JULY 1 READING…ROMANS 13
We come now to a very interesting portion of Paul’s wring about submitting to government. The government that is over us is no surprise to God. Paul, himself, lived under a very repressive government. At its best a government establishes laws and enforces those laws for the benefit of the society. If this is true those who keep the laws have nothing to fear from a just government. Sadly, justice is not always a hallmark of human government…power, money, and position affords some more justice to some than to others. Paul’s writing is not saying the government is right, nor is he saying that we should never speak, or stand against the government. In our country the final authority are not those sitting in the temporary seats (the president or congress), but the Constitution. What if the government enacts a law that as a follower of Christ we cannot obey? Then we are bound to do what God says…but we must also be subject to the government and their penalties for we breaking their law. This is referred to as civil disobedience, and we have several examples in the Scripture, and throughout history.
Paul then reminds us of the Lord’s great commandment to love our neighbors. He tells us that love does no harm to our neighbor…and that love is the fulfillment of the law. This law is God’s type of love is not a sappy kind of love driven by emotion, but a responsible love, that truly cares for our neighbor. Love doesn’t feel, love does…love touches our emotions, but it should never be driven by our emotions. Finally, Paul tells us to put on Christ. There should never be a time that we are living apart from Christ. For the believer, He did not just give us life…He is our life. In Him we are given all we need to live rightly in this sin fallen world.
Please share your thoughts from today’s reading.
MONDAY'S READING…ROMANS 14
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