Day: June 8, 2026

“Where Romans Lands” Summer Intensive with N.T. Wright was organized by Admirato.org.

Romans 13:8-14

⁸ Don’t owe anything to anyone, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your neighbor, you see, you have fulfilled the law. ⁹ 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.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to its neighbor; so love is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹ 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. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Instead, put on the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and don’t make any allowance for the flesh and its lusts.

Love, the law and the coming day

We should avoid assuming we know all that this means because it sounds so familiar. There are so many connections to other passages and hidden depths.

The key is learning how to navigate being “now and not yet people.” There is a danger that we shrink Christian ethics down to a set of rules to keep. “Christian ethics” isn’t even the best phrase. It is about learning to live between the times – between the fulfillment of Torah in Jesus and the coming fully realized Kingdom of Jesus – the new heaven and new earth! All Christian living is eschatological!

Paul is not simply theorizing about how a Christian community should live out their faith.

“Don’t owe anyone anything except love.” It’s much easier to get into debt than it is to get out of debt! Christian community should have a reputation for being honest and reliable, paying bills on time, erring on the side of generosity rather than stinginess. We want the world to see us and say to themselves: “They may have odd beliefs, but they are good people.”

This also means that anytime we meet someone, we already in debt to them. We owe them love!
The love of God should overflow from our lives into our church family where we practice loving others and then bubble over to all of our neighbors, friends, and co-workers!

“We are not justified by the law but by Jesus Christ” from earlier in Romans 3:20 was a reminder that the Kingdom is for all – not just the Jewish people. Throughout the letter, Paul is emphasizing the true family of Abraham are those who follow Jesus. “If you love your neighbor, you have fulfilled Torah” continues in that line of thinking.

Romans 8:3 – The Torah was working on the corrupt human – helping them become good neighbors.

Mount Sinai was not a list rules for the people of Israel to try to live up to in order to be redeemed. They were already redeemed and rescued out of slavery! The law was about how to live as redeemed people!

In the New Kingdom, the love of Jesus followers for each other and for their neighbors means they are fulfilling the Torah! Paul is trying to make sure the Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus all realize that they are all in the same family and not better than the others because of their relationship with the Torah.

Paul is laying the groundwork for his argument in Romans 14-15. In those two chapters, the Torah is hiding underneath even though it is never mentioned.

Why does Paul only mention these commandments “don’t commit adultery, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t covet” and not the ones on worhsipping God? He has been writing about true worship from the beginning of the letter!

The Sabbath is not mentioned either. Why not? Because Jesus broke the religious leaders’ rules on the Sabbath? No! Because He is the source of true Sabbath and rest!

A sunrise is coming, and we are to be part of that sunrise! We are daytime people in a nighttime world! Now that Jesus is reigning over the Kingdom of God, He can come back at any time! (Paul did not think Jesus was coming back within a generation. That is a misreading of 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

“Our salvation” means we are rescued from death! We will be resurrected too! (This does not mean our soul will go up to heaven and all things will come to an end as Western Christianity seems to indicate).

Rather than “works of darkness” which are the ways of this present evil age, we need to put on the “armor of light” – a shorthand for Ephesians 6. (The one offensive weapon is the word of God. The other parts of the armor are defensive). Our world’s default is towards the works of darkness. The world presses us down to a semi-human state.

The works of darkness are listed in Romans 13 and in Colossians 3 and in many other sections of Paul’s letters. These aren’t exhaustive lists of all acts of evil. In this letter, Paul focuses on experiences with corporate immorality which are a parody of genuine celebration and violent anger and jealousy.

All the followers of Jesus are clothed with the righteousness of Jesus when they enter into His Kingdom. At the same time, every day, we need to recommit to “putting on the Messiah” in order to avoid giving in to the temptations of the world.

Romans 13:14 uses the word translated as “allowance” which means “thinking ahead.” We should renew our minds and not entertain any darkness in our thoughts.

“Where Romans Lands” Summer Intensive with N.T. Wright was organized by Admirato.org.

