Living in Light of Now and What is Coming

Turn in your Bibles to Romans 13, this morning we have a highly relevant, highly applicable section of Scripture. As the Church of Jesus Christ, we are to be in the world but not of the world. As Paul has gone through these past 12 chapters, he has shown us who were before Christ, what we are in Christ, and now how we are to live through Christ. If you are a Christian, if you have been truly born again, you know that at this very moment you are as justified as you can possibly be but the fullness of our salvation hasn’t arrived yet because you are not in Heaven yet. Theologians refer to this as the already, but not yet. As a Christian, you are already in the Kingdom of God because Christ is in you but we are not yet enjoying the fullness of the Kingdom of God. We are not yet partaking in the glorification that Paul references throughout Romans. As Christians, we know that we live in this world. We are not immediately transported to the celestial kingdom the moment that we come to Christ but we continue living in this world until the day we die or Christ returns. The way that we as Christians live between these two worlds, the world we are in now and the one that is to come, speaks heavily of us. How are we to live in light of the now and how are we to live in light of what is to come? Romans 13, I believe, tells us a lot about how we are to answer that question. We’re going to look at three things this morning: How do we as Christians live in light of the law of the land? How do we live in light of the Law of the Lord? And how do we live in light of the world that is to come? Let’s turn first to Romans 13:1-7:

Romans 13:1–7 ESV

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. For 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.

The Law of the Land

Let me begin by saying that I understand the tension that is associated with these verses. I understand that submission is a touchy subject but it is a Biblical subject. Notice that as we look at this section of Scripture, that Paul’s purpose is not to say which governmental style is the best. Paul is not writing from a Democratic or Republican perspective because that didn’t exist. Political parties do not matter when it comes to the command that we have been given. It does not matter who is in the position of authority, it is our responsibility as followers of Christ to submit to that person. All human authority is not a self-created authority. It is an alien authority because it is given by an outside source. Paul is writing this letter in the mid AD 50’s and the authority that he refers to is that of the Roman empire and Emperor Nero. If you know anything of history, you know that Nero was a terror to Christians, he was known as the Mad Emperor. Yet Paul says that Christians are to submit to the governing authorities. We are very fortunate to live where we do and we are fortunate that the government is not trying to prevent us from worshipping the Lord. We as 21st century Christians haven’t suffered a day in our lives in comparison to what the early church had to endure under the hand of that man! None of us have seen our brothers and sisters in the faith tossed before wild beasts in the coliseum, none of us have seen poor Christians covered in wax and used as candles in garden parties, none of us have had to watch loved ones crucified, beheaded, or torn to shreds. Not a single one of us has ever had to endure that! And not to get too far ahead of where we are going but the reason why so many believers were willing to endure this, and many joyfully, was because they did not cling to a hope that belonged to this world alone but they clung to the future hope of a future kingdom! These Christians recognized that true glory awaited them! None of us in this country can say that we have it hard as believers because none of us have yet shed our blood for what we believe in. What Paul is telling the believers in his day and now in our day is that no matter where we go, we cannot escape the fact that their is authority that has been instituted over us and these authorities did not create themselves. Instead, they are put into place by the Lord. Paul reminds us that all authority stems from God’s authority. It is God alone that bestows power upon the office and upon the ruler. Jesus says in John 19:11

John 19:11 (ESV)

Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

Daniel says of the Lord in Daniel 2:21

Daniel 2:21 (ESV)

He changes times and seasons;

he removes kings and sets up kings;

he gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those who have understanding;

Kingdoms rise and fall at the command of the Lord. It is God’s authority that is ruling this world and no one else. How then do we live with this in mind? We submit to governmental authority as an act of service to the Lord first. God has commanded us to submit to those that He has put in authority over us and this means that we as Christians should be the first to honor, first to pray for, and first to seek the good of those that are over us. “But I didn’t vote for that guy!” It doesn’t matter! “But I don’t like his policies!” That’s no reason to not pray and submit. Now it is important to note that Paul does not say that we as Christians submit to authority at the expense of serving the Lord. There are limitations to our level of submission to any human institution. If the government say that it is against the law for us to preach the Gospel, we must continue to preach the Gospel. Acts 4:18-20 says

Acts 4:18–20 (ESV)

