Can We Get Serious Romans 13:11-14

Can We Get Serious?
Text: Romans 13:11-14
Series: The Whole Armor of God
 
The Text
"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 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. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."
— Romans 13:11-14
 
Introduction
Church, there's a scene in the movie Sully that I can't get out of my head. After Captain Sullenberger set that airplane down on the Hudson River, a board of investigators put him in a room and started picking apart his decision. They had simulations. They had data. They had plenty of opinions. And finally, Tom Hanks, playing Sully, stops the whole proceeding and says, "Can we get serious?"
The reason he said it is simple. Nobody in that room had ever been in the seat. They had never felt the impact. They had never heard the silence of both engines gone quiet at the same time. They were playing at it from the outside. He had lived it.
And I want to ask this church the same question this morning. Not to scold you. Not to beat you up. But because too many of God's people are living like the crisis isn't real, like the engines haven't gone quiet, when the Word of God says the clock is further along than we think.
Paul says it in Romans 13:11:
"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."
Can we get serious?
 
1. The Clock Is Further Along Than You Think
Romans 13:11 says, "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."
Paul says we ought to know what time it is. And he is not talking about a clock on the wall. He is talking about the hour of history. Every day that passes puts us one day closer to the return of Jesus Christ. Think about it. Last Sunday He was closer than He was the Sunday before. This morning He is closer than He was last week. The clock is running whether we watch it or not.
Now listen, church. That is a promise and not a threat. "Our salvation nearer than when we believed." If you are saved, the best day of your life is still out in front of you. The day you have been singing about, praying toward, hoping for, that day is closer today than it has ever been.
But Paul attaches a therefore to it. Because the clock is running, we ought to live like it. Sully had 208 seconds to work with. He did not have time to be casual. He did not have time to sit there and worry about what some board would say about him later. He had to be present in the moment he was given.
You and I have today. Tomorrow is not promised to anybody in this room. James 4:14 says our life is "a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." The clock is further along than you think, so live like it.
And here is the encouragement in it. You have not missed it. If you are hearing this today, God is still giving you time. That is mercy, church. That is mercy.
 
2. Too Many of God's People Are Asleep
Now look at what Paul says in the back half of verse 11 and into verse 12:
"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."
Notice what Paul does not say. He does not say awake out of sin. He says awake out of sleep. Sleep is what happens to a believer who knows the truth but has stopped living like the truth is true. Not lost. Not somebody denying the faith. Just comfortable. Numb. Going through the motions.
That is the man in the hearing room in that movie. He had all the data and none of the reality.
So what does spiritual sleep look like? Let me lay it out for you.
Prayer that used to be daily is now occasional. The Bible that used to be open on the table is now closed on the shelf. Church that used to be the priority is now "when I can make it." Sin that used to bother you does not bother you anymore. Heaven that used to excite you is now just a doctrine you can pass on a test.
That is sleep, church. And Paul says it is "high time." The alarm has been going off and we have been reaching over and hitting snooze.
But here is the good news. Being asleep is not the same as being dead. If you can hear the alarm this morning, you can still get up. That is the whole point of the verse. God is waking you up. He is not writing you off.
 
3. Get Dressed for the Day That's Coming
Now Paul gives two commands in Romans 13:12-14, and both of them are about getting dressed. Let me read them for you in full:
"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. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."
First, cast off the works of darkness. Take off what belongs to the night. You do not fight sleep by adding more to your life. You fight it by taking things off. And some of you folks are tired this morning because you are still carrying around stuff that God told you to drop a long time ago.
Second, put on the armour of light. And church, there is your bridge right back into our series. Paul uses the same word here that he uses over in Ephesians 6, "put on." Same idea. You do not drift into readiness. You dress for it. Every single day. Belt of truth first, then the rest of it.
And verse 14 gives us the whole suit in one line: "put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ." That is the armor. Not your willpower. Not your track record. Him. When you put Him on, the works of darkness do not fit you anymore.
Somebody says, "Preacher, that sounds like a lot of work." No. This is not "try harder." This is "get dressed." A soldier does not will himself into his armor standing in the barracks. He puts it on. Believer, put on Christ this morning. That is not a burden. That is a covering.
 
Conclusion
Sully was not being harsh in that hearing room. He was being honest. The situation was too serious for games.
And so is ours. Not because God is angry with you. Because the day is at hand. Because people we love are still lost. Because eternity is real. Because Jesus Christ is coming back.
Can we get serious?
I do not mean serious as in sour-faced and grim. I mean serious as in awake. Serious as in dressed. Serious as in living today like what we say we believe is actually true.
If you have been asleep, this is your alarm. Not to shame you. To get you up. The night is far spent. The day is at hand.
Let me leave you with this. Sully did not save that airplane by panicking, and he did not save it by sleeping. He saved it by being awake and doing his job in the moment he was given. God is asking the same thing of us.
Are you dressed for battle today?
Let's live like it.