Cast off and put on

The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. – Romans 13.12

It is pretty obvious that we had better wake up and smell the roses considering the day we live in. It is bad and it is only going to get worse. So once we realise the need to wake up we need to figure out what to do.

The night it far spent, the day of the Lord is at hand. We had better do something about it.

So what do we do?

Cast off the words of darkness.

Put off the armour of light.

You notice Paul tells us to ‘cast of the works of darkness.’ He would have to do that if we hadn’t put them on the start with. Part of the problem with being lulled to sleep by a comfortable world is that we don’t notice the works of darkness creeping in and being a part of our lives. We do things and think things and watch things we wouldn’t have thought about before. The wickedness of the world is going to draw us as we seek to maintain the level of popularity and acceptance that we have had all along. Before we know it we are clad in works of darkness.

When we finally wake up to the fact we had better do what we read here. Do something about it. Throw off those works of darkness that ensnare us. Get rid of it. Ask God to search our hearts to make sure that there is not vestige of darkness clinging on.

Then we need to be protected. We are to clothe ourselves in the armour of light. Paul explains this armour in more detail in Ephesians 6; the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit.

It’s only going to get worse folks – we need to be ready. Get rid of the darkness and put on the armour. Be ready for the battle.