Teachers: this lesson emphasizes the fact that Christians are endlessly bound to their indebtedness to love. The merciful God does not arbitrarily love some and ignore others. Because of His mercy, every person can receive and live in His love. Every Christian was loved by God when he or she was a sinner. God's mercy creates an indebtedness to love. As Christians who are loved by our merciful God, we love. We express love for God in four ways: (1) reverence of God; (2) obedience to God; (3) service to God; (4) loving others [those who are and are not Christians] because God loves them. In this text, Paul emphasized the importance of loving others. For these Christians in Rome who suffered and endured hardship because of Rome's evil environment and powerfully placed idol worshippers, Paul's emphasis was a critical spiritual emphasis. God loves the unlovable. So must they. So must we. Note Paul's emphasis on love fits well with Paul's previouse emphasis on being at peace with enemies and overcoming evil by doing good.
Something "self-evident" is obvious. It is "self-evident" the early church used the Old Testament as the scripture to document, explain, and call to responsibility. When the sermons in Acts used scripture, they used statements from Psalms and the prophets. When Paul's letters to the churches bound teachings to God's authority, he used Old Testament scripture. It might be the ten commandments from Exodus 20:1-17 or Deuteronomy 5:6-21 (Romans 13:9); a statement from the major prophets (Romans 14:11 quoting Isaiah 45:23); a statement from the historical books (Romans 15:9 quoting 2 Samuel 22:50); a statement from Deuteronomy (Romans 15:10 quoting Deuteronomy 32:43); or a statement from Psalms (Romans 15:11 quoting Psalm 117:1). Paul in his letters frequently used Old Testament scripture to bind God's authority to a teaching.
The scripture used by the early church was what we call the Old Testament. The text for today's lesson is an excellent example.
When Paul declared Christians at Corinth could not continue to live an idolatrous life style, Old Testament examples were his scriptural authority. "These things happened to them as an example and they were written for our instruction (1 Corinthians 10:11). Or, as Paul declared in Romans 4:24, the things written about Abraham [specifically, his faith being reckoned for righteousness] were not just written for Abraham, but "for our sake also."
The church of the first century made extensive use of the scriptures written to Israel to teach Christians about God's expectations in godliness, ethical understandings, and moral behavior. Old Testament scriptures were used extensively as God's authority in congregations composed of Jewish converts and congregations composed of converted idol worshippers. Today's church would significantly increase spiritual maturity and strength among Christians if we used Old Testament scriptures to produce spiritual insight and understanding.
In first century Roman society, the patron held an essential role in the social system. Clients were dependent on patrons. Patrons made life physically possible for clients. The client was constantly indebted to his patron. He repaid his patron with loyalty. In the patron/client relationship, the client was on retainer to the patron. He frequently paid his respects to his patron. Demonstrating loyalty to a patron was an understood, accepted social obligation.
To understand Paul's point to those Roman Christians in the context of their situation and environment, it is important to understand at least the basics of their social realities. A friend recently shared with me an unfortunate past incident. A young married minister focused on Romans 13:8. He decided God commanded him not to owe money. As his young wife watched in devastation, he called those he owed money. He had everything purchased on a payment plan removed from his house. He acted in zeal and faith, but with a poor understanding of Paul's point.
A patron's house visibly demonstrated the patron's importance. The houses of patrons were designed to (1) impress people, (2) receive clients, and (3) conduct political/social business. Patrons used their homes for meetings, and they presided over those meetings. They maintained status and demonstrated strategic social roles by functioning as prominent heads of households. Wealth and status were the foundation of political power. Patrons aspired to and used political power.
The patron occupied an important, powerful role in the political and power structure of Roman cities. Their powerful influence was built by having loyal clients who were indebted to them. This arrangement was neither "underhanded" nor illegal. It was a prominent thread in the fabric of Roman society.
Clients were dependent on patrons financially and socially. Loyalty was expected and required. In a fascinating arrangement, clients were at the mercy of their patrons' power, but the patrons were dependent on their clients' loyalty. Clients were free citizens, not people from society's lower levels. In most Roman cities, everyone was indebted to someone.
Clients received significant benefits from patrons. Those benefits significantly contributed to the client's lifestyle. Clients were not slaves. They chose to enter an alliance with a patron.
Clients "used" patrons' money, power, and influence. Patrons "used" clients to achieve the patrons' purposes. That is the way the system worked. Everyone knew their role in the system and how to use the system.
In the Roman system, patrons and clients utilized each other. They maintained a mutual dependence that produced mutual benefits. Each knew their place and their function.
Relationships within the church should not be structured by, controlled by, or designed by society's forms. Christians do not create a social system and become skilled in exploiting it. Among Christians, it should not be a matter of "knowing how the system works and using it."
If a congregation reduced interaction to an internal patron/client structure, it conformed to social norms, but it failed God's expectations. If the patron/client model functioned within a congregation, it failed to be God's family, God's community, or God's body. An example of such failure is revealed in the congregation at the Roman city of Corinth. The division that existed was based on the Roman patronage system (1 Corinthians 1:10-12). They looked at Paul, Peter, and Apollos as though they were religious patrons. For whatever reasons, loyalty to their religious patrons must be maintained. Paul dealt with their concept [a model that created fractures in the congregation] in 1 Corinthians 1-4. Note Paul frequently stressed that Paul, Peter, and Apollos were servants [not patrons]. A congregation is to function as a family, a community, or a body, and not as a patron/client system. It is not a "system to be worked" but people to be loved.
