Studying His Word and His Works

Listen to the study here: Romans 13:6-14

Read here: Romans 13

Review

• Calvin on the theme of Romans: “Man’s only righteousness is the mercy of God in Christ, when it is offered by the Gospel and received by faith.” Romans 1:17 and elsewhere.
• IMPORTANT: Paul wrote the letter to the saints (1:7), and the letter is about the gospel, which is a reminder we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily. 
• Luther: Simul iustus et peccator = At the same time, righteous and a sinner! Romans 3:23-25
• In Ch. 1-3 Paul shows us our unrighteousness, and God’s wrath against that, and then switches to Christ’s righteousness as our covering, the propitiation of our sins (Romans 3:25) as the final sacrifice for sin, fulfilling the promise to Abraham, who had faith before any works
• Faith being “counted” or “credited to our account” as righteousness is mentioned 11 times in Chapter 4! If “none are righteous” as Paul wrote in Romans 3:10, then this saving faith must be a gift from God.
• Ch. 5, We now have peace with God, access to God, and hope, because of what Christ did for us while we were weak(v. 6), sinners (v. 8), and enemies (v. 10). Christ did this “at the right time,” (v. 6), connecting Christ’s work on the cross and God’s plan of redemption to real history (not just a myth or legend).
• Atonement(5:6-11): Jesus satisfying God’s wrath for us through His sacrificial death on the cross.
• Ch. 5 and 6 describe federalism, this idea of one man making a difference, for righteousness (Jesus) or wickedness (Adam). 
• Ch 6 ended with lots of words pointing to the new road we are now on with Christ, the sanctification road.
  • Service is the key word, “slaves” used 8 times
  • “Present yourselves”(5), “Leads to”(5)
• Sproul: “our regeneration, our rebirth was the work of one Person, God. It was not a joint venture; but from the moment we take our first breath of regenerated spiritual life, it  becomes a joint effort.” the work of one Person is what salvation is about. The joint venture is what sanctification is about. Ch.6 ends and we continue into Ch.7 describing what this “sanctification road” looks like to walk down. We were on the sin road that leads to death, but now we are on the grace road that leads to eternal life.
• Chapter 8 is describing the assurance we have as Christians in salvation. Deus pro nobis – God for us. It is a reminder of God’s sovereignty over our salvation, and God’s infinite wisdom, in the creation, fall, redemption plan he has for not just us, but the whole world. Ultimately, God, not us, foreknows, predestines, calls, justifies and glorifies. There are many verses (Romans 2:4, John 3:16, etc) that point to God’s patience with everyone, His love for everyone, that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), so I believe there is some free will in there somewhere, perhaps an ability to answer the call, or not. But, even if we answer the call, it is God who initiated. Even if we are crying out for God, “feeling our way to Him” like Acts 17:27 says, we are only doing this because He has already called. We are MORE THAN CONQUERORS, not on our own of course, but “through Him who loved us” from before time began. 
• Chapter 9 continues on the point of election, which, if you think about it, Paul has been discussing since Romans 1:1 when he said he was “set apart”. Paul continues to hammer the point that it is God’s free will, not ours, that matters most. It’s good to keep in mind the complexity of God, as he is not just electing, but he is doing a bunch of things simultaneously and eternally. He is electing, foreknowing, predestining, calling, justifying, glorifying, answering prayer, “giving them over to a debased mind” (Romans 1:28-32) while also being kind as a means to lead people to repentance (Romans 2:4), showing mercy to some and hardening others (9:18). It’s like God is working on an eternal and therefore infinite scale, but also an instantaneous and therefore infinitesimal scale. Pastor John Macarthur, who went home to Jesus recently, described this as a parallelism, God’s sovereign election running alongside the “whoever believes in Him will have eternal life” of John 3:16. It is Euler’s “every instant,” of God initiating, so the saved are always indebted to Him. And it’s also Paul’s “unceasing anguish” for the lost in 9:2, something we should ask God to give us, too. And something that clearly shows that God predestines us to a team, His team, and we are working with Him to save sinners. He’s just team captain and MVP. He gets all the glory!
  • Also remember that Paul references almost 50 OT verses in Chapter 9 alone. He is retelling Israel’s story in many places to serve as a reminder of God’s sovereign will over nations, but also individuals like Pharoah, Moses, Jacob and Esau, etc. Some want to say election is only about nations, or only individuals, but this is another both/and. 
