Rom 13:11-14 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 11 And that, knowing the time - Dr. Taylor has given a judicious paraphrase of this and the following verses: "And all the duties of a virtuous and holy life we should the more carefully and zealously perform, considering the nature and shortness of the present season of life; which will convince us that it is now high time to rouse and shake off sleep, and apply with vigilance and vigor to the duties of our Christian life; for that eternal salvation, which is the object of our Christian faith and hope, and the great motive of our religion, is every day nearer to us than when we first entered into the profession of Christianity." Some think the passage should be understood thus: We have now many advantages which we did not formerly possess. Salvation is nearer - the whole Christian system is more fully explained, and the knowledge of it more easy to be acquired than formerly; on which account a greater progress in religious knowledge and in practical piety is required of us: and we have for a long time been too remiss in these respects. Deliverance from the persecutions, etc., with which they were then afflicted, is supposed by others to be the meaning of the apostle.

Romans 13:11-14

Verse 11

And that, knowing the time - Dr. Taylor has given a judicious paraphrase of this and the following verses: "And all the duties of a virtuous and holy life we should the more carefully and zealously perform, considering the nature and shortness of the present season of life; which will convince us that it is now high time to rouse and shake off sleep, and apply with vigilance and vigor to the duties of our Christian life; for that eternal salvation, which is the object of our Christian faith and hope, and the great motive of our religion, is every day nearer to us than when we first entered into the profession of Christianity." Some think the passage should be understood thus: We have now many advantages which we did not formerly possess. Salvation is nearer - the whole Christian system is more fully explained, and the knowledge of it more easy to be acquired than formerly; on which account a greater progress in religious knowledge and in practical piety is required of us: and we have for a long time been too remiss in these respects. Deliverance from the persecutions, etc., with which they were then afflicted, is supposed by others to be the meaning of the apostle. Verse 12

The night is far spent - If we understand this in reference to the heathen state of the Romans, it may be paraphrased thus: The night is far spent - heathenish darkness is nearly at an end. The day is at hand - the full manifestation of the Sun of righteousness, in the illumination of the whole Gentile world approaches rapidly. The manifestation of the Messiah is regularly termed by the ancient Jews יום yom, day, because previously to this all is night, Bereshith rabba sect. 91, fol. 89. Cast off the works of darkness - prepare to meet this rising light, and welcome its approach, by throwing aside superstition, impiety, and vice of every kind: and put on the armor of light - fully receive the heavenly teaching, by which your spirits will be as completely armed against the attacks of evil as your bodies could be by the best weapons and impenetrable armor. This sense seems most suitable to the following verses, where the vices of the Gentiles are particularly specified; and they are exhorted to abandon them, and to receive the Gospel of Christ. The common method of explanation is this: The night is far spent - our present imperfect life, full of afflictions, temptations, and trials, is almost run out; the day of eternal blessedness is at hand - is about to dawn on us in our glorious resurrection unto eternal life. 'Therefore, let us cast off - let us live as candidates for this eternal glory. But this sense cannot at all comport with what is said below, as the Gentiles are most evidently intended. Verse 13

Let us walk honestly, as in the day - Let us walk, ευσχημονες, decently, from εν, well, and σχημα, mien, habit, or dress. Let our deportment be decent, orderly, and grave; such as we shall not be ashamed of in the eyes of the whole world.

Not in rioting, and drunkenness - Μη κωμοις και μεθαις· Κωμος, rioting, according to Hesychius, signifies ασελγη ᾳσματα, πορνικα συμποσια, ῳδαι, unclean and dissolute songs, banquets, and such like. Μεθαις signifies drunken festivals, such as were celebrated in honor of their gods, when after they had sacrificed (μετα το θυειν, Suidas) they drank to excess, accompanied with abominable acts of every kind. See Suidas and Hesychius, under this word.

Not in chambering - This is no legitimate word, and conveys no sense till, from its connection in this place, we force a meaning upon it. The original word, κοιταις, signifies whoredoms and prostitution of every kind.

And wantonness - Ασελγειαις, All manner of uncleanness and sodomitical practices.

Not in strife and envying - Μη εριδι και ζηλῳ, Not in contentions and furious altercations, which must be the consequence of such practices as are mentioned above. Can any man suppose that this address is to the Christians at Rome? That they are charged with practices almost peculiar to the heathens? And practices of the most abandoned and dissolute sort? If those called Christians at Rome were guilty of such acts, there could be no difference except in profession, between them and the most abominable of the heathens. But it is impossible that such things should be spoken to the followers of Christ; for the very grace that brings repentance enables the penitent to cast aside and abominate all such vicious and abominable conduct.

The advices to the Christians may be found in the preceding chapter; those at the conclusion of this chapter belong solely to the heathens. Verse 14

Put ye on the Lord Jesus - This is in reference to what is said, Rom 13:13 : Let us put on decent garments - let us make a different profession, unite with other company, and maintain that profession by a suitable conduct. Putting on, or being clothed with Jesus Christ, signifies receiving and believing the Gospel; and consequently taking its maxims for the government of life, having the mind that was in Christ. The ancient Jews frequently use the phrase putting on the shechinah, or Divine majesty, to signify the soul's being clothed with immortality, and rendered fit for glory.

