Clothed In Christ (Romans 13:1-14)

We are in Romans chapter 13, verses 1 through 14.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

Will you please stand for the reading of God's word?

And as we're going through this, this is really a continuation of chapter 12.

Just keep that in mind as we're going.

Paul's still talking about what it looks like to be a living sacrifice.

We're still on that same flow that started here a couple weeks ago as we've been going through these chapters.

So, Romans chapter 13.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God.

And the authorities that exist are instituted by God.

So then the one who resists the authority is opposing God's command.

And those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority?

Do what is good, and you will have its approval.

For it is God's servant for your good.

But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason.

For it is God's servant, an anger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.

Therefore you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience.

And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God's servants, continually attending to these tasks.

Pay your obligations to everyone, taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another.

For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

The commandments do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet, and any other commandment are summed up by this commandment Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor.

Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

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.

The night is near nearly over, and the day is near.

So let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

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, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

Let's pray.

Thank you for the wisdom and the instruction.

Lord, I pray that it would be the chisel this morning that that molds us and shapes us into the people that you want us to be.

Lord, help us to come with open hearts, with moldable hearts.

Lord, help us to come with open minds and ears and eyes to see the truth that you have for us here this morning.

Lord, I pray that you would help me to rightly divide your word and that this morning, Lord, would just be a glorious time of getting to know you better.

God, not just for head knowledge, but for heart knowledge, Lord, to truly know who you are.

We pray these things.

Oh, and Lord, I pray to you as this morning's 9-11, Lord, just for all the implications that that brings uh for our country and the memories and just all the families that were affected by that tragedy.

Lord, it's just a great reminder, as we're going to talk about today, to pray for our nation.

Lord, we we need you so badly.

Lord, we pray for revival in this nation.

Lord, we pray for your supernatural protection in this nation as well.

Lord, we we deserve much worse than what we have right now because of the sins and the atrocities that we commit as a nation daily.

So, Lord, we pray for forgiveness.

We pray for revival, we pray that you would do a work in this nation.

Lord, that you would start within us, Lord, that you would revive our hearts, and then that that would just continue to spread and to spread.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

And just so you know, I'm gonna be sweating this whole time that I'm teaching.

Got my sweat rag up here.

No joke.

I can handle heat, but you give me humidity and I'm done for my prototypical wimpy Californian.

I guess I'm so thankful for the rain.

Okay.

So as we get in here to Romans chapter 13, you don't have to raise your hand, but I want us all to be honest with ourselves as I ask this question.

Romans 13 · chapter mention

How many of us have a relationship with Romans 13 that changes depending on who is in office?

I know for me, there are times where Romans 13 is easy to live by.

And then I know there's other times where I want to torture this verse until I can get it to say exactly what I want.

And honestly, since COVID, I've seen this verse tortured to mean so many different things, depending on who's torturing the verse at the time.

So, what we're going to do, like we've been doing through the whole book of Romans, is first we're going to talk about what Paul's intent is specifically to the Roman Church.

And then we're going to look at how that applies to us.

And in order for us to approach this verse without distraction, without all kinds of questions coming up as we're teaching through this, there's two things that I think we need to get out of the way first before we jump into verse 1 here.

The first is the question what about if governing authorities ask us to do something against God's word or against our conscience?

And the answer to that is absolutely not.

We're not to obey governing authorities in those ways.

So I want us to take any of those questions that have to do with that, and we're just going to put it in a nice little box with the bow on it right here, okay?

So if you have any of the what if questions, it's in the box.

Because Paul's really talking about everything else that's not in that box at this time.

Now, the second thing that we should get out of the way from the beginning is Paul is writing to a Roman church that is ruled under Caesar.

He was an imperial authority at this time in Rome.

And Rome was ruled by this one guy.

He was an imperial authority of the Roman Empire.

So he had the final say, and he was not an official that was elected every four years like we have.

So the question that's often debated is how Romans 13 applies to us in the U.S.

under a government that is a republic with elements of a democracy, where the people rule through voting and through electing representatives to vote for them.

You know, you'll often hear people say, Well, America is run by people, so I get to do whatever I want.

A government where everyone gets to do whatever they want is called anarchy, and it's not really a government in the first place.

It's definitely not a republic like we live under.

You know, we elect representatives that do our voting in a lot of ways for us.

And the way that the government is set up, we have to respect the office even if we don't respect the officer.

Does that make sense?

We need to respect the office even when we don't respect the officer that was elected by the people.

So, does Romans 13 apply to people that are in a republic like we are?