  • Romans 9:6 is key (I think) to understanding a lot of Ch. 9-11. We need to keep going back to this, that “not all Israel belongs to Israel.” What Paul is getting at here is that true Israel are believers, regardless of nation or ancestry.
• Chapter 10 also discusses election, as well as Macarthur’s “parallelism”, or even the “3 strands are not easily broken” analogy in Ecclesiastes 4:12. That’s more what some of Chapter 10 is describing, because God could just yell the gospel down from heaven if He wanted, but he chooses to use us, weak on our own but strong in Him. Ch. 10 describes a deep, personal bond God has with believers. Paul also describes Israel’s history of disobedience, how they did not hear the gospel, but in Ch. 11 again reminds that God preserves a remnant.
• In Chapter 11, there is one tree, with branches being broken off and grafted in. One body of covenant believers, and broken branches are those who had the outward signs like circumcision (OT) or baptism (NT) but no belief, no Holy Spirit-given gift of faith, no imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Chapter 11 hints that God works through individuals of course, but also nations, and that He is not done with ethnic Israel. He used Israel’s “stumbling” to lead the Gentiles to salvation, and these verses say he will eventually use the Gentiles to lead Israel to salvation. Paul also reiterates that salvation is by grace, not works, that God is merciful in spite of man’s disobedience. Paul ends Ch. 11 with what Calvin called “finitum non capax infinitum,” meaning, “the finite cannot grasp the fullness of the infinite.” Stay humble, don’t think you have to figure everything out about God because you can’t! It’s also important to note that all Paul says in Ch. 11 is that God still has a plan for Israel. The only emphasis Paul makes in Ch. 9-11 is on their salvation, on a mission mindset, which is something modern evangelical churches should refocus on. Getting away from blind political support for Israel, and praying for and getting the gospel to Jew and Gentile in the region. 
• Chapter 12 saw a switch from mostly describing God and his character, to application for believers. To discipleship. Verses 1-2 describe the importance for Christians to turn from the world, the “spirit of the age” and present themselves to Christ. With the Holy Spirit in you now as a Christian, He WILL renew your mind, whether you like it or not, but it is a joint effort, it is clear it is not robotic, you have choices to make, to turn and present (v. 1), or not, to think with sober judgment (v. 3), or not, to do everything in verses 9-21 that you can as a Christian, or not. Verses 3-8 focused on spiritual gifts, which make us unique in the body, while verses 9-21 describe things that all Christians can be, regardless of gifts. Ch. 12 ended with a Proverbs 25:21-22 reference to smother evil with good, and a judicial system that upholds 10 Commandment based laws is one way. All three spheres (family, church, civil government) executing justice and mercy in accordance with their positions is a good thing.

Intro

• Key words: for, you(7); love(6); owed (5); not(4); taxes, whom, honor, respect, law(3); commandment, neighbor, another, God(2)
  • Paul finishes Ch.13 with more application, with an emphasis on loving your neighbor right now, casting off darkness right now, honoring God by keeping His commandments right now, which is what real love looks like, while also showing what it does not look like.
• Verses 6-7
  • These verses strike at the root of all kinds of evil, money! I Tim. 6:10.
  • Thankfully, in America our civil magistrate is not so absolutely broken that they don’t pick up our trash, maintain police/fire/ambulance services, maintain roads, etc. If we really believe these verses, that God has put them in authority (and in America, that we are ultimately in charge so if we don’t like it then it is our fault), then we should pay them. They are God’s authorities and ministers. This is saying we have no conscience(verse 5), we have no concern for others if we don’t pay our taxes. We are also hypocrites, because we say, “no, that’s my money” and even go to the point of tax evasion, but then we go around driving on the roads paid for by other people’s taxes, living in peace because of our military paid for by other people’s taxes, etc.
  • Obviously, in light of the entire book of Romans, a fair and just tax should be expected. Tyrants levy overly burdensome taxes. There are lots of things our current government should do to cut taxes and thereby cut spending. Look at all the evil programs USAID was supporting before it got shut down in 2025. Money indeed is the root of all kinds of evil, and since we have to pay taxes, we need Christ-honoring people in government who will use the money for good. At the same time we need to remember that we cannot serve two masters, both God and money(Matt 6:24), so as Christians, being taxed should be an area where we can willingly submit. 
