ROMANS 13
5 Outlines
Romans 13:1-7
WHAT ABOUT THE
GOVERNMENT?
THE RESPECT FOR RULERS -
Vss. 1-2
THE REASON FOR RULERS -
Vss. 3-4
THE RESPONSIBILITY
TOWARDS RULERS - Vss. 5-7
You will want to discuss
when it is proper to disobey government. See Acts 4:18-20
You might want to
mention some of the Godly Bible characters involved in government.
Those involved in
government include Joseph, David, Nehemiah and Daniel.
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Romans 13:1-7
THE CHRISTIAN AND
GOVERNMENT
In the Bible we find
that God has established 3 institutions to govern the affairs of men.
There is the family.
Genesis 2:18-25
There is the church.
Matthew 16:18, Acts 2
There is government.
Romans 13:1-7
In this passage we do
find that the Christian does have a responsibility to government.
THE ORIGINATOR OF
GOVERNMENT IS GOD. Vss. 1-2
GOD'S PURPOSE FOR
GOVERNMENT IS FOR OUR GOOD. Vss. 3-4
OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO
GOVERNMENT IS TO OBEY. Vss. 5-7
This includes the
payment of taxes.
Notes: You will want to
discuss when it is proper to disobey government. See Acts 4:18-20
You might want to mention some of
the Godly Bible characters involved in
government.
Those involved in government include
Joseph, David, Nehemiah and Daniel.
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Romans 13:8-10
LOVE LIFE
MY GREATEST OBLIGATION – Vs. 8 – I am to love others
MY GREATEST OMISSION – Vs. 9 – Everyone has broken the Ten
Commandments. By failing to keep the Ten Commandments I have omitted loving
others.
MY GREATEST
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Romans 13:8-14
ALERT!
MY RESPONSIBILITY IN
TIME – Vss. 8-10 (To Love others all the time.)
MY REALIZATION OF THE
TIME – Vs. 11
MY REACTION TO THE TIME
– Vss. 12-14
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Romans 13:11-14
KNOWING THE TIME
There was a Sunday
Morning several years ago when one of our people at our church came to
services. She walked in, and sat down. Imagine her surprise, when just after
she sat down, the whole congregation got up and left! What had happened? It was the Sunday to change the clocks and
she forgot to change her's. She didn't know what time it was.
One time I was
scheduled for a stress test. My family
doctor's office had given me a time of
We've all had
trouble knowing exactly what time it is. Watches stop, or lose or gain
time. We misread clocks. Sometimes we
are told the wrong time. But to fulfill
all our obligations we need to know the time!
Our Scripture text
begins with the phrase "knowing the time".
We tend to forget
that God is keeping time. He is working
up to a time when He will end this age in which we live, and move on to another
one. We, who are Christians need to be
aware of this and to know that it is time for us to do certain things. According to the passage before us this
morning, we must realize that it is:
TIME TO WAKE -
Vs. 11
When Paul talks
about "knowing the time" here he is not talking about a chronological
time like
Because this age
is almost over, and because Jesus could come at any time, we are told here to
"Wake Up!"
When someone is
not "with it" mentally or Spiritually, we often wonder when the
person will "wake up" and face reality, and do what is necessary. We
talk about getting a "wake up" call.
Sometimes when we
have a health problem we “wake up” and start doing something about our eating
habits or exercising.
Paul tells us here
that it is "high time to awake from sleep".
When Paul talks
about awakening from sleep here, he is talking about spiritual sleep. Paul is
calling us to awake from spiritual "unconsciousness, unresponsiveness, and
inactivity concerning the things of God."
We as Christians
can very easily be unconscious to the things of God. We just more or less ignore them. We're
saved, but it doesn't sink in as to what we should be doing.
We as Christians
are often unresponsive to the Word of God.
The preacher gives
a message, and we know he's right.
He then gives an
invitation for us to fix what's wrong, to make a commitment, or to do what we
know the Bible tells us to do. We just sit there, unresponsive!
Sometimes we
wonder why God doesn't give us all that we want. Perhaps, it's because we are
not ambitious enough to pursue what we say we want. Ephesians 5:14-18
When we wake up,
we show Godly ambition, and we seek to do God's will, and we don't waste time.
Most of all, when
we wake up we examine our lives and confess sin, so nothing hinders the filling
of the Holy Spirit, and we ask God to fill us with His Spirit.
Why should we wake
up?
Because our
salvation is nearer than when we believed.
Wait a minute.
Weren't we saved the moment we believed?
Yes we were.
Acts 16:31 says in part Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...
