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Romans chapters 12-16

4. THE TEMPLE OF GOD. 
GOD’S WILL is transformation, and we are exhorted.

romans CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

WHERE ARE WE IN THE PLAN OF “HOUSES”

OR “BUILDINGS” IN THE BOOK OF romans? :

 CHAPTER THIRTEEN IS IN THE  ABOVE SECTION

            “THE TEMPLE OF GOD”.  

God’s will for our transformation and Exhortation (or URGING towards a righteous life). This section includes all the chapters through chapters 12 to16. So use this TEMPLE OF GOD’S plan when you wonder what to do in your life. Go to it and get God’s instructions. Then when you find verses, which will instruct and guide, do a chain search for other Scriptures, which will give you further instruction on the subject. 

Take a test example:

You wonder if you should challenge your sister believer because she and her husband drink wine at the dinner table, but you do not – see Romans 14:15-20.  

Romans 14:15-20, "But if thy brother be grieved with [thy] meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.  Let not then your good be evil spoken of:  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.  For he that in these things serveth Christ [is] acceptable to God, and approved of men.  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.  For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed [are] pure; but [it is] evil for that man who eateth with offence. " 

Do a chain search on these verses. Get the idea of being “charitable” towards others. 

Romans thirteen:

This chapter has some most important directions in regard to our duties towards the GOVERNMENT and STATE MATTERS. Some Christians over-balance in this regard; some go too far to the left, some too far to the right! Some say we are “citizens of heaven” therefore we should not vote, or obey “ungodly” governments at all, and even some will refuse to protest about abortion, homosexual “rights” issues, the lowering of morality and standards in society etc – they are too heavenly minded to be any earthly good at all. Others, at the other end of the continuum, can push the opposite error. They say we should overthrow the political powers of our country, set up a “Christian” government, and take dominion in Christ’s Name. They are too earthly minded to be any heavenly good. Both are wrong, both are extreme.  

Despatch Booklet: “The Bible Christian and Politics” [pdf format] elaborates on the subject.

 What does GOD say, that is what matters: 

Romans 13 Verses 1-7:

“1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

6 For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” 

The Bible tells us not to LOVE the systems of the world, but we must be in subjection to the laws of the land. We must NOT be conformed to its patterns, but we must obey the State’s laws. This is both a separation from and a submission to the earthly rulers.  

(Titus 3:1; 
“ Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates,   to be ready to every good work,” 

1 Peter 2:13
“Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;”). 

Paul received awful treatment from the Roman Empire, but neither he nor any of the disciples saw their job as one of overthrowing the State and taking government “for Jesus Christ.” The Jews of the day often refused to obey the government, and they used a Bible text to prove their point (Deuteronomy 17:14, 15).

 "When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that [are] about me; Thou shalt in any wise set [him] king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: [one] from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which [is] not thy brother."

But, God had instituted human government under the Covenant with humanity, not religious or Godly government necessarily, after the Great Flood.  (Genesis 9).

 We must have order to avoid anarchy, and the chaos this would bring about.

(See Judges 17:6):

“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” 

We have to understand that we cannot just oppose the government of the land because it is not Christian! Jesus and disciples did not do this, neither should we. Paul does not deal here with what Christians are to do when the government is immoral, this question is answered in,

 Acts 5:29 
“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God   rather than men.” 

What is our duty to the government of the land, then? 

See Romans 13  verse 7:

“Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute [is due];
custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” 

TRIBUTE: (federal or local taxes) must be paid:

CUSTOM: here Willmington renders it “sales taxes” which would amount to GST etc.

 FEAR AND HONOUR:

God, Who can use even the unsaved leaders as law and order enforcers, allows the authorities to rule. We should show respect to the officers of the state law, policemen, the prime minister and so on. The rulings of the State legal system should be adhered to. If the time comes when we are forced to obey GOD rather than man, because of the decline of the secular government, then we do so because we cannot sin against God and do evil in His sight. Consider the government of Hitler, for an example. We, in that situation, would hide the Jews rather than obey the evil government. 

Romans 13 Verse 8:
“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 

DUTIES TO THE REST OF THE SECULAR SOCIETY. 

“Owe no man anything…”This does not mean that we should not owe money on house and cars, or enter into any time payment plans. It is a passage, which relates to society and our inaction with it. We owe debts to our society, which we must pay. The biggest debt we owe is to the unsaved, we come into contact with many people in society, we should pray for them and tell them the Good News of Christ – or support with prayer and giving those who work for the salvation of the lost.  

(Romans 1:14).
I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 

Romans 13 Verses 9-10:
"For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if [there be] any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love [is] the fulfilling of the law. " 

WHAT ELSE DO WE OWE SOCIETY? 

We owe the unsaved people around us LOVE! As we look at the long list of wrong doings we see an absence of LOVE. If we love someone we do not steal from them, take their husbands or wives away, we won’t lie about people that we love; or be jealous because they have a better car or house than we have. If we love people we certainly would not kill them and that means we must be very careful as we drive on the roads. Love does not work any ILL towards another person. We owe our society LOVE. THIS is the true fulfilling of the law, even in an ungodly society. How do we treat the people in the shops, the salesman at the door, the taxi driver, the postman? Are we able to mix freely with others who are unsaved, in community things, and be known as a kind and thoughtful human being? 

Romans 13 Verses 11-14:
11 And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed. 
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the worksof darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, 
not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, 
to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. 

