Please have a seat. It's a good thing to try to memorize God's Word. We over and over tell him when we sing it that we won't forget it, that we'll keep remembering it. And so that's a good thing. Please open your Bibles with me again this evening, this afternoon, to Romans 13. Romans 13. It's still on page 948 if you're using the Bibles in the seats. We saw this morning the call to Submit to government and unless you have some questions, there are a lot of nuances of how that works in real life, how it's worked in history. And obviously we didn't have time to go into that this morning, but it's good to continue to talk about these things. But this evening we're looking particularly on this call to put on Christ. And there's a sense in which the text asks some questions before we begin. What time is it? Are you ready? What are you wearing? Ready for what, perhaps you say? Are you ready for your appointment with Christ himself? Hear the word of God, Romans 13, verses 11 through 14. 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 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. Please join me as we see God in prayer. Lord, would you open our eyes to understand? Would you change our wills To obey. And would you cause us to be more like Christ as we consider him and us this evening? We pray in Jesus name, Amen. Paul begins this section with a call to wake up. Wake up. Paul speaks in time terms, but the particular words that he uses are less clock time and more era time. But he does speak of day and night, and so he's clearly using the human illustration of time to call us to Christian behavior. To help us, to help the Roman Christians who first received this letter to know it's time to wake up. It's time to be awake. My mind goes and perhaps yours as well to Jesus and his disciples in the garden. And three times he went away to pray and three times he came back and found them sleeping. And he said to them over and over, stay awake and pray so that you won't enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And so here we have a call from God to us to wake up. And why? What's the reason given for that? Well, the first reason is that salvation is nearer. Salvation is nearer. And you might think, wait a minute, I thought salvation was complete. It was accomplished in Christ. And you probably understand, but we need to understand that God speaks of salvation in different terms throughout the Scripture. And in different times. And so in eternity past, He chose us in Christ. Our salvation was accomplished at that choosing. It was also accomplished on the cross, and it's for that reason that Jesus could cry out his last words from the cross. It is finished. It is complete. The salvation that I came to purchase has been purchased for all those that the Father has given me. But it reached us in time and history. If you're a Christian, it has reached you in time and history when God made you, who were dead in your trespasses and sin, alive in Christ Jesus. You first came to believe. And some of us have an account, some of us have a story that we don't even remember when we first came to believe, and that's okay. In fact, for a covenant child, it's a beautiful thing to grow up believing and not be able to pinpoint when I first believed. But for many of us, we can pinpoint when we first believed. Paul addresses that state when you first believe. Salvation is nearer than that point. But the Scripture also speaks of the final culmination of our salvation when we will be in glory in resurrected bodies with our Savior face to face. And so Paul says to them, the final culmination of your salvation is nearer than it has been. The final culmination of history was closer for Paul and the Romans than it ever had been, and it's closer for us than it has ever been as well. One writer put it this way, the kingdom of God had begun. The hour has begun. The hour is growing late. Paul frequently calls us to redeem the time because the days are evil. There's still evil in this world. And there's evil in a struggle within us. There's some participation that each of us must endure in the night, but the night is growing into the dawn. We have already caught a glimpse of the Son of Righteousness who comes with healing in His wings. Christ has appeared. Christ has purchased our salvation. Christ has promised us a future inheritance in His kingdom. So the full dawn of day has not yet broken through, but we are, as it were, able to see on the horizon the beginning edges of the sun come up for the dawn. Salvation is nearer. When will Christ make his final return? We don't know. We don't know. But it's nearer now than it ever has been. The Christian, one writer said, lives between the time when sin and darkness reign and the time when the light of Christ completely rules. And so are you ready? Are you ready? Are you in his salvation? Have you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord? Have you believed in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead? If you have, God says, then you shall be saved. For one believes with a heart resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses resulting in salvation. Salvation is nearer if you are a Christian. And even if the Lord tarries, Your last day on this earth is nearer than it ever has been. Wake up, because salvation is nearer. Wake up, the second reason he gives is because night is nearly over. Night is nearly over. It's probably