Love, the Law and the Coming Day

Thank you for the welcome this morning and it's good to be here with you.

And just a brief kind of overview before we have our reading.

! And for those of you that have been here through the whole series, you might recognise some of the flow of this letter to the Romans.

It was written by Paul when he was in Corinth, sent to the church in Rome, which was a mixed congregation of Jewish and Gentile Christians.

And there was a bit of tension between these two groups and Jewish believers treasured their rituals, their Jewish rituals, and incorporated parts of that into their newfound faith.

The Gentile Christians were questioning, well, why is this necessary?

And so we come across this in this recurring theme in a lot of the New Testament churches.

Paul in his letter starts with what you might say is bad news.

Every one of us has sinned, he says, and whether we're Jew or Gentile, whether we're religious or not, whether we're respectable or not, we all fall short of God's glory.

And that, says Paul, is a problem.

But then comes wonderful good news.

We're not made right with God by trying harder or by being better.

We're justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

And then Paul moves beyond forgiveness and onto transformation.

And the Holy Spirit, he says, transforms us, changes us from the inside out, enabling us to live lives that honour God.

And so, Paul says, the Christian life is not just about getting to heaven one day.

It's about being more Christ-like today.

And finally, the letter explores how the gospel shapes relationships in the church and in society.

And Christians are called to live humbly, to love sacrificially, to welcome one another despite differences that we might have.

And to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.

And chapter 13, where our reading comes from, continues that practical theme of how we should live as Christians.

And so, Ros is going to bring our reading now.

Thank you, Ros.

So, the reading is from Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 13, verses 7 to 14.

Romans 13:7–14

Give to everyone what you owe them.

If you owe taxes, pay taxes.

If revenue, then revenue.

If respect, then respect.

If honour, then honour.

Let no debt remain outstanding.

Accept the continuing debt to love one another.

For whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

The commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet.

And whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command.

Love your neighbour as yourself.

Love does no harm to a neighbour.

Therefore, love is the fulfilment of the law.

And do this, understanding the present time.

The hour has already 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 armour of light.

Let us behave decently as in the daytime,

not in carousing 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 flesh.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

So it's quiz day today,

so before we get into this reading,

a show of hands please.

Who enjoys reading a good novel when they're away on holiday?

Oh wow, very good.

Forget the holidays.

Anyone here read a newspaper daily?

Cover to cover?

Not quite, okay.

Anyone here read instruction manuals?

Men, put your hands down.

Yeah, and what about reading stuff on your phone?

Anyone read stuff on your phone?

The Bible?

Yeah.

Emails?

Text messages?

Church WhatsApp group?

Yeah?

Okay.

Put your hands up if you've ever started a book and never finished it.

Yeah?

Very good.

Anyone here regularly skips to the last chapter to see what happens,

and then reads the rest of the book,

knowing, yeah, yeah, my wife does it every single book she reads.

Bizarre to me, but yeah.

Some books are easy reads, aren't they?

A detective novel maybe, a travel guide,

maybe even a good autobiography.

But then there are books that demand a bit more.

And for many of us, I guess,

Romans sits firmly in that second category.

But it's not difficult because Paul just wanted to confuse us.

He's opening our eyes to life-changing revelation.

The greatest news the world has ever heard.

And I hope you are enjoying this series,

which I think is coming to an end pretty soon.

Let's just pray, shall we?

Father, as we come this morning,

we come with curiosity and with humility

and with expectancy.

And Lord, we pray that your written word

and the spoken word

would become a living word in our hearts and our lives.

Thank you, Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

So I know in recent weeks

you've been looking at some of these chapters

that really can stretch our minds

and sometimes make us feel a bit uncomfortable.

And I think today's passage, in some ways,

is another one of those.

It has an implicit reference to obedience.

A word which is kind of out of fashion

a little bit at the moment.

We like to celebrate independence

and self-expression

and doing life my way.

But obedience,

even the word itself sometimes,

can make us bristle a bit.

Perhaps it reminds us of childhood

when maybe a parent said something like,

do what I say because that's what I say.

And we just wanted to do the exact opposite.

And I think there's something in many of us

that resists being told what to do.

But when Paul speaks about obedience,

he's not talking about a reluctant compliance

through gritted teeth.

He's describing something much deeper.

Something that gets to the very heart

of the Christian life.

In Romans chapter 7,

Romans 7 · chapter mention

Paul writes these wonderfully honest words.

I do not understand what I do.

For what I want to do,

I do not do.

But what I hate,

I do.

Thank goodness for his honesty.

Here's the great Apostle Paul

admitting that he struggles.

