Chapter # 13 Paragraph # 2 Study # 4
January 3, 2021
Humble, Texas
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Thesis: Love has specific implications for the present experiences of the believer.
Introduction: In our last study, I tried to make the point that there is an absence of a "main verb" in
13:11 and, consequently, we must attempt to supply the one that Paul had in mind when he wrote this verb-less sentence. The difficulties are obvious from just going to the website, "Bible Hub", and looking over the variations in the translations that currently exist in English.
For myself, my persuasion is that Paul intended his readers to "ponder" what he was writing in the spirit of 2 Timothy 2:7 wherein Paul urged Timothy to "Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything". The "truth" that Paul wished for the Romans to "ponder" is that the very "Love" that fulfills the Law, in that it does no harm to the neighbor, has a set of certain direct implications for the current situation of every believer.
This evening we are going to begin to look into the "direct implications" so that we fulfill Paul's desire that his readers understand the links between "Love" and its implications.
- I. The Critical Implications.
- A. That all believers are in a state of continual need "to wake up".
- 1. The words Paul used...
- a. He said that his readers "knew the season" (in which they were living).
- 1) This means that there is such a thing as a "time".
- a) The word is a reference to "time" when "time" is considered in terms of its relationship to the things that are happening.
- b) The clearest reference to this kind of "time" is Mark 11:13 (because of its "shock" value) in which the meaning is "a segment of 'time' which has a beginning and an end, and is marked by what is happening during this segment".
- c) In Romans, Paul uses this word in harmony with Mark: 3:26 (the demonstration of God's righteousness so that He may be seen as both "just" and "justifier of those who believe in Jesus); 5:6 ("at the right time Christ died..."); 8:18 ("...the sufferings of this present time..."); 9:9 ("...at this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son..."); and 11:5 ("...there has come to be at the present time a remnant according to the standard of 'gracious choice'...).
- 2) The "season" in which the Roman believers were living is clarified by Paul.
- a) It is called "an 'already' hour", meaning "a short segment within the segment of time called the 'season' (as in 5:6 where the "season" of 3:26, wherein God set forth the "how" of His being just and justifier, is pulled down to the hour of the death of Jesus on the cross).
- b) He ties this "already hour" in 13:12 to the far advanced night and the nearness of the dawning of the day (somewhat late in what is called "the fourth watch of the night", which is the "season" between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.).
- c) And he identifies the particular characteristic of this "already hour" as being the "segment within the segment" when it was needful for the Romans "to be awakened" (the verb is a passive infinitive of the verb typically associated with "rising up": "to be raised" from sleep by some outer force).
- d) And he further identifies the "season" in respect to "the arrival of the salvation we began to anticipate at the time we believed" (He says this "arrival" is "nearer than when we believed").
- b. He said that the believers also knew their responsibility: to put away the works of darkness and clothe themselves with the armor of light.
- 2. It is clear from the statement in 13:11 that Paul thought it was "high time" that his readers "be raised from sleep".
- a. This is decidedly not "complimentary" in that it declares that the Roman believers are in a state of "sleepiness" that is not conducive to "Love's" implications.
- 1) The standard of "Love" was the focus in the material just preceding this declaration of the "season".
- 2) This "standard" is extremely high (a selfless commitment to meet the needs of others).
- 3) This "standard" is a-typical because we tend to live in the shadows of the dark night (a metaphor for "living with our own interests paramount" -- our sleep is for our own benefit and the needs of our neighbors are not even in the picture -- because that is our natural behavior and the darkness blinds us to the "light" of the "Day of Love".
- b. With this "accusation" there comes an automatic "response to insult" if a person thinks he/she is "awake" and is accused of being "asleep".
- 3. But it is also clear from Paul's inclusion of himself (note the switch in pronouns from "you" to "us") in the required behavior changes of 13:12-13 that he did not exempt himself from the very charge that he laid at the feet of his readers.
- a. He switched from the "you" in "the hour for you to be raised from sleep is present already" to "us" in "...let us lay aside...", "...let us put on the armor...", and "...let us behave properly...".
- b. Thus Paul revealed his awareness that he was in the same boat as the Roman believers ... too much participation in "sleep" and not enough participation in "wakefulness".
- 4. At least one reason for this reality is the ease in which the tyranny of the host of demands upon our thoughts and actions in our "daily lives" often crowds out the freedom of the reality that "Love" is the fulfillment of the entire gamut of tyrannical schedules (an example is the parable of the householder who didn't want to get up because he was already in bed: Luke 11:5-8).
- 5. Thus, Paul's humility in recognizing his own need to be awakened blunts the reaction to the "insult" that pride automatically produces: anyone in his/her right mind is aware of the strong draw of the darkness as the day dawns as a metaphor for life in the pursuit of "Love" in the face of the ever-present narcissism that exists in the "less than perfected".
- B. That the motivation for "Love's" behavior is that "our salvation is near".
- 1. "Our salvation" is the deliverance we shall experience when we have our "Great Hope" realized: Titus 2:13.
- 2. Paul characterized the intended impacts of his Gospel to be "serving the living and true God" and "waiting for His Son from heaven".
- 3. The main reason for the move away from both is the long delay that is historically impossible to deny: in what sense is "our salvation nearer", and how do we live in anticipation when every generation before us lived in it and died without experiencing it?
