PUT ON THE ARMOR OF LIGHT
Romans 13:1-14
Key Verse: 13:12
“The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
We believed that Jesus is the Lord. We believed that God sacrificed Jesus out of mercy for our sins. Not only that, he raised Jesus to life. In this way, God set us free from the power of sin and death. What an amazing grace of God! How should we respond to this amazing grace? We cannot live in sin any longer, but we live by faith in Jesus, our Lord. Then, what does it mean to live by faith? This is what Paul teaches in Ch 12. To live by faith means to live according to spiritual principles, not worldly ones. We serve the Lord God, not the world, by offering our bodies as living sacrfices. We do not conform to the pattern of the world, but through obedience to the words of truth, our minds are renewed and we are transfromed into His kingdom people. So, our struggle to obey his words is never meaningless. As we struggle to dedicate our morning to God, to hold firmly his word through sharing testimonises and even memorising his word; as we love our brothers and sisters by encouraging, teaching, and leading them; as we pracitice the love of our Lord Jesus in our daily life – through all these things, we are being conformed to the image of Jesus.
Now, in chapter 13, Paul turns to how we live out our faith in the world. Though we have heavenly citizenship, we still live in this world and must encounter governing authorities and neighbors. His poits is not merely about how we can survive until Jesus comes again, but about how we can live a victorious life that transforms the world through our faith and bodeience to God. Through this bible study, let’s learn how to do this together.
- For the sake of God, submit to the governing authorities (1-7)
Since we serve and worship only the Lord God, can we ignore or even oppose any earthly authorities? Sometimes, to avoid any duties or responsibilities, we may be tempted to do so. But Paul said, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authories…” (1a) “Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities…” (5a)
America is a nation built on the principles of freedom and democracy. The Constitution guarantees the basic right of every person and protects our liberty. In this land, we are free to speak, to believe and to pursue our dreams. The government protects our rights, ensures peace and security, and makes and enforces laws to uphold what is right and restrain what is evil. She even allowes people to demonstrate and express their opinions against the governments. “Submit to the authorities…” It may seem like no problem for us at all.
But we need to remember to whom Paul was writing -the church in Rome, around 57 A.D. The believers were facing serious perseuctions from their own government, the Roman Empire. At that time, Nero, one of the most notorious rulers in history, was emperor. He burned Rome and blamed the Christians. At night he lit up his garden parties with christians burning alive on crosses. He arrested believers and sent them to the colosseum to be torn apart by wild animals. Even Paul himself was martyred in 68 A.D -be headed at Nero’s command. To these believers in Rome, “Submit to governing authority” did not sound easy at all. Don’t you think that rebelling or resisting such a cruel master would seem like the right thing to do? Should we really submit to such leaders? Though this is a controversial issue, we need to grasp the main point of Paul’s teaching. A Christian’s basic attitude should be to submit to the governing authorities, not rebel against them. Why?
First of all, it is becaus we trust in God’s sovereinity. Look at verse 1b-2. “For there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” It means that all authorities are under God’s sovereign rule. Behind every form of governing authorities stands the hand of God. God is sovereign; God is in control. They are God’s servants to encourage us to do what is right. They are God’s agent of wrath to bring punishement on the wrongdoer. (3-4) Christians must acknowledge that the governing authorities are ultimately God’s instruments on earth. That is the reason why we submit to earthly authorities. To submit to the authority : it is our expression of submission and trust in God. It may seem that political leaders have power to control everything like kings. But that is not true. Superseding all the powers of this world is the mighty power of God. So, Peter also exhorts us to submit ourselves, saying “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority.” (1Pe 2:13). Since all authority belongs to God, to rebel against the authorities is, in general, to rebel against what God has established – and this leads to his judgment. (2b)
We may sometimes wonder why God allows such arrogant, stubborn people to become our leaders? Yet, we must fix our eyes on God’s sovereign hand in history, rather than on the person in power. We submit to authorities not because those in authority are always right and perfect, but because we believe that God has placed them in our lives for a reason – purpose. They are God’s servants and His instruments. Through them, God’s will is somehow being accomplished in us. For example, Israel was enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years. However, through Egypt, God formed Israle into a Nation; he trained them to be humble and separated them from the world to be his holy people. In the same way, Through governing authority over us, God trains us to be humble, to seek God earnestly and to grow in faith as His people. Because we trust God, the sovereign ruler, we choose to submit to the authorities – believing that his hand is working behind every circumstance for our good and for his purpose.
