ACC ~ Romans 13 v8 - 14

OVERVIEW:

The only debt we should owe others is the debt of love, which is the underlying basis of all the commandments. Christian conduct is governed by the expectation of Christ’s return and the last judgment. Now that Christ has come the light of that day has already dawned, and it will not be long before the final consummation will come. Casting off the works of darkness and making no provision for the flesh, we are called to put on Christ, ready to bear arms for the reign of light.

13:8 | Owe Only a Debt of Love

SIN AS DEBT. ORIGEN: In many cases debt is equivalent to sin. Paul therefore wants us to owe nothing on account of sin and to steer clear of debts of this kind, retaining only the debt which springs from love, which we ought to be repaying every day. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

LOVE THE NEIGHBOR. AMBROSIASTER: Paul wants us to have peace with everyone and love the brethren. Then we shall not owe anybody anything.

He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law of Moses. The commandment of the new law is that we should love our enemies also. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FULFILL THE LAW. CHRYSOSTOM: Love is a debt which you owe to your brother because of your spiritual relationship to him. … If love departs from us, the whole body is torn in pieces. Therefore love your brother, for if you can fulfill the law by befriending him, then the benefit you receive puts you in his debt. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 23.

CHARITY ACCOMPLISHES WHAT FEAR COULD NOT DO. AUGUSTINE: Paul shows that the fulfillment of the law is found in love, i.e., in charity. Thus also the Lord says that the whole law and prophets depend on these two precepts, the love of God and neighbor. So he who came to fulfill the law gave love through the Holy Spirit, so that charity might accomplish what fear could not. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 75.

LOVING THE PATTERN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THE PERSON. AUGUSTINE: The only way of cleaving to that pattern is by love. If we love another whom we believe to be righteous, we cannot but love the pattern itself, which shows us what the righteous soul is, in order that we too may become righteous. Indeed, if we did not love the image of God in him, we would have no love for the person, since our love for him is based on the pattern. Yet so long as we ourselves are not righteous, our love of the pattern is not enough to make us righteous. THE TRINITY 8.9.

EVERYONE WITHOUT DISTINCTION IS YOUR NEIGHBOR. PELAGIUS: Do not fail to repay debts. Only the debt of love should remain, because it can never be paid in full. According to the parable of the Lord, who bids us show mercy to everyone without distinction, we must think of every person as our neighbor. Paul mentioned love first because he was writing to the faithful and dealing with behavior proper to righteousness. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

13:9 | Loving One’s Neighbor

THE RELATION OF LOVE AND LAW. ORIGEN: If you love somebody, you will not kill him. Nor will you commit adultery, steal from him or bear false witness against him. It is the same with all the other commands of the law: love ensures that they are kept. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

LOVE FULFILLS LAW. AMBROSIASTER: Moses wrote all this in order to reform the natural law. … Although there may be other laws which Paul has not mentioned, love is the fulfillment of them all. For if the human race had loved from the beginning, there would never have been any wickedness on earth. For the result of unright-eousness is discord. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. CHRYSOSTOM: The beginning and the end of virtue is love. … But Paul is not looking merely for love; he wants it to be an intense love. For he does not say merely: “Love your neighbor,” but adds: “as yourself.” Christ himself said that the law and the prophets hang upon this. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 23.

CHRYSOSTOM: Note that love has two excellent qualities: it abstains from evil and does good deeds. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 23.

THE LAW WRITTEN ON THE HEART. AUGUSTINE: This law is not written on tables of stone but is shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 29.15.

GOD’S LOVE POURED OUT ON THE NEIGHBOR. AUGUSTINE: No one loves his neighbor unless he loves God, and by loving him as himself, to the limit of his ability, he pours out his love on him so that he too may love God. But if he does not love God, he loves neither himself nor his neighbor. LETTER 20.

