Romans 13:8-14: a reflection

8Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. 11Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed. 12The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light. 13Let’s walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

Paul urges his readers to live as people who know what time it is. The night is far gone, he says, the day is at hand; so cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. And he sums up the call in a striking phrase: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. To live rightly is to wake from sleep, to throw off the deeds of darkness, and to clothe ourselves with Christ himself.

Notice the two images Paul uses: waking up, and putting on Christ. First, he calls us to wake from spiritual sleep, to be alert and awake to the time, for the day is near. And then he calls us to put on Christ, to clothe ourselves with him, as one puts on a garment, so that his character covers and marks us, and we live in his likeness rather than in the deeds of darkness. We are to be clothed with Christ himself.

That gives us a vivid way to think about growing in godliness. It is not merely about trying harder to be good, but about putting on Christ, clothing ourselves with him, letting his character become the garment we wear, while making no room for the desires of the flesh. Each day, as it were, choose your clothing: not the works of darkness, but Christ himself. Wake from spiritual sleep, be alert to the time, throw off the deeds of darkness, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, so that his likeness marks your life. Do not make provision for the flesh and its desires; put on Christ instead, and live as one clothed with him, in the light of the coming day.

Lord, Paul urges me to wake from sleep, for the day is near, to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, and sums it up in a striking phrase: put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. Give me a vivid sense of this. Growing in godliness is not merely about trying harder to be good, but about putting on Christ, clothing myself with him, letting his character become the garment I wear, while making no room for the desires of the flesh. Help me each day to choose my clothing: not the works of darkness, but Christ himself. Help me wake from spiritual sleep, be alert to the time, throw off the deeds of darkness, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, so that his likeness marks my life. Keep me from making provision for the flesh and its desires; help me put on Christ instead, and live as one clothed with him, in the light of the coming day.