faith for faith

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law (Rm. 13:8).

While the interpretations of the apostle’s command to the church at Rome, “Owe no one anything, except to love one another,” are many, his purpose can be surmised in the verses that follow his exhortation. And though it is wise not to owe any man anything at all, e.g. lent money, etc., and to pursue such lack of indebtedness is a godly pursuit, that particular debt is not what the apostle is speaking about chiefly, though it cannot be discounted totally.

The debt about which the apostle is speaking particularly is the debt of sin or transgression. For the apostle’s command, “Owe no one anything,” is fulfilled by the command, “Love one another.” This is the same debt that Christ speaks about in his model prayer where he says, “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt. 6:12). The idea is the same as that which the apostle presented in the previous section of his discourse, namely that we as Christians have an obligation to our fellow men to obey the law, be it God’s law or a government’s law, and we are to pay our debts according to the law, be it taxes or honor (cf. Rm. 13:7). Therefore, the Christian is a debtor in this life to the laws under which he finds himself.

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There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do, by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Rm. 8:1-4).

In some ways, the Roman Road basis of evangelism has been both a blessing and curse to American Christianity. For on the one hand, the Romans Road has taken verses that are fundamental to the Faith and has made them well known to many, and yet, on the other hand, it has taken those same verses and ripped them from their contexts and has in the process watered down the Gospel.

For while it is indeed true that, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus” (v. 6:23), the verse taken from its context removes the very foundation of eternal life, namely regeneration and sanctification. For v. 6:23 is the apex of the apostle’s chain of salvific events that begins with identification with Christ in his crucifixion by baptism (v. 6:2), the freedom afforded by Christ’s death from the body of sin (v. 6:6; cf. v. 7:23) and thus from slavery to sin (v. 6:6; cf. v. 7:14, 25), and ends with the Christian’s being brought into slavery to obedience, to righteousness, and to sanctification, and sanctification’s end–eternal life (v. 6:16, 18, 19, 22). For the gift of God indeed is eternal life in Christ Jesus, however eternal life never comes apart from obedience, righteousness, and sanctification.

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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 (Rm. 13:7).

If there is one command given by the apostle Paul concerning submission to the governing authorities that is practiced the least by American Christians it is the final one on his brief section concerning the matter, namely, “Pay to all what is owed to them: … respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” While we might grumblingly be obedient to the prior command to pay our taxes, we often neglect the debt of respect and honor that is owed to our governing authorities.

While the case might be made that our governing authorities are wicked and depraved (which they likely are), the issue of honoring and respecting them is not dependent upon their character and practices but upon him who put them in authority, namely God. Regardless of who is in office or who put them there by political vote, God ultimately is the one who put them in their place, and therefore they are to be honored and respected in acknowledgement of God’s ordinance.

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Unfortunately, rebellion against government by those who call themselves Christians is not an uncommon occurrence. The reasons behind such rebellion, be it actual or philosophical, more often than not has more to do with one’s political theory than one’s desire to live peaceably with all men (cf. Rm. 12:18). For despite one’s belief where true authority should be vested (e.g. in the Magna Carta or in the king; in the Constitution or in the governors), authority truly resides only where there is actual power. For any human document is only as powerful as its government allows it to be, and where there is perceived conflict between the human code and the human government, the government is the one to whom the Christian must submit, for it is the government who has authority.

And though exceptions might be brought up in the case of the national Israel in the Old Testament, national Israel is unique in that she was governed by a document written by God. Therefore in its case, not to submit to the law of the land was tantamount to rebellion against God himself, for he was the Author of the law.

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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 (Rm. 13:1).

Submission to government is a difficult task for any full-blooded American. For the American has two natural inclinations working against him. First, the American is, as with all other men, a son of Adam and is therefore by nature a son of rebellion. Second, the American by national heritage, is a son of political rebellion, having descended from those who rebelled against the ruling authority of her infancy, viz. England. Therefore, the American is controlled by two rebellious passions: a natural one that rebels against God, and a philosophical and political one that, by social indoctrination, rebels against the governing authorities which God has put into place.

Having come from such a heritage, the American is not only rebellious, but he is unashamedly rebellious. For he has been taught from his youth that he is endowed with certain “inalienable rights,” and when he believes that he is robbed of those rights, that robbery is not merely an injustice that he must endure, but it is his duty to rebel. For this reason, America’s brief history is interpreted in a amiable and cavalier fashion by its citizens, where the “good” citizens of this country rose up against the “evil” despotism of England, and, by God’s favor, defeated and overthrew the despot.

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Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rm. 12:19).

