I remember as a teenager, sitting next to one of my youth leaders at a Christian
festival one Summer in a seminar about the Old Testament laws. The speaker asked
us, "So why do you think God gave the Israelites the ten commandments?"
My youth leader put his hand up and answered, "For their enjoyment."
People weren't sure if he was joking or not and there was a moment of
strange awkwardness before the speaker moved on to less surprising
answers but I think my friend was right - When God gives his people laws
or commands, it's because he loves them and wants them to enjoy him and
be like him. Our best reason for keeping God's laws is because we love
him back, enjoy a relationship with him and want to be like him.
STOP and read Romans 13:8-14
Paul says love is the fulfillment of the law because God's commands are
about loving him and loving one another. Interestingly, Jesus claimed he came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17).
Part of what this means is that he kept all of God's commandments and lived a perfect life
of love to his Father and to others. Those who trust and follow Jesus
are empowered by God the Holy Spirit to do the same. Not to earn God's
love but because in Jesus, they have already received it and want to
share it with others.
Paul then commends living for Jesus by comparing this world to the night
and heaven to the day. Crime happens in the cover of night and in the
darkness, people do evil and selfish things but when daylight comes,
it's harder to hide. This is the picture Paul uses to urge Christians
to get busy loving and living for Jesus now because they don't know how
much longer we have before Jesus returns. It's not about being caught
doing the wrong things - Jesus sees everything anyway! It's about
making the most of the opportunity while it's still here to show and to
share the love of Jesus and to see as many people as possible trust and
follow him and receive his love and forgiveness before it's too late.
Christians don't live this way in their own strength. Paul uses the
language of being "clothed with Christ" to illustrate how this life is
possible. Christians are those who have trusted Jesus, received the
Holy Spirit of Jesus and are not only graciously forgiven but graciously
empowered to live a new life as lights in a dark world (John 8:12).
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