THE SUM OF THE COMMANDMENTS. PELAGIUS: The whole of righteousness is summed up in the love of one’s neighbor. Unrighteousness is born when we love ourselves more than others. For one who loves his neighbor as himself not only does him no wrong but also does him good. He knows how much he wishes both aspects to be done with regard to himself. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THEODORET OF CYR: If a man is well disposed by love for another person, he will not kill the one he loves, nor will he rape his wife, nor will he steal goods or do anything which might harm them. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

ABSTAIN FROM EVIL, DO GOOD. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Every law either forbids evil or tells us to do good. Legislators pass the first kind of law in order that we should not harm one another and the second kind in order that we should help one another as far as possible. But they are all summed up in the one command that we should love our neighbor. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

13:10 | Love Fulfills the Law

THE SINGLE AUTHOR OF GOSPEL AND LAW. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is using the words of the law to arrive at the meaning of the gospel. Therefore when he records the fulfilling of the law he ties it to the gospel, demonstrating that both have a single author. Yet in the time of Christ it was necessary to add something, viz., that we should love our enemies as well as our neighbors. … What does it mean to love an enemy, except to choose not to hate him any longer and to seek to do him no harm? … For the Lord himself on the cross prayed for his enemies in order to demonstrate what the fullness of righteousness, which he had taught, actually was. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE RULE OF LOVE. AUGUSTINE: The rule of love is that one should wish his friend to have all the good things he wants to have himself and should not wish the evils to befall his friend which he wishes to avoid himself. He shows this benevolence to all men. No evil must be done to any. Love of one’s neighbor works no evil. Let us then love even our enemies as we are commanded, if we wish to be truly unconquered. OF TRUE RELIGION 87.

THE LOVE WE OWE. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: The apostle clearly said that we must render to each person what he is due but that we are bound only by the need to love one another. Therefore if we always give our brethren the love which we owe them, we shall always be linked together in mutual love. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

WITHHOLDING FOOD FROM THE NEIGHBOR MAY KILL. PELAGIUS: Even not to do good is wrong. For if one sees that one’s neighbor is in danger of starvation, does one not kill him if, while one has an abundance, one does not give him food, though one has not used up one’s own provisions? For anyone who is able to help someone close to death in whatever situation of need kills that person if he does not come to his aid. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

LOVE IS THE FULFILLING OF THE LAW. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: Therefore, whatever you do, do it for the love of Christ, and let the intention or end of all your actions look to him. Do nothing for the sake of human praise but everything for the love of God and the desire for eternal life. Then you will see the end of all perfection, and when you have reached it you will want nothing more. SERMON 137.1.

13:11 | The Nearness of Salvation

WHEN WE FIRST BELIEVED. DIODORE: When we realized what the advantages of good works are, the message of salvation became easier to understand than it was when we first believed. For when we believed in Christ we did not immediately acquire an exact understanding of what we should be doing, nor was it clear to us what we should stop doing and what we should continue doing. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

WAKE FROM SLEEP. AMBROSIASTER: Paul says that the time has come when we must hasten to obtain our reward. This is what it means to wake up from sleep—to do good as if it were day, i.e., openly. … It is clear that if we live well after baptism and strive for love we are not far from the reward of the promised resurrection. For the good life of a Christian is the sign of future salvation. For when a person is baptized he is forgiven but not rewarded. Later, as he walks in newness of life, he is near to eternal life. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FULL TIME TO AWAKE. CHRYSOSTOM: The time is short. … The day of resurrection and of the terrible judgment is fast approaching. … If you have done everything that was asked of you and are prepared for it, then you have nothing to fear, but if you have not, then look out! Paul is not trying to frighten his hearers but to encourage them, so as to detach them from their love of the things of this world. It was not unlikely that at the beginning of their endeavors they would be more dedicated and slacken off as time went on. But Paul wants them to do the opposite—not to slacken as time goes on but to become even more dedicated. For the nearer the King is, the more they ought to be ready to receive him. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 23.

THE ACCEPTABLE TIME. AUGUSTINE: This relates to 2 Corinthians [6:2]: “Behold, now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation.” Paul means by this the time of the gospel and the opportunity to save all those who believe in God. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 76.