And his frustration comes

because he desperately wants

to do the right thing.

He wants to obey.

And the struggle is between

a changed heart

and a fallen nature

that still pulls us

in an opposite direction.

And if we're honest,

I guess this affects many of us.

But deep down,

for a Christian,

there is a genuine longing

to please the Lord,

even when we fail.

And the psalmist understood this

long before Paul.

I'm just going to quickly go through

some verses in Psalm 119.

There's an obvious delight

for David, the writer,

of loving God's law

and meditating on it

and treasuring it.

Just a few verses.

Verse 10,

I seek you with all my heart.

Do not let me stray

from your commands.

Verse 16,

I delight in your decrees.

I will not neglect your word.

Verse 20,

Your soul is consumed

with longing

for your laws

at all times.

Verse 24,

Your statutes

are my delight.

They are my counsellors.

Verse 33,

Teach me, O Lord,

to follow your decrees.

Then I will keep them

to the end.

34,

Give me understanding

and I will keep your law

and obey it

with all my heart.

Verse 44,

I've put my hope

in your laws.

I will obey your law

forever and ever.

And I could go on

forever and ever.

Psalm 119 is very long.

A hundred and however many verses.

This longing

to obey

is one of the marks

of someone

who truly

belongs

to God.

And they,

maybe,

there's someone

here this morning

and you think,

oh, hang on.

I'm not sure about that,

Martin.

Aren't we

people of grace?

Aren't we free

from the law?

That's a great question.

And the answer is yes,

we are.

We are people of grace.

We are free from the law.

But we need to understand

what that means.

Through Christ,

we're no longer

under the law

as a means

of earning

God's acceptance.

We're no longer

condemned

by the penalty

of the law

or enslaved

by the power

of sin

as we fail

to live up

to the law.

grace has

set us free

from all those things.

Yes.

But grace

hasn't made

obedience

irrelevant.

God's commands

still

reveal

his character

and his will

for his people.

And our obedience

doesn't buy

God's love.

Our obedience

grows

out of

God's love

for us.

And so the real

question is this.

If every Christian

has this desire

to obey

and yet still

battles

with weakness,

then how do we grow?

How do we move

from good intentions

to faithful

living

as a follower

of Jesus?

Well,

Paul's answer

in Romans 13

is simplicity

itself.

The key thing

is love.

Love

is the key

to obedience.

Love

is the

fulfilling

of the law.

Verses

9 to 10.

The commandments

you shall not

commit adultery,

you shall not

murder,

you shall not

steal,

you shall not

covet,

and whatever

other commands

there are,

are summed up

in this one

command.

Love your

neighbour as

yourself.

Love does no

harm to a

neighbour,

therefore love

is the

fulfilment

of the law.

Love is what

makes obedience

possible.

one of the

commentators

I was looking

at

mentioned

someone

unnamed

who said

this,

love

everyone

perfectly

and you

can do

whatever you

want.

Love

everyone

perfectly

and you

can do

whatever you

want.

And that

sounds

almost

dangerous

until we

realise that

a heart

filled with

Christ's

love

won't want

to do

anything

that

dishonours

God

or harms

other people.

And that's

exactly where

Paul takes

us in

this passage.

Charles Price,

some of you

may have heard

of him,

was a Bible

teacher who

was speaking

at a

conference I

went to

many years

ago and

he put it

like this

and I've

never forgotten

it and

fortunately

it's recorded

in one of

his commentaries

that I'm

just going

to recite

almost word

for word.

The

indwelling

Holy Spirit

transforms

the Ten

Commandments

from external

demands

to internal

promises.

Instead of

an angry

word telling

you what

you must

not do

the law

becomes a

prophetic

guarantee

of what

Christ will

accomplish

in your

life.

because

Christ lives

inside of

us,

the statement

you shall

not steal

is no

longer a

rule we

must obey,

instead it

becomes a

promise from

God.

Because my

spirit is at

work within

you, you'll

find that you

no longer

have the

desire or

the need

to steal

and so you

shall not

steal.

will.

The era

of grace

is not

the

abolition

of the

law

but its

supernatural

fulfilment.

The law

tells us

what pleases

God

that grace

gives us

the living

presence of

Jesus

in our

lives

enabling us

to actually

live it

out.

And that

I think

is a

helpful

backdrop

to this

reading

this morning

that we're

just going

to briefly

run through.

Paul begins

verse 8

with a wonderful

kind of

transition.

In the

previous verses

he's been

talking about

paying what

we owe.

Taxes

belong to

the government

he says

revenue

belongs to

those who

collect it

respect

belongs to

those in

authority

etc.

