Book of Romans, Chapter 13

   I don't know if this will be of value to anyone but I have lately been intrigued by the book of Romans.  Since my description of this blog comes from Romans 13:8-10 I figured that was the ideal place to start.  Something Pastor Joe said made sense to me today.  To paraphrase, he said "the young need to understand they don't know what they are talking about and the old need to be teachers."  Personally I want to give my own version of that, "It is the duty of the youth to accept learning and the duty of their elders to teach it to them."  I will admit that I clearly fall into the "youth" category.  I'm 33, hardly aged by any means but it goes beyond that.  I am a "youth" when it comes to God.  I write on here because I do hope to pass on some inspiration and help others find joy in the Holy Spirit.  I want to make it clear, though, that I speak with no authority.  I can only relate my observations and experiences.  The notes I am going to include below are from my personal journal where I paraphrase the fourteen verses of the thirteenth chapter of Romans.  In no way do I expect people to take what I say as some kind of teaching, this is my process of learning.  If you have any agreements, criticisms or just general comments I would love to hear them.  I think learning from the Bible is something we should all share together.  It teaches great things but it has been corrupted by individuals for their own purposes before.  If we learn as a group then I think will gain a much truer understanding of our Faith and our Christ.

• 13:1 - All authority is given by God.
• 13:2 - You will be judged if you fight authority.
• 13:3 - Rules punish the wicked and this verse asks you to respect them.
• 13:4 - You should fear retribution if you do wrong.
• 13:5 - If you do not act as a subject you may incur punishment as well as guilt.
• 13:6 - Justification to pay taxes.
• 13:7 - Do not allow yourself to become bogged down by debt.
• 13:8 - If you have to debts and love and care for one another then you have fulfilled the Law.
• 13:9 - Quotes from the Commandments.
• 13:10 - Summarizes all commandments with "Love your neighbor as yourself."  It also gives a hint at the root meaning of the Law.
• 13:11 - Honestly, I think this verse simply is speaking about time moving forward without stop.
• 13:12 - Probably asking us to be ready for the final battle between Heaven and Hell.
• 13:13 - Asking us to live cleanly at all times.
• 13:14 - By accepting Christ as our Savior we can help to not give the Enemy a foothold in our lives.

  If this seems like a cool idea I would love to post other chapters in paraphrase like this.  Unless I get a lot of negative comments you will probably see another, similar post before too long.  Be Blessed everyone, and remember to love your neighbor as you love yourself.