Skeúos (σκευ̂ος) Gr. 1. a vessel; 2. an implement

Sunday Recap: June 22, 2008

In verses 1-2 of chapter 12 Paul looked back at the great mercy of God in providing a sin sacrifice for our sins through His Son Jesus Christ as the great motivator for living godly lives.  Now Paul looks ahead in verses 11-14 of chapter 13, to the future for further motivation; “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.  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.”

When Paul uses the phrase “besides this…” we know that he is calling our attention to the preceding context.  In this case it is verses 8-10 which speak of loving one’s neighbor but he is no doubt including all that he has said in chapters 12-13 thus far.  Paul says “In view of God’s mercy present your bodies a living sacrifice, allow yourselves to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, and live like this; be humble, serve, love, forgive, submit, and love some more.  Do this remembering the great mercy of God but also don’t forget the time.”

What is significant about the time?  Why should time motivate us?  Well Paul tells us why.  It is because “…salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”  These words are both encouraging as well as sobering for us as children of God.  What does Paul mean when he says that “salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed”?  You might say “I thought I was saved the moment I believed.”

Well, salvation in Scripture is pictured in three dimensions; past, present, and future.  The moment you came to faith in Jesus Christ you were justified, declared righteous in the sight of God and your relationship with God was restored.  The offense of your sin was made right by Jesus Christ who took the punishment for your offense upon Himself.  At that moment you were brought from death to life and saved from the wrath to come.  At that moment you were saved!

There is also a present aspect to our salvation however, and this present aspect focuses on our sanctification.  God is continually working in and through us by His Holy Spirit to set us apart from this world, and sin and conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ.  This is a constant and ever present work of God in our lives.  Paul exhorted us in this area when writing in his letter to the Philippians “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Finally, there is a future salvation, which is what Paul refers to here.  This is an aspect of our salvation that, form our perspective has yet to occur.  You may remember that Paul referenced this future aspect of our salvation in chapter 8:18-24 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.  And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

This future aspect of our salvation will occur when Christ returns.  This is when all the promises of deliverance from sinful flesh, the full privileges of sonship and our inheritance will be realized as we stand in the presence of the One who saved us.  When we trusted Christ for our salvation God saved us, He delivered us from wrath to come but He did not deliver us from the fallen world around us.  He did not deliver us from this body of death, our flesh.  That deliverance is still to come.  From our earthly, time bound perspective; it is only when Christ returns that we will be able to say that our salvation is complete, and Paul wants us to know that this day is drawing near and this fact should change the way we live.  Every day that passes puts us one day closer to the return of our Lord.  This is what Paul means when he says “you know the time.”  Paul assumes the Roman believers understood the age in which they were living.

There are two words often translated time in the Greek.  One is chronos which refers to chronological time or specific time; watch time as we might call it.  If I tell you to arrive at the service on time I am speaking of chronos time.  It is precise and specific.

The other word, the word used here is the word kairos which refers to an age or a measure of time.  This word is used to speak of time in a broader context.  If you remember Mordecai’s words to queen Esther when it was becoming clear that God was going to use her to save His people the Jews, he said “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this.”

What Paul is saying is this; “Look Christ has come to earth, He has completed His work and He is now seated at the right hand of the Father.  This means that we have entered the last days.  He could come at any time!  Our full and final salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed!  It’s getting closer every day!”

When Christ ascended into Heaven the clock began counting down to His return, His second coming.  We are now in that time, and as each day passes we are yet another day closer to His return.  This is the day and time (kairos) we are living in.  We refer to his return as imminent meaning it could be at any time.  If you look back at verse 2 of chapter 12 Paul uses a similar concept when he says “Do not be conformed to this world (aion).”  Paul’s words are deeper than what we see on the surface.  He is saying “do not be conformed to this age, this time because this is not your time.  This is night time, but your time is at hand, the sun is rising over the horizon.”  In fact this is how Paul refers to us here when he says “…the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand.”

Paul says “Look over the horizon!  The sun is rising, the day has come wake up don’t be caught sleeping during the day.  The day is when we work; wake up!  When Christ returns don’t let Him find you sleeping.”

In writing to the church at Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul penned these famous words, which provide us with a parallel to our text this morning;  1 Thessalonians 5:1-8 “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night…” The early believers lived in full expectation that the Lord could return at any moment.  This expectation was a driving force in the service for the kingdom.  Paul continues; “While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief…”  Only a sleeping person is surprised by a thief in the night.  “For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.  So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.  But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”

So Paul stresses again here in 1 Thessalonians the fact that we are not to be asleep.  This is not the time for sleeping.  No one sleeps during the day

So if Paul is calling on believers to wake up the assumption is that we are sleeping.  So what does sleeping look like?  “…let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.”  Just as Paul speaks in terms of day and night here he speaks to us in terms of clothing.  The things listed in verse 13 represent “night clothes.”  These are the things which characterize night dwellers.  It is also interesting that most of these things are indeed things we associate with night-life.

There is one common theme running through all of these things Paul lists here and that is self pleasure and self-interest.  All of these things are dangerous for us as children of God because they lull us to sleep.  You know what I mean.  Remember that moment when you recognized your sin and you experienced the grace of God through Jesus Christ?  Remember how alive you were?  It was as if for years you were sound asleep in the deepest of sleeps and then suddenly you were awakened as the gospel crashed through into your world.  But then suddenly the things of the world started to trickle back into your life and you became sleepy again.  The temporal things of this world were like opiates in that they provided pleasure but they also made you sleepy.That burning desire to share the gospel with everyone you know, to serve the Lord with passion, to give all that you have and all that you are to advance the kingdom, began to die down and that sense of urgency you once felt, that feeling you had that time is short, has suddenly faded away.  

Now we live like the world.  Sure we profess God but we live as though He’s never coming back.  We engage in immorality, drunkenness, sensuality, divisiveness.  Maybe we don’t all engage in the physical acts but we love to watch others do them.

Paul says “Throw this stuff off.”  The analogy Paul uses here is the changing of clothes.  That is the idea being conveyed here.  The phrase literally means to throw off or rid oneself of something.  Paul says “Cast it off, because you don’t want to be wearing that clothing when Christ returns.”

But Paul does not stop here because he tells us to put something on.  In verse 12 he says “put on the armor of light.”  This is speaking of the full armor of God as referenced in Ephesians chapter 6 where Paul says that we must put on the full armor of God so that we “…may be able to withstand in the evil day.”  Then in verse 14 Paul continues by exhorting us to “…put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

We must put on Christ.  What does this mean?  William Hendriksen in his commentary on Romans says “Having accepted Christ and having been baptized, believers should now not rest on their laurels, but should continue in practice what they have done in principle.”  In other words live out your faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Every day, we must put on Christ, submit and surrender our will to His and obey His Word.

