The legalistic Christian is perhaps more guilty than the Christians they judge. Because they lack love. In which the Bible says, if you have not love, you are nothing. That's pretty heavy. I want to be obedient.
but I never want to be smug. I want to please the Lord because I love Him, not because I'm afraid of Him. Because In all one's thinking, Love can become something that's an unpracticed doctrine. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Aston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville.
Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Romans. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio. specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Romans chapter 13 with this edition of Cross-Reference Radio. Romans chapter 13.
Verses 11 through 14. Romans thirteen. Beginning at verse 11. And do this. Knowing the time.
That Now it is high time to awake out of sleep. for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, The day is at hand, therefore let us cast off The works of darkness. and let us put on the armour of light, Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust. not in strife and envy, But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.
The Old Testament Jews They received many wake-up calls from their prophets. I like this note. in Jeremiah chapter 7 verse 25 God speaking through his prophet, Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt, until this day, I have even sent to you All my servants, the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them.
Well, that's stated in a few other places in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, for we Christians likewise, we receive wake-up calls. From our pastors. Using the scripture? We must heed Scripture and not allow ourselves to be choked out.
That's what Jesus said. He used the seed as a metaphor for the word. We all are familiar with the parable of the sower, the seed that fell on the past. Pathway was trampled down and didn't penetrate the soil, and Satan comes along and plucks up the seeds. Then there were the seeds that fell amongst those shallow hearts and could not take root.
They didn't last. Then some of the other seed fell among the thorns. And we hear this from Luke 8, verse 14.
Now, the ones that fell among the thorns are those. who when they have heard go out and are choked. with cares riches and pleasures of life. and bring no fruit to maturity. Of course the good seed fell on the good soil, and yielded fruit.
Overoccupation with something. whatever it is. Could be serving the Lord, career, whatever. Family. over occupation with something, like Martha.
Motha was serving. She wanted to pull her sister away. From the feet of the Lord, from the word of God, from the presence of Christ, to help her. She learned. But Jesus had to correct her, and he did so gently.
But overoccupation with something distances us from. Christian love And from holiness. It might not distance you from other kinds of love, but that agape love, the one that comes down from heaven.
So, as Paul has been teaching these Romans and in the last section we considered about How we Christians are to behave. As citizens still he shows a more excellent way. And it has to do with love. In verse 8. Romans 13 now.
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Well, the context is not finances. He's not talking about we cannot. Borrow Uh the scriptures loaded with covenants and borrowing.
So this does not forbid that. He's speaking of love itself. And though We are not to borrow if we know we can't pay back. That's a different thing, of course, but that's another sermon or another section of scripture. Here it is love, The thing that Satan hates most.
is love. He puts a lot of energy. And two Keeping love from Flowing, and our flesh makes it very easy for him to do this if we're not careful. Every sin every horrific crime, every disease, every blaspheme shouts out his hatred for love. God is love.
I asked myself, am I a Christian who owes love? Am I Am I Paying up. O no one except love Owe no one anything except love. Am I a loving Christian?
Well, that doesn't mean I give up firmness and truth, of course. Truth comes before love. Otherwise, what kind of love are you left with? Truth and love, the scripture teaches. We can do them both.
We're expected to do them both. Just like you need a head and a heart to live, you need truth and love to serve the Lord. And where either one of those two are diminished or taken away. The results won't be as The Lord would have them be. Many New Testament Christians are less loving and more judgmental and legalistic than many of the Old Testament righteous Jews.
Why is that? We should know more about love than the Old Testament servants, should we not? I don't know. David got it pretty good. He understood love, he had a passion for God.
even in the Old Testament. Love makes the conscience far more tender. Then the law. True law, of course, has love in it. You don't separate these.
Well, we do, and that's why we preach on them. That's why we talk about them, because our flesh will separate them. We'll become judgmental and self-righteous if we're not careful. Yet, we all have a false kind of love that begins to give permissions where it ought not to give them. Tolerance is where they should not be.
