We owe a debt to righteousness, and that debt is love.

Romans 8:12-13 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Today we can draw encouragement from Paul’s conclusion after contrasting living according to the flesh versus living according to the Spirit. He told his Roman brothers and sisters that as a result of God’s great grace given to them in Jesus Christ, they have an obligation, a debt that they owe to righteousness. I say that their debt is to righteousness because Paul had made it clear in Romans 6:18 that we became slaves of righteousness. “And having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” We who have been saved by grace have been given the righteousness of Christ as a gift. His righteousness freed us from sin! Here in chapter 8, vs. 10, Paul just wrote, “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Therefore, we are slaves of righteousness. In verse 12, he stated the negative side of our obligation. We don’t owe anything to the flesh. “If you are living according to the flesh”, or to put it another way, “If you are trying to find life by satisfying the desires of the flesh,” you must die. In verse 13, Paul stated the positive side of our debt to righteousness. If we have been set free from our debt to the flesh, and we live by the power and guidance of the Spirit of God, then we have the resources to fulfill our obligation to righteousness. But what is it that we owe? I suggest that it is love, for Paul later wrote in Romans 13:8 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” To love with Jesus, we must put to death the deeds inspired by the flesh. Such is life in the Spirit. This truth is vital to living to love with Jesus. To love with Jesus, we must die to finding satisfaction in this world from bodily pleasures, comforts, and desires which is idolatry. Living according to the Spirit is to find our satisfaction in this world from our relationship with Jesus and living righteously, which is another word for love. As slaves of righteous we best express His righteousness by loving one another like He has loved us. So, with Paul, we conclude that today we must put to death the selfish deeds of the flesh and live to God. We owe a debt to righteousness, and that debt is love. Let us love God by loving with Jesus today.