The Book of Romans: “Love: The Fulfillment of The Law”

The Book of Romans 

Welcome:

Good morning, friends. Thank you for being here today to worship with us. My name is Stuart Davidson, and I am the pastor here at Eastern Shore Baptist Church. It is a blessing to gather together with God’s people, to lift our voices in praise, to open the Word of God, and to celebrate the goodness of Christ Jesus. It doesn’t matter if you are a longtime member of our church or you are visiting with us for the very first time, we are glad that you are here.

I also want to remind you about something that is available for everyone who is a part of our service today. We have a prayer line that is open for our church family, for guests, and even for those who may be watching our service online. If you have a prayer request, a burden on your heart, or a situation where you would simply like someone to pray with you, we would be honored to do that. The number for our prayer line is 251-222-8977. When you send in a request, a member of our prayer team will receive it and begin praying for you. Feel free to use that resource anytime you need it.

Introduction of Today Message:

Friends, as many of you know, I grew up in the 1980s and the 1990s. One of the most recognizable figures in the world during the 1980s was Princess Diana. People around the globe were mesmerized by her. She was constantly in the news, constantly on magazine covers, constantly in the headlines.

I can still remember to this very day where I was when she passed away. I was in Oakman, Alabama, laying on the floor in front of the television at my grandparents’ house. I remember the breaking news banner running across the bottom of the screen on CNN announcing that Princess Diana had died in a terrible car accident. The reports said paparazzi had been chasing her car through a tunnel in Paris trying to capture photographs of her and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. The world stopped that night. Millions of people were stunned by the news.

Still, it was not just Princess Diana’s beauty that captured the world’s attention. It was also her unmistakable compassion. She had a reputation for loving people, especially people that others overlooked. She had a heart for the hurting, the forgotten, and the marginalized. She often went out of her way to spend time with people many others might have avoided.

One of the most powerful moments of her life happened in April of 1987 in Sri Lanka. This event took place at that time when the AIDS crisis was spreading around the world, and fear surrounded the disease. People who were suffering from the disease were considered outcasts. Many were quarantined, kept from their friends and family due to mass hysteria and mass confusion concerning the epidemic. Many people believed that you could catch AIDS simply by touching someone who had it. Patients were often isolated, avoided, and treated like Old Testament lepers.

There in Sri Lanka, Princess Diana walked into a ward where AIDS patients were being treated. Cameras were present, reporters were watching, and the world expected her to keep her distance. Instead, she walked over to one of the patients, took his hand with no gloves on, and spoke to him with kindness and dignity.

That moment was photographed and broadcast around the world. It was a simple act, but it was powerful. In one gesture she reminded the world that compassion is stronger than fear and that people deserve dignity and love even when society has pushed them aside. Diana, considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the world, touched a man who was clearly being ravaged by this horrible disease. She actually touched him. Smiled at him. Treated him kindly. She made him feel like a human being. 

That moment captures something important about the passage we are studying today. In Romans chapter 13 the apostle Paul says something remarkable. All the commands of God can be summed up in one simple principle. When you truly love people the way God calls us to love them, you will naturally fulfill the heart of God’s law.

That is the focus of our message today.

Today’s message is called “Love: The Fulfillment of the Law.”

Today’s Message: 

“Love: The Fulfillment of The Law”

Introduction To Today’s Thought:

Friends, there on your outline you will see a few blanks under Today’s Thought, so let’s fill those in together. Write this down. Christians are never exempt from love. No, love is the nonnegotiable expectation. 

Today’s Thought:

Christians Are Never Exempt From Love! No! Love Is The Nonnegotiable Expectation! 

When you come to Christ, you do not graduate from loving people. 

When someone frustrates you, disappoints you, or offends you, you are not excused from loving people. 

For the follower of Jesus, love is not optional, love is not seasonal, and love is not something we turn on and off depending on our mood. 

Love is the long standing expectation of the Christian life. If we claim to belong to Christ, then love must consistently flow out of our lives.

That means we are called to love all people. You heard me correct brothers and sisters. We are called to love all people. Just look for a moment at Jesus on the cross. Did He love the thief who hurled the insults at Him? Yep. What about the Romans who stole His clothing, Romans who mocked Him? What about Herod? Did Jesus love Herod? What about Pilate? Did Jesus love Pilate? No way He love Barabbas? The answer to that an all other questions concerning Jesus’ love is and emphatic “yes”. Jesus loved them all. 

Think about this brothers and sisters, we are called to love people we agree with and people we strongly disagree with. 