Romans 12:17-13:7

¹⁷ Never repay anyone evil for evil; think through what will seem good to everyone who is watching. ¹⁸ If it’s possible, as far as you can, live at peace with all people. ¹⁹ Don’t take revenge, my dear people, but allow God’s anger room to work. The Bible says, after all, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ No: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. If you do this, you will pile up burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Don’t let evil conquer you. Rather, conquer evil with good.

The divine purpose, and limited role, of ruling authorities

13 Every person must be subject to the ruling authorities. There is no authority, you see, except from God, and those that exist have been put in place by God. ² As a result, anyone who rebels against authority is resisting what God has set up, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers hold no terrors for people who do good, but only for people who do evil.

If you want to have no fear of the ruling power, do what is good, and it will praise you. ⁴ It is God’s servant, you see, for you and your good. But if you do evil, be afraid; the sword it carries is no empty gesture. It is God’s servant, you see: an agent of justice to bring his anger on evildoers. ⁵ That is why it is necessary to submit, not only to avoid punishment but because of conscience.

⁶ That, too, is why you pay taxes. The officials in question are God’s ministers, attending to this very thing. ⁷ So pay each of them what is owed: tribute to those who collect it, revenue to those who collect it. Respect those who should be respected. Honor the people one ought to honor.

People of peace in a world of violence.

Paul wants the Church to be a counter cultural community embracing the way of kindness, love, and welcoming strangers, and so on.

The challenge of living as a Gospel community requires knowing how to face injustice.

Overcoming evil with good is incredibly counter cultural! Even the Maccabees and many other religious leaders over the centuries fight unholy violence with “holy” violence. This is no the way of Jesus.

The 5 Observable Points of Transition Through the Messianic Work of Jesus:

1. The Temple. The Temple was destroyed. Now we are the Temple! The Church is the ever expanding Temple! This has nothing to do with escaping the world but a new way to live in the world.
2. The Holy Land. Psalm 2 has kicked into operation. All of the world is the Holy Land! The Gentile mission takes place to summon the whole world to allegiance to the New King!
3. Symbols of Judaic Identity. Since Gentiles are invited into the family of God through the Messiah, the symbols of Judaism has done their job. Circumcision, food laws, and Sabbath protected the people of God from the ways of the world. Christ-followers no longer need to follow these restrictions. We have a new Christian ethic for a new way of living.
4. The Messianic Death and Resurrection. No one expected this method of salvation through the Messiah.

A quick reading of the Hebrew Scriptures might make you think that people of God fight back with armies against evil armies. That’s how the Maccabees applied their faith (See 2 Maccabees 7). The Judeans called down divine justice on their pagan oppressors.

Romans 12:17-13:7 is a renunciation of this way of thinking and living. All of this is rooted in Jesus’ own words and deeds. Just look at the Sermon on the Mount or how Jesus handled the betrayal, the arrest, the trials, and ultimately the crucifixion. He even prayed: “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Stephen did the same thing.) The way of Jesus is not bossing and bullying like the world, but to become a servant and to give up your life for others.

In truth, the Hebrew Scriptures do prophecy this new way of Jesus. See Isaiah 2, 9, and 11, Zechariah 9 (“the King rides on a donkey rather than a war horse”) plus Micah 3. God intends to put the whole world right! God is bringing shalom. The Church is to show the signs of this.

It is an absolute tragedy that the “Church” bought into the ways of the world at the Crusades, the Inquisition, and far too many other times.

Paul wants to be sure that the believers in Rome know this new way to live which includes renouncing violence. “Take thought for how your actions will appear.” News travels fast. Gossip travels even faster. We should avoid rushing into unwise action.

Taking revenge is God’s job not ours. God desires that there should be properly constituted magistrates to bring a measure of justice in order to prevent chaos that could come without governmental leadership. God provides government (when it is working rightly) as an advance sign of when all will be truly made right.

Romans 13:1-7 has been used by oppressive regimes to stifle protests, but don’t forget Romand 13:8-10 which is the standard for leadership.

