The Believer’s Relationship to Christ
(It’s “Time”)
Romans 13:11-14
* The old story is told of the young man who was completely in love with his girlfriend, but had never kissed her. Finally, he gathered up his courage and asked for permission. He said, “Can I kiss you?” She said nothing. Then he asked, “May I kiss you?” Still, she said nothing. In frustration he asked, “Are you deaf?” Quickly, she spoke and asked, “Are you paralyzed?” It seems that her message to him was “IT’S TIME.”
* In the same vane it would seem that Paul is giving us the same message as this young lady gave her well-meaning boyfriend. There are times to plan, times to prepare, but there are also times to act. After communicating the believer’s relationship to the government and others, Paul steps up the pressure on all believers. As a person who trusted Christ & becomes a part of His family, we are called to do a couple of things; believe, become, & do.
* The most asked question in the church today is “Who believes in Jesus?” Candidly, close to 100% would say, “I do.” This answer is most troubling.
* Why? Because if those inside the church do believe in Jesus why is the darkness prevailing in our culture? Why is it that the government is on the verge of passing a law which could make it a “hate-crime” to speak out against immorality? Why is it that God is continually being kicked out of the public square? If our government is of, by, and for the people, how come the God of the people is summarily being dismissed? To ask, ‘where is the church’ in all of this is seemingly a moot point as the bigger question is, “Where are God’s people in the fray?” Are they ‘going along’ to ‘get along’ or have they abandoned their beliefs in light of the pull of society?
* The key question is, “How can we believe in Him without doing what He says, living out His truths, and basing our lives on His word?” And the answer is, “We can’t.” The fact is that the Bible teaches us that a person who says they love Christ and doesn’t keep His words is a liar. (1 John 2)
* Today’s text is a call to all believers to renew our hearts, to refresh our relationship, and restart our spiritual engines, because the time Is now.
* Of all the many things which this text screams at us, it is this, “It’s Time.”
1. It’s Time to Wake Up – The HCSB catches our attention in verse 11 by giving us a certain call. It simply says, “Knowing the time.” Years ago, Chicago sung, “Does anyone really know what time it is?” Knowing what time it is proves to be important for many reasons. If you are in sales, your livelihood depends on you keeping your appointments. If you are taking medicine, your health is contingent on you taking the medicine in the right intervals of time. If you want to keep your job, it’s important that you get to work on time. Knowing the time is extremely important. But very little is as important as knowing when it is time to wake up. Many people do not like to be awakened.
It’s Time – Pg 2
* In fact, many of us, as kids, have gotten into trouble by waking up our parents when they didn’t want to be disturbed. There are people who simply want to be left alone. Years ago, someone asked my dad, “Did you wake up grumpy this morning?” And he responded, “Nope, I let her sleep.” Face it, be awakened can be trying, if not upsetting, for many, and yet, if we are to have a full life, it is needed.
* Let me remind you of what you already know. Our bodies are not designed to lie in bed all the time. In fact, part of our health issues we face today come from the passive nature of our modern day existence. Our bodies are designed to move, stretch, get the blood flowing, and (I’ll say it) work. It is God’s design for our physical bodies. When we sit around too much, we become lethargic and apathetic (maybe pathetic) because we lack energy. Our energy comes from the blood coursing through our veins and providing oxygen to all the parts of our bodies. When we sleep too much or lay around too much, we’ll have headaches, backaches, our joints will hurt, and our health will deteriorate. Without being too dramatic, there comes a critical time in our lives that if we sit around too long our bodies will never recover. We better know the time.
* Just as this is a physical truth, it is also a spiritual truth. However, the spiritual side has more far-reaching and eternal implications. Let’s track this down and see. Verse 11 says, “It is already the hour for you to wake up.” Actually, several other translations use the phrase that my Mammaw use to used, “It’s high time.” When she used that phrase, I knew I better get to doing whatever she had for me to do.
* Paul says, “You know what time it is, that when we are looking for the second coming of Jesus you are asleep, and it is high time that you woke up.” Why? Because there is much to be done. Some of the same issues confront us physically as well as spiritually if we are asleep.
* When you are asleep you are no good to anybody. Now, let’s not read into this more than is meant. While it is true that sleep is one of the things which Solomon left out of his “mystery of time” passage in Ecclesiastes 3, we all know that the proper amount of sleep is required for health. The funny truth is this; how much sleep a person truly needs varies from person to person. As a child, Christy needed 12 – 14 hours per night. At 3, Piper seems to need 6-8. But here is the point. When we lay down to sleep, we do nothing for anyone else, it is only for us.
* When you are asleep you have not conscious of your surroundings. Every person here has probably had the experience of going to sleep in a strange place and then waking up and wondering where you are. When we are asleep our consciousness relaxes and our sub consciousness takes over and literally controls our dreams. Papaw slept through Camille.
It’s Time – Pg 3
* When you are asleep you lose your sense of responsibility. Maybe it goes without saying, but; while asleep you carry no sense of responsibility for your family, job, or God. Bills, problems, pressures, and all the rest which disturb you greatly while awake registers little when asleep. Most of us know this is true, because our mates are “GONE” when asleep.
* Paul is saying all these things about being asleep spiritually. Let’s see if we can get his heart; “It’s high time you wake up from your spiritual sleep because, like this, you are to the work of the gospel. Asleep, you cannot see what is going on around you and how the forces of evil are winning. Additionally, you have no sense of your spiritual or divine responsibility when you are asleep. You world can be spinning out of control & you won’t know. This is why Paul writes, it’s time to wake up.
* When you are asleep something must awaken you.