  • In America, we have a “we the people” government, and it is up to us to vote people into office that enact just and righteous tax laws.
  • Did you know that the USA is not a democracy, but a constitutional republic?
    • Democracy-majority rule dictates law
    • Constitutional republic-constitution is law, the judicial branch interprets it. The Bill of Rights is designed to deter against the tyranny of the majority.
      • Sproul wrote: “If everyone in the country except one agrees to stamp out free speech, The First Amendment should rule over that majority.” 
      • Sproul also believed that one thing founders missed was protecting individuals from unjust taxation. And today, we have progressive and unequal taxes. 
      • But what is justice? Sproul equates being just with being righteous, which he says is rooted in the principle of that which is due, owed, or obligatory.
  • At the end of verse 7, Paul gives 4 examples of giving what is owed. Paying taxes to those owed taxes, paying people to work, respect and honor to whom those are owed. We can see it is unjust to avoid paying taxes, it is unjust to avoid paying someone for work you said you would pay them for. It is unjust to dishonor police officers or parents or governors. 
• Verse 8
  • Owe nothing, except to love each other.
  • Sproul gave some examples of how Americans have less of an understanding of what it means to honor those in authority. But I think some of that is warranted. We talked about 3 spheres of influence, but a fourth is the individual. In America, the individual is part of the civil magistrate and in fact the civil magistrate should submit to us. We should honor anyways of course, our civil magistrate does deserve honor, and like verse 8 says, we should owe them nothing except love. But sometimes loving them means disagreeing with them. Owing them anything, except love, is unjust. But like I Cor 13:6 says, love does not rejoice in wrongdoing(injustice), but rejoices in the truth. And sometimes authorities need the truth, and it would be unjust not to tell them.
  • In the 1800s, the family and church were the most important spheres of influence in the USA. Today, they are the least important. We have emphasized individualism to the point of societal collapse, thinking we are just a bunch of autonomous zombies that don’t influence each other in any way. I think we are starting to see our current selfish priorities as failure though. 
  • Regarding owe in the sense of financial debt, the Bible is not 100% against debt, but instead has clear guidelines for doing this in love, Like the example in Deut. 24:12-13, that if someone needs to give you their cloak to pay for a debt, you need to give it back at night so they don’t freeze to death. So yes, you could do these things, but they should not be oppressive. Contrast that with our current credit card interest rate system, and we can conclude that system is oppressive. 
  • Owe no one anything except to love each other. If you are in debt, Sproul says move mountains to pay it off. If you borrow something, don’t “accidentally forget” to give it back, instead, relentlessly pursue giving it back to the point of inconveniencing yourself in a big way. If you are being disrespectful, dishonoring parents, etc. you owe them an apology. If you have been wronged in some way, forgive as Christ forgave you. Owe no one anything. Get all the nonsense out of the way so that all you have left to owe them is love.
• Verses 9-10
  • Love does no wrong to a neighbor.
    • Here is a mark of a true Christian: to get rid of all our debts, including our sin debt, so that the only debt left is to love our neighbor. This is part of our sanctification, part of the “joint effort” we have now as Christians, with the Holy Spirit in us. This is something we CAN disciple ourselves and other believers to do, with Christ in us now. With Christ in us, we CAN cast off all these law-breaking desires of the flesh, which Satan loves to disguise as “love”. With Christ in us, we CAN cast off real spiritual debt, which Paul has covered already, but here he describes how spiritual debt impacts our real physical lives on Earth right now. Freedom in Christ is about owing no one anything while you are here on earth.
    • Look at verse 10, love does no WRONG to a neighbor. But by what standard do we decide what is right and wrong? If the government decides during Covid in the early 2020’s that it is right to let liquor stores and bars stay open but wrong for churches to stay open, what standard of right and wrong is that? Is that what the following verses are describing as casting off darkness and putting on the armor of light?
      • When we read these verses we can see how deceived we were during Covid-19 lockdowns, the government calling darkness, “light.” Do you remember what former President Biden said in 2022, that if you weren’t vaccinated, you were “looking at a winter of severe illness and death”? But the good news was “If you’re vaccinated and you had your booster shot, you’re protected from severe illness and death – period.” What an incredible lie that was!
      • The “good news”, the gospel according to the government, was this absolute truth that Covid-19 vaccines work, that this was “right” and so to disagree was “wrong”. That obeying Biden’s so-called prophetic claim would lead to life, while disobedience would lead to illness and death. This same administration also celebrated an anti-Christian “trans day of visibility” one Easter Sunday. 
