Introduction

There are many things in the Bible that leap off the pages when you discover them. Free and sovereign grace to utterly helpless sinners, to me an utterly helpless sinner is one of these things. Another is the simple but sublime, sublimely simple but majestic account of God's original work of creation. Of course, for full appreciation much depends on where you are at the time in your walk when you uncover the outstanding in Scripture.

There is a "leaping" portion in the text we are working with in Romans 13:11-14. It is a remarkable duty, an outstanding obligation, and a great refreshing well from which to drink. I refer to the duty of verse 14a, "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ."

Note the reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. This reflects the lofty nature of what is being said here. He cannot simply say, "Clothe yourselves with Christ" but must add wording that accents the full greatness and dignity of our risen Savior: He is the Lord Jesus Christ.

This stresses the totality of the act and its implications for all of life (Moo, 825). What Christ was should appear in our conduct so effectively that we are clothed in the garment of his righteousness (cf. Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:12-14; 1 Thess. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:53-54 anticipates being clothed with immortality in glory,). This expresses "intimate union and appropriation" of Christ (Shedd, 385).

Lord is master, ruler, God omnipotent. Jesus is the Savior-deliverer who dwells among us by the incarnation. Christ is Messianic King of righteousness promised in ages past and now come bringing redemption in its fullness. This divine Savior and King of righteousness is to be our clothing as we go about our daily life.

This injunction demands much meditation. It is truly remarkable. So think today about the way to this remarkable summons: Clothe yourselves with Christ, not darkness. Let's do so in two steps: 1) Some principles for application, and 2) Some application of the principles.

1A. Some principles for application

All biblical learning is application and for application. It is application because we come to worship the Lord by listening to His voice. We listen in worship and we listen for service. Thus we should always be learning in order to obey even when a sermon doesn't accent application.

At this point I want to give an outline of some principles. This has the value of seeing the whole forest before we narrow down to specifics.

1) There is a warning

This is a call to arms, an alert. It is found in the many negatives (the "nots") of verses 13-14. We might inquire as to why Christians are addressed with such potent exhortations. Christians live in a new age, a new day, but they are surrounded by darkness. Furthermore, sin still dwells within the Christian and so a key enemy is within (actually himself). We need to ponder the mini vice list.

At times we may wear the clothes of the night by doing the works of darkness. They are worn in the daylight so it is radically contradictory to being children of light. In this way we expose chinks in our armor. And this leads to many sad results. Think of walking in the light as walking on the narrow path. If we stray from the narrow path into the shadowy meadows we may get stuck in the mud (it is likely that such will happen). There is much pain of heart, loss of time, and expenditure of energy to get back to the narrow path. It is better that we spend our time and energy making our way even painstakingly along the path of the good.

The WCF helps us here combining great assurance in God's effectual working with the real and painful consequences of carelessness.

17.1 They, whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.(1)

17.2 This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father;(1) upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ;(2) the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them;(3) and the nature of the covenant of grace:(4) from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.(5)

17.3 Nevertheless, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins;(1) and, for a time, continue therein:(2) whereby they incur God's displeasure,(3) and grieve His Holy Spirit,(4) come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts;(5) have their hearts hardened,(6) and their consciences wounded;(7) hurt and scandalize others,(8) and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.(9)

2) There is comprehensiveness, a comprehensive call to duty

Putting on Christ (v. 14) is parallel with putting on the armor of the day (v. 12). It is the doing called for at the beginning of this unit (v. 11, do this). It includes putting on the law of God summarized in the Ten Commandments as that law applies in particular to brother, sister, and neighbor (13:8-10). And it includes the material from 12:1-13:14. This is the inclusio indicated by the call to not be conformed to this age (12:2) with the fact that we are now to live in the light of the new day (13:11-12). These bookends place an emphasis on the exhortations in between.

3) There is a summons to the law of God. Principles for application thus include a hearty and diligent return again and again to the Ten Commandments looking for their true spirit and intent within the framework of the coming of the new wine, which entails new wineskins and a new form (a fulfillment form) of the law.