happened in your families from time to time. It's happened in ours a few times. When Nancy will say, it's the middle of the night. And I'll say, no, it's five o'clock. It's early morning. Morning is here. And sometimes when we're in that state, we just want to go back to bed. We just want to sleep a little bit longer. Again, one writer said, the words, the night is far advanced, the day is drawing near, indicate that for God's people, the present era of darkness, sin, and sadness is rapidly coming to an end. and the never-ending age of light and holiness and gladness is near. Paul, as it were, hears the watchman, the night watchman crying, Wake up, for the morning is dawning. And just like when that alarm goes off or when you wake up early in the morning and you think, I'm not ready to get up. I want to go back to sleep. Paul is warning these Roman Christians, and by the Spirit of God, he's warning you and me. Don't go back to sleep. The night is nearly over. Christians, wake up, get up. And Paul's second exhortation is get dressed. Wake up and get dressed. Get dressed properly, or as I have in the outline, get dressed decently. The emphasis is on behavior. But remember, we're talking about a righteousness by faith applied. That's what Paul is emphasizing in Romans 12 through 16. What does it look like for those who have been saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ? What does it look like for those who have received a righteousness, not by works, but by faith? What does it look like as they live out that righteousness? And so the emphasis is on behavior, but it's spoken of in terms of what we put on. Night clothes are appropriate for sleeping, but not for the daytime. I'm glad that none of you are here in your pajamas. And every time the Bible speaks of the impending return of Christ, it also speaks to our behavior. And so we have in Matthew 25, the parables of Christ, the 10 virgins, five prepared and five not. Those three who were given talents, 1-5, 1-2, and 1-1. And in the context of those parables, there's a call to behavior. Be alert, be ready, be faithful, using what God has entrusted you with. Care for strangers, care for those in need, those in need of food and clothing, even those in prison. A connection between preparation for the return of Christ and how you behave. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, for you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. And in the context of that speaking of the return of Christ, he calls them to behavior. Stay awake. Be children of the day. Be self-controlled. Wear the armor of faith and love. Encourage each other. Build each other up. James writes, Therefore, brothers, be patient until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord's coming is near. And in the context of that talk about the return of Christ, about the return of our Savior, there's instruction about behavior. Don't complain. Endure suffering. Don't swear. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Sing praises. Call for the elders to pray if you're sick. Confess your sins. Pray for each other. And so again here in our text, it shouldn't surprise us if we know the Scripture that when Paul talks about our salvation being nearer, he's going to speak about it in terms of our behavior, of dressing properly, dressing decently. It's very likely we can't, I think we always have to be careful saying, well, this is what Paul meant. We know what Paul said, but it seems that there's a connection even here to his earlier command that we looked at just briefly this morning to never quit loving others. You'll never pay off that debt. It seems that he's tying this call to our behavior, to that debt of love that we have, an ongoing debt of loving our neighbor. But he's telling us, he's telling you, he's telling me, the nightclothes that you are wearing are indecent and they're unsuitable. What we wear to bed is inappropriate for school or work or church. And though he mentions it briefly, he follows a pattern that we often see in the scripture and puts more emphasis on what we put off and then more emphasis on what we put on. And so he says to dress properly or decently. And then what I have said is summarized not unsuitably. And there is an intended pun there. It's not the suit that you should wear, but wear the suit that you, don't wear the suit that you shouldn't wear, but wear the suit that you should wear. And sometimes in the Christian life, we put a lot of emphasis on the things that Christ has done, and we ought to do that. Paul spent 11 of the 16 chapters in Romans doing just that. But sometimes we might be distracted and get this idea, well, it's not really very nice to say don't. And yet God does all throughout the scripture and Paul does here. He says, don't do this. Don't do this. Don't do this. Don't wear this. Don't wear this. Don't wear this. Cast off the deeds of darkness. Don't wear those things, orgies and drunkenness. And the image of the words, the words are clear, but the image is nighttime drunken parties. Some of our kids, when we were in Australia, a son and daughter-in-law from the U.S. were visiting, and they went with three of our kids that were there in Australia to visit Sydney, Australia. And they were cheap, as young people often are, and they decided they would stay in a youth hostel. And they were assured when they booked their reservations that they would have a private room, but they found