Wearing the Lifestyle of Jesus Christ in a Dark Day
Romans 13:8-14
Oct 27, 2024
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig
I. Introduction (Romans 13:14)
A. Maybe you have heard the phrase, “Putting on the ritz”
1. It means to dress very fashionably – upscale your way of life and fashion
2. It was a popular saying in 1929, and still to this day
3. Or putting on a hat, or jacket – always should be in “fashion” right?
B. But we Christians “put on” something very OUT of fashion
C. We put on the Lord Jesus Christ
1. Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
2. That is the goal
3. To be able to “put on” (live outwardly), the lifestyle of Jesus Christ in this world
D. Romans 13 teaches us how to do that
II. Review (Romans 13:1-7)
A. Most of us want reasons to resist and fight authorities above us
1. That's where WE begin - it's how we see life... As oppressive and needing to be changed
2. But, as usual, God starts at the opposite end - an entirely different viewpoint
B. But God says, we must:
1. Submit, yield, turn the other cheek, give in to even harsh authorities (Romans 13:1-5)
a. Romans 13:1-5 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
b. Not a fun subject – but very important for people, no matter what country we live in
c. We hate anyone who has the power to tell us what to do and what not to do
d. Subject means to allow people in positions of power like Government, and Garda and Teachers, and Parents and Pastors to tell you what to do – it is that simple!
e. Not that they are good people, or perfect for the job… But simply because they are in positions of power by the will and design of God - “they are ordained of God”
f. That is a lot to take in
2. It goes on to tell us we are to pay tribute (taxes) to government ministers, and respect what they do because they are set up and in their place of authority by the will of God
a. Romans 13:6,7 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
b. So, Pay Custom - Pay your taxes, levy, toll, tariffs
1) THAT is how any government provides benefits to its people. Like justice, protection, and services for its citizens.
2) It keeps society from becoming a jungle.
3) Now, if you can appeal an unfair tax, then do it!
4) But until a tax is appealed, and changed… pay it!
3. Render Fear - Be in fear of authorities – the right kind of fear
a. Most modern Bibles just use the word ‘respect’ here, but it is more than that
b. It means, fear going against them – they do have the power to arrest you and make your life miserable
c. And you are telling God that you will not accept HIS will – because HE put them in power
d. Proverbs 24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change: [OVERTHROW OF AUTHORITY]
e. Not fearful of them because of abuses
f. But fearful of the power they have from God to punish evil doers
4. And give them Honour – RESPECT – standing up when a judge walks into court, when the Taoiseach is in the same room as you or me, when a woman gets on a bus, or is entering a door – HONOUR THEM
5. The Bible refers these acts as our duties, obligations to our authorities
C. This is how Christians change their world – through respect, honour, appeals, and submission to every power as long as they do not command us to do something against the Laws of God
1. First by changing US – by humbling US
a. They help us and mature us and strengthen us, and make us like Christ
b. Rebellion and bitterness and revenge seems so right, but ARE 99.999% of the time wrong and destructive and demonic, and make us like the devil!
2. And then changing the world around us
3. 1Timothy 2:1-6 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
4. Does God want all people saved? YES!
5. But… Does God want us to respect and pray for ALL men? YEP!
6. Why? Because THAT is the way God saves souls – not through FORCE or POWER, but humility and submission and respect!
7. Ladies and gentlemen, do you want to change our world? Change OUR attitude!
D. Now for the second half of the chapter (Romans 13:8-14) Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
III. Message
A. Owe No One Anything, Except… (Romans 13:6-8)
1. Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
2. We should owe no one anything except to love one another
3. Really? That’s actually in the Bible!
4. Most people owe financial debts - bad financial debt
a. Not just a house mortgage, but a car payment, two credit cards, in debt to the credit union, and trying to pay off a bank overdraft
b. That is slavery!
c. The Bible does not say you can never borrow money, but that you MUST pay it off, quickly and completely
d. We cannot live owing money to people – GET OUT OF DEBT ASAP
e. Even if you have to work two jobs, pay off your debts! “Owe no man anything”
f. You and I HAVE to get out of every debt we get into!
5. We evidently OWE it to authorities to do what they tell us to do
a. Romans 13:6 ,7 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
b. So, Pay taxes, tariffs, dues, tolls, fees
c. And show honour, and respect to our rulers, our employers, our parents, etc…
6. So, Pay back what you owe
7. But, the Bible says there is one more thing we owe all men…
B. The Second Greatest Commandment! (Romans 13:8)
1. Love one another (Romans 13:8)
a. Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another…
b. We OWE it to ALL men and women, everywhere, to love them
c. This is what the Bible says!