Just as justice is God’s job, so is timing. We have to be patient. As ordinary citizens in Rome, we are not to be those who pursue justice. See the story of Elisha and the Arameans in 2 Kings 6:22-23 where they had a banquet with their enemies and later the story of the martyrdom of Polycarp. A mob wants the leaders to kill Polycarp. Even still Polycarp acknowledges he comes under the authorities.

“Don’t let evil conquer you, but you conquer evil with good!” This sounds like a proverb which has come straight from the way Jesus willingly died on the cross. Just as Joseph said: “What my brothers meant for evil, God meant for good” (Genesis 50:20).

Vengeance is too dangerous for humans! Only God can be trusted with this, and He has entrusted some measure of justice to take place through magistrates (not private individuals). God works through imperfect vessels and then they will be held to account. We are not to snatch God’s prerogative.

In John 19:11, Pilate changes Jesus with his authority, and Jesus reminds him that his authority was given to him from above. Even Pilate under the evil Tiberias has a God-given authority. And Jesus knew that one day that Tiberias and Pilate will one day face judgment before God. All will be held to account and leaders to an even greater degree.

God disposes kings and sets up kings whether they realize it or not. When there is a line our leaders want us to cross that goes against the ways of God, we do not cross them. We resist ungodly leaders with godliness. Civil disobedience can be part of our approach. (See Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.). We must be patient with God and do our part to bring in closer to godly leadership when possible.

In addition, we are to speak truth to power! See John 18-19 with Jesus and Pilate.

Even the emperor is subject to the One God and will be accountable to him. Remember, the emperor claimed to be God! Paul puts things in the right order.

We are not to be overly aloof, antisocial, or rabble rousers.

The Christians should be known as law abiding community members who pay their taxes and respect their magistrates unless asked to worship anything or anyone other than God. It is then that they refuse to obey their leaders and take upon themselves whatever the consequences might be. We are to prosper the city in which we live but our allegiance is first and foremost to the Kingdom of God.

All current authorities are provisional. The New Kingdom of God is here now and will one day be fully realized!

Obedience to authorities is important, but what’s more important is a life of love!

“Submit to the authorities” is a broad and practical wisdom not a full theology on church and state.

“Where Romans Lands” Summer Intensive with N.T. Wright was organized by Admirato.org.

Romans 12:3-16

³ Through the grace which was given to me, I have this to say to each one of you: don’t think of yourselves more highly than you ought to think. Rather, think soberly, in line with faith, the true standard which God has marked out for each of you. ⁴ As in one body we have many limbs and organs, you see, and all the parts have different functions, ⁵ so we, many as we are, are one body in the Messiah, and individually we belong to one another.

Living together in the Messiah

⁶ Well then, we have gifts that differ in accordance with the grace that has been given to us, and we must use them appropriately. If it is prophecy, we must prophesy according to the pattern of the faith. ⁷ If it is serving, we must work at our serving; if teaching, at our teaching; ⁸ if exhortation, at our exhortation; if giving, with generosity; if leading, with energy; if doing acts of kindness, with cheerfulness.

⁹ Love must be real. Hate what is evil, stick fast to what is good. ¹⁰ Be truly affectionate in showing love for one another; compete with each other in giving mutual respect. ¹¹ Don’t get tired of working hard. Be on fire with the spirit. Work as slaves for the Lord. ¹² Celebrate your hope; be patient in suffering; give constant energy to prayer; ¹³ contribute to the needs of God’s people; make sure you are hospitable to strangers.

Living alongside the world

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless them, don’t curse them. ¹⁵ Celebrate with the joyful, mourn with the mourners. ¹⁶ Come to the same mind with one another. Don’t give yourselves airs, but associate with the humble. Don’t get too clever for yourselves.

The Church is to be a blueprint into what it means to be truly human to our broken and dark world.

We think of our culture as having Judeo Christian values, but we are flattering ourselves. We have drifted back into normal pagan life.

Paul has a more beautiful vision with a remarkable ambition! We are One Body in the Messiah!

