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"Get Up, Put on Christ"
Dr. Jack Klem, CBTS
Get up, get dressed, and let's go!
Did any of you call out those orders this morning to one of your family members or friends?
If you did, I am sure that you issued them with a sense of urgency.
There is a similar sense of urgency echoed in the commands of the Romans 13:11-14 to each of us this morning.
The hour has come for us to wake from our slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed (Rom 13:11).
Because the full realization of our salvation is on the horizon, the Word of God calls upon us to lay aside the deeds of darkness and to put on the armor of light (Rom 13:12).
We hear this command also in Ephesians 4:22-25 and Colossians 3:8.
What exactly is expected in a command of this kind?
What are these deeds of darkness that I should put off and what is this armor of light that I should put on?
The next verse of the Romans 13 passage defines the deeds of darkness as behavior that is immoral, sensual, self-indulging, and divisive.
It is behavior associated with a life from which we have been redeemed (1 Thess 5:6-7).
According to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, this is how we behaved before trusting Christ as our Savior.
But since we have believed, and since we are in Christ, and since we are about to enjoy our eternal salvation, we need to stop flirting with the deeds of darkness.
We must stop making provision for the ungodliness.
We must clothe ourselves with Christ (Gal 3:27). But how?
How do we put on Christ?
Putting on Christ (13:14) is putting on the armor of light (13:12).
Putting on Christ involves a vibrant relationship with the person and the will of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Putting on Christ means that you let Him transform your attitudes and that you let Him determine your actions.
Putting on Christ means that you will be faithful to Him, to the one who loved you and redeemed you and that you will say no your sinful appetites.
Get up, put on Christ, and let's really live.
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