Well, a very good morning to you all. It's very good to be here this day. I missed last week's service, not because I was sick, although I think a lot of people believe that to be the case, which is normally the case, so I can understand why, but I had a family, a whole family that was very, very sick, but we're doing much better today, and I do appreciate your prayers.
I'm very, very thankful this morning to be here with you all, not to be sick. I'm very, very thankful for our glorious God who sent us a Savior to redeem our souls, that we might even come together and worship this day in spirit and in truth.
I'm thankful this day to celebrate the first year birthday, I guess I should say, birthday of our little guy, Judah. Today is his birthday, and we're so blessed to have him, and I'm thankful today for God's written word to us.
We are continuing our study through Romans, so you can go ahead and turn there to the book of Romans, chapter 13.
And we've been working our way through now this practical working out of these doctrines that he's presented to us in the first 11 chapters.
We've come to chapter 12 and seen that our reasonable service is the sacrifice of our whole selves now to God in light of these glorious truths of the gospel, this salvation that we have by faith through grace.
And he's gone on to talk about how we can sum up then our godliness, what that should look like in the little phrase at the beginning of verse 9 of chapter 12.
Let love be genuine.
And he begins to expand upon that, abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good, and he works that out even more practically going through the end of chapter 12 and into the beginning of 13.
A couple of weeks ago when I was with you, we talked about verses 8 through 10, when he starts out to say,
Oh, no one anything except to love one another.
He goes on to say that love is the fulfilling of the commandment, that if we love genuinely, as he said in verse 9 of chapter 12, then we're fulfilling the commandment.
We are living as God would have us live.
And he even expresses to us that this is a continuing debt of love.
In light of what God has done for us, we're to be moved to continue on and on and on to love others, both in practical ways and with the gospel itself.
Today we're going to look at verses 11 through 14, and we're going to address a particular part of it today, and we're going to deal with the rest of it next week.
I think there's too much richness in it to try to cram it into one, but join with me in reading.
We're going to read verse 8 all the way through the end of the chapter, through verse 14, to set some context for us.
Owe no one anything except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,
and any other commandment are summed up in this word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Besides this, you know the time that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep,
for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
The night is far gone, the day is at hand.
So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness,
not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy,
but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.
Join me in praying for God's blessing on this time.
Father, we praise you for your written word.
It is a grace to us.
We praise you also for the preaching of your word, not because I have any good in and of myself,
but that the proclamation of your written word, the explanation of what it means, has in it power.
And I pray, God, by your spirit, that you will ignite my tongue,
and you will soften all of our hearts to receive the truths contained herein,
and that apply them to our lives, that you might find us more obedient,
being transformed in the image of your son as a result of our activity together in these coming moments.
We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
So Paul has laid out for us this continuing debt of love,
not a love by the world's standards,
not our romantic comedy version of love,
but a much, much higher version of love,
an idealistic version of love.
He says that it's a genuine love,
a love that's rooted in the gospel truth,
that seeks the great end of other people before yourself,
that wants the best for all that you encounter.
He says that's the fulfilling of the law,
but then in verse 11, he begins to explain to us further
how it is we're going to love this way
by saying simply, besides this.
So love is the fulfilling of the law,
which is a great motivation in and of itself to love,
but then he says, besides this, you know the time.
He goes on to further explain that,
but what an interesting little phrase here.
Besides this,
so another reason we ought to love this way
is because we know the time.
So I'm going to ask two questions this morning.
The first is, what does he even mean?
What does Paul mean by knowing the time?
And some clues to that are in the following verses.
He qualifies it.
What does he mean by the time in 11b through 12a?
If you will allow me to break these verses up in that way.
He does so with a metaphor
that seeks to explain the reality of the time
that we all know.
The metaphor.
Look at it firstly.
In 12a, he says,
The night is far gone.
The day is at hand.
And then in 11b,
The hours come for you to wake from sleep.
So he's using this analogy to say to us,
Listen, the night is gone.
The night is over.
It is now the daytime.
