Andy examines the debt of love all Christians owe to God and neighbor. This love is expressed in delighting to do good to others and walking in holiness by the Spirit.
These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.
Romans 13:8-14 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
I. Main Questions:
1. What is the central idea in these verses? How does that central idea help us to understand properly the role of the law in the Spirit-filled Christian life?
2. How are the prohibitions of the law “You shall not…” fulfilled by the positive exercise of genuine Christian love?
3. How do these verses give us a sense of urgency about our lives?
4. How does this passage call us to live a life of purity? Why is this so vital, especially in the present circumstances in which we are living?
II. Verse by Verse Questions:
1. What is the significance of the command, “Let no debt remain outstanding?” Other translations more simply command, “Owe no one anything.” Is it sinful for a Christian to borrow money? What Scriptures would argue for or against this view? (8)
2. How is there a continuing debt to love one another? Paul earlier spoke of being a debtor both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish (Romans 1:14). And in Romans 8:12 he says we are debtors as well. What was the nature of those debts? (8)
Romans 1:14-15 I am a debtor both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.
Romans 8:12-13 Therefore, brothers, we are debtors— but not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live
3. What does it mean to “love” our neighbor? What is the nature of this love? How is it different from the love we have for our children or our friends? How is the same? (8)
4. Jesus said that the greatest command was to love the Lord with all our hearts, and that the second greatest was to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39) He then said, “All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.” How does Paul’s commandment here harmonize with that? Does Paul omit the first and greatest commandment here, or does he just assume it? (8-9)
5. How is it true that all the sins listed in verse 9 (adultery, murder, stealing, covetousness) are failures of love? Focusing on coveting in particular, how is a covetous heart a failure of love? It might seem to us that, if you never act on your covetousness, you are not harming your neighbor at all. How does covetousness display a lack of love toward the neighbor? (9)
6. What does it mean to love your neighbor “as yourself.” (9)
7. Paul makes the love command negative in verse 10— “Love does no harm.” But of course, to merely avoid harming your neighbor is not sufficiently loving. For example, the Priest and the Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan did no harm to the bleeding man lying there, but merely refrained from helping him. How would you understand Paul’s assertion, “Love does no harm to its neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” (10)
8. What does Paul mean when he says that we should obey his commands of verses 8-10 “understanding the present time.” Paul seems to be arguing for the urgency of the time in verses 11-12. What is the nature of that urgency? (11-12)
9. What does Paul call on Christians to understand about the time of our lives? How does this relate to his command in Ephesians 5:16 to “redeem the time because the days are evil”?
10. What does Paul mean when he urges Christians to wake up from their slumber? Compare this with 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8. (11)
11. What does Paul mean by “Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed”? What does this teach you about “salvation”? Is it true that we can believe truly in Christ, and still not yet be “saved” in the sense Paul means in this verse? What salvation is Paul speaking of in this verse? (11)
12. What does it mean “The night is nearly over, the day is almost here”? What are “day” and “night” in this verse? Compare with John 9:4. What are the “deeds of darkness”? How are we to “put them aside”? What is the “armor of light”? How are we to put it on? (12)
13. What issues of morality does Paul address in verse 13? How would you characterize the sins he lists there? Are there some that you would acknowledge sadly are a part of every Christian’s life and some that are scarcely ever named among Christians? (13)
14. Verse 13 was Augustine’s conversion verse. He was a young man seething with sexual lust while at the same time yearning to come to Christ. He heard the voice of a child from the next yard chanting like a rhyme, “Tolle lege, tolle lege” (“Pick it up, read! Pick it up, read!) He marveled at that rhyme because he’d never heard it in his life. He felt like God was speaking to him. He looked around in the garden where he was sitting and he saw a Bible there on the bench. He resolved to read the first passage it opened up to. It was this one:
“…not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
Augustine’s key insight at that time was “You command sexual purity, but we cannot have it unless you give it by your mercy. Give what you command and command what you will!” [Book 10, Chapter 29] Explain Augustine’s insight.
15. What does it mean to clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ? (14)
16. It says, “Make no provision for the flesh to satisfy its lusts.” What does it mean to make provision for the flesh? How do we avoid making this provision? (14)
III. Summary:
Paul gets very specific about how a Christian is to live a life of love and thus fulfill the Law, especially in the topics of love for neighbor and sexual purity.