So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

In this chapter, the apostles were arrested, told that they must not preach the Gospel and went back to immediately preaching the Gospel. This was no sin on their part at all. How so? Because we must submit to the Lord and His commands first! Donald Grey Barnhouse said that “God is the Lord of the Christian conscience, and His commands to preach take precedence over any prohibition against preaching the Gospel.” Also, if the government creates a law that demands that we sin against the Lord, we must stand against that law. However, this doesn’t mean that we as Christians should resort to anarchy. If we suffer for our allegiance to Christ, we are blessed. How are we to live where we are? Paul says that we are to live good lives and our conduct should be blameless in the eyes of our leaders. We should live such good lives that no one would be able to say anything bad about us. Again, we must think about the context that Paul is writing in. He is not writing to a group that is living under a God-fearing government, he is writing to a group that is secular and one could even argue, incredibly wicked, border line demonic government. He is writing to those that are living under a government that is not just indifferent to Christianity but hostile to Christianity. Yet, the command is that believers live such wonderful lives among the pagans that not a single charge could be laid against them. If we are living out the Christian faith as we should, there should be nothing in our conduct that is hated by those that are over us. If we are loving our neighbor, if we are paying what we are due, if we are giving respect to whom respect is due and honor to whom honor is due, what could be said against us? We need to be different. Let’s just take a second and think about what this means in your life. Notice that Paul says there is no authority except that which comes from God. Jesus Himself says at the end of Matthew 28 that ALL authority has been given to Him. We must recognize that regardless of who the Lord has established in authority, they are simply operating on a borrowed authority. We must recognize that any submission that we give to them is submission to God first. One could even argue that if we are not willing to honor those that are over us in a borrowed authority, how can we expect to honor Him who has absolute authority? Anyone that is in a position of authority over you deserves your respect. The boss, the parents, the manager, they deserve your respect. And if you are the boss, you should treat those under you with the same care and kindness that you would want your boss to show you. You should talk to those under you with the same level of respect as those that are above you. So, in light of what the Word of God says, what should we as Christians do in regards to the Law of the land? I think 1 Peter 2:12 is a great summary of what we have read: “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” We have the law of the land we are in but now let us turn to that which is far greater, the Law of the Lord in Romans 13:8-10

Romans 13:8–10 ESV

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 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 of the Lord

Paul says an interesting statement in verse 8, he says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” That’s quite the heavy statement. The connection to verse 7 is that when we pay taxes to whom taxes are due, payment to whom payment is due, there comes a point where you fulfill that requirement. If you were to owe me $1,000 and you were to faithfully pay me back over time, eventually you would no longer owe me anything. But when it comes for love for our neighbor, that is an outstanding debt that we will never be able to pay in full. There’s never a moment where we will be able to say, “I’ve done all the loving that I am possibly able or need to do.” There’s never a time in your marriage where you can look at your spouse and say, “Alright, that’s quite enough of this, I’ve maxed out.” Leon Morris, said that love is a permanent obligation, a debt impossible to discharge. We are drawn to love aren’t we? One might even say that we love the idea of love. But what kind of love is Paul referring to here? When Paul says that the one who loves another has fulfilled the law, he is not referencing romantic love, or sexual love, or even brotherly love, he is using the Greek word that I am certain many of you have heard before, of agape love. This is the love by which God loves. This is a love that is gracious, unmerited, always seeking out and sacrificial. This is not the type of love that we just toss around. This is love that goes above and beyond. This is a love that is pure and wholesome, undefiled, this is love as it is truly meant to be. It is this kind of love that Paul says is the fulfillment of the second half of the ten commandments, it is this love that fulfills the Laws commands. I heard a story about the great Scottish missionary David Livingstone and the love that he had for the people in Africa. Livingstone spent over 30 years serving in Africa and by the time that he died at the age of 60, he was so beloved by the people that he faithfully served that they cut out his heart and buried it under a tree. The African people then took what remained of Livingstone’s body and carried it over 1,000 miles so that the body could be put on a ship and returned to Europe. Close to 80 Africans made the 63 day journey to carry the body of the man that had loved them so dearly and they did this because they were afraid that one of the cannibalistic tribes could have gotten to him or countless other problems could arise. When they handed the body of Livingstone over, it is said that there was a note attached to it that said, “You can have his body, but his heart belongs in Africa.” Livingstone loved and served among the people so effectively that it was as if his entire heart belonged to these men and women. Can that be said of you? Can that be said of your love for your neighbor? “Yes his body is here but his heart belongs to us.” Can you say that you love like that? As followers of Jesus Christ, we have seen and heard of love perfected. To fulfill the law is a heavy command. None of us have yet to have done it. None of us can say that we have served God perfectly, loved God perfectly, loved our neighbors perfectly, none of us can say that. But there is One that can and He continues to do so. Where we fall short in love, where we fall short in service, where we fall short in what is required of us, there stands Jesus. You may look at yourself and think, “I can’t love like this, if that kind of love is needed to get me to Heaven, I’ll never get there.” Let me say something that may sound confusing, you’re right and you’re wrong. You can’t love like that. You’ll never be able to love like that. Even your best love has sin intertwined with it. You will never be able to love enough to get into Heaven. You will never be able to love purely and perfectly to fulfill the commands of the law. You are not able to fulfill the second half of the Ten Commandments and we know that you aren’t able to fulfill the first half. So, you are right, you can’t do this. There is not a single person here today that can do this. But you are wrong because there is someone who already has. There is someone that has fulfilled the Law of love so perfectly that all who belong to Him can take part in His fulfillment of it. Jesus Christ not only fulfills the second half of the Law perfectly, He fulfills the first half of the Law perfectly. Where we fall woefully short, Christ stands as the founder and perfecter of our faith. Jesus says in Matthew 5:17

