It affects "my" salvation. It demonstrates our respect for God.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 7
Copyright © 2007
David Chadwell & West-Ark Church of Christ
The objective of this lesson: to focus Christians on the power of love (as given by God).
We are quite familiar with this truth: "All situations cannot be reduced to a simple law that is fair to everyone." What is fair and reasonable in New York City with a high human population and few or no wild animals may not be fair or reasonable on a ranch in Montana with a low human population and lots of wild life. When humans reduce human responsibilities to other humans to laws, those who wish to evade responsibility quickly look for "loop holes." Often these people wish to be legal without consideration of being ethical. It is quite possible [sometimes common] for a person to act "legally" but "unethically."
In human-to-human relationships, it is difficult (often impossible) to reduce proper people-to-people treatment of each other to a law. That which is "legal" is that which is in accord with law. That which is "ethical" is that which is in accordance with what is right. "Moral" action or "morality" typically refers to an act, action, or behavior. "Ethics" or "ethical" commonly refers to what is right. Thus "morality" is the practice of what one determines to be "right" in a system of determining "right and wrong." For the Christian, Jesus and scripture determines the distinction between "right" and "wrong." To Jesus, both the person's motive and his or her act is important in determining what is "right" treatment of another person.
The existence of "the Law" given to Israel (Exodus 20:1-17) created a major problem between Jewish Christians and gentile Christians in the first century. When the church began, it was 100% Jewish in perspective (Acts 2:5, 10). By the close of the first century, there were more gentiles who were Christians than Jews. Jewish Christians like Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Aquila with his wife Priscilla, etc. were the exception and not the common reality. While we gentile Christians of today are familiar with those exceptions, many Jewish Christians regarded such people as traitors who renounced God's focus and interest (consider Acts 21:20-22 -- note the concern of the Jewish church leaders). Not all Jewish people and Jewish Christians regarded the conversion (without the proselytizing process) of gentiles as a desirable thing.
In much of the Old Testament and in first century Judaism, all human-to-human responsibilities and actions were determined by the Law and Jewish interpretation/application of the Law. Their interpretation and application of the Law often produced abuses of people or exceptions which led to abuses of people. (You can read some of those abuses in Matthew 5:21-48. Jesus gave those accepted Pharisaic positions as a contrast to his teaching. Jesus' positions were not given to ignore the Law [Matthew 5:17-20], but to make application of the intent of the Law instead of excusing the use of "loop holes." Matthew 5 powerfully stressed the importance to God of treating people correctly.) Basically, the position of many Jewish Christians was this: "Our behavior is and has been based on divine law. Gentile behavior has not been. Gentiles must understand God's Law before they can understand God's grace."
One of the larger objections of Jewish people was this: "The gentiles worshipped idols! They had different moral values! They were never exposed to God's Laws! Without exposure to the Law and indoctrination in correct ways to apply the Law, it is impossible for gentiles to know and possess God's values."
Because the typical gentile was idolatrous and defined what was moral differently than did Jews, Jews thought gentiles could not possibly understand or surrender to God's values through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and baptism. That was much too simple a response to God to address the immoral problems gentiles had.
Paul insisted (1) God always intended to save gentiles, and (2) godly motives produce the same godly results as the Law. Faith in God's work in Jesus Christ made both Jews and gentiles Christian people. Godly motives in gentile people produced godly Christians (Romans 2:26-29). Paul's affirmation of # 2 is powerfully seen in today's text.
It still is important to understand these things. (1) God's salvation plans included gentiles from the beginning (Genesis 12:3). Saving gentiles was not an "after thought" to God's intent. (2) Proper application of the Law, God's intent in the Law, always would result in the proper treatment of people. Thus, when people who never knew the Law lived in lawful behavior, they (also) were God's people. In context, Paul likely is speaking of gentiles who were Christians.
Even Jesus declared all moral responsibilities would be correctly assumed if the person (1) loved God with all his or her being, and (2) loved people as he or she loved self (Matthew 22:34-40). When the behavior of one who believes in Jesus produces the moral result of the law, the person kept the Law. The motivation to serve God's objectives (1) in the way one lived and (2) the way one treated others equaled (and often surpassed) knowledge.
When Jesus noted a first and second commandment, he acknowledged (1) there were priorities in the law, and (2) the impact of love for people would result in lawful behavior.
In today's text, Paul affirmed these things:
1. The responsibility to love other people is an unending responsibility. It is a debt obligation that can never be satisfied, never be voided. Why? The responsibility is not founded on a Law. It is founded on God's behavior in loving us. We are incapable of loving others as much as God loves us. When God's love for us is the standard, the Law will be fulfilled.
Christians cannot sacrificially love other people too much because Jesus' death on the cross for them was not too much. In this horrible act is displayed the enormous love God has for people. Christians use God's love as the standard for their love of others.
2. When we love another person, we will not commit adultery with his wife or with her [consider how acts of adultery would diminish if we regarded adultery as an offense against the person and his spouse]. We will not murder someone we love. We will not steal from someone we love. We will not covet the things that belong to someone we love.
Love of another person will not result in using that person, abusing that person, or taking advantage of the person's ignorance or vulnerability. To do so is to act with selfishness, not with love.
3. Therefore, we will not do something that is evil to someone we love.
Christian love does not do evil to other people.
4. In that sense, a commitment to loving others results in the moral intent of the Law.
Morally, the intent of love and the intent of God's Law is the same: humans do not hurt humans.
In the context of Paul's emphasis, when a gentile understands and accepts his or her responsibility to love others because of God's love for him or her, his or her behavior produces the moral intent of God's law. In that understanding, it was possible for a gentile to be more faithful to the intent of the Law than was the Jew who placed confidence in knowledge rather than behavior. [God did not expect the devout Jew just to know, "You shall not murder." God expected him or her not to murder.]
God is as impressed with what we do as with what we know. Paul is not stressing the unimportance of godly knowledge. He is stressing the fact that godly knowledge is insignificant if it does not produce godly behavior. The person, with or without the Law, who behaves in keeping with God's Law is a godly person, even if he [or she] was a gentile Christian.
Consider the enormous importance placed on the way Christians treat other people. Jesus Christ said the treatment of others was the second most important instruction God gave (Matthew 22:39, 40; Leviticus 19:18). Paul declared it was the debt Christians could never repay. Paul said it fulfilled all moral commitments of the Law thereby making even gentiles acceptable to God.
It would be difficult to overstress the importance to God of the way a person treats other people (in or out of the family).
The way "I" treat "you" has (1) a bearing on our salvation because (2) our love for others demonstrates our respect for God. People are extremely important to God. People can never be unimportant to Christians.
Our treatment of others is an important element in our salvation.
For Thought and Discussion
All situations cannot be reduced to a simple law that is fair to all.
One illustration can be a law that favors a highly populated area but does not work in a sparsely populated area. For example, what might be an excellent gun law in New York City might be a horrible law in areas with nothing but large ranches.
The discussion should include the fact it is possible sometimes to do exactly what the law says and treat people horribly.
Many Jewish Christians did not feel like gentile Christians could understand God's view of what is right unless they first were taught God's Law and its applications.
When the church began, it was 100% Jewish. Before the first century ended, the church was more gentile than Jewish.
They understood acceptance of Jesus Christ was enough for gentiles to be saved. Most Jewish Christian did not accept that as the standard for gentile salvation.
Moral responsibilities would be correctly assumed when a person loved God with all his or her being and loved people as he or she loved self.
When he or she, with faith in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, loved other people.
It affects "my" salvation. It demonstrates our respect for God.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 7