Romans 13:8-10

Good morning. It's nice to be with you this morning. Please take your copy of God's word.

I do hope you have a copy of God's word with you because we are a people of the word.

And join me in Romans chapter 13.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

Our text for today is Romans chapter 13 verses 8 through 10.

Romans 13:8–10

As we continue our study of Paul's letter to the Roman believers this morning, I want you to be reminded

that the first 11 chapters of this book are Paul's doctrinal magnus opus of the Christian faith.

And the last five chapters are his application.

The summary of his teaching in the first 11 chapters and his application transition is found in Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, which says,

Romans 12 · chapter mention

I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,

to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Paul says that in light of God's merciful work toward us, we are to give whole self devotion to him.

And today's text falls under that heading.

We will develop the idea further this morning.

But before we read and consider chapter 13 verses 8 through 10,

hear carefully that we cannot be and are not saved by our works.

You are incapable of adding anything to the equation of your salvation.

But if we have placed genuine saving faith in the personal work of Jesus Christ,

if we have been given new life and quickened by his spirit,

if we have eyes to see and ears to hear,

then our faith is a faith that will be working.

Today's text shows us one of the ways that genuine faith works in the life of a Christian.

So Romans 13, beginning in verse 8, before I read,

Beloved, let me remind you that this is God's word to us,

written for his glory and our good.

So we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises

and to obey its commands.

Oh, no one anything except to love each other.

For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery,

you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,

and any other commandment are summed up in this word.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor.

Therefore, love is fulfilling, is the fulfilling of the law.

Did you lose me, Calvin?

Don't panic on the church floor.

I'll keep pressing on.

There is much to consider in these three verses.

A lifetime of thoughtful meditation and fervent application.

Let's set our gaze upon its contents in a three-point outline as follows.

Number one, the requirement of love, which we'll see at the beginning of verse 8.

Number two, the regulation of love, we'll see in verse 9.

And number three, the result of love, we see in the last half of verse 8 and in verse 10.

You're welcome, good Baptists, for the alliteration.

So the requirement, the regulation, and the result of love.

So number one, let's look at the requirement of love.

Paul here says at the beginning of verse 8,

No, owe no one anything except to love each other.

In the preceding verse to today's text, Paul stated, this is Romans 13 and verse 7,

Pay to all what is owed to them, taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed,

respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

And then he says, owe no one anything.

So he is continuing this thought in verse 8 by saying that if something is owed,

then that something should be paid.

His point here is not an anti-debt teaching,

and some faithful Christians have seen this text that way.

There is, of course, biblical ethic for both borrowing and lending,

but that is beyond the scope of our time together today,

and frankly, it's beyond the scope of this text.

You see, Paul is turning our attention in the beginning of verse 8

from submission to governing authorities to how we are to relate to one another.

He presses on except to love each other.

The implication found in his sentence structure is,

do not let debts be outstanding, right?

Pay to the person owed what is owed them,

except the continuing debt of love to one another.

A debt that will never be repaid.

We are to love one another.

You owe love to each other.

Who is this each other that Paul is referring to?

Remember, he is writing to a local church.

So I take it to mean Christians,

especially those whom you fellowship with,

those who you've made a commitment to,

those who you ought to be regularly gathering with.

This is not to say that we shouldn't love other Christians.

This is not to say that we ought not love all people.

In the Sermon on the Mount,

Jesus teaches that we are to love our enemies

and pray for those who persecute us.

So we are to love all people,

but I think that Paul has in mind here

particular objects of our love.

Each other.

Those people who have professed faith in Christ

and have been welcomed into the fellowship

of this local assembly of God's people.

This, I believe, is who Paul is saying

should be the object of our love in this text.

Now, to love is the Greek word agapeo,

which is a love that is not conditioned,

which means that Paul is exhorting us

to love each other regardless of the comfort

or ease or lack thereof of that love.

Our love for one another should not be conditioned

on our loveliness or lovableness.

Yes.

Beloved, if you are a member of this church

and another person is a member of this church,

you do not have to like them,

but you are commanded to love them.

Don't people sometimes rub us the wrong way?

We just don't get along the way we might hope we would.

I don't have to like you all,

but I am commanded to love you.

And I do.

Love for each other is an act of the will.

It's a decision that we make.

Our culture has twisted the idea of love

into a feeling, right?

Butterflies in the stomach,

giddiness,

a swollen tongue that can't get words out, etc.

But this is not the picture of love

we see in the Bible.

Love in the Bible is not easy.

