"Salvation is Near"

 

"The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here."

            The theologian Emil Brunner wrote, "Faith is indeed nothing but living in the light of what is to come." I am not much of a fisherman, but in our previous church there was a fellow who would take me salmon fishing from time to time. He liked to go in the winter, and would find a cold and clear day coming on the weather report. We would leave in the pre-dawn darkness, and cross the strait and head to the San Juan Islands where we would lazily troll in the warm growing sunlight, waiting for a few fish to find their way to our lines. It was the anticipation of the bright sunshine and the hope of catching a few of those fish that drew us out into the cold and the darkness.

            I have also heard of places around the world, especially in Africa, where people walk some distance in the dark so that they will arrive at a particular location at dawn where there will be work for the day. They walk in the darkness anticipating the provision that will feed their families for that day. They do not stop along the way to participate in deeds associated with darkness, but they walk purposefully forward, as if they were experiencing the dawn of the new day. They are living in the light of what is to come.

            In the Bible we find an understanding of time that is not always according to a clock or a calendar, what we would call chronological time. In the Bible there is a time that is more tuned to the timing of God. There is a time of anticipation and of preparation and of nearness. Paul writes here about "understanding the present time" and "the hour" that has already come for you to wake up. He talks about salvation being nearer now, and the day which is almost here.

            Douglas Moo explains that in ancient moral teaching, the night was used as a symbol for the location where people indulged their passions and where thieves did their work. The night was the time of hidden deeds, of bad things happening, of secrets and lurking evil. The Old Testament talks about "The Day of the Lord." That Day is both one of judgment and also of salvation. Moo writes, "The day of the Lord may not have come yet, but it is so close we should live as if it were here." So Christians through the years have understood that we live in a pre-dawn time. It is still dark, much evil abounds and many people live as if the night will forever hide their deeds. But we do not live in the night. We live in the pre-dawn.

            There may be a temptation in these days for Christians to think it is still night. There is so much going on in our world that is frightening and worrisome and destructive, that our confidence in the ways of God may be shaken. We may be lulled into thinking that there is time to hide a secret sin, that there is no hurry to deal with our attitudes, that we can allow a demanding or critical spirit to remain in us, that we can become comfortable with a settled apathy, because, after all, just look at the state of the world. But the Christian does not live in the night, we live in the pre-dawn. We must not act as if it is still night.

            What does it mean then to live toward the day? Morally it means to take care of yourself and not become depleted or exhausted so that you are vulnerable. When we feel dead or hopeless inside we are liable to grab for something to make us feel alive or feel happy, or maybe grab for something that just dulls the pain.

            Paul writes that we are to put aside the deeds of darkness and behave as in the daytime, not thinking about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. One translation says this for verse 14: "Don't plan for sin; give it no welcome; offer it no opportunity. Kick the sin off your doorstep and you won't have it in the house."

            The issue here revolves around what the NIV calls "the desires of the sinful nature." The word is "flesh." We use the word "flesh" to refer to skin and muscle or to refer to our physical bodies. But in the Bible the word can be defined as "a condition, natural to all people, in which God and the spiritual realm are left out of account." In other words, "flesh" or "sinful nature" is a way of thinking that disregards God, or is hostile to God. Paul says we are not to think about how to gratify those desires or ideas. The reason, Moo states, is that Christ has "won a victory over sin in the very realm where it seemed to rule unchallenged, in the 'flesh.' "

            So, what takes the place of this way of thinking called "flesh" or "sinful desires"? It is the instruction to "put on the armor of light" and "clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ." The New English Bible has "Let Christ himself be the armor that you wear." In other words, in all we do to identify with Christ and associate with Christ. This is a life that must include time for prayer, and time for the reading of Scripture. It is also a life that consciously commits to doing what Christ did and caring about the issues and people that Christ cared about.

            In Matthew 24 the disciples ask Jesus what the sign would be of his return and the end of the age. Jesus answer was that no one knows the day or the hour. His return will come as a surprise. There will not be a clear warning sign, some heavenly announcement that gives everyone six months to get their lives in order. It will come quickly and unexpectedly and in the midst of normal life. It will be like Noah's day. People were going on with their lives as if nothing was going to happen. There were weddings and family gatherings, it says, even right up to when the flood began. And Noah and his family did not escape the flood by staying up night and day looking for some sign, but rather by building the ark, and so when the flood came, they were ready.

            So Jesus is saying that the point is to live in such a way that in the normal course of life, you are prepared, you are awake, and you are ready. Then he tells three parables to explain readiness, followed by a description of the last Judgment. The first is about a servant who has charge of a large household during the absence of the owner. If he simply continues to work and live as he would in the master's presence, he will be rewarded when the master returns home. But if he thinks he can use the time that the Master is away to indulge in drunkenness and to mistreat the other servants, then it will not go well for him. So being prepared or ready is simply a matter of living in the Lord's presence every day. Be about what God has called you: to live a holy life and do his will.

            The next parable is about ten bridesmaids. When the groom is delayed in getting to the wedding, they all sleep for a time. But when he comes and it is time for the wedding procession, some are ready with oil in their lamps, and others neglected to get oil. They were not prepared for the procession, and so they miss it. Preparation of your life for the Lord's return is not something you can do at the last minute. You prepare throughout your life. A good example of this is the fruit of the spirit. Love, joy peace, patience, kindness, gentleness – these qualities take time to develop, take attention and faith and dependence upon the Holy Spirit. But if we spend our lives cultivating anxiety and anger and harsh critical words, then that is what will take hold, that is how we will be remembered. We will be found to be without oil for our lamps when the bridegroom appears.

            The third parable is about the master who gives each servant some talents, a few bags of gold. Some of them use this money to continue exactly what they were doing in the master's business. They invest it, they start new businesses, and they try to make a profit. They remain busy about the master's interests. But one hides the money and presumably goes off to live for himself until the master returns. The point is that once we believe, we are not free to go off and live for ourselves. We are to be about the Master's business.

            This leads to Jesus telling about the Judgment Day. There were some who in their normal course of life went about doing what Christ did. They fed the hungry, clothed the naked and visited the prisoners. They were not highly self-conscious in doing these things. It was just part of their normal life. Living for Jesus became normal for them. Part of their giving intentionally went to help the poor. Part of their time went to serving others, especially those in need. No doubt sometimes they found that to be fulfilling work, and other times they found it to be frustrating. But they just kept doing it. It became normal living to obey Christ. It may have been dark out, but they were living towards the day.

            So we live in a time of anticipation and of preparation. Our salvation is nearer now than it was when we first believed. We make a commitment to put on Christ. We examine our normal living. Is our daily life in line with the call of Christ upon us? As we live, even when it is dark and cold, we anticipate the dawn. We look forward to our salvation through Christ our Lord. His coming we await.

            Amen.