And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. Some suppose that by it the apostle refers to the personal reign of Christ on the earth. He says that one of the first signs of the approaching collapse is the breakdown of law and order since civilization consists of law and order. Every one then who wishes to satisfy the desires of the flesh, must necessarily not only fall into, but be immerged in a vast and deep gulf. [409] The preceding explanation of night and day, as here to be understood, does not comport with what is afterwards said on Romans 13:12. Even heathens have said, that a few things suffice nature, but that the appetites of men are insatiable. The armor of light represents good, and temperate, and holy actions, such as are suitable to the day; and armor is mentioned rather than works, because we are to carry on a warfare for the Lord. 12. The true, the genuine Christian life is like the state of a man whose eyes are open and whose faculties are all alert and vigorous. Sleep is "the kinsman of death," and it is the emblem of the insensibility and stupidity of sinners. Romans 1 covers Paulâs introduction to the book of Romans as well as building a case against the entire world that we were guilty before God. II. 11. [409] The preceding explanation of night and day, as here to be understood, does not comport with what is afterwards said on. -- Ed. But afterwards, when he bids us to walk in the light, as it were during the day time, he does not continue the same metaphor; for he compares to the day our present state, while Christ shines on us. 3475 Mainway PO Box 5070, STN LCD 1 Burlington, ON L7R 3Y8. Sed induamini Dominum Iesum Christum, et carnis curam ne agatis ad concupiscentias. (Comp. The works of darkness are shameful and wicked works; for night, as some one says, is shameless. Sanctification, and not justification, is the subject of the passage. Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple (Mark 13: 1-4) (Mark 12:1-12) Jesusâ prediction of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem is one of the most important features in Markâs gospel. 2. This metaphor is commonly used in Scripture with respect to what tends to adorn or to deform man; both of which may be seen in his clothing: for a filthy and torn garment dishonors a man; but what is becoming and clean recommends him. For Paul had in view the end of our calling; inasmuch as God, by adopting us, unites us to the body of his only-begotten Son, and for this purpose, -- that we, renouncing our former life, may become new men in him. [410]. Romans 5:1-11. Romans 14:10 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of Godâs family; also in verses 13, 15 and 21. Hoc enim, quum noverimus tempus, quia hora est qua jam e somno expergiscamur (nunc enim propior est salus nostra quam quum credi-dimus,) just at their Father's house, ready to enter into the joy of their Lord, into his everlasting kingdom and glory, and yet asleep! The subject is wholly different. He says that the night had advanced, because we are not so overwhelmed with thick darkness as the unbelieving are, to whom no spark of life appears; but the hope of resurrection is placed by the gospel before our eyes; yea, the light of faith, by which we discover that the full brightness of celestial glory is nigh at hand, ought to stimulate us, so that we may not grow torpid on the earth. Moreover, know the time, that it is even now the very time for us to awake from sleep; for nearer now is our salvation than when we 12. believed: the night has advanced, and the day has approached; let us then cast away the works of darkness, and let us put on the 13. armor of light; let us, as in the day, walk in a becoming manner, etc. He was one of the most unmerciful persecutors of the early Christians, but was converted by the sudden appearance to him of the risen Lord. To awake ... - This is a beautiful figure. Because the Spirit brings His order into our lives (1 ⦠The whole passage would then read better in this manner, -- 11. That the present state of believers, their condition in this world, is meant here by "night," and their state of future glory is meant by "day," appears evident from the words which follow, "for nearer now is our salvation than when we believed." 14. (11) And that, knowing the time.