I. Loving Others
A. The Command To Love V. 8
1. Paul has just exhorted the Roman Christians to be good citizens under the government in which they were placed. (Verses 1-7)
a. They were to be subject to the government (unless obedience led to sin)
b. They were to obey the government, for the purposes of not being punished, and also for conscience’s sake.
c. They were to pay their taxes, and to give honor to those in authority.
2. V. 8a- They were to not allow any debts to be outstanding.
a. The verb means to discontinue something that was happening. (stop owing)
b. They were to be responsible in paying their debts.
c. This would also mean being sure that they could make timely payments, and not borrow more than they could pay back.
3. V. 8- But there was a great debt that they would never be released from, and which would always be present among them as long as they lived: Love one another.
a. Henry Morris- “We may pay our taxes and be done. We may give respect and honor where they are due and have no further obligation. But we can never say, ‘I have done all the loving I need to do.’ Love then is a permanent obligation, a debt impossible to discharge.”
B. What Loves Looks Like Vs. 9-10
1. The Christian has a lifelong responsibility and command to love others.
2. It is interesting that Paul sets the law next to love, and vice versa.
a. Some people want to behave according to the law, but have no sense of responsibility to love. They see “love” as a duty, but not a heart issue.
b. Others say that only love is needed; no attention needs to be given to the Law.
c. John Stott- Love needs law for its direction, while law needs love for its inspiration.
3. The Law regarding love is first stated in a negative sense.
Loving people means NOT doing wrong things to them or with them.
These are Commandments 6-10 which are found in Exodus 20.
a. V. 10-Love does no harm to a neighbor-harm: troublesome, injurious, harmful
b. You shall not commit adultery- adultery is harmful, even if people agree to it.
i. People may say there is no harm if adultery happens between consenting adults, or between spouses that agree to an “open” marriage.
ii. Adultery is always harmful. It destroys oneness and families.
c. You shall not murder- The harmfulness of murder is obvious
d. You shall not steal- It is harmful to steal.
e. You shall not bear false witness- Harm is done by defaming/lying (Not in NIV)
f. You shall not covet- This is a “heart” sin, which does harm in many ways.
i. Covetousness poisons the heart of the one coveting.
ii. We can’t love others as we should if we covet what they have or who they are
iii. Sometimes we inappropriate desire of a person’s affection or attention.
g. Any other commandment- Love is the goal behind the commandments.
4. The Law is also stated in a positive sense.
a. V. 9- You shall love your neighbor as yourself
i. This does not support the idea of self-love, or the need to love yourself.
ii. The Bible doesn’t say to “love yourself”. It already assumes that you do.
iii. Some people would argue that they hate themselves.
iv. It is more accurate to say that they are disappointed in themselves, and are not the people they wished they could be. They are still self-focused. They think more about themselves than they do of others.
v. The main point is this: it is easy and natural to put yourself first.
vi. Paul is exhorting that we put others before ourselves.
b. V. 10- Love is the fulfillment of the law.
i. The goal of the law is that we would love God and love our neighbor.
ii. Spurgeon- “No man can compass the ends of life by drawing a little line around himself upon the ground. No man can fulfill his
calling as a Christian by seeking the welfare of his wife and family only, for these are only a sort of greater self.”
II. Living In Holiness Vs. 11-14
A. Casting Off Darkness
1. Don’t be spiritually asleep V. 11a
a. We can do many things in our sleep: walk, talk, sing, think, speak, hear.
b. We can be very saved, but be spiritually asleep.
c. Guzik- We need to have a “right walk with God instead of a sleep walk with God.
2. V. 12 Cast off– to put off, to put aside, to put away. A deliberate choice, clearly defined
3. What we cast off
a. No revelry or drunkenness.
b. No lewdness- ungodly sexual activity, “desire for a forbidden bed”.
c. No lust- shameless lust; proud, open sexual sin.
d. No envy or strife-jealousies; contentions, debates, arguing.
e. Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
B. Putting On Light
1. Put on– to clothe yourself. A deliberate choice clearly defined.
2. We try to dress appropriately every day, according to who we are and what we do.
3. That same mindset needs to be applied spiritually.
a. Walk properly, as in the day
b. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ– speaks of dressing according to who you are.
c. Put on the armor of light- moral and ethical purity, truth, love
d. Jesus doesn’t walk for us, but He walks through us, if we allow that.
C. Christian’s Motivation Vs. 11, 12a
1. Understand That Jesus, Our Salvation, Is Coming Vs. 11b, 12
a. Salvation speaks of justification; being forgiven of our past
b. Salvation speaks of sanctification; God conforming us into the image of Jesus
c. Salvation speaks of glorification; our future eternal state with God. (Romans 8:21-23)
d. Paul speaks here of that last condition: our eternal dwelling with God.
2. Biblically speaking, time is divided into two sections: What is now, and what is yet to be
3. The “Now And Not Yet”
a. Jesus came to earth, and inaugurated the Kingdom of God among us
b. We currently live in the “overlap” period. The old age and the Kingdom of God currently overlap. But the time will
come when this present age ends, and only the Kingdom of God will exist.
c. We are to “dress for the Kingdom”, which is yet to come. Put on Christ.