MacArthur explains this beautifully when he says “An athlete may don the uniform and take the name of a championship team, but it is his performance, not his team’s uniform or name that determines his own value as a player.  A judge may put on the appropriate robe of his office, but it is his judicial knowledge and wisdom that determine his own merit as a judge.  In a much deeper, but somewhat similar way, the person who received Christ as Savior takes on the name of Christian.  But the quality of his Christianity is determined by his own spiritual faithfulness.”

Equally important to our putting on Christ is Paul’s exhortation to “make no provision for the flesh.”  Consider the illustration we just heard.  An athlete who wishes to be the best he can be cannot make any provision for those things he may desire but will hinder his fitness and his goals.  The same is true of a judge.  He desires to carry out justice therefore he can make no provision for illegal activity or impropriety in his personal or public life.

So then the Christian life is first about putting on Christ, meaning we purposely, deliberately, and daily submit and surrender to His will and obey His Word.  Secondly we avoid those things that we know will hinder our submission, surrender, and obedience.  To make provision for the flesh simply means we are leaving the door of our lives open to those things which we know cause us to seek self-gratification over the self-sacrificing love that God has called us to.  This door must be closed, and shut tight.  We cannot even make the smallest of provisions.  We cannot put on Christ while at the same time making allowance for sinful pleasure.

Imagine an adulterous man who comes back to his wife and says I am sorry for my unfaithfulness.  I really want to make the marriage work.  I promise I will be faithful to you to the end, and I will only talk to the other woman once a week.  Or imagine a person who struggles with drugs or alcohol who says I am going to get my life straightened out and make something of myself.  In fact I am so committed to this I am only going to drink or do drugs on Friday nights.  This sounds absurd but how often do we do this in our relationship with the Lord?  We get serious and we say “Okay I am putting on Christ now, all the while holding fast to the things of the world.” 

Why is this so important for us?  Because we know the time.  Unlike the unbelieving world around us we know that time will end.  This kairos age will come to a close and a new day will dawn.  When?  We do not know.  As Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:7-8 “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Jude and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Jesus said “Don’t busy yourself trying to determine the Father’s timetable but rather busy yourself being my witnesses, proclaiming the gospel, living out the faith, advancing the kingdom.”

Remember Christ’s return is imminent and with His return comes judgment.  In 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 Paul said these words; “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,  for we walk by faith, not by sight.  Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”  Those who are sleep, those who are living for this present age care only about the judgment of their peers (What do others think?) and their own self-judgment (What do I want, what do I like?)  Those who are awake on the other hand see clearly.  We recognize that there is only one judgment that matters and that is the judgment of the Lord who reigns above all.

Don’t be caught sleeping.  Don’t be lulled to sleep by the philosophies, pleasures, and pursuits of this temporal age, this passing world, this American dream.  Wake up, be alert, live as children of the day, children of the light, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is how we make a difference.  This is how we change the world.

Sunday Recap: June 15, 2008

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Paul continuing his train of thought from verse 7 says pay taxes to whom taxes are owed, give honor to whom honor is due and give respect to whom respect is due, in fact Paul says in verse 8 “Owe no one anything.”  Many have used this verse to suggest that borrowing money is absolutely forbidden.  Well, that is not in keeping with the context here.  Certainly Scripture is clear that for the believer financial debt should be kept to a minimum but here Paul is talking about debt in terms of relationships not money

In verses 1-7 Paul says because God has ordained the government the king, the president, and all rulers, they are due honor and respect, therefore honor and respect them.  Don’t dishonor or disrespect the rulers in whom my authority has been vested.  Never allow someone to say that you have not fulfilled your duty, your obligation when it comes to respect and honor of those in authority

Paul continues in verse 8 by explaining that our debt is not limited to those in authority but to all men and our debt is not limited to honor and respect but it includes love.  In fact Paul says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other…"

Now consider for a moment what this means.  Not only are we to give honor and respect when it is due but we are also to offer forgiveness when it is due.  When someone wrongs you and then comes to you seeking forgiveness you are to give it to them.  You are indebted to them in a sense because you are indebted to Christ who has forgiven you.  When it comes to honor, respect, and forgiveness our accounts must always be paid up.  It is not acceptable to withhold from others that which Christ has given to us and commanded us to give to others.  But what about love?  Love is different.  Even if you were to give all that you have and all that you are out of love you would still have debt outstanding.  When you offer forgiveness it has been offered and it is a done deal, or at least it should be if it is genuine forgiveness.  It is possible for one to say “I have offered the respect and honor that was due him or her,” but you can never say “I have met my obligation and loved you enough.”

To speak of Christ-like love, is to speak in immeasurable terms.  You cannot quantify a love that is infinite, pure, righteous, and self-sacrificing.  No matter how much we as believers love in this life we will never be able to say that we have loved enough.  We will never be able to say that we have loved another as much as Christ has loved them.

Therefore our debt of love will never be paid in this life.  When all other debts have been paid the debt of love will still remain.  This debt requires the constant giving of ourselves to another.  As longs as self remains, the debt remains.

Next Paul makes a profound yet familiar statement concerning love.  “…for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  Here Paul restates the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:35-40 when asked by the religious leaders of His day “which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

The Jews of Jesus’ day placed great emphasis on law keeping.  This is evident here in Matthew by the fact that it was a lawyer, a religious lawyer, who asked Jesus this question.  When Jesus refers to the law here He is referring the law as given in the Ten Commandments.  All of the law of the OT can be summarized in these ten.  When Jesus answered the lawyer’s question He was not generalizing the law but rather He was revealing the mind and heart of God in giving the commandments.  You see the Ten Commandments were not given to make men right with God but rather they were given to show man that He was not right with God.

You see the commandments are ultimately about love.  Love for God first and love for our fellowman second.  A man who keeps the Ten Commandments, the Law is evidencing love for God and man.   That is why the law is broken down into two halves.  The first four commands deal specifically with our relationship to God and the last six deal specifically to our relationship with our fellowman.

In essence God said “If you want to know what I expect of you here you go.  Love me with all your heart, soul, mind, strength.  Do this by keeping me first, not worshipping idols, not profaning my name and keeping the Sabbath.”

“Secondly love your fellowman.  Do this by honoring your parents, not committing murder, not committing adultery, not stealing, not lying, and not coveting.” 

