Romans 13:11-12

And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

There are four places in the New Testament where God tells believers to wake up: Ephesians 5:14, 1 Corinthians 15:34, 1 Thessalonians 5:6, and Romans 13:11.

Paul begins with, “Do this, understanding the present time.” Do what? Wake up and love! Now is the time for Christian love. We love not to fulfill the law, but because it’s time for love! We live in an overlap between the time of the dominion of darkness and the Kingdom of God. Awake from your slumber; the time we have to serve the Lord in love is now limited. Our days are few in number as it is, and we’re one more day closer than we were yesterday. We need to make the most of every opportunity as we serve Him in our fading time. See 1 John 2:8. It’s still dark, but the daytime is near. One commentator said on this passage, “Faith is indeed nothing but living in light of what is to come.” We live for Christ, because He is coming.

Put off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light (faith in Christ, hope in Christ, and love for Christ). Notice the parallel nature of Paul’s writings here and in Ephesians 5-6 and in 1 Thessalonians 5. WAKE UP AND PUT ON YOUR ARMOR. Why? We are at war and the battle is raging; we’re fighting for our lives, and it’s not peace-time yet. This is typical of Pauline writings; he loves the military analogies, and he loves to issue double commands, one being negative (don’t do this) and one being positive (do this). He is reminding us that we are in moral, spiritual, and ethical warfare. To be encumbered by sin and unarmed without armor would be like a soldier on the frontline failing to do his duty, disobeying his commanders. Without the armor of light, the transformation that accompanies union with Christ, we are not armed for the fight of faith. The Christian’s life is not sleep, but a battle. So be conscious that we are in spiritual war.

And quickly the good news for us, amidst this battle, is that salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. What a treasure! Salvation is nearer now, and now, and now, and now. The time of our eternal rest is closing in. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So Paul’s command is to love, in light of the fact that we are in a war and in light of the fact that the end is near.