Romans 13:8-14 – The believers’ obligation to their neighbors

Having dealt with the believers’ obligation to submit to authority, Paul now turned to deal with believers’ obligation toward their neighbors. Here believers are urged to continue to love at the horizontal level. The clear instruction is: “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law” (Romans 13:8).

In no uncertain term, Paul said that the obligation every believer has is to get out of debt except for one, the debt of love towards his neighbor. Here we are commanded to love our neighbors. He quoted a few commandments from the second half of the Ten Commandments. These commandments were summed up by the Lord Jesus Himself, saying “And you shall love your neighbors as yourself!” This instruction tells us not to harm our fellowmen. We are not to covet their property.

Paul’s intention in verses 11-14 is not eschatological but motivational. He wanted the believers to adopt mindsets that would help them to keep the obligations that he had outlined for them, here and now. His whole drift was to call believers into a life of obedience and diligence. He wanted them to live life with the perspective of the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why he began in verse 11 with an imperative – “Do this, knowing the time ….” 

The use of the word “night” is referring to the present age and “day” to the future or period when Christ will return to usher it in. He called Christians into an intentional living as opposed to one of indulgence and indifference. Here he referred to the old self-life as a soiled garment that must be removed. He also encouraged the putting on of Christ, meaning the character of the Lord Jesus Christ. As one becomes more Christ-like, there would be no room for the flesh and carnal nature to have a fling in one’s life. We can sum up the call of Paul in three commands: to get up, to clean up, and to dress up.

All these commands can be realized when we have an abiding relationship with God. We need to be consistently reminded of God’s love for and through us. Christ had sacrificed for us and lavished His love upon us so that He can depend on us now, to love people, and demonstrate His love for them. Just imagine what can happen when the larger part of the Church begins to do this. So let us heed the word of Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves!