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Texts -- Romans 13:3-14 (NET)

Context
13:3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad ). Do you desire not to fear authority ? Do good and you will receive its commendation , 13:4 for it is God’s servant for your good . But if you do wrong , be in fear , for it does not bear the sword in vain . It is God’s servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer . 13:5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection , not only because of the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience . 13:6 For this reason you also pay taxes , for the authorities are God’s servants devoted to governing . 13:7 Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due , revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
Exhortation to Love Neighbors
13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another , for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law . 13:9 For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery , do not murder , do not steal , do not covet ,” (and if there is any other commandment ) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself .” 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor . Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law .
Motivation to Godly Conduct
13:11 And do this because we know the time , that it is already the hour for us to awake from sleep , for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers . 13:12 The night has advanced toward dawn ; the day is near . So then we must lay aside the works of darkness , and put on the weapons of light . 13:13 Let us live decently as in the daytime , not in carousing and drunkenness , not in sexual immorality and sensuality , not in discord and jealousy . 13:14 Instead , put on the Lord Jesus Christ , and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires .

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  • [Rom 13:11] We Are Nearing
  • [Rom 13:12] Get Ready To Welcome The King!
  • [Rom 13:12] Night Is Far Spent, The

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Sermon Illustrations

God-Ordained Authorities; Two Soldiers; Romans 13:1-7; God-Ordained Authorities; Quotes from A Christian Manifesto; Guidelines for Workers and Those Under Authority; Guidelines for Managers and Others in Authority; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Yield Not to Temptation; Romans 6; Believer’s Warfare; Peter’s Fall; Salvation in Three Tenses; Human Government

