Except to Love Each Other

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.”

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be those who love all people, really, even our enemies, even those who do evil against us, but especially we are to love our fellow Christians who are also following Jesus Christ with their lives. And this word “love” (agape) means to prefer what God prefers, which is what is morally pure, upright, godly, honest, faithful, and righteous. And it means to embrace God’s will and to obey his commands via his power.

So, if we are loving other people with this kind of love, then we will not commit adultery against them, we will not murder anyone, and we will not covet what they have and then steal from them what is not ours to take, etc. For we are to love others as we want to be loved by them. Thus, we will not willfully and deliberately, and especially not habitually and premeditatedly, sin against them, for love does no willful wrong to a neighbor.

Romans 13:11-14 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. 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.”

Now Paul was writing to the Christians in Rome. But among them certainly were those who were not of genuine faith in Christ, which is why Paul wrote so much on what it means to be a Christian and on what God requires of his followers in order for us to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For Jesus and Paul and Peter and John did not teach the kind of gospel message which appears to be largely permeating the American church.

But among them also were those who were perhaps slacking off in their walks of faith and who were not living their faith as strongly as they once did. For he told them that the time had come for them to wake up from their spiritual sleep. But this could also apply to those whose faith was not genuine faith, who were still playing with sin and who were not committed to surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ. For they were spiritually asleep.

And the reason he was telling them this was that salvation was nearer to them than when they first believed. So, what does that mean? Well, it helps to understand what the Scriptures teach on the subject of salvation, for they do not teach that we can make a once-in-a-lifetime decision to believe in Jesus and now all our sins are forgiven and heaven is guaranteed us when we die, but regardless of how we live our lives on this earth.

For we who believe in Jesus are saved (past), we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns for his bride and he takes us to be with him for eternity, which is when our salvation will be complete, and not until then. But this is conditional on us dying daily to sin and denying self and following Jesus in obedience in living holy and godly lives, faithful and steadfast until the very end, in practice.

So, our salvation is not a one-time thing and it is done. Our salvation is progressive and it won’t be complete until we who are his faithful ones go to be with him for eternity when he returns. And this is why Paul said that our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed, because the closer we move to being with the Lord, the closer we move toward having our salvation completed and our marriage to Christ consummated spiritually.

And the biblical requirements for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God are that we die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and not in sin, and that we continue in these walks of faith in him until the day we die or until Jesus returns to take us to be with him for eternity. This is not saying we will never sin but that sin is not to be our practice, but righteousness is to be our practice.

And this is why he was telling his readers and hearers that they all, himself included, must cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light. Now Paul was not confessing that he was walking in darkness or that he did not have on the armor of light, but he included himself because he, too, had to daily cast off (reject) anything related to sin, and daily he had to put on the armor of light (see 1 Corinthians 9:27).

For we all have to do this. We all have to die daily to sin and to self and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). We all have to resist Satan and flee temptation and put on the armor of God to fight off Satan’s evil attacks and his evil plots against us. For Satan is going to keep trying to trip us up in any which way he can in hopes we will give up the fight (see Luke 9:23-26; James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10-20; 1 Timothy 6:12).

And we all have to walk (in conduct, in practice) in holiness and in righteousness, and not in drunkenness, and not in sexual immorality and sensuality, and not in fighting and jealousy (envy, rivalry, burning anger, rage). These things we are to put off and we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are to make no provision (no opening, no opportunity) for the flesh, to gratify its desires. But we are to walk according to God’s will.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387