4) There is a call to humility, to a re-reading 12:1-13:14 with humility looking at how things match with your life. Areas of personal weakness or need should be given greater consideration. We have to do this with true humility because we might easily pass over what we need most (don't just look for or take note of what your spouse needs or what "so and so" needs, but if you find yourself doing this then dig in right there regarding yourself!).

5) There is also a "peat and repeat" principle. That is, it is like the process of breaking things down that goes on when you work vegetables into the soil. Then you repeat (with peat moss) by moving it to where it is most needed (with the flowers, or with the tomato plants). We have been mixing the soil over these months in Romans (I have been trying to break it down for use and you have been trying to break it down for use). Now we are to do some "repeat" in light of the new day and the remarkable way of clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus we put on the Lord Jesus Christ when we commit ourselves as priests in all of our work (the GM plant is the tabernacle of the Lord, 12:1-2), when we fight with pride within ourselves (12:3, 10, 16; 13:5), when we cling to the good and abhor evil (13:9), when we heap up a whole lot of love along the pathway of the good (12:10; 13:8-10), and when we take these things up knowing the time: knowing that our salvation is nearer than when we first believed and knowing that our salvation has dawned in the dawning of the new day so that we taste of heaven here and now on the way (13:11-12).

The larger principle concerning application is this: the application is something you do in light of these things (and thus in the light). It is something you do in the obedience of faith (showing your trust in Christ and living your commitment to Him as your risen Lord).

2A. Some application of the principles

Here we consider many trees of the forest we have overviewed. When we get lost in the detail we return to the broad sketch of the forest for clarification. I need a model to tie this material to and I find it in the life of Joseph.

1B. How did Joseph put on Christ (Gen. 39:1-12)?

This is asking how did he "not make provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts"? How did Joseph stand in the hour of temptation?

a) He had knowledge of the will of God. He knew about the sanctity of marriage (cf. reference to "wife"). He knew about this as a sacred matter within God's order of things. Thus many sins flow from the well of ignorance. When the life, mind, thoughts, inner man, and conscience are not filled with Scripture provision is made for the flesh.

b) Joseph faced sin squarely; he identified sin directly and plainly. There was no beating around the bush. He called the ugly it what it is, sin. And he did so in a very personal way: it is me against God. Sin is a matter of personal relationship with God that is an affront to God. It is covenant breaking.

c) Finally, Joseph was alert and guarded about circumstances as occasions for temptation and sin. He would not even be with her. When push came to shove, he smelled the corrupting stench of death and literally ran away from sin leaving his outer garment in her hands. Even temptation soils the clothes and sometimes means leaving something behind while putting on something new in the process. Temptation should cause us to see sin and ourselves in a new light that leads to the wearing of better armor.

Why was Joseph so guarded to the point of fleeing sin for dear life? The implication is that he knew that when temptation is at its worst we must be at our best. He knew himself. He did not wear a mask.

2B. So how do we put on Christ?

How do we "not make provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts"? The negative is tied inseparably with the positive. There are things we must avoid in order to prevent lust from advancing to a fuller form in our lives. And to avoid them, there are things we must do. When we put off the nightclothes we must put on the day clothes (off and on).

1C. By knowing the will of God we put on Christ.

Being ignorant of God's will and ways, being ignorant of Scripture we make provision for the flesh.

This is an ever-increasing responsibility. You do not graduate from the school of Christ and then stop learning. Thus we should not continue in the ignorance that is ours to date. Maybe this is saying we are to be always about the task of reducing our ignorance.

Consider the basic biblical principle of the six and one in relation to the single hour of preaching we have each week (pursuing this line of thought is part of the "this" we are to do, Rom. 13:11). Is one hour enough? Is one hour in the word enough for you for the week?

1) What is in this question? It is not suggesting that growth in knowledge is a time card thing where you punch in and out on a daily basis. There is no out time. What you learn on the Lord's Day always has a bearing on the situations you face daily. In the face of trial, responsibility, and opportunity you are to be conscious as to how the word of God applies. Doing this is growing in knowledge of the word situation by situation. In the Christian life you just punch in. There is no punching out.

If you neglect to look to Scripture situation by situation then and there you make provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. If you leave a situation untouched by Scripture and unfiltered through Scripture the you provide for sin to grow and flourish. You are letting the weeds grow in that part of your garden.

