ROMANS 504           Chapter 13:8-14                        How to live with society
 

Romans 13:8-14

8. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”
9. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
 
    Be sure you are not owing fees, taxes or honor to anyone. (vs 7)   But the all-inclusive thing is to love other people. Love is a mental attitude of value and esteem for people. (Phil 1:9)  If we learn to truly value others like God does, we will be careful not to harm them. (Gal 5:13-16; I Thes 2:7,8)
     This is the only way we can ever keep God’s law. (Rom 8:7-9) Although we are not under the law in this age (Rom 6:14), as Romans 8:4 says, “…the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”. 
     The Spirit is the mind of Christ, with His values and viewpoint. (ICor 2:12-16; Phil 2:5).  When we live by the Spirit (God’s values), we keep His law automatically.  Love is a fruit (result) of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), and that mental attitude “worketh no ill to his neighbour.”      
     Human nature is self-centered, so it is impossible to “love thy neighbour as thyself” (Rom 7:13-20&8:7) without a new nature (Spirit) from God.  God’s law was given to prove this very thing. (Deut 31:26; Rom 3:19,20) 
 
     The commandment to “love thy neighbour as thyself” is found in Leviticus 19:17,18.  It is not one of the 10 Commandments, which are in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.  See the greatest two commandments of all Israel’s 600+ laws in Matthew 22:36-40
 

Romans 13:11-14    

11. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
 
     Notice the urgency in these verses.  Time is running out! (I Cor 7:29-31) We have a very short life on earth, (Ps 90:10,12; I Peter 1:24) and also, our time period could end at any time. (IITim 3:1-5)  
     “The day” refers to time when Christ is present. Christ is the Light. (John 1:1-10; 9:4,5) “The night” is His absence.  Paul expected our age to end, and Christ to return, at any time. Now some 2000 years later, “our salvation” (our exit from earth, IThes 4:13-18) is much nearer than it was then.
 
     If we “know the time”, which is the dispensation of grace revealed in Paul’s writings for our age, (Eph 3:1-5) then we know what God is doing now. (Eph 2:11-22; I Tim 2:4) Let’s wake up and join Him. (Eph 5:14-17; I Cor 3:9;  II Cor 5:18-21&6:1-4)
    
     Let’s live honestly, as who we really are in Christ, and not as the unsaved. (I Thes 5:4-9; Eph 4:17-21&5:8)  As verse 13 shows, the works of darkness include those inner attitude sins such as strife and envy too. (Col 3:8)  We “cast off the works of darkness” by putting on God’s light.
     Light is knowledge of truth. (IICor 4:2-6)  When we “put on the armour of light” (vs 12; Eph 6:13-17), we “put on the Lord Jesus Christ”. (vs 14)  He is the Truth. (John 14:6)  His values and way of thinking is a whole new nature to us.  Ephesians 4:24 calls it “the new man”. (Col 3:9,10)
     When we “put on” Christ’s thinking, we understand and appreciate eternal things. (IICor 4:18; Col 3:1-5)    Then we no longer value so highly those things that only fulfill the lust of the flesh. (vs 14; Rom 6:21) 
     We all still have the lusts of our flesh, but we don’t have to live our lives to fulfill them any longer. We are free of the flesh and now we can live unto God. (Rom 6:6-11)  “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit (of the Lord Jesus Christ), and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”  (Gal 5:16-21,24-26 & 6:7-10)
 
     Philippians 2:15-16 gives a picture of what it looks like when we live Romans 13. 
“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life…”

 

M. Dent

1