.
Prayer
Father,
Open my eyes so I can see Your truth.
Open my ears so I can hear Your voice.
Open my mind so I can understand Your Word.
And open my heart so I may receive all that You want me to receive. AMEN
Remember last week? Paul started to teach us how we are to put all the doctrinal teaching from the first 11 chapters to practice.
He talked about the transformations that are supposed to take place in the believer after repentance occurs.
A transformation of humility, love and of honor.
In Romans 13, Paul continues his discourse teaching the believes how we are to live once we have accepted God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
He does so by briefly sharing what our relationship should be in regards to Church and State and he talks about our debt of love as well as the importance of following the Commandments.
I think it is kind of funny that these topics are in the same chapter since so many people think there should be a separation of Church and State. So many people are trying to remove the 10 Commandments for all public places and government buildings.
It was actually Thomas Jefferson who first used the phrase separation of Church and State.
Jefferson wrote, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.
Jefferson statement was meant not as a way to protect the State from the church but rather a way to protect the Church from the State.
Let’s look and see what Paul has to say about this subject.
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Romans 13:1-7 NIV
The key to understanding this portion of chapter 13 is to understand what Paul means by governing authorities.
There are two schools of thought.
The first is that Paul is making reference to the church government. The leaders of the Roman church as well as the leaders of the church as a whole who were located in Jerusalem.
Although this is important and should be done, verse 6 sheds light to the real purpose of this statement. Paul talks about taxes.
Paying taxes is something that is done in the nation and the state the person is living in, therefore the second school of thought is that Paul is talking about our world leaders is probably the most accurate understanding.
Remember that Paul had told us in Romans 12 to repay evil with kindness. The Roman government treated Christians poorly. They persecuted them by beating them and even killing them. The Christians had a reason to not like the government.
With that being said, we live in a generation in which public opinion of those in political leadership is probably at an all time low.
There are a number of reasons for this, including what appears to many as a "crisis in character." People are not happy with government and it doesn’t matter what political affiliation you are.
So how are we as God’s children suppose to feel about our governmental leaders?
Jesus taught on this very sensitive subject in both in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Each time He concluded that we are to render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar.
Obviously there are going to be times when we don’t agree with the government, such as was the case in the 1700’s when the United States of America was born.
The colonists had a legal right to revolt based in the English Common Law. The Colonists were British citizens and since Great Britain did not have a written constitution, the rights of Englishmen in the new world were being violated.
The Declaration of Independence was written as a list of grievances against England. Its authors and signers demanded the rights all Englishmen enjoyed, but which had been taken from or restricted by the King, Colonial Governors and Parliament.
The Declaration of Independence exposed the abuses of the Colonial system and describes the bases for throwing off the yoke of tyranny which included their religious rights.
Not only did they have the right, they believed they had the obligation to rebel, not for the sake of rebellion, but for the sake of millions of people they would never know.
There are times when following the government would cause us to rebel against God.
When Israel was in exile in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar demanded that his officials, including the Hebrews Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, bow before an image that he had placed on the plain of Dura. The three Hebrews refused.
Were they wrong? No, since following the king’s command would have meant disobeying God’s law.
There are also times that the government powers are not ordained by God. They are elected or put into place because people have put them there by their own will and not God’s will.
We know this to be true because God said there are powers not ordained by Him in Hosea 8:4, "They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not."
If God establishes the authority then obey, if God has not established it then don’t obey. Has God established the government authority of the United States?
Good question! How is the pastor going to get out of this one?
The answer is, yes He has. But there are times throughout history when the American government has overstepped its godly parameters.
For example, the legalization of same sex marriage. This goes against the Word of God and therefore the church should say no to this.
Another example would be the government not allowing us the freedom to pray in our schools. That goes against the freedom of religion that we were promised.
When the demands of government go beyond the authority that was delegated to them by God the church must always follow the Word of God.
That is what Paul called for even in the face of great provocation. Those believers from the Roman church maintained their loyalty to the government as long as it did not interfere with their faith in God.
We should do the same. Support the government, pray for the officials but always stand up for the Word of God and Godly morals.
After making this point, Paul quickly moves on to another important rule of living for the child of God. Love and the Commandments.
