Living for Christ's Return

How much of your life is spent thinking about your future?

Do you live your life in expectation of Christ’s imminent return? At the end of Chapter 13 Paul encourages all believers to live in expectation of Christ’s return.

Let look at this passage together.

Romans 13:11–14 CSB

11 Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

So over the last several months we have looked at Paul’s teachings on theology and the implications of it in our daily lives. We have covered being transformed in our actions and thinking because of the mercy of God. Paul stated we are be a living sacrifice a people with no will of our own but only a will aligned with God’s. Then we looked at our obligation to obey authority, even authority that we do not like. Then last week we looked at the obligation we have o love one another, not because anyone has earned it but because God loves us.

So Paul in the last few verses gives us yet another appeal or reason for why we should spend our lives differently than the unbelieving world around us.

Look at verse 11 again.

Romans 13:11 CSB

11 Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

We should be living in expectation.

Christians are to live in expectation of Christ’s return.

He says besides all of the reasons , I have already given you to live your life for God. If that isn’t enough to motivate you than remember the age in which we live.

In the Old Testament the time clock was ticking down until the birth of Christ. The scriptures tell us that when the Fullness of time came Jesus was sent to be the savior of the world.

Now Paul is saying just like in the past when people were waiting for the messiah to come, we too are waiting for the Messiah, his return.

The first time he came not to judge the world but to give everyone who would come, everyone that would believe a way to escape the coming judgement.

Now this time when Christ returns it will be not for the rest of the world by then it will be too late. He is coming for his people

Matthew 13:24–30 CSB

24 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The landowner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ 28 “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he told them. “ ‘So, do you want us to go and pull them up?’ the servants asked him. 29 “ ‘No,’ he said. ‘When you pull up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but collect the wheat in my barn.’ ”

Matthew 13:36–43 CSB

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He replied, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let anyone who has ears listen.

This parable makes it clear that there are only two types of people those who are the seed of the enemy and those who are in the kingdom. when the time comes for Jesus return he is coming for everyone. The saints for heaven, the lost for eternal judgement in hell.

Again, I think its important to note there is no mention of a secret rapture here. Where the saints are taken up in a disappearing act and then years later the rest of the world is judged. If this parables purpose is to reveal the truths of God’s coming rescue and judgement than this parable seems to suggest that the harvest of souls to eternal life and souls to eternal judgement is a simultaneous event. It happens together. When Jesus returns it is great joy for those who have been rescued from God’s wrath and great fear and sorrow for those who have rejected his love and gift of salvation.

So Paul reminds us here. Live as one who is expecting the return of the king. Wake up. Get Busy stop living as if your life here on earth will go on forever.

Most of our lives are spent living for a dream life that is non-existent. A life that many only awaken from in death.

Paul calls this slumber. Wake up from the dream before death becomes the wakeup call. For the unrepentant, you will awaken with great sorrow and regret. For those in Christ, the clarity of a thought will reward many with the realization of a wasted life.

So then we do this in the four ways

1. Discard the Deeds of Darkness

Repentance-

You ever seen in a movie where the hero of the story uses a maintenance workers uniform to get inside a building. Then once inside he quickly discards the outer clothes to reveal a tuxedo underneath.

When we as believers get entangled with the works of darkness those things in which we hold secret from other believers around us its as if we are wearing something that conceals our light.

When we are believer discard the works of darkness so that the light of Christ in us is revealed to the world around us and to each other.

Jesus said it this way. Luke 8:16

Luke 8:16 CSB

16 “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a basket or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see its light.

In the same way, knowing that time is winding down that Christ could return in glory in our present age. It is past time to be who we are in Christ. It’s time we live by our true identity.

2. Walk with Decency as in the day time

Romans 13:13 CSB

13 Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy.

In other words, amongst Christians there should be no secret lifestyles.

If your life was revealed to all your brothers and sisters in Christ would you be ashamed. Would you be ashamed at how you act behind closed doors, what you watch, what you say. What do gossipers(or quarrelsome) and the sexually immoral both have in common. There deeds are wicked so they must not be known. Both operate in secret.

To walk in decency as in the daytime means that there is nothing that needs to be hidden from view in order to keep up appearances. There is nothing done under the cover of darkness that could not be seen or expressed during the light of day.

3. Make know provision for the flesh

or rather give no quarter to the enemy. In this case the enemy is the flesh. Notice it doesn’t say Satan or the world. We do bad all by ourselves. Our flesh is corrupt and rebels against the spirit of God. It wants what it wants.

So Paul says here, do not make any provision for it. Give it no quarter put it to death. Starve it out. So Paul is repeating the idea that we have already seen. If we are living sacrifices unto the Lord than we must no consume those things that give life to the flesh.

drunkenness - In drunkeness, you lose control and the flesh takes over.

When you walk toward sexual impurity weather being in a place you shouldn’t be in alone with the opposite sex that is not your spouse or on a screen when no one is home or whispering behind close doors repeating information that is not helpful for the edification of another person. You have given the flesh the opportunity to take control. Paul says do not do these things. Walk in the light.

Avoid these things by staying in the open. Put everything out in the open including your internet history. Get a program like covenant eyes that takes random screenshots and send them to an accountability partner. In our family all of our internet activity is tracked. It is in the open, making no provision for the flesh.

4. Put on the armor of light.

Now armor has a purpose. It is to defend a person that is at war.

Jesus said

Matthew 16:18 CSB

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Just for quick context Peter just confessed with his mouth that Jesus is Lord, While Peter will be a little rock, as his name means. Peter’s confession will be the foundation on which the church is built. But then Jesus says the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Gates do not attack, so the picture here is that the Church is on the offensive. We are to put on the armor of light. We are to live as those who have been redeemed and attack hell by the blood of Christ and the power of our testimony.

Revelation 12:11 CSB

11 They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.

Over the last few weeks, we all have seen just how dark this world is. It seems that everyone is evil beyond belief. The fact that there is no prosecution of those revealed doing evil in the Epstein files shows us just how far this darkness goes.

And just like me I am sure many of you are feeling the weight of this darkness. There is a deep troubling evil that is present in the world and its depravity has not limit.

But.....I want to remind you of Jesus Words.

Matthew 5:16 CSB

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Do you see it...this deep depravity has always been assumed. The darkness has always been there. But here is what I want you to remember:

When we cast off the deeds of darkness when we put on the armor of light. We dispel the darkness. When we feel that darkness is overcoming us, its it because we have forgotten the power of light. We have forgotten that Light cannot be overcome by darkness. WE have forgotten that everywhere we go there is the light of Christ in us, shining out of us. Darkness cannot encroach upon the territory of light.

Jesus said, first that He is the light of the World. Then through his death, resurrection, and indwelling of the Holy Spirit we know have his light shining in us and out of us. This is not mere hyperbole but the reality of who we are.

The cool thing about light. Is that light is stackable. If you take a 200 lumen lamp and add another 200 lumen lamp, you get roughly 400 lumens.

So when God’s people recognize there I identity. When God’s church actually cast off the cloak of darkness and comes together as the light of Christ, Our impact only multiplies. We only get brighter. Church we can conquer darkeness in the world together.

This is what Jesus means in

Matthew 5:16 CSB

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

When we come together, when we finally get tired of consuming those things that feed the flesh. When we finally take up the armor and do battle the impact is astounding. Lost men will come to Christ and give Glory to our father in heaven.