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Emphasis shifts in this chapter from ceremonial defilement (ch. 17) to moral impurity. The Lord wanted His people to be holy in their behavior and character as well as in less important ritual observances (cf. Matt. 23:28; Ro...
  • This is another narrative section of Leviticus (cf. chs. 8-10). Its position in the book must mean that it took place after God had given Moses the instructions about the holy lamps and showbread (24:1-9). This fact underline...
  • Stealing means taking something that belongs to another person from him or her against that person's will. Theft violates property as adultery violates marriage and the family.Frequently what one steals is some material posse...
  • Moses recognized that when Israel settled in Canaan and took on the characteristics of other nations (e.g., a homeland, political organization, etc.) her people would desire a king. As he revealed the mind of God here a king ...
  • As was true in the chapter 10-15 section, this one (16:1-22:16) also becomes more difficult to outline as it ends because there are fewer groupings of proverbs.19:7 The first part of this verse is hyperbole (overstatement to ...
  • 23:13-14 The sage again advocated discipline. Beating with a rod is not the only form of discipline advocated in Proverbs. It is simply one form used here as a poetic parallel to discipline (Heb. musar, moral correction). Oth...
  • The last major section of Isaiah deals with the necessity of living out the righteousness of God (cf. Rom. 12-16). These chapters emphasize what the characteristics of the servants of the Lord should be. Again, the focus is o...
  • The dialogue continued in the temple courtyard. Israel's leaders proceeded to confront Jesus three times attempting to show that He was no better than any other rabbi. Jesus responded with great wisdom, silenced His accusers ...
  • 12:13 Sanhedrin members took the initiative in sending the Pharisees and Herodians. They united against Jesus, whom they perceived as a common threat, even though they disagreed politically. They asked Jesus about a political...
  • Matthew recorded much more of what Jesus taught the disciples following His statement in verse 32 than Mark or Luke did. They just included the essence of His exhortation to be vigilant.13:33 For the fourth time, Jesus urged ...
  • Luke showed how the religious leaders' antagonism was intensifying against Jesus. This was another attempt to discredit Him (cf. vv. 1-8). Luke may have included it also because it shows that Jesus did not teach hostility tow...
  • Luke concluded his account of the Olivet Discourse with Jesus' exhortation to remain ready for what He had predicted. Jesus' words presupposed an interval before His coming, but He allowed that His coming might occur in the l...
  • 4:13-14 The Sanhedrin observed in Peter and John what they had seen in Jesus, namely courage to speak boldly and authoritatively without formal training (cf. Matt. 7:28-29; Mark 1:22; Luke 20:19-26; John 7:15). They may also ...
  • "Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders is the nearest approximation to the Pauline letters in Acts. Its general content recalls how in his letters Paul encouraged, warned, and exhorted his converts. Moreover, its the...
  • "The irregular structure of Luke's account of Paul's defense before the Sanhedrin evidently reflects the tumultuous character of the session itself. Three matters pertaining to Luke's apologetic purpose come to the fore: (1) ...
  • I. Introduction 1:1-17A. Salutation 1:1-71. The writer 1:12. The subject of the epistle 1:2-53. The original recipients 1:6-7B. Purpose 1:8-15C. Theme 1:16-17II. The need for God's righteousness 1:18-3:20A. The need of all pe...
  • Paul's original readers would have had another question because of what he had written in chapters 1-4. Is this method of justification safe? Since it is by faith, it seems quite unsure. Paul next gave evidence that this meth...
  • 8:12 Because of what God has done for us (vv. 1-11), believers have an obligation to respond appropriately. However we can only do so with the Spirit's help. Paul stated only the negative side of our responsibility here. He c...
  • In contrasting chapters 1-11 with chapters 12-16 of Romans, perhaps the most important distinction is that the first part deals primarily with God's actions for humanity, and the last part deals with people's actions in respo...
  • This chapter broadens the Christian's sphere of responsibility by extending it to include the civil government under which he or she lives. Romans 13 is the premier New Testament passage that explains the believer's civil res...
  • Paul passed from a loosely connected series of exhortations in 12:9-21 to a well-organized argument about a single subject in 13:1-7."Forbidding the Christian from taking vengeance and allowing God to exercise this right in t...
  • Paul had previously glorified the importance of love among believers (12:9-10). Now he urged this attitude toward all people though unbelievers are primarily in view in this chapter. The connecting link in the argument is our...
  • Paul's thought moved from identifying responsibilities to urging their practice. What lies before us as Christians provides essential motivation for doing so.13:11 "This"refers to the duties urged earlier, not only in this ch...
  • Paul moved on to discuss a problem that arises as the dedicated Christian seeks to live within God's will in the body of Christ (12:3-21) and in the body politic (ch. 13). As Christians the 613 specific commands of the Mosaic...
  • This section concludes Paul's instructions concerning the importance of accepting one another as Christians that he began in 14:1. In this section the apostle charged both the strong and the weak.15:7 "Accept"repeats Paul's o...
  • In this first sub-section, which is transitional, Paul's intention was to convince the Corinthians that his recent actions arose from sincere motives.1:12 He first claimed generally that his actions did not arise from the mot...
  • The New Testament reveals that Paul was actively collecting money for "the poor among the saints in Jerusalem"(Rom. 15:26) for about five years (52-57 A.D.). He solicited funds from the Christians in Galatia (Acts 18:23; 1 Co...
  • Paul urged his readers to live unbound to the Law of Moses (5:1-12). He also warned them against using their liberty as a license to sin to prevent them from overreacting."The theme of love . . . informs all of Paul's exhorta...
  • Things like these (similar violations of God's moral will)"The common feature in this catalogue of vices seems to reside not in the precise ways in which these fifteen items manifest themselves but in the self-centeredness or...
  • The apostle proceeded to express his sincere gratitude to God for his friends in Philippi. He did this to assure them of God's continuing working for them and his satisfaction with their partnership in the work of the gospel....
  • 2:1-2 Paul introduced his teaching by urging his readers not to be shaken from their adherence to the truth he had taught them by what they were hearing from others. The issue centered on Paul's instructions concerning the Ra...
  • This section of the letter clarifies what it means to function obediently as God's people in a hostile world. It contains one of the tables of household duties in the New Testament (2:13-3:7; cf. Eph. 5:21-6:9; Col. 3:18-4:1)...
  • Peter continued to give directions concerning how the Christian should conduct himself or herself when dealing with the state since his readers faced suffering from this source.2:13-14 The Christian's relationship to the stat...
  • Since Jesus Christ has gained the victory, Peter urged his readers to rededicate themselves to God's will as long as they might live. He wanted to strengthen their resolve to continue to persevere. He resumed here the exhorta...
  • To prepare his readers to meet the Lord soon Peter urged them to make the best use of their time now that they understood what he had written about suffering.4:7 Like the other apostles Peter believed the return of Jesus Chri...
  • v. 10 The things the false teachers did not understand but reviled probably refer to aspects of God's revealed will that they chose to reject (cf. 1 Cor. 2:7-16)."Jude, like his brother James, denounces the sins of the tongue...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work.'--John 9:4.The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the ...
  • Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou ...
  • Romans 13:8-10 set forth the obligation of a love which embraces all men, and comprehends all duties to them. The Apostle has just been laying down the general exhortation, Pay every man his due,' and applying it especially t...
  • The great stimulus to love and to all purity is set forth as being the near approach of the day (Romans 13:11-14). The day,' in Paul's writing, has usually the sense of the great day of the Lord's return, and may have that me...
  • Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.'--Romans 13:11.THERE is no doubt, I suppose, that the Apostle, in common with the whole of the early Church, entertained more or less consistently the expectation of living t...
  • Let us put on the armour of light.'--Romans 13:12.IT is interesting to notice that the metaphor of the Christian armour occurs in Paul's letters throughout his whole course. It first appears, in a very rudimentary form, in th...
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