Romans 13: Putting On Christ

Read Romans 13.

-This chapter, calls us to examine our relationship with governing authorities and our broader role in society as followers of Jesus.

-In a world with political tension and social unrest, Paul's words offer a divine perspective on how we, as Christians, are to navigate our civic duties while remaining true to our ultimate allegiance to God.

-Let's open our hearts and minds to the wisdom of God's Word as we explore what it means to submit to authority, fulfill the law through love, and live honorably as citizens of both Heaven and earth."

PRAY!!!!

Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. 2 So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. 4 For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. 5 Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience. 6 And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks. 7 Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

-As perplexing as it may sometimes seem, the Bible explicitly states that all positions of human authority, including those of government officials, have been appointed by God. Therefore, Christians must submit themselves to these governing authorities, recognizing their God-ordained purpose

-The apostle Paul is not making a suggestion; he’s issuing a command.

-In the original language, hypotasso (“be subject”) is from a root word meaning “to place or rank under; to submit.” The New Living Translation clearly expresses the present passive imperative verb tense: “Everyone must submit to governing authorities”. Paul immediately explains why everyone should be subject to the governing authorities: because “all authority comes from God”. -There is no wiggle room here for Christians. Whether or not we agree with a leader’s policies or politics, we must recognize that God has placed our governing authorities in their positions. Romans 13:1 underscores God’s all-encompassing authority and sovereignty in human affairs.

-Believers need not fear submitting to governing authorities since it is God who appoints them. Daniel, who served under the evil King Nebuchadnezzar, understood that his God, and not the king, was ultimately in control: Daniel 2:21 says “He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings”

-The apostle Peter agrees, “For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. . . . Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king”.

- As a rule, God establishes government leaders to discipline the disobedient (“punish those who do wrong”) and carry out His righteous will on earth (“honor those who do right”). They are “God’s servants” raised up for the good of the people, to enforce order in the societies they govern, and to prevent chaos and lawlessness. -Paul urges his disciple Timothy to “pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:1–3). Paul tells Titus to “remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good” (Titus 3:1). -We don’t have to like our leaders, but we do have to treat them with respect out of reverence for their God-appointed position. When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he was residing under the rule of Nero, one of the cruelest Roman emperors. If Paul could submit to Nero’s authority, then so ought we recognize and respect our civil leaders. -God is the One who “decides who will rise and who will fall” (Psalm 75:6–7). He rules over the king’s heart “like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases” (Proverbs 21:1, NLT). “Fear the Lord and the king,” counseled Solomon to the wise. “Don’t associate with rebels, for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the Lord and the king?” (Proverbs 24:21–22). -Christians are called to obey their leaders, pay taxes, abide by the laws, and show respect. When we disrespect and rebel against our leaders, ultimately, we disrespect God, who places these authorities over us (Romans 13:2). The Bible says, if we don’t submit, we will incur God’s judgment. There is only one exception when believers are not to be subject to the governing authorities—when those leaders try to force Christians to contradict the will of God. In Acts 5:22–33, the apostles are arrested for preaching the gospel in Jerusalem and proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ. As they stand trial, the apostle Peter defends their actions with these words: “We must obey God rather than any human authority”

-The Christian has a duty to disobey human authority if the alternative is dishonoring and disobeying God’s law. When governing authorities attempt to take the place of God by requiring behavior that conflicts with God’s revealed will, then resistance is justified.

8 Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet; and any other commandment, are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

-Paul says do not owe anything to anyone except to love, Then he says that “whoever loves others has fulfilled the law“ (verse 8) and that all of the commandments from the Old Testament are summed up in the one command to love your neighbor as yourself (verse 9). In other words, believers fulfill God’s commands by treating others with respect and loving one another. - The Christian must pay all of his or her obligations, whether those be taxes, debts, or something else. The apostle then goes on to say that the only debt a Christian should have is the debt to love one another.

