Redeem The Time

Paul tells the Ephesians in verse 15 that they need to be wise concerning their ways, and then in verse 16 he tells them that they need to be wise concerning their days.

At the beginning of a New Year, I think it would be good for us to consider the importance of time since it is what days are made of.

How important is time?

Time is so important the Bible commands us to “redeem the time.” Twice we are told to redeem the time: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16). “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time” (Col. 4:5).

Some of us have, in all probability, very little more ‘time’ to ‘redeem.’ Some of us have, in all probability, the prospect of many years yet to live. For both classes my text presents the best motto for another year.

What is time?

When Augustine was asked, “What is time?” he replied, “If no one asks me, I know; if I want to explain it to someone who does ask me, I do not know.”

Another has said with tongue-in-cheek, “Time is that which keeps everything from happening at once.”

What is time? Let me define time in two ways.

A. It is A Divine Gift

Someone has said, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present!” Time is among many things a gift. Each day that we live is a gift. Since we began and close each day with no promise of another, each day we are given is a gift.

Every day of life is a gift. Understanding that God is the giver of life, and that the length of our days are in His hands, we realize that time is a gift from God.

Time is something that is given to us by God. We work hard to expand and extend our time, but ultimately the number of our days is determined by God. Therefore, each day and every day is a gift from God.

B. It is A Daily Grant

With the gift of time comes responsibility. Each day has been given to us by God as a grant or trust. Time is something we are entrusted with. As the receivers of time, we are stewards of God’s gift.

James 4.14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Proverbs 27:1 “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

A. Time Will SWIFTY Pass

O, the swiftness with which it passes. If there is one thing that is characteristic of time it is its speed. The seconds fly by so fast. The minutes continue without interruption. Life is like a fleeting shadow.

The Bible is constantly speaking to us of the swiftness of time’s passing.

Psalms 39:4,5 “LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.”

B. Time Will SURELY End

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Time is a precious matter. Time is a passing matter.

The moment a man is born, he begins to die. Death could come at any moment by disease, disaster, or decay. Man is not here to stay, but he is here to die

This world is not my home. I am just a passing through. We should stand in awe of the time we are journeying through.

Only on life will soon be past.

In this period we call time that we are traveling through,

A. There Is PROGRESS We Should Make

Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

The apostle Paul was a firm believer in forward progress. In the book of Philippians, Paul vividly explained that he left the past in the past, and pressed. Like Paul, we must not focus on the failures of the past; nor can we afford to focus on the fears of the future. We must simply keep pressing forward for Christ.

Forward progress in this life requires two things of us: FOCUS and FAITH.

Concerning the matter of focus, Paul said, "...this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before," (Phil.3: 13b). Paul’s focus was always forward.

It doesn’t matter how long you have been saved and how spiritual mature a person may be, there is always room for further growth and development. Spiritual growth is not for a time in your Christian life. It is for the total of your Christian life. It is not for a while, but for the whole.