9/1/24 “Love In The First Degree”
“Love in the First Degree”
Romans 13:8-14
(Show video Clip)
The clip you just saw is from the movie “Dumb & Dumber” where a couple of dimwitted guys from Rhode Island stumble across a briefcase filled with millions of dollars.
In their attempt to return the briefcase to its rightful owner, they succumb to the temptation to spend all of the money on fancy clothes, expensive cars, and numerous other luxuries.
For each purchase they made from the stash of cash, they wrote out an IOU with a description of the item purchased and how much it cost.
The IOU’s were a tangible acknowledgement of the debt owed to the rightful owner of the money.
Has anyone ever given you an IOU?
Perhaps you’ve given someone else an IOU…?
Years ago at one of our family Christmas gatherings, our daughters gave Lisa & I a pile of “IOU Coupons” that we could redeem for having them do things like mow the lawn, do the dishes, or clean the house….
...You know, all the chores they should be doing around the house anyway….
I think Lisa & I would just print more copies of the IOU’s whenever we needed something done around the house…Printers are a wonderful invention.
As many of you may remember, back in 1984, country singer Lee Greenwood had one of the biggest hits of all time with the song “God Bless the USA”…
...That was the song that made Lee Greenwood a household name.
But just one year before that....in 1983....when Lee Greenwood wasn’t nearly as well-known, he released a song called “IOU”
Some of the lyrics go like this: You believe…that I’ve changed your life forever…and you’re never gonna find another somebody like me…and you wish…you had more than just a lifetime…to give back all I’ve given you…and that’s what you believe…But IOU…the sunlight in the morning…and the nights of honest loving…that time can’t take away….and IOU more than life now more than ever…I know that it’s the sweetest debt…I’ll ever have to pay.
Even as an early teenager, the lyric “I know that it’s the sweetest debt I’ll ever have to pay” made me hopeful with anticipation that one day God would place someone in my life who I’d be able to honestly say those same words to….and he did.
About 10 years later, I met an amazing girl from just south of LaValle who embodies the exact sentiment of that song – and for the last (almost) 27 years, loving her has been the sweetest debt I’ve ever had to pay.
In today’s passage, Paul begins in verse 8 (Romans 13:8) with a similar sentiment when he says: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another....”
In the previous two verses, Paul had been teaching on the importance of paying taxes...
And now in this verse, he skillfully transitions from financial duties to spiritual duties...using debt as the connecting bridge between the two.
The first half of the sentence deals with actual, monetary debt.
Paul is restating a general principle found throughout scripture that – if possible – it is better to be debt-free than to bear the burden of owing money to other people...or to financial institutions.
Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
Any time someone owes money to another party, freedom is sacrificed....and the larger the loan – the less freedom one has.
We also learn from scripture that another benefit of being financially independent is that one is then more able to freely give to the kingdom of God by donating to ministries that spread the good news of Jesus.
At our upcoming Voices in the Valley concert on the 20th, we will all have the opportunity to give to a ministry that works with foreign students who come to the Dells for Summer employment...many of whom are unfamiliar with the gospel message.
Also, on Sunday the 22nd, Cru Missionary Lex Kyano will once again be with us to provide an update on her campus-based ministry...and how God is using her to reach college students at UW-Stevens Point.
These are fantastic opportunities to give generously to local para-church ministries, but when one is up to their eyeballs in debt, it becomes virtually impossible to help support anything beyond a standard tithe to the local church...
And sometimes debt can be so debilitating that it restricts a person’s ability to contribute anything at all to their local church...
to me, this is the tipping point when debt goes from a less-than-ideal situation - to being a real problem.
If the amount of financial debt in your life prevents you from giving anything at all to the church, that’s when I see debt crossing over into becoming an actual act of disobedience.
Now...as New Testament believers, we are not scripturally mandated to the 10% tithe as the Israelites were...
We are, however, instructed to give to the church.
2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Paul is saying three things here:
Give...something
Give freely
Give cheerfully
If debt in your life is to the point where it does not allow you to ever give to the church at all – then it's time to think about making lifestyle changes that will allow you to live obediently in the area of financial stewardship.