The Greeks saw the “polis” as a body with the magistrates being the head and the others being the limbs. Paul has a different idea in mind. There is no hierarchy at all. The Messiah is the Head and the rest of us are valuable part of the Body.

Paul changes up his metaphors to suit the point he is making. This shouldn’t concern us that the Body metaphor may be different in 1 Corinthians as it is in Ephesians just as we shouldn’t mind that the list of spiritual gifts changes from letter to letter.

Paul’s vision was genuinely revolutionary! He cast vision for a differentiated unity of the Church. We read it and see it as obvious, but when it was written, no one had envisioned life like this prior to this!

Grace cascades. God gives grace to one so that it cascades to others (12:3, 6).

If you worship that which is not God then you will contribute to the world’s brokenness.
If you worship the One True God then you will contribute towards the putting back to rights of all things.

Sacrificial living is the proper status for us before a holy, loving, and just God.

What Paul knows about the Messiah is why he has such high ambitions for the Church!
Messiah-people will change the world!

The Church needs prophetic leadership in the pattern of Gospel faith. Teaching was especially necessary as many Gentiles had not idea about the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus was their focus and reason for existence. They knew His presence personally and when they were together. 150 years after Paul, some of the stories of Jesus began to drift away from the real story so teaching was especially important. Many of the early church began to learn how to read to be able to connect with God through the Hebrew Scriptures.

The early church didn’t look like religion as we might think of it. They were gathering to celebrate that Jesus was alive and now reigning over a new Kingdom.

Exhortation overlaps with teaching and may be thought of today as a sort of encouragement. It has more to do with helping people live out the truths of Scripture.

The other gifts represent different tasks to be accomplished. Serving the needs of others was important followed by giving. Then comes leadership which is further down the list than you might think. Mercy is included in this list as well.

The normal Roman world was all about the display of wealth and competing against others.

Paul focused on the relationships within the believing community in Romans 12:9-13. He then addresses the relationships we have with the pagan world outside of the Church.

How do you love someone when you do feel like it?
Begin by behaving as if you did really love them. (C.S. Lewis)
Paul wanted our motivation to come from an awareness of the love of God.

“Hate the evil and hold to the good” implies that within us we know good from bad through our conscience.
“Loving affectionate and mutual delight” and “compete with each other in honoring each other” rather than knocking others down which was the Roman way.

Learn how to celebrate, be patient in suffering, always in prayer, generous with others, and eager to welcome strangers (the opposite of xenophobia).

Jesus taught us what to do when we are persecuted, and Paul continues that way of living. Cursing someone was the expected norm for responding to adversity. The Maccabees cursed their enemies. Instead, followers of Jesus are to leave at peace and bless those who oppose us.

Followers of Jesus aren’t supposed to remain aloof but join in the celebrations and the funerals of our neighbors.
There was very little privacy in the ancient world. There were small homes and tiny streets. Everyone knew everyone around them.
The Epicureans would tell you to detach from all the petty things around them.
The Stoics would tell you to be indifferent to all human emotions.
The Platonists would have focused more on their own cultivation of virtues and cared less about this world.
Paul wanted followers of Jesus to be engaged with their community just as we see Jesus celebrating at a wedding and weeping with those mourning the death of Lazarus.

We are to choose a new way of thinking with humility and consideration of others who are also image-bearing humans (Romans 12:3, 16). This is a radical difference than the rest of society.

We are to think differently! When we worship the One True God (Romans 12:1-2) means denouncing all self-aggrandisement and choosing humility just as Jesus did.

Love without expecting a return was new! Charity was transactional. This is not a private pursuit (like the Platoists) but a community-approach to living. The grace flows through the community to those around them.

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”

– G.K. Chesterton

Paul knew that living this new way would attract new members. Christianity is a team sport!

Use Romans 12 as a checklist for the way to live as a Gospel community!

Failure in worship leads to the failure of justice. Worshiping right leads to treating others right!

The new age has begun with the resurrection of Jesus! The new age way of life seems impossible; therefore, it requires full surrender to Jesus in all areas of our lives!