Salvation is Nearer • Romans 13:8-14 • Sunday, November 30, 2025

Preparing for the Coming Light: The Daily Practice of Taking Off and Putting On

The season of Advent brings with it a flurry of activity. We take down autumn decorations, dust forgotten shelves, and replace everyday items with twinkling lights, nativity scenes, and Christmas trees. It's a familiar rhythm—remove the old to make space for the new. But what if this physical preparation mirrors a deeper spiritual reality we're called to live out every single day?

The Urgency of Time

"Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone, the day is at hand." These words from Romans 13 capture something we all feel as December 25th approaches: time is running out. The closer we get to Christmas, the more frantic our preparations become. Tasks we've been putting off suddenly demand our immediate attention.

This same urgency applies to our spiritual lives. We're living in the in-between—between Christ's first coming and His promised return. And with each passing day, that glorious second Advent draws nearer. The question isn't whether we have time to prepare, but whether we're using the time we have.

Taking Down the Works of Darkness

Before we can decorate for Christmas, we must first clear away what's already there. The same principle applies spiritually. Paul urges us to "cast off the works of darkness." But what exactly are these works?

The answer is surprisingly simple yet profoundly challenging: anything that is not love.

Scripture tells us that all the commandments—every single one—can be summed up in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." When we fail to love God fully or our neighbor genuinely, we're operating in darkness rather than light.

Consider the ordinary moments of life. A spouse struggles with technology, and instead of patient help, there's irritation and sharp words. A disagreement escalates into quarreling. Impatience replaces kindness. These aren't the dramatic sins of Roman orgies and drunkenness that Paul lists, though those certainly qualify. Often, our darkness looks more mundane—jealousy, sensuality, quarreling, and resentment.

We all have these works of darkness cluttering our lives. They accumulate like dust on shelves, sometimes so gradually we barely notice them. But they're there, and they need to be removed.

Where to Throw Away the Darkness

Here's the crucial question: where do we dispose of these works of darkness? Not in the trash. Not by hiding them or minimizing them. We take them to the foot of the cross.

At the cross, Jesus destroys everything that isn't love. All our filth, all our failures, all our falling short—He takes it all upon Himself and annihilates it with His perfect sacrifice. In exchange, He offers us absolute perfect love, complete forgiveness, and radiant light that pierces every shadow.

This isn't a one-time transaction. It's a daily—sometimes hourly—necessity. We confess, we repent, we lay our darkness at His feet, and He forgives. Again and again and again.

Putting On the Armor of Light

After taking down comes putting up. After removing the works of darkness comes putting on the armor of light.

Ephesians 6 describes this armor in vivid detail: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. This isn't flimsy aluminum foil protection. This armor was purchased at the ultimate price—Christ's own blood. Every breath He took, every drop He shed, went into providing us with this divine protection.

We live in a world filled with darkness. Turn on the news and you'll see warring nations, immorality, injustice, and suffering. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. In this present darkness, we desperately need light. We need protection, strength, and power that comes only from Christ.

The armor of light isn't something we manufacture or earn. It's a gift, given freely by the One who is Himself the Light of the World.

Putting On Christ Himself

But Paul goes even further. He doesn't just tell us to put on armor—he tells us to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ."

How do you put on a person? Through His Word. Christ is the Word incarnate, and He comes to us through Scripture, through baptism, through communion. Every time we gather in worship, we're clothing ourselves with Christ. We confess our sins and receive forgiveness. We hear His Word proclaimed. We receive His body and blood. We're putting on all that He is, all that He was, and all that He ever will be.

In Colossians 3, Paul describes what this looks like practically: "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love."

Who is love? God Himself. First John tells us plainly: God is love. So when we put on love, we're putting on Christ.

The Daily Rhythm

Here's the reality of the Christian life: it's a constant rhythm of taking off and putting on. We take off sin, put on Christ. We take off darkness, put on light. We take off the old self, put on the new. Over and over, day after day, moment by moment.

Do we mess up? Absolutely. Every day, all day. But does He love us? Every day, all day.

This preparation doesn't end until Christ returns. That's the Advent we're really preparing for—not just December 25th, but the day when He comes again in glory. Until then, we live in this daily practice of spiritual preparation.

Making Room for the Light

As you hang your Christmas lights this season, let them remind you of a deeper truth. In the midst of darkness, we need light. And that light has come, is coming, and will come again.

The decorations will come down in January. But the spiritual preparation continues. Keep taking off the works of darkness. Keep putting on Christ. Keep making room for His light to shine in and through you.

Because salvation is nearer now than when you first believed. The night is far gone. The day is at hand.

(Content generated by PulpitAI from sermon transcript)