—And that there is all the more urgent motive for you to do—this law of love it is the more incumbent on you to practise—because you know what a critical moment it is in which you are living. But we, who always stand in the sight of God and of angels, and whom Christ, the true sun of righteousness, invites to his presence, we indeed ought to be much more careful to beware of every kind of pollution. for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed; by which is meant, not temporal salvation, or a deliverance from the persecution the saints endured in Judea, from their own countrymen, by the departure of them from Jerusalem, a little before its destruction, by the destruction of that city, and the peaceful times of Vespasian; but a spiritual and eternal salvation: not Christ the author of it, who was come to effect it; nor that itself, as obtained, which was now done, finished, and completed; nor the application of it to their souls, which also had been made; but the consummate enjoyment of it in heaven, the salvation of their souls at death, and both of soul and body at the resurrection; consisting in a freedom from every evil, and in a full possession of all that is good and glorious: this is brought nearer to the saints, to their sight and view, as their faith grows and increases; and they are nearer the enjoyment of that than when they first believed; and which is a strong reason why a sluggish, slothful frame should not be indulged; what, sleep, and heaven so near at hand! Paul speaks metaphorically of night as the present age and uses day to mean the coming of the Lord. -- Ed. When we believed.—When we first became Christians. The humiliation of the cross was still a stumbling-block to them taken alone, but falling back upon another portion of their beliefs, they looked to see it supplemented, and its shameful side cancelled, by a second coming “in power and great glory.” Their previous expectations, vague as they were, led them to regard this as part of the one manifestation of the Messiah, and they did not expect to see a long interval of time interposed. [409] He mentions awake, by which he intimates that we are to be equipped and prepared to undertake the services which the Lord requires from us. The night has advanced, and the day, etc. It can guide us, teach us, and tell us about Godâs character. 12. The world has been sunk in the "night" of paganism and sin. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Rev., season. Then this declaration could not have been suitable to the Romans. This is to be understood, not of the dead sleep of sin, in which unconverted persons are, to be awoke out of which is a work of divine power; but of the carnal security and drowsy frame of spirit which sometimes attend the churches and children of God, the wise as well as the foolish virgins; and lies in grace being dormant in, the soul; in a backwardness to duty, and a slothfulness in the performance of it; in resting in the outward duties of religion; in lukewarmness about the cause of Christ; in an unconcernedness about sins of omission and commission; and in a willingness to continue in such a sluggish frame: all which arise from a body of sin and death, and an over anxious care for the things of the world; from a weariness in spiritual exercises, and an abstinence from spiritual company and ordinances and from outward peace and liberty: such a frame of spirit, when, it prevails and becomes general is of bad consequence to the churches of Christ; the spirit of discerning, care and diligence in receiving members, are in a great measure lost, and so they are filled with hypocrites and heretics; Christ absents himself from them; leanness of soul is brought upon them; and they are in danger of being surprised with the midnight cry: the methods God takes to awaken his people out of such a sleep are various; sometimes in a more gentle way, by the discoveries his love, which causes the lips of those that are asleep to speak; sometimes by severe reproofs in the ministry of the word; and sometimes by sharp persecutions in providence; and at last it will be done by the midnight cry: the argument, showing the reasonableness of awaking out of sleep, and that it was high time to do so, follows. 11. Moreover, etc. -- Ed. D. Paul stresses an urgency righteous living 13:11-14. But the whole tenor of what follows by no means favors this view. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ... (Romans 13:13-14a NIV) Augustine said that at that moment he opened his life to Christ. When to awake; Now; and to awake out of the sleep of carnal security, sloth, and negligence; out of the sleep of spiritual death, and out of the sleep of spiritual deadness. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." The same idea is beautifully presented in 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8. So says the apostle. Living in the light of the coming of the day (13:11-14) Instructions for the âweakâ and the âstrongâ (14:1-15:13) Paulâs ministry and future plans (15:14-33) Conclusion (16:1-27) Ben Witherington (Socio-Rhetorical Commentary) Witherington takes a distinct approach by reading the letter through the lens of ⦠However, it is sadly and often true that believers are in a spiritual state of slumber and drowsiness, and because of this God must send forth a wake up call. The night of heathen ignorance as to Christians had already passed, and the day of gospel light was not approaching, but had appeared. Paul admonishes believers to be aware that the return of the Lord is approaching 13:11. [412] On this account he says also in another place, that we put on Christ in baptism. This was in