Okay, this is Romans lecture number 28 Romans lecture number 28 We're still finishing up Romans 13 1 to 7 and verses 6 and 7 Paul says that Christians should pay their taxes verses 6 and 7 of Romans 13. And because of this you also pay taxes for rulers or servants of God devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them, tax to whom taxes due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. So Christians should pay their taxes. Rulers are servants of God. They protect citizens and their rights. Now again, our government often goes beyond its limited role and tries to do the work of the church and feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and help the poor. Our government also aborts babies, which is not protecting the right to life of the unborn. But so did the Roman Empire, yet Paul wasn't calling for an overthrow of the Roman Empire, and Paul still commanded those who were under the Roman Empire to pay their taxes. So as long as we have a legitimate government, even if it's a sloppy government that also often goes beyond its limited role, As long as we have a legitimate government, we are to pay our taxes, because the government does offer us some protection of our rights. In fact, I think that anybody who says we should not now pay our taxes, I think that they should then make a case that we should revolt right now, because that's what they're saying. If they're saying that we shouldn't pay our taxes, they're saying the government serves no righteous purpose whatsoever. I don't think a case for revolution can be made therefore I think Christians should pay our taxes. I heard a preacher saying we shouldn't pay our taxes because some of that money goes to abort babies. Well in Rome the Roman Empire was aborting babies at that time and Paul still said that we should pay our taxes. Tax The word for tax here speaks about personal and property tax which is what was being paid back in the days of Paul. Customs speaks of tax on goods such as imports and exports. Paul says that we should not only pay taxes to whom taxes do and customs to whom customs do but also fear to whom fears do. Remember government has the right to punish the evildoer therefore we should have a reasonable fear of the government and governing authority since it carries the sword to bring vengeance on the evildoer and God has given government his sword. We should also give honor to whom honor is due. In other words, we should have respect for policemen, for soldiers, and for government officials. So in conclusion of Romans 13 1 to 7 Christians should be ideal citizens. We should be law-abiding citizens except of course when the government expects us to obey a godless law. And we should submit to the government except when it is an illegitimate regime. So therefore we should pay our taxes and recognize that lousy citizens make lousy evangelists. In Romans chapter 13 verses 8 to 14, Paul tells us that Christians should love their neighbors. Remember Romans, outline of Romans, I want to repeat this over and over again until we get it in our heads for good. You should remember this 15 to 20 years from the date that you have this course. Romans chapters 1 to 3 tell us that all are condemned. Romans chapters 4 to 8, Paul tells us that salvation comes only through faith in Jesus. Romans chapters 9 to 11, speak on God's dealings with Israel. Romans chapter 12 to 16, Paul begins to talk about how Christians should live. In Romans 12, we are to live consecrated lives, lives devoted to the Lord, lives of humble service, using our gifts for the glory of God, and lives of love. Romans 13 tells us to submit to the government and to love our neighbor and now that's what Paul's talking about in verses 8 to 14 of Romans 13. Christians should love their neighbors. Paul starts out in the first part of Romans 8 by telling us to owe nothing to anyone. Let's read the entire verse, verse 8. Owe nothing, Romans 13, verse 8. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. Paul tells us to owe nothing to anyone. Leave no debt unpaid except love. we should pay back what we have borrowed and we must recognize that we can never give enough love we deserve the flames of hell but because God loved us and Jesus died for us we are going to go to heaven so we can never give out enough love we need to recognize in the scriptures Christians are not forbidden to borrow money Exodus 22 Believers are not forbidden to borrow money. Exodus 22, verse 25. If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him. You shall not charge him interest. Now what we're saying is, a loan from one believer to another believer, you should not charge interest. Of course, this was when they were dealing with real money, it was before inflation. Right now, $100 one year might equal $112 next year. But the real value of the money should not be increased. And so, Christians are not forbidden to borrow money so long as we can pay it back on time. Still, to borrow without repaying is evil. Look at Psalm 37 verse 21. Psalm 37 verse 21 says, The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives. The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives. So to borrow without repaying is evil. That's why bankruptcy should not be an option for a Christian. However, there are two kinds of bankruptcy. If somehow, before a person was a believer, they got themselves into such a mess that they could never repay it, the only out, I would think, and it would have to be a last resort, would be to declare the type of bankruptcy where then you can begin to make payments that you can afford whether it's $50 a month or $100 a month or $400 a month but you continue to make payments to try to pay it back. The other kind of bankruptcy where the whole debt is removed and you don't ever have to pay it back at all that falls under the classification of wickedness in the scriptures so to borrow without repaying is evil and that type of bankruptcy should never a Christian should never make that choice because