Romans 13:8-14
A Good Kind of Debt
Tomorrow is Patriot’s Day, the 16th anniversary of the deadliest single attack on U.S. soil, even eclipsing Pearl Harbor in casualties. Thousands of courageous people risked their lives to save others. Firefighters rushed against the crowds to enter the doomed towers. Police officers helped survivors while buildings crashed down around them. Citizens donated blood and worked shelters. Volunteers led prayer vigils and helped with searches.
Sixteen years later, thousands of volunteers again are at work right here in Texas, this time with a natural disaster. With one devastating hurricane behind us and another hitting the west coast of Florida today, Americans have been cooking food, passing out water bottles, staffing shelters, and assisting in clean-up. Our realtor took his barbeque trailer to Rockport this weekend to give away some meals and supplies to the workers and citizens there.
When disasters strike—whether through the work of terrorists or the destructive forces of nature—people rise up and help. Americans in particular lead the way in charitable giving of time, energy, and money. And behind it all is love.
Today’s scripture defines love as the “good kind of debt.” Earlier in Romans chapter 8, Paul had described the government as God’s tool for good. He had encouraged us to obey our government authorities and pay our taxes. Then, he shifted to a debt we can never fully pay, and that is the debt of love. You may have paid off your mortgage (hopefully you have by now; I have about 29 years to go!). You may even have bought your last car with cash. (That’s my favorite way!) Hopefully, you pay off your credit cards every month, although a lot of Americans don’t. But Paul says, one debt you will never finish paying is the debt of love.
Jesus talked a lot about love. When asked what was the greatest commandment, he replied without hesitation, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” And then he said the second is like it, to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). He even told a story to define the word “neighbor” (Luke 10:25-37). Back in Jesus’ time, people thought of a neighbor as someone like them, someone they liked and got along with. But the actual Greek word meant anyone in physical proximity. Thus, in the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus described two church leaders who were NOT good neighbors; when they were in close proximity with someone in need, they passed by quickly. The hero of the story was someone very different in ethnicity, someone any self-respecting Jew would look down their nose at. Yet, when the Good Samaritan saw a Jewish fellow in need, he immediately interrupted his schedule to help out. He even paid out of his own pocket to provide the man shelter for recuperation. This was love in action. Jesus’ story suggests that your neighbor is anyone with whom you cross paths. Who are we supposed to love? Love your neighbor as yourself. Love ... anyone! Love ... everyone!
Paul wrote that we should love everyone for two basic reasons. First, because ...
1) God says to (vv. 8-10).
That’s the basic meaning behind the Parable of the Good Samaritan. And Paul echoes it here, too. Want to keep the commandments? Love everyone! Want to keep from murder or adultery? Love everyone. If we go with Jesus’ broader definitions of murder and adultery, we could say, “Want to stop harboring hatred and lust in your mind?” Love everyone. Honor and do what is best for others. Love your neighbor as yourself.
It’s not that Paul or Jesus is telling us to love ourselves. They don’t have to. We are pretty good at doing that naturally. We cry out for meds or a doctor when we’re hurting. We try not to skip too many meals. We want to rest whenever we can. We want people to encourage us. We want God to love us and care for us and provide for us. We love ourselves naturally. Now we just need to extend that same level of attention to those around us, even those very different from us. When we do that, Paul says we are keeping God’s perfect law. If we love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, everything else will fall into place.
Galatians 6:10 says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Agape love, God’s kind of love, is love in action, love that does good to everyone we meet.
When I think of loving people with God’s love, I could list any number of you. You are particularly good at this. But so I won’t tempt anyone to pride, let me mention one who has gone ahead of us to heaven: John Hilliard. John was well known in the Village as someone who tried to meet the needs of anyone he met. Even on his vacations, he chose to educate himself on places like Ethiopia where people have lots of basic human needs. John had a huge heart for others, not a trait you always see in lawyers! You could see the love of God flow through him.
We love others because God commands it. But we also love others because ...
2) Jesus is coming soon (vv. 11-14).
Paul wrote with an expectation that Jesus could return at any moment. It wasn’t that Paul was on some kind of time limit. He and other biblical writers simply knew the order of events: Jesus died on a cross, God resurrected him from the dead, he appeared to many witnesses, he ascended to heaven, and the next thing he would do is ... he would come back.
He could come back today. He could come tomorrow. It could be next week or next year. It could be in a thousand years. It doesn’t matter when. The fact is, he’s coming. Jesus will return. He will bring judgment and salvation and will institute a new heaven and a new earth. We are in the in between time, the age of the church, when God wants to build his family of believers; thus, our commission to love others, to share the good news of Christ with them, that their sins may be forgiven and they might receive eternal life, life to the full. And then, someday, this age will come to a close and the final stage of eternity will begin.
Warren Wiersbe summarizes verses 11-14 as Paul telling us to “wake up, clean up, and grow up” (Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 444) , as we become the people God wants us to be. Paul used symbols of light and darkness to illustrate good and evil, and to note that we should live with a sense of urgency as we anticipate Jesus’ imminent return. Paul urged us to avoid carousing, drunkenness, sexual immorality, or debauchery. Maybe those days are behind you, but what about dissension and jealousy, which he also said to shun? We can all relate to those.
Instead, Paul told us to clothe ourselves with Christ. As you put on Christ, focusing on his love for you, you will have less time for temptation and more genuine love to give away. Colossians 3:9-10 puts it this way: “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” It’s like changing clothes. We have taken off our pre-Christ garments. Now that our life belongs to Jesus, wherever we go, whatever we do, Christ Jesus is there with us. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, enables us to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Back in the year 386 a 31-year-old professor was relaxing in the backyard of his home in Milan, Italy. As he dozed off, he heard a child singing a familiar children’s song, “Take up and read.” He looked at his Bible laying nearby, and decided to take the child’s advice and open it up. He opened it by chance to Romans 13, today’s passage. He read about turning away from sexual immorality and clothing oneself with Christ, and he found himself deeply convicted of his playboy antics through the years. He surrendered his life to Christ, right there in his backyard. Later, he would write a number of brilliant theological works, the most famous being his small book we read in seminary, called “Confessions.” Augustine of Hippo became a bishop of the church and one of the most famous early church fathers. Why? Because he learned about genuine love, the one debt you can never repay. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo#Christian_conversion_and_priesthood)
The bottom line? As we put on Christ, God calls us to never stop loving each other, no matter what, and even more as we see the day of the Lord’s return approaching! Let us pray about it:
God, you know there are people who rub us wrong. There are people undeserving of our love. Yet, as we think about it, we know we are undeserving of your love, but you love us anyway. You forgive us when we don’t deserve it. You reach out in relationship to us, though we are unworthy. Thank you for declaring us worthy, for taking away our guilt and shame, for pulling us out of darkness and making us people of light. Help us to take your love, through your son Jesus, and extend it to everyone we meet. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.
