Relating to Life! -- Romans 13:8-14
Relating to Life! -- Romans 13:8-14
April 1, 2006 AM
By Pastor Lee Hemen
What one gift does the whole world need and that can never be exhausted? Now, think before you answer and be careful with your reply. It is the only debt you owe that is continually outstanding, that can never be repaid in full. In fact, in order to fully comprehend this gift you have to value the present day and age you live in. Origen, an Early Christian scholar, theologian, and one of the most distinguished of the early fathers of the Christian Church correctly deduced that this gift was “the debt of love [which] remains with us permanently and never leaves us; this is a debt which we both discharge everyday and forever owe.” It is the core of the Christian life.
St. Augustine said many centuries ago that you are to “Love God and do what you like.” He did not mean we could do whatever we liked. Rather, we are to live for God and when we do we can do what we like. We forget that faith is not just another word for always trying to do the “right thing.” Paul makes it abundantly clear that you will desire to do the “right thing” if you have the right faith. Sometimes you may succeed, while at other times, it will not be as crystal clear to you or anyone else just what the right thing is you should do. However, in life, you should always strive to do so. It is how, Paul would teach, that we as believers are to relate to the world in our entire life. He discovered it for himself when he came to know the Lord personally. It is what Jesus taught. The commandments of Christ are fairly simple, yet often hard to accomplish: To love God completely and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Paul knew that the longer we stay in the neighborhood of Jesus’ love, the more we are able to recognize how to do the right thing and the more we are willing to do it! That's how you can “Love God and do what you like.” Let’s discover exactly what he meant by this!
READ: Romans 13:8-14
Far too often we do not fully appreciate a priceless gift until we have to do without it for a period of time or until we are removed from its presence. This is especially felt and seen in the lives of those we cherish most. It is not until they are gone that we value their love and friendship. Recently, a fellow pastor passed from this arena of life and into eternity. In the sailing of his life, he left in his wake the flotsam and jetsam of lives he quietly touched. Many in the Northwest owe a great debt to him and others like him for they charted the way for Bible-believing Christians. Paul instinctively knew what this meant for the Christian. Our lives are not lived for ourselves. In fact, Paul teaches us that in relating to life, Christians have to…
I. Understand the outstanding debt they owe! (vv. 8-10)
1. A Christian should never fall short, and so be “in debt,” in loving others! It was a matter of personal concentration for Paul. William Loader wrote that “Paul was never so naive as to believe that the process of liberation and love happened automatically in people. It was a process easily foiled and subverted. People need to remain focused.” This is not a prohibition by the Apostle Paul against a proper use of credit; it is rather the underscoring of a Christian’s obligation to express divine love in all interpersonal relationships! The only debt we are to leave “outstanding,” is the “continuing debt to love one another!” What a gracious thing to practice! Why? Because “he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law!” The ungodly lusts of adultery, murder, stealing, bearing false witness, or coveting what others have are covered by the one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Paul had come to realize that when the love of Christ is freely applied a person could do no harm to his neighbor. Godly “love is the fulfillment of the law!” John would teach, “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” (1 John 2:10) And that, “Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us!” (1 John 4:16-17a) In relating to life, Christians have to understand the outstanding debt they owe.
EXAMPLE: There are simply some gifts that are priceless. They are valued because of their scarcity, the material they are made from, the time or talent involved to make them, or the reason behind the gift in the first place. So something of extreme value to one person, could be seen by another as so much junk. Kind of like the sign over the secondhand store that read: “We buy junk and sell antiques!” Perhaps, value is all in the eye of the beholder. God valued us above all things or He would not have sent Jesus to die for our sins! John says that “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:10-11) Paul reminds us that in relating to life, Christians have to understand the outstanding debt they owe.
