Love
One Another For The Day Is Near
[Romans
chapter 13]
In
today's lesson we are going to move on to Romans chapter 13. When we
closed out chapter 12 last week, Paul wrote, “Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good”. As I wrote last week, this is
very good advice at all times. But as the apostle Paul continues in
chapter 13, he makes a statement as if to say, “And speaking of
doing good, one more thing”. He then wrote as follows, beginning at
verse one:
“Everyone
must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no
authority except that which God has established. The authorities that
exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels
against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted,
and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 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 he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you
good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword
for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring
punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to
the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also
because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the
authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to
governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, then pay
taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor,
then honor.” (Romans 13, verses 1-7, NIV)
“....he
who rebells against the authority is rebelling against what God has
instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who
do wrong.” As you can see,
there will be no ruthless outlaws in heaven. Paul wrote in
favor of obeying authority in this context not just because of who he
was, but because he was a Roman citizen, and so it had little to do
with his being one of the early apostles. The Roman Empire was Paul's
motherland, which further explains his fierce loyalty. I don't know
what he would say about America's founding fathers and our
Declaration of Independence. But Paul was in favor of paying taxes
regardless of whether he thought they were fair or not. He did this
because of his Roman heritage, but also because those taxes were
collected with brutal efficiency under penalty of death. In the
modern world we have a completely different situation in that we have
freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution that the early Christians
did not have, whether they were Roman citizens or not. It has been my
observation that since a large percentage of the taxes that Americans
pay are going towards the American empire which has troops all over
the globe for dubious reasons, modern Christians should take a stand
on moral grounds against war and what amounts to illegal and
unconstitutional military dominance and occupation in all its forms.
Being the anti-war activist that I am, I find myself compelled to
oppose war and the taxes that support it because that's what Jesus
would do if he were physically here on earth today. Having said my
peace, let me move on to verse 8. This passage of Scripture deals
with loving one another unconditionally, and that is sound advice in
any context for the same reason as I wrote in the first paragraph of
page one. It's what Jesus would do and it is what He has commanded us
all to do.
“Let
no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one
another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. The
commandments, 'do not commit adultery', 'do not murder', 'do not
steal', 'do not covet', and whatever other commandment that there may
be, are summed up in this one rule; 'love your neighbor as yourself'.
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment
of the law.” (Romans 13: verses 8-10 NIV)
“Let no debt remain outstanding except the
continuing debt to love one another....”. If we are to owe
anything at all to anyone or anything, it is that we are to love one
another unconditionally. Should we love African-Americans if we are
white? Yes, because racism has no place in the church and should have
no place in our lives. Should we love liberals if we are
conservative? Yes, because Jesus was a political activist and very
liberal by today's political standards and therefore so should we.
Should we love Muslims if we are Christian? Yes, because we are
worshiping a God who is above and beyond mere religious
interpretation. Should we love an atheist if we believe in God? Not
only that, but we should be praying for them as well. Should we love
the homeless if we have a roof over our head? Yes, because helping to
take care of the poor and disadvantaged should be present in the life
of every true Christian. After all, at the rate that the US economy
is going, it won't be much longer before a whole lot more of us will
wind up homeless when our jobs get down-sized or exported overseas,
after which our cars will eventually get repossessed and our home
foreclosed and we wind up evicted. That homeless person that you buy
a burger and some fries for today could be you in five or ten years
(it once happened to me, and I didn't think it could either). Should
Americans love illegal immigrants? Yes, because in reality they are
economic refugees from the third world, and we are and always have
been a nation of immigrants, and because it is an American tradition
to receive foreigners with open arms. It's not just the American
thing to do, it's the Christian thing to do too. And just for the
record, there is no such thing as an illegal human being. Every
person has the right to be here.
“Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm
to its neighbor”. The entire Bible can be summed up with these
two sentences. We are to love everyone we can as far as it is
possible, and in so doing remain at peace with everyone. And we are
to continue doing this regardless of race, creed, national origin,
gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation (yes, that too) or
economic status of others that we come into contact with. We are to
follow the example that Jesus Christ set for us when he was crucified
for all our sins. God loved us first and so he sent Jesus to be the
final Temple sacrifice for all of us. In the same manner, no matter
what the cost, we are to love one another no matter who we are, where
we have been, or what we have done. Let's not judge one another in
the process, for this does not please God. Paul then continues as he
clarifies the point he is making when he wrote these words two
thousand years ago.
“And
do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to
wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than
when we first believed. 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. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies
and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in
dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord
Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of
the sinful nature.” (Romans 13: 11-14 NIV)
“The hour has come for you to wake up from your
slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first
believed”. When we first accept Christ as our Lord and Savior,
we start on a journey that lasts throughout our lifetime. We draw
closer to Jesus as we continue along this journey through life.
Christianity, then, is not a destination but rather it is a spiritual
trek through the highs and lows of life. To put this quote into a
modern context, Paul is literally telling us that it is time for us
to wake up and smell the coffee. He is saying that if we are indeed
going to be Christians, we need to start acting like it. That means
we are to “put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of
light”. The love of God is light in its purest form, and so we are
to become imitators of this. Jesus said, You are the light of the
world” (Matt. 5: 15). To put on this armor of light, we are to
“clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ”.
To clothe ourselves with Jesus means we are to put on
the armor of light that is Christ. By clothing ourselves with Christ,
we actually shield ourselves from the world with all its temptations
and evils such as the pursuit of material gain and waging war against
our global neighbors. It is impossible to shield ourselves from all
the evils of this world by ourselves. We would be overwhelmed to the
point of eventual destruction, dying a Godless death, never to
inherit the eternal life that is ours in Christ. But the Bible says
that “God is not willing that anyone should perish, but that all
receive the gift of everlasting life”. So, by clothing ourselves
with Christ we are to wear Jesus on our shirtsleeves and across our
chests. We do this not by being religious and engaging in all the
pomp and circumstance thereof, but by living our Christian faith as a
lifestyle, or as a conscious choice about how we will treat other
people. We can do this by treating everyone we come into contact with
as we would treat ourselves (“love your neighbor as your self”).
This is a simple saying that takes a lifetime to learn, and that is
how we grow in Jesus.
Let's all begin to do this, starting today. We can put
on “the armor of light” that protects us from evil people, things
and situations. We most definitely can wear Jesus on our shirtsleeve
as a choice of lifestyle, not merely as a religion that is only
practiced on Sunday morning. And we can do this simply by loving our
neighbor as well as we love ourselves, knowing that God is watching
everything we do and listening to everything we say. One day when our
lives are over, we are all going to have to stand before God and give
an account of our lives and how we lived them. The time to begin
preparing for that day, no matter how far off it may be, is right
now. Join me in preparing yourself for eternity. You will feel so
much better and more fulfilled when you do. Love your neighbor as
yourself and watch your love grow. As you do, the love of God will
fill you more and more each day, and that is a life well lived. And
that's the best part of all.
No comments:
Post a Comment