Understanding the Times
Romans 13: 11-14
by Rev. Curt Young
May 30, 1999
This morning I'd like to begin by taking you back to the Old Testament, to the first part of II Samuel and of I Chronicles.
King Saul had died at the hands of the Philistines. David had been anointed King only over Judah. Saul's son, Ishbosheth ("man of shame"), had been hailed as king over Israel - all the remaining tribes. For at least two years, a bloody civil war had followed encouraged by the Philistines. Now Ishbosheth had been murdered by two of his own commanders. 
The times were evil and chaotic. What would the tribes of Israel do? Should each look out for his own interests? Was to be every man for himself? Were the Philistines to prevail?
The leaders of the northern tribes came together at Hebron, 19 miles SW of Jerusalem. There they pledged themselves unreservedly and absolutely to David as their king.
No more conspiracies, no more treacheries, no more double dealings, nor more wavering. David and only David would they follow as their lord, the King. I Chron. 12 records from Hebron: "These are the numbers of the men armed for battle, who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul's kingdom over to him, as the Lord had said."
Then those who came to David are listed and described. In vs. 32 we read "men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do - 200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command." Elsewhere (I Chron. 7:2) they are described as mighty men of valor in their generations. At a time when the land was filled with confusion and the enemy was strong everywhere, they understood the times and knew what to do. By the Word of God, they understood, and they knew that they must turn the kingdom over to God's anointed. 
Very practically, it meant one thing. For David to rule over the entire nation, they must submit themselves to David. They must yield themselves completely to him, with a loyalty that can only be described as fierce. So they presented themselves completely armored for battle, ready to live, prepared to fight, willing to die for him!
This is the passage I call to mind when I read these last verses of Rom. 13. The parallel is so strong that I wonder if it wasn't on Paul's mind. Here similarly, he writes the church, since you understand the times, what to do, put on all your armor, every weapon at your disposal. Prepare to defend and advance the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't turn back, don't even look back, don't live for anything or anyone less than Christ.
In many passage we are admonished to be prepared to lose our lives if necessary. Here we are admonished to die to our own flesh, our sinful self. The truth is that unless we have pledged ourselves to Christ completely and totally, unless we are unreservedly committed to live for Christ, seeking His will in all areas of our life, it is impossible to follow Him. That is why this stern, even graphic, admonition appears here. Given our ability to hide sin in our lives, we need the most powerful of incentives. Paul gives it. Do you realize the time we are now in? The supreme events of human history are past. They were the birth and life, the death and resurrection, and the ascension to the right hand of God of one man, Jesus Christ. These events have determined what must follow. All that remains is for Jesus to return in 
glory.For that reason the Bible calls these the last days. That's not to say that we're now in is an insignificant parenthesis or after thought of history. On the contrary it is to say everything that now happens is full of purpose. All that happens now - all that you do and I do, and the stirrings of all the nations -- shall one day be judged in relation to those supreme events of history and the genuine offer of salvation Jesus Christ. 
Everything shall be judged as acceptance or rejection of God's salvation, as loyalty or rebellion to the King. There is nothing hidden that will not be exposed. As David would soon reign over all Israel with the Philistines in retreat, so Christ shall soon manifest His glory over all the earth with every enemy vanquished forever. This is no time to be fainthearted morally or weak-kneed spiritually. It is time to be girded up with the faith, hope and truth that are in Jesus. It is time to hasten the day of the Lord (II Pet. 3:12) If this period is not a few dozen or even a few hundred but thousands of years, this is no sign that what took place did not take place, or that Christ's return is uncertain or unlikely. Rather, it is an expression of the long suffering patience of God who is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, before the Judgement begins. It is a sign that God continues to call men to run after Christ with the loyalty of the sons of Issachar.
While much of the world slumbers - lives oblivious and mindless of the times, caught up in so many lesser things and in so much that is simply evil -we are aware. The sign has been given.
Do you remember when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus? They demanded a sign from heaven. Jesus replied, "When evening comes, you way, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning,'Today it will be stormy for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 'A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." 
The sign has been given - the atoning death and resurrection of Christ. Paul would later write, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." This is the sign for every generation. It may be ignored. It may be denied. Like the red sky at night, what it portends will come to pass regardless.
In these times, life is not about many, lesser things. It's about one truly great thing. Paul in this passage calls it (vs. 11) "our salvation." Why should we live as if it weren't so? 
This is a great time of year when so many people are graduating - from middle school, high school, college or graduate school. The days between the end of exams and the ceremony are wonderful, aren't they? There are lots of things to do and people to see, but really everything's about one thing - the graduation. There's a sense of excitement and joy, apprehension maybe about the future, but you wouldn't trade those for the world. 
Or think of the period between engagement and marriage. The pending wedding influences everything. It's not that you're no longer involved in lesser things like work or family or friends. The fact you are preoccupied with one great thing determines how you handle all those lesser things. It even effects what you eat, and how much, and the clothes you wear. When you know the wedding is coming, you just want to be at your best for the one you love. That's the devotion of your life. There's no time to be bored, no time to waste, and no reason to want to because everything comes down to time. It's just a matter of time. And time goes by so quickly.