Though the Bible teaching is so clear; though our government is not that bad, it is not easy to practice this teaching. How can we do it? Even in this hard teaching, we need to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. Though he is the Son of God and in very nature God, he submitted himself to the civil authorities as his submission to God. He accepted suffering and endured the most painful death by crucifixion because it was the will of God. Pilate, the Roman governor, thought he held Jesus’ life in his hands. He said to Jesus, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” But, Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (Jn19:10,11). Jesus’ submission was not merely to the governing authorities; but it was to God, for world salvation. In this way Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (Heb 5:9).
If we want to be free from fear of the one in authority, we should do what is right. Yet, our obedience should not come only from fear of possible punishment from the goverment, but from reverence for God who sees everything, even our hearts. Therefore, we should submit to authorities and live an honest life -keeping laws, whether anyone is watching or not because we live before God who sees the unseen!
Although submitting to the governing authorities should be our basic attitude, it should not be blind submission. We must do so prayerfully, living before God with a clear consciou. In Daniel 3, three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to worship the idols set up by the King Nebuchadnezzar, even though they submitted themselves to his authority. They said in Daniel 3:17-18, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the images of gold you have set up.” They respected the king’s authority but they obeyed God above all. Then God overruled the king’s order by saving them from the blazing furnace. What a courageous faith they had. This gives a clear guideline for when we are pressured to worship the idols by the authorities – to compromise or be faithful to God. In Acts 4, the religious leaders commanded the disciples not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Did the disciples obey them? In Acts4:19-20, Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes; to listen to you, or to him? You be the judge! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” When we are forced to give up our faith in God, we must stand up firm and obey God rather than human authorities.
Verses 6-7 show the practical ways we submit to governing authorities. “Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” We should fulfill our duties as a citizen in the nation where we live. If believers evade paying taxes, or rebel against civil authorities, this discredits the gospel message. Then, even if they speak wonderfully, no one will listen to them. This is the deeper reason we submit to authorities and live as good citizens.
There are many differnt forms of authorities we face in our daily lives – Police officers, Fire Fighters, Armies, IRS (Internal Revenue Service), Motor Vehicle Commission, the courts, and also Teachers and ICE even. They are those who give their full time to governing. In all these relationships, we are called to show respect, hornor, honesty, and integrity as people who live before God.
- Love your neighbor as yourself (8-10)
In this materialistic, self-centered,unbelieving, and sinful time, how can we live a victorious life of faith? The answer is found in one word – “Love” Verse 8 says, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” No one likes to be in debt, since interest ratese are so high that it is best to repay what we owe ASAP. We should always strive to repay our debts fully and be thankful. It is even better to not owe anything at all.
But there is one debt that is continuing – the debt to love one another. It does not mean to receive love endlessly, but to love one another unconditionally and sacrificially. Look at verse 9-10. Loving neighbors is not merely obeying the law. It is practicing the very love of Jesus that we have received so freely. Loving neighbors is how we continue to fulfill this ongoing debt of love. The law commands us, “Do not harm our neighbors.” But when we truly love , we do them no harm. More than that, we care for them, provide what they need; share what we have; support and encourage them; bear them; bear with their weaknesses, and even sacrifice our time and money for them. Indeed, love fulfills the law. As we learned from John 21, we can practice the love of Christ by taking care of one person with Bible study and prayer from a shepherd’s heart. That is why Jesus commanded Peter, “Feed my sheep! Feed my lamb!” after Peter confessed his love for him.
I thought that I had shared much love with others. But, I deeply realized that I have received much love from others. I want to thank you for showing such love for this sinner. When I did not have a license, one of you gave me a ride to work every night for a month. When I do not have a car, one of you gave me one. Whenever my car broke down, you always came, towed it and fixed it. When I was in hunger and in need, one of you fed me and provided. When I lost in my sins, one of you visited me and shared the gosgpel of Jesus. When I was rebellious and even ran away, one of you found me and brought me into the gospel light. Because of your love, I found life. Because of your love, I became a shepherd, bible teacher, Missionary, full time servant to share this same love with others. Now I know God truly loves me, because He has shown his love through you. When we continue in debt to love one another, the love of God will overflow in us, among us. Let’s continue to practice the love of Jesus by serving one sheep – our love can change one sinner, one campus and one nation.
