You Shall, Shall Not
Romans 13:8-10 ESV
Owe 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 the fulfilling of the law.
In our day and age, and in our present culture, this word “love”
has come to mean so many different things, most of which seem not to coincide
with the kind of love this passage of scripture talks about. For one, “love”
has come to mean just being “nice” to people, but “nice” is not always kind,
and it isn’t always honest, either.
For “nice” is what is agreeable to people. It is what is
pleasant to them. Or, it is amusing and charming, but charming can be deceptive
and manipulative. And, “nice” can mean to be polite, but “polite” can mean to
lie to people to their faces and then complain about them behind their backs,
and that is not kind, nor is it loving. And, “nice” can mean to be appealing,
and so we won’t say anything that might offend anyone.
“Nice” can also coddle people in their sins, and it can mean
being a peacekeeper who will compromise faith and convictions to avoid
conflict. So, “nice” will never confront people with their sins nor will it
call for repentance or warn of judgment if one does not repent, because that
makes people uncomfortable and it offends them. And, so to “love” people we
have to do what makes them feel good about themselves and what makes them
happy, not what might tell them that how they are living is not loving or kind.
But, the truth of the matter is that to love people with God’s
love, we aren’t going to coddle them in their sins. We aren’t going to lie to
them. We aren’t going to be one thing to their faces and something entirely
different behind their backs. We aren’t going to tell them just what makes them
happy or what makes them feel good about themselves, but we are going to tell
them the truth, in love, so that hopefully they won’t continue on a sinful
course.
For, when we choose to sin against other people, we are not
acting in love. We can call it love, but that would be a lie. For, it is not
loving to commit adultery, to lie, to steal, to cheat, to hate, to slander, and
to lust after others. For love does no harm to its neighbor, i.e. to its fellow
humans.
Time to Wake Up
Romans 13:11-12 ESV
“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
It is always time for people to wake up from being
spiritually asleep or lazy. It is always God’s will for people to be saved from
their sins or to return to him out of a time of rebellion and apathy and
waywardness. For, it is God’s will that we walk in holiness, and that we follow
our Lord in surrender to his will and in obedience to his commands (New
Testament/New Covenant).
So, it isn’t that it isn’t God’s timing for people to repent
of their sins and to walk righteously with God, although I hear people say
that. They talk as though it is God’s will for them that they live immoral
lives so that they will learn what not to do, or because God just hasn’t
changed their hearts yet.
I have heard many excuses over the years for why people
continue to live in sinful rebellion against God – excuses which remove
responsibility from them and it puts it on others or on God, as though it is
God’s fault that they are still walking in immorality and that they are not
walking in victory over sin. Yet, they’ll claim they didn’t know when they knew
fully, or that they are “not perfect,” which is just another excuse for
continuing in willful sin.
So, this is a reminder that time is short. Not one of us
knows if he has tomorrow. We can’t be assured another day. No one can! Every
day is a day nearer to when Jesus returns and he takes his bride to be with him
forever and our salvation is then complete and our marriage to Christ
consummated.
So, the encouragement here is to cast off (throw off), to
get rid of the works of darkness, such as lies, adultery, hate, stealing and
coveting or lusting after what is not ours to have. We need to forsake these
fruitless deeds of darkness. In the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we need to put
them to death.
And, we need to put on the truth and righteousness and
holiness in God’s power and strength at work within those of us who are his.
And, we need to walk in the light as God is in the light, and the blood of
Christ cleanses us from every sin. And, we need to walk according to the Spirit
and not according to the flesh if we want to have eternal life with God (Rom.
8:1-17; Rom. 6:1-23; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 2:6-8).
Let Us Walk Properly
Romans 13:13-14 ESV
“Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
The modern teaching within the church is that once you are “saved”
it doesn’t matter how much you sin or if you continue on a sinful course,
because God’s grace covers it all. But, that teaching is dispelled in Romans 6
alone where it teaches that we are not to continue in sin that grace may
abound, but we are to die to sin and live to righteousness. For, we are slaves
to whatever we obey – if sin, it results in death. If obedience, it results in
righteousness which then leads to eternal life with God.
It is dispelled in the teaching in Titus 2 where it says that
God’s grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness
and to fleshly lusts, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives
while we wait for Christ’s return. And, it is dispelled in Ephesians 4 where we
learn that the way to know Christ is to forsake our former lives of living to
sin and self and to be transformed of the Spirit of God in heart and mind, and
it is to put on our new self in Christ, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness.
And, it is dispelled for us in Romans 8 where it says that
the righteous requirement of the law if fulfilled in us who walk not according
to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For, if we walk according to the
flesh, we will die in our sins. But if by the Spirit we are putting to death
the deeds of the flesh, then we will live. And, Luke 9:23-26 and 1 John 1:5-9
agree!
So, this is not just a mere suggestion or a recommendation. It
is not something just to be encouraged but that we have the option to refuse
it. Paul is not teaching this as a “good idea” but that it doesn’t matter if
you follow it or not. For, he didn’t teach that our sins don’t matter to God
once we believe we are saved. He taught consistently that if we walk in sin we
will die in our sins and that one day we are going to reap what we sow on this
earth (Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; 1 Jn. 2:3-6).
So, God’s grace to us is not an “out” so that we can
continue living in sinful rebellion against God and yet still have heaven guaranteed
us when we die. Even in the book of Revelation it tells us who will not get
into heaven –
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.” Rev. 21:8, 27
So, we need to take this to heart. If we continue on a
sinful course, thinking that God’s grace will cover it all, and that no harm
will come to us, and that heaven is guaranteed us regardless of how we live our
lives, then we need to think again. For, many are going to say “Lord, Lord,”
and he is going to reply, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” So, know what the
scriptures teach about what it means to know God and to be known by God.
Oh,
to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics
by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music
by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s
treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of
compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the
fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy
love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy
fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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