We are called to love people who treat us kindly and people who treat us unfairly. 

We are called to love the neighbor who respects us and the neighbor who has lied about us. 

We are called to love the person who has honored our family and the person who has wounded our family. 

We are called to love people who share our values and people whose lifestyle choices we believe are sinful and destructive. 

We are called to love the difficult coworker, the dishonest business partner, the harsh critic, the person who has cheated us, the person who has betrayed our trust, and even the person who seems morally offensive to everything we believe. 

Church family, the command of Christ does not shrink when people become difficult. The command of Christ does not disappear when someone becomes offensive. The command of Christ stands firm. We are called to love people because God loved us first.

Introduction of Today’s Quote:

Brothers and sisters, there on your sermon outline you will also see a quote from Herschel H. Hobbs. Dr. Hobbs is one of my all time favorite writers. Many of you know that he served as a pastor, a leader among Southern Baptists, and he had a remarkable ability to take deep theological truth and explain it in a way that everyday believers could understand and apply. His commentary on Romans has been especially helpful to me through the years.

In preparing this message I spent a good deal of time reading from his book, “An Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans”. That commentary has greatly influenced the way I approached this passage and helped shape several of the thoughts we are walking through this morning. Let me share with you something Hobbs said about the command to love our neighbor. I think it captures the heart of what Paul is teaching here in Romans 13.

Today’s Quote:

“The command to love our neighbor places no limit on who that neighbor may be. Christian love is not based on the worthiness of the one loved but on the character of the one who loves. Because God has loved us in Christ, the believer has a continuing obligation to love others, even those who are difficult, hostile, or undeserving.”

Herschel H. Hobbs, “An Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans”

Introduction To Today’s Scripture:

As we come to Romans 13:8 through 10, it helps us to remember the larger context of this letter. The book of Romans was written by the apostle Paul the Apostle to believers living in the city of Rome. These Christians were living in a complicated and complex world. They were surrounded by pagans, political pressure, and moral confusion. Paul wrote this letter to explain the gospel and to show believers how grace transforms the way we live.

By the time we reach chapter 13, Paul has already spent many chapters explaining the greatness of salvation. Then he turns his attention to how that salvation should shape our everyday lives. In the verses just before this passage, he talks about how Christians should relate to government and authority. Thats what we talked about last week. Now in verses 8 through 10 he brings the focus back to something practical. He reminds believers that there is one debt that we never finish paying. That debt is the obligation to love others. Paul points back to the commandments and explains that when we truly love our neighbor, we are actually fulfilling the heart of what God’s law was designed to accomplish.

We live in a world that is often divided, harsh, and quick to tear people down. Jesus’ followers are called to live differently. We are called to demonstrate a love that reflects the very nature of Christ. We are called to show the world what the life of Christ looks like in action.

Statement of Belief:

“We are opening the living and powerful Word of God…truth without error, breathed out by Him, and fully sufficient for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. It is our authority, our guide, and our hope. In honor of the God who gave us His perfect Word, I invite you to stand with me as we read it together.”

Today’s Scripture:

Romans 13:8-10 NLT

Owe nothing to anyone-except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law. [9] For the commandments say, "You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet." These-and other such commandments-are summed up in this one commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself." [10] Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God's law.

Pastor: “This is the Word of the Lord.”

Congregation: “Praise His name. Praise His Holy name.”

3 Ways That You Can Show Love To Everyone!

Method One: Model Patience With Everyone

Friends, let’s move now to the next section of our message. There on your outline you will see the heading “Three Ways That You Can Show Love To Everyone.” These are three simple methods, three practical ways that believers can demonstrate the kind of love Paul is describing here in Romans 13.

Let’s begin with Method One: Model Patience With Everyone.

There on your outline you can see a brief explanation of this first point. Showing love means choosing patience with people, even when they frustrate us or test our patience.

Now let me ask you something. Have you noticed how easy it is to talk about patience on Sunday morning and how hard it is to practice patience on Monday morning?

Someone once said, “I prayed for patience… and then the Lord sent me people.”

You ever notice that? You pray, “Lord, help me grow in patience,” and suddenly you find yourself stuck in traffic behind someone going ten miles under the speed limit. You get in the grocery line and the person in front of you has thirty seven coupons and wants to debate the price of every item. You call customer service and the recording says, “Your wait time is approximately forty five minutes.”

Life has a funny way of giving us opportunities to practice the very thing we say we want to grow in.