And as those who know the time,
speaking to believers in this case,
those who are found in Christ,
it's time for you to wake up.
We ought not slumber any longer.
We've been made alive in Christ,
and now we ought to be about the activity of love.
You can see also Ephesians 5, 1-21,
verse 14,
Awake, O sleeper,
and rise from the dead,
that Christ may shine on you.
Speaking to those believers
who had become lackadaisical in their Christian living,
who had ceased pursuing Christ
by loving those around them.
Wake up.
It's not nighttime any longer.
It's now the day.
Walk as one who is awake in the daytime.
So this metaphor,
to help us better understand
understand the time
that he's talking about,
which helps us to understand
a reality
found in 11c,
the third portion of verse 11.
He says,
For salvation is nearer to us now
than when we first believed.
What does he mean by that?
So, we're to wake up,
be in the day,
walk, begin to move,
and be active
in this activity of genuine love.
Because salvation is nearer to us now
than when we first believed.
Is Paul here suggesting
that we must live in a certain way
in order to obtain salvation?
Is it coming,
and if we're not living the right way,
we won't be able to grab hold of it?
Right?
No.
Clear and emphatic answer to that.
He's not saying at all
that it's our work
that brings us salvation.
Look back in the book of Romans,
the first 11 chapters,
to be certain,
but just focus your attention
on Romans 5, 1 and 2,
where he says,
Therefore,
since we have been justified
by faith,
not by works,
we've been justified by faith,
we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Through Him,
we also have obtained access
by faith
into this grace
in which we stand.
Right?
So then what does he mean?
Right?
Look at the rest of verse 2,
and we rejoice
in the hope
of the glory of God.
So we have been redeemed,
but we are waiting
for the full consummation
of that to happen.
Right?
We are waiting
for the full realization
of us being delivered
from this world,
from the weight
and the baggage
of our sinful flesh.
Right?
The very end
of chapter 5, verse 2,
and we rejoice
in the hope
of the glory of God.
Right?
We long for that day
when our full salvation
will be finished.
There's a picture
all throughout the scriptures
in talking of the kingdom of God,
of what has arrived
and what is in the process
of being,
of arriving.
Right?
You have been sanctified
as a believer.
You've been set apart
for God,
but you are still
being sanctified
in that you're being
perfectly set apart
for God.
Right?
So that's what he's referring to
as he's saying
that it's coming.
It's on its way.
Salvation is close
at hand.
And what he's saying
is that the reality
that Paul's saying here
is that believers
know to be true
of the time
is that the kingdom
of God
is here.
It's arrived.
It's at hand.
We've arrived
at the juncture
between the passing away
of the reign
of sin
and death
to the reign
of Christ
and the subsequent
joy
and hope
and glory
that accompanies him.
Right?
We stand
between
those two ages,
those two worlds.
Paul said
in 1 Corinthians 10-11
that the Old Testament
and events
were written down
for our instruction
on whom
the end
of the ages
has come.
That is,
the transition
between this age
and the age to come
has arrived
in Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 5-17
states,
If anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold,
the new has come.
So if you are found
in Christ
by your faith in Him,
then you are
a new creation.
The new creation.
It's come.
Colossians 1-13
reads,
God delivered us
from the domain
of darkness
and transferred us
to the kingdom
of His beloved Son.
So then,
the kingdom
of our great deliverer
has come.
Just as Jesus said
in Mark 1-15,
the time is fulfilled
and the kingdom of God
is at hand.
And now,
we,
as God's very own,
long to see
the full realization
of this kingdom.
Recall back in Romans 8-23,
it says that
we ourselves,
who have the first fruits
of the Spirit,
groan inwardly
as we wait eagerly
for adoption of Son,
the redemption
of our bodies.
That is the place
in which we exist
right now.
The time
that he's referring to.
Many of you
may not recognize,
know what
the Christ Family Church
logo looks like.
I'll encourage you
as you leave
to look up at the sign
on the hill,
the temporary sign,
temporary slash permanent sign
that's up on the hill.
You'll notice that
it's a silhouette of trees
with the rising sun.
