Romans 13: 8-10
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law.
Here's the sum of the law: to love our neighbor--that it fulfills all the Law on the second Tablet of the Ten Commandments.
For this,
"You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet" (Exodus 20: 13-17; Deuteronomy 5: 17-21),
and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19: 18; 22:39; Mark 12:31).
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.
If you love your neighbor, you will not want to steal the affections of his wife, you will not entertain fantasies of murdering him, you won't want to steal his possessions. You won't want any harm or misfortune to happen to him, let alone causing the harm or misfortune.
We only entertain thoughts of doing these things to people we hate. And if we love God, then we will love those He Loves, who are other people, not hate them.
If we find that we hate someone who God Loves, we must examine ourselves to see if we have really received His Spirit in our spirit.
God loves all people, the whole human race. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance (I Peter 3: 9). He knows that they all won't, but He still gives everyone time and space to do so. Even those who have viciously fought against Him extensively.
That's why the end of this era will not come until every living person has heard the Truth of who God is and what He has done on our behalf, to understand sufficiently to make an informed decision whether to accept the Lamb of God as their own Personal Sacrifice, or reject Him. (See Matthew 24: 14.)
So it's up to us, brothers and sisters in the Lord! We need to love one another as Christ has loved us (John 13: 34), which goes way beyond how we love ourselves. This is why it is a "new commandment."
We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, but to love our brothers and sisters in God's family as He has loved us is what will show the World that we are His disciples, His family ( John 13: 35).
When we truly love our neighbors, even when they make themselves our enemies, and slander us and despitefully use us, that will be able to melt the stoniest heart into repentance. Or spur them on into making us martyrs.
But our unconditional, unlimited love for one another will show the World the reality of Christ coming to Earth to be our Lamb of God, and will return as the Lion of Judah to reign on David's throne.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, our Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Romans 13: 1-8
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.
This refers to whatever government you live under. Remember, Paul was living in a day of very corrupt and evil kings who headed up the governments he knew.
For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
All authority belongs to God, and He portions it out to those on the Earth to maintain order, even if their order is not exactly in line with God's.
Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God;
So we must live according to the laws that govern us, to maintain the order God has placed into His creation.
and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
Those people who disobey their laws are condemning themselves, calling upon themselves retribution for transgressing.
For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil.
Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;
for it is a minister of God to you for good.
People who are law-abiding need not to be afraid of the civil authorities over them.
But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.
Bearing the sword refers to the death penalty for capital crimes. This is the most drastic retribution. So it also metes out all the lesser retributions, too.
Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake.
So even if a law doesn't make much sense to you, as long as it doesn't conflict with God's laws, we are to obey it, not only to not get into trouble with the law, but also because it's what God would have us do.
For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.
The only money a government has comes from taxing the populace, so if no one paid their taxes, then the government workers would get no paychecks. Since they go to work full-time in the government, they expect a paycheck for their work, so we need to pay the taxes we owe.
Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
Have the respect for your government to render each worker whatever their station calls for.
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another. ...
Always pay all your bills, not defrauding anyone, whether it be your government, or your credit card, or whoever you owe. Try to be debt-free as much as possible, so that you will have the freedom that God calls us to.
And it's much more stress-free to not have bill-collectors breathing down your neck.
Only to love one another, that's what we owe each other.
O my Father, You have Loved us so much! You have established the Natural Laws to govern Your creation, and You have established human government to give order to our societies, even knowing how evil we are. Even the unrighteous governments we have or have had in the past, still maintain order in their cultures.
Father, show us how You have determined we are to submit to the authority You have given to our government over us, to follow the laws they have passed, and to honor the positions and offices even when we don't approve of the people who occupy them.
Father, I know that You use even evil people in powerful governmental positions for our good. They are also threads in Your grand Tapestry of Time. And we can develop and grow our good characters under them to be like that of Christ, which is Your good work that You are working into each of Your children.
And the glory that we will receive will so far surpass any of the pressure or mistreatment or persecution we will ever have to face here, there is no comparison.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, our Lord God Almighty, the King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Romans 12: 14-21
We are continuing this chapter, looking at how we are to live, what attitudes we are to have, in order to show our love for others. All others, but especially our sisters and brothers in Christ.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
This goes along with what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount when He said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5: 44).
