Christian Living
Lesson 24 Notes: Romans 13:8-14
“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13:14)
In every nation and every age, God calls His people to show His love to the world. God’s radical call to love is not optional1 but can be difficult to carry out. People do not always behave in loving ways. In fact, some are downright unloving. But Jesus calls us to love beyond those who love us, even our enemies.2 Living out God’s command to love fulfills the law and identifies people who live for God. How can Christians do this? This task is impossible without God’s help. He alone can enable people to love others sincerely, personally, deliberately, and consistently.
Paul issued the command to love in the light of Jesus’s return. Because Christians do not know the day or time Jesus will come again, they should live each day as though His return is imminent. Paul implored believers to wake up, clothe themselves in Christ, come out of the darkness into the light, and cast aside deeds that take place in the dark. Because of Christ’s love and the Spirit’s power, believers can shine God’s light even in difficult or discouraging situations.3 Jesus’s promised return calls believers to live holy lives of love.
Paul’s exhortation to the Roman believers centers on love. In Chapter 12, Paul offered tools to love sincerely. The first verses in Chapter 13 challenge believers to love through submission to governing authorities. Thereafter, Paul urged believers to live out love in Christ’s power. God’s people—Jew and Gentile alike—are obligated to love because love fulfills the law. Paul understood that Christ’s love motivates His people to love others.
Indebted to Love – Romans 13:8-10
Sincerely loving God and others represents the ultimate fulfillment of God’s moral law. Therefore, the call to love remains permanent in God’s eyes. Love never fails; love never ends.1 Christians have a continuing debt to love one another—we can never satisfy our obligation to love. As Christ’s ambassadors until His return,2 the obligation to extend Jesus’s love in the Holy Spirit’s power offers daily opportunities to impact the lives of others for eternity.3
In Paul’s writings, “one another” usually refers to other Christians. But in this case, Paul broadened the obligation to include everyone, adding, “whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”4 Here Paul echoed Jesus’s teaching. A law expert once asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus referred to God’s moral law, which commands God’s people to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your and mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”5 Jesus then told the parable of the good Samaritan to identify every person, regardless of status or nation, as a neighbor.6 The Samaritan, a despised outsider, tended to a severely wounded Jewish man while others passed him by. The Samaritan’s mercy demonstrated how to extend neighborly care. Jesus calls His disciples to reject prejudice and personal preferences as they extend love to everyone. For Paul’s fellow believing Jews, who were concerned about the law’s ongoing importance, Paul emphasized that the real point of the Torah is not merely external behavior modification but fulfilling the law by loving God and others.
Paul listed four of the Ten Commandments to demonstrate how love fulfills the law. These four commands that prohibit unloving behavior toward others—adultery, murder, theft, and coveting—speak directly to every global culture.
You Shall Not Commit Adultery (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18) – Love will not commit adultery because love will neither dishonor God nor harm others to satisfy sinful thoughts and desires. Eyes used for lust, hearts and minds that enjoy immorality, or bodies engaged in sinful physical contact all violate God’s marriage covenant.7 Adultery is a sin against husbands, wives, families, societies, and ultimately God. Adultery violates a sacred union declared holy by God.8 Joseph set a righteous example when Potiphar’s wife tempted him to sin. Joseph replied to his temptress, “My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”9 In Joseph’s case, love for God fulfilled the law against adultery.
You Shall Not Murder (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17) – Love does not allow the murder of another person, whether through physical violence, with immoral words, or in angry thoughts.10 Instead, love overcomes fear to subdue evil wherever it is found. People often capitalize on the dramatic effect of murder. Murder is used to generate media ratings, reinforce prejudices, divide people, or entertain customers in books, movies, video games, and television. How can Christians engage with what seeks to rob God of His valuable and loved image-bearers? Love protects life and preserves reputations. Love thinks of others above self and uses words to build others up. Scripture says, “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up.”11 Salvation frees us to experience the powerful truth that “greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one's friends.”12
You Shall Not Steal (Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19) – Love does not take; love gives. We steal when we refuse to give back to God or offer His best to others. As Christians, our vocations provide opportunities to engage with unbelievers and unbiblical cultural standards. The Holy Spirit frees God’s people to show others love, grace, integrity, and contentment. Stealing takes many forms we may not recognize but stems from a lack of love for others, regardless of what might be culturally acceptable:
If we love other people, we will not take advantage of them to get money. We depend on one another as we work with abundant excellence and share with those who are in need.13 Where do you need God’s gracious help to resist stealing and to love others well?
