Romans 13
We have been saved and are set right
with God, called out of our sin into a holiness that is reckoned to us by God
and received by faith. So, now what?
In Romans 13, Paul answers that
question, “Love each other.” We must be careful to understand that this, “Love
each other,” flows from the salvation we have received in Jesus. Because we are
justified and have been included among God’s redeemed, we love. This is not a
bludgeon that is to be used to beat one another up with, as we berate people
saying, “You are not loving enough!” It is a call that says, “This is what you
were redeemed for! You may love others as you yourself have been loved by God.”
So when we look at the Ten Commandments
and read, “Honor your father and mother. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not covet,” we can know that this
is not a code of conduct that we must follow in order to be saved, but actions
that we perform because we love others. “Love does no wrong to a neighbor;
therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” These are the good works that we
perform as in-grafted branches in God’s olive tree. (see Romans 11:17ff)
Salvation is nearer to us now than when
we first believed. The Day that Jesus will return, although we don’t know when
it is, is coming, and each day brings us closer to the day when we will no
longer struggle to love our neighbor and do good for them. But why wait? We
have the light of Christ. We have God’s Word and Promise. We live, even now, in
the mercy that we will know fully when Jesus returns.
Paul says it beautifully, “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.” We strive
to live in a way that shows the love we have experienced in Jesus; a love that
turns us from selfishness and self-centered behavior as our sinful nature
desires. Clothed in Jesus, wearing His death and resurrection through baptism,
we live loving our neighbor.
Lord, help me to live lovingly since You
have loved me and forgiven me for my sins that my life may show Your love to
others. Amen.
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