Romans 13 - "THE ARMOR OF LIGHT"

THE ARMOR OF LIGHT

Romans 13:12

Preached by:  Pastor Carolyn Sissom

Sunday, October 10, 2010

10/10/10

Romans 13:12:  “The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand, Let us therefore lay aside, the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

One of the scrolls of the Dead Sea sect describes the war between “the sons of light” and the “sons of darkness”. 

Prior to starting the church in 1989, I had a visitation of the Lord.  He came into my bedroom and stood beside the bed.  He was a beautiful white light.  His white robe was part of the light.  It too was light.  He covered me with a blanket of light.  He spoke to me saying, “Arise, shine; for your light has come.  And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  Gross darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples.  But the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you.”

Because of this visitation, I believe there is an appointed time when we receive this armor of light as sons of light.  I am not qualified to say how this armor has affected my life except I know from that day forward I experienced persecutions and abuse that were bazaar from the religious community.  The issues of religion have not changed over the years, but I have been strengthened by an armor of light that causes all attacks to bounce off of me.  In no way am I a victim.  I am strong by the Grace of the Lord to fulfill the “call” He has placed on my life.  I have no regrets for any of the attacks.  I am stronger and better.  I count it all joy.

As I studied the commentators to get their “take” on this scripture, I have chosen to quote Matthew Henry:

“”What must we put on”.  Our care must be with what we shall be clothed, how shall we dress our souls?  “Put on the armor of light.  Christians are soldiers in the midst of enemies, therefore their array must be armor.  A Christian may reckon himself undressed if he is unarmed.  The graces of the Spirit are this armor to secure the soul from satan’s temptations.  This is called the armor of light.  The graces of the Spirit are suitable splendid ornaments.  Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.  This stands in opposition to a great many base lusts. 

13:13: “Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife, and jealousy”

13:14:  “Put on Christ”.  This includes all.  Put on the righteousness of Christ for justification; be found in Him as a man is found in his clothes.  Put on the spirit and grace of Christ for sanctification; put on the new man.  Jesus Christ is the best clothing for Christians to adorn themselves with, to arm themselves with.  All other things are filthy rags.  By baptism we have in profession put on Christ.  Let us do it in truth and sincerity.  Put him on as Lord to rule you, as Jesus to save you, and in both as Christ, appointed by the Father to this ruling saving work.

How to walk?  When we are up and dressed, we are not to sit still.  What have we good clothes for, but to appear in public in them?  Let us walk.  Christianity teaches us how to walk so as to please the Lord.  Our conversation must be as becomes the gospel.  Walk honestly; decently and becomingly.  Christians should be careful to conduct themselves well in those things wherein men have an eye upon them, and to study that which is lovely and of good report.

Strife and envying are also works of darkness; for, though the acts and instances of strife and envy are very common, yet none are willing to acknowledge themselves envious and contentious.  To strive and to envy does not become the disciples and followers of the peaceable and humble Jesus.  Where there is riot and drunkenness, there is usually chambering and wantonness; strife and envy.

13:14: What provision to make? Make no provision for the flesh.  Be not obsessed with our bodies.  I should take better care of mine.  However, there is an obsession in our time where people are fixated on their bodies.  The necessities of the body must be considered, but the lusts of it must not be gratified.  This national obsession has resulted in anorexia, bulimia, obesity, exercise addiction, drug addiction, tobacco, alcoholism, tattoos and other abuses of the flesh.

Let us now return to Verse 1 in Chapter 13.  I have been praying about how to teach this all week.  I have re-read all of the approved commentaries with respect for their views.

Today is 10/10/10:  Ten is the number of government, restoration, trial, testing and the Office of Pastor.  Romans 13:10:  “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

13: 1-2:  “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.”

Any truth stretched too far out is heresy.

Throughout scripture and history, when unrighteous government is in office, the Lord has sent prophets to turn the hearts of the wicked kings.  The United States of America was formed out of the rebellion of the 13 colonies against Great Britain.  Hitler’s tyrannical government had to be overthrown by the Allies.  The Taliban had to be ousted out of Afghanistan.  Sadam Hussein was removed as dictator of Iraq.  Wars have always been fought and will be fought to remove wicked dictators and tyrants.

Another time in the New Testament Peter and John speak up boldly to the Annas, the high priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest.  Acts 4:18-19:  “And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken to you more than to God, judge you.  For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

Our consciences are not to be subjected to the will of any man.