You Shall Not Covet (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21) – The last of the Ten Commandments strikes every heart. The command not to covet showed Paul his sinfulness.14 Our materialistic cultures tempt us to always want more and more, even when we need nothing. Coveting can cause debt that entraps many in our day. But we covet more than things. We also want others’ beauty, popularity, wealth, jobs, families, and successes. Anything someone has, another person may covet. Covetousness breeds within us discontentment, dissatisfaction, and insensitivity. We do not see what others need, only what they have—and what we want for ourselves. Covetousness destroys the usefulness of many Christians. If we love others, we want God to give them good things. Only through Christ and His gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit can we love the way God requires. Are you satisfied to enjoy all God’s good gifts to you?
When Jesus encountered a law expert who questioned which was the greatest command,15 He cited Leviticus 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Paul revealed Jesus’s teaching that showing love involves more than not violating God’s commands. Love actively seeks purposeful ways to bless other people.
Understanding the Times – Romans 13:11
In Chapter 12, Paul encouraged believers to consider the past when viewing the present.16 The first part of Romans 13:11 challenges us to live and understand the present time with the future in view. Paul went on to say, “Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Some apply this verse to the timing of the end times or Jesus’s return. The New International Version (NIV) includes the word “present” in regard to time, which seems to indicate Paul’s intent to encourage believers to express mindfulness of Jesus’s return in their present attitudes and actions. This certain future hope impacts daily living. God’s Word promotes urgency to follow Christ as we prepare for His return.
What does “understanding the present time” mean? Consider two different groups of people in the Bible with varying levels of understanding:
This kind of spiritual insight into current times comes from God Himself through His Word, the Holy Spirit, and prayerfulness. As we walk with God and grow in faith, He grants a certain level of understanding. While we are here on earth, we should seek to understand the present time in which we live, though we can only know in part. As understanding grows, we discern what to do with the time God has given us and can live wisely in anticipation of the Lord’s second coming.
Paul wrote to believers—Jews and Gentiles in Rome who had placed their faith in Jesus Christ. But some were “asleep,” or spiritually and morally complacent. God calls believers to behave in a Christlike way to all people and live out the law of love. When we fail to live a life motivated by love, we live like those who do not believe—people who are spiritually dead.
Paul urged his friends to wake up, saying, “The hour has already come for you to wake from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Here, Paul was speaking of the present age, the “hour” that will continue until the Lord’s return. The imminent return of Jesus Christ strongly motivated the early Church to live for Him.19 The Roman believers certainly lived nearer to Jesus’s glorious appearing than when they first believed. We can also declare that Jesus’s second coming is nearer now than when Paul wrote this letter around two millennia ago.
The time to wake up is now. Jesus said, “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. ... About that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.”20 Jesus Christ is coming soon. “‘Look, he is coming with the clouds,’ and ‘every eye will see him, even those who pierced him’; and all peoples on earth ‘will mourn because of him.’ So shall it be! Amen.”21 The certainty of Jesus’s second coming provides motivation and hope for all who trust Him for salvation.
The Day Is Near
Paul led believers to understand the present time and coaxed them to awaken from slumber. He said, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.” The day Paul spoke of is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He urged his readers to wake up and live expectantly, as though Jesus’s return was moments away.
One of the most frequent doctrines discussed in the New Testament is the second coming of Christ—Jesus’s return to earth. According to Scripture, the second coming of Christ is imminent and will be visible. Jesus will return physically, suddenly, and unexpectedly. At Jesus’s triumphant return, He will gather all who are alive and resurrect all who have previously died to face final judgment.1 We do not know when this will happen, but we can be sure He will come again as promised. Knowing that Jesus will return should impact our witness, including the way we love others.2
To not believe Jesus will return is to remain asleep–to sleepwalk through life and toward eternity. The charms of this world can distract us from our certain accountability to Christ when He returns. Rather than focusing on loving others, we become self-absorbed and complacent in our relationships with God and others. Oblivious to the desperate spiritual needs of those around us, we lose our ability to shed God’s light on a world filled with darkness and desperately in need of the hope that only Christ can bring.
