The Roman saints must hasten to demonstrate their love. Second, the first words of verse 11 point back to the previous verses. Living in love requires that we present our bodies, with their lustful desires, as living sacrifices to God. The world equates the two, so “making love” is satisfying the lusts of the flesh. In Romans 12, Paul turns from laying a doctrinal foundation (in chapters 1-11) to challenging the saints to action based on the truth he has been teaching. - Webster's BibleLove avoids doing any wrong to one's fellow man, and is therefore complete obedience to Law.- Weymouth BibleLove doesn't harm a neighbor. This will mean glory for us and rewards for faithfulness. In fact, the flesh must be crucified—put to death. The problem was not the law, but Paul’s weak, sinful nature, and sin, which took advantage of his flesh. In Romans 13:8-14, Paul proposes a radically different response to a similar type of deadline—one every Christian must face. The four evils which Paul names are all found in the Old Testament Law of Moses in exactly the order Paul has listed them.87 Adultery, murder, theft, and coveting are all categorized as actions which would harm others.88 Few would debate that murder and stealing wrong our neighbor.89 But the two sins of adultery and coveting are less universally condemned. The Hebrew saints had been saved for some time. We must no longer live in sin, but rather live righteously (Romans 6). Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Love would not commit adultery or murder, nor would it steal or covet. In fact, adultery is often justified by asserting that there was not love in the marital union but there is love in the extra-marital one. But how can coveting the possessions of my neighbor harm him in any way? For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for some one to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. We must also agree with Paul that some sins (he specifically names coveting) would never be recognized as sin unless God divinely forbade them as such (see Romans 7:7). Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.” Love acts both positively and negatively. When we walk in love, we also keep the law. Verses 11-14 are written, I believe, to bring us back to the bedrock basis for walking in love. But even though our text in Romans draws attention to life’s ultimate deadline—the coming of our Lord—it challenges us to do more than be preoccupied with it. Today in America, adultery is hardly considered immoral, let alone illegal. (A) 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”[a](B) and whatever other command there may be, are summed up(C) in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b](D) 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. in 1971. How do you deal with a sinning professed believer who is not a church member? Paul’s teaching in these verses is predicated upon that which he has already taught us in chapters 1-11. I think this is the picture Paul is painting. 8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. In this sense, we are under an illicit obligation to them. Whether this “law” be the Old Testament Law or the laws of the land in which we live, law tends to be more negative in nature. To illustrate this, suppose my neighbor has an antique which I want badly. If our attitude were one of obligation to others, there would be no time for us to be frustrated or depressed, for there will always be more than enough opportunities to serve others at our expense. Coveting is also harmful to my neighbor. What he does say is that the time left between the day of their initial salvation and the day of their final salvation is diminishing. This crisis could play a significant role in the final events which pave the way for the coming of our Lord to judge the earth and to establish His kingdom. Verses 9-21 spell out the way love enhances our ministry, just as Paul elsewhere emphasizes love (1 Corinthians 13) in the context of spiritual gifts and the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12-14). Second, verses 1-7 remind us that all those in power have been ordained of God, and thus carry out their tasks as God’s ministers with His authority. There is no article in the Greek. Even here, however, the Law sought to prevent harm to others, while looking to love as the incentive for doing good. All divine law is fulfilled by love. But in a biblical sense, “making love” is living in love, as described in Romans 12 and 13. Oh no! Others (like adultery) cannot. The love of God is that certainty which gives the Christian joy, hope, and assurance, even in the midst of present trials and adversity (Romans 8:31-39). You do not commit adultery because you are in love; you commit adultery as a sin against love. Paul describes the means for walking in love in both its positive and its negative dimensions: But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Romans 13:14). If I understand Paul correctly, my obligation to government is subordinate to my obligation to love others. Rightly motivated, we must also be rightly enabled to serve God by loving others. While we presently have the forgiveness of God and are declared to be righteous in Him, we have a future hope. 88 As a friend of mine pointed out, all of these offenses deprive others of something (coveting wishes so) in such a way that we gain at the expense of others. We have been oversleeping. Loving God is our first level of priority. I think it is because we all come to the Christmas holidays with a spirit of expectation. 9 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.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment ofthelaw. Our obligation to God as expressed in 12:1-2 is simply a reiteration of the primary theme of the Old Testament as emphasized by our Lord Jesus: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37, etc.). 11 And this do, 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. 11And 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. Let us by His grace seek to do them—for His glory and for the good of others—until He returns for us. In Romans 12:9 he has instructed that love pursues that which is good and avoids what is evil. 85 There are exceptions to the latter portion of this statement, but here we are dealing with the rule, not the exception. They are incompatible with each other. Our world accepts (and sometimes commends) adultery because it believes it is the expression of love. We desire and expect to gain more than we give, and then it does not happen.
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