To be clothed with a person is a Greek phrase, signifying to assume the interests of another - to enter into his views, to imitate him, and be wholly on his side. St. Chrysostom particularly mentions this as a common phrase, ὁ δεινα τον δεινα ενεδυσατο, such a one hath put on such a one; i.e. he closely follows and imitates him. So Dionysius Hal., Antiq., lib. xi., page 689, speaking of Appius and the rest of the Decemviri, says: ουκετι μετριαζοντες, αλλα τον Ταρκυνιον εκεινον ενδυομενοι, They were no longer the servants of Tarquin, but they Clothed Themselves with Him - they imitated and aped him in every thing. Eusebius, in his life of Constantine, says the same of his sons, they put on their father - they seemed to enter into his spirit and views, and to imitate him in all things. The mode of speech itself is taken from the custom of stage players: they assumed the name and garments of the person whose character they were to act, and endeavored as closely as possible to imitate him in their spirit, words, and actions. See many pertinent examples in Kypke.

And make not provision for the flesh - By flesh we are here to understand, not only the body, but all the irregular appetites and passions which led to the abominations already recited. No provision should be made for the encouragement and gratification of such a principle as this.

To fulfill the lusts thereof - Εις επιθυμιας, in reference to its lusts; such as the κωμοι, κοιται, μεθαι, and ασελγειαι, rioting, drunkenness, prostitutions, and uncleanness, mentioned, Rom 13:13, to make provision for which the Gentiles lived and labored, and bought and sold, and schemed and planned; for it was the whole business of their life to gratify the sinful lusts of the flesh. Their philosophers taught them little else; and the whole circle of their deities, as well as the whole scheme of their religion, served only to excite and inflame such passions, and produce such practices.

I. In these four last verses there is a fine metaphor, and it is continued and well sustained in every expression.

1. The apostle considers the state of the Gentiles under the notion of night, a time of darkness and a time of evil practices.

2. That this night is nearly at an end, the night is far spent.

3. He considers the Gospel as now visiting the Gentiles, and the light of a glorious day about to shine forth on them.

4. He calls those to awake who were in a stupid, senseless state concerning all spiritual and moral good; and those who were employed in the vilest practices that could debase and degrade mankind.

5. He orders them to cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor ὁπλα, the habiliments of light - of righteousness: to cease to do evil; to learn to do well. Here is an allusion to laying aside their night clothes, and putting on their day clothes.

6. He exhorts them to this that they may walk honestly, decently habited; and not spend their time, waste their substance, destroy their lives, and ruin their souls in such iniquitous practices as those which he immediately specifies.

7. That they might not mistake his meaning concerning the decent clothing which he exhorts them to walk in, he immediately explains himself by the use of a common form of speech, and says, still following his metaphor, Put on the Lord Jesus Christ - receive his doctrine, copy his example, and seek the things which belong to another life; for the Gentiles thought of little else than making provision for the flesh or body, to gratify its animal desires and propensities.

II. These last verses have been rendered famous in the Christian Church for more than 1400 years, as being the instrument of the conversion of St. Augustine. It is well known that this man was at first a Manichean, in which doctrine he continued till the 32nd year of his age. He had frequent conferences and controversies on the Christian religion with several friends who were Christians; and with his mother Monica, who was incessant in her prayers and tears for his conversion. She was greatly comforted by the assurance given her by St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, where her son Augustine was then professor of rhetoric: that a child of so many prayers and fears could not perish. He frequently heard St. Ambrose preach, and was affected, not only by his eloquence, but by the important subjects which he discussed; but still could not abandon his Manicheanism. Walking one day in a garden with his friend Alypius, who it appears had been reading a copy of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans, and had left it on a bank near which they then were, (though some say that Augustine was then alone), he thought he heard a musical voice calling out distinctly, Tolle Et Lege! Tolle Et Lege! take up and read! take up and read! He looked down, saw the book, took it up, and hastily opening it, the first words that met his eye were these - Μη κωμοις και μεθαις, etc., Not in rioting and drunkenness, etc., but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. He felt the import and power of the words, and immediately resolved to become a follower of Christ: he in consequence instantly embraced Christianity; and afterwards boldly professed and wrote largely in its defense, and became one of the most eminent of all the Latin fathers. Such is the substance of the story handed down to us from antiquity concerning the conversion of St. Augustine. He was made bishop of Hippo in Africa, in the year 395, and died in that city, Aug. 28th, 430, at the very time that it was besieged by the Vandals.

III. After what I have said in the notes, I need add nothing on the great political question of subordination to the civil powers; and of the propriety and expediency of submitting to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake. I need only observe, that it is in things civil this obedience is enjoined; in things religious, God alone is to be obeyed. Should the civil power attempt to usurp the place of the Almighty, and forge a new creed, or prescribe rites and ceremonies not authorized by the word of God, no Christian is bound to obey. Yet even in this case, as I have already noted, no Christian is authorized to rebel against the civil power; he must bear the persecution, and, if needs be, seal the truth with his blood, and thus become a martyr of the Lord Jesus. This has been the invariable practice of the genuine Church of Christ. They committed their cause to him who judgeth righteously. See farther on this subject on Mat 22:20 (note), etc.