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10 NIV
Once again Paul uses that four letter word… love.
Paul uses the same word here that is used in John 3:16. The word agape’ which means to love unconditionally and sacrificially as God loves us, that even while we were yet sinners, He sent Jesus to die for us.
The quality of love Paul is talking about is not just a feeling but is shown to others by the actions of the one who is loving.
On the one hand Paul encourages us to get out of debt, “Let no debt remain outstanding,” while on the other hand he tells us we have an ongoing debt of love!
In regards to money Paul is saying that if you are going to borrow money, pay it back. It is very simple, don’t borrow money if you do not intend to pay it back because that is stealing.
Paul says our debt should be a debt of love.
Paul makes it abundantly clear that we are to love one another even if the other is lovable or not. This is a selfless kind of love that put others ahead of ourselves.
The Christian is always a love-debtor, no matter how much love he or she gives. Love is a debt one can never fully discharge.
Matthew Henry wrote “Brotherly love is the badge of Christ's disciples.”
D L Moody echoed Henry's sentiment declaring, “A man may be a good doctor without loving his patients; a good lawyer without loving his clients; a good geologist without loving science; but he cannot be a good Christian without love.”
Paul says that “Love is the fulfillment of the Law.”
If the whole world loved the way we were intended to love, I dare say, that if we all had the love that Christ came to give, there would be no wars in this world. If there was true love in our hearts there would be no breakups in marriages and there would be no disruption in the family. If there was true love in the hearts of all there would be no crimes committed in the world.
WE NEED TO LOVE! We have been given the greatest gift of all, the gift of love in Jesus, it is a gift to treasure and it is a gift to share.
That is why Jesus summed up the Law by saying, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39 NIV
Love sums up the commandments.
Notice that all the commandment Paul mentions has to do with our dealings with other people. “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9 NIV
Paul closes out this chapter with a stark reminder that we should wake up and live for God.
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:11-14 NIV
Remember that Paul wrote the book of Romans almost 2000 years ago and he was urging the church then to wake up and recognize the critical nature of the times.
I wonder how Paul would react to our times now?
If Paul call to wake up was so pressing for them then I dare say it is even more so today.
It is time for the church to wake up. It is time for the church to stand and be counted for God. It is time for the church to make a difference in our world.
Two things are stressed in verses 11-14.
The first is why we are suppose to wake up and walk in love and walk in God’s righteousness. It is because the day of Christ’s return draws closer every day.
The second is how we are to do so.
Given the proper motivation to serve God by loving others, the question arises, how do we do it?
We know from Romans 7 that while Paul was motivated to serve God, he was not able to do so in his own strength. The problem was not the law, but Paul’s weak, sinful nature, and sin, which took advantage of his flesh.
Therefore, if one is to walk in love, putting service to others above his own interests, it cannot be done in the flesh. In fact, the flesh must be crucified, put to death.
That is why Paul says, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” Romans 13:14.
There is a positive and a negative here.
The positive is to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The negative is that we must “make no provision for the flesh.”
When we put on the Lord Jesus Christ we will manifest Him through our lives. When we do so, we will manifest His love, a love for those who had offended Him and who were His
enemies.
Putting on Christ means depending on Christ to live His life, His grace, and His love through us by means of His Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit which helps us do this.
On the negative side, we must make no provision for the lusts of the flesh.
Love and lust are opposites. They are incompatible with each other.
The world says the two are the same, so “making love” is satisfying the lusts of the flesh.
But in a biblical sense, “making love” is living in love, as described in Romans 12 and 13.
Satisfying our lusts is the opposite of living in love. Living in love requires that we present our bodies, with their lustful desires, as living sacrifices to God, which is what Paul told us in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
So there you have it, Basic Training; As Christians we are supposed to submit to those in authority over us as long as they are not causing us to go against the Word of God, we are to love one another, and we are to put on Christ because the hour is close at hand.
Our mission on earth is much higher than battling government, it is loving each other, leading them to the cross, and doing our best to live for Him by overcoming the enemy and the temptations he places in our lives.
I challenge you today to clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. This sums up Romans 13.
CLOSE