I have found in studying history that in every age people have felt the one they lived in was far worse than the preceding one before it. In fact, ancient Roman philosophers bemoaned the fact that the people of their day and age were self-centered, that the rich kept running after money, the poor scrambled after handouts, and the arts were becoming ungodly! Sound familiar? While each day brings enough problems of its own, the Christian is to be aware of the time they live in. Sadly, far too many in our day want to focus on the “end of the world,” rather than what the ultimate answer might be right now. It is easy for the Christian to get caught up in “end time” theorizing and forget who they are to live for in the present. In relating to life, Paul teaches us that Christians have to…
II. Understand the present time they live in! (vv. 11-14)
1. Christian are not to walk around in a self-perpetuating spiritual haze! We have to remain focused by not only understanding God’s love lived out in our lives, but by constantly reminding ourselves not to get caught up in the self-indulgent nature of the world! Believers are to be motivated by God’s love and thereby remain clear-headed! Paul writes: “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Each day brings the believer closer to God’s throne! Paul bluntly reminds us that the “night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” As we rush out the door and face a new day, we are to first and foremost “behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.” It is the ungodly world that makes excuses for its evil behavior. The Christian is to understand the present day they live in and “clothe [themselves] with the Lord Jesus Christ, and… not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” It is the clear-headed rational thinking of deciding to live for Jesus that is to empower our lives. Besides, we do not know the “day or hour” when the Son of Man will appear. (Mark 13:32-37) Christians have to understand the present time they live in!
EXAMPLE: The house you now own, someone else will live in one day. Probably a total stranger you do not know. The new car you drive will be crushed and melted down and made into yet another vehicle or soup can! We live in a self-induced dream world. A “Matrix” of our own making, like the science fiction movie of the same name. Too many of us are guilty of “over-sleeping” and we need a spiritual wake-up call. Kind of like the man who thought he would build bigger barns to store his abundant grain in. He thought to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” In fact, Jesus related that “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God!” (Luke 12:19-21) What kind of seeds are you sowing in your life right now? What kind of crop will they produce for the future generations you leave behind? In relating to life, Christians are to understand the present time they live in!
Conclusion:
In relating to life the believer has to understand two important facts: 1) The outstanding debt they owe, and 2) the present time they live in!
April 1, 2006 AM
By Pastor Lee Hemen
What one gift does the whole world need and that can never be exhausted? Now, think before you answer and be careful with your reply. It is the only debt you owe that is continually outstanding, that can never be repaid in full. In fact, in order to fully comprehend this gift you have to value the present day and age you live in. Origen, an Early Christian scholar, theologian, and one of the most distinguished of the early fathers of the Christian Church correctly deduced that this gift was “the debt of love [which] remains with us permanently and never leaves us; this is a debt which we both discharge everyday and forever owe.” It is the core of the Christian life.
St. Augustine said many centuries ago that you are to “Love God and do what you like.” He did not mean we could do whatever we liked. Rather, we are to live for God and when we do we can do what we like. We forget that faith is not just another word for always trying to do the “right thing.” Paul makes it abundantly clear that you will desire to do the “right thing” if you have the right faith. Sometimes you may succeed, while at other times, it will not be as crystal clear to you or anyone else just what the right thing is you should do. However, in life, you should always strive to do so. It is how, Paul would teach, that we as believers are to relate to the world in our entire life. He discovered it for himself when he came to know the Lord personally. It is what Jesus taught. The commandments of Christ are fairly simple, yet often hard to accomplish: To love God completely and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Paul knew that the longer we stay in the neighborhood of Jesus’ love, the more we are able to recognize how to do the right thing and the more we are willing to do it! That's how you can “Love God and do what you like.” Let’s discover exactly what he meant by this!
