Walk As In The Daytime

Text: Romans 13.8-14

The end of the year and the start of another is a time when a lot of people review their priorities in life. We call it a New Year’s resolution when someone decides to change something in or about their life in the new calendar year. Usually, they have to do with adding or subtracting from life. Someone wants to lose weight, another to eat more vegetables. One wants to spend less time on their phone, another more time with family. Often, these things are combined. It’s common for us Christians to resolve to read the Scriptures, pray, and go to the worship service more in the new year. Today, St. Paul – or, rather, the Holy Spirit through St. Paul – invites us to love more.

Here in the Church, we have ended one year already and are starting a new one. We heard the account of our Lord’s triumphal entry today to be reminded that our Lord comes to us anew this year in His Word and beneath the humble forms of bread and wine. We are also reminded that the same Lord who came once in humility will come again in glory. He came once to secure our salvation, He will come again to judge the living and the dead. The time between these two things is growing ever shorter. It will not be long before the goats are separated from the sheep. In this in-between time, how shall we wait and conduct ourselves? By making no provision for the flesh but being clothed fully in Christ, St. Paul says. Today he encourages us: since the Day is at hand, let us learn to love.

I.

We have to say this because we live in a world, in a society, that has a different definition of love than what the Bible means. Since we live in the world, it has even infiltrated our hearts to an extent – we, who have been redeemed by Christ the Crucified. When the world defines love, it more or less means: being allowed by others to do whatever pleases you and, in turn, allowing others to do whatever it is that pleases them. As of late, when the world speaks of loving behavior, it means affirming and celebrating whatever pleases our neighbor’s flesh. Ultimately, the world’s definition of love is, first, a love of self. That is a term you can hear all over, self-love. We should prefer the old word for such a mindset, selfish.

In contrast, when the Bible speaks of love, such as in our text when St. Paul says, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law,” it means something else. (Romans 13.10 ESV) This love, of which the Bible speaks, is primarily a sacrifice of self. Its model is, of course, the love of God toward us in Christ. When God called upon Abraham to sacrifice his only son, it foreshadowed the completed sacrifice of the only-begotten Son of God on the cross. We’ve all learned this when we first memorized John 3.16, “For God so loved the world…” A more accurate translation would be, “In this way, God loved the world,” that He gave His Son into death for us. The love which we have received and to which we are called in Christ is not the love of ourselves but of God and our neighbors. It is self-sacrificial love that genuinely seeks the good of another above our own.

This is the aim of all the Commandments. St. Paul lists, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet.” (9) They can all be summed up, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (9) Adultery is the love of self because it seeks the pleasures of the flesh apart from the obligations to spouse and children. Murder, too, is the love of self because it places one’s feelings above the life of another person. Stealing and coveting both place one’s desires above neighbor and even God. Stealing and coveting imply that God has failed in His care for us. St. Paul says that the time has come to put these things away. 

II.

In his words:

You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Romans 13.11-12

He reassures both his original hearers and us with these words. It is true, salvation is nearer to us now. Every day that the Lord grants us to live on this earth is a day closer to His return. The night of sin is ending and soon the day will come. Although the world is filled with scoffers who doubt and deny our Lord’s coming and, although every day more Christians join their ranks, St. Paul calls us to faithfulness because the Lord will come.

Therefore, he says, “Make no provision for the flesh,” “but put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (14) We might recognize this as baptismal language. Through the Fall into Sin, we were all conceived and born corrupted by sin. Our thoughts and desires were all turned inward and we had no hope in, no trust in, or love for God. But that was all washed away. When we were baptized, our sins were forgiven. As with the high priest Joshua in the Old Testament, our filthy clothes were taken away and we received the pure white vestments of Christ. When we were washed with the water and the Word, we were clothed in Christ’s righteousness that has covered our sins. We also received in Baptism the gift of faith and the Holy Spirit. Through faith, the Holy Spirit produces in our hearts new desires. Now, through our Baptism, we have learned to love God and to love our neighbor. We love God’s Word and want to do what He commands. 

Since we live in the flesh, though, we will continue to struggle with temptation. Although the spirit is willing, our flesh is often weak and gives into temptation. As an aid against this, St. Paul offers us positive advice. He says, “The one who loves another has fulfilled the Law.” (8) When we sin, we end up with a harmed conscience. We are afraid of God’s wrath and the punishment we’ve deserved. Therefore, we confess our sins and God is faithful and just to forgive us. If we would like to continue in the forgiveness we’ve received with a good and peaceful conscience, St. Paul encourages us to love. 

He does not mean that our loving fulfills the Law as if the Law would then be completed. He means, that when we – mindful of the love and forgiveness we have received in Christ – love our neighbor more than ourselves, we are living as God has called us to. It is the whole point of the Commandments. God gave them to us to show us our sins and, after we have been forgiven, to guide us in righteous living. To that end, He has given us the Holy Spirit so that we do keep the Law.

After our Lord was baptized in the Jordan by John, His ministry began in full. At times, people came to Jesus and His disciples would baptize them. Over time, the balance shifted as more people came to Jesus than to John. John’s disciples came to him once and pointed this out – that Jesus was gaining a following larger than his own. John said, “[My joy] is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3.29-30) Isn’t that the point? At this beginning of a new church year, let us hear St. Paul’s (and John’s) encouragement. The night is far gone and the day is at hand. Let us, therefore, resolve in this new year to love our God and neighbor more than ourselves. Amen.