Loving God and Neighbor: Fulfilling the Law in Christ

If you look at these passage, this passage here in Romans chapter nine, what are these things that Paul mentions here? How would we refer to them as what? They're commandments. Now, if God gives a commandment, what's my obligation if I'm to be pleasing to him? To obey him. I have to obey him. So the idea, you know, we have these series of commandments here from the Old Testament and these are contained in that second greatest commandment that we read about in Matthew chapter 22. [00:23:44]

So, we talked about verse eight last week. And the idea of owing no man anything has nothing to do or really is not about borrowing money, but it's about not not being honest with our dealings with people and paying the things that we owe. And that we have a debt that we'll always have as long as we live. And that is that we have to love one another. We have to love our fellow man. That's a debt that will never be fulfilled till we get to the end of our life. [00:07:33]

Jesus says if you were to put up a peg that you could hang the law on, it would be to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. And that encompassed that fulfilled the law. Well, if you turn over now, if you would, the book of Exodus in chapter 20. [00:09:19]

So you have these final six commandments that have to do with our relationship to one another where he says that you're to love your neighbor as yourself. So you have two sections of the ten commandments that Jesus says that the two great commandments that he gives in Matthew chapter 22 that these commandments on these things on these two principles our relationship with God and our treatment of one another the whole law and the prophets hang on those things. [00:11:59]

If I make no graven image if I don't take his name in vain if I put no other gods before him and in the old law the Sabbath day which we don't keep a Sabbath day today but if you could do those things and you would be pleasing to God you would be filling fulfilling the first and great commandment secondly if I put the principles in place that he talks about in the last six commandments that then I'll have the right I'll have the right relationship with my fellow man. [00:12:31]

Paul says in Romans 13 that if we love one another, we fulfill the law. Now, these commands that Jesus gives, Paul uses or that Moses gives, Paul uses these and carries these over into the New Testament. Everything but the Sabbath day. We know that the Sabbath was done away with. [00:13:24]

And so in this principle that Paul's laying down, we have an obligation to one another. If we are to fulfill the law, we have to express the love that he's talking about here in Romans chapter 13. And he goes on and says, "Love workketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law." [00:14:16]

Because when we do those things, we violated the second great commandment. We violated what he teaches here as to how we're to treat one another. It is especially damaging within the church when we uh poor mouth one another as Christians to other people. Uh in that case then not only do we uh damage them but we damage the church which Jesus died for. Is that a serious matter? That's a very serious matter. [00:15:35]

But he says in verse 12 though, he says, "The night is far spent. The day is at hand." What does that mean? When when the Bible says the day is at hand, it's near. I mean, it's not 2,000 years from now when Paul\'s talking about this. He says, "The day is at hand." And as Paul has written the book of Romans, what is approaching for the Jewish nation? Destruction. Destruction of the Jewish nation. And and I think it makes sense. [00:29:41]

And so he tells them to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light which we read about in the book of Ephesians chapter 6. But this idea of putting off the works of darkness in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 11, Paul said as he writes to the Ephesians who are Gentiles, he says, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret, but all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light, and whatsoever does make manifest is life light." [00:32:12]

If I reprove the works of darkness, is that going to help me not to have fellowship with the works of darkness? Absolutely. But if I start to agree, you know, we've talked about before in class that the the saying that what one generation tolerates, the next embraces. Uh, and that happens. We get used to something. We get used to something in society. Maybe we get used to abortion, which was for 50 years legal in our country. We get used to that and it becomes not a big deal if we're not careful. [00:33:47]

And so he says, "Let's be decent people. Let's be what we're supposed to be." And we think about someone that's genuine. We need to be genuine Christians. You know, if you want a diamond ring, if you want a diamond ring, do you want a cubic zirconia? No, you don't. You want a diamond. You want a genuine gem in that ring. What does Jesus want of us? To be genuine. We are to be genuine Christians. No hypocrisy in our life, no association with evil. [00:39:42]

And with all our failings, when we try the best we can, then the blood of Jesus keeps us in that pristine state that we stand before him justified, that we stand before him innocent because his blood covers us and takes care of those sins that we do commit and keeps us white as snow as we stand before God. [00:40:20]

What does it mean to make provision? I'm going to make a plan. I'm going to make an allowance. I'm going to see if I can set the table for what it is I want to do. And so he says, don't do that. don't make any provision for the flesh. Now, how can I make provision for the flesh? What about when I put myself in a circumstance where I know I'm going to be tempted? Is that making provision for the flesh? Sure is. [00:42:38]

He goes on, the wise man does in Proverbs 4 and in verse 23 says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a forward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand or to the left. Remove thy foot from evil." [00:45:55]

Have you ever heard parents say, "Well, you know, I think your children ought to try some of these things so so they'll know what it's like." How smart is that? You know, try you a little bit of fornication, try you a little bit of alcohol, try you a little bit of drugs, then you'll know what it's like. That is absolutely the wrong evidence or the wrong advice I should say to give a child or to give anyone else for that matter that we would do those kinds of things. [00:46:41]