Obey these and you are right with me.  Disobey and you are in trouble with me.

The problem of course is that when we begin to try to do these things we soon realize that it is impossible.  As we strive to keep the letter of the law it isn’t long before we realize that we don’t truly love God and our fellowman but rather we love ourselves.

You see ultimately the Commandments reveal who or what we truly love, and our inability to keep them is evidence that we love ourself more than God and more than others, and it is this love of self over God and others that is the root of all sin; pride!  You see we may claim to love God but we clearly put other things gods before Him (money, career, pleasure, etc.).  We worship graven images (cars, boats, houses, etc.).  We take His name in vain either by swearing or by professing His name but living lives contrary to His name.

We claim to love our fellow man but we bear false witness against him, we covet his possessions, we harbor hatred and bitterness in our hearts against him which Jesus said was no different than murder, and the list goes on.  The point is at the end of the day even the best man on earth, when measured by the standard of the law, the Ten Commandments, finds that he is actually an enemy of God not a friend.  At heart we are lovers of self not lovers of God and others.

This of course is evidence of our utter sinfulness, and we know that it is sin which keeps us from God and leads to our condemnation in Hell.  So you see how love, the law, and salvation are all connected here.

In spite of repeated failures to keep the law many keep trying to, thinking “if I can only do a little better I think I can make it.”  Like the Jews of the OT we seek to keep the letter of the law, and in doing so we miss the whole point.  We try to keep the law, and we may be able at times to keep certain points of the letter of the law, but as men and women who are separated from God we cannot keep the spirit of the law because the spirit of the law is love and only those in right relationship with God can exemplify the kind of love He requires.

Turn to Luke 10:25-37.  Here in Luke we find one of the most famous parables of Jesus, a parable which speaks to this very issue we are discussing this morning.

“And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  Notice how the question is cast here.  It is in terms of salvation.

He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”  And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”  And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”  But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” It’s clear the man is suddenly not so sure he has kept the command to love his neighbor so he wants to justify himself. 

He knows that if he has not kept the command to love his neighbor than by default he has not kept the first command to love God either.  So Jesus helps the man by sharing a parable.  “Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.  He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.  And the next day he took out two adenarii3 and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’  Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”  He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”  Jesus point was clear.  The first two men in the parable were keeping the letter of the law by avoiding the bleeding man and keeping themselves ceremonially clean for worship but in doing so they missed the entire point of the law because their actions were unloving. They claimed to love God and their neighbor but their unloving behavior proved otherwise.  It is possible to keep the letter of the law without love, but it is impossible to keep the Spirit of the law as Jesus taught it without love.

So what then is Paul’s point here?  He sums it up in verses 9-10 “For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”  The law, the commandments are not about external conformity to a list of rules but rather the law is about love.  It is love that causes one to fulfill these commands because true and genuine Christ-like love would never do wrong to a neighbor.  If you love your neighbors you will not commit adultery against them, you will not murder them, steal from them, or covet from them.  If it is merely the command that keeps you from murdering him or stealing from him then you don’t love him.

You may remember that many years ago most states had a law against adultery.  Imagine a married man or woman who refrains from committing adultery only because of the law.  If the law wasn’t there off they would go.  Would you say that person loves their spouse?  Of course not!  They are simply keeping the letter of the law.

The same is true in our relationship with our fellowman and with God as well.  If we truly love God we will not put other gods before Him, we will not worship idols, we will not profane His name, or violate any of His commands.

This all goes back to what Paul said in chapter 6.  Turn back there with me for a moment.  Look at chapter 6 verse 15 and following again; “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?  But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.  I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death.  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Obedience from the heart!  That is the key.  It’s not about religion, it’s not about ritual, it’s not about adhering to a code of conduct.  We have been saved from all of that.  Anyone can create a list that he is able to keep.  That is what the Pharisees in Jesus day had done.  They broke the law down into tiny bite size pieces that they could keep, all the while stripping away the very spirit of that law. That is why they were so often full of rage when Jesus healed on the Sabbath or forgave a prostitute.  To them it wasn’t about the person it was about the law!  We are much like the Pharisees.  We like lists because lists are easy.  We can cross things off of a list and feel like we have fulfilled our obligation.  But obedience from the heart is a different matter.

In Romans 6 Paul says; “Remember that the standard you once tried so hard to obey, those commands you once tried so hard to keep but never could?  Now you do them but you do them from the heart. 

What does he mean by “from the heart.”  It means this; Our hearts have been changed and we now love Christ so much that obedience becomes natural.  No longer is our religion about external conformity to “God’s rules” but rather it is about an intimate, personal, loving, all satisfying relationship with His Son Jesus Christ and it is this relationship which causes us to overflow with love, a love that fulfills the law, not because we have to, but because we get to!  Isn’t that beautiful!

You see our love for our neighbor is a symptom of our love for the Savior.  That is why love for neighbor is the second greatest commandment and not the first.  It must be born out of our love for God.

So then how is this love possible?  It is only possible when we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation.  You see there only two kinds of people in this world.  Those who put their faith in their own goodness, their own list, their own ability to keep the law, and then there are those who place their faith in Jesus Christ who kept the law perfectly and then died on the cross to pay for our violation of that law.

That’s it.  There is no in between.  There is no cooperative effort in the eyes of God.  It is either His work or my work that saves me; not both.  It is only after I trust in Him for salvation that I am changed, indwelt with the Holy Spirit and equipped to do the good works He was called me to do.

If you have not put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins I encourage you to do so this morning.  If your life, your religion amounts to the drudgery of law keeping, come and talk to me after the service and I would be thrilled to show you from God’s Word how you can have personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

Only those who have been set free from the law can keep it.  Think about that.  It is not law keeping that fulfills the requirement of the law, but rather it is love that fulfills the requirement of the law.  If you are a believer consider where you stand in this area of loving your neighbor?  Evaluate your life.  Do you love others?  Do you have genuine love and concern for those God has placed in your life or is your primary concern self?  Are you a giver or a taker?

If you struggle with loving others let me encourage you to spend time in God’s Word.  As you study His Word you will be reminded of His faithfulness, His mercy, His grace, and you will be reminded again how much you have are loved and how much you have been forgiven.

And as Jesus reminded us; the one who has been forgiven much loves much.

Sunday Recap: June 1, 2008

Romans 12:17-21 “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Paul’s first words here in verse 17 reveal the direction Paul is going to take us.  Paul says “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”   When wronged Paul says act in mercy.  Rather than demanding your rights, rather than giving what is deserved act in mercy.  