The word Paul uses for patience in the New Testament carries a very rich meaning. The Greek word is makrothumia (mah-kroh-thoo-MEE-ah). It is made up of two ideas. One part means “long,” and the other part refers to anger or passion. So the word literally describes someone who has a long fuse. It describes a person who is slow to anger, slow to react, and willing to endure with people even when they are difficult. It is often translated with the idea of long suffering, the ability to bear with someone for a long time without exploding, without quitting, and without walking away.

This is why the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:2 (CSB),

“With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.”

Paul is telling believers that Christian love is not just emotional. 

Christian love is durable. 

It stays steady even when people are frustrating, slow to change, or hard to deal with. 

Patience gives people room to grow. 

Patience gives relationships room to heal. 

Patience keeps us from reacting in anger when what people really need from us is grace.

Patience is hard. 

One reason it is so difficult is because we have been raised in a culture of instant gratification. Everything around us moves fast. We have two minute car washes. We have microwaves that cook meals in seconds. We have drive through restaurants that hand us food in moments. The other day my wife and I visited our local Sam’s. We walked all over the store picking up all sorts of things along the way. We eventually made our way toward the front of the store and Angela just bypassed all the registers. She started making her way to the door. I said “honey, aren’t you forgetting something”? She looked at me sort of bewildered and said “no”. I said “baby, since when did shoplifting become a family activity”? She then told me that we had already paid. She scanned all the goods on her phone as she picked them up. She paid instantly. I was blown away. You can obviously tell how often I go to Sam’s. Our entire world has been built around the idea of instant results.

Nevertheless, Christian life does not work that way. Sanctification does not happen instantly. Spiritual maturity does not happen instantly. Growth in Christ takes time, and it requires patience. Sometimes we need patience with other people because they are still growing. Sometimes we need patience with ourselves because God is still shaping us too. The Lord is patient with us, and He calls us to show that same patience to others.

If patience is something the Lord wants to grow in our lives, the natural question becomes, how do we develop it? Scripture shows us that patience is not something we simply wake up with one day. It is something the Spirit forms in us over time as we walk with Christ. Let me give you a few ways that the Lord has developed patience in me. By the way, I am very much a work in progress here. 

First, remember how patient God has been with you.

One of the quickest ways to grow in patience with others is to reflect on how much patience the Lord has shown toward us. God has been patient with our failures, patient with our stubbornness, patient with our slow spiritual growth. When we remember how gracious God has been to us, it softens our hearts toward other people who are still growing as well.

Next, slow down your reaction. Another way to say it is slow your roll. 

Patience often begins in the space between what happens to us and how we respond. When someone frustrates you, resist that urge to respond immediately. Take a breath. Say a quick prayer. Count to 10. Give yourself a moment before speaking. Lots of conflicts could be avoided if we simply paused long enough to let wisdom catch up with our emotions.

Lastly, look at interruptions as opportunities for ministry.

Most of the moments that test our patience are interruptions. Someone needs help when we are busy. Someone asks a question when we are in a hurry. Someone moves slower than we would like. But sometimes those interruptions are actually divine appointments. What feels like an inconvenience to us may be an opportunity for us to show the love of Christ to someone else.

3 Ways That You Can Show Love To Everyone!

Method One: Model Patience With Everyone

Method Two: Provide Help Even When It Is Exhausting

Well friends, let’s now move to our second method. Our first method was to model patience with everyone. The second way that you can show love to everyone is to provide help even when it is exhausting.

There on your outline you will see the explanation for this point. “Love is demonstrated when we step in to help others, even when it costs us time, energy, or comfort.”

Whenever you help someone, it will cost you something. At a minimum it will cost you time. Very often it will cost you comfort. Sometimes it will cost you emotional energy. Loving people the way Jesus did is often inconvenient to us. Love like that tosses the schedule, ditches the plans, and kicks the daily routines of life asked. Loving people the way Jesus loved always requires sacrifice.

Again, Jesus is our ultimate model of loving people even when it is inconvenient . In several places in the Gospels we see Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. Imagine that moment for a second. The boat is moving across the water, the wind is blowing, the disciples are talking among themselves, and perhaps for a brief moment there is a little peace and quiet. Jokes are being told. Maybe some of the guys are fishing. Just guys hanging out. Jesus after all was a man. A man who got tired. A man who needed rest. A man who enjoyed a break. I can imagine that after a long day of working, ministering, and miracle making, Jesus was looking forward to some chill time. Rest was the order for the day. 

Sadly for Jesus and His disciples, when they finally arrived on the other side of the shore, the crowd was already waiting.

