The Christian is to obey the government and love his fellow man.

Romans 13

The Christian is to obey the government and love his fellow man.

INSIGHT

Love is the central characteristic of the Christian. In Matthew 22:37-40, a lawyer asks Jesus which is the greatest commandment. Jesus says: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." Then the Lord gives the second greatest commandment: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul writes that love is the greatest characteristic–even greater than faith or hope. Now in Romans this theme is picked up again. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the Law. God is love. If we are to be like Him, we also must love.

PRAYER

Thank the Lord that He loves you, and praise Him that through Him you can love others:
You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
(Psalm 97:10-12)

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin and in fellowship with Him:
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. . . .
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
(Isaiah 53:3, 6)

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:

• Greater sensitivity to sin
• Your role in the ministry of your church
• Your activities for the day
• Whatever else is on your heart

Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:
May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)