Paul knows human nature.  He understands that our immediate human response when someone commits an evil act against us is to repay them in like manner, “Repay no one evil for evil.”  Revenge is a part of our sinful human nature. It is our nature as sinful men and women to look out for # 1.  Self is the rule by which the natural man measures what is right and what is wrong.  If it hurts me it must be wrong and if it feels good to me it must be right.  Therefore if you do me wrong I must right the wrong by inflicting wrong upon you then we’re even.  My pride is satisfied so I can move on.  That is how sinful man reacts when he is wronged.

Paul says this is not how children of God are to act.  We are different!  Self and pride are no longer the determining factors by which we judge right and wrong.  Through God’s mercy we have been set free from self and pride and we are being conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ.  We are new creatures.  This process as we have seen in our study here in Romans is known as sanctification.  Sanctification is the process by which God sets the believer apart from sin and makes him more and more like Christ so that day by day our lives are a growing reflection of the Savior.  We begin to see the world as Christ sees the world, we begin to think and act like Christ as we put on the mind of Christ.

This means that we are to we deal with our enemies the same way Christ dealt with His enemies.  He is our example.  So how did Christ deal with His enemies?  Notice Romans 5:6-10 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”  What did Christ do for us, His enemies?  Did He give them what they deserved?  No.  He died for them.  He acted in love and mercy.  We too are to act in love and mercy not returning evil for evil but instead as Paul says we must “but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”

Paul says “give thought” meaning do not act on impulse.  When someone wrongs us, the flesh immediate rises up and with it comes the desire to get even.  Don’t be impulsive, following the flesh, but “give thought” the word literally means “to think beforehand or to give consideration.”  In this context it means to think before you respond.  This is the characteristic of the renewed mind.  It gives careful thought to what is good and right.  Before it acts it evaluates its actions in light of God’s Word.

An impulsive person is a person that has his/her mind set on the flesh whose goal is self gratification which as we have seen is not in keeping with the life that is being transformed by the renewing of the mind. Paul says that the flesh reacts impulsively but the transformed person responds by doing “…what is honorable in the sight of all."

The word honorable here is the word “kalos” which encapsulates the ideas of goodness, truth, beauty.  It is what most men consider good and right, even those who are not believers.  Our conduct, including our response to our enemies, is to be characterized as good.  Others may not agree with our response, they may urge us to get even or fight back, but they will not be able to deny that our conduct was good, true, and right.  Most people, unbelievers included, would agree that it is wrong to pay back evil with evil.  In fact we have a saying for this; two wrongs don’t make a right!  When the believer responds to evil with evil he acts against the very character of the God he claims to serve and this does not escape the attention of the world.  Even the world understands that this is not the proper response.

Paul’s words make it clear that we must always assume the world is watching.  It is interesting that even the most ardent God-denier seems to understand that there is a standard of right behavior.  He may not hold himself to that standard but if you call yourself a Christian you can be sure he will hold you to it.  Therefore we must “give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”

In verse 18 Paul continues this thought when he says “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”  Followers of Jesus Christ we must be willing to go to great lengths to keep the peace and avoid conflict.  We must be at peace with all men. 

Now this is quite a tall order for sinners living in a fallen world with other sinners.  In reality however, we spend a great deal of our time as humans keeping the peace.  If you’re married you know this well.  There is a give and take involved in marriage and our other relationships that allows us to maintain a certain level of peace.  Imagine if one person always insisted their way all the time.  This would destroy a relationship.  There must be a willingness to surrender one’s will and one’s rights for the sake of keeping peace in the relationship.

When Paul gives this exhortation to live peaceably with all he is not being unrealistic.  In fact he attaches two qualifications to this command.

The first one is “If possible…”  Paul states here something we all know to be true.  It’s not always possible to be at peace with everyone all the time.  There are times when conflict cannot be helped.  For example there are times when keeping peace in a relationship means that we must compromise the truth, our faith, or our convictions.  In these moments peace must be sacrificed for what is right.  Proverbs 27:6 says that “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”  Here it is made clear that there are times when peace must take a back seat to truth, even in friendship.

But let me be clear that this must be done in love.  We do not sacrifice peace because we hate the one, who is against us, but rather we sacrifice peace because we love what is true and right, we love the person, and we understand that what is true and right is ultimately what is best for the relationship.

The second qualification for peace is in verse 18 “…so far as it depends on you…”  Paul says if there is an absence of peace, look at yourself first, making sure it is not due to your own wrong behavior or actions.  Am I guilty of sinning Paul was very diligent in this are always making sure his conscience was clear in his dealings with his enemies.  We all can identify with Paul’s words because we have been there in our relationships.  Whether it be our spouse, our child, our parent, a co worker, a friend or whoever, there are times when peace simply cannot be achieved despite the fact that you have done everything possible to make peace.  The other person is unwilling.  If your conscience is clear and you have sought God and wise human counsel on the matter you simply have to move on.  Do not become desperate and attempt to make peace while compromising what is true and right.

Next in verse 19 Paul shares what is to be our motivation for obeying verses 17-18; “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

The desire for justice is a universal one.  Everyone, including unbelievers, wants to see good people rewarded good and bad people punished.  The idea of justice is ingrained upon our very heart and soul and I believe this is the way God intended it.  It is in keeping with the law that God has written on our hearts.  If there is law there must also be justice because justice by definition is the administration of law.  When God placed the law upon man’s heart it was accompanied by the understanding that there would be a penalty for violating that law, something we are all guilty of.  This of course, as we saw in chapter 2-3 was meant to point men to the law giver and the one whom we needed to make peace with.

So law and justice are important aspects of God’s revelation of Himself to mankind.The problem arises however when this natural desire for justice becomes coupled with our pride.  When this happens we make it our own personal mission to avenge the wrong or evil done to us.  Scripture tells us however that no man has the right to avenge himself.  Why?  Because the one who seeks vengeance must be completely perfect and just.  We must also remember that only God has a perfect knowledge of the heart of the person who has committed the evil or wrong.

Now does this mean that there is no earthly authority able or allowed to carry out justice?  Of course not.  God has vested His authority to a single earthly power and that is the government.  The government has the God given responsibility to administer justice on earth.  I know that may alarm or even scare some but his is the way God has ordained it.  We won’t get into this today because Paul will address this specifically in chapter 13.

We seem to have this idea in our heads that if someone wrongs us it is our duty and responsibility to make sure the wrong is made right.  We think that if we don’t avenge the wrong that has been done against us it will never be avenged.  Justice is up to us.