This means that we are to ask God to give them of His goodness, not to pray against them for God to punish them for their wrongdoings. He didn't punish us for our wrongdoings, but put that wrath due us onto Jesus. We are to pray that God also reveals His Love to those who are against us for His Name.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
We are to empathize with them and put ourselves in their shoes, whether they are going through good times or troubles. Share their times with them.
Be of the same mind toward one another;
Have the same attitude toward what is happening around us, as we are all one body together.
do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.
Don't think you're any better than someone else, but be ready to be a friend to every brother and sister, regardless of their station in the World.
Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Don't think you know better than someone else, or compare yourself with anyone else except for our Lord Himself.
Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.
We are to do good to those who despitefully use us. Never think to pay back like for like, but always think of doing better for the other than they did for you.
Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
When we consider what is "right in the sight of all men," this includes the World. Here we must take special care, because a lot that God considers to be right is considered to be "wrong" to those of the World. So we must take extra care to find those areas where we can agree is "right" both to God and to the World, and choose our words very carefully to not offend them.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Here's the "Desiderata" for us all to aim for. But it is only as far as it depends on us. Sometimes even when we've been very careful with our words and attitudes, those of the World will still not want to be at peace with us.
At those times we will need to examine our own hearts to make sure that we have not, even unconsciously, insulted or offended them from reacting from our own flesh. There is a fine line here.
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written,
"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord (Deuteronomy 32: 35).
Whenever we try to "get even" with someone who has wronged us, we're taking God's prerogative out of His hands, and that's never a good idea. He has portioned out His wrath upon all sin and sins, and only He knows how much goes to each of us, and who has had his portion laid on Jesus instead.
"But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head" (Proverbs 25: 21-22).
Feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty is to be done on an individual basis. Sometimes the government takes on this responsibility, but it is not for the government to take care of the people, but to protect them from foreign invasion and to provide judges to decide civil and criminal cases. The "sword" is given to the governing authorities to wield in the administration of the laws.
The Lord has given the church to have compassion and meet the needs of the poor and those who make themselves enemies of the Truth. Our kindness and uncalled for love can melt the hardest heart.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
This could refer to our enemies' evil toward us, or it could even be the evil that we find within ourselves, having become an obsession or addiction. The good that God has given to us is powerful in the overcoming of every evil, whether inside us or outside us.
O my Father, thank You for all the goodness that You have given to us, to grant us the faith to believe and put our trust in what You have said; in the Truth of Your Son being our Lamb of God, whose precious Blood washes away our sins.
Father, help us to always carefully consider our words, even when provoked by our enemies, or even by our friends. May we develop the habit of pausing for the moment to decide to answer according to love and compassion, and not ever react in retaliation.
O Father, Your Love is so immense! Teach us how to manifest Your Love to the World, especially when they are fighting against themselves by attacking Your Truth. Show us how to display Your compassion for these enemies, and melt the stone in their hearts to turn to You and Your Love.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Romans 12: 9-13
Let love be without hypocrisy.
Real love will be without pretension, unfeigned, sincere.
Let's see how we are to do this:
Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.
These are opposites: we are to view evil with extreme aversion, but hang on to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love;
We are to be "kindly affectioned" toward one another with family loyalty.
give preference to one another in honor;
We are to value each other with highest esteem and dignity before ourselves.
not lagging behind in diligence,
Or, "not slothful in business." We are to respect others enough to not be lazy in our own responsibilities, putting more work onto them, in the business or in the family or in the church.
fervent in spirit,
To be on fire spiritually.
serving the Lord;
Let us view all our relationships and dealings with others as in service to the Lord, growing His Kingdom.
rejoicing in hope,
The hope of rewards forever, in the presence of our Lord Himself.
persevering in tribulation,
Patiently persevering through all the troubles and trials that come in life.
devoted to prayer,
Or, "continuing instant in prayer." Always pray about everything, be in constant conversation with our Father, discussing everything with Him and listening to His advice, continually.
contributing to the needs of the saints,
Never forget about the poor, or the missionaries, or the ministries that uphold one another.
practicing hospitality.
Always have open hearts and open doors.
O my Father, teach us how to love You by loving one another. Let the love we show for each other show the World how much You Love us all.
Father, we all need to learn more how to love as You have Loved us. We will never in this life be fully able to demonstrate Your Royal character; not until You have finished Your work in us, and changed these flesh bodies into spiritual bodies.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Romans 12: 3-8
For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
Paul says he can speak only because of the grace God has given him. And to remember that we all have value in that God granted us the gift of faith to put our trust in Him.
In other words, like the song says, "I'm just a nobody, trying to tell everybody, all about a Somebody," who has given us what we need to serve Him. Nothing is of ourselves, and if we think otherwise, then we need to renew our minds.
For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,
Just because you're better at something than someone else, or they're able to do something you can't, that doesn't mean that anyone is any better or worse than anybody else, just different.
so we, who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
We are all one entity, one body, one congregation; and each of us provides a different quality to the whole. All our differences make up for our deficiencies and fill all the holes to all work together as a complete unit.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly:
God has apportioned His grace-gifts to each of us individually according to the functions He wants us to carry out for the benefit of the whole being.
if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
All these different giftings are to be individually practiced according to the measure of faith He granted each of us, to the best of our abilities. Whatever our role is, we are to throw ourselves into it fully, doing it faithfully, confidently trusting our Lord in the outworkings of them all to accomplish His purposes.
Not everyone has any one of these, that's why the one that has whatever gift needs to be the one to exercise that gift, because that's why God put him there with that gift.
And there is never any reason to think that any gift makes someone better or more important than someone else with a different gift. They are all important, and they are all needed to round out the personality of the congregation.
And all of our gifts are from God, according to His desire, not from us. There is never any "self-made" Christian, we are all God-molded.
O my Father, You are working out all Your purposes using us and the gifts You have given to each of us. Please help us to distinguish our giftings, to recognize that You have given us the gift You have, and teach us how to exercise our gifts with the love and compassion and boldness each one requires.
Show us that when we see one another with different gifts and abilities, that we will honor their working of them, without comparing. Help us each to appreciate the gift You have given to us, and to honor one another with it, to bring the glory to You as the Planner and Giver of all gifts.
And help us to see how all of our diverse gifts and abilities all work together to get everything done to accomplish Your purposes in it all.
Teach us how to love one another with Your Love, Father, and to turn daily to You for the strength and stamina to stay the course.
O Father, continue to mold us and shape us into the very image of our Lord and Savior, and "I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake" in glory! (Psalm 17: 15).
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Romans 12: 1-2
Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this World, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
When we see a "therefore" we need to ask what it's there for. What has just preceded this verse is everything we learned so far in this letter. Keeping all that in mind, we are now to present our bodies to God as though we are the animal offered in sacrifice on the altar.
We live in our bodies, and we express our thinking and attitudes through our brains and our mouths and our hands and feet, and other body parts. This physical body is the "house" we live in, and it has become the "temple of God" as He lives here with us, by His Spirit inside our spirit.
So our bodies must be considered His perfect lamb, without defect, on His altar of sacrifice every day. Jesus said to "deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." This is how to follow Him.
This physical act is a spiritual service of worship. God wants us to physically live our lives every day as His servants, His slaves, always putting His will before our own. We can only do this as His Holy Spirit in us strengthens us and teaches us what His will is, and leads us into it.
That's why we are to not be conformed to this World, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. How we think determines how we see, how we form our attitudes, how we live our lives. This is how God as our Potter is re-making us into "vessels of honor" out of the dishonorable vessels we were (see the November 10, 2019 blog entry).
Submitting our thinking processes to God's ways, changing our minds to do it His way instead of ours, will renew our minds, to be able to recognize and desire that good and acceptable and perfect will of God for ourselves. That is how to see with His eyes, and understand with His understanding, instead of the twisted ideas of the World that are so seductive to lead us into the evil that will destroy us.
