Romans 13:(8-10)11-14
Divine Service
 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“The night is far gone; the day is at hand.”

By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul wrote these words in the first century. He declared the comforting news to Christians that the Last Day—the final, eternal day—was coming soon. This world of night, dark with sin and suffering, would not last forever. Christ would return and deliver His people to everlasting life, to everlasting day where there is no darkness. “The night is far gone. The day is at hand.”

Three hundred years later, the great bishop Augustine looked at this promise and said, “Paul said this, yet look at how many years have passed since then! Yet what he said was not untrue. How much more probable it is that the coming of the Lord is near now, when there has been such an increase of time toward the end!” Augustine clung to the promise, too: Christ was coming back. “The day is at hand.”

1200 years after Augustine, Martin Luther believed that he lived in the end times. And now, 500 years after Luther, we still hold to the same: “The night is far gone; the day is at hand.” And what he said then holds even truer now: truly, we are closer to the Lord’s return than we have ever been before. We draw ever closer to the eternal dawn, when the Son appears for all to see.

Still, now, the Lord waits. He waits according to His wisdom and will, far beyond our understanding. He continues to gather His people in: the harvest is not yet done. At the same time, though, all has been fulfilled. He could return today to deliver us from sin, suffering and death. Today could be the Judgment Day for all. But we need not fear the Judgment: for we know that Jesus has already been judged for your sin in our place. You know that He has already suffered the sentence of death and hell on the cross for you. Therefore, you have nothing to fear on the Last Day: for Jesus’ sake, God will judge you innocent. He will welcome you into heaven and eternal life in eternal light.

So you wait. You wait for His coming. You wait knowing that the night is far gone and the day is at hand. But here is the question answered in our text today: what should you do while you wait?

While you wait, there are plenty of temptations to avoid. They can be found both in the world and in churches. Be on your guard.

Sadly, many have just given up on waiting: they have decided that the Lord isn’t going to come back. It’s been almost two thousand years—if He hasn’t returned yet, say many, He’s clearly not going to. We are an impatient bunch after all, with little sense of time and history: we think that a 231-year-old country is old, when actually it is very young. We get upset at the restaurant when our food doesn’t arrive in ten minutes or less. We are very much attuned to instant gratification; and if something doesn’t happen RIGHT NOW, we’re ready to look for something else instead.

We do well to remember this: mortal humans hurry; the Lord doesn’t. He operates in His divine wisdom, according to His divine will, not according to the tyranny of time. Adam and Eve heard the promise of the Savior and expected Him momentarily, yet the Lord waited millennia before He was born in Bethlehem. Even though He waited, His death still saved all those who believed in Him from the foundation of the world. He does not conform Himself to our schedule. But He does save all of His people.

At any rate, many have given up waiting. When a church does so, the message – naturally – changes. It becomes only about the here and now. It’s not about the Jesus’ return, since they no longer believe He’s coming; and it’s not about His death and our redemption, because they no longer believe there’s a heaven for us to be redeemed to. So it’s all about now, nothing more. The best religion they can make up from what’s left is this: Jesus helped people, so we should, too. That doesn’t sound bad, but what sort of help does this mean? In part, this means feeding the poor, visiting the sick, helping the downtrodden. These things aren’t bad—as Christians, these are good works we can do.

However, if that’s all a church (small c) is about, then it’s not about Jesus anymore—and it’s no longer the Church (capital C). Furthermore, this social gospel soon degenerates to this: rather than preach forgiveness, it actually becomes a matter of helping people feel good about their sin. At that point, such churches campaign to praise immorality, legalize drug use and other lawlessness. No wonder Paul writes in our text, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.” Whether it’s individuals or whole churches, those who give up on the Lord will look for other ways to distract themselves from their certain mortality. But those are deeds of darkness that lead only to eternal darkness. They are not for you. Do not give up the hope that the Lord has given you. Christ has died. Christ is risen. And Christ will come again.

But, giving up is not the only danger, however. Another is to fixate on the future. It has been popular for years in some churches to focus on a religious scheme called “dispensational millennialism.” It’s been popularized especially by the “Left Behind” series of Christian fiction, although, fortunately, that series seems to be on the wane. At any rate, this scheme of the end time proposes that, before the Last Day, all Christians will vanish from earth at once, an event called the Rapture. This will be followed by seven years of tribulation for those left, then 1000 years where Jesus reigns visibly on earth before the final Judgment. We have discussed this a littlein Bible classes, and we can show from Scripture that this simply isn’t how the end will come. However, many of our brothers and sisters in Christ believe it to be true.