God says, NO!  There is only one who is just therefore there is only One who has the right to avenge when a wrong has been committed, and that One is Me!  I know all, I see all, I am aware of every wrong that has ever been committed against you and against me and they will all be accounted for, every one of them.  This is summed up in Paul’s quotation of Deut. 32 where we read “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”  God says “Every person on the face of the earth will give an account to me!  Every wrong will be accounted for.  Justice will be served.  Every evil deed a person commits will be accounted for and punished.  Not a single one will escape the judgment and wrath of God.  The sin and evil of every man woman and child will be dealt with.

For believers, the judgment and wrath of God has been poured out upon Jesus Christ who died in our place, taking the full punishment for our sin and our evil sin upon Himself so that we might go free.

The unbeliever however will personally face the judgment and wrath of God for his sin and evil.  This is the wrath spoken of in verse 18.  This wrath is so terrible and so unimaginable that no amount of harm we inflict out of our own personal vengeance can compare to it. 

What Paul is saying here is this; “Don’t worry about seeking revenge.  Don’t worry about making sure everyone gets what is coming to them.  That’s God’s business.”  To seek vengeance is to attempt to usurp the authority of God Himself.  It is a profound lack of faith in the Word of God which says “God I know what you said but I just don’t believe you will follow through so I am going to make sure it gets done.” 

Now I don’t know about you but when someone wrongs me and I consider the words “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” I feel a sense of pleasure.

Is Paul saying that we are to take comfort in knowing that the one who has wronged me is going to get what’s coming to him?  Am I to find comfort in this?

Notice verse 20 It is as though Paul anticipates this kind of response so he redirects us when he says “To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Instead of seeking to avenge yourself, instead of wishing the vengeance of God upon your enemy try to win him.  Do for your enemy what Christ did for you!  We should never take comfort in the knowledge that the wrath and vengeance of God awaits our enemies.  Rather we should tremble at the very thought of it.  This is why Paul does not simply stop at refraining from doing evil to our neighbors and goes a step further by exhorting us to deliberately pour out kindness upon them.  It is one thing to refrain from doing evil and it is quite another to be proactive in doing good.  Paul’s words here are a reflection of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them…” 

Many have pointed out that the Golden Rule is a universal moral ethic that Jesus simply borrowed from earlier religious or philosophical thought.  The Scriptures hold us to a much higher standard however.  Not only are we to refrain from doing evil to others but we are to actively do good to them, even our enemies.  That’s a big difference.  Don’t simply do what is expected but go even further.  As Jesus said “turn the other cheek, give him your cloak also, walk the extra mile.”  Seek to win your enemy over by your response.  Don’t simply withhold vengeance from your enemy but “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink for…Paul says… by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Paul is citing Proverbs 25:21-22 here and there is a great deal of speculation as to what is meant by heaping coals upon one’s head.  From my own study of the phrase and its context it seems as though Paul is saying that rather than seeking to heap the burning coals of judgment upon the head of our enemy we should seek to heap the burning coals of kindness upon him.  We are to do this in hopes that our enemy would feel shame and guilt for his behavior and repent of it.  The end goal is salvation.  The best way to make your enemy your friend is to make him your brother.

We must act in mercy and love toward our enemies in the desire that they too would come to repent and trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Mercy reminds me of what I, as an enemy of God, deserved and the fact that God withheld it from me and this is my motivation to not seek vengeance.  Grace reminds me that I am no more deserving of the kindness of God than my enemy yet God poured it out upon me and this is my motivation to heap kindness upon my enemy.

Notice Paul’s closing words at the end of chapter 12 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  Do not respond to evil with more evil lest you yourself be overcome by evil.  When we respond to evil with evil, evil has won the victory over us.  We are now operating on the side of evil.  Evil becomes our master and we play by its rules.  Paul says don’t fall for it.  When evil comes at you overcome it but not the way you’re thinking.  If you are going to overcome evil you must overcome it with good otherwise it will overcome you.  If you allow evil to overcome you, you lose the ability to dispense mercy and when you lose the ability to dispense mercy you cannot reflect the grace and love of Jesus Christ to others whether friend or enemy.

So what is the key to overcoming evil with good?  What is our incentive?  What is our motivation?  Turn with me to Luke 7:36-48 “One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table.  And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”  And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”  “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

The key to overcoming evil with good is to always remember that we have been forgiven much.  This is why living in view of the mercies of God is so critical, especially when it comes to our relationships.  To live in view of God’s mercy is to never forget how much we have been forgiven and if we never forget how much we have been forgiven we will find it much easier to forgive others.

In closing this morning Let’s listen to the story of Damare Garang from the Sudan.

Damare was captured by Islamic soldiers when his Sudanese village was attacked. Only 7 at the time, he was sold as a slave to a Muslim family. He became a camel boy even though he knew nothing about caring for them. His master enforced his learning with beatings. One day a camel got away. The master threatened to kill Damare for this mistake, but something restrained him. The next day when he found out that Damare had sneaked away to attend a Christian church in the village he became determined to punish this boy.

The master found a large board, several rusty spikes and a hammer and dragged Damare out to the edge of his compound. He forced Damare’s legs over the board and drove the long nails through his knees and feet. Then he turned and walked away, leaving the boy laying in the field screaming from pain.

A man passing that way heard Damare’s screams and sneaked into the compound and carried this boy to the local hospital where the nails and board were removed. A year-and-a-half later, Damare and the man who saved him were in a village that came under attack, and they were separated. After the defense forces managed to drive away the Islamic soldiers, Damare was left standing along. When the commander heard him speak, he realized that he was from the Dinka Tribe and took him back to their camp. After hearing his tragic story he tried to locate some of Damare’s relatives. When none could be found, the commander adopted the former camel boy and took him to his home.

Today Damare is 15 and lives in Mario Kong. He cannot run fast and play like the other boys, but when asked how he feels about the man who did this to him he replied “I forgive the man who did this to me.  Jesus was also nailed to a cross, and he forgave me.”

May we never forget how much we have been forgiven.  May we never forget the great mercy of God.

Sunday Recap: June 8, 2008

Romans 13:1-7 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed."

While this passage may seem pretty straight forward it is and has been one of the most controversial passages of Scripture in the history of the church. How do believers in Jesus Christ, citizens of heaven relate to earthly powers, civil government?