Because we love doesn't mean we A lawless? Certainly not. Quite the contrary, and that's what Paul's going to do, and that's why he's going to bring up the Ten Commandments in one moment. The legalistic Christian is perhaps more guilty than the Christians they judge. Because they lack love.
In which the Bible says, if you have not love, you are nothing. That's pretty heavy. I want to be obedient. but I never want to be smug. I want to please the Lord because I love him, not because I'm afraid of him.
Because In all one's thinking, Love can become something that's an unpractised doctrine. We know about it, we can write about it, we can preach on it. But we don't have it. It takes work. The apostles, the disciples of Christ, you know, teach us how to pray.
Increase our faith. Christ Really, just left them to work out their salvation. That doesn't mean earn their salvation, that means live it out. That's how you increase your faith. That's how you increase your love.
To say to God, Lord, can you help me love?
Well, that's fair. But you got your end of the responsibility too. If you just wait for God to do it, it's likely not going to happen. It is a fellowship with God. We have a fellowship with God.
Romans 1:9. Moses and Elisha If we look at their lives carefully, we'll see that there was love present in their ministries. Moses came to love those irritating people. Pretty soon on Wednesdays, we're coming up to the book of Numbers. We get to see Moses irritated.
By the people whom he loves. It's on one hand, it's satisfying, on the other hand, it's intimidating because there's no way to stop it. If you correct it in one generation or one period of ministry, it's going to circle back. In others and the latter. part of some other time.
Elisha He is the disciple of Elijah. Elisha treated the Syrians who came to assassinate him. with kindness and dignity. Of course he stopped the threat first. but he did not have them slaughtered.
So it's there. 1 Corinthians 10.11 now. All these things happen to them as examples. And they were written. For our admonition.
upon whom the end of the ages have come. These things are for us to do something with. How many lessons are wasted on us? The Christian keeps the commandments again, not because they are commandments of law, but because they are commandments of the Lord. Hmm.
We love. That's why we sing to him. Paul wrote to Philemon concerning Onesimus, the runaway slave, who now returned. And he wasn't insensitive to Philemon's losses. Although forgiveness involves loss.
And you forgive someone, many times you suffer a loss. But you make a spiritual gain. To forgive a debt. means that they didn't pay up. Your loss.
physically or materially, materialistically. But in to Philemon he said, If he, that's Onesimus, has wronged you, that's Philemon, or owes anything. Put that on my account. I'll pay for it. Poll likely never pay for it.
Not because he wouldn't. Because Philemon wouldn't let him. But just to have those words written in Scripture by God Himself through the stylus of one of His servants, if He has wronged you, owes you anything, I'll pay for it. Because I love Onesimus. I love you, Philemon.
The love of Christ in our hearts will serve us better than anything else we'll ever find anywhere else. When I say the love of Christ, I don't mean only the God Christ loving us. But we loving or He loving through us. Love is one of the easiest things to preach on. But it's a hard bike to ride.
Because we have to love those who don't like too. If we don't, the alternative becomes retaliation. How many times do I have to forgive my brother?
Well, a lot more than you're ready to. Unless you're in the spirit.
So in the first chapter, Paul in the first Chapter Romans 1:14, he says, I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. I could say it this way, I'm a debtor both to Greeks and savages.
Now the barbarians weren't all savages, they just were uncouth many of them but he was ready to love them all.
So, do these lessons register with us, or do we sidestep them for some man-made doctrine that we say is in the Bible? How many times has Good preaching is taking place. Do you hear concepts flying by? Truths flying by. Not being grasped.
Well It takes work. Is it pay attention? For the pastor, one thing that helps a pastor not be boring. is quoting scripture. At least you would think that, with believers, right?
Alright, he's telling me another story.
Okay, we heard this one. But then he quotes the scripture. It gets you back into it. Like I'm going to do right now. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Boy, that's beautiful. Poetic.