The heart of vengeance is the feeling of a debt being owed that was unjustly taken. The debt might be wounded pride, a great loss incited by evil, or any number of things. The natural man, when a loss is exacted upon him by unjust and evil means, seeks in his heart to right that wrong by exacting an equal blow to his debtor thinking that he can, by his own hand, balance the scale of justice. It is a flawed method of justice, for sin can never be righted by the acts or suffering of men, therefore an avenger will never be satisfied in his heart that his debt has been repaid while he lives, and his desire for vengeance will consume him the rest of his days.

For this reason, the Christian is admonished by the apostle not to seek retribution for himself, but to let God be the righter of all wrongs. For God alone can settle the record of sins, and he will do so swiftly and justly. For no act of sin will be hidden from Lord’s eyes on that Day when he judges the deeds and secrets of men by Christ Jesus (cf. Rm. 2:16). He will render to each according to his works (cf. Rm. 2:6) and will inflict eternal tribulation and distress upon those who oppose him and his people (cf. Rm. 2:9).

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If possible, as far as depends on you, live peaceably with all (Rm. 12:18).

In some ways, the Christian life is seemingly a paradoxical one. For, on the one hand, we all called into action against the powers of this age, and, on the other, we are called to endure them with patience. What makes the Christian life not paradoxical is the Gospel, for we are commanded to be active in the Gospel’s proclamation and in its demonstration in our lives, but with regards to all other matters, we are called to be passive. That is why the apostle instructs the church at Rome in his epistle to them, “As far as depends on you, live peaceably with all” (v. 12:18). In other words, in all matters that are dependent upon us and our personal opinions and not dependent upon the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to live lives that demonstrate peacefulness to the world.

For any time that any matter which is not the Gospel, be they political matters, social matters, or what have you, is brought forth by the church and is harped upon in a divisive manner, the Gospel is tainted and made to be second rate. For this reason, the apostle gives this instruction:

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all (vv. 12:14-17).

For all these matters–persecution, rejoicing, mourning, social associations, and retribution–all these are subservient to the Gospel and should be utilized in such a way as to make Jesus Christ and his Gospel known to the world.

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Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality (Rm. 12:12, 13).

The three–rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer–if any are to be fulfilled in the life of a Christian, each must rest upon the other. For patience in tribulation will not come apart from rejoicing in hope, nor will it come apart from incessant prayer. However, our hope will not come apart from tribulation, for the apostle says earlier in his letter, “We rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Rm. 5:3-4). And incessant prayer will not come apart from rejoicing in hope and patience in tribulation, for hope and patience are the wellspring of godly supplication. The three are a three-stranded rope, where together the three are strong and stay a Christian’s life, but remove even one, and the others’ strength is diminished.

And when these three are found in the life of the Christian, it overflows practically in the contribution to the needs of the saints and the showing of hospitality. For the one who rejoices in hope of his future Inheritance by necessity does not rejoice in the world’s temporal pleasures and thereby uses his resources for the needs of the saints rather than for worldly gain. Also, the one who is patient in tribulation, because of his own suffering, sympathizes with the plight of his fellow brothers and sisters and seeks to aid them in their need and suffering. And, finally, the one who does not cease to pray to the Lord, is constantly fixed upon doing the will of the Lord, which is to love his brothers and sisters in the same manner that Christ loved him, suffering even unto death for sake of the saints. Each of these–hope, suffering, and incessant prayer–hold the Christian fast and overflow in a wellspring of generosity to the needs of the Church.

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Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord (Rm. 12:11).

Following quickly upon the heels of the apostle’s exhortation to let the love of Christians be genuine, the apostle admonishes the church at Rome to “Not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”

The exhortation is one that chastises complacency in the Christian’s life. For, as the apostle intimates earlier, this life in this present age fails to compare with the Life promised to us in the age to come. More than that, this present passing age has great consequence upon our future Life, for how one conducts himself in this life dictates and declares where one’s true hope rests. For this reason, the apostle writes earlier:

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For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness (Rm. 12:4-8).

The language that is used to describe the elect of God is that of single person, viz. a bride, though, by his grace, the elect of God are far more in number than one, single person. The purpose is multi-faceted. One facet is the picture of God’s love for his elect, demonstrated most clearly in shadow of healthy human marriage where one man and one woman are joined in a life-long intimacy that transcends any other relationship in human experience. Another facet, which is the that of the apostle presently, is the creation of the image of the Church as one body, who though comprised of many members are one single body performing distinct and vital functions. Each one in the Body might, pictorially, fulfill the function of a heart, another a hand, and another a foot, but each member is dependent upon the whole of the others to function properly.

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