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Pastor's Blog September 2, 2021

"View of God in Romans XXVI"

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In Romans 13:11-14, Paul gives one of the most beautiful articulations of the kind of change Jesus effects in the lives of believers.  But did you know that the impetus Paul gives for living an ethical life is based on the salvation Jesus is bringing for us in his second coming? 

Romans 13:11-14 says, "Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we [first] believed.  The night is almost gone, and the day is near.  Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts" (NASB). 

Paul's statement to "do this" is referring to verse 10, where he says that love is the fulfilling of the law.  And his list of behaviors that the Christian must avoid is very specific: carousing and drunkenness; sexual promiscuity and sensuality; strife and jealousy.  Nevertheless, Paul assumes that the reason he can talk about what to do and what not to do is evident to everyone - and he bases this position in how God shows us his character through Jesus. 

Paul calls on Christians to practice love because they "know the time": it is time to awaken from sleep, because the time of our salvation will arrive at any moment.  Paul states that the night is almost gone and the day is almost here, which are not metaphors for evil and good but metaphors for being unaware of what is happening around you in comparison to being fully aware of what you're doing and experiencing.  In light of the salvation we have already received from Jesus ("now salvation is nearer to us than when we [first] believed"), Paul is telling us God has shown that he is interested in giving us the fulness of this salvation at Jesus' second coming ("the day is near").  That is why Paul tells us, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." 

Friends, know that God has shown himself to be a God of salvation in Jesus' first and second comings, which are both meant for your rescue.