No images? Click here The Everlasting Debt Romans 13:8-10 May 5th, 2024 Living the Christian life is challenging because we have a redeemed soul living within a sinful body. Paul struggled with this as he related in Romans 7 where he confessed that he did in his flesh the things he didn’t want to do, and he failed to do the things he wanted to do in his spirit. The struggle is a consequence of our dual allegiance; we are citizens of a country but, more importantly, we are citizens of heaven. In Philippians 3:20 Paul said, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” In Chapters 12 and 13 of Romans, Paul described how Christians are supposed to live in our world. Rather than trying to make a distinction between the two allegiances, he integrates our spiritual lives with our civic responsibilities.
When life becomes difficult, we are tempted to isolate, to separate in the hope of finding peace. When family becomes challenging, we are tempted to move; when our job becomes challenging, we find a new job; when marriage becomes challenging, we live independently within the same home; when we become disillusioned with the political situation, we limit our civic engagement. In verses one through seven of Chapter 13, we are instructed to obey civil authorities, even evil governments, and Paul gives reasons why we are to obey. Since governments are run by sinful men, evil governments are easy to recognize. Rather than trying to walk the tightrope of our citizenship, we want to run to separation; we want to find exceptions to why we should not obey. While there are exceptions that allow us to disobey the government, exceptions are not the issue that Paul is addressing here.
In verse 8, Paul begins to reveal the issue that is in our heart. God knows our heart, and He knows that when we are subject to bad government, it is easy for us to become embittered, and we look for ways for our bitterness to be justified. In verses 8-10, Paul is helping us guard against bitterness by showing us how we integrate our spiritual lives with our civic responsibility. Our commitment to civic responsibility and our commandment to love are inseparable. As we study Romans 13:8-10, we find that we have an everlasting debt before us. The debt that we owe is to love one another, and this love fulfills the Law of God. This debt of love affects all our interactions with others and with the civil government. As we examine these verses, we will see how we can be followers of Christ in every aspect of our life. We will see how to embody love and truth in a world that desperately needs both.
I. Understanding our Perpetual Debt (v. 8)
Paul carries the thought in verse seven of paying everyone what we owe them into verse eight where he says we are not to owe anyone anything. We are to pay taxes that are due, and we are to pay respect and honor to those to whom it is due. The idea is that we should have no outstanding debts. The exception is that we will never repay the debt of love that we owe to others. There is no prohibition against borrowing or lending, but God gave specific rules governing such transactions. A lender was not to take unfair advantage of a borrower nor was a lender allowed to charge interest to a fellow Israelite. (See Exodus 22:25 and Psalm 15:5) Jesus commanded that we give to the poor man who begs from us, and to not refuse him who would borrow from you (Matthew 5:42). The idea is that a borrower was not to be enslaved to debt. Deuteronomy 15 commands that debts are to be forgiven every seven years, the Sabbatical year. Even the debt of a man who borrows in the sixth year shall be forgiven his debt the next year.
The only exception to not owing anyone anything is found in verse 8b: “except to love each other.” We may pay, and pay, and pay, and yet never satisfy this debt. There is a narrow and wide focus of this debt. The narrow focus applies to the church, and it is a moral obligation for all believers. Jesus said “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) As unbelievers see church members loving each other, they will know that we serve a unique God. Galatians 6:10 exhorts us to do good to everyone, especially fellow believers. 1 John 3:16-18, Hebrews 6:10, and Romans 12:10 describe ways in which believers are to love each other.
When we pay our full tax debt, that obligation is satisfied. Love is not like this; this debt can never be fully satisfied. We can never repay the debt we owe to God for our salvation, and we can never repay the debt we owe to others because God placed this debt on us. We can never think that we have loved anyone to the point of seeing our obligation stamped Paid in Full. 1 Corinthians 13:7 states that “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Biblical love continues to persevere; biblical love loves through all things. 1 Corinthians 14:1 commands us to continually pursue love. To love is the outstanding debt that we have. This debt is foremost to fellow believers, but secondary creditors to our account is everyone else.
We are to love one another, including our neighbor, and this fulfills the law. Paul is saying that if we love others with an agape love, a willful love, a determined love, the love that we received from God, the love that God desires we have for others, then we have fulfilled the Law; we have obeyed the Ten Commandments. Matthew 22:35-40 describes the time when Jesus was asked by a lawyer what is the greatest commandment of the Law. Jesus responded, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Thus, love is the essence of the Law. Love is a perpetual debt because we don’t fulfill the law of love; we continually disobey the Law. As we look at the Ten Commandments, Romans 3:10-18 is clear that no one is righteous, no one does good. The Law was never intended to save us, it is only a tutor, or guardian that leads us to Christ. (Galatians 3:24)
The reality of our sin testifies to the righteousness of God. The great divide between God’s righteousness and our sinfulness can be bridged by faith in Christ. Romans 3:21-22 says, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” We appropriate true righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:13-14 describes what Christ did for us: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” With that debt paid, we are released from the bond of sin, and we are bound to benevolence. We are bound to love and are identified as believers by our love for one another.
We love because God first loved us. (1 John 4:19) We are bound to benevolence because of His love. We are compelled to love because we have the Spirit within us. We have a bond that, properly invested, produces great dividends. It is like the farmer who sowed seed in his field: “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." (Matthew 13:23) The fruit to which Paul refers in Romans 13:8 is love. Love is what we receive, and love is what we perpetually give to others. Paul then moves from understanding our perpetual debt to the manifestation of our perpetual debt.