Absolutely it does.

Because as we're going to see, God gives us governing authority regardless of the type of government that it is.

So, with those two things set aside, so if at any point you have a what-if question, it's in that box that probably doesn't pertain to what Paul is really trying to get across here.

So chapter 13, verse 1.

Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God.

And the authorities that exist are instituted by God.

So in this time that Paul's writing, so about mid-first century, Rome was under the rule specifically of Caesar Nero.

And along with that, Jewish zealots were on the rise in Judea and then also in Rome.

These were the zealots that were trying to overthrow Roman rule, that were trying to convince Jews everywhere to not pay their taxes and to not submit to the Roman authority.

They were encouraging a revolt against, specifically against the Roman authority.

And many think that Romans 13 is Paul's response specifically to that.

Of the question that the Roman church might be having, like, should we revolt against this pagan government and should we be anti-everything that they're doing?

And should we stop paying our taxes?

And should we revolt and should we start killing people?

So Paul lets them know here that God has all authority.

All of it.

There isn't anything that he doesn't have authority over.

He has authority over the heavens, over the stars, over the planets, over the spiritual realm, including heaven and hell.

He has authority over the ocean and clouds and like the rain we're seeing this morning and snow and rivers.

You name it, he has authority.

And yes, even over world leaders and kings and presidents and governors and mayors and city council members and so on and so on.

Even over your elders and pastors here at this church.

So Paul lets them know let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God.

And the authorities that exist are instituted by God.

So what he's telling them is don't believe these zealots and what they're telling you.

The authority you have over you is from God.

Now, does that mean that these authorities are holy and everything that they do is holy?

You know, as long as there's sin in the world, there will be people in authority that are sinning.

Nero was over Rome right now, and he was an absolute madman.

When you read about some of the stuff that he did, and specifically to Christians, he was an absolute madman.

And sometimes God puts people in authority for purposes of his judgment.

Daniel 4.17 tells us that God sets over kingdoms the lowliest.

Some translations say the basest of men, those that have absolutely no moral character.

God will place those people in authority for purposes of his judgment at times.

And as you read through the Old Testament, God allowed some horrible kings to reign.

Just a couple weeks ago, we're talking about King Ahab and Jezebel and how bad that was.

Because the majority of Israel had given themselves over to idols.

It was like God was saying, you know, if that's what you really want so badly, then I'm going to let you wallow in it.

And I'm actually going to give you the desires of your heart.

Authorities that are going to promote this idol worship.

You know, but as my old pastor always used to say down in Oxnard, God gives us the authorities that we deserve.

Right now, the U.S.

has the president that we deserve.

California has the governor that it deserves.

Atascadero has the mayor that it deserves, and so on.

And not only do we deserve them, but God uses them for his purposes.

Even when we can't see it, or we can't understand it, or even when we just don't like it.

You know, here's an example in Philippians, I want to read you, of Paul's understanding of authority and how God uses them.

And Paul's writing this letter from prison.

And it's Philippians 1, verses 12 through 14.

Philippians 1:12–14

I'll just read it to you.

He says, Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, his imprisonment.

So that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ.

Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.

You know, we could make every case that Paul's imprisonment is injustice and the result of corrupt power and power-hungry rulers and authorities, and that's why he's imprisoned.

But God uses it to bring the gospel to the imperial guard.

God uses it to embolden other Christians.

You know, the persecution of the church that we see in Acts, what it did is it made the Christians flee from Jerusalem, resulting in the gospel going out all around the region because they were fleeing with the gospel.

And Paul understood this, I think, better than anybody else.

God can work all things together for good.

Even that the enemy, even his plans for evil, he can work those things for good and for the spread of the gospel.

You know, I think it's important to remember that when someone gets into authority that we don't like, we need to remember that if the gates of hell can't prevail against God's church, a measly government and a measly leader don't stand a chance against the church as well.

Now, with all that, I want to make sure that you hear what I'm not saying today, okay?

I want to make sure that you don't hear me saying, well, since God delegates authority, we don't really have control of that, so we should just stay out of the voting process and stay out of politics.

That is not what I'm saying at all.

Absolutely not.

We need to vote.

We need to be active in the government that God has given us and actively try to make changes for the better.

To try and change things to align to biblical values, to try and hold evil and corruption accountable, to try and elect officials with biblical values and vote on laws that promote biblical values.

We need to be involved in all of those things.

It's our civic duty as American citizens.

I think where we get in trouble as Christians is when we devote more of ourselves to that than to spreading the gospel.