strict accordance with Mark 13:32, and resulted naturally from the peculiar form of the Jewish Messianic expectation. He has no need to feel great anxiety, excepting the eagerness of expectation, ), knowing that it is high time for you to awake out of sleep, that it is the hour for you to be already roused out of sleep, The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore put off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The intervening words are to be read as in a parenthesis. It is in this way that we shall use this world without abusing it. If these have in them so much filthiness, that even carnal men are ashamed to commit them before the eyes of men, it behooves us, who are in the light of God, at all times to abstain from them; yea, even when we are withdrawn from the presence of men. Salvation here, as in Romans 8:24, and in 1 Peter 1:9, means salvation made complete and perfect, the full employment of all its blessings. Revelling is first mentioned, though drunkenness goes before it; and "chambering," or concubinage, or indulgence in unlawful lusts is first stated, though lasciviousness or wantonness is the source from which it proceeds. He mentions here three kinds of vices, and to each he has given two names, -- intemperant and excess in living, -- carnal lust and uncleanness, which is connected with it, -- and envy and contention. The reference is apparently to the Lord's second coming, rather than to future glory. The word for “time” is different from that used in the next clause, and means a definite and critical season. 1. This is favored by the order of the Greek words. It Is High Time We Surrendered Absolutely! This passage is in various ways perverted by interpreters. The meaning is," Hitherto we have walked in darkness and in sin. Every hour brings the expected end nearer. We Christians are free from the law. Romans 8:1 tells us we are free from the guilt of sin. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on Amazon.com. But the whole tenor of what follows by no means favors this view. Not in reveling, etc. And still further considering, that the time in which you live is the time of the gospel, a period of light and truth, when you are particularly called on to lead holy lives, and thus to do justly to all. ), certainly believed that the Parusia, or Second Coming of Christ, was near at hand. [411] The case is the same with the two preceding instances; the vice which seems to follow is placed first. Romans 5:12-19. [411], 14. Calvin keeps to what accords with the context, the putting on of Christ as to his holy image. Indeed in no other sense can what is said here of night and day be appropriate. The time (τὸν καιρόν), the particular season or juncture. no doubt but that Paul intended to remind us, that strifes and contests arise from this fountain; for when any one seeks to excel, there is envying of one another; but ambition is the source of both evils. Considering the time; a busy time; a perilous time. However, the church in Rome was not ⦠For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 3. (Rosenmuller.) -- Ed. Now it is high time to awake out of sleep; Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed; and having this knowledge of the time, that, the condition in which the true moral activity of life is bound down and hindered by the power of sin, image of the state of the Christian on earth, in so far as he only at first forecasts and hopes for blessedness, regarded as near, always drawing nearer, and setting in even before the decease of the generation, ἐπειδὴ τότε τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἀπολαύομεν σωτηρίας, Moreover from that whole discussion, this exhortation is deduced, which is the shorter, in proportion as that was the longer, He, who has once begun well, from time to time approaches either nearer to salvation, or salvation, as it is said here, comes nearer to him. Paul established churches in many cities. Sin came into the world through one man (Adam) and spread to many, so also the gift of grace came through one man (Jesus) and abounds unto many. The time, he says, was known to the faithful, for the calling of God and the day of visitation required a new life and new morals, and he immediately adds an explanation, and says, that it was the hour to awake: for it is not chronos but kairos which means a fit occasion or a seasonable time. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh: The law can do many things. Laws reveal to us our religious and/or civic duties. The other rendering would lay an unwarranted emphasis on our. ESV, Romans 8:5-8: 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. The Author. The whole passage would then read better in this manner, -- 11. 