      • So, by what standard were these things being declared righteous and light? According to v. 10, love does NO wrong to a neighbor, but we have to have a Bible-based understanding of wrong, and what wrong looks like in society, and that is what Paul is describing here in the end of Ch. 13. 
    • Righteous government is designed as a check on our character, so that there are earthly consequences when we fail to properly love our neighbor as described here. Paul’s description here is a summary of the 10 commandments, with a few specific ones listed but also a more general and any other commandment. We are not loving our neighbor if we stand idly by while our government sets up false idols for them to worship. We are not loving our neighbor if we dishonor our parents but demand the opposite, that they honor us. We are not loving our neighbor if we call for someone’s public execution because they speak biblical truths(i.e. Charlie Kirk). 
    • Sproul: “God’s law is given to us for real-life situations.”
    • Augustine: “Love God and do what you want.” What he meant was that if you are all in for Jesus, if you really do love Him, then everything else you do will please God. If you really love Him, you will be pleased by what pleases Him. And what did Jesus say? “If you love me you will keep my commandments”(John 14:15). 
    • In Eph 5:3, Paul basically said the things listed in verse 9 should not even be named among you. In other words, there was no situation that could justify disobeying God’s law of purity. 
    • Sproul makes a point that in the Bible, brotherhood and neighborhood are not the same thing. Think about Romans 12:1, where Paul describes fellow Christians as “brothers.” Or Romans 8:12-15 and God is our Abba, not “daddy” as some say, but a term of great respect.
      • So, our neighbor includes everyone, not just Christians. Sproul reminds of Luke 10:30-37 and how the Samaritan showed mercy to a stranger, a neighbor Jesus says, and calls the lawyer and others listening to act like the Samaritan. 
      • We don’t love our neighbor by committing adultery in all its forms, helping ourselves to our neighbor’s possessions, lying about them, poisoning others against them, being envious of what they have.
        • Sproul: Vandalism is the worst form of envy and covetousness. He asks, “if we had the responsibility to start a new nation and were allowed only 10 basic laws, would we think to include a law against covetousness?” God put it in His commandments because He knows the wicked human heart, and understands what destroys human relationships and fractures real love. 
    • Real love is a fulfillment of the law. God is love. Jesus came to fulfill the law, not end the law. Therefore, Jesus is real love, and Jesus is God.
      • READ 1 Cor 13. This is often read at weddings, although it is really meant to describe universal neighbor love. 
• Verses 11-12
  • Paul switches from more detailed instruction to broader comparisons of light versus dark, coupled with a sense of urgency.
  • Important: note Paul refers to us. This is not about unbelievers, he is writing to the saints, to Christians(Romans 1:7). He is writing to Christians on the sanctification road, still wrestling to get free from that body of death (Romans 7:24) even though the Holy Spirit is right there, in us! Let go. Be free. Be discipled and make disciples. 
  • Some commentators say these verses hint at the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem, which Paul could be prophesying about. But, most commentators believe Paul is describing our salvation process and the end game, eternal life. He is making a common-sense proclamation, that, the longer we are alive, the closer we get to the moment of our physical death and eventual resurrection, that “moment,” that mysterious “twinkling of an eye” when the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed (I Cor 15:52). Paul is saying here in Romans that this “moment” is closer today than yesterday.
  • Sproul says there are multiple aspects of salvation. Being born again is the first step. The fullness of our salvation is later, when we enter heaven.
  • Paul contrasts light and dark. Our current steps living in Christ are light and awakeness and contrast with dark and sleeping. He calls us to put on the armor of light, connecting to the spiritual battle and full armor of God he describes in Ephesians 6. It is interesting that real, actual evil is often done in the dark, while light is associated with good. But also that now, with Christ in us, we have the “joint effort”, we have the ability to actually make the choice to put on the armor of light, to clothe ourselves in righteousness. 
  • Remember, Paul is describing true love for our neighbor here. True love is a bright light that we are carrying, that we are putting on as armor. What does light do? It exposes what is happening in the dark. The dark wants the light to stay out because the dark is not like the light. The dark is hate. The dark wants the light to be quiet, because the dark knows the Word is light, and so the dark hides and deceives and tricks us when we put ourselves in vulnerable positions, when we take the armor off. So, don’t take the armor off, the day is at hand as v. 12 says. Put the armor of light on and keep it on is what Paul is saying here.