That's meant to be
a picture of this time
that we all live in.
Those of us
who have been redeemed
standing together,
facing and awaiting
the coming of our King,
who is currently
in the process
of shedding light
on this world.
What happens though?
Why is something
a silhouette?
You're looking at
something from behind
and it's in silhouette.
It's because one side
of it is exposed
to the magnificent
light of the sun
and what's behind it
is not.
That's why it appears
dark to you.
There's no light
on the backside of it.
So we're in between
those two places.
This reign of sin
and death
where Satan prevails
in this world
and Christ,
who has come
and is ushering
in his kingdom.
kingdom.
It's not an
interstitial gap.
That term makes sense
to you, right?
Where there's this gap
where this kingdom
is done
and this kingdom
is coming
and we stand
in between it,
between two worlds
in that way.
But it looks
more like this.
It's a Venn diagram.
It's an overlap
of the two happening.
We live in a very
unique time,
the age of the church,
right?
When this world
and the things
of this world
still exist,
but yet the new world,
the new age,
is on its way.
This is the time
that he is talking about.
Turn with me
to 2 Peter 3.
Paul says,
besides this,
you,
believers,
those in Rome
who are believers
and now us,
those of us
who have Christ,
you know the time.
Peter wrote
some similar language.
Chapter 3 of 2 Peter
beginning in
verse 3.
Knowing this first of all,
that scoffers will come
in the last days
with scoffing,
following their own
sinful desires,
they will say,
where is the promise
of his coming?
For ever since
the fathers fell asleep,
all things are continuing
as they were
from the beginning
of creation.
Feels that way
sometimes,
doesn't it?
Right?
That the age
is not passing away
that we live in
in this world
and the age of Christ
is not coming,
it just seems to never come.
The world just seems
to get more and more
sinful and evil.
That's exactly what
Peter's writing about here.
It's exactly what he's saying,
that these scoffers
will come
and they will say,
nothing's changed.
Right?
You talk about this coming.
Nothing's coming.
Nothing's changing.
Nothing's getting better.
It's only getting worse.
Verse 5,
For they deliberately
overlooked this fact,
that the heavens existed
long ago,
and the earth was formed
out of water
and through water
by the word of God,
and that by means of these
the world that then existed
was deluged with water
and perished.
But by the same word,
the heavens and earth
that now exist
are stored up for fire,
being kept
until the day of judgment
and destruction
of the ungodly.
But do not overlook
this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord
one day is as a thousand years
and a thousand years
as one day.
The Lord is not slow
to fulfill His promise
as some count slowness,
but is patient towards you,
not wishing that any
should perish,
but that all should
reach repentance.
But the day of the Lord
will come like a thief,
and the heavens will pass away
with a war,
and the heavenly bodies
will be burned up
and dissolved,
and the earth
and the works
that are done on it
will be exposed.
Since all these things
are thus to be dissolved,
what sort of people
ought you to be
in lives of holiness
and godliness,
waiting for and hastening
the coming of the day of God,
because of which
the heavens will be set
on fire and dissolved,
and the heavenly bodies
will melt as they burn.
But according to His promise,
we are waiting for new heavens
and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Peter says the same thing
to us here.
You know the time,
and when it doesn't feel like
the old age is passing away
and the new age is coming,
we can rest sure
that God is faithful
to His promises.
We can recognize
that we're finite
in our understanding of time,
yet God is infinite.
That's what He says, right?
The earth,
the heavens created,
existed long ago.
Long ago they existed.
Outside of even your scope
of eternity past,
they existed.
And God will in fact
bring His promises
to pass.
So how then should we live?
We should be living lives
of holiness and godliness,
waiting for and hastening
the coming day of our Lord.
What is Peter referring to?
God's time is God's time.
It is perfect.
It will come to pass
when it comes to pass.
Why would He even use
the word hastening?
It's our great goal,
our great mission as the church,
to find everybody
in this dark, dark world,
every corner of it,
every recess,
the place that they're hiding,
and share the good news
of Jesus Christ with them.
