And This Do, Knowing The Time

Introduction

A lot of thoughts crossed my mind as we sang that song. Those words were written three thousand years ago. And still inspire us today.

If only David could have heard us sing the words that he penned by inspiration. And Lord willing, one day we will be with David singing praise at the throne of God. What a marvelous song that is.

How true. I want you to turn with me to Romans the 13th chapter and verse 11. We’re not going in tremendous depth this morning with this lesson. I will tell you also that I’m preaching tonight. This is usually a Sunday that we would have singing on Sunday night, but for a couple of reasons.

But not anything too exceedingly deep this morning, and for good reason. But this is an important text. Romans 13. And this do, knowing the time that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep. Did you get that? Awaken from sleep. Okay. We’re there now. For now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. This statement flows out of the previous context of verses 8 through 10, where this admonition is offered. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, you shall not commit adultery. Oh, that sounds like the Ten Commandments. It is. You shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet. And if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying.

Have you ever heard anybody do that with the Ten Commandments, the first four being love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the last six being love your neighbor as yourself. Well, Paul gives us really that formula here in Romans chapter 13, that really the entirety of the Ten Commandments is summed up in the two greatest commandments of loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. And then he goes on to say, love does no wrong to a neighbor. And of course, we’re kind to our neighbor this time of year, right? It’s the holiday season. Kindness is everywhere. But this is something for the Christian every day of the year. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

And so in the last three verses, he’s talked about what do you owe every single person? Not just your brother in Christ, but what do you owe people generally? It is to love them. And he says, then, and this do. Knowing the time. There are so many people that want to rub that little word out of the New Testament. But you don’t have to do anything in order to please God. And yet there seems to be a lot of emphasis on the word do, like Titus is told several times in that tiny little epistle, be careful to engage in good deeds. There are things that Titus needed to give attention to doing. The question is asked over and over again in the book of Acts. What shall we do to be saved?

And actually, as we talk about what is going on contextually with Romans 13, I think it actually goes all the way back beyond just the immediate context of loving your neighbor as yourself, all the way back to the beginning of Romans 12, where he’s talking about what does salvation by grace through faith and being justified by faith, what does that mean exactly in the believer’s life? What has he been called to believe and do? This one who has been justified by faith. And thus you have this living sacrifice comment, beginning chapter 12 and verse 1. To be transformed by the renewing of your mind, not conformed to this world. And then all of those admonitions, if you look, it’s like the bullet approach here in verse 9.

Love without hypocrisy, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, all the things that you see in Romans chapter 12. And really, I think this statement goes all the way back to even that when he says, and this do. Knowing the time. Why did I preach this? Considering the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. You’ve been involved in some of that, right? First, there was the breaking of your neck to purchase the gifts. And then there was the gift exchanges themselves. I think my son Brett has been through like three or four Christmas events in the last several days. I mean, he’s gotten gifts from everywhere on many different days. And so there’s all the gifts exchanges, parties with family, perhaps with people at work.

There’s been all kinds of gatherings of family and friends. And so the result of all of that is a hangover. And I’m not talking hopefully about one that is caused by alcohol. But I’ll tell you right now, you might be a little weary. A little bedraggled. If that’s a good word to use, I think it is. Mentally frazzled. Running on fumes, perhaps both physically and spiritually. Now I can’t do anything about the former. You’re going to have to take care of that. But this lesson is to help you with the latter, running on fumes spiritually, and I think this text is the perfect one to begin as the new year approaches in a couple of days. This is the perfect text for us to focus our attention on at this particular time of year.

As Paul is telling these believers, I don’t know what the physical circumstances they were dealing with, the times or the seasons in which the book of Romans was written, but it’s certainly applicable for this season for us. He’s saying, you need to wake up. It is time to awaken from spiritual slumber. So this is our wake-up call to dismiss the sluggishness, both physically, it’s now 11 o’clock. Surely we can shake some of that off by now. And spiritually, and I just want to look at the phrases that follow. Romans 13, 11 and following. And this due, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep. For now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone.

1. Knowing the Time: What Time Is It?

And the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly. As in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust. I want to look at five things from this text with you this morning. I want you to turn now to Matthew chapter 16. And this relates to what Paul is saying in Romans 13 to the church or churches that were meeting in the city of Rome. In Matthew chapter 16, verses 1 through 4, the Pharisees and Sadducees came up and were testing him, asking him to show a sign from heaven.