For Christians, only one unpayable debt exists. Because of God's mercy, the debt of love will forever remain for each Christian. In mercy, God loved us. In appreciation of God's mercy, we love other people.
Continually receiving God's mercy makes our indebtedness to love others a continuing debt. We never "out love" God. Love is our "forever" debt.
Today's text declared two responsibilities to Christians in Rome. Responsibility number one: do not be indebted to the Roman social system. Responsibility number two: because of indebtedness to God's loving mercy, love each other. Christians acknowledge their indebtedness to God's loving mercy by fulfilling the law. Loving people fulfills the law because love refuses to do evil to people.
Becoming what God envisions for Christ-centered people meant society did not determine who Christians were. Society does not produce the model for Christian/Christian interaction. Society does not produce the model for Christian interaction with people who are not Christians. Social systems do not provide the basis for Christian interactions. God's concepts provide the basis for Christian interactions. Understanding and accepting that truth produced an enormous challenge for Christians of that day. Understanding and accepting that truth produces enormous challenges for Christians today. In each age, Christians tend to permit social systems to define God's concepts rather than permitting God's concepts to rise above their social systems. It is easier to function in the known [common place social systems] than to understand and adopt the new [God's concepts].
An evaluation of the ten commandments emphasizes the obvious. Those commands are fulfilled by (1) loving God and (2) loving people. Loving God produced obedience to the first four. Loving people produced obedience to the last six. If you love your father and mother, you will honor them. If you love a person, you will not murder him or her. If you love a person, you will not commit adultery with his wife. If you love a person, you will not steal from him or her. If you love a person, you will not lie about him or her. If you love a person, you will not make him or her a victim of your greed.
Focus attention on the fact that love for God produced obedience for the first four and love for people produced obedience for the last six.
Christians refused to "use" people. They did not "play the game" imposed by the Roman social system. Christians helped people. They refused to look at others and ask, "How can they help me achieve my purposes." Rather, they sought the highest good and best interest of others. They did nothing for the "what is in it for me" motive. Their motive was (is) "what will bless you."
Remember the servant study. Christians exist to serve others, not to use others. Jesus used himself and his life to serve. Christians use themselves and their lives to serve. Their motives are servant motives. Servant motives produce servant actions.
Christian behavior was in radical contrast to accepted social behavior. Why did that contrast exist? Christians knew God's mercy. They understood God's love for them expressed itself in God's mercy. They literally were eternally indebted to God's love and mercy. The only way they could acknowledge grateful acceptance of that debt was to love other people. God's love and mercy should be expressed through the love and mercy of God's people.
The motives and actions of Christians made them unique in their societies. Christians' motives and actions originate in an understanding of God's mercy.
QUESTIONS
The early church used scriptures we commonly call the Old Testament. Those scriptures were used to document truths; to explain God's expectations of, desires for, and moral criteria for people who belonged to Him; and to call Christians to accountability and responsibility. Consider some illustrations. (1) Hebrews 11 uses Old Testament examples to explain faith to Christians. (2) In Romans 15 Paul explained the spiritually strong should bear the weakness of those with little spiritual strength. He documented this responsibility by using Jesus' practices. He quoted Psalm 69:9 as scripture's authorization of Jesus' practices. He said that things written in earlier times were written for "our" [Christian] instruction to build hope through the scripture [Old Testament scriptures]. While writings yet to be penned and become scripture certainly were included, Paul's statement in 2 Timothy 3:16 [all scripture is inspired and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness] was made in reference to the Old Testament scriptures. Those were the scriptures that produced sincere faith in Timothy's grandmother Lois and mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). Those were the "sacred writings" Timothy knew from childhood that produced the wisdom that led to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:15).
Patrons provided support and opportunity to clients [who were free men]. They accumulated status and power through the loyalty of clients who served them and their purposes. They held positions of influence and prestige in Roman cities.
The client was a free person [not a slave] who associated himself with a patron. The patron provided the client benefits and opportunities. The client repaid the patron with loyalty. He used his abilities and opportunities to assist the patron and promote the patron's purposes. The patron achieved his objectives by utilizing the loyal service of his clients.
Paul did not want the Christians in Roman to view Christian/Christian relationships as an extension of that society's patronage system. Society did not determine how Christians related to each other and functioned together. God's concepts determined how Christians interrelated and functioned together.
The only unpayable debt to other people is the debt to love. Receiving God's mercy makes loving other people the unpayable debt.
Responsibility number one was the responsibility to be free from indebtedness to the Roman patronage system.
Responsibility number two was to love each other.
If one loved God, that love honored the first four commandments. If one loved people, that love honored the last six commandments.
Christians refuse to use people. Christians serve people. Their objective is to render service, not to expect something from people in return for service given.
They seek others' highest good and best interest.
Link to Student Guide
Quarter 3, Lesson 7