Love is of the utmost importance in the Christian life. It is a debt that we will never pay off, and it fulfills God’s Law. We must appropriate the power of the Spirit in order to love our neighbor as ourselves.
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The Preeminence of Love
Romans 13:8-10
This morning we are going to discuss the most popular subject ever – love! It is estimated that there have been over 100 million love songs written to date, and there is no sign that they are slowing down. Over 50% of hit songs are about love. The idea of “falling in love” is so commonplace, that we think that two people can not have a happy and healthy marriage without experiencing it. However, the idea of “falling in love” is a relatively novel idea. And it is difficult for us today to understand Biblical love because of this modern popular idea of “love.”
Falling in love implies that it happens suddenly, uncontrollably, and leaves the person in a state of vulnerability, like someone who falls into a trap or falls ill. According to modern ideas, when a person falls in love, they have no control over it. It just happens to them. In truth, falling in love often has more to do with infatuation, lust, or possessiveness, than Biblical love.
Let’s see if we can define love in the popular sense and then in the Biblical sense.
The Popular View Of Love. Webster defines it as a strong feeling of affection. Therefore, to “fall in love” is to suddenly and uncontrollably come under the power of this new feeling of affection.
The Biblical View Of Love. Romans 13:10, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor.” If love does not do wrong to a neighbor, what does it do? Of course, it does good to a neighbor.
Mt. 5:44-45, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Here Jesus tells us that we are to be like God. He loves His enemies. How so? Does He have a strong feeling of affection for His enemies? No, He chooses to do good things for His enemies, like causing the sun to rise on them and sending rain for them. His love for them is His commitment to do good to them.
Luke 6:27, “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you…” Here Jesus tells us what love is. It is to do good. “Enemies” is parallel to “those who hate you”, and “love” is parallel to “do good.”
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” God loved the world? What did it look like? Was it a warm, intense, mushy feeling of affection? No, it was a determination to sacrifice for the good of the world. It was a willingness to give up His only Son unto death.
Therefore, if we put these Scriptures together, we can construct a Biblical definition of love.
“Love is a self-sacrificial commitment/choice to do another good.”
Note, that a warm affectionate feeling is not required for us to love others. Rather, a commitment or choice is! In fact, you may not even like someone, but you can love them. And this choice or commitment will involve personal sacrifice. Biblical love is not something we “fall into.” It is something we choose, and grow and develop in as God sanctifies us. It is not sudden or uncontrollable. Rather it is a calculated decision we make because we are followers of Jesus Christ.
So, now that we have arrived at a Biblical definition of love, let’s ask ourselves some questions about love:
- Who Are We To Love?
- How Much Are We To Love?
- Why Are We To Love?
Then we will conclude by asking about the source of this love.
1. Who Are We To Love?
At first glance that question may seem like a slam dunk. It says “love one another.” We might conclude that to love one another is speaking about Christians loving other Christians. However, there is more here than initially meets the eye. “One another” is defined by “anyone” – “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another. What is it that we do owe anyone? Love for one another. So the “one another” we are to love is anyone. Paul goes on to say, “he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” However, the Greek literally says, “for he who loves the other has fulfilled the law.” So we are to love the other, whoever that other is.
In verse 9 and 10 Paul says that we are to love our neighbor as ourself. But who is our neighbor? A certain lawyer asked Jesus that question in Luke 10. In response Jesus told a parable in which a Samaritan was a neighbor of a Jew. Remember that Jews despised Samaritans. They did not even share the same religion. However, the Samaritan was a neighbor to the Jew who was robbed and beaten and left for dead. Conclusion? Our neighbor is anyone who is in need. Therefore, Paul is not telling us in Romans 13 that Christians are to love only other Christians. He is telling Christians that they are to love all people. And remember that means that we are to love all people in the sense that we make a sacrificial determination to do them good.
Sometimes believers can take the fortress mentality towards our Christian lives. We hole up in our Christian fortresses. We retreat from the world, and only interact with other Christians. We do not develop friendships with unbelievers because we are concerned that we may be defiled by their lifestyles. To prevent that, we choose to relate to Christians whenever we can. We find a Christian dentist, hair stylist, mechanic, or doctor. The problem is, if we pursue that kind of lifestyle, when will we ever have an opportunity to shine our light for Christ? We are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. One of the ways we can shine our light for Christ is by loving and witnessing to unbelievers. So, brothers and sisters, get out of your head the idea that you are only to interact with and love believers. No, the Scripture calls you to love all people everywhere.