But he answered and said to them, When it is evening, you say, it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. They were all meteorologists, you see. They couldn’t turn on the television and find out what the weather was going to be the next day, so they did some analyzing of their own. And so this is what they would come up with. And in the morning, there will be a storm today. For the sky is red and threatening. Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky? But cannot discern the signs of the times.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign will not be given it except the sign of Jonah. And he left them and went away. They shouldn’t have needed to make this request for a sign. If they could discern the weather, they should have been able to discern by the miracles that Jesus was doing, that he was from God, and that they should listen to him. In Luke chapter 12, the same illustration is used. And I preached on this text not very long ago. I’m saying that in my mind, but it might have been a couple of years. Luke 12, verse 54. And he was also saying to the multitudes, When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, A shower is coming.

And so it turns out. I’ve been on the golf course a number of times, and I see this dark cloud developing and coming our way. A storm is coming. Not very hard to figure out. And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, it will be a hot day. And it turns out that way. You hypocrites. You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky. But why do you not analyze this present time? And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? And then he gives an illustration of going before the magistrate to settle a matter and the implications of that. I was looking at these two passages, actually, on Christmas morning, and I had Brett read them.

And I ask him, I said, Do you think these are the same event? And he read them and said, I don’t think so. And that was good because that’s what I had come to the conclusion of. That doesn’t make you the one of us right. But I don’t think this was even the same situation as Matthew 16. And two times at least Jesus uses this illustration of being able to discern what’s going on in the sky or determine the weather, but not understanding what a situation calls for right now in our circumstances. And so Paul is talking about the same thing in Romans 13 as he says, Discern the time. Do we know what time it is? Apparently, spiritual slumber is related to an inability to discern the time.

We need to know the time. This due knowing the time that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep, Paul said. What time is it? No, not that it’s 10 after 11, and Tony’s going to be done in about 15 minutes or so. In 1 Samuel chapter 12, I would suggest to you as an example of somebody who knew what time it was. Now, this sermon wasn’t very long ago, where I talked about critical speeches. And one of the critical speeches that I referenced was this speech given by Samuel as a result of the request for a king. A request which displeased God and rejected Samuel, incidentally, but more than anything, rejected God. And this is what Samuel said in the conclusion of his address.

He said, The Lord will not abandon his people, 1 Samuel 12 and verse 22, on account of his great name. Because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for himself.

Just as the Lord has made us his people, a peculiar people for his own possession. He had made Israel before in the old covenant, his special people. And despite their unfaithfulness, he’s going to be true to his promises. And he says, the Lord is not going to abandon his people, though that’s what they deserve. And then this. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. But I will instruct you in the good and right way. Fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, he admonishes them, both you and your king shall be swept away.

The people weren’t discerning the times, but Samuel knew the times, and he knew what he should do, and it’s what we should do. He said, I will not cease to pray for you. When we become spiritually slumbering. Prayer is one of the things that is often neglected. We will not cease to pray for you, and I will instruct you, he says, in the good and right way. This is a time to receive instruction. It’s always such a time for God’s people, and it’s a time to instruct our children in the good and right way. So what time is it? I’ll tell you what time it is. It’s time for commitment. It’s time for commitment to the Lord above all else. It is time for commitment to the Lord above all of our stuff.

What is this season all about? It’s about stuff and more stuff. And you know why it’s hard to buy for people? Because we already have so much stuff. And we go, I don’t know what to get. Because they already have everything. What do we get our kids when they have everything already? Find some new kind of stuff. And with all of our stuff, there is the maintenance of all of our stuff. That’s an ongoing problem, isn’t it? They just don’t make things to last. This planned obsolescence. Things last three or four years, and it’s got to be replaced. And so there’s all of this emphasis on stuff, and all of that is distracting to us spiritually. Okay, but let’s be done with all of that. We’ve given enough emphasis to stuff.

2. Salvation Is Nearer Than When We Believed

And we need to teach our kids the proper place of stuff. And emphasize the soul. So many are oblivious to the times. That is what the present time is always about. And that’s preparedness for judgment. Our salvation is nearer to us than when we believe. One of the reasons why I like this text is you can roll it out any Sunday, and it’s true. Not just it’s true because it’s scripture, but it’s true that our salvation is nearer to us than when we believe. What was that day that you put on the Lord? And we’ll get to that at the end of this lesson. When was that? How many years ago? Or months ago, or weeks ago or some in our assembly. How long ago was it?