GROW UP! PELAGIUS: It is the hour for you to strive for that which is more perfect and complete, for you should not always be children and infants. … Let us together rise from the sleep of idleness and ignorance, for now the knowledge of Christ shines forth. With the increase of knowledge our salvation is nearer than it was when we first believed. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

TRUE SALVATION. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: “Our salvation” means the general resurrection on the last day, for it is then that we shall enjoy true salvation. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE RESURRECTION. GENNADIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE: Every day the end comes closer, and we are already on the threshold of the resurrection. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

13:12 | Putting on the Armor of Light

THE SON AND THE PROMISES. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: By “day” and “light” he designates figuratively the Son, and by “the armor of light” he means the promises. STROMATA 4.22.

CAST OFF WORKS OF DARKNESS. ORIGEN: This may be understood in both a universal and in a particular sense. In the first instance, the light is dawning everywhere, and the reign of darkness over the world is rapidly coming to an end. … In the second instance, if we have Christ in our hearts he gives us light. Therefore if the reason of knowledge drives away our ignorance and if we turn away from unworthy deeds and do what is right, we are in the light and are walking honestly as if in the day. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

OPPORTUNITIES MAY BE LOST. DIODORE: The “day” is the time of this life which remains to us, in which we can do good works. The “night” is the future, in which it will no longer be possible to work. Then we shall lie in the darkness, having lost the chance to do good works. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

THE ARMOR OF LIGHT. AMBROSIASTER: “Night” means the old man, who is renewed through baptism. Paul says that he has passed away like the night and that the day is near, i.e., the sun of righteousness, by whose light the truth appears to us so that we may know what to do. For before we were in the dark, being ignorant of Christ. But when we learned of him the light rose on us and we passed from the false to the true.

The “darkness” refers to carnal sins, which are done by worldly enticements. … But to “put on the armor of light” is to do good deeds. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

BEARING ARMS FOR THE REIGN OF LIGHT. CHRYSOSTOM: The day is calling us to get ready for the battle. Do not be afraid at the thought of bearing arms. It is a heavy and distasteful duty when we have to bear a visible suit of armor, but in this case it is desirable and worth it. For the arms we are called to bear are those of the light! HOMILIES ON ROMANS 24.

THE DAY IS AT HAND. AUGUSTINE: Paul said this, yet look at how many years have passed since then! Yet what he said was not untrue. How much more probable it is that the coming of the Lord is near now, when there has been such an increase of time toward the end! LETTER 77.

WALKING IN THE LIGHT. [PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: The apostle urges us to put off the works of darkness embedded in the torpor of sleep and walk in the light, that is, in good works. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

DARKNESS AS IGNORANCE. PELAGIUS: Paul likens knowledge to the day and ignorance to the night, in accordance with what Hosea says: “I have likened your mother to the night; my people have become as those who have no knowledge.” Let us therefore cast off the works of ignorance and put on the armor of light, that is, works of light. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THE MEANING OF DAY AND NIGHT. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: By “day” Paul means the time since the coming of Christ, for his appearing has made it much easier to tell the difference between good and evil. “Night” refers to the time before his coming. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

THEODORET OF CYR: “Night” refers to the time of ignorance, whereas “day” refers to the time after the Lord’s coming. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

13:13 | Proper Conduct

WORKS OF THE FLESH. ORIGEN: These are the works of darkness, which are also called the “works of the flesh,” in which people bind their flesh to luxury and uncleanness rather than to holiness or the Lord. “Reveling” refers to dishonorable and extravagant banqueting, which inevitably is prone to sexual immorality. … “Quarrel-ing and jealousy” are really acts of the mind, but like everything else here, they are called acts of the flesh. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

CONDUCT OURSELVES BECOMINGLY AS IN THE DAY. JEROME: Let us live our lives in the same way now as we are going to live in the day, that is, in the future world. HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 46.