2. How Much Are We To Love?
What I mean by that is what should be the standard or measure of our love? In verse 9, Paul quotes Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Some have interpreted this to mean that we must first love ourselves before we can love others. They say a primary reason many can’t love others is because they don’t love themselves. If they could just gain a better self-esteem, then they would really be able to love other people. That interpretation of the passage completely misses the mark. Scripture is commanding us to love other people as we already love ourselves. It is not commanding us to love ourselves so that we can love others. We already love ourselves way too much, and now we are commanded to seek the good of others as much as we already are seeking our own good.
Have you ever thought about the fact that though each of us has many faults, we are very gracious to ourselves. We excuse our wrongs, and justify our actions, and let ourselves off the hook. However, we are slow to do the same with others! We pursue our own good every day, but rarely consider how we can pursue the good of others. We are absolutely committed to our own happiness, and pursue it with zeal and abandon. But we are slow to do the same for others. The Bible is simply telling us that we are a self-centered group of people. Get out of yourself and start pursuing the good of those around you. We don’t need to love ourselves more. We need to love others more so that we are pursuing the same happiness for them as we are for ourselves.
I have a full plate of food and my neighbor has nothing to eat, I ought to give him half of my food. That would be to love him as I love myself. Sometimes it is very difficult to make the time to study the Scriptures in order to preach the Word to you guys. Both Jerome and I have demanding jobs that require a lot from us. Teaching the Word of God faithfully requires many hours. It is a sacrifice. It means studying, praying, reading, and writing, often when we would rather rest or spend time with family. But if Jerome and I are to love you as we love ourselves, we must sacrifice our leisure time and rest time, and devote ourselves to the Word.
To love another as you love yourself might mean loaning or giving a car to someone who doesn’t have one. It will involve you giving up something that you want, in order to help someone else gain something they need or want. It will require us to be unselfish.
So that is the measure of how we are to love – as we love ourself.
3. Why Are We To Love?
Because We Owe Love To Everyone
That’s what Paul is telling us in verse 8. Love is the one debt that we can never pay off. We will be paying on this debt for the rest of our lives. We will never get to the point where we have loved enough, and don’t need to love any more.
Owe nothing to anyone. What is the connection between what Paul has been saying in Romans 13:1-7 and verse 8? Is there any connection? Yes, there is. The ESV translates Romans 13:7-8, “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. Owe no one anything, except to love each other…” So Paul’s point is that there are certain things that we owe. We owe taxes, customs, fear and honor. So, we must pay these debts.
Does This Verse Teach We Must Not Borrow Money? A few people throughout church history have believed that, like George Mueller. However, I do not believe that was what Paul was teaching here. He is saying that we should not let any debts go unpaid. He’s not saying that we should never have any debt. The reason I say that is because in Scripture God never forbids borrowing money. In fact Jesus taught in Mt. 5:42, “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” Now, if incurring a debt were sin, Jesus would never have told us to lend to the person who wants to borrow from you. The point is that we are to pay our debts when they are due.
We Should Not Fail To Pay Our Debts. This often takes place. Because of materialism or greed, people will charge the things they want on credit cards, and accumulate more debt than they can repay. So, they file bankruptcy and are absolved of all financial responsibility. That is not God’s way, and is tantamount to stealing. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” For the first ten years of our marriage, Debbie and I refused to get a credit card. We had very little money, and were afraid that we would accumulate debt that we could not repay. When we finally did get a credit card, we made a commitment that we would always pay it off every month. If we ever got into a situation where we could no longer pay the whole amount off each month, we would cut up the cards. If you put yourself in debt in order to have that new car or furniture or motorcycle or boat, and then can’t afford to make the payments, you have put yourself in bondage. You are no longer able to give freely to the work of the Lord. You have succumbed to the lust of the eyes. Brothers and sisters, learn to live with less than your income. You should live simply so you can give to God’s work and you can put some aside for savings. If you are so in debt you can’t do that, you need to get rid of some stuff.
However, all of that is not really the point of this passage. The main point is that we must love others because that is a debt we will never be discharged from. Love is the debt we must always be paying, and yet always be owing. It is an obligation we will never be free from.
Why Do We Owe Love To All People? Paul writes in Romans 1:14-15, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” The phrase “under obligation” literally is “debtor.” It is the same Greek word we find in Romans 13:8 for “owe.” Why was Paul under obligation to all men? Why did he owe all men the gospel? Because Jesus had commanded that the church preach the gospel to all creation, and make disciples of all the nations. He was under orders from Jesus Christ Himself! He had an obligation to preach the gospel to all people. Likewise, we are under obligation to love all people, because God has commanded us to. Therefore, we owe all people love.
