The Urgency of Godliness
Romans 13:8-14
Intro: What comes to mind when you hear the word, “Urgent?” It can be an unpleasant word that is associated with tragedy. Most of us would rather not receive an urgent phone call because it might mean that someone we love is hurt or in trouble. Then there are Urgent Care services that remind us how fragile we are. If you have a job with deadlines, then everything becomes urgent as you near the deadline.
-Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, the tyranny of the urgent. In fact, a guy named Charles Hummel wrote a book by that name. The book is a simple introduction to time management using the following four steps: decide what's important, discover how one's time is now being spent, budget the hours and follow through. Sounds simple.
-The problem most of us face is that many of the things that are truly most important in our lives do not appear to be urgent. However, there are dozens of things in life that scream “URGENT!” when they really aren’t that important (certain phone calls, various appointments, your favorite show that you don’t want to miss, that moment when you realize you forgot it was your wife’s birthday – okay… Urgent! Important! Possibly a matter of national security!)
-Most of us would probably be quick to say that loving and serving God is very important. But again, we often fail to view it as urgent; therefore, we fail to act on it, because the other voices and demands of life crowd it out.
-Paul brings a sense of urgency to our spiritual life in the text today. He wants to jar his readers out of their complacency and spur them on to following Jesus wholeheartedly. So let’s join him in Romans 13:8 and see for ourselves the urgency of living every moment of every day for the glory of God!
1. Make Up (8-10)
Romans 13:8-10 8Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
-If you recall the setting of the book of Romans, the Jews were highly concerned about the lack of Torah observance among the Gentile Christians. The Roman church had been in the hands of Gentile Christians for a period of about 5 years, during which no Jews were allowed in the city of Rome. Since they had returned to Rome a few years earlier, the Jews had been seeking to reestablish the same core values and honor for the Torah that had been in the Roman church earlier. But during the 5-year absence of the Jews, the Gentile believers had discovered that they could honor Jesus without all the Jewish customs and traditions. So, there was a constant struggle between the Jewish way of following Jesus and the non-Jewish way.
-So Paul again seeks to reconcile the two groups. He tries to show the Jews that loving one another is the best Torah Observance you can do! You might get a lot of details right about the Law, but if you aren’t loving the people God loves, then you are missing the most important ingredient.
-It is interesting that the 10 commandments can be divided into 2 basic categories that deal first with our relationship with God and then with mankind: The first four primarily focus on our response to God (Don’t have any other gods, no idols, do not misuse God’s name, keep the Sabbath day holy as a way of honoring God). The remaining six commands focus on how we should treat one another (honor your parents, don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie about someone else, don’t covet what others have). Paul reiterates the last 5, saying that love will motivate you to do the right thing by others.
-However, it is possible for a person to do pretty well on these 5 but still not really love those around them. That’s why we need God’s help. We need to be in a relationship with Him that involves worship, honor, love, and obedience. The Bible says in 1 John 4 that we love because He first loved us. When we respond to His love for us, then we are given the capacity for loving God and others.
-So, instead of trying to shame the Gentile believers into living like Jews, Paul tells them they have a perpetually unpaid debt love to love one another. Those 2 words “one another” hints of the unity that should exist between them. It speaks of relationship and interaction. Love another! Forgive one another! Encourage one another! It is very likely that some relationship damage had occurred among the two groups in the church at Rome. People on both sides were offended by something someone else had said or done. So this is a call for them to Make up! Forgive! Seek forgiveness! Love one another more than you love to be right! Love is what’s right, especially among believers who claim to worship the same God!
-One kindergarten teacher was reading the story, entitled “Big,” to her enthusiastic class. When she was finished she asked, "What makes you feel big?" "Bugs make me feel big," yelled one young student. "Ants," hollered another. "Mosquitoes," called out one more. The teacher, trying to bring some order back to the class, started calling on children with their hands up. Pointing to one little girl, the teacher asked, "Jessica, what makes you feel big?" "My mommy," was her reply. "How does your mommy make you feel big?" quizzed the teacher. "That’s easy," said the child. "She hugs me and says I love you, Jessica!"
-When we love each other, we make each other bigger. We establish the dignity and the importance of the other. Are we doing that as the church? One some levels we seem to show love quite well. But there is much room for growth. Sometimes it amazes me how easily hurt we are! Are we so easily offended that we distance ourselves from the family God has called us to be a part of? Sometimes we can be pretty hurtful to others by not choosing our words carefully. We have been given so much love! We have to get this right! We must make up and choose to love – even when we feel the fight or flight instinct kick in! Love is not easily provoked, not easily offended, is not rude or selfish or arrogant. Love shows who you belong to! Well, it is possible that a cold heart towards one another might be a reflection of our spiritual state.
2. Wake Up (11)
Romans 13:11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
-Spiritual sleep happens when we begin to lose the sense of the immediate presence of God in our lives. Most people can’t do too much when they are asleep (although I’ve known a few who do things like walk and change their clothes while asleep). You might be suffering from spiritual drowsiness if… your Christianity feels like it is on autopilot… you never “feel led” to give of your time or money to serve God or others… you can’t remember the last time you were overwhelmed by the loving presence of God… you’ve become more concerned about externals than relationship (the love we already spoke about)… You might be asleep spiritually if … you rarely take time to talk with God… you don’t take time to read God’s word to you- The Bible.
