Chapter # 13 Paragraph # 2 Study # 2
December 13, 2020
Humble, Texas
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Thesis: In the face of all of Paul's teaching concerning the believer's deliverance from "The Law", this text, in its context, makes it
very plain that his teaching
did not,
does not,
mean that "The Law" does not need to be fulfilled by "believers".
Introduction: In our study last week we saw that Paul used his summons to submission to higher authorities, on the basis of "obligation due to the servants of God", to provide a basis for expanding that summons into many other matters of "due obligations". His argument was that "obligations" are to be met on the foundation of the supreme principle of "Love". This is not to be taken to mean "Love" that is rooted in human thought or capacities; rather, it is to be taken to mean "The Love of The God" as it exists in the unique declaration that "God is Love" and that the opening of the description of the Fruit of The Spirit of God is "Love". Paul says that we are "to love one another" and then immediately expands that to the degree that we "love the heteron" (the "other" that is opposite, or opposed, to us; a reference to Jesus' command to "love your enemies").
From this summons to let no debt be in default, Paul moves immediately into his rationale for this broad expansion of "indebtedness". That rationale is that "the one who loves the 'other' has fulfilled 'Law' ". Because this rationale is solidly rooted in a perception that 'Law' is to be fulfilled, we must consider the relationship of the believer to 'Law' as a fundamental element of "Living In The Mercies Of The God".
At issue is the question of how Paul is so adamant in the earlier chapters of Romans that the believer is "not under Law but under Grace" (6:14) and that any believer who submits to "Law" dies (7:9) and then turns right around and insists that we understand that we are not free to violate "Law". He even goes so far as to claim that "the strength of sin is the Law" in his first letter to the Corinthians (15:56), but insists in both Romans 8:4 and the text before us today that we are to be strongly aware that "The Law" is to be "fulfilled" in our daily doings.
So, let us proceed.
- I. That Paul Summons Believers To Take "Obligations" Seriously Is Apparent.
- A. In 13:8-10 Paul creates an "inclusio" in regard to "fulfilling Law" that is a literary device for making a matter of significant importance.
- 1. Clearly, Paul wants his readers to embrace the fact that they are to "fulfill" the dictates of "Law".
- a. This is the point of the inclusio.
- b. This is in direct harmony with his summons to yield to the "laws" of those in positions of higher authority by reason of divine appointment.
- c. This is not, in any sense, a violation of his understanding of our "freedom from Law" by reason of "Grace".
- d. This is an insistence that we come to clarity regarding our relationship to both higher authorities and their "laws".
- 2. Just as clearly, Paul's theology and understanding rests its case on the presence and impact of "The Love of The God".
- a. There are five references to "Love" in these three verses; three verb forms and two nouns.
- b. The second and last references are direct declarations between the impact of "Love" in respect to "Law".
- B. In the earlier sections of Romans Paul went to great lengths to attempt to create a legitimate grasp of "Grace" as God's way for those things which ought to be, to be.
- 1. This inclusio does not exist apart from the teaching of the earlier sections and their focus upon "Grace".
- 2. Thus, we must begin our understanding of "obligation" by remembering that Paul's concept of "Grace" is "Divine Provision".
- a. "Grace" as "Divine Provision" means precisely that: if God is not providing the "Love" that enables a person to "fulfill Law", it goes unfulfilled.
- 1) If it appears to be "fulfilled", but the fulfillment is only superficial appearance, the built-in hypocrisy means that the reality has not been fulfilled.
- 2) The essence of the "Divine Provision" is the Spirit of God, Himself, as the Originator of the effective motivation and power to do what "Law" requires.
- b. As long as "Grace" is diminished by the attitude that "for all the talk about freedom from Law and death to Law, we still remain obligated to submit", there can be no true meeting of the obligations.
- c. The very heart of "Grace" is the truth that "I" do not have to do anything to meet my obligations except to trust God to provide what He promised: a Spirit capable of producing the "Love" that produces the fulfillment of the obligations.
- II. Paul's Use of "Laws" is Deliberate.
- A. He deliberately intended to emphasize the "obligations".
- 1. Four "Laws" are deliberately chosen.
- a. You shall not commit adultery.
- b. You shall not murder.
- c. You shall not steal.
- d. You shall not lust after.
- 2. Three of the four indicate serious injuries imposed upon others and the final one encapsulates the first three.
- 3. The omissions are interesting.
- a. There is a noticeable omission of any direct reference to "obligations to God".
- b. There is a noticeable omission of the "fifth" commandment ("Honor your father and mother") and the "ninth" ("You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor").
- c. The omissions indicate Paul's focus: aggressive behavior to do harm in order to satisfy inner lusts.
- B. His deliberate focus is then "surrounded" by "and if any other kind of commandment [exists]".
- C. All "Law" is "summed up together" under the one "Law": "you shall love your neighbor as yourself".
- III. Paul's Conclusion Is Repetition.
- A. The love for the neighbor does not "work" evil.
- B. Thus, "the Love" is the fulfillment of "Law".
