Moral and Spiritual Obligations

Owe no one anything, except to love each other.   Romans 13:8

Barring an unforeseen circumstance, it is sad to hear about those who claim to be Christians not paying their bills, being consistently late to work, or mistreating others at their job. Unfortunately, unbelievers may be quick to publicly report such things – it is certainly a bad testimony for the Christian. 

In Romans 12 and 13, the apostle Paul talks about the conduct of the follower of Christ. Both in the positive and the negative, Paul instructs believers in the way to live. Christians are to submit to authority (unless it goes against God’s Word), which includes paying taxes to whom taxes are due. Today’s verse moves to the individual’s duty to “owe no one anything.” Christians need to meet their commitments as a matter of spiritual and moral obligation. 

Loving your neighbor is as real an obligation as paying your debts and your taxes. Love in this sense is neither romantic, sentimental, nor sensual attraction. It is love that instills in you the desire to do what is right. You care about the impact your actions have upon others and recognize that keeping the Lord’s commands shows respect and honor to God and others as you live a disciplined life.

Loving your neighbor includes concern for their safety and security. Take action when someone is within your sphere of influence or if you are in a position to assist someone in need. Pray for wisdom and discernment for government leaders who are inundated with requests for help, that they may know what is expedient and prudent to do. 

Today’s Verse: Romans 13:8

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 

All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Recommended for further reading: Romans 13:1-2, 5-10

13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 

5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. 

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


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