-Sometimes it feels like the whole North American church is asleep at the wheel! Many churches are dying and dwindling down to nothing. They lack vision and don’t feel compelled to reach out to lost people in their communities.
-God is calling His people (and that includes us) to wake up and realize that He has a plan for this world. And we are supposed to be a big part of that plan! So many of our efforts and energy are spent on things that will not last- temporary things. We think we’ve got to have more money to preserve a certain lifestyle or have more things to add to our busy lives. So we work more, borrow more, spend more, and exhaust ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – no wonder we have fallen asleep! We are worn out from chasing the American Dream! And recreation is good when kept in balance, but we can insulate our lives from spiritual awareness by always needing something to entertain us. We have must see TV, movies, video games, music, internet, smart phones, texting, playing, watching, listening, searching, and so on. We’ve got every kind of sport and outdoor activity as well to fill our lives with. There is nothing wrong with many of these activities, but I have to wonder what we are really gaining and what are we losing when we allow so many things in life to consume our time, energy, and resources.
-I believe it is a healthy exercise for us to stop and evaluate what is going on in our lives. If we don’t have time for God, we will find that we have drifted off to sleep spiritually. So Paul says, “It’s time to get up! We’re closer than ever to the return of Jesus! It’s time to love one another and live passionately for the Lord!”
3. Suit Up (12)
Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
-What happens just before sunrise when the night is mostly gone? The sky begins turning light in the east. The darkness begins to disappear. Soon everything will be clothed with light!
-What is the Armor of Light?
1 Thessalonians 5:5-9 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
-We could also look in Ephesians 6:10-18 and study about the armor of God. Paul compares armor to things like truth, righteousness, stability and readiness, faith, salvation, and God’s word.
-In general, light can represent the life of God that we receive when we respond to God’s invitation to do life with Him. It is the presence of God the Holy Spirit who lives in us when we put our trust in Jesus for our life and receive His forgiveness. Spiritualists might call it an aura; artists might portray it as a halo. But the reality is the God Himself has come to us and changed us and He is alive in our spirit, making our spirit alive in Him! That is the armor of light! It is the righteousness of God that covers us when we confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead! It is His glory that shines upon us!
-How do we put on the armor of light? Connect with God! If you’ve sinned, confess to Him and turn away from what is wrong. If your love has grown cold, return to God and receive His love. It will change you! Bottom line: Get right with God, and get right with people! In 1 John we find that it’s impossible to love God when you don’t love your brother or sister in Christ. It’s time to make up, it’s time to wake up, it’s time to suit up in the armor of light – the favor of God shining on you and within you!
4. Shape Up (13-14)
Romans 13:13-14 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
-Live right! Honor the Lord, don’t indulge the flesh!
-Just as Paul has aimed directly at the Jews in vv. 8-10, it appears that he is targeting the Gentiles here. Certainly this applied to all, but many of the Gentiles were saved from a sordid past life of darkness and sin. Now he tells them to live in a way that honors God and puts Him in a good light.
-Put on the Lord Jesus Christ – identity! When people look at you they should be able to see Jesus in you! Sometimes we say things and do things that misrepresent who Jesus is. Sometimes we aren’t even aware how our words, actions and attitudes can affect how people see Jesus. But the Holy Spirit in us is faithful to guide us if we will listen with our spiritual hearing.
-One reason many Christians continue to fail is that they plan to do so. We all struggle with evil desires in some way. The problem is that our minds start creating solutions to help us get what we think we want. The human brain is an amazing problem-solving computer. When are hungry our brain helps us figure out what there is to eat and how to get to it. Unfortunately, when we have evil desires, our brain starts plotting how we might be able to take care of that (kind of like Jezebel telling Ahab how to get the vineyard from Naboth).
-But when we put on the Lord Jesus, He begins to change our desires to wholesome things that honor Him. I believe we can put our same mega-computers to work, plotting out ways we can serve the Lord and help others. Only now our brain-computers are powered by the Holy Spirit and we have access to more creativity and ingenuity than we ever could have had on our own. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 Paul says, “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” So when those thoughts come, telling us we need this or that to make us happy, we need to reprogram our minds with God’s truth that says, “His grace is enough for me! His strength is greater than my weakness!”
Conclusion: So, what is the appropriate response to these words of God through Paul? What action is the Holy Spirit calling for in your heart? Do you need to Make Up? Are you at odds with someone? Go make it right! Do you need to Wake Up? Set aside some time each day to connect with God so that His presence is noticeable in your life. Do you need to Suit Up? Is God’s glory shining on your life? Are you trusting Him and standing strong for Him? Perhaps you need to Shape Up in some areas. God not only forgives sin, but He breaks its power over us so we can be free from its hold on us.
-If you need to take action in one or more of these areas, I’d like to ask you to respond. If you would like prayer in one of these areas, would you be willing to come to the front and allow me to say a prayer for you? God is here and accepts you just as you are, but is calling you to live a life that is far greater than what we could come up with. (Prayer)
