As we seek to become more like Jesus, our character should align more and more with his. This sermon explores two core character qualities to strive for in order to become more like Jesus.   Download sermon pdf…   Character to Strive For Romans 13:8-14 This morning I want to start with 3 questions and I want you to write down your answers to the first two…If there were only two character qualities that would define your life, what would you want them to be? What do you want to be known for by others and by God?If you were to describe Jesus using only two character qualities, what would they be? What are two core aspects of Jesus’ character that capture what he was like?Look at your answers to those questions – do they match up?The reason I ask these questions is I want to get us thinking about some core characteristics we should all be striving for as we seek to follow Christ. As Christians we should be seeking to become more and more like Jesus, so the core character qualities that define him, should also become the ones that define us. In other words, our answers to questions 1 and 2 should be the same. If we’re striving for something different than what we see in Christ, we need to realign our goals so that we become like him. But what should those character qualities be? You could have put all kinds of different answers to question 2, and I’m sure you did. When you think about Jesus’ character, there are a lot of qualities to choose from. But what are the most central? Which qualities best capture the essence of what Jesus was like so we know what to strive for in our lives? In our passage today, I believe we find a biblical answer to that question that can give us clarity and direction. Paul writes about two core character qualities that we should all strive for and when you look at the way he presents them, you can see that he considers these two to be vitally important – central to what should describe our character. I also thing we will see that these are two of the things that capture the essence of what Jesus was like. So if we want to become more like him and represent him well, these are going to be the things we need to strive for. In previous weeks we’ve looked at some specific things we need to do to represent Christ well, but now we’re going to see a more general, big picture teaching. If we want to become more and more like Christ we are going to have to strive for these two main things. The first is in Romans 13:8-10. Read Romans 13:8-10. 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. So the first core character quality Paul points us to is love. How many of you had that as one of your answers to question 2? He begins this passage in an interesting way. It makes more sense if you look at verse 7: “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed… 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other…” Paul seems to be continuing the same train of thought from the previous verses, which we looked at last week. In the first half of Romans 7 he gave instructions about how we should relate to our governing authorities in order to carry out God’s will in our lives and he talked about being in subjection to them so that we receive their approval and don’t incur wrath. In the second half of this chapter he continues those same ideas but now he’s talking about being in subjection to God as our authority and how to live in such a way to receive his approval and not incur his wrath. Now it’s important here to be reminded of the gospel and the freedom it brings from us having to earn salvation or earn God’s approval as if his approval of us ultimately depends on our performance. The gospel sets us free from this – Jesus did everything we need in his life, death, and resurrection to be saved and fully approved by God. And through faith in him we are completely forgiven of all our sins and credited with the righteousness of Christ. So God loves and approves of us already based on what Christ has done and we are free from the obligation to try to earn it. But that doesn’t mean we are free to live in sin. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a way that God wants us to live our lives. God has a will for how he wants us to live our lives so that we represent Jesus well and in that sense we need to understand what his will is so that we live in a way that is pleasing to him and doesn’t grieve the Spirit. So that’s what these verses are about. Paul is writing about that kind of approval, and he makes it very simple – he boils it down to two core character qualities to strive for – the first is love, as we see in the verses we just read. If we are going to live in a way that we receive God’s approval, what does God want us to do? He wants us to love each other – to love your neighbor as yourself. As God is our ultimate governing authority, this is how we fulfill his will and meet his approval. And you can see that by the way Paul talks about it in these verses. He reminds them about God’s law and all the different commandments in God’s law: “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet.” Paul says that these and any other commandment are summed up in the command: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” At the heart of what God was after in all the commandments in the Old Testament is to love one another. Therefore, the one who loves another has fulfilled God’s law. You may remember Jesus saying something very similar to this. When the Pharisees were trying to trip him up they had a lawyer ask him a question in Matthew 22:36-40: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” In other words, if you get those two right, you get what God was after in all the other commandments. So if you picture God as a governing authority, if you are going to be in subjection to him and live in such a way that you receive his approval – if you’re going to capture the heart of what he’s after in all the commands – it all boils down to love. So love is an extremely important character quality that we are to strive for. Now let’s talk briefly about what love is, because love can mean all kinds of different things. Often times when we talk about love, we have in mind either a romantic love or a friendship love where we feel fondness and affection. But that’s not what Paul has in mind here. This is agape love, which isn’t a feeling. It’s a self-sacrificing choice to do things for the benefit of others. It’s the love God demonstrated to us when he sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. He didn’t do that because he felt fond affection for us as his friends. Romans 5:8 says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He loved us even though we were his enemies. So embedded in the command to love one another is the idea of willingly choosing to do things for the good of other people whether you feel like it or not and even if it costs you. Put others first, above yourself. That’s the kind of love that should characterize our lives. That’s the kind of love that characterized Jesus’ life. It’s the kind of love that led him to the cross. And if we’re going to become like him we must strive for the same. It’s at the heart of God’s will for how we are to live our lives to represent Jesus well. So we are to strive for that. That’s the first core character quality, the second is in verses 11-14. Read Romans 13:11-14. Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. So the second core quality Paul points to isn’t specifically stated, but these verses are describing something called “holiness.” Did anyone have that as your answer to question #2? Holiness is vitally important for us to pursue in our lives if we are going to receive God’s approval and represent Jesus well. 1 Peter 1:14-16 says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Pursuing holiness is how we become more and more like Christ. Holiness is another word with multiple meanings, but when applied to our conduct in this world it means walking in obedience to Christ. It means turning away from sinful practices and pursuing righteousness. So it includes casting off the works of darkness like Paul mentions in Romans 13:12, things like orgies, drunkenness, sexual immorality, sensuality, quarreling, and jealousy. These are examples of sinful practices that we must turn away from in our lives if we are going to be like Jesus. And then we must pursue things that are good and righteous. Paul doesn’t give a list here, but he does in many other places. One is Colossians 3:12 that says, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” – anything that demonstrates the character of Christ. When you put on these things in your life you are “putting on the armor of light” like Paul says in Romans 13:12. Your good character is like a soldier’s armor that is shining like a light. You are also “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ” like he says in Romans 13:14 – in that you are clothed with the same character as him. Paul urges them and us to pursue holiness because of the time we’re living in. In verses 11-12 you see his urgency: “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us…” Paul is pointing out that we are living in the final era before Christ returns – we need to wake from sleep and pursue holiness because we don’t know when Christ is coming back. There’s an urgency for us to live like Jesus did so that we are ready when he returns. So in these verses Paul breaks away from his pattern of giving specific instructions to write about two character qualities that are vitally important: love and holiness. These were at the foundation of Jesus’ character and if we are going to become like him we are going to have to strive for these things. Love and holiness. Oftentimes Christians pursue one of these but not the other. Some Christians are all about love – serving, kindness, compassion, doing good works – but they don’t do the holiness part well. They want to be all inclusive, tolerant, open, accepting and holiness kind of puts a damper on that. But Jesus wasn’t just about love! He was also about holiness! He loved people and called them to leave their old way of life behind. And even though some of the people he ministered to didn’t like that, he didn’t ignore it. Other Christians are all about holiness – obeying the commands, fleeing from evil and having nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness – but they don’t do well when it comes to love. They want to be righteous, upright, and blameless and sometimes that makes it hard to love those who are not. Jesus lived with perfect holiness before God, but he practiced perfect love as well. He associated with sinners and was willing to build relationships with them and love them. So if we are going to be like him, we are going to have to strive for both. Love and holiness. For some of us, this simple focus might be just what we need. For others, we might see one that we’re lacking in. As we take time to singing and reflection, ask God to show us what steps to take.