I remember that when I was a kid, there were a few words that I hated to hear on Saturday mornings. With school and church each week, Saturday was my only day to sleep in. However, my parents were in the habit of getting up super early for work, and they could not sleep in as we could. Eventually, we would hear these dreaded words, “Get up! Are you going to sleep all day?” I remember getting up out of bed and having a really hard time functioning, answering questions, and getting ready for the day.  

1. Did you ever have a hard time getting up when you were a kid? Did you have family members that made you get up? 

2. Do you have any funny stories to share about having trouble getting up in the morning? 

This might sound weird to you, but in the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul gives a special warning about it being time for us to “get up.” Romans 13:11-14 reads, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” We must get up or wake up because Scripture says that “the hour has come” or we “know the time.” This warning is similar to 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8, which reads, “For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” We can see in these verses the importance of getting up or waking up from our sleep. 

We must realize that these warnings are telling us to live in light of the knowledge that Christ’s return is imminent. Christians since the first century have been encouraged to live for the sake of Christ and for the sake of others. If you have not been called home by God yet, then we are here to live each day for Christ like it was our last day. There is a strong emphasis and reminder that we want to be found faithful in how we live and how we share the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

3. What are the temptations that might be lulling God’s children into sleeping while waiting for the return of Christ? 

4. Do we find ourselves falling asleep while we are waiting for Christ’s return? Please explain. 

5. What is meant by Scripture revealing, “For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed”? 

For those who remain alive, the culmination of our salvation experience happens when Christ returns or when we pass away into the presence of God. When each day passes, we are closer and closer to the culmination of our salvation experience. It started with us first believing and confessing and will continue till we reach the presence of God in Heaven.  

We all know after we get up each morning, we get cleaned up and dressed for the day at hand. It is interesting that this Scripture follows our daily routines. The passage commands us to “cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” 

6. Do you have morning routines for getting ready for the day? These passages are a reminder to be clear-headed and sober-minded. What do you do to be clear-headed for the day? 

7. The additional warning here is to put on appropriate attire for the job at hand. Do you have different types of clothing for the different jobs that you perform at work or for the family?  

8. What do you think of when the Scripture says to put on the “armor of light” or “walk properly as in the daytime”? 

Again, we are warned here as His children that we have no business in being involved in the sinful pleasures of this world. They are not only wrong, but they distract us from being alert, awake, and clear-minded in preparation for Christ’s return.  

Toward the end of this section of Scripture, we are reminded of the importance of our continued spiritual growth. So, not only are we to get up and wake up, but we are reminded to grow up. Ephesians 4:15 reads, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Then, what is the reminder for us? “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” There is a beautiful aspect of our daily routine that we do not want to miss. Every day, I get up, and I always put something on to prepare myself for the activities of the day. In essence, I put something on again and again. We have the same situation here. Each day, I am to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. R. Kent Hughes reminds us, “It is true that if we are Christians, we have already put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:27 says, ‘For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.’ But our text here in Romans has reference to a practical day-to-day, repeated putting on of Christ. We are to embrace him again and again and again.” 

9. How do we put on Christ? 

10. When you have trouble getting up in the morning, do you use something to help you get up? What can we use to help us “get up” spiritually?