Now I gotta do it. All scripture. And at that time, This is late in Paul's ministry. Much of what we have as New Testament was written, but how much of it was yet considered Scripture? How many people just considered these things the writings of the saints?
Well, it includes the Old Testament. All scripture, all of it. It's given by God to man. and is profitable. It counts.
Life Life seems like a waste until you factor God into that and a good relationship with Him and the eternity that He promises. I have figured out life. At this stage in my life, I've figured it out. I just can't tame it. I know what it's about.
Okay, I got it. But I cannot tame it. And I'm called to serve nonetheless. I cannot opt out. I can, it's just not.
For me I don't want that to ever be a choice. Through Thick or thin, in season and out of season. May I serve the Lord. For he who loves Another has fulfilled the law. Love according to God in Christ.
Christ's love is not something we limit. Again. to people we like. And we can be very sneaky about that. We can still love those who fail.
We can love those who fail us. We can love Christians who or backsliding. We can love those who are easy to love. This is Christ's likeness.
Some have zeal for scripture. But their doctrine has not been tested 'cause they've not been around long enough. It could take 20, 30 years before some of your doctrine really gets to go eye to eye, hand to hand with Satan. And until that happens, you may only be shadow boxing. But you can look around, and you can see some of the more mature saints who have faced Satan.
And you can grow from you can learn by perception. And my point is, be careful. With your doctrine, that you do not become self-righteous, judgmental, and loveless in the name of Christ. And it happens, and it happens often, too often. Doctrine has to be tested.
What about weak Christians? What do you do with them?
Some throw them to the wolves mentally. I'm done with them. Others look to rescue them. Without compromising truth, without compromising obedience, without compromising scripture. That's what Paul meant when he said to the Galatians: You who are spiritual, restore such a one.
Lest you also fall into temptation that you can handle. That's what he means by that. Galatians 6:1. You who are spiritual.
Now, if I said raise your hand if you're spiritual. That means you have signed up to follow that verse. And I would hope all believers would raise their hand. Christ makes us spiritual. Love is the foundation of the law.
Love holds up the law. Otherwise, God is harassing us. That's why he's given us the law to protect us. You can look at the law of God as prison bars or a guardrail. Which will it be?
You can come across a Christian who has been struck down by Satan, and you can make it a crime scene, or you can break out the tourniquets and the bandaids and the splints or whatever else is needed. to bring that life back. Let's be very careful. About our Christianity, and when you're careful, that means you're paying attention, and that's what God wants from us and our faith. And it's so easy to start learning the Bible and learning new things, and you get careless like Martha.
Look, I'm serving. Yes, Martha, you are. But the most important thing is lacking from your service. And if you continue that way, you're going to burn out. You're not going to last.
Find the balance. It's there. It's called grace. In the ninth verse, He then lets them know that we are to owe love to one another, but this does not forfeit the commandments of God. For the commandments, he says in verse 9: you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet.
And if there is any other commandment All are summed up. in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Mark The law. You shall not, you shall not, you shall not, you shall not.
Some Christians live that way. All they do is go around. You shouldn't do that. You're not supposed to do that. Yeah.
on things that even Christ didn't put on us. But then he gets to the bottom of the verse. He says, You shall love. You shall love.
So the mark of you shall not is danger. And the mark of you shall is overcoming. All ten commandments are upheld in the New Testament except the Sabbath, because Christ is our rest. That's what Paul's talking about in the Hebrew letter. there is a rest for the people of God.
We've entered into that rest. And he was talking to the Jews who just were Confused about their identity. They wanted to believe that Christ was the Messiah, and yet they wanted to still go down to the temple and offer sacrifices. And Paul's saying, you can't do that. The Ten Commandments can be divided into two sections.
They should be divided because that's how they're given to us. The first section centers on our thoughts, our words, and our actions towards God. Don't go having any other gods. That's number one. Number two, don't go making any pictures of me either.
