Week of Monday October 20 – October 26
Wake Up and Armor Up! – Man as Defender
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. - Romans 13:11-14 ESV
Thanks to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, many Americans are familiar with the “midnight ride of Paul Revere,” during which Revere warned towns west of Boston that the British were coming. On the night before the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Revere, William Dawes, Dr. Samuel Prescott, and others rode throughout the countryside through the night before the battles between British troops and Patriot militia ensued on the morning of April 19, 1775.
However, few Americans have heard of Isaac Bissell, a 26-year-old blacksmith from Suffield, Connecticut. On April 19, 1775, Bissell was in Watertown, Massachusetts, when word broke about the bloodshed at Lexington. Bissell was pressed into duty as an express rider. He rode westward, first to Worcester, where he switched horses, then to Springfield, eventually reaching Connecticut by the morning of April 20. All along the way, Bissell sounded the alarm, urging militia units to march toward Boston to defend their liberty.
In Romans 13, the apostle Paul sounded a different kind of alarm. After instructing the believers in Rome to be respectful, law-abiding citizens and emphasizing the importance of treating one another with love, Paul stressed the urgent need to be ready for. He then shifts to the urgency of the moment and the expectation of Christ’s imminent return. Essentially, he told the Roman church, “It’s time to wake up!”
Interestingly, long before Paul’s time, Greek inventors had created a water-powered alarm clock called a klepsydra, or “water thief.” The philosopher Plato enhanced this design by adding a whistle and rattling pebbles to wake up his students. Paul gave the Romans his own version of a “wake-up call,” declaring: “The night is far gone; the day is at hand” (verse 12a).
Paul then shifted metaphors from waking up to changing clothes: “So then let us cast off the works of darkness” (verse 12b). In other words, we are to remove our sinful behaviors like we remove dirty clothes. Then Paul calls believers to clothe ourselves with “the armor of light” (verse 12c). The Greek word translated as “armor” literally means “weapons.” When gearing up for an operation, I often referred to it as our “battle rattle.” So, Paul is saying: “Don’t just dress up—armor up!” And the main weapon? God’s transcendent truth.
Certainly, there was much to defend against in Roman culture. Paul lists “orgies and drunkenness,” “sexual immorality and sensuality,” and “quarreling and jealousy” (verse 13). Look around. Can we really say that our culture is much different? These six vices range from the flesh’s indulgence to the heart’s bitterness. See, sin is not confined to a cruddy motel; it often thrives in the church pew where believers squabble and splinter over jealousy and pride. Such behavior reflects how the world operates. Instead, we are called to be a redemptive influence on the culture. We should be completely surrendered to the will of God in heaven, not the downward drag of the flesh in this world.
How can we rise above it? Paul tells us in verse 14: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ.…” Here, Jesus Himself is the clothing. This goes beyond simply imitating His behavior; it means letting His life envelop ours. To “put on” Christ means to be so identified with Him that His presence covers and shapes everything we are: our thoughts and intentions, attitudes and reactions, words and deeds. The phrase “Lord Jesus Christ” piles up titles intentionally: “Lord” speaks of His authority over us. “Jesus” speaks of His saving grace and mercy toward us. Finally, “Christ” speaks of His anointing and power within us.
Paul’s message to the Romans contains a good message for us as Defenders: it’s time to wake up and armor up by putting on Jesus!
- What negative attitudes, habits, or forms of entertainment are still present in your life? In what ways are you being influenced by the world around you? What actions do you need to “take off”?
- How are you putting on the “armor of light” each day? What habits do you need to cultivate in order to strengthen your own spiritual life and support those you love and lead?
- Ask God to clothe you with the Lord Jesus Christ: His saving grace and mercy toward you, and His anointing and power within you.
Wake Up and Armor Up! – Man as Defender
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. - Romans 13:11-14 ESV
Thanks to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, many Americans are familiar with the “midnight ride of Paul Revere,” during which Revere warned towns west of Boston that the British were coming. On the night before the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Revere, William Dawes, Dr. Samuel Prescott, and others rode throughout the countryside through the night before the battles between British troops and Patriot militia ensued on the morning of April 19, 1775.
However, few Americans have heard of Isaac Bissell, a 26-year-old blacksmith from Suffield, Connecticut. On April 19, 1775, Bissell was in Watertown, Massachusetts, when word broke about the bloodshed at Lexington. Bissell was pressed into duty as an express rider. He rode westward, first to Worcester, where he switched horses, then to Springfield, eventually reaching Connecticut by the morning of April 20. All along the way, Bissell sounded the alarm, urging militia units to march toward Boston to defend their liberty.
In Romans 13, the apostle Paul sounded a different kind of alarm. After instructing the believers in Rome to be respectful, law-abiding citizens and emphasizing the importance of treating one another with love, Paul stressed the urgent need to be ready for. He then shifts to the urgency of the moment and the expectation of Christ’s imminent return. Essentially, he told the Roman church, “It’s time to wake up!”
Interestingly, long before Paul’s time, Greek inventors had created a water-powered alarm clock called a klepsydra, or “water thief.” The philosopher Plato enhanced this design by adding a whistle and rattling pebbles to wake up his students. Paul gave the Romans his own version of a “wake-up call,” declaring: “The night is far gone; the day is at hand” (verse 12a).
Paul then shifted metaphors from waking up to changing clothes: “So then let us cast off the works of darkness” (verse 12b). In other words, we are to remove our sinful behaviors like we remove dirty clothes. Then Paul calls believers to clothe ourselves with “the armor of light” (verse 12c). The Greek word translated as “armor” literally means “weapons.” When gearing up for an operation, I often referred to it as our “battle rattle.” So, Paul is saying: “Don’t just dress up—armor up!” And the main weapon? God’s transcendent truth.
Certainly, there was much to defend against in Roman culture. Paul lists “orgies and drunkenness,” “sexual immorality and sensuality,” and “quarreling and jealousy” (verse 13). Look around. Can we really say that our culture is much different? These six vices range from the flesh’s indulgence to the heart’s bitterness. See, sin is not confined to a cruddy motel; it often thrives in the church pew where believers squabble and splinter over jealousy and pride. Such behavior reflects how the world operates. Instead, we are called to be a redemptive influence on the culture. We should be completely surrendered to the will of God in heaven, not the downward drag of the flesh in this world.
How can we rise above it? Paul tells us in verse 14: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ.…” Here, Jesus Himself is the clothing. This goes beyond simply imitating His behavior; it means letting His life envelop ours. To “put on” Christ means to be so identified with Him that His presence covers and shapes everything we are: our thoughts and intentions, attitudes and reactions, words and deeds. The phrase “Lord Jesus Christ” piles up titles intentionally: “Lord” speaks of His authority over us. “Jesus” speaks of His saving grace and mercy toward us. Finally, “Christ” speaks of His anointing and power within us.
Paul’s message to the Romans contains a good message for us as Defenders: it’s time to wake up and armor up by putting on Jesus!
- What negative attitudes, habits, or forms of entertainment are still present in your life? In what ways are you being influenced by the world around you? What actions do you need to “take off”?
- How are you putting on the “armor of light” each day? What habits do you need to cultivate in order to strengthen your own spiritual life and support those you love and lead?
- Ask God to clothe you with the Lord Jesus Christ: His saving grace and mercy toward you, and His anointing and power within you.