Walk in the Light

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Scripture: Romans 13:13-14 (ESV)

13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Devotion:

            Today we consider how we are to behave as we live in this increasingly godless world. In the previous verses Paul calls the church to wake up and realize that the time requires Christian involvement in the affairs of the world. If that world is even going to survive at all. In this pair of verses, he describes how not act as we seek to live as righteous people before God. We are invited to live in a way that glorifies God by our identification with Jesus Christ.

            The vices listed in verse 13 are not an exhaustive list of things to the Christian is to avoid but rather a sampling of the most heinous vices. When Christians fall into these practices the name of Jesus is tarnished in the eyes of a world that is just waiting for the Christian to fail. These sins are public and are repulsive to most of the people even the non-Christians. Yet, the warning is needed because Christians are often tempted into sexual sin, quarrelsomeness, and jealousy.

            How should the Christian avoid these sins? First, we must put on the armor of Jesus Christ. Paul goes into detail about this armor elsewhere. (Particularly in Ephesians chapter 6.) Here Paul just urges his audience to put on the armor of Jesus Christ by imitating Him. Paul goes on to explain that we are to not make any plans to go out and practice sin. We are to make no allowances for the world, flesh, and the devil to trap us into sin. We are to live as new creations by the power of the Holy Spirit victorious over sin and its result death.

            The lesson of these verses is very urgent for our times. Too often we can become lax and lazy about how we are living as ambassadors for Jesus in the world. These verses as a follow up to the previous verses that call us to wake up and engage our culture lead us to fruitful labor in the world. As Christians we are given a high calling to be salt and light in this dark and decaying world. Let us live as awake and engaged people working to bring honor and glory to Jesus’ name.

Prayer:

            Lord, we come to you confessing that we are often inattentive to your cause in the world. We would rather go along with the world than to call it to account with the gospel. Help us to take up the armor that Jesus provides and fight the spiritual battle that is happening all around us. Call us to be involved in creating solutions for this world which is perishing wherever we look. Grant that we would be able to make a difference in the lives of those hurting souls we see and hear about every day. Amen.

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