In these verses, Paul casts your life and mine in the present time, in just these terms. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; it is as real and as certain as the time that has elapsed since you became a Christian. Even now Peter says our salvation is already prepared. It is "ready to be revealed in the last time." 
It's only a matter of time before we see Jesus face to face. Every day you live you have drawn that much nearer to your own face to face encounter with Christ. If the rest of the world slumbers in despair, nihilism and the sins of this age, not you. There is no time to waste. You rise to live for God. On this basis Paul exhorts us in vs. 12: "So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." The significance of this verse will be the focus of the remainder of my remarks.
This two sided exhortation is repeated in vs. 13 in terms of daytime vs. nighttime behavior (decent vs. indecent), and then again in vs. 14 in terms of clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ rather than indulging the flesh (sinful nature). It is repeated in Ephesians 4: 22 ff, in Colossians 3:5 ff., in I Thessalonians 5:1 ff. I stress the repetition to say that the admonition is important.
There is a danger here, that we might misunderstand this language. We might interpret it superficially, to refer only to how we appear to be, since it speaks of what we take off and what we put on, and clothes are what is outside of us. This would be to miss Paul's point entirely. 
Paul reserves his use of this language - putting on and taking off - to stress once and for all changes that effect our entire being. He used it to speak of God imputing Christ's righteousness to us when we believed (in Gal. 3:27). "All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." He reserved this language to describe our resurrection at the coming of Christ (I Cor. 15:53-54) - "for the perishable must put on the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality." 
While Paul certainly teaches that our sanctification, or spiritual growth, is a process, he speaks here of something that is once and for all. He is calling for, or recalling as the case may be, a commitment, a determination, a pledge in the heart of every true believer that will shape the rest of their lives, that is suitable to the times. 
Paul writes as if to say, You understand the present times. Now, think about it. Your salvation draws nearer by the hour. Jesus' return is not something to keep on the back burner. It's not something to think about like you think about the planet hurling through space. 
As surely as He is going to be revealed to you, you will be exposed to Him. Jesus' return is going to involve you directly and immediately in His presence. You will have opportunity to present your entire life to Him. Walk in a manner worthy of your calling. You are sons of the day now, sons of light. Elsewhere, Paul had written, "If any man builds on this foundation (Jesus Christ) using gold, silver, costly stones, wood hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire - fire will test the quality of each man's work." Don't live as those who assume that what they have do in the dark shall never see the light. Don't live as if there is no light coming.
Paul names orgies and drunkenness, sexual immorality and debauchery (that is, the unrestrained indulgence in evil, the willful surrender of our hearts to think evil, to watch evil, to entertain evil or be entertained by it,to become enslaved and addicted to it), but he also speaks of strife and jealousy. Closely related are gossip, grudges, and cruel and scornful words - things unfortunately not so unknown among responsible Christians. Paul is saying in essence, determine in your hearts that you will have nothing to do with the practices that call God's wrath down on this world, that put us in league with those who have never tasted the grace of God. 
If this is the case, we need to take care of what we feed our minds: In Philippians 4:8, Paul wrote, "whatever is true, noble, right; pure, lovely, admirable - if anything is excellent an worthy of praise -think about these things. "
What are you reading? What are you looking at? What are your criteria for choosing a movie or video? When you get those tawdry solicitations through the e-mail, what are you doing with them?
There is so much great art, great literature, great music, and Scripture that today goes unstudied, unread, unheard, undiscussed.
Further, we need to take care of the people we associate with. A lot of us are out of school for the summer. That means lots of free time. Paul wrote (I Cor. 15:33) "Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. Awake to righteousness." Be careful of the friends you choose. If they pressure you to do what displeases the Lord warn them. If they persist pick new friends. It doesn't matter whether they claim to be Christian or go to church. This isn't just for students. A man came to me not too long ago complaining that whenever he traveled with his job, his colleagues would go out at night to men's bars, so he went with them. He couldn't resist. My counsel to him or you is that if your job comes with temptations you cannot resist, understand the time. It's time to change jobs!
Paul says, "let us put on the armor of light." Do you understand wha the is referring to? We know from other passages that he refers to truth and righteousness, to faith and the hope of salvation, to the Word of God and love. He speaks of all that God in His grace provides us with through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 
To put on the armor of light, we must come to the point of saying, "I accept that all the promises of salvation are for me; that everything God has said about the Christian's calling in His Word is true of me. I embrace my identity - child of God, ambassador for Christ, light of the world, son of the day, soldier of the cross.
Notice he doesn't say put on deeds of light which would parallel deeds of darkness which we are to put off, but the armor light. It's clear why, isn't it?
Words and works, worship and labor born of truth and righteousness, faith and hope, the commitment to obey God's Word and love - by these things you pierce the darkness of this world with the light that you are in Christ. You not only find your own defense against the evil one but the protection of your family, your marriage, you friends, your church, your nation. Even more, you have the very means by which to wage what the Puritans called "holy aggression" against the unbelief, evil, injustice of our times - again, whether in your family, your neighborhood, your place of work. 
In vs. 14, Paul parallels "put on the armor of light" with "clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ," a phrase that recalls the blessing of baptism (Gal. 3:27). Because this is what it means to take full advantage of the grace of God and redeem the time. And this is what it means to keep the vows you have made to the Lord when you gave your life to him.
Amen