Christ the Righteous Judge (Romans 14:4)

“Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Romans 14:4, NASB95)

If you are like me you’ve heard Christians and Christianity criticized by non-Christians as being judgmental. In some ways this may be quite true, especially when Christians take stands against biblically immoral activities and in so doing treat those engaged in those activities harshly. This has been true in some ways at some times with some anti-abortion activists. It also has been true in regards to the LGBTQ community. In the fervor to take a stand for morality some have done so in ways that are not consistent with how we are to behave as ambassadors for the King of kings and the Lord of lords. But even when these issues have been dealt with in proper ways there is a strong accusation generally made that Christians are judgmental, and in response many Christians are succumbing to not saying anything for fear that they might violate the instruction of scripture to “judge not.”

But let’s stop for a moment and consider what is really being said when we read warnings about judging others. There are several key passages, of which Romans 14:4 is just one of them. Here we read that we are not to judge the servant of another. This passage is written to fellow believers—Christians. When they, like us, placed their trust in Christ all of their sins were forgiven—past, present, and future and they turned over the ownership of their lives from the powers of evil (Satan) to the Lord of all creation (Jesus). They and we have a new master. They are no longer their own, for they have been bought with a price, and Jesus Christ is sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding on all of our behalf.

“For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” … “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23, NASB95)

“who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” (Romans 8:34, NASB95)

Clearly we see from Scripture that God is the judge of all men. He holds their ultimate eternity in His hands, and the only way He has designated from passing from death into life is by trusting in His Son for our salvation. We do not have that power. It belongs to God alone, and for that reason we have no place trying to make those determinations. This does not mean, however, that we don’t speak up to one another and engage in the biblical one another’s of confrontation, rebuking, and correcting so that we each might be called to walk not as slaves of men but as children of Light. This is part of our one another activity, and doing so is not “judging” because we know God holds this in His hands, but it is encouraging each other more and more as the time of His coming draws near.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:23–25, NASB95)

As I said there were numerous passages dealing with this issue of judging others. Another well known one is found in Matthew chapter 7 where we read, ““Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1–5, NASB95)

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1–5, NASB95)

Here we have a situation of critical living which is being confronted by Jesus. As we look at the fullness of these verses we see that we are called to deal honestly with the sin in our own lives humbly before God, and then we can see clearly to help our brothers to deal with the sin in their lives. This was a strong statement by Jesus as you can see evidenced by the references to the ‘log’ in the critical person’s eye as opposed to the ‘speck’ in his brother’s eye. Dealing with the issues of sin in another’s life means that we are people who deal rightly before God with the sin in our own lives, and then as we deal with others according to God’s standard (and not ours), we do so knowing just how much we have been forgiven and how merciful our God was toward us such that we deal in that same manner with others. Harsh critical judgment is always wrong. Correcting others as a part of our mutual growth in Christ according to God’s standard is something we are called to do.

Also in Luke chapter 6 we find Jesus speaking to this issue. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” (Luke 6:36–38, NASB95)

Here we find that we are to be merciful and forgiving toward one another, not responding with judgment and condemnation. This is God’s standard and we need to adopt it as ours reflecting that we indeed are His. Backing up from these verses in Luke we find a number of instructions relating to how we are to take the higher ground in our interactions and in so doing, reflect the love of our God in dealing with those who either may not know that love or need to be stirred in walking in that love.

Paul was criticized by some and he had to grow in understanding how to live under that criticism, including even judgment that placed him in jail. He wrote for the Corinthians, to whom he wrote a very stern letter, that it is not the judgment of man that really matters, but rather the examination of his conscience and his actions by God. He wrote to them to not take upon themselves that role of passing in their own minds and actions some form of final judgment on others, but to leave this where it really belongs which is in the hands of God.

“But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:3–5, NASB95)

There is a difference between passing judgment and confronting sin and immorality. Jesus spoke openly about the sinfulness of man as He walked the streets and met people in the midst of their messy lives. And in the next chapter of 1 Corinthians, right after the passage we just looked at, we find Paul instructing the Corinthians believers to take disciplinary action against one of those in their midst and even calling them to account for their own callousness concerning those actions.

