As most of you will remember, we are now dealing with the words that have been found in Paul's

Epistle to the Romans in chapter 13, verses 11 to 14. The last four verses in the 13th chapter

of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep,

for now is our salvation nearer than when we believe.

The night is far spent, the day is at hand.

Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the honour of life.

Let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness,

not in strife and envying, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision or not provision

for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Now, we began our consideration of this great and moving and vital subsection of this chapter last Friday evening. And I pointed out

that these words end that connected with what's been going before. Indeed, we'd started our

consideration of this on a previous Friday evening. He's ended by saying, love worketh no ill to his

neighbour, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. The argument is roughly this. The apostle

from the beginning of the 12th chapter, and especially from the third verse in that chapter,

has been giving a number of detailed injunctions and instructions to these Roman Christians as to how they should live.

And he says he's doing that because they are Christians.

That great word, therefore, in the first verse of that 12th chapter, reminds us of that,

I beseech you, brethren, therefore, I therefore beseech you by the

mercies of God, etc. Well, now, having done all that, he's now winding it up, and he says,

you should do this, because this is the way to fulfill the law. This is the way to carry out

the royal law of love.

That was his first appeal to them, as it were, the first motive that he presses upon them for fulfilling these instructions and injunctions in their daily life.

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