Acts 5:28-29:  “Saying, did not we strictly command you that you should not teach in this name? and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

We have an example now of the situation in Obion County, Tennessee of firefighters allowing a man’s home to burn down because he had forgotten to pay the $75.00 annual fee.  Legally they were not obligated to go out and help put out the fire.  Morally it was a terrible moral failure.  If you and I had a water hose to help put out our neighbor’s fire.  We would do so and not expect him to pay our water bill.  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

We are to show the highest respect for police officers, officers of the court, and government officials because they have been given the responsibility to be guardians of peace, the principle of order versus chaos, the bulwark of order and justice (J. Weiss).   Out of respect for laws, the civil authorities are due our obedience to those laws. 

Over each of us as Christians we are answerable to God for our civil behavior.  We will be punished for civil misdemeanors.  Our government should not be our enemy, but an ally and helper toward moral endeavors.  We as a people have been watching the moral decline of our government.  With that moral decline, we are losing our position as a world super power.  The civil power of government like the ministers of the Kingdom are to be God’s servants.

Many have lost that vision.  The moral failure of abortion, same sex marriages, violence on our borders, corruption in government, profanity, adultery, sexual promiscuity, porno, drunkenness, carousing in the lives of our civil leaders have disqualified them of the respect due their offices.

I hope everyone in this church will vote in the upcoming election.  It is our civil duty to vote out civil leaders who do not honor the ways of God and to vote in statesmen who respect these verses as a commission of being a servant of the Lord.

13:3-7:  “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil.  Do you want to have no fear of authority?  Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good.  But if you do what is evil be afraid, for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of  God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.   It is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience sake.  For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.  Render to all what is due them; tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

According to this scripture civil authorities are to be  ministers of God to you for good.  For those who do evil, he is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.  The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.  Any ruler on earth is subject to this written mandate.  This is a double-edged sword.

1.  Christians to obey the law and civil authorities

2.  Civil authorities are ministers of God and have a mandate of justice upon their lives.

Those magistrates who ruled out in the provinces of the Roman empire wore a short sword as part of their official dress.  Usually a dagger was presented to a new governor on taking office.  It symbolized his right to punish by death.  But when did the idea of rulers and punishment of evil begin?  It started with a covenant which God made with Noah.  The Lord said to Noah, “whosoever sheds man’s blood by man shall his blood be shed.” (Gen. 9:6).  With those words the Lord charged Noah and those following hi with the responsibility of maintaining government and punishing capital crimes with death.  The institution of capital punishment for the protection of human life is the most sacred trust of government.  The hard fact is God requires rulers and judges to execute the death penalty when it is called for.  God hates evil.  And those with the power to inflict death are His agents to administer his wrath against evil.  This is one of God’s fundamental laws.  Therefore, judges have the right to punish all (even true believers) who do evil.

And when they do, they are in effect pouring out God’s wrath upon that evil.  When the law of capital punishment is set aside, then human life becomes cheap.  Men commit murder more readily.  The judge or ruler who ignores this basic law must answer to God, for he sits in the place of judgment as God’s avenger against evil.  Remember it is God who decreed capital punishment in the first place.

Revelation 13:10 re-states this law for those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. “If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed.  Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

According to this scripture in the  Book of Revelation, the church is to hold civil authorities to this law instituted by the Lord Himself to Noah.  The Lord himself will bring this to pass.  “If anyone has an ear, let him hear.”  It was instituted in Genesis, confirmed by Paul in Romans and sealed in the Book of Revelation.

Romans 13: 8-10:  “   Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.  For this, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, You shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.”

Love for Paul is the supreme blessing of the Spirit who is poured out in the last days in anticipation of the Messianic age in its fullness.  The Christian governmental economic dues lead on to his social dues.  He has one such obligation---love.  The debt of love is permanent and we never get out of it; for we pay it daily and yet always owe it. (Origen).  Paul echoes Jesus’ approval of Lev. 19:18 as the summary of the law.  “You shall not take your vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord.”

Luke 10:26:-27:  And Jesus said to him, what is written in the law?  How does it read to you?  And he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

This love is no feigned emotion but an active, continual attitude fostered by the Spirit, by which the love of God in Christ, having once been poured out in the Christian’s heart proceeds through his whole life and beyond him to every man he meets. 

13:11:  “and this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.”

He alludes here to the baptismal hymn in Eph. 5:14:  “For this reason it says, Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Preached by Pastor Carolyn Sissom