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.
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.
13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

The apostle Paul wrote here that God’s people are to know the time. We have many different options for knowing the time on the clock. We have many types of battery operated clocks and watches. Those with cell phones have the time on them. Computers also have the time on them. There is really no reason to be late for an appointment in our current era.
Spiritually speaking, only those who are saved can know the time. Many saved people are quite ignorant of the time as well. They are careless and need to wake up. That is what Paul was told to write about here. It is now high time to awake out of sleep. That was written in the apostle Paul’s day. We are close to 2,000 years past that time. It certainly is time to awake out of sleep today.
Every day that goes by puts our salvation a little closer. The salvation spoken of here is not talking about the need to wait to be forgiven and saved. It is talking of the return of the Lord. Soon the Lord will come in the clouds and the trump of God will sound and the saved of the New Testament era will be removed from this earth.
We wrote about the importance of this in our devotional yesterday, and have written about it other times as well. We have been lured into believing that we just need to take things in stride. I just received an email alerting me to the immorality being promoted by the public school system in Manitoba. This wicked material is being given out to grade 9 & 10 male students. It is explicit and one boy showed it to his mother. It still amazes me that any parent would send their child to any public school. It is even more amazing that professing Christian parents would send their child to any public school. I wonder if those people will ever wake up.
I was saved at the age of 20. I am now 72. I do not have many more years left on this earth. I may not die of old age. The Lord could come back before this day is done. Every born again Christian needs to live in anticipation of this glorious day. That day will not be a good day for the lost. They will be left behind and they will believe the lies of the antichrist. They will assume that he will bring in the utopia that politicians have been talking about for years. That will begin the 7 most dreadful years in world history.
In verse 12 we are reminded that the night is far spent. I remember back to when I was a younger person. There were people that I knew that could stay in bed until noon. I am not talking about people who worked the night shift and needed to sleep in the day time. I am talking of people who went to bed in the night and could stay in bed till mid day. I could never understand how anyone could do that. I cannot even do that now as an older man. In the morning it is time to get up and get going.
God is not talking of those who are lazy and like to sleep their time away. He is talking of those who claim to be saved but are not living for the Lord. The day is at hand. It is time to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light.
We see again that God is not content with saved people being carnal. He will not leave them in that state. Notice as well that light is armour. When we walk in the light of God’s Word we will not stumble and fall. God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We can go in the right way when we are saved and obedient to God’s truth.
As we noted in yesterday’s devotional, there has been a lot of sleep walking going on. In the previous verses of this chapter we are given some examples of things that cannot persist in the true Christian’s life. God did not make some suggestions there. He made some clear declarations.
In verse 13 we are challenged to walk honestly, as in the day. We need to be reminded that God sees all that we do. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, and He gives light to His sheep. It is necessary for His sheep to walk in it. The opposite is rioting and drunkenness. Those two go hand in hand. We have talked about this before. Drunkenness cannot be a part of the Christian life. God has a much different standard of soberness than the world does. The world says you can have .08% alcohol in your system and still drive. The Bible says:

Proverbs 20:1  Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Proverbs 23:31  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

God does not say you can taste a little wine and it is okay. He says not to look upon it when it moves itself aright. The world has been very subtle and there are non-alcoholic drinks you can purchase that also move like liquor does. The world has a purpose in what it is doing. The devil is very crafty. God tells us to not even look at the wine that is fermented. We do not need to test it. We can tell just by looking at it.
In Ephesians 5:18 the apostle Paul was directed by God to write:

Ephesians 5:18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Christians do not get drunk. They are to be filled with the Spirit. They are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, not by liquor.
Chambering has to do with immorality. This also flows from rioting and drunkenness. Wantonness also falls into that same category. Drunkenness dulls the senses. It removes that keen sense of right and wrong. It does not provide an excuse for the wickedness involved with it. It just shows what drunkenness brings with it.
Strife and envying are also things that God’s children cannot be involved with. There is much fighting and bickering among the lost. There are a multitude of denominations that came about due to strife and envying. Christians must submit to God’s Word. That will remove strife and envy. The apostles were at odds with the lost Jews of their day. The apostles were not the problem. The problem was the lost who did not want the truth. God commands His children to go into all the world and to be a witness unto the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be strife to those who reject the truth.
In our text God is talking about true believers’ behaviour. There needs to be a humility among God’s people. We need to be willing to submit to God’s authority and follow Him faithfully. We can know the truth. We need to get away from being impressed with personalities. The apostle Paul addressed that problem in I Corinthians. The church in Corinth was carnal. The solution to their problem was not to split and form another church. The solution was for the saints to humble themselves and submit to the truth and repent of sin.
In verse 14 we are told to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not talking of works salvation. It is talking of yielding to the Lord Jesus Christ after being saved. The saved are not to make any provision for the flesh. We all have the flesh wanting its own way. There are things that the devil will try to tempt us with. That is why we do not make provision for the flesh, if we are saved. We get rid of the junk music and the T.V. and the worldly magazines, etc. We do not need any of that. We need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. If we do that every day and every moment of the day, there will be no place for the world. There is no benefit for the child of God to fulfil the lusts of the flesh. That will just bring guilt and regret.
The true child of God cannot be bogged down by the flesh. He or she knows what the flesh is. The Word of God makes that clear. The more time you spend in God’s Word, the more aware of the truth you will be. The more aware of the designs of the devil you will be. Saved people have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. They want to please God in their spirit. The flesh will try to interfere, but we need to put the flesh to death. Get rid of the temptations. Fill your heart and mind with God’s truth. Be in a good church for all the services. Read your Bible every day. Meditate upon God’s Word throughout the day. Let Him bless you. You will be thankful for that if you are saved.
Pastor Bartel