November 12, 2023
SERMON SERIES: GOD’S WORLDWIDE PLAN FOR EVERY PERSON
BOOK OF ROMANS
Sermon # 17: MAKE THE MOST OF THE TIME WE HAVE
Romans 13:1-11-14
Life is like an hourglass filled with sand that silently spills from one chamber to another. One minute of life is before you and the next you are asking, “Where did the time go?” Time is something we often take for granted, thinking there will always be enough time later to do the important things before we die. Unfortunately, the halls of history tell a different story.
Ø Parents run out of time in raising their children: they are often too busy to play with them, too focused on making money to provide things instead of providing what their children really need most of all---their time.
Ø Students run out of time before projects or assignments are due: they are too busy with friends, have too many activities, are too tired to concentrate, and wake up to the fact that it is too late to pass the course.
Ø Unbelievers run out of time before death greets them: they are too blinded to trust in Christ, too selfish to open their hearts, too confident in their own immortality and end up facing eternity cut off from the love and care of God.
No one knows when his or her time is up; thus, it is imperative to make the most of the time we have. Time that is spent can never be used again.
Time is a critically important element. Without time, we no longer exist. We are no more. The one thing we do not want is to run out of time. Therefore, it is critical that we make the most of the time we have! We have three movements that will help us to make the most of our time.
I. IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP v. 11
It is time to awaken out of sleep. Many Christians are spiritually asleep, and some are even in a spiritual “coma.” Some of us need to wake up.
A. Watch the seasons – The word “time” refers to a “season of time”. This whole verse has to do with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His people. The idea is that believers are to keep their eyes on the changing world around them and understand that the coming of the Lord is near.
B. Watch for sleep – Paul is telling us that we have been sleep too long, wake up. The words “high time” mean that a specific hour has arrived. Too many people are sleeping on the job this morning. While it may be time to doze through that ball game, or to get a good night’s sleep, there is no excuse for being asleep to the things of God!
C. Watch for the Savior – Paul is saying that our salvation is nearer that when we first believed. The word “salvation” is being used in a future sense, referring to the glorious day when we will be fully saved. It is the day when our salvation will be consummated, when we will be delivered from this present evil world and perfected forever to live in the presence of God. The return of Christ is nearer than it has ever been before. Jesus is nearer today than He was yesterday. Are you living your life in the anticipation of His soon return?
MAKE THE MOST OF THE TIME WE HAVE!
1. It Is Time to Wake Up v. 11
II. IT IS TIME TO CLEAN UP v. 12-13
After we wake, we need to clean up!
A. It is time to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
1. The works of darkness are the works which people do under the cover of darkness and want to keep them secret. Paul is telling us that the time to sleep has well passed. Now it is time to become active in the business of the Lord. His words remind us that there is an urgency to the things of God.
2. The armor of light differs entirely from the clothing of darkness. Note: the picture is that of clothing oneself. The idea of this verse is of a man rising from sleep, throwing off the bed covers and his night clothes and getting himself dressed for the day. The believer is to strip off whatever dark sins and works he has wrapped around himself, and he is to cast them away. Once he has strip himself, the question arises: What is the believer to put on? He is told to put on the armor of light.
For us, the imagery is perfect. It speaks of the believer forever laying aside the ways of the old life and dressing up once for all in the ways of the new life in Jesus. God’s idea of the Christian life is one of total commitment and dedication.
B. It is time to walk straight (v. 13).
1. To walk in decency and honor.
2. Not to walk in immorality and acts of unrighteousness.
MAKE THE MOST OF THE TIME WE HAVE!
1. It Is Time to Wake UP v. 11
2. It Is Time to Clean Up v. 12-13
III. IT IS TIME TO DRESS UP v. 14
After we have cleaned up by getting rid of the previously mentioned sins, Paul tells us: put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof v. 14.
A. We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, the picture is that of clothing ourselves. We are to clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ and His righteousness. This is the process of sanctification, the continuing spiritual process in which those who have been saved by faith are transformed into His image and likeness.
1. Jesus Christ becomes our clothing.
2. We are wrapped up in Jesus Christ.
“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4:24).
B. We must not make provision for the flesh. No provision – has the basic meaning of planning ahead or forethought. Most sinful behavior results from wrong ideas and lustful desires lingering in the mind.
“And if thy right eye offends thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Mt. 5:29).
How do we clothe ourselves with Christ?
(Ephesians 4:24; Col. 3:10; 12-14)
Responsive Reading: Romans 13:10-14