-That universal debt never ends. It is the only one he or she can never fully repay or pay off. We must always love not only our fellow Christians, but all people whom God has made. -In Matthew 22:34–40, Jesus taught that loving one another was the most important commandment to obey. In this passage, Jesus is approached by the Pharisees who sought to test Him with a difficult question. One of the Pharisees, an expert in the law, asked Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

-Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, which commanded the Israelites to love God first and foremost and to love one’s neighbor as oneself. So both Jesus and Paul teach that the most important thing a believer can do is to love God and love one another. -We should owe no man anything except to love one another because this is what God has chosen to do for us. He chose to not give us judgment and punish us for our sins. Instead, He chose to love us by sacrificing His Son, Jesus, on the cross to pay for our sins. Because of this sacrifice, we are forever indebted to God, and we repay that debt by loving Him and loving one another. -To owe no man anything except love can be a difficult and challenging command to live out as a believer. We can be quick in fulfilling our obligations, paying off debt, and giving to each his due.

- But paying out the love we owe is harder; it seems we’re often short on the currency of love. We get frustrated with one another, disagree with one another, or simply don’t like being around one another.

-However, in John 13:35 Jesus says that the world “will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (see also John 17:25–26). When we choose to look past our interpersonal challenges and focus on loving one another, we show the mark of disciples and are actually showing the world what God’s love is like.

-Love that fulfills the law is agape love. This love is not based on emotions, but an act of the will. It is self-sacrificing, deliberate, active love. To love someone with God’s love is to promote that person’s best interests—to actively work not to harm but to bring good to that person.

- This love is directed not only toward fellow believers but to all people, even our enemies. Regardless of our emotional response to another person, agape love will act for his or her good, regardless of the cost. That is the kind of love Scripture speaks of when it says to love your neighbor as yourself. That kind of love is the fulfillment of the law.

11 Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you[e] to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

-The Bible encourages Christians to live daily with an awareness of God’s presence and readiness for Jesus Christ’s return. As kingdom servants, we want to be found faithful. In Romans 13:11–12, the apostle Paul urges believers to live in the light of that future day when God’s glorious kingdom is fully revealed. -Paul tells believers that the time for sleeping is over. Now is the moment of opportunity and decision (2 Corinthians 6:2). It is high time to “awake out of sleep,” which literally means “to get up out of bed” in the original language.

-In a similar admonition to the Thessalonians, Paul says, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:5–8, NLT).

-So What does Paul mean by “our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” in Romans 13:11? Christian salvation exists in three tenses.

1. In the past tense, we were saved and delivered from the penalty of sin. This happened at the moment we believed .

2. In the present tense, we experience continuous, progressive sanctification, being conformed to the image of Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit.

3.In the future tense, we will experience the consummation of our salvation, the glorious resurrection and transformation of our bodies and our eternal inheritance in the new heaven and earth. This future salvation is what Paul refers to as being “nearer than when we first believed.” -Knowing that the Lord’s return is imminent motivates us to live with sober, clearheaded awareness of our present salvation and the culmination of our salvation when Christ appears again. The apostle Peter persuades us to keep our minds alert, ready for action, and sober as we set our sights on the grace we will receive “when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming” (Peter 1:13).

-Jesus could come back this afternoon, tomorrow, next week, 1 year, or 1000 years from now. The point is we dont know…..But we must live as if it were going to be today. If we knew for certain Jesus wasn't coming back until another 100 years we would be real lazy and complacent……

-John exhorts believers to “remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame” (1 John 2:28). John goes on to explain that all those who are God’s children live with an eager expectation of Christ’s appearing and “keep themselves pure, just as he is pure” (see 1 John 2:29—3:3, NLT).

-In the Bible, sleep is often used as an image of spiritual laziness and waking from sleep as alertness to God and His concerns . To the backslidden believers in Corinth, Paul says, “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:34, ESV). The apostle Peter prompts, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NLT).