Remember Jesus’ story about the widow’s two coins in Luke chapter 21?
...All of the rich people are coming forward at the temple to give their tithes...then comes this poor widow - and she gives 2 small copper coins.
Jesus says, “I tell you the truth...this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Giving is always a matter of the heart – and if your financial lifestyle is such that you have chosen to enter into debt to the point where you are no longer able to budget the equivalent of “two small copper coins” in your life – then your debt is too large.
Again, debt itself is not a sin...neither the Old Testament or the New Testament forbids borrowing or lending...
In fact, in our modern world, it’s almost impossible to purchase a home without taking on a significant mortgage...
Debt is like a campfire out in the woods...when it's under control, it can be quite beneficial...but if it gets out of control, it has the power to consume the entire forest of your life.
Getting back to verse 8, Paul transitions from physical debt - to spiritual debt.
The middle of verse 8 says, “...The continuing debt to love one another....”
Isn’t this a beautiful statement?
...And just like in the song IOU, this debt is a sweet debt...
It’s a sweet debt because when we show love to others, we are demonstrating the love of Christ to them...
And isn’t it miraculous how God continually provides us with the spiritual funds needed to pay down this continual debt of love....?
...And the more love we give, the more joy we get.
The early church father Origen was quoted as saying this, “The debt of love remains with us permanently and never leaves us. This is a debt which we pay every day and forever owe.”
John MacArthur adds this, “By our Lord’s gracious provision, it is a debt we will always have the resources to pay and which, the more we pay toward it, the more willing and joyous the payment will be.”
Listen to the words of Jesus from John 13:34-35 directed toward his followers: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
I’m reminded of another song from about 40 years ago by the county group Alabama called “Love in the First Degree.”
It’s a cute little ballad about how a man loves a woman so much that he ought to be considered to have committed the crime of ‘Love in the First Degree.’
It’s also one of those catchy melodies that’s hard to get out of your head...
If you listen to the lyrics, the song combines the elements of love...with that of the law.
Paul does the same thing in the last few words of verse 8 (Romans 13:8) “....For he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”
Paul goes on to give a summary of some of the ten commandments that deal with loving others...Not committing adultery, Not murdering, Not stealing, Not coveting...
Paul wraps up these thoughts on love with these words in verse 10 (Romans 13:10) “...Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
If you are loving others to the “first degree”, you will automatically be observing the law....you won’t even have to think about being obedient..... because obedience will automatically be happening.
It’s interesting to hear professional football players talk about the time that it usually takes for them to adjust to the professional level from that of the college game.
At almost every position, players will say that they had to go through thousands upon thousands of repetitions before their bodies began to naturally react to the conditions of a faster-paced game...
...their dedication to constant repetition was to the point that their bodies obediently responded without them having to even think about it.
The same kind of muscle memory happens after spending countless hours practicing a musical instrument...or learning how to knit.
The same is true for love.
The more we practice showing biblical love to others, the less we need to be consciously thinking about obedience – because we will automatically be living in obedience.
When we love others, we won’t be murdering them...
When we love others, we won’t be cheating on them...
When we love others, we won’t be jealous of them...
When we love others, we won’t be stealing from them...
When we abide by the positive instructions of Jesus (Love God...Love Others) we won’t even need to fret over the negative instructions of the law (The Do Not’s of the 10 Commandments)
..because we will already be following them.
I like how one theologian put it, “If we love God with all our heart and other people with all our heart, we can do as we please, because we will only want to do that which pleases God and benefits others.”
Paul continues the themes of obedience to Christ and avoidance of sin throughout the remainder of our passage for today.
In verse 11 (Romans 13:11) Paul exhorts us to “Wake Up”!!
It’s important to remember that Paul is talking to fellow Christians here...
He’s not telling unbelievers to spiritually wake up – he's telling this to the church....To Us!!
Spiritual Apathy (Lethargy and laziness) within the church has been a problem since the beginning –
as is evidenced here by Paul’s admonition to the believers in Rome to arise from their slumber.
Has anyone ever had a teenager in the house?