basically it violates an agreement Anytime you borrow, you're making a covenant or an agreement that you will repay and you're being dishonest. And we should also borrow only as a last resort. If we do have to borrow, make sure it's something we can repay and we should only borrow as a last resort. Look at what Proverbs 22 verse 7 reads, the rich rules over the poor and the borrower becomes the lender's slave. You want to get, you know, people are so happy that slavery is over. Well, it's not over. Everybody who owns a credit card, myself included, and keeps that baby maxed out is not working for himself as a slave of the one that he borrows from. Used to be when the Lucchese family used to give you a loan at 21% interest, they used to call that loan sharking. Nowadays, there's all kinds of loans you can get. Legal loans you can get at 21% interest, which is nothing but highway robbery. But Paul says, oh, nothing. Pay all your debts. but you can never repay the debt of love. So, let's look now at Romans 8, Romans 13, verses 8 to 10. Paul says, love your neighbor. Romans 13, 8 to 10. Oh, nothing to anyone except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, And if there is any other commandment that is summed up in this saying, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law. So Paul tells us to love our neighbor. One's obligation to love his neighbor can never be paid in full. The word for love is agape. It means godly, unconditional love. This love comes from God. 1 John 4.8 tells us that God is love. Now, in order to define, the best definition I've heard for agape unconditional love is that it unconditionally, by that I mean it doesn't demand that you be loved in return. You decide to love regardless of whether the person is going to return your love or not. But agape love unconditionally seeks the highest good for another. That doesn't mean doing whatever another person wishes. Doesn't mean if you love your child, you'll spoil your child a lot. And again, Tony Kampala once preached a message where he said that you can never express power and love simultaneously. Well, that just shows that Tony Kampala's got a warped view of God because God is all-powerful and God is love. And so in Matthew 23, Jesus is expressing love at the same time he's slamming the Pharisees. You can express power and love simultaneously. Ultimately, love is the most powerful thing in the universe because God is love. So, seeking the highest good for another, that's what love is. It doesn't mean doing what another wishes. Sometimes love confronts and opposes. hugs causes a parent to hug his or her child and at the same time it causes a parent to spank his or her child. You know, if you seek the greatest good for another, for your child, when your child is about to touch a hot stove, it's going to cause you to spank your child so that your child will never touch that hot stove again. Look at Matthew 23. Remember, God is love, and so since Jesus is God, Jesus is the fullness of love, all love comes from Jesus. We're not saying love is God, because love is an impersonal attribute. But God is love, in that God is the source of all love. But in Matthew 23, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, and since Jesus is God, Jesus is love. Verse 15 in Matthew 23, Jesus says, Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte, to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. That doesn't sound very loving. But since Jesus is love, that's what he needed to say to these Pharisees. And so, love, often confronts and opposes when it is needed to do so. Look at verses 24 to 28 of Matthew 23. Jesus is still talking to the Pharisees and he says this, You blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so, you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Now that doesn't sound like love in our watered down contemporary definition of love in this country. But love can mean anything. Love can mean sexual attraction, it can mean loving things like cars, It can mean being mushy and giving people whatever they want, spoiling your kids so they grow up and get the electric chair when they become murderers. But love often confronts and opposes. But love is not always spanks, sometimes love is hugs. Look at Matthew 23 verse 37, the same chapter, the same person is speaking Jesus. And Jesus says this, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. And so here Jesus expresses love, but love can be rejected. Forced love is rape. Jesus wasn't going to force his love on anyone. That's why I'm not a five-point Calvinist. And the Jews of Jerusalem rejected Christ's love. But love often hugs, but love often spanks when the time for confrontation and opposition is needed. Jesus sought the highest good for those that he spoke to, and that demanded that he confront those who were rejecting him for salvation. This is the kind of love. The love that unconditionally seeks the highest good for another. The agape, unconditional, godly love. This is the way we're to love our neighbor. Paul says in these verses, verses 8 to 10, that love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love does not take his wife, a neighbor's wife, or does not murder our neighbor. Love does not steal from him. It does not covet his property or envy him because of his property. If you're jealous of another Christian because they've got a theological textbook that you want, and so that you wish that you had it instead of that person, that's wrong. Now you may find that you need to get that book as well, but you should not covet his property. And so Paul says that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. We need to look back at Mark chapter 12. In fact, turn first to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. Now, let me say this. The Ten Commandments found in Exodus chapter 20, verses 1 to 17, that sums up the Old Testament law, okay? This is a summation. The Old Testament, the first five books of the Bible are filled with commands from God. Well, the Ten Commandments is a summary of all those other commands, okay? Then there's a passage in Deuteronomy which sums up these Ten Commandments. And Jesus quotes that passage from Deuteronomy in Mark chapter 12 as the summary of all of God's commands. So we'll look at that. little later, but in Exodus chapter 20 the Ten Commandments are given which sum up the Old Testament law. That reads in Exodus 20 verses 1 to 17, then God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them. He's not saying it's wrong to make statues or to make sculptures or to paint pictures, but it's wrong to make something like that and then worship it as symbolizing some type of God. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing loving kindness to thousands. to those who love me and keep my commandments. You should not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant, or your cattle, or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his aunt, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. This is the death law, the ten commandments. Now Christ summed up the law Remember now, the Ten Commandments sums up the whole Old Testament law, which is basically found in the first five books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch, the law of Moses, but even the Old Testament law goes throughout the whole entire Old Testament. So now Christ, we find in Mark chapter 12, even sums up the Ten Commandments, which sum up the whole Old Testament law. So let's take a look at Mark 12. Verses 29 to 31. In fact, look at the start of verse 28. Mark 12, 28 to 31. And one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that he had answered them well, asked them, What commandment is the foremost of all? Jesus answered, The foremost is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. And the second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Now, Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 and 5 and Leviticus 19 verse 18. So Jesus is not saying something new here. This was in the Old Testament law. So what I'm basically getting at is picture this. The Old Testament law was contained in the entire Old Testament. A summary of that was the first five books. A summary of that was the Ten Commandments. And a summary of that was love God with everything you got and love your neighbor as yourself. So Christ summed up the whole entire law with love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself. Now when you look at the Ten Commandments, which is a summary of the Old Testament law itself, the first four commands, and people break down the Ten Commandments in different ways, but this is the way I'm breaking it down, and I don't want to graze the test papers, so bear with me on this. But the first command, love God with all your being, sums up the first four commandments. of the Ten Commandments. Love God with all your being, that takes in worship God alone, make no idols, don't take God's name in vain, and keep the Sabbath day holy. That's summed up by love God. If you love God with all your being, you'll keep the spirit, not the letter necessarily, but the spirit of the first four commands. And Paul tells us that we need to keep the spirit of the law, not necessarily the letter of the law. The letter of the law, we're Basically, the laws were guidelines to get us to love God with everything we got and love our neighbor as ourselves. So that if you said, well, I'm going to let that man starve to death over there. I'm not going to give him the water and the food he needs to live because it's the Sabbath day. I want to keep the fourth day. That's not the spirit of the law. But the last six commands talk about loving your neighbor as yourself, honoring your father and mother, the command to not murder, the command to not commit adultery, the command to not steal, the command to not bear false witness against your neighbor, and the command to not covet your neighbor's property. These six commands are summed up in the statement, love your neighbor as yourself. So Christ summed up the law as love God with everything that you have and love your neighbor as yourself. Now by the way, you can't love the true God unless you know the true God. And you can't love him until, number one, you know who he is. And number two, He has regenerated you and given you the ability to love Him. In other words, you need to be born again before you can begin to love God with all your being, and then the natural outflow of that would be to love your neighbor as yourself. I think it's 1 John 4.21, Paul says, if you don't love your neighbor who you can see, your brother who you can see, then that's just evidence that you don't love God who you can't see. So loving your neighbor as yourself is the natural outgrowth of loving God with all your being. Paul assumes that believers love God, Romans 8.28. He refers to believers in Romans chapter 8. Verse 28 says, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. So he defines believers as those who love God. Ephesians 6.24 Paul also refers to believers as those who love God. Ephesians 6.24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible. In other words, true believers will never stop loving God. So Paul assumes that believers love God. Now he asks them to love their neighbors as themselves. Believers are eternally secure in Christ. Therefore, our eternal destiny has already been settled. So we don't serve others to keep ourselves saved or to get ourselves in heaven. That's already been settled by Christ. Therefore, the only motive for serving others is love. And we're going to talk about this a little later. We're going to talk about the full armor of God. And that's what this passage leads to here, but Paul tells us to love our neighbor as ourself and that love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. He tells us in verses 11 to 14, the remainder of Romans chapter 13, to live anticipating Christ's return, to live in the expectancy of Christ's return. Look at