IT'S WAKE-UP TIME
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>
IT'S WAKE-UP TIME
Romans 13:8-14 WEB
(8) Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
(9) For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not give false testimony," "You shall not covet," and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
(10) Love doesn't harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.
(11) Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.
(12) The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let's therefore throw off the works of darkness, and let's put on the armor of light.
(13) Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.
(14) But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
I had a few very difficult days this past week. The diagnosis of severe artery problems and the subsequent heart problems, caused an immense amount of pain and discomfort. To the point that the maximum amount of medication was not enough to still the constant pain. In reflecting on this I wondered -once again- about the drastic changes that have come into my life as a result of the medical diagnosis.
What a sudden change has taken place in my life -- and all
in a matter of months. These unexpected events from vigorous life to
clogged arteries and heart problems, to weakness and pain and even at some point to come, death
-- these inevitable stages of mortality, where the human body returns to the dust from which it
came --these solemn steps obviously shook the scales of spiritual indifference from the eyes of
myself and many of my family members
As you hear this, you and I are reminded of the brevity of life, the
shortness of life, and the necessity to confess the words of the psalmist who
wrote: "Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the extent of my days; let
me know how transient I am. Behold, Thou hast made my days as handbreadths,
and my lifetime as nothing in Thy sight; surely, every man -- [even] at his
best -- is a mere breath." [Selah]
You may not be famous and well known; and from what you know of your present
state of health, there may be no indication whatsoever that your life will
soon be over. Thus, it might be, at this moment, that some of you may not be
seriously concerned or even remotely interested about what is going to happen
when our life is finished.
If this is the case, I pray that the warning words from our text, from
our God of grace, might stir your soul and remind you that we are racing
rapidly toward that day when the world, which we know, will come to an end --
the Day of Judgment; on that day every person will be given his due. It
will be, indeed, as the Scriptures state: "We must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one [of us] may be recompensed for his
deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."
If you and I honestly look at what God surely must think about our sins,
our failures, and all of our shortcomings in our family and marriage
relationships, you and I will most certainly face deep discouragement and
even despair. It is for that reason, also, that we need to hear our heavenly
Father's words of encouragement, spoken through the psalmist when he said:
"Now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in Thee. Deliver me from all my
transgressions, [I pray];. . .Hear my prayer, O [God], and give ear to my
cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with Thee, a sojourner
like all my fathers. Turn Thy gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more."
This hope of salvation, expressed by the psalmist, that the Lord would
"give ear unto his cry," was marvellously fulfilled in the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. This divine and gracious act of God, this
rescue from the curse of sin, which God has provided for you and for me,
also, the bloody atonement of Calvary's cross, which is the foundation of our
eternal hope, is beautifully spoken of by the apostle Paul when he writes:
"For [God] delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us [now
unto] the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins."
How different our society would be today if only more people believed
with all their heart and soul, like the psalmist, that no man lives forever.
Every one of us must someday soon stand before the almighty judgment throne
of God. For it is, indeed, as the Scriptures declare, "It is appointed unto
man once to die and after that the judgment." As you and I honestly analyse
our shortcomings and all of our sins, as we compare our lives to the
expectations of our holy God, this can be a frightening thought.
But the good news, based on the central message of God's holy Word, is
that, while God is, indeed, a God of holiness and wrath, God is, also, a God
of love and a God of mercy. Our gracious Lord is waiting and willing to save
forever, from the flames of eternal hell, the souls of all those who flee to
Him for salvation. This divine help and hope is found in our blessed
Saviour, Jesus. Of this Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was to be born in
Bethlehem, Zachariah prophesied saying: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited us and [has] accomplished redemption for His people, and
has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant."
Of course, whenever anyone preaches about heaven and hell, and sin and
death, there are always those who try to say that preachers are constantly
working to frighten other people by making up a bunch of scary stories about
death. Now, let's be honest, my friend, nobody has to "make up" any stories
about death. The simple statistics from the medical community are enough to
sober up any skeptic anywhere, at any time. According to the latest
statistics, millions of people die every year from cancer alone; and
to this we could add the statistics of heart attacks, heart failure,
automobile accidents, and so on and so forth.
Of course, there is no doubt that God uses many of these events to bring
people closer to Him. When we pass through agonies and afflictions,
especially when we face death itself, yes, then we are often forced to give
up all earthly hope and cry out with the words of the disciples as they
addressed Jesus, their Master, saying: "[O] Lord, to whom should we go? You
[alone] have [the] words of eternal life." It was this same Jesus who did
not leave his loved ones in a lurch -- but instead gave them a heavenly hope
when He said: "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds
the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise
him up on the Last Day."
In his holy Word, God goes on to promise that to those who have served
the Lord, by His grace, they will be granted a glorious eternal destiny in
His heavenly presence. And, for those who either are indifferent or who
adamantly refuse to acknowledge the lateness of this hour, to them shall come
that terrible eternal judgment where, the Bible tells us, the "worms never
stop eating and the fire never goes out."