they didn't have a private room. Some of them shared a room with a couple that shared a bed. And it was awkward, to say the least, for a daughter-in-law and son and their young daughter. It's that kind of behavior that Paul is saying, put that off. Put off orgies and drunkenness. Put off sexual immorality and sensuality. There's the action, the acting out of sexual impurity, and there's the sexual desires. Both are expressed and both are caught in that idea. And often those sexual desires are then acted on. Don't dress that way. And then quarreling and jealousy And I hope that you had a sense as that was being read of being a little bit shocked. Some of these are not like the others. I mean, of course, we need to put off orgies and drunkenness. Of course, we need to put off sexual immorality and promiscuity, quarreling and jealousy. I mean, those are sort of respectable sins, aren't they? No, they're not. Quarreling it's the word that's used throughout the scripture for strife for rivalry for quarrels Probably identifies what some of us have experienced and some of us have known cage stage Calvinism it's that idea that I never met an argument that I didn't like and God through the Spirit says put that off and then jealousy and Now that's an interesting word because there is a godly jealousy. God is jealous of us, His people. A husband or wife has a godly jealousy for their wife or husband. Paul identified a godly jealousy that he was jealous for the Corinthians over. But the word used here and used often in Scripture, it's one of those words that can mean a positive thing or a negative thing. It's used earlier in Romans to speak of those who had zeal without knowledge. It's used throughout the scripture to speak of those who are jealous of God's favor to someone else. Those who are filled with envy and covetousness. And God says, put those things off. And maybe your past sins are in that list of six sins. Or maybe the sins that you're struggling with now are in that list of six sins. But there are other sins that we know of all throughout the scripture. You can just look up the page in Romans. Maybe your sin is not loving your neighbors yourself. Maybe your sin is not submitting to the government. Flip over to chapter 12. Maybe your sin is pursuing vengeance for yourself. Maybe your sin is not striving for peace as much as is possible. Maybe your sin is a lack of humility, of thinking too highly of yourselves. Maybe your sin is not caring for others enough that you rejoice when they rejoice and you weep when they weep. Maybe your sin is being slothful in zeal. Maybe your sin is using gifts for yourself rather than for the church and the glory of God. Maybe your sin is pursuing the wrong kind of attitude toward yourself. Maybe your sin is not following God's perfect will. Maybe your sin is not being transformed by a renewed mind. Maybe your sin is failing to offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God. We struggle with sin, but that sin is of the night. And the call is to put off our nightclothes, to put off that behavior that is wicked and sinful. A similar list we find in the beginning of Romans in chapter one, a description of those who rebel against God, who reject God as creator. They're filled with unrighteousness. evil, greed, wickedness. They're full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They're gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents. Children, pay attention. They're senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. Maybe your sins are in that list. Or maybe your sins are in the list that Paul gives in Galatians 5 before he gives the fruit of the Spirit when he speaks about the works of the flesh. In fact, five of these six are repeated in that list. The works of the flesh are obvious, sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things. I warned you before that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. The call here is to wake up, to put off your sinful nightclothes, that's the image that's being portrayed here, to not continue to practice these things. These things are not the things that the one who is righteous by faith should be practicing. These things are not the things that the one who is offering himself as a living sacrifice to God should practice. For none of us, about any of these things, would say to God, God, I did this for You. Put off that unsuitable, indecent clothing. Put on the armor of light Put on the armor of light and those of you who are familiar with the scripture Your minds will immediately go and not improperly to Ephesians 6 put on the full armor of God It says it's it's it's a related word It's the sense of putting on armor so that we can fight against these sins, that we can fight the battle against the world and the flesh and the devil, that we can fight with God's help to put these sins off. The word is often translated as weapon. The word that's translated here is armor. It's the weapon of light. It's the light of the Word of God. It's the weapons of righteousness. Or as Paul writes to the Corinthians, in Corinthians 6, he says, by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, through weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left. And the image is one who is fighting for righteousness and fighting against sin with weapons in both hands. It's this armor that I'm ready, that I'm engaged in battle. Christian, we are at war. And it is a war within