Now before one delves into these verses it is important to consider their historical context.  If you remember our study in Acts we noted that Rome had a strict policy when it came to religion.  All religions had to be approved by the government and any religion not approved was deemed illegal and its followers subject to punishment.  In Acts we also saw that as far as the Romans were concerned Christianity was simply a sect of Judaism and not a separate religion.  They considered the squabbles between Jews and Christians and interfamily squabble.  This is clearly evident in the refusal of Festus and Herod to recognize the charges the Jews brought against Paul at the end of Acts.  While he may have violated Jewish religious customs they agreed that he had done nothing against Rome. This association proved beneficial to Christians early on but there were times when it was detrimental to them.  When the Jews protested or revolted against Rome, the Roman government made no distinction between them and Christians.

Furthermore, anyone with even a basic understanding of the Bible, especially the gospels is aware of the animosity and resentment the Jews felt toward the Romans.  This was not solely due to their dislike of the Romans in particular, although they did dislike them, it was primarily due to what they saw as a violation of Deuteronomy 17:14-15 where God told the Jews that  “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose.  One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.”  This command of the law along with the many flagrant abuses against their religion suffered at the hands of the foreign leaders they often lived under, led many Jews to conspire against these foreign governments.  By the time of Christ Jewish zealots and assassins had become a constant problem for the Romans.  Revolts and uprisings by the Jews against Rome had become almost commonplace. One such uprising is briefly referenced in Acts 18:1-2 “After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them…”  Claudius had expelled the Jews from Rome because of an uprising and with the Jews came the Christians, in this case Aquila & Priscilla.  Now while the instances of Christians rising up and revolting against the Roman Empire were rare you can be certain that with the large number of Jews converting to Christianity this issue of submission or resistance to government was likely a hot one.

So it is into this environment that Paul writes these words.  What is also interesting here is that neither the Jews nor the Christians had any real power by which to change the Roman government.  The Romans often ruled with an iron fist so any challenge to the authority of Rome would have been considered suicidal.

So considering the historical setting notice Paul’s words in vs 1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.”  Doesn’t get any more black and white then this.

The phrase “every person” is literally “every soul.”  So this command to submit to government while given to believers here is binding on all peoples.  The word “subject” used here is the same word used in Eph. 4-5 to speak of the relationship of a wife to her husband.  In both passages it means to put yourself under the authority of another.  It does not mean the one in authority is better than you or wiser than but still we are to recognize their role or position as coming form God.

 This is precisely the point Paul makes next; “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”  These words are the foundation for all that Paul says here in verses 1-7 that “there is no authority except from God.”  If anyone possesses authority on this earth, whether that be president, king, senator, police officer, soldier, church elders, parents, or whoever; the source of their authority comes from one single source; God.  Obviously if God is sovereign and over all, any authority that exists in the world was given by Him.  As the late Dr. Alva J. McClain said concerning this passage “No ruler can hold his place except by permission of the God of heaven, and in that sense every power that exists is of God.”

It is interesting to note here also that the words “subject,” “authorities,” and “resist” (in verse 2) all come from the same root word tasso translated as “instituted” here.  In other words what God is saying is “submit yourself to the governing institution, and don’t try to ‘deinstitute’ it because I am the one who instituted it.”  To Paul’s hearers the play on words would be very evident.

All human government is instituted by God.  Government is a God ordained institution not simply something man thought up on His own.  God established human government and He delegates His authority to governments.  So the authority that all those in leadership positions enjoy comes from God.  Because of this then Paul says in verse 2 that “…whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”

If you resist what God has instituted you are not merely resisting the institution you are resisting God Himself.  Consider the parallel of marriage.  When a wife attempts to usurp the role of her husband her problem lays ultimately with God not her husband. 

That is why wives are to submit to their husbands as unto to the Lord.  Likewise, if all governmental authority is from God, then to resist that authority is to resist God Himself who has delegated that authority to government, and if we resist the authority of God we should expect judgment.  The judgment spoke of by Paul here however is not only an eternal/spiritual judgment, but it is also the judgment of government in the here and now.  Notice verse 3-4 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”  Paul says government has been instituted by God to carry out His moral will of punishing evil and approving good.  This is why Paul twice refers to the government as a servant of God.  Even Rome at the time of Christ and the Apostles, as corrupt as the empire was, still in general sought to uphold justice and the rule of law by punishing thieves and murderers, and keeping peace and order.  Paul says that the government is established for the good and benefit of its citizens.  Therefore if you do what is right you won’t have anything to fear but if you do what it wrong “…be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain.”

The reference to the sword here is a clear reference to the most extreme power entrusted to the government, the power to take the life of the wrongdoer, something only God Himself can do.  This is clear in the Old Testament in Genesis 9 when God institutes capital punishment.  Later on of course we see this principle in the law given to Israel and its rulers.  The right to punish evil rests in the hands of the government not the individual.  This is important when it comes to keeping law and order and a sense of justice.  The eye for an eye principle in the law was not about revenge but rather about justice.  It was government’s responsibility to ensure that only an eye was taken for an eye and nothing more, as is often the case in personal revenge.  

So you see the importance of government in carrying out justice among its citizens.

In verse 5 Paul makes his main point again, but this time he adds something that is very important; “Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

First, Paul says you must obey government but when you obey government do not simply obey in order to stay out of trouble.  Don’t simply drive the speed limit; refrain from stealing and murder simply so you don’t get in trouble.  Obey the government “for the sake of conscience.”  This principle is important for the Christian life in general.  We do not refrain from sin simply so we won’t get in trouble.

Parents, you understand this.  We shouldn’t simply seek to modify the behavior of our children but rather we should seek shape their hearts by immersing their conscience in the Word of God.  Behavior modification produces children who behave simply to avoid punishment.  If the threat of punishment wasn’t there they would misbehave.  Their heart has not been changed.

As believers we must understand that we do right not simply to avoid punishment but because to do wrong is….well wrong.  When we do wrong we are violating the character of God and His law which we know is sin.  So when God delegates His authority to the government and that government establishes laws we are obligated to obey those laws lest we sin against God.  This means the believer would do right regardless of the presence of government.

Now with that said I am sure some of you are squirming thinking “I cannot believe he is telling us to blindly submit the government.”  This doesn’t sit well with Americans, after all our country was born out of distrust for government.  Read the Declaration of Independence and our other founding documents.  Our second amendment is a clear statement of this inherent wariness of government.  If the government gets out of line we have the right to grab our guns and fight!

Paul is not calling for blind obedience however.  What this passage is calling for is subjection to government based upon a Biblically informed conscience.  In other words we are to always submit to the laws of government except in the case where the government relinquishes its role as a servant of God and requires us to violate His divine will.  When the government does this it is no longer acting as a servant of God and we are obligated to submit to the higher authority that is God Himself.  There are several well known cases of this in the Old Testament with men like Daniel who refused to obey King Darius’ law not to pray.