It is not comfortable.

It is not aimed at the lovely and lovable.

Love in the Bible is most clearly

and most importantly expressed to us

in the suffering life and suffering death

of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Was He affectionate towards those He lived and died for?

Of course.

He was heartfelt for all those that belong to Him.

But did He experience butterflies in the stomach,

giddiness as He suffered the wrath of God on their behalf?

Of course not.

It didn't feel good for Jesus to hang on that cross for us.

Nevertheless, He loved us.

An act of the will for our highest good.

He sought our highest good at His expense.

It cost Him His very life.

The Apostle John tells us in John 13 and verse 1,

Now before the feast of the Passover,

when Jesus knew that His hour had come

to depart out of this world to the Father,

having loved His own who were in the world,

He loved them to the end.

He gave Himself for their sake and ours.

Jesus sets for us the preeminent example of love

and we are meant to imitate Him.

He teaches us in John chapter 13 and verse 35.

John 13 · chapter mention

There He says,

By this all people will know that you are My disciples.

And I hope all of you can fill in the last half of that verse.

Do you know how it concludes?

By your demographic affinity?

You're all young marrieds with kids.

All, most of you, young marrieds with kids?

It doesn't say that.

By your agreed crunchiness?

It doesn't say that.

Your political opinions?

It doesn't say that.

Your theological minutiae?

I'm not saying we shouldn't agree on things theologically,

but the minutiae?

It doesn't say that.

Jesus says,

By this all people will know that you are My disciples

if you have love for one another.

Jesus places a central priority on love for one another

as a marker of His followers.

Show me a mature Christian man or woman

and I will show you a person who has love for the church,

who is humble enough to bear with other people's imperfections

because they are aware of their imperfections,

who forgives because they understand the gravity of the forgiveness

that God has granted them.

The mature Christian serves others,

prefers their preferences,

does not seek their own advantage,

readily speaks words of encouragement,

promotes truth and holy living,

thinks of their failings as worse than others' failings,

seeks forgiveness and reconciliation,

and is patient with God's sanctifying work

in the life of the church.

Show me an immature Christian man or woman

and I will show you a person

who is self-seeking,

self-important,

obnoxiously opinionated,

grumbling,

petty,

and holds grudges.

And it saddens me to say

that we have a mixture of both

mature and immature Christians

in our fellowship.

The professing Christian

who does not love

is either

A.

immature

or B.

not a Christian at all.

You see,

the person who does not love

does not have a clear enough,

a big enough understanding

of God's love

for them.

In 1 John 4,

1 John 4:19

verse 19 and 20,

John writes,

we love

because

He

first

loved

us.

God has expressed to us

His love

and the personal work

of Jesus Christ

and the salvation

of our souls.

He has shown us

the unconditional love

that can be found

in Jesus.

Not loving us

because we

deserve it,

but because

He Himself

is love.

It emanates from

His very

being.

And this is an

attribute of God

that we are meant

to display

in the world.

John goes on

in verse 20,

if anyone says,

I love God

and hates His brother,

he is a liar.

For he who does not

love his brother

whom he has seen

cannot love God

whom he has not seen.

And then verse 21,

and this commandment

we have

from Him.

Whoever loves God

must also

love his brother.

There is no

wiggling around this

in the text.

Paul is clear here,

it is clear elsewhere,

that the people

of God

will be a people

of love.

Central characteristic

of who

we

are.

In Romans

Romans 13:8

chapter 13,

verse 8,

this verb

love

is in the Greek

present form.

So Paul does not

have in mind

a single

action of love,

but an ongoing

affection and care

for each other

with no intent

for its end.

It's a disposition

that carries itself

out

continually.

It's expressed

as a disposition

toward

one another.

Christians,

those whose lives

are united

and devoted

to Christ's person

and His ways

are to love

and love

and love

each other.

Now,

before we move on

to our next point,

let's consider

in brief

what ought to

characterize

our love

by looking

at a passage

meant for more

than a reading

at a wedding.

Join me,

if you will,

in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13.

I'm going to read

just verse 4

through the first

part of

verse 8.

And I just want

you to think,

note as we read

both the positive

and negative

commands

implied in each

characteristic

of love.

So for example,

the beginning,

love is

patient.

Well,

it's the opposite

of patience.

It's impatience.

So if you're

impatient with others,

that's not loving.

You could

take the inverse

of anything

that's being

said here.

One of the

exercises we go

through in

marriage counseling

is a list

of these.

