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Romans 13:10 – Unselfish Love

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Will

Romans 13:10 – Unselfish Love

Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Truth to Learn

Unselfish love is what God wants from us.

Behind the Words

“Love” is translated from agape, which refers to “good will” or “benevolence.” In other words, it refers to acts of goodness toward someone else.

The Greek word translated “harm” is kakos, meaning “that which is inherently injurious, bad, or evil.”

The word “neighbor” is from the Greek word plēsion. This word is derived from pelas, meaning “near” or “close.” Hence, plēsion refers to someone who is nearby, that is, physically close. However, this word is used generically throughout the New Testament to refer to another member of the human race.

“Fulfillment” is from the noun plērōma, from the verb plēroō, meaning “to make full, to fill up, or to completely satisfy.” Thus, plērōma refers to something that has been filled full, or as we say, fulfilled (completely satisfied).

Meaning Explained

One who truly loves his or her neighbor (fellow man or woman) will avoid all those things spoken of in verse nine. That is, they will not commit adultery, murder, steal, declare false testimony about others, and they will not have uncontrolled desires for things. As noted above, the type of love that is referred to here is agape love. This is not an emotional love like eros (sensual love) or philos (brotherly love). This is a love of the will, love in action, not a love of desire. It is expressed by doing what is best for the object of the love in spite of the personal sacrifice that it may involve. This is the type of love that God the Father showed to us when He offered His only begotten son to die a sinner’s death on the cross so that we might be saved from our sins. This is the type of love that Christ showed to the Father by freely giving Himself to pay for our sins. We owed a debt we couldn’t pay. He paid the debt He didn’t owe. He did it because He loves us!

If we demonstrate this type of love to others, if we consider the good of others a higher goal than our own good and we actually live that way, then we are fulfilling the intent of the Law. This is the type of living that fulfills the righteousness of God. Unfortunately, we sinful humans cannot do this all the time. That’s why we needed someone who could, and did, live this way to offer Himself as payment for our sins, the Righteous One for us unrighteous ones.

But that shouldn’t stop us from trying. We should all be constantly striving to be more Christ-like each and every day of our lives. Remember, we have been bought with a price, the precious blood of the Lamb of God, and we belong to the One who bought us. Therefore, we are obliged to do all that we can to serve Him and to please Him. We obey Him and strive to do His will, not to earn our salvation (which we can’t do), or even to earn His favor (which we can’t do), but because we want to show our Lord our gratitude and submission.

Application

If our good will to others is done to establish or improve our position in God’s eyes (to gain His favor), then it is selfish. If, on the other hand, we are good to others out of gratitude for what God has done for us, then we are acting out of love.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 13:8 – The Love Payment

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Will

Romans 13:8 – The Love Payment

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Truth to Learn

We are to be constantly paying off our love debt.

Behind the Words

The word that is translated “Owe” is the Greek word opheilē, which was translated as “due” in the previous verse. It means “to be indebted to someone else.” In fact, the first part of the previous verse could be translated as “Pay back to everyone what is owed them.”

Meaning Explained

This is one of those verses that is frequently taken out of context and often misapplied. How many times have you heard it said that a Christian should never take out a loan because we are not to be indebted to anyone? I have even heard well-meaning Christians say that we are not to take out a mortgage to purchase a house because we are commanded not to owe anyone anything.

“But,” you may say, “isn’t that what this verse says, “Owe no one anything?” If that was all that there was to this verse I might agree with you. However, that is not an independent clause; rather, it is a dependent clause that needs the next clause to complete its meaning. “Own no one anything, except to love one another.” If this verse were teaching us that we are not to be indebted to anyone, then the previous verse wouldn’t make any sense (Pay to everyone what is owed them). Rather, the emphasis in this verse is not on “Owe no one anything,” but on, “love one another.” This is supported by the second half of the verse, “for he who loves another has fulfilled the Law.”

I would paraphrase this verse as: “Your obligation to others should first and foremost be to pay them the debt of love you owe them, because this is what the Law is all about.’

A certain level of debt is necessary to be fully productive in our society today, but it should never get to the level that you can’t make your regularly scheduled payments. Over-extending your debt is, in effect, lying to your debtors because you are giving your word to them that you will pay them off in a prescribed manner. If you were truly showing them love, you would deny yourself rather than make an agreement that you can’t fulfill.

There is a debt that we all owe to each other according to Paul. It is one which can never be fully repaid. Like a house payment or a car payment, this debt requires regular payments. Unlike our loan payments, however, this is one which requires payment every day, even multiple times per day.

