Title: Know This Time/Romans 11:11-14
Introduction
Do you understand and live in this era in which we live? Knowing the times will help us know what we should do in our times. It's been a long time since I went to the theater to see a movie. That's why even the most popular movie stars don't know. However, a few days ago, KBS released a movie that enjoyed the box office, and it was said that the movie 'Friend' gathered the largest number of audiences. It turns out that the movie 'Friends' may have been a huge success at the box office, but the violence and vulgar language in the movie are a big problem. The film's great success despite such violent expressions shows how violent the psychological reality of our society is.
People enjoy seeing unusual, violent things and having fun. It is also a very clear testament to how sick our society is, and how much we love the dark and hate the light.
But God's Word says that when we are enjoying our old nostalgia in this violence and corruption, and when we call ourselves "peaceful" and "safe", "the pain of childbirth, suddenly come to them” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Now is the time to wake up from sleep. He tells us to put off the works of darkness (Romans 13:11-12). God said through Paul that we should use this generation wisely and discerningly.
Main subject
1) God says the times are shortened. (13:11)
God warns that the times are shortened through Paul. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 “I say these things, brethren, because the time is shortened, and from now on those who have wives as those who do not have, those who weep as those who do not weep, those who rejoice as those who rejoice, those who buy and sell Act as those who do not have, and those who use the things of the world as those who cannot use them all, for the traces of this world are passing away. This warning that the times are shortened has two meanings. One is that the second coming of Christ is imminent. Therefore, these words mean that Jesus will end this age and at some point enter the final judgment, so no matter who we are, whenever Jesus comes, the time is too short for us to prepare to meet Him. means to do Every Christian should be ready at any time to explain what he has accomplished with the talents and opportunities he has given us.
Revelation 20:12-15 "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to their deeds, as they were written in the books. And the sea gave up the dead that were in them, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; and each one was judged according to his deeds---whosoever was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." Those who are not written in the book of life are unbelievers. Because they did not believe, they went to hell. But believers are not condemned to hell because their names are written in the book of life (John 3:18). However, they must be judged for their works. 1 Corinthians 3:8 says, “Each one will receive his own reward according to his work.” Romans 2:6 "God judges each one according to what he has done" 2 Corinthians 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or bad", Ephesians 6:8" Knowing that whatever good each one does, it will be received from the Lord, both slave and free.” Galatians 6:7 says, “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
It also means that the time for us to stand before Jesus is near. Regardless of when Jesus will return at the end of history, we must always remember that our personal end is very near. We will soon be standing before Jesus to do the calculation. Then what will we hear before the Lord? Are we thinking of that day? Our Lord must be praised, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
“Now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
The salvation of the saints must be understood from three dimensions. They are past salvation, present salvation, and future salvation. Past salvation is the salvation we have received, present salvation is the salvation we are receiving, and future salvation is the salvation we will receive. We have been saved through Jesus on the cross, and we are being saved by walking with the risen Jesus, and we will complete our salvation through Jesus who will return. Theologically, the salvation of the past is the salvation of the justification, the present salvation is the salvation of sanctification, and the future salvation is the salvation of glory. It is this last salvation that our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
2) God tells us to wake up (verses 12-13).
In "the night is deep, and the day is near; therefore we have put off the works of darkness", the Greek word for 'deep' is proeksuzen, the negation of 'prokovto', which means 'advanced' or 'many passed'. As the past tense, it also includes the meaning of 'a lot of night has passed', but it has more connotations of 'the night has already passed'. And since the day is 'near', 'Engiken' is the perfect tense, meaning 'it has already come'. Therefore, God is telling us to wake up now. Many who claim to be Christians today are in a spiritual sleep. They are inactive toward God because they are asleep. They are like Jonah who was trying to run away from God. Jonah was running away from God's command and fell into a deep sleep. “Why are you sleeping? Get up and ask your God, and perhaps God will think of us so that we will not perish” (Jon 1:6). Jonah can be said to represent Christians and the church who are insensitive and sleepy today.
Why do you sleep? In John Bunyan's 'The Journey of the Elderly', there is a story about sleep. As a Christian was going to heaven, there were three people sleeping on the way to heaven. The place they were sleeping was very dangerous. If you make one mistake, you will roll down a cliff and find no bones. Those three people believed in Esu before Christians and went to heaven, but they came here and are sleeping deeply. Their names are Umong (愚蒙), Haeta (懈惰), and Zashi (自恃). That's a really cool analogy. Umong is so ignorant that he sleeps and Haeta is so lazy that he sleeps and sleeps without knowing, pretending to know and then falls asleep.
But now the church needs to wake up from this sleep. Because our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. And because we have work to do. Our enemy the devil and his minions are still working, sleepless. They are working hard even 'while people are sleeping' (Matthew 13:25). Evil spirits are working to separate people from God and eventually lead them down the road to destruction. But should we stay asleep? Now is the time to wake up.
3) God tells us to put on Christ (verse 14).
"Clothing on the Lord Jesus Christ" is seen as a summary proposition of the believer's full armor (Ephesians 6:13-17). Calvin used this word to mean 'prepared to perform all sacred duties by being strengthened by the power of the Spirit and restored to the image of God'. To be clothed with Christ means to participate in Christ's death and resurrection through baptism.
The clothes we wear in the morning become the symbols that dominate our day-to-day life. They become part of our lives, they become part of our being, and they express us. In some cases, the clothes dominate us. So getting dressed is very important.
So, what does it mean to be clothed with Christ? It means that Christ must be the expression of my life. In other words, we represent Christ, imitating Christ's righteousness, love, mercy, and gentleness, living a life that reveals His glory through our lives. Paul describes this kind of life in one word as 'a life of modest conduct' (verse 13). Living modestly means living like a Christian. Living like a believer in Jesus, living with an attitude of waiting for the coming of the Lord, this is the right image of a person who lives well.
Jesus compared such a modest person to “stand with your girdles girded around your waist and light a lamp” (Luke 12:35). The attitude of the servant standing next to him with a belt on his waist and a lamp lit because he does not know when his master will come is the attitude of a person clothed in Christ. We do not know when the Lord will come, but when we meet Him, we live faithfully in our work so that we can become a person who is not ashamed.
conclusion
time has been shortened. Therefore, God exhorts us to wake up from our sleep. And he says that we must put on Christ. We must kill the deeds of the body with the spirit and live a decent life. You can no longer say 'after a while' or 'a little later'. The opportunity is right now. This is the moment when we must 'put on the Lord Jesus alone' and live modestly. So whenever the Lord comes, we should be able to light a lamp and welcome Him.