Love Shack

Summer '20 (COVID-19)  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  32:19
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Romans 13:8–14 NIV
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “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 neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 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. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

The Romans were tempted to blend in

Roman culture was bold and brash. It was larger than life if you could afford to ride the wave. Power. Money. Freedom. But just as Roman influence was peaking, something different was rising. Jesus had risen from the dead. His life, death and resurrection had changed the world forever.
Rome responded with the usual fury and flourish. In AD48 they apparently kicked all the “Jews” out of Rome. To them this would have included followers of Jesus. Pliny the Elder apparently referred to Jesus followers and their debate with synagogue leaders as the matter of Chrestus. Just one letter off from Christos-the greek word for the Messiah, Jesus.
By the time Paul is writing his letter the Jews are welcome once again, after all they pay their taxes and mow their lawns. They were good citizens. But in the meantime a new batch of Romans had taken up following Jesus. These folks had a pagan background so weren’t questioned as much.
The church was full of them now. They hadn’t grown up with good Jewish teaching on morality, but they did understand that Jesus was the savior of the world. Paul wants them to know Jesus isn’t just the guy who cleans up at the end of the battle. He’s got fresh ideas for how we should live now. He cuts right to the heart of things. Imagery of day vs night. Asleep vs awake. A great day is coming and they want to be ready for it.
So he tells them to leave behind old patterns of drinking and carousing, wild parties and illicit sex. Deeds of darkness done. Live like it’s daytime. Only not like the drama down at the office: jealousy, quarrelling, dissent. All of this must go too. Because a new day is coming. There is a new way of living. It’s as if he’s tapping into their love of the latest and fashion. Don’t get caught wearing the clothing and lifestyle of the old way of life. Get with it and put on something new.

What matters most in Christian community?

It seems like this was the question the Christians living in the center of an empire needed to think about then and now. As Paul lays out how Christians should live it’s not just relevant to 2,000 years ago in an ancient empire. We are tempted to follow the ways of the world. We too have many intoxicating influences around us as we live in one of the most powerful nations on the earth.
We should say no to the worldly night life and also adjust to the new day that is dawning with Jesus. We too are called to leave old patterns behind.
But in this passage Paul takes it even deeper. It’s not just about modifying our behavior. It goes down to our motivations. What drives the daily decisions we make.
I’ve talked about it a lot lately because it’s all around us. But notice that Paul doesn’t say the key to everything is the right people getting elected to the Roman Senate. With the right political leadership Christians will be protected and life will be great and we can do what we want to do and live the good life. Now several places in the Old and New Testament it does say to pray for those in leadership and that life will go well in your country. But you will struggle to find a time in the new testament era where Christians were focused on who their political leaders would be. What they did focus on was challenging those leaders to listen to God. John the Baptist. Jesus before Pilate. Paul before Roman magistrates. Political influence seeking just isn’t there. It’s apparently NOT what Christian community is all about.
I worked at K-Mart for many years while I was in college and Seminary. One day I asked a supervisor why he gets up and goes to work every day. He laughed and said it’s very simple: I come to work every day so they don’t come get my stuff! I had to think about it for a second. I realized he meant he owed a lot of money for the stuff his family enjoyed. At least he had a sense of humor about it. That’s definitely a reason to get up and get to work each day. But maybe there is more to life than this.

The Law of Love

Paul, following the example of Jesus chooses a simple and powerful word to cut through all the other possibilities and theological complications. That word is love.
Paul says:
Romans 13:8 NIV
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
If you are going to owe something, owe love. That’s a much bigger reason to get out of bed in the morning. That’s a reason to give your best and take care of the ones closest to you. That’s a reason to sacrifice and serve those who need what you can offer. That’s also a reason to have boundaries. You can’t love well if you are spread too thin to function.
If we love, we don’t have to go digging into documents to see if we did the right thing. Holy love fulfills what God wants from human beings.
Now Paul didn’t get to hear Jesus in person. But we see evidence that he did hear from the Lord as he claimed, by special revelation. The Gospels weren’t fully written yet by the time Paul wrote this letter. But here’s what Jesus had said nearly 20 years before.
Matthew 22:36–40 NIV
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Love God with all you are. Love your neighbor as yourself. Paul is right at the heart of what makes Christians different. We don’t serve God to get protection from the weather and our enemies. We don’t serve God to get rich. We don’t serve God to protect our way of life.
We are called to LOVE God; to value God above all else. We are called to love people. People similar to us. People different than us. Even people who are enemies. Love.