Number three, don't take my name in vain. And then he gets to the Sabbath, sorry, mother and father. But before I get to that, the second section. is centered also on actions, on thoughts, on words. Those are For centered on each other, for people.
So, the first part of the Ten Commandments is about serving God directly. The second part is about serving God as we Behave with others. The command to obey parents. It's sort of transitional. It's linked.
With our service to God and our service to man, because Ideally, parents represent to the child God's authority. And they were supposed to learn that. And be mindful of that. That's the commandment even Paul brings up in the New Testament. that comes with a promised blessing, though they all have their own blessings.
Both sections deal with, again, thought and words. and actions. The first commandment, the first two, a thought. No gods before me, no images. Don't even think about drawing something that looks like me.
The third with the word, Take not my name in vain. The fourth and the fifth deal with actions. And serving your mother and your father. Respect towards God is where this goes. Then the commandments turn to actions.
You're not supposed to murder. You're not supposed to commit adultery. You're not to steal. Thou shalt not do these things. Do not covet what does not belong to you but belongs to another.
Respect each other. Respect God, the first Part of the commandments. Respect each other. One flows out of the other, and you can't flip it around the other way. You can't put the people before God.
God comes first, and the outcome of that is love towards people. And John writes about that in his epistle. Don't go tell him you love the Lord and you hate your brother. And if any other commandment, all are summed up. Yeah, summed up in love.
The law of love sums up our serving God. The entire Bible is a commentary on the Ten Commandments. A SUMMARY OF MAN'S DUTY to God and his fellow man. This love must be learned. It's not natural.
You won't figure this kind of love out on your own. If you use Natural love, you're going to mess it up. And you can use natural love and call it agape love, but it's not. Peter, Simon Peter. Said to Jesus, if I Even if I have to die with you.
I will not deny you. And so said all the disciples. That's natural love. He meant well. It was noble of him.
It just fell short, and he did too, and so did the rest of them. They all fled. And so we look at that. We listen to Peter. And we say that was natural love.
He had to learn agape love. and the next time it came for him to suffer for Christ he suffered. until finally he died. For Christ. He learned what agape love is.
All of us are learning it. We don't want to lose any ground with it. We don't want to slip backwards.
So when you come to church, you come to hear from God. He may use a man to do that he often does. But you want to hear from God. I want to hear from God. I want to hear from God all the time.
It was almost like he says to me, all right, all right, stop it. I know you do. Doesn't work that way. We're just singing in the song, He gives and He takes away. See, we figured out life.
Just can't tame it. Can't make it do what we want to do. And so we have to be disciplined and show ourselves approved. workers unto God.
Well, coming back to this. In this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Well, we just got that in Leviticus. That's Leviticus 19:18. The mark of grace is you shall. This is what I want. That's what God is saying.
This is what your flesh wants. You shall not. Don't do that. This is what I want. I want you to love.
And so, our Lord, he condensed the Ten Commandments into two commandments.
Now, Micah, he makes a run at it. You shall, he has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you, but to live justly, love mercy, and walk confidently. calmly with your God.
Well, Christ comes along and says, I'll give you the Ten Commandments condensed into two. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. I like that one. Love your neighbor as yourself. Have you met my neighbor, Lord?
That one is not so easy. But we have no option out. Love God, love your neighbor as yourself. If you go long enough without love, you become a savage.
Okay. Thanks for joining us for today's teaching on Cross Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. We're currently going through the book of Romans. If you're in need of hearing this message again or want to listen to others like it, head over to crossreference radio.com.
We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast too, so you'll never miss another edition. Just go to your favorite podcast app to subscribe. On our website, you'll be able to learn a little more about the ministry of Cross-Reference Radio, so make a note of it: crossreference radio.com. That's all we have time for today, but thanks so much for listening. Pastor Rick will be back next time in the book of Romans here on Cross-Reference Radio.
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