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In Romans 13, 12, Paul says that we need to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Armor is an analogy that he has used before in two other places in his epistles. Can you think of where they are?
We'll find out when we understand the text.
This is When We Understand the Text, a daily study of God's Word that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will.
Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. And I also want to say thank you to Augusto, one of the members of my congregation who gifted me with something special yesterday. This is the 2015 edition of the Master's Seminary Hymnal entitled Hymns of Grace.
I was meaning to pick up a copy of this, and Augusto gave me one yesterday. So thank you very much, Augusto. I'm going to enjoy looking through that. Today I have a very special guest in my studio, a rare occasion.
In fact, I don't know that I've ever done this show with this guest before. My sermon Bible. This is the Bible that I carry with me when I am doing sermons. I don't know that I have ever done this this program with my sermon Bible before, but that happened to be the Bible that I grabbed.
Rarely does it come home with me. I usually am using it at the church and I'll do my highlighting with it at the church and leave it there at the church because I have a real problem with misplacing my Bible even on Sunday morning.
I've already got it there on the pulpit, but then I'll grab it and reference something and set it down somewhere. And when I stand up to preach, it's nowhere to be found. Where did I set my Bible down?
I know that I had it before church started, so now I'm in trouble because it's here with me at home and it's not going to be with me at the church. But anyway, I have done more with this Bible since becoming a pastor than any other Bible that I own.
And I have actually tried to find other Bibles that fit my hand as well as this one and nothing just feels as good as my in my hand when I'm preaching as this Bible does. So this is the Bible that I will be using today as we are finishing up the section of Romans 13 that we are in.
If you want to open up Romans chapter 13, we'll start in verse 11 and go to the end of the chapter. Besides this, Paul says, you know that the time or 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. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.
That particular line there in verse 11 for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. I wrote a song. Oh, this was over 10 years ago now, in which the line of one of the lines in the chorus is with one day less to live till forever.
So each day that passes, we are that much closer to the day of the Lord's return. And so all the more reason that we must awake from our slumber and not being slothful and zeal the way that Paul put it in Romans chapter 12, but in active pursuit of what God has commanded us to do actively in pursuit of the lost, sharing the gospel with them so that they might repent of their sins and come to salvation before the day of the Lord comes.
We need to cast off the works of darkness, not being hypocritical in the message that we share, but we need to be exemplifying the very holiness that God is calling us to and every person to to renounce sin and walk in the light.
If we are going to say that to other people when we preach the gospel, then we must do the same. This is another reason why Paul says that we must cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
And that's where we finished yesterday, putting on the armor of light. Now, when Paul talks about armor, there are three places where he references armor in all of his epistles. This being one of them, but it's not descriptive.
He just mentions it in one verse. We need to put on the armor of light. Can you off the top of your head name the other two places in Paul's epistles where he talks about wearing armor? Well, the most famous is in Ephesians chapter six.
So let's look at this first and then I'll take you to the other one. If you can't think of where it is, Ephesians chapter six, starting in verse ten. Paul says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Now, before moving on, I know that I said, turn in your Bible to Ephesians six, and then I just jumped right to it.
Not leaving you much time to turn in your Bible. But I'm hoping that since this is a recording, you can always pause it and take the time to turn in your Bible and then resume by pressing play again. So here's how Paul is describing the whole armor of God.
He says, first of all, that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
We're not fighting against human beings. So when a person comes against us and opposes the gospel message that we have been called to go out and preach, our opposition is not the person that is across from us.
The opposition is the evil that has manipulated their thinking into believing evil things, things that are against God. So when we are witnessing to another person, what we are actually doing is witnessing to the spiritual forces that have persuaded that person.
And Paul has actually talked about this previously in his letter to the Ephesians in chapter three, verse seven. Paul says of this gospel, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power to me, though I am the very least of all the saints.
This grace was given to preach to the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone. What is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things so that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
So he mentions there in verse 10 that it is the church that is the instrument God has chosen to make known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places this gospel message. So when we go out with the gospel, yes, we are witnessing to people.
But ultimately, what we are doing with the gospel words that we preach is breaking down strongholds, the bonds that the spiritual bonds that such a person is in because of the evil forces that are at work in them.
When Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2 to correct opponents with gentleness, and God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, they may escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will.
So do you realize that when you are witnessing to another person and sharing the gospel with them, that you are helping to free them from the bonds that Satan has them in? We read this also in 2 Corinthians 10 3 for though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have the divine power to destroy strongholds.
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.
So again, we're talking about a war against something spiritual, not a war against something of the flesh. So when you are sharing the gospel with a person who you are witnessing to, is that other person?
Yes, but the battle that you are doing is not with that person, but rather the spiritual forces that have seized their mind to do the devil's will. So again, we come back here to Ephesians chapter 6 for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.
This is verse 12, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, verse 13, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm.
Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication.
Let's quickly break down the armor of God here, not really break it down, but go into greater detail as to the pieces of this armor that we're talking about here. So stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth.
Verse 14, this is the first piece of the armor that is being described here because it is the belt that holds all these things together. When we talk about the sword of the spirit, where is that fastened on to truth?
So we're talking about something objective, something that is unmoving, something that holds all of this together, the truth of God and his word. Having put on the breastplate of righteousness, a breastplate not only protects your center mass, but it is the largest part of you.
It is where perhaps the emblem of the kingdom that you serve might be displayed. You think today about wearing a jersey, you know, a jersey of your favorite sports team or a T-shirt and the design of the T-shirts right there on your chest.
Same sort of a concept when we're talking about the breastplate of righteousness. We're talking about wearing our righteousness in such a way that it is seen by everyone. Jesus said to let your works be seen by men.
