WHAT ARE SOME EXPECTATIONS OF BELIEVERS?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for
those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of
the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will
be commended.
(Romans 13:3)

MEDITATION:
In our world today we see an increase of disrespect for those who
enforce the laws. Evil forces are trying to disable their effectiveness
by limiting how they are allowed to apprehend criminals. Some want
to eliminate law enforcement agencies altogether by defunding their
existence.

However, it is obvious that we not only need them, but we need to
support them even more as we have seen a growing increase of
crimes such as theft, abuse, fraud, and murder.

There could be many reasons for this disrespect of the laws, for
the disdain of the ones who enforce the laws, and for the increase
in crimes. Some of the reasons could be:
    – Too many children being raised in broken homes.
    – Children are being aborted by the millions
        (Note: when there is no respect for life at any age,
          there is ultimately no respect for life at all ages).
    – Greed, jealousy, and lust.
    – Pure evilness controlling the minds of some people.

Think about this:
    Centuries ago Paul gave us advice regarding those sworn to enforce
    the law. He said we can avoid being incarcerated, harmed, or killed
    by those in authority, if we simply “do what is right”. Punishment is
    designed to deter those who are “doing wrong”.

    The bottom line is, we have responsibility for the consequences of
    our decisions. This is important for everyone, but especially for
    those who are followers of Jesus Christ. Our actions (decisions)
    can have a negative or positive influence on non-believers.

    Our choices ARE important, if we want to grow closer to the Lord
    and contribute to His earthly ministry as followers of Jesus Christ.

Paul says we have a responsibility to treat others with respect.
Does that mean they will treat us with respect? It might, but
even if it doesn’t, our instructions are clear: we should treat
them with respect anyway. It doesn’t mean we approve or
accept their actions, but we respect that they were created
by God, the same as us. Living as a Christian is not for the
weak, is it? It takes a strong person to live in a humble way.
    Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe
    taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect,
    then respect; if honor, then honor.
    (Romans 13:7)

In simple terminology, Paul tells us we should never take advantage
of others, by withholding whatever we owe them. He also instructs
us to show respect and honor those who deserve it. We hope that we
will be treated the same way, but that’s not always the case, is it?

We have a responsibility of how we interact with others (believers
and unbelievers). We need to understand the concept of receiving
because of our giving. If we give respect to others, then hopefully
they will respect us in return. If we are honest with others, there
is a higher probability they will be honest with us.

Are there other condensed instructions Paul could give us for
interacting with others? Yes, he can, and he does.
    Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing
    debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has
    fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not
    commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall
    not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other
    commands there may be, are summed up in this one
    command:
        “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
    Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the
    fulfillment of the law.
    (Roman 13:8-10)

Paul says that everything we do should be governed by a heart of love.
If we want to do good and obey the law, then we should include obeying
the law of love. Jesus Christ walked among us for a short time, to show
us what love looks like. If we truly have a heart of love (love for Jesus,
and love for others) then we will:
    – Not commit adultery (a lack of love for our spouse).
    – Not murder (a lack of love for the ones God has created).
    – Not steal (a lack of love for the person we stole from).
    – Not covet (a greater love for things, than for people).
    – Not be jealous (a lack of love for how God has blessed us).

Instead, we will:
    – Treat others the same way we want to be treated.
    – Avoid the things that hurt others
        (such as rudeness, gossip, debasing, condescending, etc.).
    – Fulfill God’s law of love.

Paul reminds us that we should be motivated by the fact that
each day we are getting closer to meeting our God of love face
to face. And when we see Him, we will be held accountable for
how we have shown our love (obedience) for Him, and our love
(respect) for others.
    And do this, understanding the present time: The hour
    has already come for you to wake up from your slumber,
    because our salvation is nearer now than when we first
    believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.
    So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the
    armor of light.
    (Romans 13:11-12)

Paul tells us there are some things we need to eliminate from
our lives so we can love others and be obedient to God.
    Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in
    carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality
    and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather,
    clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not
    think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
    (Romans 13:13-14)

He tells us our behavior should be with a consideration that
everyone is watching what we do. If we have to sneak around
to do something, then it is probably wrong in God’s eyes and
needs to be eliminated from our lives.

If we feel the need to justify (in our mind) some things that we are doing,
it’s probably an indication that we know what we are doing is wrong, but
we have chosen to do them anyway (this is disobedience of God’s laws and
His commands).

Paul gives believers a few examples of things we must avoid:
    – Carousing
        (don’t put ourselves in compromising positions; avoid places of sin).

    – Drunkenness
        (don’t put anything in our bodies that affects our mind and morals).

    – Sexual immorality
        (don’t commit adultery; don’t get involved with pornographic
          materials; don’t have conversations with the opposite sex that
          include sexual innuendos).

    – Debauchery
        (don’t pursue sensual pleasures, corruption, perversion, wickedness, etc.).

    – Dissension
        (don’t create conflicts, arguments, and fights; don’t antagonize others).

    – Jealousy
        (don’t resent what others have (possessions, popularity, abilities, etc.),
          but learn to be content with how God has created and blessed us).

Okay, he has given us some things to avoid, but what about giving us
something to focus on doing? That’s not a problem for Paul; even
though he gives us one more “don’t”, he gives us an important “do”.

He tells us to stop thinking about ways to please the desires of the flesh.
Instead we should “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ”. Paul
is saying that when others see us, they should get a glimpse of what
they would see in Jesus. When we visualize ourselves “dressed as Jesus”,
we will be influenced by His views of right and wrong, instead of being
controlled by the desires of the flesh.

Many of us have seen the bracelets with WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?).
Paul’s message to us is, we should think about how Jesus would view and
react to the things we are doing or planning to do.

ACTION:
Review Paul’s instructions and compare them to your own life. Which
ones are you obeying, and which ones do you need to start obeying?
What things should you eliminate, and what things should you plan
to start doing?

When God saves us, He gives each of us a Spiritual Gift. As a plan of
action, if you don’t know the Spiritual Gift He has given you, then
diligently seek it (it is a special gift from God to you!). If you know the
Spiritual Gift He has given you, then look for ways to use it in serving
the Lord in the way He has chosen for you.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for providing me with instructions
for living the life You want me to live as a follower of Your Son,
Jesus. Forgive me for the areas where I am failing, and encourage
me to change my failures into successes in these areas. Remind me
that when everything I do is controlled by love, I am on the right
track of obeying You. Help me to be aware of how I have the ability
to encourage and lift the spirits of others. I know that whenever I
follow Your guidelines for love, my own spirit will be lifted because
my focus is more on You, than on my selfish desires.”

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