And I ask

those people

who are in

counseling

to characterize

their life.

Are you loving

toward your

spouse?

And we do well

to do this

with anybody

that's in our

fellowship.

So just think

carefully with me

as I read this

slowly.

Love is

patient

and kind.

Love does not

envy or boast.

It is not

arrogant

or rude.

It does not

insist

on its own

way.

It is not

irritable

or resentful.

It does not

rejoice at

wrongdoing,

but rejoices

with the truth.

Love

bears all

things,

believes all

things.

I think he

means by that

gives the

benefit of the

doubt.

Hopes all

things,

endures all

things.

Love

never

ends.

So we

are

required.

It is laid

upon us

as followers

of Jesus

Christ to be

those who

love each

other.

love.

Secondly,

we see in

our text

the regulation

of love.

We see this

in verse 9.

Paul says,

for the

commandments,

you shall not

commit adultery,

you shall not

murder,

you shall not

steal,

you shall not

covet,

and any

other

commandment

are summed

up in this

word.

You shall

love your

neighbor as

yourself.

In this

verse,

Paul shares

four of

the six

commandments

that were

given to

Moses on

Mount Sinai

that pertain

to our

obligations to

one another.

He omits

the fifth

commandment,

honor your

father and

mother,

and the

ninth

commandment,

you shall

not bear

false witness

against your

neighbor,

but this is

not some

mystery for

us to

unravel and

understand,

because he

also says,

and any

other

commandment.

I would

suggest to

you that

Paul at

times rambles

things off

under

inspiration as

examples to

us.

So he

says,

these four

things,

you shall

not commit

adultery,

you shall

not murder,

you shall

not steal,

you shall

not covet,

and any

other

commandment

are summed

up in the

word,

you shall

love your

neighbor as

yourself.

I think

this idea of

any other

commandment,

I take it to

mean that it

includes the

fifth,

the ninth,

and all

the other

commandments

that are

summed up

in those

last six

of the

ten

commandments.

That it's

structured in

that way

in the

Old Testament.

Paul is

saying that

God has

given us

instruction

as to how

we are to

live in

relation to

one another

in the

Old Testament

law,

in the

Mosaic

law.

He goes

on to

cite

Leviticus

19,

18,

and the

Lord Jesus

to make

his very

point.

So in

Mark

Mark 12:28–31

chapter 12

verse 28

through 31

we read,

And one

of the

scribes

came up

and heard

them

disputing

with one

another.

There's a

debate going

on amongst

the Pharisees

and Sadducees

about the

resurrection.

And seeing

that he,

Jesus,

answered them

well,

asked him,

Which commandment

is the most

important of

all?

You're likely

familiar with

Jesus'

response.

He answers,

citing Deuteronomy

6,

4,

and 5.

The most

important is,

Hear, O

Israel,

the Lord

our God,

the Lord

is one.

You shall

love the

Lord your

God with

all your

heart,

with all

your soul,

and with all

your mind,

and with all

your strength.

And this

is understood

to be the

summary of

the first

four of

the Ten

Commandments.

And then he

says,

The second

is this,

referencing

Leviticus

Leviticus 19:18

19,

verse 18.

You shall

love your

neighbor as

yourself.

And this

summarizes,

as Paul

here states,

the last

six of

the Ten

Commandments.

And then Jesus

says,

There is no

other commandment

greater than

these.

So,

we are given

the clear

example of

Jesus'

life and

death,

and the

clear instruction

of both the

Old and New

Testaments.

We do well

to note the

regulations of

the Bible,

and to

recognize that

the natural

compulsion of

the one made

new in

Christ will

be to love

in a biblical

manner.

Beloved,

we ought to

be very

thoughtful as

we approach

the Bible

and we see

these commands.

We ought to

give the

application in

our own

living.

Is what's

being taught

here being

lived in

my life,

in the place

that God

has put

me?

I can say

to you with

great surety,

this will not

always be easy.

It is

difficult at

times to

love people,

but God,

by His

Spirit,

empowers us

to live

according to

His Word.

So know

what those

regulations are,

how it is we

are meant to

live with one

another,

and get to

work doing

that very

thing.

This is the

activity of

God's people,

devotion to

Him, love

for one

another.

love.

And then we

see,

lastly,

in our

outline,

the result

of love.

We pick up

the last

half of

verse 8

and then

verse 10.

Paul writes

in verse 8,

for the one

who loves

another has

fulfilled

the law.

And then,

love does

no wrong

to a neighbor,

therefore love

is the

fulfilling

of the law.

