Articles
Our Salvation Is Nearer
In the apostle Paul's letter to the brethren in Rome, he addressed the need for brethren to practice submission — to government (Rom. 13:1-7), to others (Rom. 13:8-10), and also to Christ (Rom. 13:11-14) as a lead-in to his lengthier address on submitting to one another as brethren (Romans 14). In that last section of chapter 13, Paul said this: “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
It is this portion of his letter we will consider today, but particularly his assertion “our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” What did he mean by that and why is that important? Let us consider a few points that may answer these questions and more.
“Knowing the Time.” There are lots of quotes about time and its passing by, wise use, relativity, etc., but let us just make the simple observation that, as someone has noted, "Once time has passed us by, we can never get it back." Time is one of those things we can't click on a button and stop it, slow it down, or even reverse it; once it is gone, it is gone. That is why we see so many admonitions throughout God's divinely-revealed word to be aware of the time we have, and to not let it pass by wasted.
Consider the psalmist's words: “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;…So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psa. 90:10, 12). The admonition here is that we make wise use of our time!
Consider also the words of the wise writer from long ago: “For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them” (Eccl. 9:12). The warning here is that we don't know when "our time" is done and death comes to us!
With these two points, and with what Paul wrote to those in Rome, we may see that we, too, should make wise use of our time, since we do not know how long we have. But what do we do?
“Awake Out of Sleep.” Paul's admonition is that we pay attention to the brevity of life, and the reality and the seriousness of eternity. Compared to eternity, we have but a wisp of time here on earth; James warns, “you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:14). Now is not the time to be asleep! Now is the time to be awake and alert!
Paul also warned of the unknown time of Christ's return, admonishing the early disciples to be prepared and awake and alert for that possibility, too. We might not all die, but if we don't, it is because Christ comes before we do. If we are asleep [figuratively speaking] it will be too late to "wake up" to the need for preparation, and it is for this reason Paul warned, “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess. 5:7). One who is "asleep" will be unprepared for whatever comes, while one who is "awake" will be ready to face even the most terrifying situations. Let us not "sleep' regarding our preparation for eternity, lest we be found unprepared and condemned.
“Cast Off the Works of Darkness.” As disciples who are keenly interested in being prepared for death or Christ's coming, it is a given that part of our preparation is eliminating the old ways that we might be truly that “new creation” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) — in fact, like Christ (cf. Eph. 4:13). Several times throughout the New Testament, disciples are admonished to make a separation from the old ways that they might become pleasing to God. We are not excused from those admonitions!
Paul wrote to those in Ephesus that they should “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Eph. 4:22), and to those in Colossæ, he put it even stronger: “put to death your members which are on the earth” (Col. 3:5). To those in Galatia, he put it in strong terms, too, but as something done in the past tense [already accomplished]: “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires’” (Gal. 5:24), And as he put it to those in Rome, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6:12-14).
“Walk Properly…Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” To those who were God's people, this should have been a 'given' that is understood by those whose minds are focused on spiritual things and not the earthly. But, as with all human beings who are forgetful and sometimes outright neglectful, we need to be reminded from time to time of things we should know.
When Paul admonished them to “walk properly,” he did so expecting they would know that there is a proper way to live and an improper way to live, and that they should choose the way that is proper and fitting to those who wear the name of Christ; that is, we don't live like the world lives, we don't act like the world, we don't speak like the world, and we do not use the same standard by which the world measures 'right' and 'wrong' [if they even make that distinction anymore].
Paul, in this last admonition, equates “walking properly” with 'putting on' — becoming like — Christ. That, too, is essentially a 'given,' for we are admonished in Scripture, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6); that is, if we claim to be Christ's, then we must live like Christ. [Isn't that what calling ourselves 'Christian' is supposed to mean — that we are followers of Christ?] In every way, disciples of Christ are to emulate Him, become like Him, and make it our aim to live according to His teachings that these aims are possible. Why?
Because “our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” Now — today, this very minute — we are closer to eternity than we have ever been. Now, we are closer than we have ever been to that day when Christ will come and all our lives will be open before the Judge and we will have to give an account to Him for what we have done on this earth, whether good or bad (cf. 2nd Cor. 5:10).
When we first believed, we were all spiritually immature, but learning; when we first believed, we were not fully awake and alert to the dangers of worldliness and the temptations that would try to drag us back into sin; when we first believed, we still had fleshly desires that needed to be put to death; when we first believed, we had just come out of darkness and “into His marvelous light” (cf. 1 Pet. 2:9); when we first believed, we had not fully clothed ourselves in Christ and were not like Him in all things. But now? Now we are closer to that goal; now, we are closer to being like Christ; now, we are closer to eternal life! —— Steven Harper