Love Makes all the Difference

There is a passage over in Matthew that makes one thing clear that is different about Christian community. We don’t gossip and tear others down. We go directly to them.
Matthew 18:15 NIV
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
Should you keep it to yourself? Well we probably don’t need to be confronting people about everything we are tempted to disagree on. So, if it’s not harming others and is a matter of individual interpretation perhaps. But only let it go if you can really let it go. If it just means you’ll end up gossiping to others instead, you haven’t improved the situation. Best to confront. But do give people the benefit of the doubt for everyday matters of less importance.
A few exceptions: abuse, child abuse and molestation. Inappropriate behavior toward children cannot and will not be tolerated in this or any Christian church worth its salt. Things known to be illegal or unethical. Sometimes by calling someone out privately we can stop them before they act by waking them up to the mistake they are about to make. In the case of children being harmed we are mandatory reporters if we observe anything. Simply let a church leader know and call the police. But these are exceptions.
For the vast majority of situations, lead with love for everyone involved. And even in these extreme cases that’s what you’re doing. The best way to love all involved is the take action that stops things from getting any worse. So respect the other person enough with most situations to approach them and have a supportive conversation that addresses the possible pattern of sin in their lives.
The point is Christians begin with relationship. We don’t gossip, we address concerns directly. We get support of friends and church leadership only if these things fail. I’ve tried my best to follow this pattern in my ministry. It’s usually worked out for the best for everyone involved even if a parting of the ways happened. That happened one time when a person in a position of responsibility refused to communicate but continued talking negatively to others. I had to ask them to communicate about the issue or leave. A couple years later the person ended up in a tragic situation. They wanted to see me. They admitted later that they had acted irresponsibly and apologized. They said I had done the difficult but right thing in that situation. I really respected them for that. Any of us can falter. Not many can admit their mistakes and do something to make it right again.
Christian community is hard. We have a high standard. Many different priorities can collide and we make tough choices sometimes. But even when we can’t do all that someone is asking of us, we can be loving. We can offer what we can give and do for them. Then it’s up to the other person to love also.

New Clothes

When you’re a kid going back to school it’s really special if you’re able to have even one new shirt or a pair of shoes. Just something about new clothes can change your perspective. The Romans knew that. We know that.
Paul says there’s only one outfit cool enough for Christians:
Romans 13:14 NIV
14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Clothe yourselves with Jesus. People of the day get up and put their clothes on. Followers of Jesus put on a new kind of garment, woven from the fabric of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Paul for Everyone, Romans Part 2: Chapters 9–16 Love, the Law and the Coming Day (Romans 13:8–14)

The point of love, genuine Christian love, what the New Testament writers call agapē (though some Greek writers used this word, too, in a wider sense like the English ‘love’), was that it meant copying the self-giving love of Jesus himself. This love is included in the command to ‘put on’ Jesus, as in verse 14.

There’s no label superior to the label: true follower of Jesus. It’s the label of love. Love for God. Do you put God first? Love for neighbor. Do you live out the outstanding debt to love one another? Family fits in there also.
Love isn’t easy, but with Jesus love is possible. Isn’t that fantastic if you think about it? We can stand out by the being loving. It’s the best way to live. The best way to do it is to start every day putting on Jesus. Be in the Word. Be in prayer. Reach out and connect with other Christians. Live out the law of love in the power of the Holy Spirit. In a sense, that’s the whole Christian life.
Jesus was perfect at it. We have his holy example. We are imperfect but if we have Jesus so much more is possible. I remember a saint of the church telling me about a lady he knew in the church growing up. Some people said: wow she’s mean. But others said: yeah but you should have seen her BEFORE she became a Christian! So just maybe she was beginning each day trying to fulfill the debt of love, reading the word, praying and putting on Jesus. Just maybe she was making progress in love.
What were those words we sang? Words about beginning the Day in the love of God so we can be changed:
Love so undeniable I can hardly speak. Peace so unexplainable I can hardly think: As you call me deeper still as you call me deeper still into love, love love. You’re a good, good father.
His love meets us where we are when we choose to put him on. It calls us deeper. It fills us more. Until we find ourselves setting aside the deeds of darkness, putting on the armor or light and living out love in a way that changes our world.
God is calling us deeper still into love. Let’s answer that call in a time when the world needs it more than ever. Put him on. Let him fill you. In that order, you too can love.
Let’s pray...
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