We need to keep the gospel at the forefront because only Jesus can change hearts.

Laws cannot.

But with all of that, all the while, we need to respect the office of authority that God has placed over us.

Even if we don't respect the officer.

Because we live in a very sinful country.

We live in a state that mocks God, that mocks his values, that overwhelmingly thumbs their nose at God and does not value the sanctity of life that he has created.

So I'm really not surprised with authority that we end up electing over and over and over, because it's the authority that our state and that our country deserves.

William Newell has a quote in his commentary that I want to share with you.

He said, Your Savior suffered under Pontius Pilate, one of the worst Roman governors Judea ever had, and Paul under Nero, the worst Roman emperor.

And neither our Lord nor his apostle denied or reviled the authority.

And the question always comes up, I think, at this point, well, what about civil disobedience?

Like, what do Christians do with that?

How do we handle that?

Should we as Christians take part in civil disobedience?

I want you to really think about this for a second.

Early church tradition tells us that Paul died at the hands of his governing authorities after being imprisoned for sharing the gospel, which was illegal at the time to convert a Roman to Christianity.

And then early church tradition tells us that he was beheaded by a sword under Roman authority.

So Paul died because of civil disobedience to the Romans by the sword.

All week I've been trying to wrap my head around that.

Considering Paul's words to the Roman Church right now in this passage, he ended up with the exact thing he's talking about because of his civil disobedience dying by the sword from the Romans.

But I want you to think about this.

Do you think Paul's civil disobedience would have been justified if it was due to tax evasion on his part?

So here's where I've arrived personally at this.

If my civil disobedience is based on biblical principles, then I'm justified biblically in that civil disobedience.

Everything else where I may want to practice civil disobedience better be based off the approval of my conscience that's been informed through the lens of Scripture.

Does that make sense?

Anything that I want to do just for the sake of sticking it to the man, so to speak, or just because I want to be a jerk, I think that's what Paul's calling off limits here.

The civil disobedience that's through Scripture, that is okay, but it's all the other stuff where Paul is saying, uh-uh, you need to be good citizens.

Now, in all of this, here is one thing that we can, and I think we should be doing, and I mentioned this as we're praying earlier.

We need to confess the sins of our nation.

And we need to beg for God's mercy.

To not give us the authority that we deserve, but to give us authority based on his mercy.

Because we deserve the worst leaders, the way that things have been going, the way that we've been acting as a country.

God did that for Israel at times.

Like I think of King Josiah.

He's a wonderful example of when God just had mercy on Israel when they did not deserve it.

King Josiah's father and grandfather were the kings before him, and they were just wicked and evil men.

And Israel was so far from God in those times.

But God gave Judah King Josiah.

And it's just a wonderful, refreshing story when you're reading about the state of Israel to come across that story because he discovers God's law and he brings godly reform to the nation of Israel.

You know, it was truly God's hand of mercy on that time to Israel.

Giving Israel another chance to repent and another chance to reform from the idolatry that they were in.

You know, unfortunately it didn't last long with Josiah, but God will in his mercy give wicked countries an authority that they don't deserve.

In his mercy, somebody that's good, and that's what we need to be praying for.

We need to pray for God's mercy in that way, exactly for the leaders that are in authority over us.

Verse 2.

So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God's command.

And those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.

So what Paul's saying here is abundantly clear, I think.

Unless our authority is asking us to do something unbiblical or against our conscience that's informed through Scripture, we're not to oppose them.

Don't listen to the zealots, I think is what he's trying to tell the church here.

Don't revolt against everything.

Don't revolt against all the authority that God has placed over you.

Just because you don't like the person filling the office.

Just because you don't like the authority at that time that is over you.

You know, this is a plea to the Roman church, I think, against anarchy.

Don't just do whatever you want because you don't like the authority that's over you.

And Paul makes the case that God has given us civil government for our own protection.

Which makes sense.

I mean, could you imagine driving without stoplights or stop signs or speed limits?

I really think that's kind of what he's talking about here.

Don't just ignore these things.

These are good laws that are there for your protection.

Or, you know, think of what life would be like if there was no law against theft.

I think every window in this town would probably be broken if there was no law against theft.

And Paul is saying, if you do oppose these laws that are for your own good, it brings judgment on you.

We break the laws, we get in trouble, we get punished.

And if we live in lawlessness, we'll also be the victims of that lawlessness, which I think in a form is judgment on ourselves as well.

You know, as long as we are fallen and sinful, we need civil authority to help keep the order and peace.

