Romans 13:8-10
St Mark’s 12th February 2023
Tom and I have been really enjoying listening to the Bible in One Year. Nicky Gumbel does a commentary and a prayer. Nicky was one of the founding members of Alpha, and is still committed to it.
A couple of weeks ago, we enjoyed, well we think we enjoyed it, a soap opera story that was not completely familiar to us. It was about Jacob, his two wives Leah and Rachel. And his wive’s father Laban.
Jacob had been tested to the limit through having to labour unfairly for Laban for far too long. He ended up being deceptive himself, and he decides to flee from Laban, with his wives in tow, and all their belongings. Unbeknown to Jacob, Rachel steals Laban’s household gods and hides them. Then Laban comes in hot pursuit. She gets away with her theft, by sitting on her loot. Who knows why she did that, and what was Laban doing with household gods in the first place anyway? The story is full of family tension.
Nicky Gumbel’s practical and down to earth wife Pippa, adds to Nicky’s commentary. She said ‘Rachel ended up stealing, lying and dishonouring her father. No wonder God needed to give us the ten commandments.’
Today’s really short reading is packed with a huge truth. Love fulfils the law. But before Paul links love and the law, he follows on from his teaching earlier in his letter.
Here in our reading he says ‘Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another,’.
He has already mentioned before this, that we are in debt to the unbelieving world to share the gospel. We are in debt to the Holy Spirit to live a holy life. And of course we are in debt to the state to pay our taxes.
These financial debts are the kind that we must be ready to pay off. When we take out a loan such as a mortgage, it is our responsibility to know that we can pay what we owe. Paul doesn’t want us to be in debt.
But it’s actually quite challenging in these times isn’t it? It is so good to see charities such as Christians against poverty, help those who are struggling to make ends meet. They help them to plan a way out of debt.
But we are living in trying times where planning how to pay the bills has not actually turned out quite as expected. The cost of living has risen so much that many are finding things really hard, and some are even losing their homes as a consequence.
And then there are those who charge extortionate amounts of money, and exploit the vulnerable. Even credit cards charge high rates of interest. So we need to continue to pray for those who struggle to make ends meet, and to help where we can.
So Paul’s practical teaching on paying our dues, turns to the continuing debt to love one another. That should never end. We never get to a point and say, ‘well I think I’ve loved enough now’.
We are commanded here to keep paying this debt of love to others, and not just our friends. We always owe people love. No matter what.
But we can’t do it alone. That is why we need help, and it is by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that we are able to love.
Paul is reminding us that love fulfils the law, but is not the end of the law. Because we are all going to fail in this area. We can never get to that point where we have loved enough. So the law remains, if only to help us see where we go wrong in this area.
If we did get to the point where we all loved as Jesus loved us, then there would be no need for the law. But we are not there yet. But love continues to fulfil the law.
Paul writes - for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
Perhaps we find it easier to picture this when we think of the story of the Good Samaritan. Those that really should have helped the poor man when he became the victim of an attack, walked by on the other side. They did not show love. But the Samaritan man did. He showed love, and he acted for the good of his neighbour. In this instance, he fulfilled the law.
Paul goes on to use the examples of the commandments that show love to others. “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.
Although the command to not bear false witness is missing here, these laws sum up how we should do no harm to our neighbour, and that is how we show love. And of course we are not just talking about our neighbours next door, we are talking about absolutely anyone. Even those who would perhaps be classed as our enemy.
When adultery is committed, we rob someone else’s husband or wife. When we murder, or even wish harm to come to someone, we are robbing them of their right to life in all its fullness.
When we steal, we rob them of those things that rightfully belong to them.
And when we covet, we are showing jealousy and lack of contentment with the things in our lives. We want what they have.
No, all these things do harm to our neighbour, but when we want what’s the very best for them, then we show love, and that is why love fulfils the law.
I have always struggled with how some people interpret the command to love others as ourselves. Often people take it as giving us permission to love ourselves as if we didn’t already.
The thing is, with the exception of some people, generally, we do love ourselves. It comes naturally as a result of the fall. Often that fallen nature looks out for ourselves.
We want to protect ourselves, and to an extent there is nothing wrong in that of course. But true love. Agape love, which is that Christ-like self-giving love, is harder for us. It doesn’t come naturally. It takes more effort, and that is why we need the help of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The story I mentioned earlier from Genesis, about Jacob, his two wives and Laban. It’s a story that doesn’t really give us good patterns of behaviour to follow. Even Jacob comes up with a cunning scheme to grow his herds of animals better than Laban’s. It’s a story full of greed and marks our tendency to look out for ourselves and not love.
So how can these words be practically played out in our lives?
How can we fulfil the law by loving others, as much as we naturally do love ourselves?
Firstly, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to show us how. Let’s really be open to His prompting. How, given my limited circumstances can I show more love? Ask for that prompting.
When we wake up in the morning, we have a continued obligation to love. We can ask ourselves “how can I love today?” How can I find opportunities to show the love of Christ to someone else?
The great 19th century Scottish evangelist, Henry Drummond said “You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.”
Inviting people for a coffee, perhaps stepping out of your comfort zone in this area. Or helping with food bank contributions. Or simply picking up the phone. These are all examples of how we can simply show love. Sometimes taking the initiative is costly, but it is worth it.
I know we have our limitations. We none of us are as young as we used to be. That’s a true fact isn’t it? I sometimes recognise I need to stop, just to let my brain catch up. But perhaps, each morning, wake up and ask the Holy Spirit, how you can show Jesus’s love today. And in this way we carry on this continuing debt of love towards others.
Amen
Romans 1:14-15, 8:12 on, 13:6