People had heard that Jesus was coming. 

Sick people were being carried in. 

Hurting people were being brought forward. 

Desperate people were pressing in. 

Everyone wanted something. 

Everyone needed something. 

Everyone was calling for His attention.

Imagine that! What would you do in that moment? How would you react in that situation? If Im being truthful, in my humanity that kind of situation would feel exhausting. Imagine trying to go somewhere to rest, only to discover that a crowd has already gathered and they are all asking something from you. They are begging you to save them from debilitating diseases, demon possessions, and worse, asking you to bring the dead back to life. Those are some heavy expectations these folks are dropping at Jesus’ feet. They want your time. They want your attention. They want your help.

Yet every time we see Jesus in those moments, He does not turn the crowd away.

Instead, the Bible often says something very simple but very powerful. It says that Jesus had compassion on them. 

He stepped toward the need. 

He healed the sick. 

He taught the people. 

He helped the hurting. 

He continued to serve even when the demand was constant.

That is the heart of Christ. Jesus shows us that love is willing to serve even when it is tiring.

Now listen, I know something about you as a church family. Many of you already live this out. You help people. You show up. You bring meals, you make phone calls, you pray, you visit, you give your time and energy to help. You do that after a long day of work. Sometimes you do that when you are already tired.

That is the love of Christ being lived out through your life.

But let me encourage you with something today. When serving others begins to feel exhausting, do not give up. Scripture gives us this reminder in Galatians 6:9.

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Paul acknowledges something important there. Doing good can make us weary. Serving people can be tiring. Helping others can stretch us.

Nevertheless, Paul says keep going.

Do not grow weary.

Do not stop serving.

Do not stop loving.

Why? Because when we step in to help others, even when it costs us something, we are walking in the very footsteps of Jesus.

Let me pause right here for just a moment. I don’t live in a bubble. I have gone through seasons of being tired. I have been working in the church world for 26 years, 15 going on 16 here in this very church. I get it. There may be someone sitting here this morning thinking, “Pastor, that sounds good, but I am tired”. 

“I have given my time. I have given my energy. I have given my resources. I have sacrificed family time. I have stepped in again and again to help people, and right now I feel exhausted.”

You are not just tired. You are frustrated. You are even a little angry because it feels like you have poured yourself out for others and very few people have poured anything back into you. You don’t feel appreciated. You don’t feel thanked. The preacher has not called you or texted you to brag on you or to encourage you and you are hurt by that lack of gratitude. You feel like the candle has been burning at both ends for a long time.

If that is where you are today, I want you to hear something very clearly. The Bible recognizes that feeling. Paul would not have written Galatians 6:9 if he did not know that believers sometimes grow weary in doing good. Even in Paul’s day, people got exhausted.

Even Jesus, in His humanity, experienced exhaustion. There were moments when He stepped away from the crowds to rest, to pray, and to spend time with the Father. 

Being tired does not mean you are failing. 

Feeling weary does not mean you are faithless. 

Sometimes it simply means you have been faithfully pouring yourself out for a long time.

If you are that weary person today, here is the encouragement. Do not confuse exhaustion with uselessness. Just because you are tired does not mean your labor has been wasted.

God sees every act of kindness that no one else noticed.

God remembers every sacrifice that others may have forgotten.

God honors every quiet moment when you stepped in to help someone who needed it.

Remember, you are not serving people. You are not serving the preacher or a member of the church staff. You are serving God. God sees. God knows. God rewards. 

Sometimes the harvest that Paul talks about in Galatians 6:9 is not immediate. I would dare say that when it comes to ministry, you never arrive at the final destination. It is not until heaven when we see the real fruits of our labor.  Sometimes it takes time before we see the fruit of the good we have done. The promise of Scripture is this, God never wastes faithful love.

If you are weary today, take a breath. Spend time with the Lord. Let Him refill your soul. Let Him renew your strength. The goal is not to burn yourself out. The goal is to keep your heart connected to Christ so that His love continues to flow through you.

The same Jesus who calls us to serve others is also the Jesus who invites the weary to come to Him and find rest. When we bring our tired hearts back to Him, He has a way of giving us the strength we need to keep loving people the way He loves us.

3 Ways That You Can Show Love To Everyone!

Method One: Model Patience With Everyone

Method Two: Provide Help Even When It Is Exhausting

Method Three: Protect Those That Are Exploited 

Well church, we have finally made it to our last method.

Three ways that you can show love to everyone.

Method one, model patience with everyone.

Method two, provide help even when it is exhausting.