Shadrach, Meshcah, and Abednego refused to bow to the image of Nebuchadnezzar.

A clear example in the N.T. involved the Apostle’s it’s found in Acts 5:27-29 “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”

When confronted with the command of men in authority to stop preaching Christ, they chose to obey God.  Their rulers were in direct violation of a command of God to Himself to preach the gospel.  Government’s authority comes from God’s therefore anytime a government’s law directly violates the law of God we obey God rather than man.  If the government tells us not to preach the gospel; we preach the gospel.  If the government tells us not to gather together; we gather together.  If the government tells us not to pray; we pray.  Likewise if the government tells us to steal, murder, commit immorality, rat out other believers, worship a false god, etc. we obey the higher authority.  So then things like speed limits, seat belt laws, building permits, gun regulations, and here’s a bog one TAXES, all these are to be obeyed because they in no way violate God’s revealed Word.

In fact in verses 6-7 Paul illustrates his point about submission by bringing up the issue of taxation which was probably more controversial then as it is now!  Notice verses 6-7 “For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed….”  Paul says we are to submit to the government even when we don’t want to and he uses taxes to make his point. 

These words here bring to mind the account recorded in the gospel of Matthew when the Pharisees, seeking to trick Jesus, asked him if it was right for Jews to pay taxes.  They figured If He said “yes pay taxes to Rome” the Jews would turn on him.  If he said “no don’t pay taxes” he would be in trouble with the Romans.  You remember Jesus’ answer “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”   Jesus point was that submission to the government and submission to God are not two opposing sides but ultimately one in the same.  God instituted government so when government requires us to pay taxes we pay taxes.

We may not agree with the principle of taxes or the amount we are required to pay but taxes give us no basis to resist government.  If we have a problem with taxes we can work within the established laws of the government for changing them but we are not to refuse to pay what is due.  This concept of duty or indebtedness is made clear in verse 7 when Paul says we are to give “…respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”  The man or woman in the position of authority may not be unworthy but the position he/she holds is worthy of respect because we know that its source is God Himself.  We may disagree with our leaders and we might work within the our political system to replace them with more suitable leaders we must be careful not to slander them or speak disrespectfully of them.

So is there some personal application here for us as Americans in this passage? Yes.

First,  Romans 12:19-21 tells us never to seek revenge.  Why?  God is the avenger.  Our text this morning makes two important points concerning this matter. 

1. God gives government the power to wield the sword in order to punish wrongdoers, therefore when I am wronged I am not to avenge the wrong myself, taking the law into my own hands, but rather I am to allow God’s ordained institution of government to bring justice.   Now we know that government, while instituted by God is still made up of sinful people and therefore justice will not always be served, but we can be assured again, like we saw last week, God keeps an accounting of wrongs.  Leave room for His wrath.

2.  God delegates His authority to Government and rulers must give an account to Him for how they handle that authority.  If rulers are unjust and evil in their actions we should expect the judgment of God to come upon them.  Time and time again in the Old Testament we see rulers put down and nations overthrown because of the evil and unjust actions of their rulers.

It is important to understand that governments and nations are earthly and temporal institutions so their judgment occurs in the here and now not in eternity.  As believers we wait for God to deal with governments and regimes that abuse the authority and power entrusted to them by Him.  This would have been very relevant to believers living under the Roman Empire in the first and second centuries.

Yes they will persecute you and kill you but remember they will answer to me.

Finally, we are citizens of Heaven first and citizens of earth second.  God has given believers a mandate to change the world but we do not carry out this mandate through the temporal and earthly institutions of government.  We are not going to bring about the kingdom of God on earth through legislation or by electing those we perceive to be the right “people” into office.  The mandate God has given us is to change to world by the preaching of gospel.  We are to be concerned first and foremost with the salvation of men’s souls not their political persuasion.  Preach the gospel!  That is our mandate and God has given us the authority to carry out this mandate.

Notice Matthew 28:16-20 “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.  And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”  Jesus said all authority in Heaven and on earth is given to me and He delegates that authority to us and it is by the authority of God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son that we are to go in the power of the Holy Spirit and preach the gospel and make disciples of all peoples.

That is our mandate.  Is it wrong to get involved in politics?  No.  If you are able to do so working in accordance within the laws set down by the government and you are not violating God’s Word in any way, go for it, but remember that this not your ultimate mandate.

In closing let’s look briefly at two passages of Scripture that will help summarize what we have learned.

1 Peter 2:13-17 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”  If you enjoy freedom under your government use it to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness right?  No.  Use it to live as a servant of God.  Use it to preach the gospel and further the kingdom!

Next, 1 Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  Paul tells Timothy that believers are to pray for those in authority.  Why?  So that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life.  Why do we want to lead a peaceful and quiet life?  So we can pursue pleasure?  So we can relax?  So we can pursue the American dream?  No.  Look at what he says;  We are to “….lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way…” because “…This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

It’s about the gospel.  As believers in Jesus Christ we are to live gospel centered lives and this means that all of our relationships, including our relationship with government, will be gospel centered, reflecting the humility, love, grace, and mercy of our Lord.   

Sunday Recap: May 25, 2008

Romans 12:15-16 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited.” 

In verses 15-21 there are two prominent characteristics that should permeate all of the Christian’s relationships; humility and mercy.  The focus of this text is humility.  One of the most distinguishing characteristics of a Christian is humility in his/her relationships with others.  Christians who have the mind of Christ will consider others more important than themselves, and the needs of others more important than their own.  They will exhibit an attitude of selflessness characterized by a willingness to, as J Vernon McGee says, “enter emotionally into the lives of others.”  This is precisely what Paul exhorts us to do when he says “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

To rejoice with those who rejoice a person must truly put themselves “out there” as we say.  We must put our own needs, wants, and desires aside in order to identify others.

It means that I rejoice with my neighbor even when I don’t feel like rejoicing and I rejoice when what is good for my neighbor is not necessarily good for me.  Paul is not speaking of a superficial “Good for you.” Selflessness is required.  I must put away jealousy and envy and genuinely and wholeheartedly rejoice with others.

This is tough.  There will be times when rejoicing with those who rejoice is almost unbearable.  Some of you know this personally.  You are single and so desperately want to be married and you find yourself at a wedding in the midst of rejoicing friends on their wedding day. You want children but have been unable to have them and you find yourself in the midst of friends who are rejoicing in the birth of their new child.  You have been working faithfully at the same job for years and it is your friend who receives the promotion or the bonus.  You have a child that has straying from the Lord and wants nothing to do with you or your faith and you find yourself in the midst of friends who are celebrating the accomplishment of their child.  The examples are many but you see why this could be difficult, but…..while it might be difficult to rejoice with others while you are struggling, it is not impossible.