Those who believe God’s promises eagerly anticipate Jesus’s second coming. Firm faith in Jesus’s promised return awakens us with an urgency to live for Christ and share His love with those around us. We rise from slumber, throw off darkness, and expectantly pursue the light of Christ while we wait. Knowing Jesus will return changes our perspective on life’s temporary comforts and difficulties. With Christ’s imminent return in view, we are motivated to honor God and live holy lives.
Clothed in Christ – Romans 13:12-14
Moral and spiritual darkness characterized the Roman Empire in Paul’s day. Like our own times, the environment was often hostile to the gospel. If we understand the times in which we live, we will take to heart Paul’s challenge to the Roman church. He wrote, “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. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing 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 flesh.”
In one sense, believers are clothed in Christ from the moment they trust Him for salvation. In Christ, God declares sinners righteous. A believer’s life is hidden in Christ.22 Their record of sin, along with its penalties, is gone.23 God not only saves believers from judgment but also from sin’s power while they live on earth. God’s Spirit works from within, pouring out Christ’s love so believers may freely please God, resist temptation, and reject sin. Sin no longer controls those whom Christ sets free. The Spirit transforms believers’ appetites and priorities, creating new desires and enabling growing obedience.24 Through the Holy Spirit’s power, believers become more like Jesus, which is God’s will for them.25
Paul told God’s people to put aside acts of darkness and put on the armor of light. Jesus, God’s Son, is the light of the world. He also describes His people as the light of the world.26 Therefore, people who are clothed with Christ are people who renounce darkness and wear His armor of light. The armor that God provides against darkness yields the fruit of the Spirit.27
Paul often used darkness as a symbol for ignorance and evil deeds.28 Believers are to put off the dark behavior tied to their old, unbelieving lives. Instead, they freely choose to put on their new nature, expressing the reality of who they are in Jesus Christ.29
Paul encouraged believers to behave decently, as in the daytime. He listed temptations from his culture that continue to confront us today. Believers are not to live as if the night will hide sinful actions. Instead, believers are called to live life in open daylight, trusting God to give strength and grace to resist sin. God forgives and restores sinners in times of failure. When believers live in the light of God’s presence, they need not fear shame. Jesus welcomes repentant hearts.
Finally, Paul instructed believers to clothe themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. We put on clothes primarily for protection. Clothing such as a work, sport, or school uniform can also provide identification. A wedding dress envelops a bride in beauty. In a similar way, believers are to put on the protection, identity, and beauty of the Lord Jesus every day. Jesus sets us apart for
special service to God. He gives us all we need to follow Him and stand against darkness. We are to represent Him through the power of the Spirit. As we follow and answer to our divine captain and king, we show unbelievers the freedom and joy of belonging to God and His people.
Jesus guards and guides our minds now to “not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Paul reminded believers of the power God gives them to say no to sin and yes to God when tempted by fleshly desires. Paul called the believers in Rome to love and live in anticipation of Christ’s return. God extends that same call to His people today. Jesus’s promised return calls believers to live holy lives of love.
Take to Heart
Paul continued and extended his teaching on sincere love by addressing believers’ obligation to love everyone. Believers have an outstanding debt that can never be fully paid—the debt to love others. God’s law is fulfilled by love. In other words, we put the law into practice when we love. This world brings strife, dissension, and debate, but love undergirds and directs God’s people as they wait for Jesus to return. Loving others despite our differences expresses Christ’s love and may be the only exposure someone has to the light of Christ.
Paul urged believers to understand the times and live holy lives that honor God. His warning to wake from slumber revealed that the hour for Jesus’s return is near. Ever practical, Paul commanded Christlike behavior as we live in the present time awaiting Christ’s return. He exhorted believers to clothe themselves with Christ and guard their minds. Sincere love takes believers out of the darkness and covers them with Christ’s armor of light.
