Romans 13:10-14
Read Romans 13:10-14
Helpful Background Information:
In Romans 13:10-14, Paul draws attention to the urgency of living an intentional Christian life. During the summer months, it is easy to slide into spiritual sloth and laziness: getting out of routine, neglecting bible reading, forgoing prayerfulness, periods of time away from God’s people. In short, this could be a season where sin and temptation could rear their ugly head and hamper our faith. Hence, Paul’s urgent call should be at the back of our minds this summer.
When Paul says that “salvation is nearer than when we first believed”, he is referring to the future aspect of salvation. While Christians are saved when they come to Christ (Eph. 2:8), the Bible also describes salvation as an ongoing event (1 Cor 1:18), and also as a future event. Here, Paul is referring to the future aspect of it: we enter into glory, sin is done away with, and we will be at home with the Lord.
Paul urges his readers to stop doing evil ("deeds of darkness") and instead live in a way that reflects their faith ("put on the armor of light") because salvation is near. The terms "put off" and "put on" come from the idea of changing clothes, but Paul uses them as metaphors for changing behavior. Christians should take on the qualities of Christ because they are in Christ, and should intentionally live like it: they should manifest outwardly what they have experienced inwardly.
Paul often compares the Christian life to a fight and uses the image of armor to show that believers need to be spiritually prepared. He doesn’t always assign the same meaning to each piece of armor, such as Ephesians 6, but the overall idea is that the Christian life involves actively fighting against sin, not passive living.
Reflection Questions:
In what ways could you see spiritual laziness creep into your life this summer? What sins tend to arise in your life when you find yourself spiritually lazy?
Often, people may have more free time in the summer. Ideally, this should give you more freedom to schedule quiet times with the Lord, time in prayer, and fellowship with believers. How can you intentionally structure your time to grow spiritually this summer? What changes could you make this week to “wake up” spiritually?
Why is it helpful to be reminded to “put on” Jesus Christ? How does this encourage you in your walk with the Lord, especially when fighting against sin?