“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Corinthians 5:1–5, NASB95)

There is only one Judge, and that judge is God. He is the One who holds eternity in His hands. We need to be constantly mindful of that, and as we walk with other believers we need to call each other to walking according to the standard of righteousness which He has given us. And as we walk in the world we need to be constantly mindful that they are slaves to sin, and we as His ambassadors, are to continually point people to God and not only declare their need of a Savior but show them the love of God that results from having been greatly forgiven and granted new life.

Speaking against sin may be received as judgmental, and there is not much we can do about that. What we can do is guard our own hearts, deal with our own sin, be constantly thankful for God’s forgiveness, and lovingly and honestly point others of their need to pass from the judgment of God to life in His Son.

“in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8, NASB95)

Eating Together While Not Eating Alike (Romans 14:2-3)

“One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.” (Romans 14:2–3, NASB95)

In our culture there is a phrase which has been taken to great extremes, and that is, “It’s my body and I’ll do with it as I please.” This has led to great license and extremes in a number of varying behaviors. It has also led to the government legalizing some things which are very questionable at best and trying to restrict other things which seem quite invasive. We can now take an unborn life because women have this kind of control over their bodies, but in New York they don’t want businesses to sell soft drinks over a certain size. With all of it there is a rub over just how invasive and directive the government or anyone should be over what we do. And simple principles dealing with liberty in some areas have been broadened to cover areas which clearly cross the lines of biblical morality.

In addition to these governmental issues there is a growing movement among individuals and groups to police the producers of these foods and to challenge their practices. Some in this movement have become quite forceful and critical while others outside the movement live as if it is largely a non-issue. While we can be thankful that there are watchdogs over our food, we also need to guard that as watchdogs people are not belittled for not having that passion or for being thankful for the food which they do have. And for those who may not be as concerned, there needs to be a respectful awareness of those who are. Their conscientious efforts have brought about some significant change in the foods made available to us which have served us well.

My doctor and my wife both have something to say about what I eat, but in the end I am ultimately the one who makes the decisions about what passes into my mouth. This is true for a good diet and for a poor one. It is true for things done in moderation or in excess. And if I want to I can really get belligerent about it. On the other hand, my wife can choose not to prepare things she doesn’t want me to eat and she can shop in such a way that these things don’t enter the house. And my doctor can refuse to be my doctor if I don’t follow his encouragement. What I have to deal with is my conscience (and even the consequences for good and bad) in this matter and also how I treat those around me who might feel differently. These last two determinants are huge, and they should have a big impact on how I eat.

Being in a close relationship with others who feel differently about food necessitates that we walk sensitively with others, and sometimes it means backing down to a more agreeable standard for the sake of those involved and maybe even a healthier one for ourselves. This is especially true when that standard impacts the welfare of another such as in the case of food allergies which can even be life threatening. We have a responsibility before God to walk with others in love with a clear conscience, and both of these will impact what and how we eat around others.

In some countries people eat bugs, but not me. I like nuts, but I know people whose allergies are life threatening and around them I am very careful. I like pork, but I’ve had some Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ and other Jewish friends who don’t eat it for conscience sake. Some believers are free to drink alcohol, while others are either convicted not to drink alcohol or they may have a bad history surrounding it and they can’t go there any more. These are issues when license and love are laid together with love being the stronger determinant. At the time that the New Testament was being written there were those who maintained Jewish dietary laws and there were Gentiles who were not accustomed to these laws and who were free not to abide by them. There were also those who were once engaged in idol worship and the offering of sacrifices to those idols from which the leftover meat was sold in the markets. For these new believers there was a great struggle eating this meat. And for them it was much safer just to stay away from eating the meat at all.

When believers got together to share in meals this could become quite confusing and maybe even frustrating trying to combine all of their food choices. It could be quite easy to pressure conformity to one standard or another. It could be easy to try to normalize their dietary decisions, and in so doing violate the consciences of some. But Scripture makes it clear, on this matter at least, that God has given them freedom to walk through this area and to make responsible decisions based upon where they are in their understanding before their God who accepted them as His beloved children.

Now this also does not give us a blank slate in regards to our diet. Clearly the Bible does have something to say about taking care of these bodies which God has entrusted to us.

“Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe one with rags.” (Proverbs 23:19–21, NASB95)

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20, NASB95)

We do need to make wise choices for ourselves and we need to be sensitive to others. In our house I get a crab for my birthday from my wife, and she enjoys watching me eat it knowing that she herself would much rather have salmon. And I am learning about her special dietary needs and adjusting for them in our eating at home and in considering her best in choosing where we might eat when we go out. This is what love does.

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3–4, NASB95) 

His Way is the High Way (Romans 14:1)

“Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.” (Romans 14:1, NASB95)

Have you ever been in a situation where someone seemed to jump on you because of your lack of knowledge or maybe because you believed something that may have resulted from some of that knowledge? Or maybe you were intimidated to say anything because those around you seem to know so much more and they didn’t seem open to your input. I think this happens to all of us, and I think there are times where we may even be guilty of being the one who makes others uncomfortable or set aside.

This next section in Romans 14 has a lot to do with how we treat others when it comes to some of those growth areas or maybe what we might call biblical gray areas. These principles even apply to how we treat one another on areas where maybe there is clear truth which might need to be appropriately shared.

Romans 14:1 says to “accept the one who is weak in faith.” The first word here is accept, and it means to receive, to accept as one’s companion, to receive into one’s home, and to be kind to. In the English Standard Version it says to “welcome” this person. It clearly goes beyond tolerating and putting up with, but extends to a full hearted embrace.

This person who we are to take into our circle is described as one who is “weak in faith.”  We are not referring here to one who knowingly and willfully opposes a clear teaching of Scripture, but rather one who is struggling over some understanding of how they are to walk in relation to their faith in Christ. Specifically, as we will see in the next verses this is including those who struggle with eating meat which was left over from pagan temple sacrifices and was now being sold in the markets. There is nothing evil about eating or not eating the meat, yet some struggled over it and some didn’t. It is these people who are wrestling with some aspect of their understanding and desiring to continue to grow in Christ that we are to accept, and we are to do this as the verse continues for whom they are as brothers and sisters in Christ and not people that we need to set straight.

We’ll get into this more as we move through the verses which follow, but the greater principle here is how we are to treat one another in the body of Christ—the church. We are not the gatekeepers who determine who trusts Jesus Christ for their salvation. God is the one who calls and He knows each and every single one of us from the beginning of time.

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29–30, ESV)

God is the one who decides who comprises His church, and it is His Spirit who knits us together as one. Being one, we are to love one another and to engage in all of the one another’s of Scripture of which we looked at some in chapter 12. This might include teaching, and rebuking, and correcting so that we might be trained in righteous living (2 Timothy 3:16), and sometimes this might be difficult. But it is never to be about questioning God’s choices. It may mean helping to shape biblical thinking, but it doesn’t mean pressing someone to do something over which they struggle in their conscience just because we might be free in Christ to engage in that same activity. This might extend to dancing, watching movies, education of our children, types of music, and even what we eat. There is so much that we can divide ourselves over that really doesn’t rise to the level that Scripture has made a clear declaration concerning it and for which our opinions might vary.

Sure, there are times when we need to confront one another over things, and as we read Scripture, there may even be times when the church needs to take some disciplinary action. But even then the purpose in doing so is restoration and the subject behind it needs to clearly be that which God calls sin. But this is not the majority of our interaction, and it is not the subject of this passage. Here we are considering how we walk with one another when we don’t see biblically eye to eye on the small stuff (which is probably big to them), and here we are clearly to embrace them as fellow heirs in Christ.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:12–17, NASB95) 

Behaving Properly (Romans 13:13-14)

“Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” (Romans 13:13–14, NASB95)

While chapter 12 dealt primarily with our behavior in regards to other believers, chapter 13 deals with our behavior in regards to all people. This included a look at how we respond to those in leadership over us and to those who are our neighbors or those who for any reason cross our paths in some way. We read that we are not to be lax in any of these nor are we to be lax in our anticipation of the soon coming of our Lord, realizing that we have been called to live in the Light and not listen to the voices of darkness.

“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”” (John 8:12, NASB95)

“for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),” (Ephesians 5:8–9, NASB95)

In these verses about living in the power and protection of the Light we understand that we are doing this in a world that largely only knows darkness, and we are to live not according to the world but according to the Word of God. It is from here that we move to the last two verses of chapter 13, where we are told to behave properly.

