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This is a message based on the text of Scripture found in Romans 13:11, "...for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."
Written Excerpts:
Introduction:
It might actually be appropriate to introduce this message with another
passage of Scripture found in 2 Peter. 2 Peter 3:3-4 (NKJV) 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will
come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise
of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of creation."
Peter reminds his readers that
there will always be people who are skeptical about the coming of the Lord
because they have heard about it so many times and nothing has happened yet, so
it must not be true or real. I’m sure that I am talking to people here today that have grown so
accustomed to hearing about the coming of the Lord that it really doesn’t
register in your mind any more like it used to.
I read the verses in Romans 13 for my daily devotional reading one day
this week, and I felt impressed by the Spirit at the reading of these familiar
words, “our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” I couldn’t seem to get the words out of my mind, and finally concluded
that the Lord was leading me to speak on the passage today.
I confess to you today that there are a number of questions about the
coming of Christ that I cannot answer. However, there is one answer that I do
have and I am absolutely certain it is correct… Our final salvation is
definitely nearer than when we first believed.
TIMING
IS EVERYTHING (Illustrations
Unlimited.)The pastor was speaking about
heaven, about eternal bliss and the joys that are awaiting each person on
"the other side." He paused for effect and asked, "How many of
you here want to go to heaven?" All hands were raised except for an
eight-year-old boy sitting in the front pew. The minister asked, "Don't
you want to go to heaven, too, Son?"
The boy replied, "Yes, but I
thought you were making up a load to go right now."
Well, none of knows which load we will be on. Life is uncertain, death
may come for us at any time, or Jesus may return. The most important matter of
all is for every one of us to be ready at all times.
The passage of Scripture that we are concerned with today is included
in a section of this letter by the Apostle Paul in which he urges the readers
to live out the salvation that he has been explaining in the previous chapters.
Earlier in this same chapter he speaks about the Christian’s duty to
respect and respond appropriately to the civil authorities. Now, it appears that he is giving some general admonitions to believers
regarding their conduct.
It seems to me that there are two main thoughts expressed in verses
11-14. Paul is urging the Christians in Rome
With God’s help this morning I want to take a look at this passage of
Scripture in Romans 13, to see what truth God would have for us to take to
heart this morning.
I. We must recognize what time
it is.
A. The time in respect to conditions
of the world.
“It is time to awaken.” (11b)
“The night is spent, and the day is at hand.” (12)
Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 (NKJV) 1 But
concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should
write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day
of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they
say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as
labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But
you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a
thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are
not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not
sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For
those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For
God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we
should live together with Him.
Night and darkness represent evil and the wickedness that is present in
the world. The day represents the reign of righteousness.
B. The time in respect to the
coming of Christ.
“Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
In using the word “salvation” here, the Apostle is not talking about
confessing our sins and receiving forgiveness and redemption by faith. He is
not referring to present salvation from sin and over the power of sin. He is using the word in the sense of complete and final salvation; the
time when our redemption not only removes the moral corruption of sin and its
power in our lives, but that aspect of redemption that finally and completely
overcomes the curse of sin in our bodies and in our world.
(Cf. The passage that was read
for our Scripture Reading earlier in the service.)
Romans 8:18-23 (NRSV) 18 I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with
the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation
waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for
the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of
the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself
will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the
glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation
has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only
the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
So, the Apostle is saying that the urgency of his message is due to the
fact that the Day of our final Redemption is nearer than it was when we first
believed. I don’t know when Jesus is coming back, but I do know this for certain
– it is nearer than it was when I first got saved. His coming is definitely nearer than it was when Paul wrote this.
(Draper's
Book of Quotations for the Christian World) The primitive church thought more about the
Second Coming of Jesus Christ than about death or about heaven. The early
Christians were looking not for a cleft in the ground called a grave but for a
cleavage in the sky called Glory. They were not watching for the undertaker but
for the upper-taker. Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910)
His coming is nearer than it was yesterday!
II. We must live appropriately
because of the shortness of time.
The admonitions that the Apostle Paul gives regarding our manner of
living is both positive and negative.
A. Positive admonition
1. Love your neighbor. (8)
If there ever was a time when we need to practice love toward one another
it is today. Love is not just some warm, fuzzy, emotional feeling. It has specific
qualities, e.g. Commandments 6-10 (see vv. 8-10). This is no time to be embroiled in strife, bitterness, grudges, anger
and hatred. Jesus is coming! We need to get rid of such attitudes.
2. Put on Christ (v. 14)
Lit. “clothe yourself”
Live our lives like Jesus in all His love and compassion and purity.
B. Negative admonition
1. Don’t live like the world; the deeds of
darkness (v. 13)
Romans 13:13 (NLT) 13 Because we belong to the day, we must
live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild
parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in
quarreling and jealousy.
One of the things that troubles
me, dear friends, is the fact that it is getting harder and harder these days
to distinguish between “saints” and “sinners” because of the way so-called
Christians are living. God is clearly telling us
Christians, here in verse 13, that our conduct must be clearly different from
the conduct of the darkness around us.
2. Don’t make provision (plans, thinking and
scheming) to satisfy the desires of the flesh. (v. 14)
This is the way I understand Paul’s emphasis here: How much different would our churches, homes and society be today if
every person that names the name of Christ would spend as much energy planning
and “scheming” to model the life of Christ as we do planning and thinking about
satisfying our fleshly desires?
Conclusion:
Our final salvation, our completed redemption is getting nearer and
nearer. I don’t know when Jesus is coming back, but His coming is closer than
it was yesterday! I don’t know how much more time I have to live in this world, but I’m
one day closer to my death than I was yesterday. I want to be ready.
(Corrie ten Boom, 1892-1983) “We are not a post-war
generation; but a pre-peace generation. Jesus is coming.” (Draper's Book of
Quotations for the Christian World)
I have chosen a song about going to heaven as our closing song today,
because this message is all about getting ready for another world. It is all
about being ready when Jesus comes, or when He calls us home. (My Savior
First of All, p. 768)