REVELING AND DRUNKENNESS. AMBROSIASTER: It is true that people do not sin in public, so let us behave as if we were constantly in the public eye. For there is nothing more public than the truth. . . .

Crimes are hatched in large supplies of wine, and many kinds of lust are stirred up. Therefore banquets of this kind are to be avoided. … Debauchery is another result of this sort of thing. Paul was right to warn them against quarreling and jealousy, because both of these things lead to enmity. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

RESTRAINT OF EXCESS. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul does not forbid alcohol; he is opposed only to its excessive use. Nor does he prohibit sexual intercourse; rather, he is against fornication. What he wants to do is to get rid of the deadly passions of lust and anger. Therefore he does not merely attack them but goes to their source as well. For nothing kindles lust or wrath so much as excessive drinking. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 24.

AS IN THE DAY. PELAGIUS: Just as the light of day keeps everyone from doing what he would freely do at night, so too, knowledge keeps us from ignoring the commands of the law. A revel is a luxurious banquet, but we have a spiritual feast. Moreover, that drunkenness is ruinous and an oc-casion for debauchery is further proved by the fact that Paul has added “licentiousness.” That quarrelling and jealousy are also objects of reproach is demonstrated both here and by many other examples. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

13:14 | Conformed to Christ

MODEST DRESS. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Let the wife always make use of a plain dress, dignified, softer than that allowed her husband but not one that offends grossly against modesty nor one made with a view only to softness. Let the clothes be in keeping with the person’s age, with the individual himself, the place, his character and occupation. The apostle well advises us: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” CHRIST THE EDUCATOR 3.11.56.

PUT ON CHRIST. ORIGEN: We have often said that Christ is wisdom, righteousness, holiness, truth and all the other virtues. Therefore anyone who has acquired these has put on Christ. For if all these are Christ, then the person who has them must of necessity have Christ as well. Whoever has them will not bother about the flesh. The apostle speaks here with some care, because he knows that we must take some thought for the needs of the flesh. It is the excesses and lusts of the flesh, not its basic needs, which must be avoided. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

ORIGEN: The Lord Jesus Christ himself … is said to be the clothing of the saints. ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 2.3.2.

DIODORE: This means that we should imitate Christ in what we do and show him to others in the way we behave. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

WEARING THE WEDDING GARMENT. AMBROSIASTER: Paul wants everything the law forbids not to be desired, or if it is desired, to be overcome. … To put on Christ means to cut oneself off from every sin and wickedness, so that at the wedding banquet one will not be found without a new garment and be shamefully thrown out into the darkness. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

NOT TO GRATIFY EXCESSIVE DESIRES. CHRYSOSTOM: Here Paul no longer speaks of works, but rather he rouses his hearers to greater things. When he was speaking of vice he talked about its works, but now that he is speaking about virtue, he does not speak about works but about armor. … Even more strikingly, he talks about the Lord Jesus Christ as the garment we are to put on, for whoever is clothed with him has all virtue.

When Paul says “make no provision for the flesh,” he is not speaking of necessities but of ex-cess. That is why he adds the qualifying phrase: “to gratify its desires.” HOMILIES ON ROMANS 24.

MAKE NO PROVISION FOR THE FLESH. AUGUSTINE: Provision for the flesh is not to be condemned if it has to do with the needs of bodily health. But if it is a question of unnecessary delights or luxuries, a person who enjoys the delights of the flesh is rightly chastised. For in that case he makes provision for the desires of the flesh, and “he who sows in the flesh will reap corruption in the flesh.” AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 77.

WALK AS HE WALKED. PELAGIUS: Christ alone should be seen in us, not the old self, for “one who says he abides in Christ should walk as he walked.” PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

EXPECTING RESURRECTION. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul wants to say that by the regeneration of baptism we have been conformed to Christ and become members of the one body of the church, of which he is the head, and so we must put him on in the understanding of what we are expecting, in that we hope to share in his resurrection. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.