That's how important it is for us to learn to listen to His small, quiet whispers inside our spirit, telling us "this is the way, walk here." And why we need to read and study His Word that He had written down for us.
Everything that has been written is for our instruction, so that we will learn how God rewarded the people who followed His ways, and destroyed those who rebelled against Him. We can read how His faithful lived their lives, and how they returned to God when they messed up. Because we all mess up.
But if we're serious about living our lives for the glory of our Creator and our Redeemer and our Lord and King, then we will put forth the effort to nourish our spirits every day as regularly as we nourish our bodies every day.
Do you eat every day? Then be sure to eat some spiritual nourishment, also. Life itself is spiritual, so a healthy, well fed spirit will produce a healthy body, also.
O my Father, Your ways are so far above our ways, that we need to put forth the effort to seek Your face and Your ways in our thinking and our lives. Help us, Father, to schedule the time each day when we will curl up in Your lap and listen to Your stories. Teach us Your ways to respond to the things that happen in our lives, how to respond to the people we encounter each day, how to consider how the hearer will receive what we say, so that they can also understand Your ways.
Father, as Your living sacrifice, tie me to the horns of the altar, so that I will not be jumping off of it when I feel the heat. Keep me faithful to Your ways, strengthen me to persevere even when I get weary of the fight, hold me up to keep on keeping on.
My Father, You will finish everything You have started; help me also to finish what You have led me to start, and not to leave strings hanging.
Let my life bring honor and glory to You, Father. Let my thinking be along the lines of Your Truth, so that my attitudes will be transformed to Your Love for us all. Let me display Your compassion and mercy and graciousness to everyone whose path crosses mine each day.
And use me to find some of Your lost sheep, to carry them into the safety and protection of Your One Fold with One Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, our Lord God Almighty, the King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Romans 11: 25-36
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles as come in;
A mystery is something that has never been known before. This mystery is that God would allow Israel to have a partial hardening, that a veil would be put over their eyes and understanding, for a time. Until all the Gentiles who would be saved would be saved.
and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
"The deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob" (Isaiah 59: 20). "This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins" (Jeremiah 31: 31-34).
Then God will remove the veil, and all Israel will be saved, in that Day that He makes the New Covenant with them. That will be when everyone will see Jesus coming down out of the clouds, and His feet touch the Mount of Olives, where He had left so long ago. They will see Him, and recognize Him as Jesus their Messiah!
From the standpoint of the Gospel they are enemies for your sake,
When Paul wrote this letter, down to today, while the veil is still over their eyes, they are enemies, in disobedience in not seeking God or wanting to believe Him.
but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
God still considers them His chosen people, because He is not a man and does not change His mind. He chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and gave them promises that He will still fulfill.
For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,
so these now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.
God turned to the Gentiles when the Jews rejected Him, and when all the Gentiles have come in, then He will also turn back to His chosen people and save them.
For God as shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
That is why it has been said that, "The ground is level at the foot of the Cross." God sees that all Mankind has disobeyed His Law, so we all deserve death. Jesus fulfilled the Personal Sacrifice for each of us, because we are all criminals who deserve execution.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
"For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? (Isaiah 40:13), Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back again?" (Job 35: 7).
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
O my Father, I give my Amen to the depth of the riches of both Your wisdom and knowledge, of Your mercy and grace, of Your compassion and cleverness to have planned out Your whole Grand Plan of the Ages!
You have shut us all up under wrath for our sinfulness, the defectiveness of our human nature that leads each one of us into making foolish, wicked decisions and choices.
So that Your Son could pay the debt for every one of us who turn to You, whether Jew or Gentile, whether Barbarian or Greek. We are all offered Your great and wonderful gift of faith to believe in Christ Jesus as our Personal Sacrifice to pay off our total, eternal debt for sin, be washed in His Blood, and to be born into Your own Royal family as Your Holy Spirit makes our dead spirits alive.
And we will be Your kings and queens, ruling from the Throne of Christ, who sits with You, Father, in Your Throne.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, our Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come soon, Lord Jesus!
