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Romans 13:13 - Live in the Light; not in Darkness.

Romans 13:13 (NKJV) Let us walk properly, as 
in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not 
in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 

Romans 13:13 (NLT) Because we belong to the 
day, we must live decent lives for all to see. 
Dont participate in the darkness of wild parties 
and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and 
immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.  

INTRODUCTION

These last verses [Romans 13:11-14] have 
been rendered famous in the Christian church for 
more than 1,400 years, as being the instrument of 
the conversion of Augustine. (Adam Clarke 
Commentary) 

This passage must be forever famous, for it 
was through them Augustine found conversion. He 
tells the story in his Confessions. He was walking 
in the garden. His heart was in distress, 
because of his failure to live the good life.  He 
kept exclaiming miserably, "How long? How long? 
Tomorrow and tomorrow--why not now? Why not this hour 
an end to my depravity?" Suddenly he heard a 
voice saying, "Take and read; take and read." It 
sounded like a child's voice; and he racked his mind 
to try to remember any child's game in which 
these words occurred, but could think of none. He 
hurried back to the seat where his friend Alypius 
was sitting, for he had left there a volume of 
Paul's writings. "I snatched it up and read 
silently the first passage my eyes fell upon: `Let us 
not walk in revelry or drunkenness, in 
immorality and in shamelessness, in contention and in 
strife. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, as a man 
puts on a garment, and stop living a life in 
which your first thought is to gratify the desires 
of Christless human nature.' I neither wished 
nor needed to read further.  With the end of 
that sentence, as though the light of assurance 
had poured into my heart, all the shades of 
doubt were scattered. I put my finger in the page 
and closed the book: I turned to Alypius with a 
calm countenance and told him." [Barclay 
Commentary] 

COMMENTARY PEARL

We Belong to the Day
   Shortly before he died, Freddie Mercury, 
the lead singer of Queen, recorded a song called 
Party. Here are some of the lyrics: We were up 
all night, singing and giving a chase the 
next morning everybody was hung over. 
   In the refrain he repeatedly implores his 
party mates to "come back and play." 
   Dont be pulled into the illusion that 
drinking and partying will make you a happy person. 
Christians should live apart from that. 
   Romans 13 tells us, This is all the 
more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is 
running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer 
now than when we first believed. The night is 
almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be 
here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty 
clothes, and put on the shining armor of right 
living (verses 11"12 NLT). 
   Heres how the J. B. Phillips New 
Testament puts it: The present time is of the 
highest importance"it is time to wake up to 
reality. Every day brings Gods salvation nearer. 
The night is nearly over, the day has almost 
dawned. Let us therefore fling away the things that 
men do in the dark, let us arm ourselves for the 
fight of the day! 
   That is good advice. Dont chase after 
those things. Proverbs 20:1 says, Wine produces 
mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by 
drink cannot be wise (NLT). Eventually the 
party will be over. Then where will you be? 
   Im reminded of the great hymn of the 
church that says, On Christ, the solid Rock I 
stand - all other ground is sinking sand. 
   This world offers you cheap thrills that 
never will meet your deepest needs. In the Book of 
Ecclesiastes, Solomon arrived at the same conclusion: life 
is empty without God. [Greg Laurie from Harvest 
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com] 

COMMENTARY

Walk in the Daylight
   Much of the entertainment industry wants 
to make bad things look good and good things 
look bad. Theyll take something thats 
forbidden, something we know is sinful, and make it 
look very appealing by the way they present it. 
   Then theyll take something thats 
good, virtuous, and wholesome, and make fun of it 
or even outright attack it. 
   Yet the Bible tells us, Let us walk 
properly, as in the day, not in revelry and 
drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and 
envy (Romans 13:13 NKJV). 
   Let me put that into the modern 
vernacular: Dont party and drink. Have you ever been 
in a place where a group of people are 
drinking, and they get louder and louder? Pretty soon 
no one even knows what theyre laughing at. 
   The Christian should be under the control 
of the Holy Spirit not alcohol or drugs. 
Ephesians 5:18 tells us, Dont be drunk with 
wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, 
be filled with the Holy Spirit (NLT). 
   Then there is the word: lewdness, which 
comes from a Greek term that simply means 
bed. It holds the same connotation as two people 
going to bed together. We understand that 
doesnt mean taking a nap. 
   The word lust in this verse doesnt 
merely describe a person given over to immorality. 
It describes someone who is living immorally 
but is incapable of feeling shame. Its 
shameless excess and the complete absence of 
restraint. 
   In other words, this is a person who not 
only lives immorally, but they proclaim it. They 
flaunt it. Theyre proud of it. 
   It frightens me when I hear of Christians 
engaging in sexual activity outside of Gods 
constraints, having affairs, extramarital sex, and 
premarital sex. 
   The Bible is saying that should not be 
true of us. So, dont live that way. [Greg 
Laurie from Harvest Ministries; 
https://www.harvestdaily.com] 

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY 

Romans 13:14 - Putting On Christ.

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220208-0932.html 

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/