Well, it’s getting longer and longer ago. And I know this. Right now, today.

After all, you may live to be a hundred and ten. And that may seem like a long time off. But even those who received this letter initially, if any of those folks lived to be 110, and I sort of doubt it. But if any of them lived to be 110, they’ve been gone for a lot longer than that. This document was written 2,000 years ago. I’ve always loved the statement of David, I have been young and now I’m old. Do you understand that? I do. I have been young and now I’m old, but I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread. Psalm 37 and verse 25. Salvation nears. And I’ll just say we don’t think of it nearly enough. And like so many other things.

The last thing that people think they need is the thing that they need the most. A lot of folks woke up today, and the last thing they thought they needed was to be in a religious gathering. Or to be in a religious gathering even better, with the Lord’s people doing the Lord’s things in the Lord’s way. The last thing people think that they need often the thing that they need the most. And that’s a part of waking up spiritually. And yet so often people come to a place like this and they say, When’s this going to be over? They don’t say it, they think it. When is this going to be over so I can? Dot.

Watch the Texans lose for the 14th time in a row.

Why would you want to do that more than this? When is this going to be over so I can? Or look, I’m just not feeling it. They come into an assembly like this, and I’m just not feeling it. I’m not getting anything out of this. One of the reasons why you’re not feeling it is there’s something in your understanding that’s amiss that needs to be corrected. And this text is really addressing that. We need to wake up. There’s some things we’re missing about what’s really important and what really matters in life. I’ll tell you what I’m thinking. Well, when is this going to be over? I’m not thinking about this assembly. I’m thinking about this life. I’m thinking about this world. I want to be delivered.

3. The Night Is Vanishing: We Are People of the Day

I’m tired of homosexuality being shoved in our faces continually. I’m sickened. And I’m sick of all the profanity. Could people please learn to communicate with words that mean something? And I’m sick of all the emphasis on sexual immorality. And I’m sick of error and falsehood. Yeah. When’s this going to be over? Paul says, it’s coming. Your salvation is nearer than when you believe. The night is vanishing. And all of its associated works of darkness. That’s what he’s talking about. It’s not saying that nighttime is bad. But that’s when a lot of bad things happen. And so spiritually in the New Testament, this comparison is often drawn. The night is considered bad. The darkness is when bad things happen. The day is when good things are done.

And so we are often called people of the day. And in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, very consistent with this text in Romans 13. He says, But since we are of the day, let us be sober. That’s the same thing with Romans 13. Awaken from sleep. Let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. More on the armor of light in the next few statements that he makes. But in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, he associates that with being people of the day. We just don’t get the concept because I haven’t gone into war recently. A few of you have, or at least prepared for the possibility of such a conflict. And you understand about getting all your gear on.

When you see our guys, man, you talk about getting geared up today. Our fellows in Afghanistan or wherever they may be across the globe, when they get up out of their barracks or wherever they’re sleeping and go out to face the possible challenges, they gear up. And when they gear up, why is it? This is serious. This is life and death stuff. And that’s really the idea behind these armor passages. We need to gear up. You put on a helmet. And we think of a helmet, we think of a football helmet. But they’re thinking of armament for battle, preparedness for battle, and putting a helmet on. There’s a readiness and an intensity and a sobriety to that. And we need to carry with us every day our helmet of salvation.

4. Behave Properly: You Are the Temple of God

All that is darkness. All that is earthbound is stamped. Temporary. Fleeting. Unfulfilling. All that is of darkness. And all that is earthbound. Is stamped. Temporary. Unfulfilling. Don’t forget that. And thus we are admonished to be people of the day. Behave properly. And that means you are the temple of God. What a rich concept that was to a first century audience. Again, I think a little bit lost on us, as those who had an awareness of this beautiful structure that was made first by Solomon for the place of God’s presence. And all that it indicated about worship and their relationship to God. And even Herod’s temple, not anything close to Solomon’s temple, but still spectacular in its own right. And then as he talks to New Testament Christians, and he says, that era is gone where God’s concerned about a particular place and a particular nation.

You are Gentile, those who are in Christ, you are the temple of God. And he says, and that is what you are. I love that statement. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3. You are the temple of God. That is what you are. He says, you need to remember what you are. You are the place of God’s residence. That means something about the way we live our lives. You are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. You are his temple, and he goes on to say in chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians. The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord. And we are one spirit with him. That’s what it means to wake up and to be people of the day.