We want to try to press light
into every possible dark place
because when the church's numbers
are complete,
Christ will return.
So He's speaking in human terms,
right?
There's an urgency
that we should feel
to get it done.
God, He is patient.
He will accomplish His purpose.
It will come to pass
when He wants it to come to pass,
but we are to press on
to love genuinely,
to carry the gospel,
the greatest expression of love,
to everyone that we can
in the hopes
that it's going to happen soon.
It's that dark shadow
at our back
that should drive us
to the face of Christ.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face,
and the things of earth
will go strangely dim
in the light of His glorious grace.
That is the motivating factor.
So let's ask the second question,
even though I'm already
working on answering it.
So how does a knowledge
of the time motivate us
to love properly?
How is it that it does so?
So verse 12,
back in Romans 12b,
so then let us
cast off the works of darkness
and put on
the armor of light.
So we have this knowledge
of the time,
and He says,
so then.
So since we have this knowledge
of the time,
we understand the analogy,
right?
We ought to then
walk properly.
It's a casting off,
a throwing away
of the works of darkness
and a putting on
of the armor of light.
Right?
It's all these things
He's been discussing
in chapter 12
and this part of 13
up until now.
It's all those things
is what we ought to be
putting on.
Right?
He's simply adding
further clarity
to everything He has said
to the point so far
with a summary.
Right?
He's helping us to see
that as those of the light
we should walk in light.
Right?
The night is gone.
It's time to quit slumbering.
It's time to live in the day.
Not doing the things
that are hidden in darkness,
but doing the things
that happen in the light.
We're to cast off
the one thing.
Language is strong
in the Greek.
Throw it away.
It's not a, like,
take it off and put it down
to be picked back up later.
No, it's a casting off.
It's a throwing it away.
In disgust of it.
Getting it away from you.
And putting on
another thing.
We're to cast off
the works of the past age
and put on the works
of the age to come.
We're to cast off evil
and put on righteousness.
Right?
Paul, in fact,
further clarifies
what he means
by putting on
the armor of light
in verse 14
when he says,
put on the Lord
Jesus Christ.
We'll get into
more practically
what that looks like.
What that looks like.
When we are enthralled
with who Jesus Christ is,
the work of darkness
is no longer beautiful to us.
The work of light is.
We'll talk about this
more next week,
but when you find yourself
tempted by sin,
when you find yourself
loving it,
it's because you don't
love Christ
the way you ought.
It's because you don't
behold him
for who he truly is.
His person and his work
is drifting
from your heart.
put on Jesus Christ.
Right?
And you'll flee
from the works of darkness.
And you'll flee
to the works of light.
You will love it.
As Christian,
life is not easy.
We've been put in this
overlap.
Right?
We so desperately,
at least I hope you do,
want to be rid
of your flesh.
This baggage.
Paul in Romans chapter 7
talks about this great
struggle in himself
and cries out at the end,
who will deliver me
from this body
of death?
He says,
praise be to Jesus Christ
our Lord.
Right?
What he's referring to
when he talks about
the body of death
was a old
Roman punishment.
If you murdered somebody,
they would tie that individual
to your back.
The dead body
to your back.
And as that flesh
rotted away,
that rot would spread
to your body
and it would kill you.
You have to carry around
the dead man
on your back.
And that's how Paul
refers to his flesh.
Right?
His flesh and it's killing me.
It's infecting
my new nature.
Right?
Who would deliver me
from it?
Jesus Christ.
Put on Jesus Christ.
Cast off the old.
Put on the new.
Remember in Romans 12, 2.
Not too long ago,
we talked about this.
Paul said,
do not be conformed
to this world.
Also could be translated
age.
Right?
It's the same word
used here
for the time.
Okay?
It's the same Greek word.
He's talking about
a period of time.
Don't be conformed
to this age
that we live in,
this time
that we live in,
the typical
cultural
normities.
Don't be conformed
to that,
but be transformed.
Be transformed.
Be different
then.
Because you don't
belong to this age
any longer.
