Romans Series # 54 September 18, 2002
Title: The Basics of Christian Living
Website: www.newlifeinchrist.info
Email: pastorsarver@yahoo.com
Introduction: Welcome to New Life in Christ. We are currently in Chapter 13 of Romans as we continue with message #54 of our verse-by-verse study of the Book of Romans.
Opening Prayer
Read Romans 13:8-14
Tonight I will be sharing of the topic: The basics of Christian living. By basics, I mean the fundamentals of the Christian life. In the sport of golf, there are certain fundamentals, which are necessary to hitting the ball well. You must keep your head down, swing on plane, and follow through. Even for the professional golfer, these basics are continually reiterated, since they are essential to success. In a similar way, there are two basic things that are fundamental aspects of Christian living; therefore they are repeatedly reiterated in the Bible. Paul speaks of both of them in this passage: love and righteousness.
The main message of this passage could be simply summarized like this: The basic principles of Christian living are to love others and to live righteously. With that said, let’s look at the particulars of this passage verse by verse.
Read Romans 13:8
Paul is transitioning from a section on dealing with the governing authorities. At the conclusion of that section (verses 6, 7) Paul emphasizes the need for the Christian to fulfill their obligations/debts, such as their obligation to show respect and honor for those in authority, and their obligation to pay their tax debt. Paul then uses the idea of being in debt or having an obligation, as a springboard to discuss the obligation we have to love others.
First he says, "Let no debt remain outstanding." He is referring to all kinds of debts, whether monetary (loans, bills, taxes, etc.) or non-monetary (civil service, honor, respect, etc.) This verse just means that we are to fulfill or to pay our debts in accordance with what was agreed upon, is morally right, or is required by law. The King James Version translates the first part of verse eight as, "Owe no man anything..." This has led some people to conclude that all debt is wrong, such as having a mortgage, credit card, are buying a car on time. This is probably not the point Paul is making. The Bible does not forbid believers from going into debt, though it does indicate that doing so should be done with great care and understanding. What the Bible does forbid is for the believer, is failing to pay their debts. We are not to take a cavalier approach toward our financial obligations and allow them to "remain outstanding."
Paul does say that there is one debt or obligation that Christians always owe. That is the obligation to love others. This is why Paul says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another..." The point is that loving others is a lasting obligation. One can never get to the point where they can say, "I have done enough; I have loved enough." You and I will never get to the point that we have, in love, sacrificed enough for others, given enough of our time, energy, money, and efforts for others, been kind enough or even patient enough with others. There is no end to our obligation to love. No matter how loving we may have been in the past, we’re still indebted or obligated to love others. Loving others is a lasting obligation.
At the end of verse eight Paul says, "He who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law." I will explain what is meant by fulfilling the law in a moment, but first I want to note the expression "fellow man." If we love our fellow man we have fulfilled the law, but who is our fellow man? Is Paul talking about other Christians? Is he talking about our family and friends? The word translated as "fellow man" is the Greek word heteros, which basically means, "Love people who are different from you." We are to love those that have different likes and dislikes, different opinions, a different understanding of Scripture, etc.
Paul also tells us that loving others fulfills the law. Similarly, he tells us in verse nine, that all the Commandments (Law) are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." What is Paul’s point or purpose in making this statement? In New Testament times there was a great emphasis on knowing and doing what God wanted; i.e. obeying or fulfilling the Law or Commandments. In their efforts to do this, people had come up with a list of over 600 Commandments, which they have found in the Old Testament that conveyed what God wanted of people. Obviously, this was very complicated, so people were often looking for summary of the essence of what God wanted of people. Therefore, they would ask various teachers questions such as, "What is the greatest commandment?" Of course they asked Jesus this very question and he answered him like this, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind...and the second is like unto it: Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39) ."
In summary, what does God want of people? What is the essence or focus of his commands? Expectedly, Paul gives the same answer that Jesus gave. God wants you to love others. This is the essence of all God’s commands regarding others. So we have learned a second thing about loving others: Loving others is the main thing God wants you to do.
As a side note, I want to point out that this principle in no way implies that the Commandments of God or the Law have no place in the Christian life. Some people have taught that the only thing that matters is that we do what seems loving to us. The Bible does not teach or endorse this in any way. Though the Law cannot save us, it does serve as a guide for us to know right from wrong, which the Holy Spirit helps us to understand and empowers us to live out.
Having said this, let’s get back to the main point of Romans 13:8-14. Paul is reiterating in these verses the basics of living the Christian life.
The basic principles of Christian living are to love others and to live righteously.
So far I’ve shared two things about loving others. First, loving others is a lasting obligation. Second, loving others is the main thing God wants us to do. Now let’s look at the next couple of verses.
