Yesterday we saw that as followers of Jesus, we are to practice a lifestyle of submission to one another. In Romans 13:8-10, we discovered that when we practice a lifestyle of submission to one another, we reveal and reflect Christ as we live in genuine and authentic community with one another. Paul then concludes this section of his letter with a third area where followers of Jesus are to practice a lifestyle of submission that willingly places ourselves under others by placing others first in Romans 13:11:
Do this, 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, and the day is near. Therefore let us 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 lusts.In verse 11, Paul explains that we are to practice a lifestyle of submission to government and to one another “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.” But what does that mean? When Paul uses the phrase awaken from sleep, this phrase refers to a state of lethargy, laziness, and sluggishness. Have you ever been there? Have you ever been in that place where you wake up in the morning, of after a nap, and you are in an incoherent daze and have no desire to do anything? We have all been there at some point in our live, haven’t we? For some of us, that could be right now. And not only can we find ourselves in an incoherent daze of lethargy and laziness physically; we can find ourselves in an incoherent daze of lethargy and laziness spiritually.
And that is exactly where some of the members of the church at Rome were. And that may be where some of us are when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. Maybe you do not give much thought or effort into your relationship with Jesus. You spend time with Jesus when Jesus fits into your schedule or when you feel like you need Jesus to come through for you. Paul’s response to the members of the church at Rome, and to us who had become lethargic and lazy and lived life in an incoherent daze when it came to their relationship with Jesus was this: Wake up! You need to wake up!!!!
And the reason why they needed to wake up is become salvation is nearer than when they first believed. By salvation, Paul is referring to the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus Christ will return to defeat selfishness, sin, and death, and we will experience the fullness of the relationship with God that we were created for. Every day here on earth is a day closer to Jesus return. And while we do not know the exact day and time when Jesus will return, we are to live our lives in a constant state of expectancy for His return.
In verses 12-14, Paul then explains that we are to wake up and live in expectancy of His return by laying aside the deeds of darkness and putting on the armor of light. Paul’s point here is that in light of Jesus Christ’s return, as followers of Jesus we are to rid ourselves of the deeds that flow from a life of moral and spiritual darkness. Instead of thoughtlessly and lazily living a life that is led by our old selfish and sinful nature apart from Christ that is dominated by attitudes and actions that are selfish and rebellious, as followers of Jesus we are to live a life that battles moral and spiritual darkness with the weapons that God has given us as a result of his transformational activity.
As followers of Jesus, God has given us His Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence and power, His word, and prayer, just to name a few of the many weapons that God desires us to actively and thoughtfully employ so that we would live a life that reveals and reflects Christ’s activity in our lives. And it is here that we see Paul reveal a third area where followers of Jesus are to practice a lifestyle of submission. And that third area is that, as followers of Jesus, we are to practice a lifestyle of submission to Christ’s commands. Instead of submitting to our old selfish and rebellious nature, we are to live a life that is submitted to following the message and teachings of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s point is that as we wait for Jesus return, we are to live our lives in light of His return by embracing a lifestyle of submission to His commands. In verse 13 and 14, Paul explains that whether it is our actions with what we eat and drink; whether it is our actions sexually; whether it is our attitude and actions in our relationships with one another, we are to conduct our day to day lives in a decent manner that follows the message and teaching of Jesus by submitting ourselves to His teaching. Instead of submitting Scripture to our thinking, we are to submit our thinking to Scripture.
Paul concludes this section of his letter with a command that summarizes verse 11-14: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”? The word provision here, in the language this letter was originally written in, literally means to make thoughtful plans in order to meet a need. As we discovered in an earlier sermon series, the word flesh refers to our old nature that is dominated by the evil and destructive power of sin. Lust, simply put, is a desire for something that is forbidden. Paul is commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to not make plans in order to meet the forbidden desires of our old nature that is dominated by selfishness and rebellion. Instead of taking the time to make plans to do something that is forbidden physically, sexually, or relationally, as followers of Jesus we are to be spending our time willingly placing ourselves under the leadership of Jesus by placing Jesus and His message and teachings in the forefront of our lives.
So here is a question for us to wrestle with: How consistently do we practice a lifestyle of submission to Christ’s commands? Are we living a life that is in an incoherent daze that has no desire to do anything when it comes to investing our time, talents, and treasure in God’s kingdom mission? Are we thoughtlessly and lazily living a life that is led by our old selfish and sinful nature apart from Christ that is dominated by attitudes and actions that are selfish and rebellious? Or are we living a life that is submitted to following the message and teachings of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit?
Because the timeless reality is that followers of Jesus practice a lifestyle of submission. Followers of Jesus practice a lifestyle of submission to the government. Followers of Jesus practice a lifestyle of submission to one another. And followers of Jesus practice a lifestyle of submission to Christ’s commands.
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