Live in Light of Christ's Return

February 28, 2022

Live in Light of Christ's Return

Romans 13

Melissa Miller

Central Truth

Live in light of Christ's return by throwing off temptations to sin, making no provision for it, and putting on Christ by reminding yourself of His words and promises.

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

Submission to the Authorities

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 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. 12 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. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

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As a teenager, I was often on the wrong side of the law and my mother's rules. I attended and threw a few unauthorized parties when she would go out of town. I was living my best life with my friends who thought I was so cool because I could throw the most fun (albeit illegal) parties.

Because I was on the wrong side of my mother's rules, I lived in fear of her return; I did not want to get caught and suffer consequences (I believe it is divinely appointed for parents to catch kids in these things as mine did). My motivation for this behavior, regardless of the fear of getting caught, was to be cool in the eyes of my friends, and most importantly, to enjoy the greatest party ever thrown.

In Romans 13, Paul teaches about motivation. He exhorts his listeners on two things: how to be good citizens of their country (Romans 13:1-7) and how to be good neighbors (Romans 13:8-10). He ends the chapter by teaching WHY they should do this and what their motivation should be. The motivation for those who believe in Jesus as their Savior is His eventual return to bring all who believe in Him to the greatest party of all time: eternity in heaven!

How do we throw off the "works of darkness" (Romans 13:12) and "put on Christ" (Romans 13:14) until He returns? It sounds as easy as taking off some dirty clothes and putting on clean ones. Yet, it's not that easy when we are talking about the sin in our lives that consistently tempts us. Paul tells us in Romans 13:14 to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." This means allowing none of those temptations space in your mind. Instead, PUT ON Christ by reminding yourself of the words and promises of God that will deepen your faith and hope in Jesus. Live in light of His return and the greatest party of all time as the saints in Hebrews 11:13-16 did!

1. Do you think about life after death and what will happen to you? Do you know Jesus as your Savior, believing you will be with Him in eternity forever? If not, what is keeping you from this? Pray that God will reveal to you His Truth and purposes for your life. (Ephesians 2:10; 1 John 5:13)

2. What is your motivation in your life choices? Are you living more for the here and now or for the future that is to come in Christ? (1 Timothy 4:10)

3. Are there sins or temptations for which you are making provision, allowing them to be lingering thoughts or actions? Whom in your life can you talk to about this and seek help? (James 5:16)

4. What words and promises of Christ can you meditate on and memorize to help you walk in light of Christ's return, encouraging your faith and deepening your love for Him? (2 Timothy 3:16)