2. This commandment is found in BOTH the Old Testament, and New Testament
a. Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
b. Matthew 22:37,38 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
c. Matthew 22:39,40 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
d. It is a rare belief today that we Christians actually owe respect and love to people
e. We figure if people don’t respect US, we should show them no respect
f. For most of history, NO ONE respected the Bible, and born again Christians
g. Yet Christians showed respect to undeserving rulers, and loved the souls of those that hurt them! And it changed the world for good!
3. It is called the ROYAL Law (James 2:8) If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.
C. ALL the commandments are fulfilled when we love other people (Romans 13:8-10)
1. Romans 13:8-10 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
2. The 10 commandments are divided into two sets – two tablets (Exodus 20)
a. [GRAPHIC OF TWO TABLES OF COMMANDMENTS]
b. The first four commandments are our responsibility towards God - and they are fulfilled out of our love for God (Exodus 20:1-11)
1) No other Gods – worship only one – the only God that there is!
2) No worshipping of idols – no bowing down to statues, ever!
3) Honouring God’s name above all other names
4) And keeping the Sabbath day holy
c. Loving God is what the first four commandments are all about
d. The remaining 6 are our responsibility towards people – show love (Exodus 20:12-17)
1) Honour your Parents - Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
2) No Murder - Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
3) No Adultery - Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
4) No Thievery - Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
5) No Lying - Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
6) No Coveting - Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
e. Loving people is the keeping of the second half of the Law
3. How does love keep the law?
a. Love respects other people, and their stuff, no matter who they are. Love never harms “worketh no ill”
b. No adultery - adultery is a selfish violation of someone else's marriage. It never has been love and never can be love
c. No murder - murder is the ultimate violation of someone else's life! God is talking about premeditated murder as a result of anger and revenge. Not self-defense. But there is no love in murder
d. No thievery - stealing violates someone else's private ownership of property. To steal from someone shows disrespect of the other persons right to own things.
e. No lying - lying violates trust. There is no love in lying. I know people who refuse to tell somebody else that they have cancer out of love for them, but that's not love. It’s selfishness and fear. Christians especially must be known as people who do not lie
f. No coveting - the Bible makes it clear that coveting is not just wanting to have something, but seeking something so much that it replaces God and becomes your focus of attention and you believe you cannot be happy until you have it. It is idolatry!
D. When the Bible says to love people… (Romans 13:9)
1. Romans 13:9 …and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
2. It is NOT referring to: An erotic, pleasure-based love that movies portray 24/7
3. And it does not mean to love their sin or their lifestyles
4. But to actually love them as souls, infinitely valuable to God, created by God, loved by God, and worth Christ dying for
5. Not just the people you like, and not just the people of your nationality, your culture, or even of your church or religion! But ALL people
a. I read somewhere that God so loved WHO? The whole WORLD! Irish, English, German, Finnish, Swedish, Nigerian, Togolese, Afrikaans, Zambian, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Japanese
b. Even the lowest of the low – harlots, sinners, publicans, politicians, haters, drunkards, adulterers, traffickers…
c. We have to Respect them as souls loved by Almighty God
d. Speak the truth… IN LOVE! NEVER IN DISRESPECT
6. Love people like you love yourself – I hope you love yourself!
a. Not to the same degree, but in the same way.
b. In other words, be consistent in respecting other people as much as you respect yourself and you expect people to respect you.
1) You probably HATE it when someone steals something from you
2) You probably HATE it when people LIE to you
3) You’d go crazy if someone committed adultery with YOUR wife or husband
c. So, Love your neighbour like you love yourself. Love your parents. Your employer, your co-worker, your schoolmate, your bully, your competition…
1) Do all the good to others like you do for yourself
2) And protect all other people from all the mischief that you keep yourself from
3) Not thinking only of yourself, but thinking equally of others.
E. Love Seriously (Romans 13:11-14)
1. Romans 13:11-13 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
2. Take HOW We live Towards Other people SERIOUSLY
a. It is “high time” (right time) that Christians:
1) Wake up and take our Christian life seriously
2) Like a first responder. They cannot think of themselves first but what is their duty
3) And we can’t think about ourselves first either!
b. Why?
1) Because our salvation – deliverance from this world is almost here
2) Our Lord, the king of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming at any moment
3) We are near the end of the night
4) It is almost Daybreak - sunrise is about to happen
5) Everything is about to change for our good!
3. Cast off the works / the habits / the acts of darkness – PUT THEM BEHIND YOU!
a. Throw the following things off like you would a spider on your sleeve
1) Paul is referring to disrespect and mistreatment of people as a dark thing to do
2) So, Throw away any rebellion – against authorities
a) How does God view rebellion? (1 Sam 15:23; 12:14,15). No Christian should ever take rebellion lightly - you could be going against God and His work against your nation, or against YOU!
b) There does come a time when you must rebel - when lives, and your conscience are at stake (ie, protecting Jews during WW2, and Martin Luther standing against the Roman Catholic Church)
c) AND CHRISTIANS DO THIS FAR TOO OFTEN
3) Repent of holding grudges and having a bitter spirit towards those who have hurt you – it is DARKNESS! It is never from God!