2. It’s Time to Dress Up – The end of verse 12 and the first part of verse 13 say, “Put on the armor of light and walk with decency.” The words “put on” speak of getting dressed. Candidly, we are all about dressing up. Proms, funerals, wedding, parties, church, and the list go on. The thought is that we dress appropriately for whatever we are going to do.
* As a believer in Christ Jesus, we are to put on His characteristics, His qualities, and His life. The old songs say, “Let others see Jesus in you” & “You’re the only Jesus some will ever see.” We are told repeated to “put on” the things of Christ. In this passage we are told to put on Christ and the armor of light. In Ephesians 4 word is ‘put on the New Man,’ to live for Christ means some changes take place in our lives. Turn to Colossians 3 and let’s see what Paul would write some three years later. (Col 3:12ff)
* These verses have a literal laundry list of clothing for the believer. In Paul’s mind, the world could recognize us by our “uniform” we wear. Think about the challenges of this list. Although time will not permit, every one of these qualities deserves our notice and attention.
* He begins with heartfelt compassion (KJV – ‘tender mercies’), the Greek is quite graphic calling this the “bowels of mercy.” The deepest feeling which the Greeks could communicate was expressed by the “bowels.” This is why the HCSB calls it “heartfelt” compassion. Notice the others; kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. If that is not enough we are told to accept one another, think about those implications. This would speak to societal issues. And if you have a complaint against someone, forgive them, just like God has forgiven you. Finally, we are told to put on love, which is the perfect super glue for unity. Could it be that the reason so many church families are so divided that Agape love is lacking? Did you notice the admonition in verse 15 to “control your heart?” Paul just wrote to the Philippians to guard your heart. Our dress exposes our heart.
It’s Time – Pg 4
3. It’s Time to Clean Up – Just as surely as we are to ‘put on’ the things of Christ, we are also commanded to ‘take off’, ‘put off’, ‘put to death’, and/or discard the things of this world. This is not a popular message for today, yet the Bible says, “Discard, put aside, remove, or cast off the deed of darkness” such as carousing, drunkenness, sexual impurity, promiscuity, quarreling and jealousy. Think about this; quarreling is placed on the same sinful level as sexual immorality. It’s time to examine ourselves and clean up our lives. If any person is in Christ, he is a new creation (dress up), old things are passed away (clean up). Today, some claim believer status and still hang on to the old habits, words, attitudes, and demeanor as before.
* Even in my lifetime the message to the unbeliever and for the true believer used to be that there were and things which we must turn our backs on. Today, there is almost an “Ostrich” concept within the church. It’s almost a “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality. Is it any wonder this culture no longer seems to take the church and Christianity seriously? When those who profess to believe refuse to live up to what they profess, then the message of the gospel is weakened. Turn back to Colossians 3. (5-9)
* The two phrases which demand our attention are “put to death” and “put away.” The Greek word for ‘put to death’ literally means “MAKE DEAD.” How do you make something dead and then take care of it? Well, if it’s a roach, you step on it; if it’s a fly, to swat it, and if it’s a snake, you shoot it. Know what else you do? GET RID OF IT! Why? You don’t want a dead varmint in sight. Paul says, “Kill immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, along with greed, put them in a casket or garbage can, bury them, and forget where they are.” It’s that important. But don’t stop there.
* While this attitude is questionable, some might say that none of these apply to them. So let’s talk about what we must put away. When mom tells you to “put something away”, what did that mean? Out of sight, out of reach, and left alone. Let’s keep this simple; anger, wrath, malice, slander, lying, and filthy language don’t fit in the life of a believer. In fact, they are unbecoming of and have not business in the life of a believer.
* Did you know that a 2004 (Barna) survey showed that born-again people were just as apt to divorce as non-believers? For the younger generation 8 of 16 behaviors were identical for these two groups and almost 6 of 10 “Christian Young adult” felt cohabitation was okay.
* It’s time to clean up. We never take a dirty wash cloth and expect to clean our face, we would never put our dirty clothes in dirty water and expect our clothes to get clean, and we would never take sewerage and use it to purify our drinking water, yet while we might say “we believe” we carry anger, malice, talk like the “boys”, allow ourselves to view pornography, and we wonder why things are like they are. It’s time.
It’s Time – Pg 5
4. It’s Time to Grow Up – How do we “grow” up? In verse 14 we are told to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” which means to get dressed. When we ‘put on’ Christ, we begin to become like Christ. So, the longer we know Him we begin to look more like Him in every aspect of our lives. It’s kind of like your children, the older they get the more they look and act similar to their parents. Now look at the last part of the verse and it says, “Make no plans to satisfy the flesh (make no provision for the flesh
* We will end our message with a familiar scripture which pulls together all which we have heard today. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 13. Most of us think of using this in a wedding or a renewal of vows ceremony, yet it is written to the church, for the church, and about the church. (Vs 11)
* Personally, I spend a great deal of time praying and thinking about the state of our community, culture, and country. These are trying times for many. People are once again seeking life’s answers. What is needed is for “Real Men” and “Real Women” to step forward with “Real answers.” Answers do not come from those who are sleeping, or from those who are ill-prepared, or even the children.
* If you and I truly believe the hope of the world is Jesus, it’s time! Time for us to wake up, see the condition of our society, and even admit we have been part of the problem. It’s time to dress up by daily putting on Jesus so the most influential person in our lives become Him and all that He gives. It’s time to clean up our lives. Lives filled with the dirt of this world will never be used to clean up our culture. It’s time to grow up, put aside childish things, and show the world the life, love, joy, peace, and even the answers found in Jesus.