Remember, the emphasis of this verse is on loving one another, and that is an “agape” type of love, which is more concerned for the welfare of the object of love than it is for self. So, instead of feeling guilty for being in debt the next time you pay your mortgage payment, you should feel guilty whenever you express yourself in any but a loving way to another member of the body of Christ.

Application

Most of us wouldn’t think of not paying our house payment each month. Are we that committed to making our love payment each and every day? That’s something to think about!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 8:35 – Faithful Loving God

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Will

Romans 8:35 – Faithful Loving God

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Truth to Learn

No matter what happens to you, remember that God loves you!

Behind the Words

“Who” is from the Greek interrogative pronoun tis, meaning “who, which, or what.” In light of the remainder of this verse, I think the best translation here is “what.”

The verb “separate” is translated from the Greek word chōridzō, which is based on the adverb chōris, which means “separately, by itself, apart from.” Hence, chōridzō means “to put distance between” or “to make things separate from one another.”

“Love” is from the Greek word agapē, which refers to a self-sacrificing love in which the lover is focused on the ultimate goodness and benefit of the loved one.

Paul now gives us a number of descriptions of things that can’t separate us from the love of Christ. They are:

thlipsis, meaning “pressure, anguish, tribulation, trouble, or affliction.” It refers to troubles pressing from the outside.
stenochōria, literally meaning “narrow space.” It is different from thlipsis in that it refers to internal distress or “anguish.”
diōgmos, which is derived from the verb diōkō, meaning “to relentlessly pursue or persecute.”
limos refers to “a scarcity of food.” It is most often translated as “hunger or famine.”
gumnotēs, meaning “nudity or nakedness.”
kindunos, meaning “peril or danger.” It refers to someone who is constantly moving because of imminent danger.
machaira, meaning “a sword used for warfare and slaughter.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has already made several declarations about those of us who are the chosen ones of God including:

If God is for us, who can possible be against us.
He who gave His Son for our salvation will freely give us all things that we need for life and peace.
No one can get away with charging us with any wrong, and if they do (that is, when Satan does) we have Christ as our defense attorney interceding for us.

Now Paul begins the final declaration of this chapter (although it will take several verses to finish the idea). He starts this verse off with, “What shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

The answer to this question doesn’t appear until verses thirty-eight and thirty-nine, but a number of candidates are offered by Paul in this verse. Though he never does directly answer this question, the ultimate answer is, “None of these things can separate us from the love of Christ.”

He will go on to provide an ever greater example of how strong Christ’s love for us is in a few verses.

Application

No matter what happens to us, God will always love us (those whom He has chosen, redeemed, and justified) as His children.

Always!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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2 Peter 1:7 – Lovely Focus

Posted on April 2, 2009 by admin

2 Peter 1:7

and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

Truth to Learn

The ultimate objective of a Christian is to love.

Behind the Words

Brotherly kindness is the translation of the Greek word philadelphia. This is a very familiar compound word made up of philos, which literally means “dear” but by implication means “fondness” or “familial love,” and adelphos, which means “brother.” Hence, the translation “brotherly kindness” or “brotherly love.”

The final word in this verse is agape. So much has been said about this word that it hardly seems necessary to say more. It refers to “benevolence, goodwill, or affection.” It is the kind of self-less love that is focused on doing what is best for the object of the love, in spite of what he or she thinks they want.

Meaning Explained

In today’s verse, Peter continues his list of character qualities that we are to work at developing. So far the list includes faith, morality (goodness), knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and godliness. The last two items he includes are brotherly kindness and love.

Brotherly kindness is the kind of affection that we have for close friends. It is a desire to do good things for them, making their comfort and needs equal to or greater than our own. Agape love, however, describes a type of love that displays the utmost in concern and care for the object of the love. It is a self-sacrificing love that endures pain and hardship for the sake of the loved one. The ultimate demonstration of agape love was when God the Father gave His Son to be sacrificed as payment for our sins, even though we didn’t ask for it (or even know that we needed it). There is no greater love than this. Jesus explained it to His disciples this way:

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:12,13)

The Apostle John says that this is how we know what agape love is:

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (I John 3:16)

It is the love of the Son to the Father that even though He didn’t want to go through with it, Jesus was willing to do so because it was what the Father wanted.

“O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.“ (Matthew 26:39b)

This is not the kind of love that comes natural. It is not a feeling but an action. It’s evidenced not by what we say, but what we do. And, it only comes as we build up our Christian character and allow God to love others through us.

Application

Neither brotherly kindness nor love is focused on self. They are both focused on others. We cannot be focused on ourselves and focused on God at the same time. Our love of God is demonstrated by our submission to Him and His will. Where is your focus today?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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