We’re his temple. We have been, as we said in our Bible classes, we talked about 2 Corinthians and its structure. The emphasis of the first seven chapters of 2 Corinthians is be reconciled to God. I beg you on behalf of Christ, Paul says, be reconciled to God. And what does that mean? What does that look like? He says that you might become the righteousness of God in him. Love that text. 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 20. That you might become the righteousness of God in him. And so to be his temple, I want to tell you what that rules out. That rules out sexual immorality. That rules out intoxication. I saw this bulletin this week. 12 to 14 million Americans abuse alcohol. That’s a pretty big percentage of our culture.

12 to 14 million Americans. And here’s what was interesting. And this was not from a religious standpoint. This was just from the standpoint of physical health. 12 to 14 million Americans abuse alcohol. And this I found this interesting. Most deny that they have a problem. And yet we have people wanting to encourage. Sometimes even those who are claiming to be Christians suggesting that it’s okay to partake in such a destructive kind of behavior. And not just the drinking and the intoxication that goes with it, but the surrounding parties are even addressed in this text. And I want you to notice that not only here in Romans 13, but also in the 1 Corinthians text, there is emphasis made on another forbidden pursuit of the flesh, which often is not considered as significant as the intoxication and sexual immorality.

Just as sinful, just as destructive. Strife and jealousy.

5. Put On the Lord Jesus Christ

Inappropriate attitudes towards God’s people, and in my experience, they’re just as great a problem as the other problems of sexual immorality and intoxication. Behave properly as in the day. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. He concludes in verse 14, and make no provision for the flesh. Provision is the same word that ultimately gives us the word providence that we were talking about in our Bible class about providing or seeing down the road and providing something. He’s saying, don’t make any provision for the flesh. The flesh will run naturally to these tendencies that have been described. You have to work against those things. He says, make no provision for the flesh. And I’ll tell you where Christianity begins and where it must continue. And that’s putting on the Lord.

In Galatians 3 and verse 27, it says, For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ or have clothed yourselves with Christ. This is where it starts. This is where it must continue. And yet so often folks become content with the fact that at some point in the past, whenever it was that they put on Christ. Surely that’s sufficient. It must be ongoing for us. We can so easily be distracted from the course of having put on Christ in all that it means back to these beggarly elements, Paul would call them in another place. Back to the beggarly elements. He says, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. It’s not something we just did way back when that day we were baptized into Christ.

Conclusion

It’s something we must keep on doing and not be distracted from. That’s why he says, awaken from sleep. Do not grow weary in the pursuit of these excellent things. And so as I come to the conclusion this morning, I ask you, if you’ve not done so already, won’t you join us in this epic journey? An epic journey. It’s not anything that a Hobbit does. We, the people of God are on the epic journey. That’s what Paul is saying in Romans 13. Yes, it’s epic. And everything else, everything else, everything else is second rate. No matter how spectacular it seems. On Christmas Day, we were watching the 50 most amazing athletic events of 2013. Of course, that number one was two events by Auburn. But I was watching all of that.

Wow. That was spectacular. Did you see that? Let’s watch that again. Amazing accomplishments. But whether it’s athletics or whatever it is that is special to us or amazing to us, all of those things, whatever they are that are spectacular and bedazzles us, that we consider supreme or enthralling, captivating, and fascinating, alluring, and mesmerizing. Really, that’s what Paul is saying in Philippians 3 and verse 7 when he says, I count all those things as loss in comparison with knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. All that is second rate.

And I did a sermon on this not very long ago. In Jesus’ last hours. What was on his mind? The night of his betrayal. This lengthy prayer is recorded. Here’s what he says. And this is eternal life. Now, whatever follows that statement, you need to pay attention to. It’s not just duration in terms of time. It’s talking about eternal in terms of quality as well. Something unsurpassed. And this is eternal life that they might know you. The only true God. And Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I glorified thee on the earth. Accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. And now glorify me together with yourself. Father, with the glory that I had with you before the world was.

Eternal life. Knowing Jesus Christ, our Lord. Doing the work that he’s given us to do. And knowing the glory that awaits us, the immortality that will come and being in his presence forever. Do you need to put on Christ so that you’ll have this hope? If so, won’t you come while we stand and sing?