verse 11. And this do, knowing the time that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep, and now salvation is nearer to us than when we believe." What is Paul saying? When he says, this do, he's saying, you know, love your neighbor. He's repeating the command. This do, love your neighbor because it is already the hour. He's saying that Christ's return is inevitable. Maybe it's soon. You know, Paul didn't know the exact day or hour of our Lord's return, but he's saying, therefore, live lives of love. Believers should live lives of love, recognizing that Christ could return in their generation. He tells us to awaken from sleep. Now, the literal resurrection of believers will occur at Christ's second coming. Still, by God's grace, we can now live the resurrection life. In other words, Jesus rose us from our spiritual sleep and so now we can live godly lives even though the presence of sin is still with us and will not fully be removed until we are glorified when Christ returns. Now salvation that Paul talks about here, salvation can mean many things. It can mean deliverance from a trial. David used the word salvation in reference to being delivered from the hands of Saul and being delivered from the hands of some of his other enemies. But it can also mean justification, the moment you're first saved, the moment you first believe and you're declared righteous by God. But here it doesn't mean. This context is not referring to justification. It's referring to glorification, the moment when Jesus Christ returns for us the second coming of Christ, and when we're glorified, when the total presence of sin is removed and we receive our immortal bodies. Now verse 12, Paul says this, The night is almost gone and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. So the night is almost gone. What Paul is saying is that this sinful age is almost complete. Christ died for the sins of mankind, and now the next big event on God's calendar, He rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, the next big event on God's calendar is the return of Christ. When Paul says the day is at hand, he means Christ's return is near. near, not in the sense of time, but just that in God's chronology, a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day as 2 Peter 3 says, so we should be ready and anticipate the second coming of Christ. And therefore we are to lay aside the deeds of darkness, because the night, the present sinful age is almost complete. 2 Corinthians 5.17 tells us that if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. We are regenerated. The old you is dead. Therefore, we should put away the old man and no longer live opposed to God. We should no longer continue to live conformed to the world and this walking in the manner of this present sinful age. But instead, we should put on the armor of life, as Paul has said. We should put on the new man. Look at Colossians chapter 3. I know this is a long passage, but the whole passage actually deals with it. I don't think I'll read the whole passage. Colossians 3, verses 1 to 17. It starts, If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above. So again, he's using resurrection in symbolic terms. We've been wakened from our spiritual sleep. Keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ. Verse 5, Paul says, Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. He says in verse 7, and in them you also once walked when you were living in them, but now you also put them all aside, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abuse of speech from your mouth. He says that we should not lie to one another, lay aside the old self with his sinful practices, in verse 9. Verse 10, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him. He says in verse 12, and so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, same, put on the armor of light basically, put on the new self, put off the old self, the old you is dead, put on the new you, you're no longer a slave to sin, Romans 6, 17 and 18, now you're a slave to righteousness, act that way, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other, and he talks about put on love in verse 14 let the peace of Christ rule in your heart verse 15 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you in verse 16. So it's about singing praise songs and giving thanks to the Lord in verse 17. So there we're told to put away the old man and put on the new man. And so Paul tells us back in Romans 13, we are to put on the armor of light. Now I believe the armor of light is synonymous with the full armor of God. Ephesians 6 verses 10 to 18, Ephesians 6 verses 10 to 18. A lot of people pray on the full armor of God every morning. That's great, but it's not going to do you any good if you don't put on the full armor of God. Praying on the full armor of God is not necessarily putting on the full armor. It's something we have to do. Look at Ephesians 6, verses 10 to 18. Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, so the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, always being prepared to share the gospel message. In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, our only offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is God's Word. We need to be as grounded in God's Word, we need to know as much about God's Word as a Roman soldier knew how to handle his sword. Verse 18, with all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert, with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. So, putting on the armor of light is putting on the new man, and it's also putting on the full armor of God. Now, by the way, Remember the breastplate of righteousness in Ephesians 6, 10-18, where 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 7 and 8, Paul talks about the armor of God again. He says, for those who sleep, do their sleeping at night. Again, Paul's using the same analogy. We need to wake up from our sleep and be sober. For those who sleep, do their sleeping at night. And those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, we walk in the light of Christ, that is. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. Now the helmet, the hope of salvation, seems to be synonymous with the helmet of salvation before mentions in Ephesians 6. But there seems to be almost a contradiction here, the breastplate of faith and love, when it's the breastplate of righteousness that we need to put on in Ephesians 6. But actually, what is the biblical formula for righteousness? Well, number one, you have to get saved, but once you get saved, Romans 3.31, after saying that we're not saved by the works of the law, we're saved by trusting in Jesus for salvation. Romans 3.31, Paul says this, Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be, on the contrary, we establish or uphold the law. So we obey God's law through faith. Paul tells us in Romans 14 and verse 23, the last part of that verse, and whatever is not from faith is sin. So through faith we obey God's law. Romans 13.10, the passage we're in right now, it says, love does no wrong to a neighbor, love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. So through love. We obey God's law and we keep God's commands. Mark 12, verses 30 and 30, Jesus said, Love God with everything you've got and love your neighbor as yourself. That's the greatest commandment. You see, to obey God is not to have a relationship with God's laws. That was when we were under the law. What you need in order to obey God, you need to have a relationship with the law giver. You need to have a personal relationship with God, a personal faith and love relationship. In other words, We need to be motivated by our faith in Jesus, our trusting in Jesus for guidance, recognizing that when our opinions and his truths contradict each other, we need to trust that his truths are true and our opinions are false. But we need to have trust in Jesus, have a trusting relationship with Jesus, and a love relationship with Jesus. We love Jesus, so we obey him. Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. So righteousness, the breastplate of righteousness, is equivalent to the breastplate of faith and love, because righteousness is nothing other than faith and love in action. And it's a faith relationship with Jesus Christ, a trusting relationship with Him, and a love relationship with Him. That empowers us, through the dwelling power of the Holy Spirit, that empowers us to obey God's laws, now that we're believers. But we're told to put on the armor of life, to put away the old man, to put on the new man. And the armor of life is the full armor of God. Now, a little bit further, Paul's going to tell us exactly what the full armor of God is, exactly what the armor of light is. That's in verse 14. But let's take a look at verse 13 of Romans 13. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. So Paul says, behave properly as in the day. See, most crimes occur at night. because then it's harder to be seen, it's harder to get caught committing your crimes. So we should behave properly as in the day, recognizing that the light of Christ exposes our sins. Not carousing. The word has the idea of rioting. We shouldn't be rioters and start trouble and stir up violence among people. No drunkenness. This speaks of habitual intoxication. Now, Ephesians 5.18 tells us, And do not get drunk with wine, for this dissipation will be filled with the spirit. and who are commanded not to get intoxicated. No sexual promiscuity. This speaks of unrestricted sexual practice. God's plan for sex for mankind is one man and one woman for one lifetime. No sensuality. That's living to satisfy fleshly desires. Selfish living, living to please the self in areas of the flesh. No strife. This speaks of bitter competition with others, envying others and trying to outdo them. No jealousy. We are not to envy what others have. So we are to behave properly in the day and we are to do this by putting on, remember Paul said, put on the new man, put away the old man, put on the new man, put on the armor of life. We equated the armor of light with the full armor of God. Now Paul explains what that is in verse 14 when he tells us that the same context to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 14, the final verse in Romans chapter 13. but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust." So we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, Jesus Christ is the armor of life. Jesus Christ is the full armor of God. In fact, when you read in Isaiah, the full armor of God is mentioned there and it is spoken about as the armor of the Messiah. But Jesus is the armor of light, Jesus is the full armor of God, and therefore when Paul says to put on the new man, when he says to put on the armor of light, when he says to put on the full armor of God, he is telling us that we are to become more like Jesus. Christ's return will be fully transformed into Christ's image. The total presence of sin will be removed from us and we will glorify God to the fullest degree that we were created to glorify Him. So at Christ's return we will be fully transformed into Christ's image. Paul is saying we can now head in that direction. We should make no provision for our flesh, in other words, for our sinfulness. We should make no provision for our sinful lust, our sinful desires. Our goal as Christians should not be our own personal happiness or our own greed. Instead, we should desire to be more like Christ. And so Paul commands us. to lay aside the deeds of darkness, to put away the old man, and to put on the new man, put on the armor of light, the full armor of God, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are to become more like Jesus. In conclusion, in Romans 13, verses 8 to 14, Paul tells us we are to love one another, We are to love our neighbors as ourselves, and we are to look forward to Christ's return. Our goal should be to become more like Jesus each and every day, and we should not live to fulfill our sinful desires.