III. Wake up! Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ (11-14)
Look at verse 11. “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Do you understand the present time? Is it time to invest all your resources in the bitcoin or housing market? Is it time to enjoy all the entertainment the world offers? Is it time to sleep more and take life easy because you think you still have planty of time? Is it okay to be drunk, to indulge in sexual immorality and debauchery just because everyone else does?
No! Look at verse 11. It is time to wake up from our spiritual slumber! The night is nearly over and the day is almost here. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory is nearer now than ever before. So, it is time to wake up. God calls us to wake up in many ways; through messages, daily breads, conferences, and sometimes through troubles or accidents. Why? It is because there is not much time left to carry the world mission command; “go and make disciples of all nations.”
The devil tries to deceive us, whispering, “You will have plenty of time to serve God – after you enjoy life a little more” “You can serve God after you graduate; after you establish your courier. How much time do we have left? No one knows. We are living in the end times. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here, whether we are old or young. So, wake up! Let there be no more waitin of time; no more wasting of your precious youth; power and energy. Let us wake up from our spiritual slumber!
Then, what should we do? Look at verse 12. “Let us put aside the deed of darkness and put on the armor of light” The Christian life is a spiritual battle against the power of darkness. After we spend our time in endless self-indulgence, of course we have no time to pray, no time to Bible study, no time to write a testimony. After we spend all night watching movies or playing games, of couse we cannot get up early for daily bread.
It is time to make a decision of faith. “Put down the deeds of darkness.” As we learned from Hebrews 12. Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that easily entangles us, through repentance. Instead, we must put on the armor of light. It means let Jesus , the light of life, dwell in our hearts through repentance. Only the light of Jesus can drive out the darkness.We have no light in ourselves. We need to put on the light of Jesus.
Now, it is time to put aside the deeds of darkness, but put on the armor of light. In verses 13-14 Paul exhorts us more practically – what it means “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” Carousing and debauchery describe a lifestyle of wild partying, abuse of alcohol and drugs and extreme sexual immorality.
Sadly, such a lifestyle has become common in our world today. Then, how can we behave decently as children of God? We must clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people are obsessed with wearing luxury brands like Gucci, Chanel, and Prada. What kind of clothes is this “the Lord Jesus Christ”? It is Not wearing the customs of Jesus; clothes with His logo. It is puting on His character and Nature within us. Putting on Jesus’ righteousness by faith, we can stand before God and serve the living God without fear. When we put on Jesus’ compassion, we can overcome our selfish hearts and love one sheep with a shepherd heart. When we put on Jesus’ humility, we can humbly serve such proud sinners with patience and grace. Putting on Jesus’ power, we overcome our weakness and live victorious life as a bible teacher/disciple maker/servant of God for this generation. It is to follow Jesus’ example as his disciples.
What kind of clothing are you wearing? May God help us to be clothed with Jesus – seeking his glory instead of our own sinful desires. So that Christ may dwell in our hearts and the world may see Jesus in us.
In Conculsion, submitting to governing authorities, loving our neighbors, putting aside all the deeds of darkness, and clothing ourselves with Jesus. These may not sound like acts of power or victory. They sound humle and quiet. But this is true victorious life that transformed the Rome Empire. It wasn’t done through swords or revolutions. Rather it was done through the humble life of early Christians. When they fought spiritual battles with faiht, love and changed lives, even the mighty Roman Empire was changed. Likewise, with weapons or political movements, it is impossible to change America, not even one sheep. But when we clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ; when we practice the love of Chris, it is possible. Today we learn how to live a victorious Christian life. We must submit to the authorities with faith in God’s sovereign rule. We must love our neighbors with the love of God. Wake up!! Put aside the deed of darkness, but clothe ourselves with Jesus- following the examples of Jesus.