that is being addressed here. It is a war of your heart. It is a war of your behavior. And the call is to fight. to fight these sins, to fight those thoughts that need to be taken captive, to fight against the world and the flesh and the devil. It's too easy. To just give in to sin. And Paul is calling you and me to turn away from that and to fight with the armor of light, with the weapon of light, to fight in a sense as if you had the weapons of God's Word and His Spirit and His power in your right hand and your left, and you're ready to fight against these sins. And lest you think for a minute that the battle is merely yours to fight and win, Paul not only says to put on the armor of light, but he says put on the Lord Jesus Christ put on his righteousness put on his salvation WWJD What would Jesus do? Gets a lot of bad publicity among Reformed Christians. And it can be distorted in a wrong way, but it is not a bad way to think. What would Jesus do? How might I imitate my Savior in this matter? but always in the context of what has Jesus done. W.H.J.D. didn't catch on like W.W.J.D. did. But the context of the Christian is that Christ is mine and I am his. And so ask your Father in heaven to grant you the Holy Spirit so that you will not grant the desires of the flesh, which wage so powerfully against you. Call out to your Lord Jesus. Jesus, help me. I keep falling asleep. My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. And so call out for help. Seek help in prayer. Desire the union in Christ that is yours. Just as we would not take any of the sins in this list, any of the sins that you fight against. And you all know what sins you fight against. None of us are beyond fighting against sin. and all of us fail at times. We ought to find more and more that there is a practice of godliness instead of a practice of sinfulness. And if there isn't, at least in some measure, then are you really in Christ? But as you fight against sins and you know what your sins are, you wouldn't offer them to God and say, God, I did this for You. I did this as a sacrifice for You. Remember also that you are united to Christ and He is with you always. And so in that temptation to sin, whether in the ways of this text, or in the ways of Romans 1, or in the ways of Galatians 5, or in other ways, other sins that are described. And again, you know what they are. I thought about going around the room and asking to share what they are, but I didn't think any of you would volunteer. You know what your sins are. You know what your struggles are. Put on Christ. Recognize that Christ is with you. Just as you wouldn't offer them as a sacrifice to the Father, You wouldn't do them if you grasped the reality that Christ is with you. Jesus, I'm going to have a drunken party. Would you like to join me? Jesus, I'm going to quarrel with my brother, my sister, my husband, my wife. Would you come with me and give me the words to say? Jesus, I'm going to be envious of gifts that your grace gave to another servant of yours and not to me. Would you come with me so I can tell them that they shouldn't have that gift, that you should give it to me instead? Of course we wouldn't do that. But the reality is that we are united to Christ and he is with us. And as we remember our union with Christ, we're inclined to put away those sins. We don't want to do them with Jesus. He's there with us all the time. I want to know Christ. I want to be like Christ. I want to put on Christ. One writer put it this way, clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ means to strive to attain to full spiritual union with Him. Aware all of the time that you are united together with Him. Another writer said it this way, when I get up in the morning, I put on my clothes. I intend them to be part of me all day, to go where I go and to do what I do. They cover me. They make me presentable. This is the purpose of clothing. In the same way, the apostle is saying to us, put on Jesus Christ when you get up in the morning. Make Him a part of your life. that day, intend that He go with you everywhere you go, and that He act through you in everything you do. Call upon His resources. Live your life in Christ. Dear brothers and sisters, wake up. Get dressed. Live for Christ. Pursue Christ. Put on Christ. put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. Pray with me that God would make it so in increasing measure in all of us who are His. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we stand before your word and it's uncomfortable. It reminds us that we sometimes live like it's still nighttime. We sometimes want to still dress in those sinful nightclothes that we came before you brought us into your marvelous light. And Lord, you know the particular sins that each one of us struggles with. And you are greater than those sins. Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. Lord, we are united to Christ. We are making ourselves a living sacrifice in view of your mercies. We are with your help pursuing your good and perfect will. And so keep doing that work, Lord. Father, grant us your Holy Spirit that we might fight with the weapons that you give us against the world and the flesh and the devil. And would you make us more and more a reflection of who Christ is and what he has done? Would you enable these, your people, us, your people, to put on Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires? We pray in Jesus' name, amen.