Understanding the Times-Romans 13:11-14

London preacher Spurgeon was preaching on our text, 'But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and don't make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh.' He said, "Christ must be IN us before He can be ON us. Christ must be in the heart by faith before He can be in the life by holiness. If you need light from a lantern, the first business is to light the candle inside it; and then, as a consequence, the light shines through to be seen by others. When Christ is formed in us and is our hope of glory, we cannot not conceal our love for Him. Instead, we put Him on in our conduct as the glory of our hope. As we have Christ within as our Savior, the secret of our inner life, so we put on Christ to be the beauty of our daily lives. The external is brightened by the internal, and this will be the armor of light that all soldiers of the Lord Jesus are privileged to wear. As Christ is our food that nourished our inner being, so we put Him on as our garments that cover the outer man. A man takes up his staff for a journey or his sword for a battle, but he lays them down again after a while. You are to put on the Lord Jesus as you put on your garments, and thus He is to cover you and to become part and parcel of your outward appearance, surrounding yourself as a visible part of your manifest personality." Friends, the Lord, through Paul, renders a wakeup call to His Church. The time is far spent and the Lord's return is near. Thus, its incumbent on His people to put off all deeds of darkness, as we pursue holiness and Christlike living. Join us Sunday for "Understanding the Times"-Romans 13:11-14. Eschatology (the doctrine of end times) is important because it affects how we live today. Because we will be like Him then, we put Him on now and make no provision for the flesh's sinful lusts.