READ: Romans 13:8-14
Far too often we do not fully appreciate a priceless gift until we have to do without it for a period of time or until we are removed from its presence. This is especially felt and seen in the lives of those we cherish most. It is not until they are gone that we value their love and friendship. Recently, a fellow pastor passed from this arena of life and into eternity. In the sailing of his life, he left in his wake the flotsam and jetsam of lives he quietly touched. Many in the Northwest owe a great debt to him and others like him for they charted the way for Bible-believing Christians. Paul instinctively knew what this meant for the Christian. Our lives are not lived for ourselves. In fact, Paul teaches us that in relating to life, Christians have to…
I. Understand the outstanding debt they owe! (vv. 8-10)
1. A Christian should never fall short, and so be “in debt,” in loving others! It was a matter of personal concentration for Paul. William Loader wrote that “Paul was never so naive as to believe that the process of liberation and love happened automatically in people. It was a process easily foiled and subverted. People need to remain focused.” This is not a prohibition by the Apostle Paul against a proper use of credit; it is rather the underscoring of a Christian’s obligation to express divine love in all interpersonal relationships! The only debt we are to leave “outstanding,” is the “continuing debt to love one another!” What a gracious thing to practice! Why? Because “he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law!” The ungodly lusts of adultery, murder, stealing, bearing false witness, or coveting what others have are covered by the one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Paul had come to realize that when the love of Christ is freely applied a person could do no harm to his neighbor. Godly “love is the fulfillment of the law!” John would teach, “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” (1 John 2:10) And that, “Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us!” (1 John 4:16-17a) In relating to life, Christians have to understand the outstanding debt they owe.
EXAMPLE: There are simply some gifts that are priceless. They are valued because of their scarcity, the material they are made from, the time or talent involved to make them, or the reason behind the gift in the first place. So something of extreme value to one person, could be seen by another as so much junk. Kind of like the sign over the secondhand store that read: “We buy junk and sell antiques!” Perhaps, value is all in the eye of the beholder. God valued us above all things or He would not have sent Jesus to die for our sins! John says that “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:10-11) Paul reminds us that in relating to life, Christians have to understand the outstanding debt they owe.
I have found in studying history that in every age people have felt the one they lived in was far worse than the preceding one before it. In fact, ancient Roman philosophers bemoaned the fact that the people of their day and age were self-centered, that the rich kept running after money, the poor scrambled after handouts, and the arts were becoming ungodly! Sound familiar? While each day brings enough problems of its own, the Christian is to be aware of the time they live in. Sadly, far too many in our day want to focus on the “end of the world,” rather than what the ultimate answer might be right now. It is easy for the Christian to get caught up in “end time” theorizing and forget who they are to live for in the present. In relating to life, Paul teaches us that Christians have to…
II. Understand the present time they live in! (vv. 11-14)
1. Christian are not to walk around in a self-perpetuating spiritual haze! We have to remain focused by not only understanding God’s love lived out in our lives, but by constantly reminding ourselves not to get caught up in the self-indulgent nature of the world! Believers are to be motivated by God’s love and thereby remain clear-headed! Paul writes: “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Each day brings the believer closer to God’s throne! Paul bluntly reminds us that the “night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” As we rush out the door and face a new day, we are to first and foremost “behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.” It is the ungodly world that makes excuses for its evil behavior. The Christian is to understand the present day they live in and “clothe [themselves] with the Lord Jesus Christ, and… not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” It is the clear-headed rational thinking of deciding to live for Jesus that is to empower our lives. Besides, we do not know the “day or hour” when the Son of Man will appear. (Mark 13:32-37) Christians have to understand the present time they live in!
EXAMPLE: The house you now own, someone else will live in one day. Probably a total stranger you do not know. The new car you drive will be crushed and melted down and made into yet another vehicle or soup can! We live in a self-induced dream world. A “Matrix” of our own making, like the science fiction movie of the same name. Too many of us are guilty of “over-sleeping” and we need a spiritual wake-up call. Kind of like the man who thought he would build bigger barns to store his abundant grain in. He thought to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” In fact, Jesus related that “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God!” (Luke 12:19-21) What kind of seeds are you sowing in your life right now? What kind of crop will they produce for the future generations you leave behind? In relating to life, Christians are to understand the present time they live in!
Conclusion:
In relating to life the believer has to understand two important facts: 1) The outstanding debt they owe, and 2) the present time they live in!
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