Romans 13:11-14

Rachel Workman: ¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

We are living in a time that I believe to be the worse in history as far as gratifying the desires of the flesh goes. Anything goes, and the entire lifestyle revolves around making sure the desires of the flesh are satisfied. Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. I’m speaking to myself here also. This applies in everything. Financial situations, parenting, sex, etc.

____________________________________________________________________________________

John Burnett:  ⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”^[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.  There is no greater love than this, yet while we were still sinners, Christ laid down his life for us.  Loving anyone as yourself is difficult because we are selfish beings.  If you can master this command, you are very mature in your faith.  I am nowhere near close to following this command consistently.

The Day Is Near

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.   I truly believe these verses and believe the day is almost here when Christ will rapture His Bride to be with Him.  Even as Christians, we still struggle with sin and that is why we need to put on the armor of light.  Come quickly Lord Jesus.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Allen Michaels:  ¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. The night refers to the present evil time. The day refers to the time of Christ’s return.

In this passage, God has a message to us through His servant Paul. It's this: Stop being casual about your faith! Stop being lazy about it! Stop playing "church"! This isn't a fire-drill! This isn't a dress-rehearsal! This is the real thing! The past lies behind you; and eternity is set before you! The time is short! The supreme Event of history is around the corner! Jesus is standing at the very threshold of returning again! God has moved heaven and earth, as it were, to bring about your salvation; and now - it's time to get to work while God gives you the chance! Wake up! Get moving! Serve! Give! Sacrifice! Suffer, if need be! Live for Jesus with all your being, while God has given you this tiny window of opportunity!

Think about this for a moment! If what the Bible teaches us is true - that all people, being the offspring of Adam, are sinners in need of God's saving grace, and are doomed to eternal loss and separation from the One who made them; and that God has sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and pay the "death penalty" for sins; and that God saves us from judgement through faith in what Jesus did; and that we who have trusted Christ are now living in the prospect of being conformed into His image, and to share with Him in His eternal glory - then nothing else in life matters by comparison! Yet, many of us still treat our faith in Jesus Christ with far too casual an attitude than the facts of the Bible require.

Some of us who profess to be Christians treat the Lord of our life as a mere "augment" to the many other things in life that we consider important. And for some of us - when compared to other things - our Lord's call on our life is not really all that important to us at all!

____________________________________________________________________________________

Tomorrow’s reading for Romans 14:1-4

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. ² One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.