For just the simple laws like I just mentioned.

Look at verse 3.

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority?

Do what is good, and you will have its approval.

This is a plea, I think, really, to just not be a jerk.

To do what is good and to just not be a jerk.

And everybody wants to throw in the what ifs.

You know that box I was talking about earlier?

With this verse specifically.

You know, what if someone Got into power through assassination or a rigged election or some other nefarious means.

What about, you know, all of those things?

We always want to take this verse to the very extreme.

Like, well, what if it's Hitler?

You know?

What if it's a warlord that got there, you know, by just killing people in mass murder?

What if, you know, what if keep all of that in the box?

I really don't think that's what Paul's talking about right now.

Because I think Paul is simply talking about if the speed limit's 55, just don't go 70.

I think that's really the heart of what Paul is trying to communicate here.

And I think what he's saying is if you do go 70, the authorities, the police, they're going to punish you and they're going to give you a ticket, and you're going to have to pay that, and you're going to have to go to traffic school.

Like, it's just better to just obey the authorities from the get-go.

Now, if you look at the vast majority of the laws in our country, under the authorities that we live in, they're good.

There's a couple laws that we're not okay with that are anti-biblical, but we can't throw all of those good laws out just because there's a handful that we don't like, that are contrary to the Bible.

And Paul ends verse 3 with saying, Do what is good and you will have its approval.

We as Christians, I think is what Paul's saying here, is we need to be exemplary citizens.

We should be the people that the police and the IRS don't ever have to worry about.

Because if we are truly abiding in Christ, we'll be the citizens that are always telling the truth.

We'll be the citizens that are always loving and helping their neighbors.

We'll be the citizens that are always paying their taxes and don't need to be audited.

We're going to be citizens that aren't jamming up the court system with frivolous lawsuits or because we've committed so many crimes.

That's the reputation we should have within our cities, with our neighbors, both in Rome and right here in Atascadero.

Philippians 3.20 tells us that our true citizenship is in heaven.

And that this right here, this is not our home.

But Paul's telling us, while we are these resident aliens, so to speak, on this planet earth, that we need to be examples of Christ, to the authorities that God has placed in our life.

Which is really what the second half of this chapter is about.

But first look at verse 4 with me.

For it, referring to civil government, is God's servant for your good.

But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason.

For it is God's servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.

Basically, we need to have a healthy respect for our government because it carries the sword.

You know, the sword here refers to capital punishment.

Execution for conviction of serious crimes in this time.

You know, it's something that God actually introduced in Genesis 9 to Noah and his family.

And God has given that authority only to civil government.

And in Rome at this time, beheading was the chosen practice for carrying out capital punishments on its own citizens, like Paul.

You know, but then crucifixion was saved for the non-citizens, for people like Jesus and people like Peter.

So Paul mentions the sword here and says, be afraid of it.

The government doesn't carry the sword for no reason.

Look at verse 5.

Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience.

So we need to submit not just out of fear of the punishment from police officers or court systems or whatever it might be, but because it's what God tells us to do.

Do what's right, and you won't have to look over your shoulder in fear of man or in fear of God.

You see, if our consciences are biblically informed, it will not let us get away with being a jerk or just sticking it to the man for the sake of being rebellious.

Verse 6.

And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God's servants, continually attending to these tasks.

Pay your obligations to everyone.

Taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

So, in other words, be good citizens.

That don't rebel against the thing that God's placed in your life for your own good.

And don't withhold your money or evade taxes just because some laws are wrong and some officials are corrupt.

And we need to remember that even if we hate the tax code, even if we hate the IRS or the DMV, or we think that registering our car in California is highway robbery.

No pun intended.

God's not giving us an out.

You still need to pay those taxes and those fees and those tolls.

That's the basis of what Paul's saying here.

And one way that we could do that is to pray for those that are in authority.

And pray for revival in our leaders at every level of government.

1 Timothy 2, 1 through 4 addresses that.

It says, first of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

You know, the Lord really convicted me this week as I was prepping for this morning that I don't pray enough for our leaders.

I don't pray enough for the authorities that God has placed over our life.

We need to be praying that they would fall on their faces and that they would seek God with all of their heart.

And that the Lord would convict them of all that they're doing, and that there would be revival in this country, starting with us but leading to those that are in authority over us.

We need to pray for revival because only Jesus, as I said earlier, can change hearts.

And changed hearts is what leads to changed actions.

You know, Joe Foch has a saying that I think is right on.

He says, if there isn't revival in America, it's not the government's fault.