Paul repeated the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” He explained that love does not harm a neighbor and fulfills the law. This command comes with a challenge. Every person is our neighbor. We find neighbors at our workplace, at the grocery store, at home, and in our churches. Everywhere we turn, we see someone we are obliged to love—at varying degrees of ease. Not everyone we meet seems easy to love. How will you look for ways to show love to the neighbors in your life? Who needs you to listen or show that you care? Who needs encouragement or help? Because God loves us with an everlasting love, He is the source of the love we extend to those around us. By His Spirit, He will help you extend love to others and will bless you as you do. Who in your life urgently needs to hear about the God who loves and saves sinners?
Sincere love for others demands actions that flow from a heart filled with love and the attitude of a servant. Outward actions alone are not enough. An angry, unloving attitude or self-centered, insincere thoughts do not express sincere love. We can only love as God intends, in attitude and action, through the Holy Spirit’s power. What do your attitude and actions reveal about the sincerity of your love for others? Jesus’s love shines through believers clothed in Christ and brings glory to Him.
Paul sounded an alarm to wake up! Believers need to wake from slumber because their salvation is nearer than ever before. We are to be alert for opportunities and reflect God as we live out a life of love. No matter when someone comes to faith in Christ, every sunrise and sunset means less time remains to serve Him. Every person’s time on earth is limited—time is truly short. In what ways is God calling you to wake up? Ask God to help you shake off complacency and slumber. How might you live for Jesus with urgency now? This world’s comforts cannot provide the fulfillment and joy that come from serving Christ, sharing the gospel, and furthering His kingdom. Are you awake and alert to the specific opportunities the Lord has given you at this unique time in your life?
Jesus’s second coming is near. Do you eagerly await our Lord’s return to earth? If not, why not? What does it look like to live expecting Jesus to return? Paul listed specific behaviors that tempt people and urged God’s people to cast aside the deeds of darkness. In what ways have you compromised or become complacent about sin? What practical steps will you take to turn from sin, repent, and put on the armor of light—clothed in Christ and empowered by His Spirit? When we neglect or ignore the power of Christ, we forfeit countless blessings. God does not lead His people to float aimlessly through life but to live wisely and love others freely. God calls His children to live like who they actually are: His children—clothed in Christ and empowered by His Spirit. We can trust His help, follow His call to serve, and share His gospel with urgency. In what ways will you depend on Jesus to shine His love through your life as you await His return?
1. Love never fails: 1 Corinthians 13:8, 13
2. Christ’s ambassadors: 2 Corinthians 5:20
3. Extend love: Romans 5:5
4. Love everyone: Galatians 6:10
5. Moral law: Luke 10:25-28
6. Good Samaritan: Luke 10:29-37
7. Lust: Matthew 5:27-28
8. Sacred union: Mark 10:6-8; Hebrews 13:4
9. Potiphar’s wife: Genesis 39:8-9
10. Anger: Matthew 5:21-22
11. Love builds up: 1 Corinthians 8:1
12. Greater love: John 13:34; 15:13
13. Sharing with others: Ephesians 4:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
14. Paul’s sinfulness: Romans 7:7
15. Jesus and the law expert: Matthew 22:35-41
16. In view of mercy: Romans 12:1
17. Signs of the times: Matthew 16:2-3
18. Issachar’s men: 1 Chronicles 12:32
19. Jesus’s imminent return: 1 John 3:2-3
20. Be alert: Mark 13:26-27, 32-33
21. Jesus comes in the clouds: Revelation 1:7
22. Hidden in Christ: Galatians 3:27; Colossians 3:3-4
23. No record of sin: Colossians 2:13-15
24. New desires and abilities: Romans 6:1-23; 8:1-17; Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:13-14
25. More like Jesus: Romans 8:29
26. Light of the world: John 1:4; 8:12; 1 John 1:5-7
27. Armor and fruit: Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 6:10-18
28. Deeds of darkness: Romans 1:21; 2:19; 11:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 4:18; 5:8, 11; 6:12; Colossians 1:13
29. New nature: Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:1-17
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