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Romans 13:8-14
(Romans 13:11-14)
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• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
  • The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • IV.XII.2, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
  • Chapter II, Adversus Judaeos, Tertullian (c. 198)
  • II.4, III.11, Paedagogus, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • IV.3, IV.7, IV.18, VII.16, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • II.2, On The Apparel of Women, Tertullian (c. 202)
  • V.14, Against Marcion, Tertullian (c. 212)
  • Chapter XVII, On Monogamy, Tertullian (c. 215)
  • Chapter VII, On Modesty, Tertullian (c. 217)
  • II.III.2, First Principles (De Principiis), Origen. (c.225)
  • On Jealousy and Envy, Cyprian of Carthage (c. 256)
  • Chapter 12, On Cleaving to God, Albertus Magnus, c. 1275.
  • "An Exhortation to Good Works," Martin Luther, c. 1521.
  • From Martin Luther's Bible Commentary (1545).
  • Calvin's Commentaries, The Epistle to the Romans Vol XIX.
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "To put on Christ is to possess Christ, to have him in us, and us in him."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
    • "Natural wants are to be answered, but evil appetites must be checked and denied. To ask meat for our necessities, is our duty, we are taught to pray for daily bread; but to ask meat for our lusts, is provoking God."
  • From Wesley's Notes.
    • "And that which remains between the present hour and eternity is comparatively but a moment."
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
    • "In virtue of "the expulsive power of a new and more powerful affection," the great secret of persevering holiness in all manner of conversation will be found to be "Christ IN US, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27), and Christ ON US, as the character in which alone we shall be able to shine before men (2Co 3:8) (Ro 13:14)."
  • From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
    • "To put on Christ is to enter into fellowship with him. He who is in fellowship with Christ cannot fulfill the lusts of the flesh."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, Romans 13:8-14, J.R. Daniel Kirk,, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2016.
    • "This week is the first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday of the new year in the church calendar."
  • The Center for Excellence in Preaching, resources from Calvin Theological Seminary: Comments & Observations, Textual Points, Illustration Ideas, 2016.
  • The Truett Pulpit, Ray Higgins, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR
  • Commentary, Romans 13:11-14 | Jeremy Selvidge | Lead Pastor, Mount Pleasant Church of the Nazarene | A Plain Account, 2016
    • "Like a groggy person after a night of slumber, there are times when we are aware of something on the horizon but until we are fully awake we can't grasp the ramifications of a full awareness. Paul is calling the church to wake up. It is a call to open eyes, ears, minds, souls and every other possible part of their identity."
  • "Sleepwalking," Alan Brehm, The Waking Dreamer, 2016.
    • "Advent challenges us to wake up from our slumbers. That means we have to throw the covers off our heads, get out of bed and walk out into this hurting world, bearing the light that Christ wants to bring into it through us."
  • The Politics of Advent, Fritz Wendt, Political Theology Today, 2016.
  • Pulpit Fiction, plus podcast. Reflections of lectionary text, pop culture, current events, etc. Robb Mc Coy and Eric Fistler, 2016.
  • Commentary, Romans 13:8-14, Elizabeth Shively, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2014.
  • "The Cross as our Ringtone," Alyce M McZenzie, Edgy Exegesis, 2014.
    • "Paul says there is one claim on our lives that trumps all others—the claim of love. Let that be the ringtone that wakes us up each day."
  • "Charity Never Fails," Alan Brehm, The Waking Dreamer.
    • "The kind of love that Jesus modeled for us and that the Apostles taught us to practice is a kind of love that simply gives to another person, without any wish to get anything in return."
  • Commentary, Romans 13:8-14 (Pentecost 17A), Mary Hinkle Shore, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
    • "The future is not a choice between keeping your head down and quietly paying your taxes and other obligations on the one hand, and carousing and quarreling on the other. For those clothed with Christ, the future is characterized by seeing the "other" as neighbor and seeking the neighbor's best."
  • First Thoughts on Year A Epistle Passages in the Lectionary," Pentecost 13A, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
  • "Debt Crisis," Russell Rathbun, The Hardest Question, 2011.
    • "Loving one another is a call out of the system of the empire."
  • Commentary, Romans 13:8-14 (Pentecost 17A), Mark Reasoner, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.
    • "Just imagine?despite what the messages on television and Web advertising tell us?we don't need to worship the gods and goddesses of financial security, the perfect body image, or even our limited ideas of personal honor and respectability!"
  • Commentary, Romans 13:11-14, Dirk G. Lange, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
    • "Paul is addressing the Christian community in Rome. He is addressing baptized Christians, Christians who live in the Spirit. It would seem that this sleep is a spiritual sleep. The gift of the Holy Spirit has been received but it has fallen asleep. Simply because we are baptized, simply because we have this privilege, does not mean that we can take it easy."
  • Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Advent 1A, Chris Haslam, Diocese of Montreal
  • Commentary, Romans 13:11-14, Valerie Nicolet-Anderson, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2013.
    • "Our passage should be understood as directly and closely connected to the entire exhortative section of the letter. In that manner, it is impossible to simply understand the section as an invitation to focus on one's personal salvation to the neglect of those around us or to construct the world in terms of 'us' versus 'them.'"
  • "Incarnation, Schmincarnation," Danielle Shroyer, The Hardest Question, 2013.
    • "What are we putting on, exactly?"
  • Commentary, Romans 13:11-14, Dirk G. Lange, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
    • "Paul is addressing the Christian community in Rome. He is addressing baptized Christians, Christians who live in the Spirit. It would seem that this sleep is a spiritual sleep. The gift of the Holy Spirit has been received but it has fallen asleep. Simply because we are baptized, simply because we have this privilege, does not mean that we can take it easy."
  • Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Advent 1A, Chris Haslam, Diocese of Montreal.
  • Reflection for Advent 1A: Environmental & earth-centered reflections from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota Environmental Stewardship Commission. Rev. Helen Hanten.
    • "History just might be interrupted with some special event.  How like this our sometime disregard for the things we do that harm the environment in our ordinary life events.  Will a sudden awakening happen when we have gone too far in polluting the land or water or atmosphere?"
  • Commentary, Romans 13:11-14 (Advent 1A), Susan Eastman, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2007.
    • "In this brief but extremely rich passage, Paul tells us that as Christians we are all 'morning people.' The time is just before dawn, the sky is brightening, the alarm is ringing, day is at hand. It is time to rouse our minds from slumber, to be alert to what God is doing in the world, and to live in accordance with God's coming salvation."
  • First Thoughts on Year A Epistle Passages in the Lectionary," Advent 1, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
    • "Love is bigger than all the observances and bigger than all the commandments."
  • Advent 1A and Proper 18A, David S. Jacobsen, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, in Preaching Apocalyptic Texts: Year A, Resources for Pastors Who Want to 'Preach in the New Creation'.
    • "For preachers, this text is significant. It lifts up the importance of love as the law's fulfilment. Yet at the same time it refuses to set up love as a big, shadowy "ought." Instead, it sets love firmly in the light, that is, God's dawning light of the new aeon. In other words, we don't love cause we should love. Rather, we love because God's ever-lovin' day is about to dawn."
  • "A New Vision of Righteousness: Paul's Exhortations in Romans 12-15," Peter L. Samuelson, Word & World, 1990.
  • "Sacrifice in Romans 12-15," Calvin J. Roetzel, Word & World, 1986.
  • "Our Salvation Is Near,"Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed textual notes.
  • "Love, Law and the Last Days (Romans 13:8-14)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
    • "He reminds the Christian that his time is limited because the day of the Lord’s return is daily drawing nearer. In the light of this reality, he calls upon him to deny his fleshly lusts and to live for God. He challenges the Christian not to indulge himself, but to give himself sacrificially in serving others and in seeking their good."
  • "Snapshots from Home," study guide, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at) "Monasticism Old and New," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University, 2010. (Romans 13:8-14)
• Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below. ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices .Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
  • Beker, J. Christiaan, "Sermon for First Sunday in Advent 1986," Journal for Preachers, 1986.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Boulton, Wayne, "The Riddle of Romans 13," The Christian Century, 1976.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Carter, T.L., "The Irony of Romans 13," Novum Testamentum, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Cousar, Charles B., "Disruptive Hope: New Testament Texts for Advent," Journal for Preachers, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Engberg-Pedersen, Troels, "Paul's Stoicizing Politics in Romans 12-13: The Role of 13:1-10 in the Argument," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2006.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Gorman, Michael J., "Romans 13:8-14," Interpretation, 2008.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Hawkins, William L, "Unforgiven," The Christian Century, 2002.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Horrell, David G., "The Peaceable, Tolerant Community and the Legitimate Role of the State: Ethics and Ethical Dilemmas in Romans 12:1-15:13," Review & Expositor, 2003.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Johnson, Luke T., "Obedience in Context," The Christian Century, 1991.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Marshall, John W., "Hybridity and Reading Romans 13," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2008.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Moulder, James, "Romans 13 and Conscientious Disobedience," Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 1977.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Olree, Andy G., "Government as God's Agent: A Reconsideration of Romans 12 and 13," Stone-Campbell Journal, 2005.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Parsons, Wilfrid, S.J., "The Influence of Romans XIII on Pre-Augustinian Christian Political Thought," Theological Studies, 1940.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Powery, Emerson, "Under the Gaze of the Empire: Who Is My Neighbor?" Interpretation, 19:18.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Roetzel, Calvin J., "Sacrifice in Romans 12-15," Word & World, 1986.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Rossow, Francis C., "Homiletical Helps on the LSB Series C - Old Testament / A - Epistles," Concordia Journal, 2007. (Section on this text begins on page 391.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Samuelson, Peter L., "A New Vision of Righteousness: Paul's Exhortations in Romans 12-15," Word & World, 1990.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• Sermons:
  • "Telling the Good News," the Rev. Beth Royalty, Day 1, 2005.
• With Children:
  • "Storypath Lectionary Links: Connecting Children's Literature with our Faith Story," December 1, 2013, Union Presbyterian Seminary. Connections: Romans 13:11-14 and Hey! Wake Up! by Sandra Boynton. 2010.
  • Worshiping with Children, Advent 1A, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2013. 2010.
  • Worshiping with Children, Proper 18, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2011.
  • Sunday's Special Breakfast, Wesley T. Runk, SermonStudio.
  • "The Snooze Alarm," Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com.
  • "Let the Lord Jesus Christ Be as Close to You as the Clothes You Wear," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
• Drama:
  • "Neighbors from Hell," Erina Caradus, dramatix.
  • "Seven Deadly Sins," Ron Vandenburg, dramatix.
  • "Phar-A-Non," Glenn A. Hascall, dramatix.
  • "Confessing Other People's Sins," Glenn A. Hascall, dramatix.
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • Clip Art, Romans 13:10, Romans 13:12, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
• Hymns and Music:
  • There is a Mighty Question, Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Tune: ANGEL'S STORY 7.6.7.6 D (?O Jesus, I Have Promised?), Church World Service.
  • Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
  • Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
  • Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Romans 13:11. The Cyber Hymnal.
  • Hymnal Scripture References, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
  • At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
    • Hail Him the King of Glory
    • Heir of the Kingdom
    • Sound the Battle Cry
  • "Accountability," Brenton Prigge, NewHymn, new, relevant hymn set to traditional tunes.
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of Romans

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