Christians

are to be

people who

settle their

accounts.

So he

writes

let no

debt

remain

outstanding.

Paul's

concern is

not about

borrowing

per se

it's with

unpaid

debts

promises

made to

repay

but never

kept.

But then

he makes

a remarkable

turnaround

and having

told us

not to

leave debts

outstanding

unpaid

he speaks

of one

debt

that is

never

fully

paid.

Let no

debt

remain

outstanding

he says

except

the

continuing

debt

to love

one

another.

Every

other debt

should

eventually

disappear

this one

never

does.

you owe

the debt

of love

today

you give

love

today

tomorrow

you still

owe love

and so

you give

it again

and then

next week

and next

month

and next

year

for the

rest of

your life.

love

an early

church

father

Oregon

I think

that's

how you

pronounce

it

or

origin

I'm

not

sure

said

this

the debt

of love

remains

with us

permanently

we

we pay

we pay

it

every

day

and forever

owe

it

Alexander

the Great

you've

probably

heard of

the great

commander

was inspecting

his troops

one night

and he came

across a young

soldier who

was asleep

while on

guard

duty

that was

a very

serious

offence

and the

penalty

was often

death

and Alexander

the Great

ordered this

terrified

soldier

to stand

up in

front of

him

what's

your name

the emperor

demanded

and the

young man

looked at

the ground

and quietly

replied

it's

Alexander

sir

and this

great

conqueror

paused

had he

heard

correctly

he said

boy

what's

your

name

it's

Alexander

sir

and he

stared him

in the

eyes

he says

what's

your

name

he said

it's

Alexander

sir

and he

said

well

soldier

change

your

behaviour

or

change

your

name

in

Romans

13

Paul

reminds

us

that

Christians

bear

an even

greater

name

we're

called

followers

of

Christ

we belong

to

Jesus

we

carry

his

name

and we'll

be familiar

with these

words in

John 13

words of

Jesus

a new

command I

give you

love one

another

as I have

loved you

so you

must love

one another

and by

this

everyone

will know

that you

are my

disciples

if you

love

one

another

and a

reminder

Paul

isn't

saying

that we

earn

God's

love

by good

behaviour

rather

that we

belong

to Christ

and

therefore

our lives

should

increasingly

reflect

his

character

we love

because

he

first

loved

us

and our

behaviour

will tell

people

who we

are

we

carry

the

name

Christian

and

love

is

what

they

should

see

and

now

maybe

you're

sitting

there

thinking

to

yourselves

again

hang on

Martin

I'm

not

sure

about

this

either

that's

okay

but

it's

not

that

easy

and

you're

right

it's

not

that

easy

some

people

are

very

easy

to

love

others

require

a bit

more

grace

that's

human

nature

but

the

answer

is

that

God

has

never

asked

us

to

do

this

in

our

own

strength

Romans

Romans 5:5

chapter

5

verse

5

says

this

God's

love

has

been

poured

into

our

hearts

through

the

Holy

Spirit

so

notice

the

source

it's

not

our

natural

kindness

or

our

natural

personality

it's

God's

own

love

that

has

been

poured

into

our

hearts

so

I just

want to

quickly

suggest

five

very

practical

aspects

of this

love

this

love

that

we're

called

to

show

to

others

firstly

this

kind

of

love

becomes

a

reality

as

we

learn

to

live

in

it

Paul

prays

in

Ephesians

3

that

believers

would

grasp

how

wide

and long

and high

and deep

is the

love of

Christ

and before

we can

reflect

Christ's

love

surely

we need

to

understand

just

how

much

we

are

loved

by

him

we

need

to

grasp

that

to

learn

and

to

understand

how

much

we're

loved

secondly

then

comes

our

willingness

to

surrender

ourselves

to

the

Holy

Spirit

left

to

ourselves

perhaps

I'm

just

speaking

for

myself

but

I

know

that

selfishness

and

anger

and

bitterness

and

resentment

come

all too

naturally

but

when we

yield

those

things

to

the

Holy

Spirit

he

produces

something

that we

can't

produce

in

ourselves

and

as

Paul

writes

in

Galatians

the

fruit

of

the

Spirit

is

love

love

is

the

work

of

the

Holy

Spirit

in

us

before

we

then

direct

that

towards

others

so

learning

to

live

in

this

love

learning

what

it's

about

surrendering

ourselves

to the

Holy

Spirit

and

then

thirdly

Paul

says

this

love

is

something

about

being

a

deliberate

choice

and in

Colossians

he talks

about

putting

on

love

in the

same

way

that

you

put

on

a

coat

each

morning

we

choose

to

forgive

we

choose

to

seek

peace

we

choose

to

be

patient

to

other

people

married

couples

who've

spent

decades

together

know

that

love

is

far

more

than

a

feeling

it's

a

daily

decision

there

was a

married

couple

who

were

going

through

very

difficult

times

and

the

lady

came

to

her

church

pastor

and

said

pastor

I

just

need

to

tell

you

I'm

afraid

I

think

we're

going

to

get

a

divorce

we've

just

talked

about

what

some

of

those

practicalities

are

he

says

well

is

this

you

know

have

you

reached

the

end

of

the

road

!