Read Romans 13: 9-10
In verse nine, Paul list 4 of the 10 Commandments, and then includes "whatever commandments there might be" as examples of how loving others fulfills the law. After all, if you love others, you surely will not commit adultery by cheating on your spouse or by being intimately involved with another person’s spouse. The same is true of murdering, stealing from others, or being jealous or envious of what others have. If you love others, you will not do these things. As Paul says, "Love does no harm (wrong) to its neighbor."
One thing that is interesting here is that Paul equates loving others with what we do or do not do, not with how we feel about others. There is an important message here. Loving others is a matter of action, not emotion. Since loving others is one of the basics of Christian living, it is important that Christians understand what loving others means. It does not mean that we will have a particular affection for that person, but rather that we will show that person goodwill in what we do and do not do.
The basic principles of Christian living are to love others and to live righteously.
Loving others is what we are obligated to do, it is the main thing God wants us to do, and it is a matter of doing, not feeling. There is a second thing that is also basic to Christian living and that is to live righteously, which is the main focus of verses of 11-14.
Read Romans 13:11-14
Paul has encouraged Christians to love by reminding them that they have an obligation to love others, and that this was the main thing God wanted them to do. He encourages Christians to live righteously by reminding them that Jesus will return soon. He says we are to “Do this, understanding the present time...” By this he means that we are to understand that the time for Jesus return is immanent, it is closer now than ever before. They should inspire us to righteous living in the same way that our understanding of the soon coming of other events in life affects our choices.
For instance, a soon-to-be bride will not spend her time watching the boob tube and eating bonbons, rather she will spend her limited time getting ready for her wedding day. Her thoughts are not on today but tomorrow. Therefore she will probably spend her time dieting, looking for a wedding dress, and in essence making sure that she is prepared for that very special day. An Olympic athlete will not spend his time sleeping in and eating burgers as he sees the Olympics approaching. Rather he will be up at dawn for training and watching his diet. Why? Because he understands the present time. In a similar way, the Christian needs to understand the present time, so that will not pursue the unrighteous things of this world, but rather righteousness.
Paul goes on to say in verse 11, "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." This figurative expression had more meaning for people who did not have the benefit of electric lighting. In order for them to get anything done, it was necessary that they resist the temptation to sleep in. They had to get up before the sunrise, at the first sign of dusk, so that they would be ready for the day. If a person overslept, somebody else might awaken them and say, "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber; it is time to get moving, it is time to get ready"
Paul is using figurative language to tell us that Christians must realize what time (season) it is, so that we will live righteously. In the same way that a person may begin to purchase spring clothes in the wintertime because they realize that one season is fading and another is coming, so Christians need to start preparing for the future, because one way of life is fading, and another glorious one is coming. One season or time is about to end and another season or time is about to begin. Our "salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." Paul is referring to the consummation of our salvation, when we are changed, meet with Christ, and his Kingdom of righteousness is established. Our salvation will be completed soon, so we do not need to be looking to the ways of this world, but to being prepared for his return. "The night (worldly, spiritual, and moral darkness) is nearly over; the day is almost here!"
Illustration: I heard about a group of guys who used to play dominoes at night. His wife warned, “Don’t stayout past midnight.” They happened to be playing dominoes in the house of a man who repaired old grandfather clocks. This guy who was anxious about going home, kept counting the chimes of a grandfather clock the man was repairing. Late in the evening he started counting the chimes, one, two, three, four, all the way to ten, 11, 12, 13 chimes. The guy jumped up and headed for the door. They said, “Man, where are you going?” He said, “I’ve got to get home. It has never
been this late before.”
Source: “Wake Up and Get Dressed!” Romans 13:11-14 • September 12, 1999 • #8001 by David O. Dykes • Part 52 of 62 in the Romans series www.GABC.org
This is true spiritually speaking also. It has never been this late before! Our salvation is almost here! The night is nearly over, the day is almost here! How should you respond to this truth? Well, how do you respond when the alarm clock go off in the morning? You get ready for the day by taking off your pajamas and putting all new clothes. Figuratively speaking, that is exactly what Paul tells us to do. We are to put off the "deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." Of course, darkness represents unrighteous acts, while light represents righteous living. He probably uses the word "armor" as a reminder that living holy is a spiritual battle, which requires a battlefield mentality.
To make sure that they understand his point, Paul list in verse thirteen some of the wicked deeds of darkness that they should put off or have nothing to do with. Of course, this is not a complete list, but rather is an example of the kinds of things that Christian should have nothing to do with. This list includes: alcohol abuse, sexual sins, wild living, and fighting amongst ourselves.
Paul also gives us an example of righteous living, but rather than a list of righteous acts, he points us to a person: Jesus Christ. He is the model for how we are to live. We are to "clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ." In other words, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to pursue his example, giving no thought or attention toward living an evil life.
Conclusion: If you have been a Christian any amount of time, you’re probably not learned anything new tonight. Rather, this was the time to reiterate the fundamentals of Christian living, which is something we all need from time to time. There are two basics for how God wants the Christian to live.
The basic principles of Christian living are to love others and to live righteously.
Closing Prayer.