Think about it like this.  When you find yourself in that place where it seems impossible to rejoice with those who are rejoicing remember the words of James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  Every good thing that comes into our lives or into the lives of others, believer and unbeliever, comes from our good God, and all of these good and perfect gifts are evidences of His grace.  Now if there is one thing that we as believers should be able to rejoice in it is grace.  Grace frees us from pride and arrogance when we receive good things and it frees us from jealously and envy when others receive good things because grace is inherently undeserved.  In other words when any of us receives any good thing we understand that it is totally and completely the result of God’s grace at work and we can all rejoice in that.

Because grace is never the result of our own self-worth or merit it removes “self” from the picture and frees us to focus on others. That is the root of the problem is it not?  It is “self” that keeps me from rejoicing with those who rejoice.  Self says “What about me?  I deserve that?  Why can’t I ever get a break?”  So what is the remedy to self?  We must purposely look for evidences of God’s grace in the lives of others.  This is what enables us to rejoice and give glory to God. 

Next Paul says “weep with those who weep.”  Now this command is likely much easier for us because it is easier for us to identify with those who are grieving.  To weep with those who weep means more than just saying “Isn’t that terrible” and then moving on with our lives.  Weeping here means to cry or literally to wail in sorrow.  To weep with those who weep means to make their sorrow your sorrow.   Again, this can only be done when we move beyond ourselves.  Often times we as Christians do not truly identify with the sorrow of others because we do not love people the way Jesus loves people.

True sacrificial love, the agape love we spoke of a few weeks ago, considers others as more important than ourselves meaning that the pain of others grieves our hearts as much as the pain we ourselves experience.  I often think of the account of Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus in John 11.  Notice how John records the event; “When Jesus saw her (Mary) weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.”  What an amazing account.  Here we see the eternal Son of God, who knows all things, weeping beside the tomb of a friend.  Why did He weep?  He knew where Lazarus was.  He wasn’t surprised by his death.  Why then did He weep? There are various reasons why Jesus wept but one reason was certainly His identification with the sorrow of His friends.  As He stood there with Mary and Martha who were weeping at the death of their brother, Jesus felt tremendous sorrow for them.  Their pain was His pain.

Too often we are too busy to truly weep with the weeping or maybe we it’s just not our thing to get emotional, or maybe we just don’t want to get into a messy and complicated situation that might require a commitment.  These responses are not evidences of Christ-like love but rather of selfish spirit, and a selfish spirit is always indifferent to the needs of others and indifference to the needs of others always leads to a hardness of heart that just simply doesn’t care.  We must never allow this hard heartedness to set in.  We must never be too preoccupied with ourselves and our needs, wants, and desires that we don’t have time to share in the joys and struggles of others.

A believer who, through the power of God’s Spirit, sets self aside and is able to genuinely rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, this person will stand out and in the midst of a self absorbed world.  They will truly be salt and light.

Paul continues in verse 16 with yet another exhortation involving humility in our relationships; “Live in harmony with one another.”  Paul’s words here are basically this “get along with each other.”  Christians should be characterized by a desire and willingness to get along with our neighbors, a genuine desire to love and live in harmony with our neighbors both Christian and non Christian.  We should not be a nitpicky people.  Our spirit should never be a critical one.  To the prideful and selfish person there is no such thing as a minor issue.  There is no such thing as a small matter.  Every hill is a hill to die on because my pride is at stake on every hill and in every battle.

Christians should be a peace loving people, able to get along with our neighbors, and again, this is only possible through humility because only a truly humble person is able to get along with his/her neighbor whether they be a believer or an unbeliever.  Again, we see the importance of that grace which frees us from self.  This is key to all of these verses through the end of chapter 12.  If you have not experienced the grace of God through salvation you cannot and will not be able to lay self aside and live like this.  Likewise if you are not living in view of the mercies of God you will be unable to lay self aside and live like this.

The literal translation of Paul’s words here in verse 16 are “be of the same mind toward one another.”  When Paul uses the phrase “same mind” he uses the word “phroneo” you may remember from chapter 8:6-7 which means “mindset” or attitude.  Paul is calling us to something concrete and objective here.  He is not simply calling for us to get along with others for the sake of getting along.  He is not calling us to check truth at the door and engage in a feel good group hug.  He is telling us that Christians who are living in view of God’s mercy, who are being transformed by the renewing of their minds will have a different pattern of thinking.

What is this pattern of thinking, this mindset that is to characterize us and where does it come from?  It is found in Philippians 2:3-8 “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind (phroneo) among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The mindset that Paul is calls us to is the mindset of Christ.  It is the mindset that led Christ to leave His throne in Heaven and become a man, not a king, not a prince, not a mighty warrior but a servant, literally making Himself nothing, for the express purpose of dying for us, a people who were not worth dying for.  That is the mind of Christ, a mindset that puts self last and others first.

We see this mindset clearly spelled out for us in black and white as it relates to our human relationships in the remainder of verse 16 “Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited.”  The word “haughty” is actually two words in the Greek “hypsēlos phronountes” which literally means “high minded.”  It is the opposite of the mind of Christ.  It is to consider one more important than others.  It is a prideful or arrogant attitude that makes distinctions based upon social status, physical appearance, race, or any number of things we use to judge people.  Paul says don’t consider yourself better than others, but instead “…associate with the lowly.”  Now when Paul exhorts us to associate with the lowly he is not saying that we are of a higher class.

What he is saying is that we are in fact all lowly.  Paul is not trying to say “Hey you upper class people hang out with the lower class folks to make them feel better.”  Rather what he is saying is “Hey you people up there!  Get your head out of the clouds and get back to reality and remember who you are.  Remember your place.”  There is no such thing as class or social distinctions within the church.  At the foot of the cross all people are equal.  In Galatians 3:28 Paul said “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Social, racial, and class distinctions are creations of human culture.  God does not recognize them as legitimate so neither should we.  If we as believers to give credence to these cultural structures as legitimate we do a great disservice to the name of Christ who shows no partiality.  True Christianity cannot be partial.  True Christianity cannot discriminate.  Why?  One word; grace.  Grace levels the playing field.  Grace reminds us that we are all part of Adam’s race, all partakers in his sin, all facing the condemnation, all needing salvation. Grace removes any and all grounds for boasting, for pride, for high mindedness.

One of the most amazing things about the church of Jesus Christ in the first century was