4) Put off LYING – throw away LYING!
5) Repent of Rioting – living out of control – following the crowd
6) Drunkenness
a) Living under the influence of alcohol and strong drink instead of under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God
b) If you are born again, and have alcohol in your home, throw it down the toilet!
7) Chambering – living in sexual sins, orgies! Break up, and get married!
8) Wantonness – living only for selfish pleasures, pornography, like a movie star
9) Strife
a) Arguing and fighting must be put away
b) Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
10) And even envying! To God is the same as idolatry
b. All of those things FEED the flesh – the old you (BC, before Christ saved you)
1) I hate how Halloween promotes witches, and fears, and spells, and darkness
2) But God hates these things as well! Because they are the works of selfish people
c. So, our job is to cast off the works of darkness in us so that we can put on the Lord Jesus Christ every day!
4. Put on the armour of LIGHT (Romans 13:12)
a. Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
b. This is not talking about getting saved
c. This is written to Christians who already are born again but who are not living the Christian life - who are not living like Jesus Christ did
d. Feeding your spirit with LIGHT – the Bible, time with God, thinking on true things
e. Armour protects - This way of living actually protects a Christian from:
1) Demonic attacks
2) Being defeated by traumas and hurts in life
3) Satanic Oppression
4) What do we do when we hear a scary sound in the dark? We turn on a LIGHT!
5. Wear a Different Lifestyle (Romans 13:14) – NEW CLOTHES
a. Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ…
b. DAILY live a different lifestyle than the darkness around us
1) Live Christ’s life style - His way of life
2) Think with his way of thinking, which is almost nonexistent today!
3) Have HIS heart and compassion, not all the anger of your favourite podcaster!
6. Make no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14) – don’t play with sin!
a. Romans 13:14 … and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
b. When the Bible talks about the flesh
1) It is referring to the old you. Your old nature. Your old habits.
2) It includes all the chemicals and chemical reactions that operate within your body that raise your heart rate or depress your emotions.
3) It includes everything that is physical about you.
c. But if you are saved, the Bible says that you can ignore your old nature
1) You now have the ability to NOT give in to the desires of the old you
2) You do not have to live controlled by the flesh any more.
d. How?
1) By no longer feeding the old you
a) Don’t feed your thinking with all the past, and the failures and hurts
b) Don’t feed your desires with wrong music, ungodly TV, Romance novels, dangerous social media, etc! You will ALWAYS be brought back under its domination, and destruction (Romans 6 and 7) if you feed on them!
c) So, like a stray cat – don’t feed it and it will move on!
2) Ask yourself what are you doing that is feeding your Critical attitude?
3) Ask yourself what are you doing that is feeding your desire for pornography?
4) Ask yourself what are you doing that is feeding your desire to fight and to argue about everything in your home?
5) Starve every one of them! Does anyone understand?
6) Do NOT watch the filth on TV, listen to the language, enjoy the sensual music
7) Do not let yourself dwell on the past – focus on letting the words of Christ dwell in your thoughts richly!
8) Starve your flesh! Spend time with God’s people, and in God’s word
IV.Summary – This is how to get victory over the flesh
A. Realize that you already are a victor - the new man in you, Jesus Christ has won over the power of sin in you – you are free indeed!
B. Put off the works, habits of darkness – you no longer need to live and talk and think like you used to
C. Put on the life of the Lord Jesus Christ every day - that means start doing what He did… walk with God, love God, see things from God's viewpoint, saturate your thinking with the word of God (Matthew 4:4)
D. And do it so much that you starve out the desires of the flesh – fill up your time and attention with a wife, a husband, kids, a job, Bible reading, a ministry, soul-winning, Bible memorization, so that you forget about all the sins that always used to grab you and ruin you!
V. Conclusion
A. What do we owe everyone, no matter WHO they are?
1. Love and Respect
2. Not that we love or respect their sins, but their value to God!
3. Treat them as valuable to God, as souls that need a new birth
4. As people who need to know what Jesus can do in a yielded life
B. Are you paid up? Or owing someone love and respect that they are due?
C. How do we react to an oppressive world?
1. Throw off all works of darkness – that’s why we Christians do not celebrate Halloween
2. Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ – wearing His attitude, acting like he acted, and loving like He loved…
3. And no longer feeding my old life – starving it out
D. Do you have the Lord Jesus Christ in you? Has he been allowed to SAVE you?