FIT CHECK

Introduction

We’ve been talking about relationships for a couple of months now, and we’re going to wrap it up tonight by talking about our relationship to the law and how it is fulfilled in our lives by our fashion choices. You heard that right. Let’s read Romans 13:8-14, and hopefully it’ll make more sense.

Romans 13:8–14 (NLT)

Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.”* These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”* Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

What do I owe ya? (Romans 13:8)

What’s interesting about the beginning of this passage is that, while it seems like we’re going in a completely new direction, we’re actually finishing a thought from the previous one. Remember that we’re told in Romans 13:7 to give everyone what is owed to them, including the government in the form of taxes.

That means we should be paying our bills and endeavoring to live free of any outstanding, interest-accruing debts. There’s one debt that we will never be able to adequately pay, though, which is the debt of love. What’s interesting about this debt is that we’re not told to pay it back to the one we owe. We don’t owe love to each other, because we didn’t borrow it from each other. Our human love is a bad measurement of love in the first place, so using that as the basis of repayment is already imperfect. It wasn’t human love that we received. It was God’s love. We received His love for us and it’s a love we can never repay, but that’s not what He asks us to do. Instead, He commands us to love one another. He commands us to live in a consistent state of debt to love. We have freely received, so we are to freely give. I don’t owe you anything, but I owe Him everything, and He tells me to love others, because He has loved me.

John 13:34–35 (NLT)

34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

All in One (Romans 13:9-10)

Loving one another is the life hack and cheat code to not doing stupid stuff. If you look at the Ten Commandments, you can narrow them all down to this one command. If you’re walking in love, you’re not stealing. You’re not killing. You’re not having sex outside of marriage. Walking in love positions you to obey the law. We have to evaluate every choice through a different lens. Instead of asking yourself if something is wrong or not, ask yourself if it’s love or not. If it’s love, move forward. If it’s not, run away.

No Time to Waste (Romans 13:11-13)

You don’t need to look much further than a calendar to realize that we are one day closer to the return of Jesus than we were yesterday. We don’t have time to waste. We can’t put off living for Him anymore. We can’t choose our own way and think we have time to spare. “I’ll get my life together when I’m older. I have time. God will be there when I’m done having fun.” You can’t afford to wait. We can’t look like the world, because we don’t belong to it. We don’t belong to this culture. Wild parties, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, quarrelling, and jealousy are indicators of what you’re wearing. Paul calls them dirty clothes. Isn’t it interesting that jealousy and quarrelling are listed right alongside drunkenness and sexual immorality? We have to put aside all the garbage we’re wearing. All the big things and all the little things.

Who are You Wearing? (Romans 13:14)

Instead of wearing what the world is wearing, we have another option. We’re told to clothe ourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not the dupe you bought on Amazon. It’s the real stuff. It’s the genuine brand. We need to clothe ourselves daily with the presence of God. You can’t just put Him on top of the junk you’re wearing from the world. We have to take off all the sin and all the heaviness and put on the only outfit you’ll ever need. It’s going to require you to get vulnerable, though. Changing clothes requires you to be exposed for a minute, so many people choose not to risk the embarrassment. “What will they think of me?” The presence of God is a clothing that covers you and keeps you from shame. It clothes you with glory. It protects you from harm. The presence of Jesus includes the armor of God. It’s our defense against the enemy. It’s our weapons of warfare.

Ephesians 6:11–18 (NLT)

11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

It’s what separates us from who we used to be. Steve Jobs used to wear the same outfit every day. Black turtleneck and blue jeans. Why? He didn’t have to choose his clothes every day. It was one less thing he had to consider every morning. I wonder what it looks like for an entire generation in the Church to decide to wear the same thing every day.

Instead of wondering which version of yourself you’re going to be today, what if you chose to wear the love of God?

Colossians 3:14 (NLT)

14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

What if you got up every single morning and went straight to the closet and put on the presence of Jesus? What would be different in your life if you clothed yourself with Him each and every day?

Invitation to Response

Tonight’s invitation is simple. I want to invite you to come and clothe yourself with the presence of Jesus. Come and take off the garbage you walked in wearing and put on Jesus. Put on His love. Don’t be ashamed to be exposed in the presence of God. He doesn’t leave you naked. He desires tonight to clothe you with His love. To clothe you with His goodness. To clothe you with His glory. Tonight is your night for transformation. Come and lay down the old and dirty and receive the new and glorious in the presence of Jesus.