2) In this connection consider the question regarding one hour in light of the biblical call to give and receive pastoral care. Beyond this hour you and I need each other. Pastoral care in the simple context of individual and personal conversation is extremely important. That is why both of us (pastor and flock) should be concerned to not let too much time pass between conversations about our lives in the general light of Scripture. This prompts you to inquire about daily relevance of Scripture and it prompts me as well. Conversation about the word before and after preaching in the six as well as on the one makes things better for the both of us.

So again I ask, "Is one hour enough in context of God's structure of life in the 6-1 pattern?

3) Well, one hour is a special means in that God has appointed preaching. We make provision for the flesh if we do not make good use of this hour. I am trying to make this a good hour with the Lord in the word. I am giving out the word. Your job is to make good use in receiving of the word. This includes a number of things. a) It includes calling the day a delight to thus come to preaching with an expectant attitude (that is more than half the battle for good listening). b) It includes preparing the heart for time with the Lord and His people. It should not be a last minute thing to which you rush to squeeze it into the more important things of your life. How is this gearing up the mind? It includes getting adequate rest anticipating something special when delight day comes. You focus the fact that hearing the human preacher is God's ordained way of speaking to us in our terms rather than thundering at us from heaven.

Last week I did an "all nighter." I read all night so that when 6:00 AM tennis came around I was already up and decided to go even without sleep. I was still keyed up with the large amount of quality reading I have to do before the Fall semester (I keep finding 600 page books that I need to read yesterday). So I went kind of fired up. I started out with a burst of energy then fizzled getting trampled, 6 to a fragile 1. Looking back I can say that I participated thinking, "hey, I can do this, I feel okay." But quickly I felt more like an observer than a participant.

c) Give due diligence to this hour in the context of a very special God appointed day. So what do we do? We give, pray, sing, read Scripture, preach, and partake of the sacraments. We have a very simple worship format. These things are prescribed by the Lord. If we do not take them up with due diligence then we make provision for the flesh. Each is in its own order of course but this means that singing should be done with due diligence or we have a chink in the armor of light that we are to be wearing for our work and protection on our journey. We are not to be ignorant of them or neglect them. Ignorance and neglect paves the way for sinful lusts.

Neglect is like not watering the flowers in my backyard. Spiritual watering comes by refreshment in the word. If you neglect fellowship with Christ (personally, individually, and corporately), the you are like the pot in the yard where the flowers drooped so far that they left the top center of the pot bare as fertile soil for weeds, for anything but flowers and fruits of the Spirit. We have opportunity to saturate ourselves on the Lord's Day in a way special and opportune compared with the other days of the week (there we usually have light refreshing showers). This one hour and this one day in seven is a time for watering with the word, for spiritual refreshment and cleansing per God's appointed means. Putting on Christ in this way avoids making provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.

2C. Face sin squarely to put on Christ.

Another thing to avoid is minimizing sin. Minimizing blunts its true meaning, depth, and danger. To rationalize about little things, like little white lies, a little excess, and a little self-indulgence we pave the path to sins front door. You might think or even say, "after all I have a right to be happy, don't I?" This posture is used by some professing Christians as a basis for divorce from spouse and children. Look, happiness can be thought of as a biblical command but it is not the standard, the end all, and the be all of life.

