Living In Crisis Days (13:11-14).
Paul commenced this section in Romans 12:1-2 with the call to present our bodies as a holy and acceptable living sacrifice, not being conformed to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our mind. Now he calls on us, in the light of the possibility of Christ's second coming, to awaken out of sleep, and to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. Note the parallels. ‘Present your bodies a living sacrifice' with ‘awaken out of sleep'. ‘Do not be conformed to this world' with ‘cast of the works of darkness'. ‘Be transformed by the renewing of your mind' with ‘put on the armour of light'. These parallel statements form an inclusio for the whole section.
In the days when lighting was primitive the dawning of the day was the time for getting down to work. Night in the main resulted in a cessation of work. But night turned into day and then the world awoke to go about its daily business. During the night men partied and drank to excess, they indulged in illicit sex and loose behaviour, they fought and were jealous, but when day approached that was all put aside for the business of the day. They donned their working clothes, or their armoured coats, and went about their duties. Paul pictures the Christian life in terms of the dawning of a new day. We are to arise, and then deliberately ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ', and set about the task of daily living.
That to be a non-believer was to walk in darkness, while to be a believer was to walk in the light, was a favourite picture in the teaching of Jesus. He declared that we are to walk in the light, and be the sons of light (those whose lives are lived in the light), thereby knowing where we are going and being in no danger of being tripped up, while to walk in darkness would mean that we would stumble, and would not know where we were going (John 8:12; John 11:9; John 12:35-36; John 12:46; Luke 16:8). Similarly in the teaching of Paul we are ‘sons of light', and have been transported out of the tyrannous kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of God's beloved Son (Ephesians 5:8-9; Ephesians 5:11-13; Colossians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8).
We should note here that Paul presents a number of consecutive but contrasting pictures in pairs, as follows:
It is time to awake from sleep --- salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
The night is far spent --- the day is at hand.
Let us cast off the works of darkness --- let us put on the armour of light.
‘Walk becomingly as in the day ---, not in revelling and drunkenness, etc.'
‘Put on the Lord Jesus Christ ---and do not make provision for the flesh'
And if we combine them in another way we then obtain two powerful contrasting sequences. ‘It is time to awake from sleep -- the night is far spent -- let us cast off the works of darkness -- not walking in revelling and drunkenness -- do not make provision for the flesh.' In other words the night of our past lives is over. And on the other hand, ‘salvation is nearer than when we first believed -- the day is at hand -- put on the armour of light -- walk becomingly as in the day -- put on the LORD Jesus Christ.' The Christian is to walk in the light of God's ‘day'.