Romans 13

Grace and peace,

As with any previous attempt of mine at contriving or containing God's Word into nice, neat little boxes...I have failed. Praise the Lord for His sovereignty and grace and patience toward me. This Chapter Memory Study continues to be a work in progress (as it will be to the end). I've made a shift, and it took last week's splitting of the memory passage to force me to look back at some of the other memory passages in this study. While I won't make wholesale changes, I feel that I must include at least some other verses from the chapters in order to fulfill my stated goal; to essentially memorize the basic content of the chapters of the Bible.

So, all that said, today's memory section is Romans 13:1, 8, 12-14.

Romans 13:1, 8, 12-14 (ESV)
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The chapter theme is Righteous Submission.

So, not only is it from three places, but it's 5 verses.

What can I say? He's God, I'm not. That's why it's His Word in my heart, not the other way around.

Another change will be focusing more on the main theme as I work through the text. If it is indeed the main theme, it should be seen throughout the chapter.

There are three 'submissions' in chapter 13; to governing authorities, to each other, to the Lord Christ Jesus.

Verse 1 states the summary of the first submission; everyone, including believers, are to subject themselves to the authority over them. Knowing this, that only God has true authority, and if someone on earth has it, it's been instituted by Him. This submission includes law enforcement, taxes, and respect to those in authority.
One caveat to this would be when the ruling authority dishonors God or requires you to compromise your faith and obedience to God. Acts 5:29 reminds us Who we ultimately subject ourselves to; "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.'"

The second submission, to one another, is covered in verses 8-10. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was (Matthew 22) His response was "Love God with all you are, and love your neighbor as yourself". Paul picks up on this and says that we should love each other as if we are indebted to do it. All of the 'social commandments' (concerning our relationships with each other) are summed up in 'love your neighbor as yourself'. This is the key to God's moral law for our interaction with each other. We are to set aside selfishness and pride to submit in love to each other in the body of Christ.

The final submission is by far the most important. Paul essentially works backwards in priority through this chapter. Our first and foremost submission is to the person and will of God. Then we are called to love each other and be subject to the earthly authorities while we walk the earth. Verse 11 is the wake-up call, literally. "The time has come, His return is nearer every moment'. The rule of the 'night' is gone, doomed, and the King is coming. We must take action. Cast off the deeds of darkness that bear fruit for death (Romans 7:5) and put on the armor of light (Ephesians 6:10-17, 1 Thessalonians 5:8). Our walk should be 'in a manner worthy of Him' (Colossians 1:10) which does not include orgies (wild parties), drunkenness (which often results from those), sexual immorality (acts of sexual sin), sensuality (promiscuity, lust), quarreling (rivalry, strife), or jealousy.
Instead, we are to put on (NIV 'clothe yourselves') the Lord Jesus Christ. This pictures Christ as a garment that covers us, protects us, strengthens us, and empowers us in His will. And fully embracing Christ means that we must make no provision for the flesh, to satisfy its sinful desires.

How does this affect my worship?
The weekly gathering for corporate worship contains the elements of submission in Chapter 13. First, and always first, we must individually submit ourselves to the person and will of God. That is the heart of any true spirit-and-truth worship. It also gives us an opportunity to love and minister to each other in the body. And at the most basic level, our status as a church is recognized by the governing authorities who give us certain rules to follow in line with our status. But we must never skip over the first submission. It can not be a default submission or a passive submission. A true act of worship is intentional and directional. It is a specific act of offering or obedience to the only One who is truly worthy. It is true that we are to honor the Lord with everything we say and do; we can do a job or accomplish a task in a way that honors Him. But active worship involves praise, thanksgiving, confession, prayer...things that are intentional and directional.

How does this affect my discipleship?
"For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed". The wake up call for discipleship. The time is now to follow the Lord and make disciples of all nations. Start with me; am I following Christ? If I am, I need to be obeying His command to make disciples as I continue to be a disciple. We don't know when He will return and we are not guaranteed our next breath. Our life in Christ is to walk in obedience and submission to Him.

May you walk in His will with the armor of light,

Ethan