Now, we

must be very

careful at

this point.

As I just

noted previously

to you,

in Jesus'

summary of the

greatest commandments,

we're missing

half of what

He had to

say there

in that text.

This says

nothing of

devotion to

God.

So, what is

Paul doing

here?

We must be

very careful.

I state in

the introduction

to our text

that we

cannot be

and are not

saved by

our works.

you are

incapable of

adding anything

to the equation

of your

salvation.

But if we

have placed

genuine saving

faith in the

person and

work of

Jesus Christ,

if we have

been given

new life

and quickened

by His

Spirit,

if we have

eyes to see

and ears to

hear,

then our

faith is a

faith that

will be

working.

You see,

if we were

able to

perfectly keep

the law

on our

own,

we would

have no

need.

of Christ.

But no

one is

capable of

this work.

Every single

one of us

have broken

God's

law.

We needed

the perfect

righteousness

of Christ.

That's why

God had to

become a

man and

come to

earth to

fulfill the

righteousness

required.

It's one

half of the

equation of

our justification

and to

die the

death that

our sin

purchased

for us.

Both

things,

life and

death of

Christ.

What's

called the

active and

passive

obedience of

Christ by

the theologians

of old.

Both

things matter.

So we

can't

fulfill the

law.

We're not

going to

fulfill the

law in

that sense.

That is not

what Paul is

saying.

He's not

suggesting in

our text that

if you can

only love

well enough,

then you

will have

kept the

law.

That you're

to be

thinking about,

well,

have I?

Have I done

enough?

I think I'm

a loving

person.

Perhaps God

will accept

me based

on this.

Not at

all.

Remember,

the entire

thesis for

his letter

is found

in the

opening

chapter.

Chapter

1,

verse 16

and 17.

He says,

I'm not

ashamed of

the gospel,

the good

news,

for it,

the gospel,

is the

power of

God for

salvation

to everyone

who believes,

to the Jew

first and

also to the

Greek.

For in

it,

in the

gospel,

this good

news,

the

righteousness

of God

is revealed

from faith

for faith.

As it is

written,

the righteous

shall live

by faith.

And he

then spends

the next

11 chapters

expounding

on this,

opening up

what that

means,

what does

it mean

for the

righteous

to live

by

faith.

And we

see Paul

explain that

the law

serves

two

purposes.

Firstly,

the law

exposes

our

sinfulness

and therefore

our need

of a

savior.

The law

is what

brings to

us the

bad news

that

necessitates

good

news,

shows us

whether in

writing or

written on

our hearts

that we

need to

be

redeemed.

Paul writes

in Romans 3

in verse 20,

for by

works of

the law

no human

being

will be

justified

in his

sight.

The word

justified

means to

be made

right,

to be

declared

righteous.

By

works of

the law

no human

being

will be

justified

in his

sight

since

through

the law

comes

knowledge

of sin.

The sin

exists,

we know

about it

because

of the

law,

it exposes

it

to

us.

Then he

goes on,

verse 24

of chapter

3,

we are

justified

or made

righteous

by grace

as a

gift

through

the

redemption

that is

in Christ

Jesus

whom God

put forward

as a

propitiation

by his

blood

to be

received

by faith.

So we

can be

declared

righteous

because

Christ

dies

in our

place,

taking on

the debt

that needs

to be

paid by

us,

the infinite

debt

that sin

has purchased

for us.

Christ

dies

in our

place,

propitiation,

a replacement

sacrifice

for us.

I've said

to you

the core

of the

gospel

of Jesus

Christ

is penal

substitutionary

atonement.

We needed

Jesus to

die in

our

stead

at the

penalty

for our

sins.

would be

paid.

Romans

6

and

verse

23,

Paul

there

says,

for the

wages

of

sin

is

death,

but the

free

gift

of

God

is

eternal

life

in

Christ

Jesus

our

Lord.

So the

law

exposes

our

sinfulness

and

therefore

our

need

of a

savior.

So he

can't

possibly

be

saying

we

can

fulfill

the

law

on

our

own

for the

salvation

of our

souls.

Secondly,

the law

teaches us

the

ethic

of a

life

devoted

to

God.

What

should

the

person

who

has

been

made

new,

who

is

empowered

by the

spirit,

whose

old

self

has

died,

has

a

new

self,

who

is

able

to

now

live

in

a

way

that

is

pleasing

to

God,

how

should

their

life

look?

And

the

law

teaches

us

this

ethic.