I'm

sorry

I

don't

even

like

him

let

alone

love

him

you

know

he

resents

everything

I

do

we

can't

even

talk

without

bickering

he's

never

in the

house

if he

gets

a chance

he'll

go

down

the

local

bar

it's

just

we've

reached

the

end

of

the

road

and

the

pastor

said

well

you

know

sometimes

regrettably

these

things

happen

but

before

you

go

ahead

with

any

paperwork

will

you

do

one

!

come

back

in

three

months

time

but

in

the

meantime

I

want

you

to

go

home

and

I

want

you

to

act

as

though

you

love

him

to

the

ends

of

the

earth

act

as

though

he

is

the

love

of

your

life

and

then

come

back

in

three

months

time

we'll

talk

about

how

you

can

make

a

divorce

as

pleasant

as

you

can

so

anyway

!

she

came

back

three

months

later

with

her

husband

holding

hands

we've

fallen

in love

again

she

said

I

did

what

you

said

and

it

wasn't

easy

but

we

love

each

other

they

chose

love

love

is a

choice

fourthly

Philippians

chapter

two

Paul

talks

about

not

making

ourselves

the

centre

of

attention

but

thinking

about

others

before

we're

thinking

about

ourselves

and

love

flourishes

when we

become

more

interested

in how

we can

love

other

people

and

then

finally

from

verse

11

in our

passage

from

Romans

today

Peter

adds

another

important

dimension

to

this

practical

thing

about

love

the

day

is

coming

he

says

because

you see

there's

an urgency

about

love

life

is

short

opportunities

don't

last

forever

we

can't

afford

to

nurse

grudges

for

years

Christians

are to

live

with an

awareness

that

Christ

is

coming

again

it's

time

to

wake

up

throw

off

the

darkness

and

put

on

the

armour

of

light

as

the

reading

said

we

don't

know

what's

around

the

corner

so

we

love

every

day

is

another

opportunity

to

live

in a

way

that

reflects

the

Lord

we

belong

to

to

live

up

to

the

name

Christian

so

I'm

going

to

wrap

up

now

with

something

practical

how

do

we

begin

paying

this

lifelong

debt

what

does

that

mean

this

afternoon

or

tomorrow

three

questions

I don't

want to

show of

hands

this

time

have

you

quarreled

or

fallen

out

with

someone

if

you

have

do

something

about

it

today

this

afternoon

or

tomorrow

give

them

a ring

write

them

a

letter

drop

them

an

email

maybe

even

go

and

knock

on

the

door

find

a

way

to

say

sorry

even

if

you

don't

think

it's

your

fault

maybe

you've

not

quarreled

with

someone

have

you

neglected

a

friend

is

there

someone

that

you

used

to

be

really

close

with

and

you've

kind

of

drifted

away

and

now

you

don't

bother

trying

to

contact

them

why

don't

you

call

them

or

message

them

see

how

they

are

see

that

they're

okay

maybe

that's

not

you

do

you

need

to

say

thank

you

more

often

than

you

do

to

the

people

that

you

love

most

deeply

to

your

family

your

close

friends

if

you

do

how

about

this

afternoon

or

tomorrow

find

a way

to

say

thank

you

but

above

all

let's

ask

God

to

help

us

love

as

Jesus

loved

us

because

when

his

love

fills

our

hearts

the

debt

of

love

isn't

a

burden

that

we

carry

it's

a

joyful

privilege

that

we

pay

and

we

pay

again

and

we

pay

again

and

we

pay

again

and

again

let's

pray

father

we

do

thank

you

for

your

word

to

us

we

thank

you

that

it

helps

us

living

lives

where

we

aspire

to

follow

your

guidelines

your

commandments

your

teaching

your

example

Lord

we

want

to

be

known

as

a

people

of

love

fill

us

again

with

your

Holy

Spirit

that

people

might

know

that

we

are

your

disciples

because

of

the

way

we

love

one

another

thank

you

Lord

Amen