Interesting creatures, aren’t they?
Many of them seem to demonstrate an amazing ability to ignore alarm clocks in the morning...
15 minutes later, you tap on their door and say in a soft tone...It’s time to get up.
10 minutes after that, you tap a little louder and – now using your serious voice – say....t's time to get up!
When 10 more minutes go by and the school bus is just a few stops away, you are now pounding on their door, yelling.... “WAKE UP!!!”
(Disclosure – not ALL teenagers are like this...in fact, there are some who attend here at our church who work harder than many of us adults...)
But the western church today is like that sleeping teenager who has 10 minutes to get up and get to school...
We need to wake up from our spiritual apathy – especially the apathy surrounding the second coming of Christ.
This is the specific problem that Paul is addressing here in today’s passage.
Even though we don’t know the hour when Jesus will return (It could be 200 years from now...or it could be very soon)...
...We need to be living as if He will be returning at any moment!
..As His followers, we need to be urgently vigilant in all that we do - in terms of obedience in our own lives
...as well as telling others about the savior before it's too late...
...And this was obviously not how some of the believers in Rome were conducting themselves.
As disciples of Jesus, there is simply no time for complacency or indifference when it comes to living out the Christian faith.
I think one reason why many of us here in the west fail so miserably at remaining wide awake in anticipation of Christ’s return...
...is because we have it so good here.
...We don’t have a strong desire to go to heaven right now because we are enjoying the things this world has to offer us...
As C.S. Lewis was quoted as saying: “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Does anyone know what nitrous oxide is? (Also called Laughing gas)
When I was a kid, I had bad teeth...no, literally, I was born without enamel on some of my baby teeth...
That - combined with a penchant for sugar at an early age - led to numerous visits to the dentist.
The dentist we went to always had me breath in nitrous oxide as a mild anesthetic to help take the edge off during my dental procedures...
I still remember that stuff!....I didn’t like it because I knew that it was numbing my mind and body to the things around me...
Even though I was technically “Awake”, I was – for all practical purposes – asleep.
The materialism, luxuries, entertainment, and creature comforts of our world act like spiritual nitrous oxide –
they numb us to the urgency of living in such a way as to expect the return of Jesus at any moment.
Ask yourself this, if you knew that Jesus would be returning exactly one month from today (October 1st) what changes would you make in your life between now and then?
Are there some habits that you would break away from?
Are there some places of temptation that you would no longer frequent?
Are there some relationships requiring forgiveness that would need attending to?
Are there some books in the Bible that you would want to read...maybe for the first time?
Well, folks...Now is the hour to do all of those things!
The church at Ephesus was dealing with similar issues when Paul writes to them saying: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)
Do you remember the parable of the ten virgins found in Matthew chapter 25?
Jesus tells the story of 10 maidens who are told to go out and meet the coming bridegroom.
They each have lamps requiring oil, but only 5 of the 10 remember to bring oil for their lamps.
At midnight they are told that the bridegroom has arrived. The 5 virgins who had oil for their lamps were there to meet him while the other 5 had gone to town to buy oil for their lamps...
These 5 maidens missed the bridegroom and were not able to go with him because they were unprepared.
Many of you know this story, but there is one very important component of the parable that is often overlooked.
Look at Matthew 25:5 with me, “The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they ALL become drowsy and fell asleep.”
Did you catch that?...they ALL fell asleep – even the virgins who had oil for their lamps!
This tells me that even genuine believers can easily become complacent and apathetic about living as if Jesus was going to return at any moment.
Brothers and Sisters – you can have oil for your jar...you can be a genuinely saved believer in Jesus Christ headed for heaven when you die...
...And at the same time, be sleeping to the needs of the kingdom that are all around you.
Don’t allow Satan or the entrapments of this world to put you into a state of spiritual slumber.
Live with urgency....Live with purpose for your savior...Live with Love for others...
Clothe yourselves with Christ and put on the armor of light...
Be excited about the immanent return of Jesus Christ...King of King Kings and Lord of Lords.
...AND...WAKE UP!!
Let’s Pray.