This document discusses the concept of love according to Romans 13:8-14. It summarizes that love fulfills the law, and that Christians should love their neighbors as themselves. It also discusses behaving appropriately as children of light by avoiding wild parties, drunkenness, and immorality, and instead putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. The document provides commentary from Robert Jewett on how these concepts were understood in the context of the early Christian church.

1. A Prayer for the People of God
Holy God,
you call us to righteousness and light.
Teach us the undivided law of love,
that we may love your children even as you do,
love you with all our will and strength,
and find our freedom in this blessed service,
taught to us in word and deed
by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

2. Romans 13:8-14
The SPECIFICS of LOVE : Part II

3. Don’t owe anything to anyone, except
the debt of mutual love. If you love your
neighbor, you see, you have fulfilled the
law. Commandments like “don’t commit
adultery, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t
covet”—
and any other commandment—
are summed up in this: “Love your
neighbor as yourself.” Love does
no wrong to its neighbor; so love
ROMANS 13:8-10 (KNT)

4. It is not some theology of love or law
that fulfills the divine intent, but love
as practiced among members of small church
groups, with particular reference (here) to
their extension of hospitality
to “the other,” to members of other groups
whose orientation and background may differ
substantially.
ROBERT JEWETT

5. This is all the more important because
you know what time it is. The hour
has come for you to wake up from sleep.
Our salvation, you see, is nearer now
than it was when first we came to faith.
The night is nearly over; the day is almost
here. So let’s put off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light.
ROMANS 13:11-12 (KNT)

6. The “weak” and the “strong” are fighting over
different views of the law. Each side was
claiming, in effect, that their version of the
law was the only correct one, and other
versions were damned…The vision of holy
war (see: “armor of light”) is completely
altered by the context
of the love feast. Here enemies are welcomed
to the Lord’s table where they are
transformed rather than annihilated.
ROBERT JEWETT

7. Let’s behave appropriately,
as in the daytime: not in
wild parties and drunkenness,
not in orgies and shameless immorality,
not in bad temper and jealousy.
Instead, put on the Lord Jesus,
the Messiah, and don’t make
any allowance for the flesh
and its lusts.
ROMANS 13:13-14 (KNT)

8. 1. ”Wild parties and drunkenness” are
especially difficult to deal with when done
in the context of the love feast
2. “Orgies and shameless immorality” deal
with Greco-Roman sexual excess
3. “Bad temper and jealousy” are specifically
about partisanship
4. These are “marks of the old age
of darkness that the new form of Christian
decency should avoid”
ROBERT JEWETT

9. Sin isn’t about offending God’s gentle
sensibilities, its about God’s heart
for substantive peace, wisdom,
and restored relationship
• This is true about our money
• This is true about our bodies
• This is true about our siblings
KEEP “SIN” IN PERSPECTIVE

10. 1. Are you willing to at least TRY to
love your fellow Christian who sees
things differently than you do?
SOME REFLECTION QUESTIONS

11. 1. Are you willing to at least TRY to
love your fellow Christian who sees
things differently than you do?
2. Are you willing to give up (or seriously
constrain/alter) your life on social
media over the next three months
as an expression of love?
SOME REFLECTION QUESTIONS

12. 1. Are you willing to at least TRY to
love your fellow Christian who sees
things differently than you do?
2. Are you willing to give up (or seriously
constrain/alter) your life on social
media over the next three months
as an expression of love?
3. Based on what you believe about
the future, how are you willing to
adjust the way you live in the present?
SOME REFLECTION QUESTIONS

13. Closing Prayer
God among us,
we gather in the name of your Son
to learn love for one another.
Turn our feet from evil paths,
our hands from shameful deeds,
our minds to your wisdom,
and our hearts to your grace.
Amen.