These strong words, of course, may seem to some like imaginations of
men. But let us make no mistake; when we recall the lateness of this hour,
we are not simply hearing the warning words of an earthly mortal -- we are
listening to the voice of the almighty God. In the book of Rom. 13, we hear
our God speak to us when He says, "It is already the hour for you to awaken
from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The
night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us, therefore, lay aside
the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly
as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity
and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."
One need not look very far today to see that our culture has been
grossly involved in lusts -- in fleshly lusts! -- and that our society has
been deeply scarred by its obsession for unbridled sex, including all of the
most godless perversions. With the surprise announcement recently by The
New York Times, that there are now over 10,000 children -- imagine this --
there are now over 10,000 children being raised by lesbians, it is no wonder
that many previously unconcerned political leaders are finally waking up and
voicing an alarm. Our text tells us to "lay aside the deeds of darkness and
put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly," the Bible states, "as in
the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and
sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."
This, also, may be the moment for you to look, not at the lives of your
friends or your neighbors, but at yourself. This may be a moment for you to
examine yourself and to reconsider your own standing before God. Maybe you
are not involved in gross immorality; but, are the ways that you follow every
day, Godly ways? Are you bored when you sit in church, but excited when you
sit at the athletic events? What really are your values in life? Do the
fleshly lusts of this world have a greater drawing power on your life than
the call of God to serve Him by serving others?
It's interesting, as we watch television today, and, as we read
newspapers, to note that on the one hand people in the Soviet Union are
getting rid of the statues of Lenin and all the reminders of godless
communism and atheism; they want to get back to religion and to faith -- to
Christianity -- and the Bible. So, isn't it amazing, and even stunning, that
at the same time in our country, we have strong forces that are now trying to
get us away from God and the Bible and to return to all forms of atheism --
and agnosticism -- and Christless deism? We have powerful movements trying
to take prayers out of all public events, remove Bibles from public
institutions, and to label anyone and everyone who expresses Christian
convictions as some type of a kook.
In our text, God is speaking. Yes, God is speaking. And He is not
beating around the bush. In His holy word, God simply tells us to "put on"
Christ and to make no provision whatsoever for the lusts of the flesh. We
put on Christ when we are baptized into Christ; when we, by the power of the
Holy Spirit, are brought to faith in the crucified and resurrected Saviour.
In Gal. 3, the apostle Paul writes: "For. . .all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
Yes, in our most sincere moments, you and I may truly recognize our
sinfulness. And, in our shame, we may even try to do something about it; we
may try to correct the situation -- or to improve the situation -- so that
God might accept us. But the sacred Scriptures remind us that God accepts
nobody -- absolutely no one -- on their own terms; only on His terms.
For this reason, the apostle Peter reminds us that "Christ also died for
sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us
to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive [again] in the
spirit."
Let us, therefore, not waste our time trying to figure out how to
appease the wrath of God -- or how to avoid the wrath of God. Let us never
believe that through our own self-imposed mental anguish, or even our
physical suffering, we can earn the mercy of God. Instead, our prayer must
always be that the Holy Spirit daily would turn our eyes to the crucifixion
cross of Calvary. For it was on the cross that our salvation was
accomplished. On that cross our Saviour bled and died. On that cross Jesus
Christ "gave Himself for our sins, [so] that He might deliver us out of [the]
present evil age, according to the will of God, [our] Father." "For God has
not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ, who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live
together with Him."
Therefore, my friend, God is speaking to you today. In His Holy Word --
in the Bible -- God is speaking to your heart when He says: "Wake up! It's
time for you to wake up! It is later than you think. The night is almost
gone -- and the day is at hand."
Lay aside, therefore, every deed of darkness. Put on the armor of
light. Don't be involved in carousing or drunkenness, or sexual promiscuity,
or sensuality, or strife, or jealously; but, instead, do the new thing -- do
the better thing. Do the positive thing; turn over a new leaf and get a new
start, like God wants you to do by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ.
My friend, let your old sins be crucified with Christ; let an entirely
new person come forth from you -- by faith -- today. Put your old life
behind you. From now on, focus your faith entirely on the blessed
forgiveness and gracious promises of the Lord Jesus Christ.
By the power that God is offering you, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is your Saviour from your sin. Through Him, through Jesus Christ, a new
and better life is possible. All this can happen when you wake up and
realize that the hour is late. Make no provisions for the flesh in regard to
its lusts; but, instead, simply cling, by faith, to the blessed Saviour: the
One who has died for your sins and was raised again from the dead.
Jesus Christ died and rose again so that you and I, and all believers,
need not live in despair over our sin but, rather, Jesus was raised from the
dead so that you and I -- and all believers -- might live in the blessed hope
of life eternal. Yes, my dear friend, no matter how bleak, or black, or
difficult things may seem at this hour for you -- in Jesus Christ -- there
is hope for you today. This is God speaking to you. Amen..
Our ministry pages http://folsom.sk.ca/gohere.html
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