Because Love Fulfills The Law
On the one hand, Romans 6:14 tells us that we are not under law but under grace. Romans 7:4,6 tells us we have died to the law, and we have released from the law. However, Romans 8:4 says that Christ died so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. All the Law can do is hold up a perfect standard, and then condemn all who fall short.
“Do this and live the Law commands, but give me neither feet nor hands.
A better word the gospel brings. It bids me fly and gives me wings.”
So, does that mean that God doesn’t care whether we are fulfilling the Law or not? Of course not! Of course He wants us to fulfill the Law. The Law is an expression of His moral character, and His will. When we fulfill His Law, we are being pleasing in His sight. However, we can’t fulfill the Law by focusing on the Law. We had to die to the Law and be joined to Christ in order to bear fruit for God. If you make the Law your focus, you will fail over and over. But if you walk by the Spirit, and make Jesus Christ your focus, you will fulfill the Law. As we find our strength and life and power in Christ, God’s love will flow from our lives to others.
What Law Is Paul Talking About? Well, he quotes four of the 10 Commandments. All of these commands are from the 2nd table of the Law, having to do with our relationship to others. So, he must be saying that love fulfills all the moral commands of God which are timeless and eternal and relate to our relationship with others.
If you love someone, you won’t commit adultery with his wife. If you love someone, you won’t murder him. If you love someone, you won’t steal from them. If you love someone, you won’t covet what they possess. You won’t poison the neighbor’s dog, throw garbage over the fence, park your car in your neighbor’s space, keep his lawn mower for a month, or drool over his new Porsche. If you love others, you won’t do any wrong to them. Therefore, we don’t have to try to memorize all of God’s laws, and check them off every day to make sure we are fulfilling them. All you have to do is think Love. Am I loving others? That’s it! If you are loving others, you are fulfilling all God’s Law related to people.
Conclusion
So we are left with one huge question aren’t we? How do we love others as we love ourself? What is the source of this love? Where do we get the power to do this?
Well, we have learned that love fulfills the Law. But in Romans 8:4 Paul tells us that we fulfill the Law b walking not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Therefore, we can only love others if we walk according to the Spirit. So, how does this work?
Romans 5:5 says that the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Now, I don’t believe Paul is talking about the Holy Spirit pouring out our love for God. Why? Because three verses later he says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Paul is talking about the Holy Spirit pouring out a sense of God’s love for us within our hearts. The Spirit opens our hearts and pours in an understanding of how greatly God loves us, and at what cost Christ died for us. But that’s just the beginning.
He also indwells us. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:29 that he labored and strove according to His power which mightily works within him.
So, how do we gain access to that power? How do we tap into it? How do we experience it in doing those things that are pleasing to God? Jesus told us that we must abide in Him in John 15, and if we do, we will bear much fruit. But He doesn’t really tell us specifically how to do that. Well, I think there are a couple of truths we can derive from Scripture in this regard.
In John 15:7 Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” So, there it is. Abiding in Jesus is linked with having His words abiding in us.
That’s very interesting, because Ephesians 5:18 says “Be filled with the Spirit.” Well, how do we do that? We get some help from Colossians 3:16, which is a parallel verse, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” The reason I believe these 2 thoughts are parallel verses is because the very same things result from each verse: teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God, doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God.
Therefore, at least one way we move in the direction of being filled with the Spirit, experiencing the power of the Spirit, walking by the Spirit, is to let the word of Christ richly dwell within us. This would include reading the Word, studying the Word, meditating on the Word, and memorizing the Word. We must be people of the Book! We need to love this Book, and derive our daily spiritual nourishment from it. We need to allow the truth of the Word of God to bring us into vital connection with Christ our Head, so that the life that is in Him flows unhindered into us.
When we think of loving our neighbor, we might think of all the glamorous and impressive ways we can do that, like Mother Teresa, going to Calcutta to take care of lepers. However, God wants you to love your neighbor – one who is near. We may be so busy looking for glamorous ways to love our neighbor that we pass by opportunities right next to us. And who would that be? Your husband, wife, children, next door neighbor, friend, church family, workmates. What would happen if all of us, every time we met someone we thought, “I must love this person! I need to pay my debt of love.” Let love be your watchword. You don’t have to memorize 400 laws. You just need to focus on love! May God enable us to do so for His glory!
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