We are to behave properly as if everything we did were done in the daytime. This is a curious phrase, well unless you lived in an apartment as a young married couple which had those wonderful German cockroaches. You could see the evidence of them on the counters in the morning, but for the most part they were hidden during the day. But when it got dark or when they otherwise were in a dark place they were free to run amok across everything we owned, and should you turn the light on them at night, then…. This was a nasty season, and one I hope never to experience again. But the lessons about what happens in the dark definitely have been given new meaning.

But so it is with sin. We don’t generally want others to know that we are engaged in it unless we are around others engaged in the same thing. At one time there were many things considered morally offensive in our culture, that today have much less stigma surrounding them. And with the normalization of these once morally offensive activities, people have become more and more open about engaging in them themselves. These include changing the laws concerning abortion from the taking of an innocent life to a woman’s right to control her own body. It is more and more common and accepted today to just live together, and getting a divorce is a simple legal procedure. Infidelity in marriage is bragged about and seen openly in many public figures. The normalization of aberrant sexual identities and the growth of the LGBTQ community has changed such that people are bullied when they profess their opposing biblical understanding. 

Our culture is quickly losing its moral keel and the ship of America is being tossed by every wind, to the point that many who stand for biblical morality are now considered intolerant and offensive regardless of how they make that stand. Christians were once significant salt and light in our communities and our nation. The documents which had long governed our country are now being increasingly viewed as archaic and subject to change by unelected judges and our Federal government, which picks and chooses which laws it will or will not enforce. Where once these beliefs were foundational to our moral fiber as a country, those who hold them now are being viewed more and more as an annoyance and a hindrance.

The Bible tells us that we are not to be swayed by the world and the darkness which covers it. The world is not to be our determinant of how we live, but we are to live by the standard given to us by God. Living this way is what the Bible calls living properly. It is living properly with all people, keeping ourselves for the man or woman that God has for us whether we’ve found him or her yet or not. It is living filled by the Spirit and not controlled by substances such as alcohol or drugs. It is not bouncing around in our relationships and sleeping with anyone we wish and chasing after any pleasure that might be dangling out there. It is being faithful to our friends and family and not being given to fighting and arguing or chasing after what others around you might have.

Living in the Light is living faithful to our God and submitted to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We read that we are to put on Christ and to make no provision for the flesh. Speaking to those who have trusted Christ for their salvation, we have been given new life. We have been made spiritually alive. We are called to abide in Christ as He abides in us. We are called to live in dependence on Him.

One picture of living in dependence is putting on Christ. It is as if we get up in the morning and purposely choose how to get dressed such that we stop, look to Him, and purpose to follow after Him with our whole hearts being fully dressed in Him. In Ephesians 6 we read more about this as we are told how to prepare ourselves for this spiritual battle with darkness—a battle which even can rage in our minds. Here we are getting dressed in Christ according to our new identity and not in accordance to who we once were. We choose not to get dressed according to any desires we might have which are in conflict with this new identity. This tension is what Scripture refers to as a battle with the flesh. It is a conscious and purposeful choice we make on a daily and even moment by moment basis.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit….” (Ephesians 6:10–18, NASB95)

There are many temptations around us both within our hearts and minds as we walk through our days and in the world around us that we live in. But we are always to be mindful that how we live is a choice, and in the choice our God has made it so that we can go forward victoriously.

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NASB95)

Following is an amplified application of 1 Corinthians 10:13 that I prepared several years ago and to which I repeatedly come back (and have even used numerous times in these posts) when it comes to how I face these pressures.

There is no test, no trial, no temptation to sin, no pushing, pulling, prodding, or anything else that comes my way that makes me any different than anyone else. We all experience these things, maybe in different ways and at times to different degrees, but I am no different than anyone else.

BUT GOD…. He is always faithful in all things. With every trial, test, or temptation—no matter how big or how small; with all of these things He has set a limit to them. He will not allow anything into my life beyond which He also has not given the ability to victoriously endure. With every single test, trial, and temptation He has provided a way of escape, and He will keep me from being crushed, and He will bring me out standing on the other side. This is true whether that other side is realized in this life or ultimately in His presence. This is a certain fact.

Therefore, I will place my trust in Him and look not to the size of the situation, BUT to the size and faithfulness of my GOD.

