“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. 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.” (Romans 13:11-14)
As we begin the season of Advent many of us look back to remember the first coming of Christ as an infant born in Bethlehem. He came as a man to be our savior, our sin bearer. However, many in the world regard the birth of Jesus to be but a heartwarming, nostalgic myth about perseverance in tough times, about the innocence and promise of childhood. They reject the Word of God which declares that Jesus is God, and that He died for our sins. The season they celebrate centers on a mythical gift giver who gives many an excuse to give and receive presents, spend money, and indulge in partying. Almighty God has nothing to do with their celebration.
At Advent, we believers look forward to the Second Advent, the second coming of Jesus. We see that expectation here in this passage from Romans. The Apostle Paul looked forward to the imminent return of Christ, as have Christians for 2000 years. He proclaimed that this expectation ought to motivate believers to live as if He could return at any moment.
Paul tells us that we can do this because we are clothed with Christ. We have the armor of light. What does Paul mean by this? We are living in God’s kingdom now, even though we are living still in the world. Therefore he exhorts his fellow believers to live out their salvation, do God’s work and obey His will.
As we go through Advent, we believers should heed of what Paul says. We should be living in the Kingdom of God now. The night is almost over, so its time to stop behaving like the world, indulging our sinful desires, to stop being selfish, stop using excuses for our sins both large and small. It’s time to stop stealing, lying, and cheating. It’s time to turn from pornography, marital infidelity, drunkenness, gluttony, materialism, and perversity. It’s time to stop exploiting and abusing others. It’s time to put on the armor of light, to be clothed in the Lord Jesus, to leave behind the ways of our sinful nature. It’s time we put him on like a garment so that we do what He would do, that we would love as He loves us, to do deeds of goodness and mercy, for we represent Christ to the world. Although we must respect other peoples, other cultures, this does not mean we live as the world does or condone evil or idolatry. We are to act as Jesus does, loving and forgiving as He does, seeking justice for the downtrodden and the oppressed. We must resist temptation, sin, and evil every day. Since we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness, we are clothed with His power through the Holy Spirit. He will enable us to submit to the will of the Lord, to serve Him without reservation.