WHY ARE WE TO LOVE AND PAY OUR DEBTS TO SOCIETY? 

These next verses tell us WHY GOD requires this deference to the unsaved in society. Because the “night” is almost over and the “day” is at hand. It is closer to the time when our pilgrimage on earth will be over than we can ever dream or think! Even if Jesus Christ does not Rapture us soon, life on earth is very short and whizzes past faster and faster. Soon our work on earth will be over, and what have hands got to show to the LORD? This earth is the only hell Christians will ever know, but this world is the only heaven that the unsaved will ever know! Soon the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings;

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.” 
(Malachi 4:1-3).

APPENDIX:

 EXTRACT “BEAUTY FOR ASHES” VOL. 4:3 

We all need to grasp fully that the work of Sanctification is GOD’S work, and we must completely co-operate. Perhaps I should rephrase that. We can only completely co-operate much of the time, some of the time we will find ourselves taking our lives back into our own hands! We should learn every day to trust Christ Jesus with our whole life, and to grow IN GRACE. Do a deep search of God’s Word and understand with Holy Spirit enlightenment what sanctification really is, let the Truth sink into your spirit – and co-operate as fully as you know how. Children can learn about this, use simple words that show God’s provision in Christ Jesus Who is our Life. Tell them about Jesus being able to make them good and pleasing to the Father. Don’t let them struggle to be good, tell them they can hand everything over to the Lord Jesus to make them lovely in God’s sight. Speak often to the children about trusting Jesus with all their worries and fears; teach them to depend on HIM as well as their parents. Let them know the comfort of a close and personal Friend Who will take away burdens and give them rest and peace. Even small children can suffer deep grief. A friend’s German Shepherd was recently struck by a car, her little boy was deeply grieved by the loss of that dog. He said, “Why did God let it happen?” That time of grief can bring the wise parent to a place where trust and yielding to God’s will can be taught, within the sadness. Jesus Himself can then be shown as the Friend Who loves and cares, the One Who handles things in a fallen world where death and sickness happen. 

LET US UNDERSTAND SANCTIFICATION.

Sanctification begins when a believer is first born again. This could be termed INITIAL Sanctification. It is POSITIONAL in that in Christ Jesus the believer is made holy and sanctified (put aside for Holy purposes) by God. This has all to do with Christ’s own righteousness, not our own. The theologians would say this stage is POSITIONAL and EXPERIMENTAL, OBJECTIVE and SUBJECTIVE.

The POSITIONAL sanctification of a born again one happens instantaneously when he/she accepts Christ as Saviour.

“Positional” and “experimental” are closely connected to Justification.

“Objective” and “subjective” is closely associated with Regeneration.

A sinner is “justified” or declared not guilty because of Christ Jesus bearing his punishment.

The believer is “regenerated” because he/she is justified by faith, and then receives new life inside - or is “regenerated.” 

Read these Bible verses carefully:

1 Cor. 6:11; Heb. 10:10,14; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:2. 

 Sanctification continues right through the believer’s life on earth.

This is called by theologians PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION. 

It is process of growing IN GRACE, which happens all BY Grace, not of works lest any man should boast.

See 11 Pet. 3:18; 11 Cor. 3:18; 7:1. 

The Sanctification of the believer will be completed at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not until then can we hope to have entire sanctification – then we will be sanctified wholly. Our body, soul and spirit are all involved.

1 Thess. 3:12,13; 5:23; 1 John 3:2; Phil.3:20,21. 

Sanctification involves the work of the WHOLE TRINITY!

 GOD THE FATHER:

John 17:17; 1 Thess. 5:23,24. God, the Father of peace, has called us to sanctification, and HE will accomplish it. He is shown as doing this work both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is His goal always to make the repentant sinner holy and righteous - the sinner who became lost and spoiled by SIN.

Lev. 20:8; 21:15, 23; Jude 1. Most of the book of Leviticus is devoted to the subject of God’s sanctifying work.

 GOD THE SON:

He purchased the Church with His own blood. God appointed Him to be the sanctifier of His Blood-bought people. 1 Cor. 1:30.

He has positionally sanctified all believers by His blood and by His name:

Heb. 2:11; Eph. 5:25,26.

As Bancroft said in “Christian Theology” –

“He, Himself, is the great wall of separation for the Christian.”

 GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT:

He is the God-provided workman to do the great work of sanctification: 1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 15:16; 11 Thess 2:13. Jesus Christ purchased the Church with His own blood, and He now is seated at the right hand of God. But He has come to dwell inside the believer to be, through the Holy Spirit, the subduer of sin and to produce the holy fruits of sanctification.

 THE GOAL OF GOD SHOULD BE OUR GOAL TOO!

His aim is to conform us to the image of His righteous and pure Son. To transform us! Our job is to use the agencies which God has given which will aid this mighty goal:

 ·         We should have a faith that TAKES what is offered freely. Acts 15:9; 26:18; 1 Cor. 1:30.

·         We must realise what God’s Word is. A Word that gives life! We must study the Scriptures and be in subjection to God’s will. John 17:17; Eph. 5:26; John 15:3.

·         We must personally turn from sins and allow God to make us holy. We must pursue holiness of life, in God’s enabling. Rom. 6:19; 11 Cor. 7:1; 1 Cor. 11:18; 31; Heb. 12:14.

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