It's the church's fault.

For not being on our faces in prayer, for not pleading with God to change hearts, and not for not allowing for revival to take place in our own hearts.

We need to be praying more, and I'm going to try and make a point of praying more here at church for our leaders and for our authorities.

Because we need revival now just as bad as we ever have at any point in our country.

Look at verse 8.

Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another.

For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Paul's touching on here the greatest commandment here to love God and love others.

And here it is laid out as something that we owe to each other.

Notice that.

He said it's something that we owe to each other.

Verses 6 and 7 talk about not owing taxes, tolls, giving respect, and honor.

But we owe to one another love.

So the question is why?

I think it's because Jesus commanded it.

He commanded it of his followers.

In John 13, 34, he said, I give you a new command.

Love one another just as I have loved you.

You are also to love one another.

And if Jesus commanded it, that means that's not an option for us.

We actually owe it to one another, to love each other.

Because if you're acting in love, you will fulfill the law, as we're going to see right here in verses 9 through 10.

Verse 9.

The commandments, do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet, and any other commandment are summed up by this commandment.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor.

Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

You can look at verse 9 as a list of don'ts, if you want to.

Or I think you could look at it as a list of ways to love your neighbor by not committing adultery.

You're loving the other person by not taking advantage of them outside of marriage, even if they're willing.

You're loving your spouse andor their spouse by not breaking your marriage vows.

And then by not committing murder, you're holding up the life of your neighbor above your anger.

By not stealing, you're placing the needs of whoever you would steal from above your own wants and above your own needs.

By not coveting, you're actually able to be happy that somebody else has something that you don't and that they're actually able to enjoy it and you're not.

That's love.

Love is the answer.

And it's not like hippie love.

You know, like the hippies tried to change the world by, oh, it's just all love, man, and all that stuff.

We're talking about God's love.

We're talking about sacrificial love.

We're talking about being that living sacrifice that we've been talking about all these weeks.

We're talking about placing others first.

Because if you're truly loving your neighbor, you don't have to worry about breaking commandments.

Because putting others first means that we're not going to break laws.

If we're truly doing that in every way.

And I think this is often the step that we try to skip in conquering sin.

The whole loving your neighbor aspect of it.

So I want to encourage you, if you're struggling with a sin in your life, have you tried not sinning by loving your neighbor?

Instead of just trying harder and white-knuckling it and just trying not to.

You know, here's an example.

If you struggle with alcohol, have you tried stopping because you want to show love to those that care about you?

If you struggle with porn, have you tried stopping because you love your spouse or your future spouse too much to continue on?

Or you want to love the person that's on that screen, and you want to love their parents by not treating them like an object, but treating them like an image bearer of God.

You know, try defeating sin with love.

Whatever it might be in your life.

Figure out how is this unloving?

And then do it through the motivation of love as opposed to I just really shouldn't be doing this, and I just need to try harder.

Try to do it through love and see how your perspective changes when you do it that way.

Look at verse 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 believe.

Every single hour that we live is one hour closer to Jesus' return.

So there's no time like the present to wake up from disobedience.

To wake up from hating your neighbor and disrespecting your authority that God has placed in your life.

Because even if you're a believer in Christ, the time that we're going to be face to face with Jesus is closer every hour that we live.

And it's closer than the day that we first believed.

In short, this isn't a time to mess around.

It's not a time to concern ourselves with anything that's not of the kingdom of God.

And notice verse 11 is talking to followers of Christ in the church at Rome.

You know, it's possible to be saved, according to this verse, and be asleep to the things of the Lord.

And that should be really scary to us.

To be saved and to not love our neighbor.

To be saved and to not be in a true relationship that's completely surrendered to God.

And like I said, we need to take this serious.

Don't sleep through your relationship with God.

And if you have been, heed Paul's plea right here.

It's time to wake up.

Jesus' return is closer this very second than it ever has been in the history of mankind.

So don't be caught sleeping.

That's what he's encouraging the church in Rome.

That's what I want to encourage us with here this morning.

Look at verse 12 with me.

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.

The night being this time as we wait for Jesus.

You know, where sin is running rampant on this earth.

What he's saying is, this night is almost over, and Jesus is near.

When the disciples asked Jesus about knowing when end times are coming in Mark 13, he said, Watch, be alert, for you don't know when the time is coming.

And Paul is reinforcing the same idea right here in this verse.

Stop acting like the world, he says, and put on the armor of light, which we're going to see in verse 14 is Jesus.

The armor of light is Jesus.

But first look at verse 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.