13 Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

- Instead of wasting precious time satisfying lustful and selfish cravings, Paul encourages believers to clothe themselves in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. -In Ephesians 4:22–24, Paul gave a strikingly similar exhortation to make no provision for the flesh: “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (NLT). -The “flesh” in Romans 13:14 refers to the physical, bodily aspects of a person as opposed to the immaterial soul or spirit. In Scripture, the flesh is often understood as the seat of sin and rebellion toward God. -The word for “provision” in the original language carries the idea of “thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening.” If we think about pleasing our flesh, we furnish the fuel to make it happen. It’s as though our thoughts gather the necessary provisions to move forward and act upon our lustful desires. -If we are making provisions for the flesh we are in a sense expecting to fail. It’s like an alcoholic who’s trying to stay sober but who tucks away a little liquor in a secret stash, “just in case.” He’s making provision for the flesh and will likely fail to remain sober. In a similar way, those who seek to live godly lives must identify their stumbling blocks and remove them.

-Believers are to live and behave like Jesus did. To do this, we must put fleshly thoughts out of our minds. Scripture explains that the battle over sin is fought in the mind (Romans 7:21–25). The apostle Peter urged the early disciples “to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11). Sinful thinking influences our behavior to the point of gratifying the cravings of our flesh (Ephesians 2:3). When we dwell on sin, we follow its desires.

-Scripture emphasizes the incredible power of the thought life. Making no provision for the flesh requires taking “captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How do we do this? By guarding our hearts and thinking about worthy things: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

- Colossians 3:1–2 suggests making no provision for the flesh as follows: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” . -Paul told the Galatians to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). We make no provision for the flesh when we live in obedience to God and His Word and “keep in step with the Spirit” by crucifying “the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24–25).

-The only way to experience real abundant life in the Spirit is to die to the flesh: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:12–13).

-The phrase put on Christ means to figuratively clothe oneself with the Lord Jesus Christ to reveal the glory of God to the world. -Paul was talking about putting on spiritual clothing. Those who clothe themselves with the Lord Jesus are believers who do not focus on gratifying the desires of the sinful nature.

-Paul paints a vivid picture of moving into the new life in Christ as trading the darkness of night for the light of day. As believers, we must not only wake up and throw off our night clothes but also get dressed in the appropriate outfit for the new day. Our “old clothes” were the deeds of darkness, but the proper new daytime attire for the solder of Christ is God’s armor of light (see Ephesians 6:11–18).

-The expression put on Christ occurs again in Galatians 3:27: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (ESV). As in Romans 13, putting on Christ here speaks of having clothed oneself with the new nature; believers are taught “to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). We put on Christ when our old ways are nailed to the cross and we wear the grace and forgiveness of Jesus as a glorious garment for all the world to see.

-The spiritual garment no Christian should ever be without is the Lord Jesus Christ. Putting on Christ means letting the Lord be our armor, embracing Him over and over, and daily trusting Him in faith, thankfulness, and obedience.

- John Chrysostom (c. AD 347—407) described putting on Christ as “never to be forsaken of Him, and His always being seen in us through our holiness, through our gentleness”

To put on Christ means to follow Him in discipleship, letting our lives be conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). Rather than adapting ourselves to the pattern of this world, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and the modification of our behavior into the model of Christ’s life on earth). This change requires putting off the old self and putting on the new throughout the Christian life (Ephesians 4:22–24; Colossians 3:12). To achieve this transformation, we rely wholly on our righteous standing before God made possible in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Putting on Christ means abiding in Jesus and living to please Him. John Wesley described it as “a strong and beautiful expression for the most intimate union with Him, and being clothed with all the graces which were in Him”. We are clothed in Christ when we become so closely united with Jesus that others see Him and not us.

Questions:

How can we balance our civic responsibilities with our commitment to God's Kingdom? Are there times when the two might come into conflict, and how should we respond?

How does Paul connect love with the fulfillment of the law? What are some practical ways we can demonstrate this love in our daily interactions?

How can we 'put on the Lord Jesus Christ' and resist the desires of the flesh in practical terms?