II. The Manifestation of our Perpetual Debt (v.9)
The first manifestation of the debt of love, the first fruit mentioned is the solidarity of marriage. Paul first addresses the command “You shall not commit adultery.” At the core of adultery is lust. Love is giving, not taking, whereas lust is the opposite. To commit adultery is a failure to love your spouse exclusively. If the opposite of love is hate, then in actuality adultery is a hatred of your spouse, your children, your church, and your God. Whenever we enter into a covenant of marriage and break it by lusting and taking, we are demonstrating the opposite of love. To demonstrate love, we are not to forsake our covenant of marriage before God. Adultery is a heart attitude as well as an action. Even if the act never takes place, lust equates to adultery.
The second commandment which Paul addresses is, “You shall not murder.” Anyone who loves will cherish all human life. Jesus interprets the commandment in Matthew 5:21-22 to equate anger with murder. There are times when anger is righteous, but anger not focused on the glory of God is unrighteous anger. Unrighteous anger is what Paul is addressing in verse nine and to which Jesus addressed in Matthew 5. A growing irritation that builds into frustration and resentment, even when not resulting in an outburst, is still murder. Murder is anti-life giving directed at your neighbor. We are to cherish the lives of everyone we meet, including those who have wronged us.
Also, we must resist the temptation to justify anger. If we are angry at someone; this is the person we have murdered! If we are angry, we must determine the root of our anger by seeking to identify the reason why we carry resentment against someone. Then we must begin to fulfill our debt of love even to those who have wronged us.
The commandments do not steal and do not covet can be lumped together as be generous. Both are heart issues but stealing is focused more on the outside, whereas coveting is more focused on the inside. Both are a manifestation of greed, where we want more than we have or even more than we need. Coveting also carries the idea that we desire something just because someone else has it. We may not need or even want the thing; we just don’t want the other person to have it. Unconfessed coveting leads to either one of two ditches: one is hating, and the other is taking.
Coveting is a strong temptation. Paul experienced this as expressed in Romans 7. He didn’t even recognize that he coveted until he read the Law which said, “You shall not covet.” Coveting is a sin that we can even hide from ourselves. A tragic example of coveting is exposed in the battle when Israel defeated Jerico. God had told Israel to kill everyone in the city except Rahab’s family, and to put the gold, silver, and vessels of bronze and iron in the treasury. However, because he coveted, Achan took a cloak from Shinar, 200 shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels. This resulted in Israel’s defeat at Ai and the loss of thirty-six lives. (Joshua 6 & 7)
Stealing and coveting are expressions of greed and self-love. In contrast the person who is paying the debt of love will demonstrate generosity, a spirit of giving rather than taking, a desire to meet the needs of another person. A generous person will seek to bless others. This blessing can be financial, or it can be providing help in other ways. A generous person experiences immense joy in being able to minister to others.
All these commands and anything else we think of can be summed up in the concept of Love Your Neighbor. This commandment is given in Leviticus 19:18, “but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” Your neighbor is anyone other than yourself. The supreme example we have of this kind of love is found in Luke 6:32-35, where Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” We are not paying back the debt of love if we only love those who love us, or do good only to those who do good to us, or only lend to those who will repay us? We are to love everyone, to do good to all, and lend even when we don’t expect to be repaid. If we do these things, our reward will be great, we will be sons of God, and the world will recognize that we belong to a God who is love.
We need to remember where we came from. We were children of wrath, but God being rich in mercy loved us with a great love (Ephesians 2:4). “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children of God.” (Ephesians 5:1) The way we treat everyone around us, especially our enemies should reflect the love we have received from God. This is the debt we owe God, our obligation to Him. If we don’t love those around us, especially our Christian brothers and sisters, our salvation is suspect. For the true believer, this is not a burden; it is a debt we want to pay. We are compelled to love others because of the love we have received from Christ. We may see this as a moral obligation or a duty, but we also see it as an offering to God, a sweet aroma that we are pleased to give.
III. The Satisfaction of Our Perpetual Debt (v. 10)
Satisfaction of our perpetual debt is manifest in our obedience to the law. Love doesn’t continue to do wrong. Continuing to do wrong is manifesting the fruit of the evil one, not the fruit of God. Then we are found wanting in our payment of debt. Romans 12 tells us that because of the love given to us, we are never to pay back evil to anyone. Regardless of what is given to us, our obligation is to return it with love. Love does not give back evil to an enemy; love does not desire or take what belongs to others; love does not build up bitterness or resentment or desire to harm or abuse others; and love does not forsake the marriage covenant in our heart. In the greater context of Romans 13, love obeys authorities, honors and respects government officials, pays taxes. This is obedience.
We fulfill the Law by obeying the Law. The Law is love and to love is to obey the Law. A litmus test of our love is how well we obey the Law. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. John 13 explains that Jesus fulfilled the Law by loving His own to the end. His love culminated in His death, a death that was a sacrifice to pay our sin debt. This is the sacrificial type of love that God requires of us. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) Jesus’ commandments are love.
As a child of God, are you paying back your debt? Or are you defaulting on your debt? Our obedience proves our love for Christ. We must remember that the debt of love we owe is life-long and it is not to be biased; we must make payments of love to our enemies as well as our friends. We make payments to good and evil people and to good and evil governments. The only time we may violate this principle is if the authority is demanding something that is contrary to the law of God. While there are exceptions, Paul’s point is that we have a great debt of love to pay. When we love as God requires, the decision whether to obey human authorities will be clear.
Selah:
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