Throughout July, we have explored the Christian’s relationship with the governing authorities that God puts in our lives.

• The founders of our nation recognized that an exceptional nation can be built by those who are virtuous, or to put it another way, those who are governed by a higher authority.
• We will always worship something, but worshipping anything or anyone else besides God is a form of harm. Idolatry is mutually assured destruction. False worship destroys us and the object of worship.
• Paul was familiar with paying taxes. But no matter how exorbitant the taxes were in Paul’s day, there was still a limitation because we will never owe a greater debt to the state than we owe to God.
• For Paul, he comes back again to the starting point that he has mentioned before: love. Read Romans 13:8-10.

Romans 13:8 | Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

• “Owe no one anything” >> The tense of Paul’s command to owe (nothing) is present imperative which when coupled with the negative Greek particle forbids the continuance of an

already going on. That is, do not continue owing a person. Stop being in debt. Pay your debts.

• Does this forbid Christians from borrowing

or having any kind of earthly debt?

// Debt is a responsibility that demands repayment >> Proverbs 22:7 | The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
// Basically, the first part of this verse means “Pay your bills on time.” The admonition here is not to get into arrears (overdue accounts).
// Henry Morris >> The Christian should pay his debts on time. This does not preclude his borrowing money or using charge accounts, as long as he fulfills the terms of the loan on time.
// Matthew Henry >> Christians must avoid useless expense, and be careful not to contract any debts they have not the power to discharge.

• “except to love each other” >> Paul’s idea is that Christians are

in debt…the debt of love.
• Love = agape; means to love

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and sacrificially as God Himself loves sinful men (John 3:16), the way He loves the Son (John 3:35, 15:9, 17:23, 24). This verb as used in the Scripture (and here by Jesus) expresses the purest, noblest form of love, which is volitional (personal choice), is not motivated by the recipient’s superficial appearance, by one’s emotional attraction, or by a sentimental relationship.
• We have a singular

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…love. At every point, we should have a vertical purpose: do all to the glory of God. We should also have a concurrent horizontal purpose: to love people. Can you say in all your actions: I do what I do because I love people?
• For a Christian whose Lord commands love and holds our reward, love is the most valuable

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that we can make. It never loses value. It is never out of place. It never fails.
• “for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” >> Matthew 22:36-40 | “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

John 13:35 | By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

• Who am I willing to

for in order to please them?
• Do I have malice,

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, or hatred towards anyone? Who have I “written off” as unreachable?
• Who do I feel is “

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” me?
• Do I serve to the point of discomfort or

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?
• How much do my

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towards someone affect my interaction with them?
• Are you willing to pray this prayer: “God, help me love them”