We minimize sin when we wear the proverbial mask. We neglect the "I" word when it comes to sin. We turn "I sinned" into a question (I sinned? Who me? Or with Judas: "Lord, is it I?"). An example here can be drawn from the scenario of being criticized. Criticizing others is easy for us to do and it needs to be severely governed by "the telephone pole in my own eye principle." And Jesus reference to the eye guides us to a humble, sensitive, and loving manner if we do criticize others. But what happens when the shoe is on the other foot? What about the case of being criticized? Given human nature we can make some observations. 1) The criticizer of you may be wrong as a fallible sinner. We gravitate to this. 2) The criticizer may be right. 3) What are the odds that the person is right? That depends much on the relationship (distant acquaintance, fellow worker, boss on the job, pastor, church member, family member, husband, wife, brother, sister, parent, or child). The closer the love the more likely the criticism is correct especially given your own fallibility and sinfulness. My point is that because of the battle with sin and the need for vigilance, you need to weigh all criticism openly and carefully. To do this you need to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath (James 1:19). I have noticed something in this regard working with students and having the job of criticizing their work. The worst thing that you can do when criticized, it seems to me, is to respond immediately with self-defense to balance things in your own favor. No, this makes provision for the flesh to flourish where the criticisms are true and we do not hear them because we are so busy defending ourselves. We need to be quick to hear but slow to speak. We need to say, "give me a little more (just a little because it is hard to take criticism; its like having your bones broken), clarify for me, and then let me give this some thought in private with the Lord, an open Bible and an open life." In your heart you are saying "I need to do this because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 5:5)." This is important for Peter says 'Clothe yourself with humility' (1 Pet. 5:5-8, with an alert!).

To avoid making provision for the flesh, I need to say, "I need what is here in Scripture, this Lord's Day, this hour of hearing the voice of God. I am a sinner, the sinner. I, yes, I hide myself from myself 'placing me behind my back' (Augustine). I need to come with this recognition, with this openness to the Lord. I need to say that I have trouble being honest with myself."

You make provision for the flesh if you minimize your need of pastoral care and fellowship of the saints. You need others. You need me and I need you; we need each other. The communion we have with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is with the saints, with one another. These things are weed management principles ordained by God for our good.

c) Again, recall that Joseph was alert and guarded with respect to temptation to sin.

You make provision for the flesh when you do not decisively cut off temptation. It must be nipped in the bud.

Jesus put this very graphically when he compared temptation to a member of your body, hand or eye, that causes you to sin (Matt. 5:29-30). He is being metaphorical. He is saying bring all the value you place on your hands and eyes to this illustration. Pretend that they could cause you to sin. What should you do? If you feed the hand that leads to sin and if you baby the eye that seduces you, then you make provision for the flesh to become inflamed and burst forth headlong into sin. Therefore, He tells us to take decisive action regarding temptation's dawning. Take a sword and cut off your hand and pluck out your eye. By this graphic language Jesus tells us that sin, even the paving of the way to sin by temptation, is an extremely serious matter. It is a matter of life and death, of your life and death (sin deserves damnation). It calls forth the intuitive soldier-like action of killing before being killed. Cut off the pathway, the circumstances, the people, and the thoughts that lure you into by-path meadow where there are chasms hidden under a thin layer of twigs and dry leaves.

Conclusion

Neglecting the word, minimizing sin, and being indecisive about the dawning of temptation can be compared to neglecting to clean your gutters (at home or work; neglecting to cleanse yourself, 2 Cor. 7:1). My gutters were overflowing after much neglect, with seeds sprouting and little trees growing. So I went on the roof to clean them. What happened? a) I found rotting seeds and leaves. b) I had difficulty cleaning the gutters. c) I got an awful stench of decay and death. d) I finally blew most of it out with a power blower and this scattered the debris all around the house surrounding my house with the repugnant stench of decay and death. But that is not personal enough to complete the story. When I put the blower into the gutter I would get debris thrown back into my face, on my clothes, and on my exposed legs. So, I finally finished. Came down and sat in the back yard with a cup of coffee (there I smelled the rot). Some time passed and I went inside to my study. As I started to sit down I noticed the gutter mud spotted all over my white shirt. I realized that I had been outside, out in public, wearing gutter mud that had no inviting look or smell. All of this illustrated to me that if we make provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts then we end up wearing gutter mud spotted over the white robes of our righteousness in Christ. Shall I say that we pave the way to cast gutter mud onto Christ who is our clothing?

Commit yourself to Christ as your priest, clinging to Him for forgiveness day in and day out. Commit yourself to Him as your prophet for His instruction that waters your soul to its deepest roots. Commit yourself to Christ as your king to live under His authority by His law in pursuit of obedience from the heart.

Absorb His word, law, and love into your life. Partake of Him as the bread of life, of your life. Here you are renewed daily in the inner man and made into His likeness. Here you put Him on as a garment, clothing yourself with Christ and not darkness.