Love and light

 (Rom. 13:8-14)

Introduction: Last Sunday’s sermon title was ‘Secular authorities’ based on Rom. 13:1-7. Paul taught the Roman believers to submit themselves to the secular authority while they were under the ruling of Emperor Nero in Rome. All authorities are from God. Submission to authority, however, does not mean doing whatever we are told to do. We can see an example from Jesus in front of Pilate, the governor. When Pilate showed off his authority, Jesus told him that the authority Pilate had was given by God. When Pilate asked an irrelevant question, Jesus did not even answer his question. Paul also taught that the leaders in authority should work as God’s servant for the Kingdom of God. They should encourage those who do good and punish those who do evil. We as a good citizen must pay taxes and respect those who deserve respect. Today’s passage is Rom 13:8-14. Today’s sermon title is ‘Love and light’. Love and light are all related to Jesus. We all have debt in love to Jesus and will never pay him back. But, if we dwell in the love of Jesus, we will live in the light. We will learn that both love and light are all in Jesus.

1) Love is the fulfillment of the law (8-10): It is obvious that we cannot pay back the love of Jesus to Him. First, we did not even know what love was until Jesus died for us. Because Jesus died for us, we should give up our life for other brothers and sisters. There are a total of 603 ‘do’s and ‘don’t’s in the Old Testaments except the Ten Commandment. If you summarize the whole Old Testaments, you can say, it is ‘Love your God and love your neighbors’.  If you love your neighbors, you will not commit adultery, murder, steal, or envy your neighbors. Jesus gave us a new commandment in John 13:34-35, “Love one another. As I loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” If you think you can love other people by trying, you will fail every time. You must rely on the love of Jesus. Your love should come from Jesus. Remember, we did not even know what love was till Jesus died for us. When we ask Jesus to give us His love, then He will give us His love to love our neighbors. Love does not harm to its neighbor. Thus, love of the fulfillment of the law.

2) Armor of light (10-14): Love not only includes positive emotion about God and other people but also knowledge about this world. We know through the Bible that our final salvation is getting closer. If we are spiritually sleeping, we need to wake up and put on the armor of light. How do we put on the armor of light? By having a close relationship with Jesus, we will have the armor of light. God is love and light, and Jesus is the light of this world and the source of God’s love. So, if we have a close relationship with God and Jesus, we will live in love and walk in the light. If we walk in the light, we will behave decently. God does not like deeds of darkness such as drunkenness, sexual immorality, and jealousy. A good way to avoid these bad behaviors is to read and study the word of God (Psalm 119:9, 11). God’s word will give us faith and strength to overcome our corrupted human nature and to walk in the light. Thank you and God bless you.