And the apostle Peter also said to keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
That's first Peter 2, 12. And elsewhere, Peter has talked about how the good things that we do will put to silence the talk of ignorant men. So when we uphold ourselves in righteousness or God upholds us in righteousness, rather, and we are working deeds of righteousness not to receive praise from men, but rather as a verification of the testimony of this gospel of Christ that we share.
Then it is a protection. People will levy false accusations against us and they won't stick. But it is also declaring the God, the king whom we serve by wearing his emblem, his logo, so to speak, on our breastplate.
In the next piece of this armor, shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. So having heard and received the gospel, we stand steadfast on the rock of Christ, but also being described as shoes of readiness.
We're ready to go out with that gospel and share it with the world. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. This faith, a gift that has been given to us by God.
And we're talking about faith, not only as a verb, but as a noun. The faith, the Christian faith that that we have been given by Christ, who is the author and the perfecter of our faith, according to Hebrews 12, 2.
And it is with this faith that we extinguish everything that the devil tries to throw at us. We are able to keep ourselves guarded by the faith in which we have been established by Christ. The helmet, which protects the control center of the body.
OK, there on on our mind, on our brain, the salvation that we have in Christ, the sword of the spirit, the only weapon mentioned in this ensemble. And it's not even ours. It is God's. And we need to know how to wield it properly.
A soldier doesn't go into battle with a gun and he just flails, flails it aimlessly. He has spent years training how to use that weapon. And so we must also spend time in training with God's word to know how to use this sword of the spirit, not irresponsibly, not waving it around, not being destructive with it.
But using it as a trained soldier would use his weapon, the word of God, praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication, meaning that we pray for others as well. As Paul goes on to talk about or request that the Ephesians would pray for him, that he may declare the gospel boldly as I ought to speak, he says there in verse 20.
OK, so that's the most famous section where the armor of God is mentioned. Have you been able to recall where the the next section is that Paul talks about wearing armor? It's in First Thessalonians, chapter five.
In verse four, Paul says, you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief talking about the day of the Lord. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
For God is not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing.
So there's the references to armor that Paul makes. And here it is a very brief description of armor, a brief reference to armor in Romans, chapter 13, where he says that we are to put on the armor of light.
But you can see in just those few words there, it sounds very similar to what Paul tells the Thessalonians. There's a more expanded version of it right there. So then we're moving on to verse 13. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness.
Or if you're reading the ESV Bible along with me, it says orgies, not in orgies and drunkenness. When we just did a talk with our kids in the Fruit of the Spirit in the VBS week that we did at our church, we changed references to orgies to carousing, which is what the NASB puts, the New American Standard Bible.
So it saves us to having to explain exactly what an orgy is and put it more in the context of carousing. But here where Paul is grouping these sins together in pairs, orgies and drunkenness, sexual immorality and sensuality, quarreling and jealousy.
So the first one is sins of excess, not in orgies or in drunkenness. So you're talking about sinning in such a way that God had never meant for us to practice these things, getting drunk, engaging in carousing or orgies, OK, not in sexual immorality and sensuality.
So these are sins of of sexual immorality, very simply of using sex or abusing sex in a way that God did not design it to be for. So any sex outside of marriage is fornication. It is sin. God meant for sex to be enjoyed between a husband and a wife.
It is a very precious gift. It is meant to be enjoyed, but only between a husband and a wife, not in quarreling and jealousy. These are social sins. So we are not to quarrel with one another, let fights break out and cause others to stumble in the process and not be jealous of one another.
But rather, we are to be content with what it is that we have and what the Lord has given to us. This goes back to something that Paul had mentioned before when he was listing sins from the Ten Commandments in verse nine, or he was listing commandments.
Rather, he was saying, you shall not steal, you shall not covet. So those two things would be because we are jealous of someone else or they have something that we wish that we could have. We are not to engage in such sins.
Instead, we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. So staying away from sins of excess, sexual sins, social sins. But we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.
In other words, not putting ourselves in situations that might cause us to be tempted to sin. When instead, we are to be in Christ, fellowshipping with Christ. And if we focus on Christ, we won't have to worry about abstaining from these sins.
We will be entirely focused on the Lord. This goes back to something that I mentioned previously when we were in verses eight through ten. I said that if we are focused on loving our fellow man, then we're not going to have to worry about abstaining from murder and coveting and stealing and adultery and any of these other things because love is the fulfilling of the law.
And ultimately, what Paul is putting here in verse 14, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and making no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. Loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is also the fulfilling of the law.
So those first three verses, eight, nine and ten, talk about the fulfilling of the second table of the law. And these next set of verses, verses 11 through 14, talk about fulfilling the first table of the law.
If you'll remember back to what I had mentioned a couple of days ago, the first table of the law being those first four commandments all having to do with our relationship with God, the next six commandments dealing with our relationship with one another.
So the first table of the law is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second table of the law is you will love your neighbor as yourself. And that's basically what Paul is presenting before the Romans here in Romans 13, verses eight through 14.
Clear? We got it? Praise God. Lord, we thank you for this word and we thank you for your continued instruction. May we be committed to this. The more we fill our minds and hearts up with the word of God, the more that we will be able to break down strongholds.
We will be able to answer those who come against us peacefully and without quarreling, giving an answer for the hope that lies within us, but doing this with gentleness and respect. Fill us with your word.
Give us understanding according to your spirit. And if there is anything that we don't understand, may we seek out direction from those who can give us guidance so that we may walk as children of the day in the light, no longer in darkness.
Praise you for your calling that you have placed upon us, pulling us out of darkness and into your marvelous light. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find out more online at www .utt .com.