You know, there are things that we'll do in the privacy of night that we would never consider doing in broad daylight.

And we need to walk in broad daylight all the time.

That's the encouragement from Paul here.

You know, I remember when Michelle and I were dating, somebody told me, nothing good happens when you're alone after dark.

There's something about darkness where we feel like we can hide things a little more, or maybe our inhibitions drop from where they might be during the light.

This is a plea to stop letting your flesh rule you.

It's time to get serious.

If you're calling yourself a Christian but you're asleep, and you're involved with drunkenness and sexual impurity and infighting, like he's talking about here, it's time to start living like Jesus is more than your Savior, but like he's also your Lord as well.

Which is really what verse 14 is about.

Look at it with me.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

So here it is.

What does it mean to put on Christ?

You know, put on right here means to sink into a garment.

So we should be thinking clothing.

He's saying you were living in the night.

Your flesh was taking part in all of this immorality and in this drunkenness and in this sexual impurity.

It's time to take your night clothes off and come out of your sleep.

In a way, it's like, you need to change out of your pajamas.

You need to put some daylight clothes on.

It's time to walk in the light.

If you're not going to walk in the deeds of darkness, you shouldn't wear the clothes of darkness anymore.

You know, Paul talks about this in Ephesians as well.

Ephesians 4, verses 22 through 24.

Ephesians 4:22–24

He says, Take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires.

And then he tells us more specifically how to put on Christ here in verse 23.

He says, To be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, the one created according to God's likeness, in righteousness, and purity of the truth.

And those are all things that we can only have in Jesus: a renewed mind, a new self.

You know, speaking of that new creation that we gain in Christ.

And how we can have God's likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.

If you're going to walk in the light, you need to dress yourself in Jesus Christ.

You need to dress yourself in the deeds of Jesus Christ.

You know, it's this idea that is really no different than the idea of abiding in Christ.

Staying so close, as we talk about, sinking into Jesus.

So that when people see us, Jesus is as evident to the seer as the clothes that we have on our back.

Colossians 3 tells us that we have died and that we're hidden in Christ.

You know, when we give our life to Jesus, it's no longer us who live, but it's Christ who lives in and through and on us.

The idea really here is to be permeated with him.

So much so, as we talked about two weeks ago, that he becomes our identity.

You know, as we learned in Romans 8, to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

And all of this is made possible through the work of Jesus on the cross.

That we can have this right standing with God that we now have, that we didn't earn.

But Jesus gave so freely to us.

And then as you'll see, Paul ends this verse by saying, make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

We're going to sin as long as we're in these fleshly bodies.

That's just how it is.

But Paul's saying, give no provision.

Don't plan on it.

Don't help the flesh gain its evil desires.

If nothing good happens after dark, don't be around temptation after dark.

If you struggle with alcohol, don't hang out in bars.

If you struggle with porn, don't be on the internet alone.

If you can't stay pure in a dating relationship, don't hang out behind closed doors.

You know, Pastor Damian Kyle says that he prays this prayer every morning.

He says, Lord, please don't let the opportunity to sin and the desire to sin to cross paths today.

I just love that.

I think we should all pray that first thing in the morning.

Lord, please don't let the opportunity to sin and the desire to sin to cross paths today.

So I want to end with this.

Here's our takeaway from this passage, I think.

Be like Jesus.

From how we view authority to how we resist sin to how we love our neighbor.

Be like Jesus.

Clothe yourself in Jesus.

Find your identity in Jesus and find your citizenship in heaven.

You know, be like Jesus in the way that he didn't get tied up in the things of this world, but he lived every second for others, and he lived every second for the kingdom of God.

Will you please pray with me?

Lord, as we just sing, we need you.

Or we can do nothing on our own.

Our dependence is completely upon you.

Everything we talked about today, Lord, we can't do this under our own strength.

We can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit living in and through us.

By clothing ourselves in Jesus Christ, by abiding so closely, by finding our identity completely in you.

And not in who we think we are or not in what we do, Lord, but we would find it completely in who Jesus is.

Lord, permeate us with Jesus here this morning and every day this week and every day after we pray.

Lord, we need you.

We pray for strength.

We pray for you to be our sustenance in every way.

And Lord, that you would help us to be wonderful neighbors and great alien residents, Lord, on this earth as we wait await your coming.

Lord, as we await the day where we get to see you face to face.

Lord, would you provide for us in ways that we never could on our own?

We commit ourselves fully to you.

We surrender fully to you.

Help us, we pray.

In Jesus' name.