Wake Up! (Romans 13:11-12)

“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:11–12, NASB95)

I am so thankful for nighttime when I am able to lie down and stretch out and rest, especially when the rest is full and not mixed with constant thoughts running through my mind or burdens on my heart. Rest is a very comfortable position, and sometimes it is one that I just don’t want to move myself from. After all, it can become so comfortable that nothing else seems to rise to a level of importance such that I feel compelled to stir.

In this passage we are being told that there is a reason to stir. When spiritual apathy combined with a loss of vision and hope for our eternal future settles in (even if for a brief season), we tend to back away from that which compels us to focus on our God and to give ourselves back to Him in service (Romans 12:1). There is no urgency. We can become slothful or drag our feet. We can put things off to a later time when it might be more convenient. All of these (and more) are signs that of a spiritual nap.

We may have the golden ticket so to speak, but having that golden ticket is not all that God intends. We are not to stand around as if waiting in line to gain admittance to His eternal presence. Rather, we are to live in such a way that we recognize the great change that He has done in us by giving us new life, and then we are to live that life fully. Once we were in darkness, unaware of our God’s love, presence, and salvation, but now we know. And that changes everything.

We are told to “do this,” referring to what had come before to this point in Romans 12:1-13:10. Having been saved from our sins, we now look forward to that time when we will be fully glorified in God’s presence. In between is this season of waiting in hopeful anticipation and it is not to be a dormant one, but one where we continue to grow in Christ and give ourselves back to Him in love as a response to His great love shown to us. And the most practical way we can do this is by loving one another and building up one another in Christ (Romans 12) while also living right in the world around us so that we are a light to them (Romans 13:1-10), taking every opportunity to share with them the good news of great hope and salvation in Jesus Christ.

We are told to no longer walk in darkness as those who do not know, but we are to walk in the light of His Spirit. And walking this way means that we are to put off or set aside those things that resembled who we were before trusting Christ for our salvation, and based upon the truths that we learn from His Word, we are to put on that which is good and right and honorable. This is what is meant by no longer walking in darkness, but walking in the light.

But it’s more than that also. Because if it were just about changing our behavior then all of the psychologists and self-help people out there would have the answers. No, it’s doing this because our identity has changed. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are no longer living in darkness unawares. We are children of the Light in whom there is no darkness. God has done a significant work in us to make us spiritually alive and to give us His Spirit to indwell us so that we might be equipped and enabled to live for Him. We are called to submit ourselves to Him, giving Him our full allegiance and service while changing the way we behave through obedience to His Word. We have a new Lord and He calls us to His service. So, we are to get up from our slumber and give Him everything back knowing that each day that passes is one day closer to either our entering His presence through the doorway of death or joining Him in the heavens at the rapture.

“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,” (Colossians 1:12–13, NASB95)

“for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:8–10, NASB95)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,” (John 1:1–12, NASB95)

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13, NASB95) 

Love Doesn’t Wrong (Romans 13:8-10)

“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8–10, NASB95)

Last night as I was watching the debate between Bill Bye and Ken Ham I was struck when it came to the questions from the audience that there were several questions to which Bill Nye responded that he had no answer to which Ken Ham told Mr. Nye something to the effect of, “There is a book that answers that question.” In these verses for today when it comes to all of the evil that we can do toward one another, the Bible has one singular answer and that answer is love. It may not address all of the surrounding questions or the pressures or circumstances, but it addresses the central issue and that is how we treat others.

We have quite a list. Adultery violates the covenant agreement between a husband and wife by bringing sexual relations with a third party into the mix. This is a wrong against the spouse mixed with a wrong with another person who should not be added to the picture. Love would protect the covenant relationship with the person’s spouse and it would protect taking from another something which is not his or hers.

Murder, or outright taking someone’s life without the power of government or the consideration of protection of life, is clearly declared to be wrong in Scripture. It is a powerful and destructive act toward another. Clearly love would prevent this as we consider the value of life with which God has endowed all mankind.