Matthew 5:17 (ESV)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

It’s as if Jesus was saying, “You think that it would be easier to get into Heaven if all that is said in the Old Testament was to be abolished. You think that it would be easier if all of these commands just went away but I come with a better way. I come not to get rid of these things, but to fulfill them to the very end. I am here to do what you are unable to do on your own.” All that is spoken in the prophets, all that is commanded in the Law, Christ through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension fulfills. Jesus told His followers in John 15:13-14

John 15:13–14 (ESV)

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

There is no greater love than to lay one’s own life down for the life of the others and in a few hours, that is what Christ would do. Not just for His immediate followers but for every blood-bought child of God. It is when we embrace and understand His love that loving our neighbor becomes truly possible. It is when we recognize that we are woefully unable to fulfill the Law, that we have sinned against God and His good Law, and turn to Him that fulfills the law that we will be able to be with Christ forever and it is that reality which allows us to live in light of the world that is to come and it is here where we can turn to what Paul says at the end of chapter 13.

In Light of the World to Come

Paul says in Romans 13:11-14

Romans 13:11–14 ESV

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.

The older I get, the more I long for the world to come. God has given us so much beauty here despite the fall but what is the grandness of this world in comparison to Heaven! Even the best here could not come close to comparing to the worst there. What do these verses mean in light of the rest of the chapter. I think that it is a good reminder for us that if the Spirit dwells in us, if we belong to Christ, we know where we are going and we know that though we walk through the darkness, we know that the great light is coming. With a view of Heaven, with a view of our risen Savior upon the throne, we can endure through submission to authority, we can more joyfully love our neighbors, we can find greater joy in serving others. We can do all these things because we know that regardless of what may happen to us, we know where we are going and we know who we belong to. I ask even now, who do you belong to? This world or the next? As we read elsewhere in Romans, there is nothing that can separate us from this reality. Even suffering is powerless to hinder our glorification! C.S. Lewis said, “Some say of some temporal suffering, “No future bliss can make up for it,” not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.” While we may not be there yet, we should live as if we already were. We should live pure lives, we must wake up and put on the Lord Jesus Himself. While Paul may not give us every possible way that we can cast off the works of darkness, we already have an example and a summary on how we must do it. We do it by imitating Christ, He is our perfect example. And the way that we do it is by putting on the armor of light and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. While our eyes may be set to Heaven, may our actions be set to love those on earth. Jonathan Edwards has a fantastic sermon that I cannot recommend enough, called Heaven is a World of Love. In it, Edwards paints such a beautiful picture of the love that we will share in Heaven and he understands the trials that we go through between now and then. What we need to remember dear Christians is that despite all the pains of this world, we are almost home. That peace that we are wanting, that love we have been craving, that sweetness that we are striving for, is closer to us now than when we first believed. Edwards said, “We all naturally desire rest and quietness, and if we would obtain it, let us seek that world of peace and love of which we have now heard, where a sweet and blessed rest remaineth for God’s people. If we get an interest in that world, then, when we have done with this, we shall leave all our cares, and troubles, and fatigues, and perplexities, and disturbances forever. We shall rest from these storms that are raging here, and from every toil and labor, in the paradise of God. You that are poor, and think yourself despised by your neighbors and little cared for among men, do not much concern yourselves for this. Do not care much for the friendship of the world; but seek heaven, where there is no such thing as contempt, and where none are despised, but all are highly esteemed and honored, and dearly beloved by all. You that think you have met with many abuses, and much ill-treatment from others, care not for it. Do not hate them for it, but set your heart on heaven, that world of love, and press toward that better country, where all is kindness and holy affection.” In light of the world that is to come, we can endure. In light of the love that God has for us, we are able to love those that are made in His image. This is our truth as Christians. But can you say this? How can you say that your salvation is nearer now than when you first believed if you have never believed in the first place? The time has come for you to wake up. The time has come for you to no longer walk in the darkness, to cast them off, and put on Christ Jesus. Now is the time, now is the hour of salvation. Now is the moment where you recognize your need for salvation and I call on you this day to come to Jesus. I call on you now to come to Him who has perfectly fulfilled the Law on your behalf. Now is the day to submit to your Creator. Come to Jesus and live in light of the world that is to come and not in light of the world that you find yourself in. Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ? Are you experiencing the grace of He that lived a perfect life, died on the cross to bear the weight of your sin, rose again on the third day, so that you may wake up and inherit everlasting life? If you cannot answer that positively, let today be the day where you can. I will be down here to pray with you or if you want to make your calling and election sure or any other commitment that you would want to make. Every second that we are here, we are a second closer to when He returns. At this very moment, we are the closest that anyone has ever been to the day that Christ returns for His people. He is coming soon. Are you ready? Let’s pray.