So, if we were
saved when we believed in Christ, Then how can our salvation be closer?
That's because
your salvation is in 3 tenses, past, present and future.
past -
JUSTIFICATION - At a specific moment in time, I believed on the finished work
of Christ, His death, burial, resurrection for my sins. I trusted him as my
Savior. Romans 5:1
present -
SANCTIFICATION - We are growing in Christ, becoming more like Him, knowing Him
better, and living a holy life. 2 Peter 3:18
ver. Amen.
future -
GLORIFICATION - This is when the Lord Jesus comes back for his church in the
air.
1 Corinthians
15:51-52
So Paul is talking
about our final salvation here.
And of course, it
is nearer than when we first believed.
Because of this,
we are to awake from our sleep and live Godly lives, because Jesus could come
at any time.
The soon, or
imminent return of Christ is a Biblical Doctrine.
We are taught in
this passage that in light of His imminent return, we are to be awake, alert,
and living Godly lives. Titus 2:11-13, 1 John 3:1-3
Jesus could come
at any moment.
Will you be
delighted to see Him and unashamed?
Or will you be
delighted to see Him, but ashamed of the condition in which He's found you?
And one more
thought. When Christ comes, it will be too late to pray for, live a Godly life
in front of, or witness to your unsaved family and friends. It must be done
now. It's time for us to WAKE UP!
TIME TO WALK
Vs. 13
In the Scriptures,
our walk refers to our conduct.
There is a
positive conduct in this verse in which we should walk. There is also a negative
conduct in this verse in which we should not walk!
First, we are to
"walk honestly, as in the day;"
To walk honestly,
is to behave properly.
It is to behave in
the way children of God should behave.
There were times
when growing up, that I did not behave in a way a member of the Peters family
should behave. And, my father let me know it.
On the job, if you
do not behave the way a member of your company should behave, you are told
about it.
Even in sports,
there is a code of behavior. Several years ago Sandy Alamor spit in the face of
an umpire. That was not the right kind of behavior for a baseball player.
Proper behavior
for a Christian is clearly spelled out in the Scriptures. 1 Peter 1:15-16
As Christians, we
are children of the day, not the night.
We are children of
light, not of darkness.
We are to walk as
children of the day, not of the night! 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8
This leads to how
we should not walk, if we avoid the deeds of darkness, these things will be on
our lists.
NOT IN RIOTING -
Rioting here can be partying of the worst kind, an orgy, if you will! It's been
translated elsewhere as "carousing".
NOT IN DRUNKENNESS
- Proverbs 20:1 says Wine [is] a mocker, strong drink [is] raging:
and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
NOT IN CHAMBERING
- Not in "going to bed", that is sexual promiscuity. Hebrews 13:4
NOT IN WANTONNESS
- We might say sensuality. There is to
be no public display of sexual immorality. We are never to show "shameless
excess or absence of restraint."
NOT IN STRIFE -
There is not to be petty bickering and fighting among us. We are to be known by our love, not our
disagreements.
NOT IN ENVYING -
We are not to be jealous of what someone else has. Jealousy is what often leads to the strife which
we just mentioned!
TIME TO WEAR
Vss. 12, 14
Vs. 12 - I wear different clothes for different occasions.
I wear old jeans
and an old shirt when I work in the garden.
As you can see, I
didn't wear those for this morning's service.
Before you and I
became Christians, we thought certain things to be acceptable behavior.
But these things
turned out to be sinful, and now that we are saved, we need to get changed.
We need to take
off our "night clothes" of sin, and put on our day clothes of
righteousness.
We need to undress
by taking off the works of darkness.
We must decide to
remove those things which do not please God, that are still left from our old
lives.
Instead, because
we are children of the day, children of light, we are to put on the "armor
of light". The armor of light is described in Ephesians 6:13-18.
Vs. 14 - It is one thing to put on a team uniform, like say the Pirates. It is
quite another thing to act like one of the star players, like say Willie
Stargall
I think it would
have been neat if I could have put on a Pirate Uniform, and had Willie Stargall
play through my body. I'd be quite a star! That of course is impossible.
We have, in a
sense the team uniform. We are the Christians.
We are to live
like the star of the team - Our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have an
advantage over my trying to be Willie Stargall.
The Lord Jesus
does live inside of me, and I can put Him "on" by faith, and He will
live His righteous life through me. Galatians 2:20
However, I can not
serve the Lord Jesus and live my old,
sinful life as well. I need to be continually putting on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and taking off the flesh at the same time. I denounce the old, sinful
habits, and take them off. I put Christ
on, and imitate Him!
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