The list continues. Stealing is taking something from someone else because we want it for ourselves or at least what we can get through using it to get something else. Love demands that we consider their needs as a priority. In Ephesians 4:28 we read, “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.” (Ephesians 4:28, NASB95)

And so the list continues, even beyond what is listed here in these verses. All of them can be summed up in loving others. This is thinking and acting toward them in ways that seek their best and never taking advantage of opportunities to abusing it for our own good. The amazing thing about these verses again is that they are ‘one another’ verses which mean that as followers of Christ it is to go both ways. As we love them, they are to love us. And when this happens we all benefit and the world has an opportunity to see how the love of God for us has flowed out into our treatment of others. In this we loudly declare that our God has done a different and good work in His children and that He offers that same salvation to others.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35, NASB95) 

Being Salt and Light (Romans 13:1-7) -- excerpts

I've been reading quite a few commentaries and related articles in preparation for teaching Romans 13:1-7. One of them is titled "Being Salt and Light in an Unsavory and Dark Age..." written by Richard Land and Barrett Duke, both of the Southern Baptist Convention. 

This is a lengthy article, and I have only included a selection of excepts for the purposes of challenging our thinking as it pertains to who we live as salt and light in a world and a country that left to its own ends would endorse more and more of its people doing what is right in their own eyes--a slippery slope whose license only restricts those who believe that there truly is a moral law and a moral law Giver.

Christians have chosen to take varying positions on this issue of their faith and politics. Hopefully you will at least find the excerpts challenging as you consider how you walk wisely before God among man. 

"...Where this loss of universal absolutes will lead is anyone's guess, but it is likely that we are witnessing only the first wave of damaging impacts on our culture.

The problem of moral decline is exacerbated in those cultures where the citizenry has the opportunity to choose its leadership, as in the United States. When the people who choose the nation's lawmakers and judges have lost their moral compass, the result is culturally catastrophic. Our founding fathers were acutely aware of this danger. Reflecting on the unprecedented freedoms granted the citizenry by the new Constitution, John Adams insightfully commented, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Adams understood that this noble American experiment in unprecedented liberty would not work unless most of the populace acknowledged a higher power than the state to whom they were responsible and accountable. Otherwise, the unprecedented freedoms granted in the new governmental system by the United States Constitution would gradually decline from liberty to license.

We are experiencing the tragic moral trajectory Adams feared. The populace is rapidly losing its moral bearings and it has either rejected Christianity and its moral norms outright, denied its relevance, or relegated it to the level of a self-help regimen. The religion which dominated in President Adam's time has for too many been replaced by a faith in which man is the chief beneficiary. God is invoked for the benefit of the religious. What He desires of people is secondary at best. For many other Americans, yet further adrift on the seas of moral relativism, a Holy Trinity of narcissism has emerged: "I, Myself, and Me."

For the sake of the nation and its future, Christians must become much more involved in its public life.... Man left to his own devices, spirals downward emotionally, morally, and culturally. The lost human condition is a condition of despair. No one should be surprised about this dark descent. Separated from God, man lives without hope in this world and the world to come. ... The Christian brings a much-needed positive message into these dark surroundings. Christianity does not ignore the world's present realities, but it is keenly aware of a God who can help humans rise above life's despair and infuse hope.

...salt prevents decay. Salted meat, for example, lasts for long periods of time because destructive bacteria cannot survive in that salted medium. Christians act as social preservatives. Christianity brings a set of values into culture that arrest the worst effects of human depravity. Christians living out their values do not eliminate human depravity, but they do help to define and denounce it. Consequently, by their efforts, public policy is more life-affirming.

Christians must enter the public square and bring their biblically-based morality with them. They have the right, and the obligation, to share their faith-informed moral values with the nation and to advocate the adoption of those values through the democratic process. Government is a divinely ordained human institution. Paul made this case effectively in Romans 13:1-7. The governing authorities are ministers of God for good (vv. 3-4). God holds governments accountable for how they govern and the cultures they produce. They are intended by God to punish evil and reward good. When a culture has sunk too far into moral decay, God has been known to bring swift and severe judgment on the people (Genesis 18:1-19:29). But God does not take pleasure in judgment. He prefers for people to turn from sinful behavior (Ezekiel 18:23). It is reasonable to assume that God wants those who know His truth to engage in the process that can help restrain man's immoral inclinations and avoid God's judgment."

Here is the link for the whole article: http://www.sbts.edu/resources/files/2010/07/sbjt_114_win07-landef80a2duke.pdf
While I am personally in significant agreement with the article, this is not a blanket endorsement.