13:11-14
Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.[1]
11
You know the time …
Kairos Time
– the appointed/chose/right time
“Kingdom
of God has come”
Romans
6:1-3
Mark 13 – esp. 33-37
… that [it is] already the hour for you from sleep to be
awakened …
Passive
Infinitive – be awakened – The Spirit works through the Word!
The image
of lulling to sleep is important as we think about how we are tempted to live
in this world.
“Religion
is the opiate of the masses.” –Marx
He
meant religions like Christianity.
What religions might anesthetize us to the things of God?
… for now our salvation is nearer than when we [first]
believed.
Are we not
saved right now?
Living in
the now/not yet.
The Day Is
Surely Drawing Near – LSB 508
Instead of the Last Day being a matter of fear and dread, how can coming end urge us to live the faith?
12
The night is far gone, and/but the day draws near.
Therefore, let us take off the works of darkness and put on (dress in) the armor/weapons of light.
Ephesians
5:6-13 – Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is
coming on the disobedient because of these things. 7 Therefore,
do not become their partners. 8 For you were once
darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of
light— 9 for the fruit of the light consists
of all goodness, righteousness, and truth— 10 testing what
is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Don’t participate
in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For
it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. 13 Everything
exposed by the light is made visible, 14 for what
makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said:
Get up, sleeper, and rise up
from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.[2]
Ephesians
6 – The Full Armor of God
Matthew 6:22-23
– “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body
will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad,
your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is
darkness, how deep is that darkness!”
Luke
11:34-36 – “Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is
healthy, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your
body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care, then,
that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If,
therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it
will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.”
John
1:4-9 – In him was life, and that life was the light of
men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and
yet the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was
a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came
as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through
him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to
testify about the light. 9 The true
light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
John 3:19-21
– “This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and
people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were
evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the
light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. 21 But
anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his
works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”
John
8:12 – Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the
world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the
light of life.”
John 12:46 – “I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness.”
We are no longer to willfully engage in sin.
13
As in the daytime let us walk/live decently/honorably/respectably/modestly
…
Paul always uses this word regarding good moral conduct.
… not in carousing and drunkeness…
Excessive feasting, drunken celebration
… not in sexual immorality and licentiousness …
Debauchery,
wanton violence, self-abandon (the opposite of self-control)
This word
can also mean insolence – the ultimate insolence is believing we know better
than God.
We are not to give ourselves over to our sexual desires. (Hence the catechism’s emphasis on a “chaste and decent life.”)
… not in strife and jealousy,
14
But put on/be clothed (Imperative!) the Lord Jesus Christ
and do not make provision/forethought/planning for the flesh into [it’s] desire/lust/craving.
Wrapping Up
What is one insight/word of comfort/challenging idea that
you hope to hold onto from these verses?
How will the lessons learned from these verses impact your
faith life?
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