This teaching has consequences: it spends nearly all of its time looking for signs that the beginning of the end is near. It puts its focus almost entirely on the future and gives the message, “Jesus is coming at any time, and you don’t want to be left behind! Be ready!”

Unfortunately, this focus on the future is at the expense of both the present and the past. So much time is spent warning of what is to come that very little is spent on the Good News that Christ has already come and that He has died for our sins. Furthermore, dispensational millennialism rejects the truth that Jesus is present with forgiveness in His means of grace. Therefore, you’re not prepared by His ongoing service to you, but by your own work of readiness. This leaves many Christians either anxious or complacent: anxious that they haven’t prepared enough, or complacent that they have been saved. But this largely ignores the hope that we have in Christ. With those who believe this, we rejoice that Christ will come again. However, we also rejoice that we’re prepared because Christ has come and died, and because Christ comes even now.

If we indeed hold fast to the Scriptures, we’ll avoid both pitfalls of giving up or fixating on the future. We’ll rejoice that Christ has come and died for us. We’ll rejoice that He comes to us now in His means of grace. And we’ll pray, “come, Lord Jesus,” as we await His coming in glory. Even so, we must beware of one more temptation—the temptation of impatience. It is good for us to pray for the Lord to return, unless we demand that it be on our schedule. Troubled by the state of the world or burdened by our own pain and griefs, we may impatiently demand that the Lord return now—not because it’s His will, but because it is ours. Friends, if the Lord returns now, then thanks be to God. If He waits, then we give thanks that the harvest isn’t over, that He is still gathering lost sinners to Himself.

That is enough of dangers as we await the Lord’s coming. Let’s turn to better news.

I warn against these dangers because they would leave us unprepared for the Final Judgment. But the Lord would not have us be unready. Instead, He prepares us even now.

Please note: to prepare us for the future, Jesus does not tell us to focus on the future. In fact, He declares in the Gospels that no one knows the day or the hour that He will return. He prevents us from knowing the day of His return and does not want us to fixate on predicting it.

At the same time, He would not have us lose heart and give up while He waits. Therefore, to prepare us for the future, He points us to the past and to the present. Yes, He points us to the past. Specifically, He points us to His cross. There, He suffered for the sins of the world. There, He suffered God’s judgment for your sin that would keep you out of heaven. On the cross, He paid the entire price for your sins. By His death and resurrection, He did all that was necessary to raise you up to eternal life on the Last Day. There is no more work to be done for your salvation, because Christ has done it all.

And by pointing us to the past, He also points us to the present. He points us to His presence. His message is not, “I have come in the past and I will come again, but I’m gone for now.” No, He tells you that He is with you now. He visited you at your Baptism, cloaked in water and said, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) He gives you His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper—He is present with you for your salvation. His absolution is not, “I forgave you in the past” or “I will forgive you in the future;” His absolution is, “I forgive you all of your sins [now].” To prepare us for His future coming, Jesus comes to us now. Because He is with you now to forgive, you are prepared. If He returns today in glory, or if today is your last day on earth, you are prepared for eternity because Jesus is with you.

That is why our epistle bids you to be ready in this way: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. In Galatians 3:27 it says: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Jesus continues to clothe you with Himself by His Word and His Supper. It is more than a robe—it is “the armor of light,” for by His grace Jesus defends you against all evil. Because He is with you now, you are prepared for the dawn of the Last Day. Because He is with you now, you are ready to be with Him forever. His presence with you now is just a foretaste of your presence with Him in glory.

In the meantime, as you make no provision for the flesh, do good. You were created for good works, created to serve those around you. Therefore, do not fall prey to all the worldly temptations of selfishness. Rather, love your family. Support your church. Do good to those around you. While the Lord tarries, He leaves us in this world to do His will. Therefore, love your neighbor, for Jesus has set you free to do just that.

“The night is far gone. The day is at hand.” Jesus’ return in glory is nearer now than it ever has been before. To prepare you for His coming in glory, He comes humbly to you even now.

Instead of a donkey, as in our Gospel lesson, He rides to you in Word and water, bread and wine. But He comes. He is present in the present. By His grace, you are prepared for the day at hand. You are clothed with Christ. You are clad in the armor of light. You are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.