In verse 1,
it's our reasonable
service because of
who we are.
Because of who we are.
Because Christ has
redeemed us.
It's our reasonable
service,
our spiritual worship,
to offer up
our whole bodies
as living
sacrifices.
So our knowledge
of the time
includes in it
the knowledge
of who we are.
and that's the
motivating factor.
Understanding
the time
that you all
know includes,
if you properly
understand it,
it includes
who you are
in the time.
One who's been
freed from the
bondage of sin.
Body of flesh,
carrying it around,
absolutely.
Temptation at
every turn,
absolutely.
Failure at
every turn,
yes.
Right?
But you've been
set free from
that bondage.
You don't have
to go on
sinning.
You've been
given life
in Christ.
You've been
given His Spirit
to abide in you
and motivate
proper living
out of you.
So many
Christians
these days
are woe
is me,
Christians.
My flesh,
always at my
heels,
always tempting
me.
You've been
set free.
Live in that.
You were a
child of light.
Walk as
children of
light.
You don't
have to be
a slave
to your
sin.
We've been
redeemed,
bought with
a price.
The blood
of Jesus
Christ.
So it's
knowing who
we are.
It's the
recognition of
this reality
that we live
in this
overlap,
but that we've
been set
apart to
walk in
the way
of our
Lord.
Ephesians
5,
7,
and 8
says,
Do not
become
partakers
with them,
for at
one time
you were
darkness,
but now
you are
light in
the Lord.
Walk
as
children
of
light.
We close
with a
passage from
1 Thessalonians
chapter 5,
and please
turn there
with me.
I'm going to
read verses 1
through 9
together.
1 Thessalonians
5,
verses 1
through 9.
Now,
concerning the
times and the
seasons,
brothers,
you have no
need to have
anything written
to you.
You catch
that?
Besides this,
you know
the time.
You have
no need
to have
anything
written to
you,
for you
yourselves
are fully
aware that
the day
of the
Lord will
come like
a thief
in the
night.
While
people are
saying there
is peace
and security,
then sudden
destruction will
come upon
them as
labor pains
come upon
a pregnant
woman,
and they
will not
escape.
But you
were not
in darkness,
brothers,
for that day
to surprise
you like
a thief,
for you
are all
children of
light,
children of
the day.
We are
not of
the night
or of
the darkness.
So then,
let us
not sleep
as others
do.
He's not
speaking of
literal sleep,
right?
Do not
sleep as
others do,
but let
us keep
awake
and be
sober.
For those
who sleep
sleep at
night,
and those
who get
drunk
are drunk
at night.
But since
we belong
to the
day,
let us
be
sober,
having
put on
the breastplate
of faith
and love,
and for
a helmet
the hope
of salvation.
For God
has not
destined us
for wrath,
but to
obtain salvation
through our
Lord,
Jesus Christ.
The day
of salvation
is nearer
now than
when we
first
believe.
I can't
begin to
tell you
when the
world's
going to
end.
I wouldn't
be so
arrogant
to even
try.
I would
be wrong,
I can
guarantee
you that.
But I
can say
with confidence
to you,
it's nearer
now than
it was when
you first
believed.
We get
a little
bit closer
to it
as each
day passes.
And the
reality of
that,
that we
are children
of light,
we have
been redeemed,
we are
God's
own,
because of
what he's
done for
us,
and he's
coming back
to finish
it.
This world
will someday
pass away,
and he will
restore it,
we will have
a new
heaven,
and a new
earth,
that we
will abide
in forever.
Those that
don't know
Christ will
abide in
eternal
destruction.
The lake
of fire,
a miserable
place,
more for
its separation
from God
than from
its physical
torture.
That's the
reality of
what's to
come.
And that
is why
the knowledge
of the
time,
where we
are,
and what
we know
is coming,
should
motivate us
to genuine
love.
It's a
response
to the
great
love
that has
been shown
to us
in Jesus
Christ.
It's being
poured out
into us,
and it
should overflow
in everything
that we
do.
Let's pray
together.