Where Is Your Love?

WHERE IS YOUR LOVE?

Preached at North Baldwin Baptist Church

Standish, Maine on 12 September 2004

Ø Prayer

Ø Thanksgiving

Ø Pastor Will Kindred

Ø Acknowledge Wife and Daughter

Text: Romans 13:8-10

[v.8] Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

[v.9] For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

[v.10] Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Ø I won’t keep you long. I tell you what; we will be out of here this morning as soon as I’m done.

Ø I heard one preacher pray ... Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff, and nudge me when I have said enough.

Illustration:

There was a bus driver and minister standing in line to get into heaven. The bus driver approached the gate and St. Peter was on duty that morning ... and St. Peter said, "Welcome, I understand you were a bus driver. Since I’m in charge of housing, I believe I have found the perfect place for you. See that mansion over the hilltop ... it’s yours.

The minister heard all this and began to stand a little taller. He said to himself, "If a bus driver got a place like that, just think what I’ll get." The minister approached the gate and St Peter said, "Welcome, I understand you were a minister. See that shack in the valley? St Peter had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth when the shocked minister said ... "I was a Minster, I preached the gospel, I helped teach people about God. Why does that bus driver get a mansion, and I get a shack? Sadly, St. Peter responded, "Well, it seem when you preached people slept. When the bus driver drove, people prayed."

Well I said all of that to say ... I hope that while I’m driving this bus this morning that you will be praying with me and not sleeping... will you do that?

Text: Romans 13:8-10 ... Walk with me

What happening here in these verses of scripture ... well, let me start by giving you a brief introduction as what is taking place here in the Book of Romans.

Well, what is the purpose of the Book of Romans? Well, to help us understand that let us flip back to Romans 1:16-17 ... where we find Paul saying ...

[v.16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

[v.17] For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.

We see here where God offers the gift of His righteousness to everyone who comes to Christ by faith. You see ... Paul wrote Romans to reveal God’s sovereign plan of salvation (1-8), to show how Jesus and Gentiles fit that plan (9-11), and to exhort them to live righteous and harmonious lives (12-16).

Now ... Romans was not the first of Paul’s epistles, but it was appropriately placed at the beginning of the Pauline corpus not only because it was Paul’s longest work, but because it provides the doctrinal foundation upon which the other epistles are built. It has been said that the Book of Romans is the most systematic and detailed exposition of theological truth in the Scriptures.

Romans concentrate on the doctrines of ha-mar-tiology (Doctrine of sin) and soteriology [so-teeree-ollee] (Doctrine of salvation).

Well, what is all of that telling us ... well it is in the book of Romans that we find in chapter 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." In other words, both Jews and Gentiles are sinners, so God has graciously extended His offer of salvation to all who will place their faith in Christ.

If we were to survey the book of Romans, we would find that it is divided into three parts:

- The Revelation of the Righteousness of God (1-8)

- The Vindication of the Righteousness of God (9-11)

[Show somebody or something is blameless: to clear somebody or something of blame, guilt, suspicion, or doubt]

- The Application of the Righteousness of God (12-16)

[Relevance: the relevance or value that something has, especially when it is applied to a certain field or area]

That’s where I would like us to focus this morning. Part 3: The Application of the Righteousness of God. It is here that we will find that as Christians we have certain duties.