Now we come to our final method, protect those that are exploited.

“Love moves us to stand up for people who are vulnerable, hurting, or unable to defend themselves.”

A couple of years ago a movie came out that caught the attention of a lot of people across the country. The film was called Sound of Freedom. In that movie Jim Caviezel portrays a man named Tim Ballard, a government agent who dedicated his life to rescuing children trapped in human trafficking.

The story follows his mission to track down traffickers and rescue children who had been stolen, abused, and sold into exploitation. It is not an easy movie to watch because it reminds us that there are real people in this world who are being taken advantage of, people who cannot defend themselves, people who desperately need someone to step in and protect them.

What moved so many people about that story was not just the darkness of the problem, but the courage of someone who was willing to stand up and do something about it.

That idea, standing up for the vulnerable, runs throughout the pages of Scriptures.

God has always called His people to defend the defenseless. He calls His people to protect the weak, to speak for the voiceless, and to stand up for the mistreated.

Listen to just a few examples.

Proverbs 31:8 (ESV)

“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

Psalm 82:3–4 (ESV)

“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Isaiah 1:17 (ESV)

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

James 1:27 (ESV)

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

Luke 4:18 (ESV)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor… to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

From Genesis to Revelation, the heart of God is clear. It is so obvious. God cares about those who are vulnerable, forgotten, and abused. He calls His people, you and I, to care about them as well.

Again, Jesus is our ultimate model.

One day parents began bringing their children to Jesus so that He might bless them. The disciples, trying to protect Jesus’ time and schedule, started shooing the children away. They thought the children were an interruption.

Jesus saw it differently.

Mark 10:14 tells us that Jesus was indignant when He saw what was happening. He said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

In other words, Jesus was saying, do not push away the vulnerable. Do not ignore the ones who cannot defend themselves. Bring them here. Let them come.

Jesus loved children. Jesus protected children. Jesus valued those that the world often overlooked.

That leads us to an important question.

What does that look like for us today?

For some people in this room, protecting the vulnerable may mean opening your home. There are some of you right now who have been wrestling with something in your heart. God has been planting the seed of foster care in your life. God has been planting the seed of adoption in your heart. You have prayed about it. You have thought about it. You have felt that quiet nudge from the Lord again and again.

If that is you, if you have been wrestling with foster care or adoption, I want to speak directly to you right now in this moment. This may be the most important moment in your life, your family. Angela and I felt called, you might even say compelled, to adopt in a normal…ho hum…everyday Sunday church service. Very similar to today. 

If you have been wrestling with that seed that God planted in your heart, if you have been sensing the Lord calling you to foster or adopt, this moment is not coincidence. This moment, this event, my words are God’s confirmation. I am not God, but I am your pastor, called by God, and I can tell you what the Word of God says. God cares deeply about children who need protection, and He often calls His people to step forward and do something about it.

For others, your calling may look different.

You may not be called to foster or adopt, but you can support families who do. You can give to organizations that rescue children from exploitation. You can volunteer with ministries that help vulnerable families. You can pray for the countless men and women who are working every day to fight human trafficking and care for abused children.

Every one of us can do something.

Every one of us can stand up for someone who cannot stand up for themselves.

When we protect the vulnerable, when we defend the exploited, when we step in for those who cannot defend themselves, we are reflecting the very heart of our Savior.

Remember church the call to love. Remember church the value in Chrsit’s love for you and I. Remember church, love is the command, it is the action which sets us a part from the world. We love, not because it is in our nature, we love because Christ first loved us. 

Love Because Christ First Loved You!

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Lord, we are grateful to be here today worshiping You. It is good for the church to gather together. We are encouraged by one another, but even more than that, we are strengthened by being close to You, by worshiping You, and by hearing Your Word.

Lord Jesus, today You have spoken to us through the Scriptures. Through the Apostle Paul You have reminded us of the call to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We know that it is through Christ’s love in us that people are drawn toward the gospel.

Father, help us to live out what we have heard today. Help us to model patience with everyone, including ourselves. Help us to serve others even when it is exhausting. Give us a heart to protect those who are vulnerable and exploited.

Lord, remind us that we are on a mission. Our assignments may look different, but You have placed each of us exactly where You want us. Thank You for our calling and for the opportunities we have to show the love of Christ.

And Father, if there is anyone here today who needs salvation, I pray they would find it in Jesus. If someone is looking for a church home, confirm Your leading in their life. If someone needs to take the step of baptism, give them the courage to follow You.

We pray all of this in Jesus’ name.

Amen.