Romans 13:11–14

December 12 2012 Midweek 2 Sermon

¹¹Besides 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. ¹²The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Rom 13:11 ESV)

Morning: O Lord, have mercy on us.....

Evening: Responsary

Sermon

Have you ever had an "I overslept!" nightmare? I'm not talking about a bad dream. I'm talking about a bad experience when you actually overslept. Like on a Sunday when you oversleep and are late getting to church. Your rushing to get ready and driving a little too fast on the way; not coming to a full stop at stop signs. You arrive just as the bells are ringing and worship is to begin.

Have you ever had an "I overslept!" nightmare? What's far worse is when a person has fallen asleep spiritually and is not ready for Jesus' second coming at Judgment Day. Hey,...

It's Time to Wake Up!

I.

The Bible tells us again and again that the day is dawning. The day of Jesus' glorious return to usher in Judgment Day and the end of the world is on its way. We're told that we are living in a very special time, what the Bible calls a kairos time. There are a couple of words for "time" in the Greek language of the New Testament. One is chronos, which can mean ordinary clock time. It's from this word that we get our word chronology. Then there's kairos. This refers to a special or critical time, an event, a special occasion, an unforgettable moment.

If you're a young person you might remember your first kiss. If you're older, your wedding day. If older still, it might be your 80^th birthday. These are all special, memorable events; kairos time.

In Galatians 4:4, we're told about such a kairos time. We read, "When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman." This is speaking of the first coming of Jesus. When the time was just right according to the plan and will of the heavenly Father, he sent Jesus, his Son.

St. Paul says this about time in our text, Romans 13:11: "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."

Today, this day, "salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed." Now is the hour. Now is the time. The season of Advent wakes us up. Advent means "coming." During Advent we are reminded that at Christmas, Jesus is coming. In Advent we remember his first coming at the manger. Yet Advent also reminds us that we are to prepare for his second coming at the end of the world. The King is coming! Are you ready for his arrival?

This is no time to doze spiritually. Matthew tells us, "Stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. . . . The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Mattthew 24:42, 44). Spiritual dozing is not just embarrassing. It can have eternal consequences. If a person is not prepared to meet his God, this unpreparedness could result in eternal separation from him. The Bible spells that H-E-L-L.

Sometimes it's difficult to consider the end of the world and the Day of Judgment. To bring this issue "closer to home," I ask you this: What would you do if you knew you had one week to live? Suddenly, things you thought were important would look pretty insignificant. Take a moment right now. Imagine that you do have only one week to live. Make a mental list of such things as people to forgive or spend time with, sins to repent of, unfinished plans to make, people you need to tell about Jesus, unresolved issues that need to be addressed once and for all, and the like. What are you waiting for? How do you know when your time on this earth will come to an end? Advent is a good trumpet call to each of us. It's time to wake up. This is a kairos time. The Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.

Not only does St. Paul tell us it's time to wake up, but he also tells us we need to be dressed for the occasion. You wouldn't go to your wedding dressed in the grubbies that you wear when fixing the plumbing in your house. The occasion Paul is speaking of is the second coming of Jesus to judge the world. To be dressed for the occasion means to throw off the rags of sin and put on the righteousness of Christ. Paul says, "The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light" (v 12). Paul here speaks of dressing and undressing. He speaks of putting on God's armor of light and casting off rags of sin, dirty clothes of disobedience, and deeds of darkness.

In the Book of the Old Testament prophet Zechariah, we're given a glorious picture of just how our filthy clothes of sin are taken off of us and replaced with the robes of righteousness. The prophet has a vision of a man, his name was Joshua, and he was the high priest at the time the temple was rebuilt after the Israelites returned from exile. We is seen standing before God's judgment seat. He's dressed in filthy clothes, the clothes of sin and disobedience. In this heavenly courtroom scene it's clear the man is guilty. Satan, the accuser and prosecuting attorney, calls for his condemnation. All is hopeless. Then, the attorney for the defense speaks—the pre-incarnate Christ. He tells the accuser to shut up and be quiet. He announces that Joshua has been delivered from judgment. He has the filthy clothes removed and the man is dressed in white robes of righteousness. He is forgiven! He is not condemned! Glory hallelujah! Here is a wonderful picture of how we sinners are made right with our holy God. Here is a wonderful picture of justification. It's a gift of God! It's like a new set of clothes he provides for us! Every time we see a pastor dressed in his white robe we are to be reminded of God's gift of new clothes, his gift of forgiveness. We cannot dress ourselves "for the occasion." God, for Jesus' sake, dresses us.

St. Paul says the same thing in today's text. He tells us that we can "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (v 14). We are also told in Galatians 3:27, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." This indeed is what the hymn declares as it says, "Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress" (LSB 563:1).

By Jesus' death on the cross for our sin and his rising from the grave, he gives us victory over sin, death, and the devil. He exchanges our sin for his righteousness. He strips our filthy garments off of us and dresses us "for the occasion," for the day for which we're awaking. We are now ready to stand before the eternal judgment throne and declare the words of another wonderful hymn: "Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to Thy cross I cling. Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace" (LSB 761:3). We are dressed in the righteousness of Jesus, our Savior!

So dressed, we are to live as God's children as we wait for Jesus' second coming and the Day of Judgment. St. Paul says it this way in our text: "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh" (v 14). That is to say, now, between Jesus' first coming and his second coming, we are to live as God's forgiven, well-dressed, wide-awake children. Dressed in God's gift of righteousness, we are to demonstrate a different kind of life than unbelievers. We do this not to earn God's love or to impress others, but to thank God and witness to God's mercy and forgiveness.

The story is told in Spain of a father and his teenage son who had a relationship that had become strained. So the son ran away from home. His father, however, began a journey in search of his rebellious son. Finally, in Madrid, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in the newspaper. The ad read: "Dear Paco, meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon. All is forgiven. I love you. Your father." The next day at noon, in front of the newspaper office, eight hundred "Pacos" showed up. They were all seeking forgiveness and love from their fathers.

What a wonderful gift is the gift of love and forgiveness. All people crave this gift. This gift is yours! Though you have strayed from the love of your heavenly father, he seeks you out and will not rest until you are safe in his arms. To make you ready for world's end and the Day of Judgment, you have been awakened and given a new suit of clothes. You have been dressed in the righteousness and forgiveness of Christ Jesus. You are ready.

This day and every day in Advent is a wonderful day to wake up and celebrate the love of God freely given to you in Jesus.

In the name of Jesus. Amen!