Again,

Romans 12

and verse

1,

Paul there

says,

I appeal

to you

therefore,

brothers,

by the

mercies

of God

to present

your

bodies

as a

living

sacrifice,

holy

and

acceptable

to

God,

which

is

your

spiritual

worship.

So he

says,

because

God

has been

merciful

to

you,

right?

First

11

chapters

of

Romans,

because

this

is

true

of

you,

devote

your

entirety

to

him.

What

is that

to look

like?

Well,

he goes

on to

expound

on that

in the

rest

of his

letter.

And of

course,

we find

much other

instruction

in the

text as

well.

So the

law

teaches

us

the

ethic

of

a

life

devoted

to

God.

And it

is

to

this

second

purpose

that

Paul

is

referring

to

in

the

last

part

of

verse

8

and

in

verse

10.

John

says

the

same

in

1

1 John 5:1–5

John

chapter

5

verse

1

through

5,

a

book

written

for

the

examination

of the

of

our

faith.

And

central

to

that

examination,

John

places

love

for

the

brothers.

He

writes

this,

everyone

who

believes

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ

has

been

born

of

God.

And

everyone

who

loves

the

Father

loves

whoever

has

been

born

of

him.

If

you

place

your

faith

in

Christ,

you've

been

born

of

God.

And

if

you've

been

born

of

God,

you

will

love

everyone

else

who's

been

born

and we obey his commandments.

These ways that love has been regulated in the Bible.

For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments,

and his commandments are not burdensome.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world,

and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world?

Except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

So we have an empowered faith.

God does not leave us to our own to prove that he has saved us,

but he has given to us the helper, the paraclete,

who comes along and helps us to live the way that he asks us to live.

He characterizes us in this way.

So we see in these three verses the requirement of love,

the regulation of it, and the result.

Love it.

Now I want to issue in some closing statements

two encouragements of application.

First, if you find in yourself any conviction this morning

for your lack of love,

ask yourself,

am I a Christian?

I never want to give any reason to doubt

for those who are truly saved.

But if you are not saved,

I want to fill you with doubt.

I want you to really reckon with the state of your soul.

Turn from your wickedness.

Place your faith in Jesus Christ,

and he will save your soul.

If you have settled that you are a Christian

and still find yourself less loving than you ought to be,

do three things.

First, pray that God would work love for his people

in your heart by the power of his spirit.

I have no doubt he will answer this prayer in the affirmative.

Secondly,

read the Bible with a mind towards God's love for you

and the commands to love.

Allow the spirit,

by the word,

to warm your heart.

because when our reckoning,

the magnitude of God's love for us

is present in us,

in our minds,

it outflows into love

for others.

John Durant,

this is the quotation on the back of your bulletin this morning,

said,

As nothing in believers was so good

as to cause him to love them,

so nothing is so bad

as can cause him to withdraw his love

from them.

A reality that needs to be meditated on.

constantly.

And then thirdly,

connect with someone in the church

for prayer,

study,

and accountability on the matter.

These are the normal means of grace

that God uses to grow us

in our devotion to him.

It should be done by those who profess faith in Christ.

Second,

second encouragement,

I want you to know, church,

that I am generally

so encouraged

by the manifold ways

that you love

one another.

Outside of our fellowship,

we'll have people visit,

we'll have pastors

that hear things about our church,

and they will express,

we hear that your church

loves each other well.

That's so encouraging to me.

And I will tell you,

the primary reason

that it's encouraging to me

is often people will ask,

how was that accomplished?

And they want me to give them

three steps

to how

I taught you all

to love each other.

And I simply say,

for my part in it,

I open up the word

and I preach.

It's God who works

in the lives of his people.

It's such a picture

of the spirit

working in you.

It gives me such

gospel hope

to see the way

that you all love

one another.

I think many people

have reason

to look at our congregation

and say,

those people

are disciples

of Jesus Christ.

Look how they love

each other.

So keep it up.

Be encouraged.

Don't stop.

Press on.

This life is short,

and the reward

that awaits you

is great.

I know that you all

are tired

pouring out

an immense amount

of care

within your homes

and outside of your homes.

Just keep

pressing

on.

At the end of your life,

you will never regret

loving

too much.

Galatians chapter 6,

Galatians 6:9

verse 9 and 10,

Paul says,

and let us not grow weary

of doing good.

For in due season

we will reap

if we do not give up.

So then as we have

opportunity,

let us do good

to everyone

and especially

to those

who are of the household

of faith.

Let's pray together.