Romans 13:8-10

Christian Living in the community (not the CG)

Last week we talked about Christian living in relation to our government. Today we are going to see what Paul has to say about how we should relate to those people we encounter every day.

Love Fulfills the Law

Romans 13:8-14

This is not a prohibition against a proper use of credit; it is an underscoring of a Christian's obligation to express divine love in all interpersonal relationships (from SonicLight.com)

Luke 10:25-37 The Good Samaritan

In light of both of these passages, who are some of the people in your life (actual people with names) that you would identify as your neighbor?

What have you seen another Christian do for someone lately that demonstrates the kind of love Paul is talking about in this passage in Romans?

What are some of the things that keep us from acting neighborly to others?

Matthew 5:42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. (Jesus)

Romans 13:1-7

 Government

Read Romans 13:1-7

This line of reasoning assumes God’s sovereignty. There are lots of ways that our government and other governments have acted in ways that are totally contrary to God’s design and principles.

What does Paul mean by the government being “established by God”?

God has "established" three institutions to control life in our dispensation: the family (Gen. 2:18-25), the civil government (Gen. 9:1-7), and the church (Acts 2). In each institution, there are authorities to whom we need to submit for God's will to go forward. In each of these institutions where there are good, capable leaders, and poor, broken, and even wrong leaders.

But in this case, Paul doesn’t qualify submission based on the individual’s judgement of how good the government is. He says be in subjection.

I’ve seen lots of different responses from Christians to our government. My former Pastor, Mike Huckabee left our church and became the governor of Arkansas and is running for the Presidency. I know many Christians who almost completely ignore the government, other than pretty much obeying the traffic laws.

 How would you describe your interactions or involvement with our government?

Does God’s sovereignty over the government give us a reason to just “go along” with everything that the government does? After all, He controls it all, right?

What does Paul tell us to do as US citizens in this passage? How should we engage our government?

Luke 4:5-8 

Mark 12:13-17 

1 Peter2 13-17