The Believer's Relationship To Christ - Series

The Believer’s Relationship to Christ

(It’s “Time”)

Romans 13:11-14

* The old story is told of the young man who was completely in love with his girlfriend, but had never kissed her. Finally, he gathered up his courage and asked for permission. He said, “Can I kiss you?” She said nothing. Then he asked, “May I kiss you?” Still, she said nothing. In frustration he asked, “Are you deaf?” Quickly, she spoke and asked, “Are you paralyzed?” It seems that her message to him was “IT’S TIME.”

* In the same vane it would seem that Paul is giving us the same message as this young lady gave her well-meaning boyfriend. There are times to plan, times to prepare, but there are also times to act. After communicating the believer’s relationship to the government and others, Paul steps up the pressure on all believers. As a person who trusted Christ & becomes a part of His family, we are called to do a couple of things; believe, become, & do.

* The most asked question in the church today is “Who believes in Jesus?” Candidly, close to 100% would say, “I do.” This answer is most troubling.

* Why? Because if those inside the church do believe in Jesus why is the darkness prevailing in our culture? Why is it that the government is on the verge of passing a law which could make it a “hate-crime” to speak out against immorality? Why is it that God is continually being kicked out of the public square? If our government is of, by, and for the people, how come the God of the people is summarily being dismissed? To ask, ‘where is the church’ in all of this is seemingly a moot point as the bigger question is, “Where are God’s people in the fray?” Are they ‘going along’ to ‘get along’ or have they abandoned their beliefs in light of the pull of society?

* The key question is, “How can we believe in Him without doing what He says, living out His truths, and basing our lives on His word?” And the answer is, “We can’t.” The fact is that the Bible teaches us that a person who says they love Christ and doesn’t keep His words is a liar. (1 John 2)

* Today’s text is a call to all believers to renew our hearts, to refresh our relationship, and restart our spiritual engines, because the time Is now.

* Of all the many things which this text screams at us, it is this, “It’s Time.”

1. It’s Time to Wake Up – The HCSB catches our attention in verse 11 by giving us a certain call. It simply says, “Knowing the time.” Years ago, Chicago sung, “Does anyone really know what time it is?” Knowing what time it is proves to be important for many reasons. If you are in sales, your livelihood depends on you keeping your appointments. If you are taking medicine, your health is contingent on you taking the medicine in the right intervals of time. If you want to keep your job, it’s important that you get to work on time. Knowing the time is extremely important. But very little is as important as knowing when it is time to wake up. Many people do not like to be awakened.

It’s Time – Pg 2

* In fact, many of us, as kids, have gotten into trouble by waking up our parents when they didn’t want to be disturbed. There are people who simply want to be left alone. Years ago, someone asked my dad, “Did you wake up grumpy this morning?” And he responded, “Nope, I let her sleep.” Face it, be awakened can be trying, if not upsetting, for many, and yet, if we are to have a full life, it is needed.

* Let me remind you of what you already know. Our bodies are not designed to lie in bed all the time. In fact, part of our health issues we face today come from the passive nature of our modern day existence. Our bodies are designed to move, stretch, get the blood flowing, and (I’ll say it) work. It is God’s design for our physical bodies. When we sit around too much, we become lethargic and apathetic (maybe pathetic) because we lack energy. Our energy comes from the blood coursing through our veins and providing oxygen to all the parts of our bodies. When we sleep too much or lay around too much, we’ll have headaches, backaches, our joints will hurt, and our health will deteriorate. Without being too dramatic, there comes a critical time in our lives that if we sit around too long our bodies will never recover. We better know the time.

* Just as this is a physical truth, it is also a spiritual truth. However, the spiritual side has more far-reaching and eternal implications. Let’s track this down and see. Verse 11 says, “It is already the hour for you to wake up.” Actually, several other translations use the phrase that my Mammaw use to used, “It’s high time.” When she used that phrase, I knew I better get to doing whatever she had for me to do.