ROMANS 13THE SERMON-IN-A-SENTENCE

How we live in public MATTERS

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…Do not repay anyone evil for evil…Do not take revenge (εκδικεο), my dear friends, but allow God’s anger room to work. The Bible says: “Vengeance(εκδικοσ) is Mine; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not let evil conquer you, rather, conquer evil with good.

Romans 12:14, 17, 19-21

Everyone must be subject to the rulingauthorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established (ταssω) by God. As a result, whoever rebels against the authority is resisting what God has set up, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

(ταssω) = to place in a certain order, to arrange, to assign a place; similar to a librarian

organizing the books of a library…

Romans 13:1-2

For rulers hold no terror for those who do good, but for those who do evil. If you want to be free from fear of the one in authority, then do what is good and it will praise you. It is God’s servant, you see, for youand your good. But if you do evil, be afraid; the sword it carries is no empty gesture. It is God’s servant, to bring His wrath (εκδικοσ) on evildoers. Therefore, it is necessary to submit, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.

Romans 13:3-5

This is also why you pay taxes. The officials in question are God’s ministers,attending to this very thing. So give to each of them what is owed: tribute to those who collect it, revenue to those who collect it. Respect those who should be respected. Honor the people one ought to honor.

Romans 13:6-7

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 13:8-10

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first came to faith. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Romans 13:11-12

Let us behave appropriately, as in the daytime, not in wild parties and drunkenness, not in orgies and shameless immorality, not in bad temper and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus,The Messiah, and don’t make any allowancefor the flesh and its lusts.

Romans 13:13-14

SOUL TRAININGEXERCISEIn light of today’s message:

Make a list of what you think – or what you know Scripture says – about what putting on the “armor of light” and “clothing yourself “with the Lord Jesus, The Messiah” would actually look like; then ask God to help bring that about in your day-to-day life