• Verses 13-14
  • We like to make “to do lists,” but here Paul gives us a “not to do list!” Paul exhorts believers to act in ways that do include sober judgment (12:3), that abhor evil (12:9), that are for presenting our bodies in a holy and acceptable way to God (12:1). In 2025, Steve Toth was on Tucker Carlson’s podcast. Toth is a Texas politician and pastor. Doesn’t seem like a likely combination haha. He talked about his time as a state Senator, how he saw many politicians, like him, come into office desiring righteous and God-honoring change. But then their tone would change. Something subdued that desire in the majority of them. Toth thinks it was often sexual blackmail. He said it is so common and so bad that the last time he became senator, he and another Christian senator decided to room together to avoid temptation and also to avoid being slandered while by themselves. He said it is that bad, if “they” catch you alone they will try to slander you.
    • Basically Toth is describing EXACTLY what Paul is warning about. How could Paul’s simple warning, here at the end of Ch. 13, contain so much truth for Christians to apply 2,000 years later?! Because it wasn’t Paul’s words, it’s God’s words, written by Paul, and that is why they are still so true and so powerful today. God knows our hearts, our flesh, he knows the pattern, of a lack of sober judgment leading to all forms of adultery, which leads to all forms of covetousness and false witness. It’s as if God is having Paul give a general description of the 10 commandments, in order here. Beginning with the first 4, humans break these in drunkenness and lack of self control, then they also dishonor their parents, the 5th, murder them in their hearts, the 6th, and once that’s done adultery kicks in (7th), which leads to bribes, lies and envy and strife (8-10). 
      • Isn’t it interesting that in radical Islam, in jihad, Satan deceives a young man to reject Jesus is God, reject that his parents spent years raising him to be more than a suicide bomber, given a false promise of adultery if he carries through with murdering a bunch of people.
      • Or think about the far left, where the average person participates in all the “nots” Paul describes in these verses.
  • Sproul says some of this refers to pagan religious festivals that celebrated the god Bacchus. Somehow, over the centuries this turned into Mardi Gras, a celebration in Roman Catholic heavy areas. Also called Fat Tuesday, it is the day before Lent, a period of fasting and reflection leading up to Easter. Totally not biblical in origin, since the Bible says gluttony is a sin, as well as drunkenness. But somehow, in heavily French Catholic New Orleans, it became blended with Greek gods like Bacchus.
    • I lived in New Orleans in the early 70’s, and remember going to Mardi Gras parades that were really weird. A child, I still remember some drunk guy trying to get me to come ride on the back of a car with him and I was like “okay!”, it sounded fun, but my mom grabbed me. I remember stopping at a traffic light and crazed people started walking across the hood of our car.
    • Of course, this is all the exact opposite of making no provision for the flesh. It is what making every provision for the flesh looks like. 
  • The last “not” listed is about quarreling and jealousy, which the KBH translates as “fighting and anger.” Jesus says in this world we will have trouble(John 16:33), so this seems like an impossible situation, that we aren’t supposed to fight when Jesus says we will have to fight?!
    • It only makes sense if we understand that what Paul has been saying since Ch. 12 is our stance as Christians should be defensive, not offensive. But what are we defending? Not ourselves ultimately, but His word, His works. And His works include one another, family and friends, our church body and innocent neighbors.
    • When someone persecutes us as a Christian, we defend ourselves with Truth, and sometimes with a sword. The goal is not self-preservation, it’s Christ-proclaiming. If we are merely in it for self preservation, that’s when it turns into quarreling and jealousy, fighting and anger. But, we must put on daily the armor of light. The sanctification road requires us to respond to Christ in us now. We are no longer slaves to the flesh, but we are still slaves as Ch. 6 described. Slaves to righteousness. The flesh wants us to think that burden is bad, but we are just deceiving ourselves and turning back to slavery of the flesh, wallowing in quarreling and jealousy, anger and strife. Christ in us says my burden is better, be a slave to righteousness instead. 
    • Luther: “I cannot keep sparrows from flying about my head, but I can keep them from making a nest in my hair.” In other words, the world is sin, but with Christ in me now,  I don’t have to gratify it and let it come in.
    • What examples/suggestions do you have for “making no provision for the flesh?” What has worked for you? 
• Up next, Romans 14:1-13.