Romans 13-15

Happy Saturday. This was suppose to be posted on Friday. Sorry. I hope that everyone had some time for reflection yesterday. I was going to try and find some way to tie in these chapters specifically with Good Friday, but I am not sure how to...other than to say, praise God our redemption and justification are through Jesus.

Alright, here we go:

Chapter 13 : Submission to Authority
If you read chapter 13 and have any ounce of American blood in you, I think it is hard to not review the times in history when civil disobedience was of the utmost importance and submission brought about great harm (basically just think of all the wars and civil rights movements). I wonder if the Jews are that different....after all, they thought Jesus came to earth to start a revolution and overthrow the Roman government. It is difficult to think about submission. Actually the word in it of itself makes me shift a bit in my seat. So, I consulted a commentary and here is what I found:

"This passage addresses the responsibility of Christians to governing authorities. They are to 'be subject to' the government because it has been ordained by God. Paul is speaking here of the general principle of submission to the government. Several other passages show that God approves of Christians disobeying the government,  but only when obedience to the government would be mean disobeying God (see Ex. 1:17, 21; 1 Kings 18:4--16; etc.). There were even times when God raised up leaders to rebel against the government and deliver his people from evil rulers."

This brought a lot of clarity for me. Of course I have to be argumentative and ask to what degree of disobeying God, do we decide we can disobey the government? I think that it is hard to draw these lines so hard and fast and think it is easy to make black and white. Because when I think of the things that tax money might go towards, I don't think all of it is biblical or promoting Christian principles...does this qualify as a situation of the government asking me to disobey God?

One last thought on government in this chapter since April 15th is coming up:
Pay your taxes! (13:7)
Random statistic:
"There is an increase of 6% in fatal car crashes on tax-deadline day. Researchers say that the jump could be attributed to tax-related stress which may cause driving errors. "
*Tip: Don't drive on April 15.

Last highlight and favorite highlight of this chapter:
"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law....Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

When  I get caught up in confusion about theology or stuck with conflicting ideas in my head about what it means to follow Jesus, I always come back to this verse (and where Jesus talks about it specifically in the Gospels). LOVE PEOPLE. That is clear. People are always more important than our ideas and loving them is more important than our agenda.


Chapter 14 : Freedom Being a Stumbling Block 

The last verse that I mentioned in chapter 13 really rolls well into the topic of chapter 14. I think that chapter 14 is relevant to 20-30something Christians right now. In an effort to really determine what convictions are important in our faith, a lot of us have rethought drinking, swearing, etc. --all these "outward convictions" which marked our parents' generation. I am not interested in laying out my convictions in this area, but I think we can glean a lot from Paul's wisdom in chapter 14 per his instructions about eating clean/unclean food.

What I think it really comes down to is the verse in chapter 13, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor." We may have different convictions on what is "lawful" or even "beneficial," but at the end of the day, if our convictions become more important than our respect for others, than they are worthless and I would say selfish. Here are verses that I am getting this from:

"Therefore let us not pass judgement on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hinderance in the way of a brother."
"Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make anyone stumble by what he eats."
"So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding."


Chapter 15 : Christ's Example of Servanthood
Chapter 15 furthers Paul's argument by using Christ's example of becoming a "servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness" to show us that our goal is to serve one another for the glory of  Christ, not get in fights about what is clean/unclean.

And I leave you with this:
"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God."