1. The conduct to which such a hope should incite. to awake out of sleep—of stupid, fatal indifference to eternal things. Sleep - Inactivity; insensibility to the doctrines and duties of religion. Paying tribute is the same as âpaying taxesâ. Romans 13:11, CSB : "Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." To put on Christ, then, is to put on his virtues and graces, to put on or be endued with his spirit, to imitate his conduct and to copy his example. The first is what is here described, but the latter is what the passage refers to. Together, Romans 3:20 and Romans 4:15 produce a general principle that covers, not just biblical morality, but also secular. Nox progressa est, dies vero appropinquavit: abjiciamus ergo opera tenebrarum, et induamus arma lucis. As believers in Jesus Christ we are not to be found sleeping. Paul wrote it during his stay in Corinth, probably about 57 *A.D.. 2. Because of this, we are in a critical hour to recognize reality. Scholars have been sharply divided on how to deal with it: was it a genuine prediction, demonstrating Jesusâ power, or is it evidence that Mark was written after the Temple was destroyed in ⦠Taking just views of the shortness and the value of time; of the design for which it was given, and of the fact that it is, in regard to us, rapidly coming to a close. For no man can plead that he has fulfilled all his obligations to God and to his neighbour; nor can any truly say that he has fully acted up to the light afforded him. (Tholuck, and the Germans generally.) And the sleep mentioned here is not the sleep of ignorance and unbelief, but the sleep, the torpor, or inactivity of Christians. For nearer is now our salvation, etc. The declaration then seems to me to be of the most simple kind, -- "Nearer is salvation now to us than at that time when we began to believe:" so that a reference is made to the time which had preceded as to their faith. that now it is high time for us to awake out of sleep; since sleep is for the night, and not the day; the Alexandrian copy reads, "for you". 13. To put on Christ, then, is to put on his virtues and graces, to put on or be endued with his spirit, to imitate his conduct and to copy his example. The book of Romans is written by Paul from Corinth, while on his third missionary journey, in about 57 A.D. [His host is Gaius (Romans 16:23), an early convert in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:14) and he commends to the Romans Phoebe from Cenchrea, a neighboring city of Corinth (Romans 16:1). It is evidently a new subject of exhortation, as Calvin says, and the words must be rendered as he proposes, or be viewed as elliptical; the word "I say," or "I command," according to Macknight, being understood, "This also I say, since we know the time," etc. Romans 14:11 Isaiah 45:23 Romans 14:23 Some manuscripts place 16:25-27 here; others after 15:33. Check out Romans 13:11-14 Children of the light by David Guthrie on Amazon Music. He had known about him, but had never surrendered to him. Teaching Pastor Robb Oram teaches this week's sermon on the Christ-follower's proper interaction with society. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Knowing, seeing that ye know. 11. knowing the time, that now it is high time—literally, "the hour has already come.". We are going soon to meet him, and it becomes us to rouse, and to do those deeds, and those only, which will bear the bright shining of the light of truth, and the scrutiny of him who is "light, and in whom is no darkness at all;" 1 John 1:5. Romans 8:19; Romans 8:23, “the manifestation of the sons of God,” “the redemption of the body;” Luke 21:28, “your redemption draweth nigh.”). For as the adverb here used is in its import indefinite, this meaning is much the most suitable, as it is evident from what follows. We are to be wide awake and alert, serving the Lord. that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. The reason for writing the book of Romans was to share the gospel and teach that our righteousness comes by faith in Jesus Christ apart from what we can do to earn it. The things then which belong to the body must be taken care of, but not otherwise than as they are helps to us in our pilgrimage, and not that they may make us to forget our country. (Rom 13:1-2) Government's legitimate authority and the Christian's response. Romans 13 is a very hard passage to wrap one's brain around. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 9 The commandments, âYou shall not commit adultery,â âYou shall not murder,â âYou shall not steal,â âYou shall not covet,â # 13:9 Exodus 20:13-15,17; Deut. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, etc. [412] Many have explained "the putting on" here in a manner wholly inconsistent with the passage, as though the putting on of Christ's righteousness was intended. Paul dictated his letter to Tertius (Romans 16:22). The subject is wholly different. the day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to us who sat in darkness and in the region of the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. And have no care, etc. 1700 28th Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49508. 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