Romans 13:11-14 (NASB) says, “11Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

You will constantly yield to the temptation to sin if you are convinced to believe that God is going to make you live righteously before Him! Putting on the character, identity and nature of Jesus Christ as LORD, gives you the authority over your flesh because you are not warring against other people, nor even principalities and powers that have been dethroned and humiliated at the resurrection of Jesus, but you are warring against every sinful desire and passion that tries to rise up within you! When there is not an awakening in our spirit, it is much easier to cling to sins like fighting divisively against others and yielding to unbridled lust and adultery when you are blinded to the traps of the enemy according to your flesh. Having the LORD Jesus Christ with you equips you to kill those fleshly desires and follow after Him!

 

Romans 1:3-7 says, “3Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ.”

“The resurrection changed the respectful student/teacher relationship of the disciples with Jesus into the believers’ servant/Lord relationship. The designation of Jesus as Lord in the Gospels (esp. in Luke) is an indication of this shift in relationship. Paul said that God honored Jesus with the title of Lord as His response to Jesus’ obedient suffering” (Holman Bible Dictionary). Jesus alone is “Lord and Savior”. You cannot be anyone’s lord, and you cannot be anyone’s savior. Jesus Christ is the only One capable of fulfilling both of those titles. Having authority in the kingdom of God doesn’t give you ownership over anyone, but many in the church, in particular pastors, feel entitled, which is why many are offended when people live instead of helping them grow and find their place in God’s kingdom. Our authority comes through serving, and we must die daily, carrying our crosses if we want to point people to salvation in Christ. It is the difference between being a boss and a leader! You lead through serving, being an example and caring for those surrounding you instead of seeing everyone else as serving you and simply being a number that you can tell what to do.

Not only does the kingdom of God function in righteousness, joy and peace, but, above all of these, it is love! You are more than champions in the faith because of the love of Jesus! Notice of the things listed that Paul was convinced that nothing should separate Him from the love of Jesus! He listed the supernatural, circumstances outside of his control and other people would not separate him from God’s love. One thing he didn’t mention was sin! The reason is because that was within his authority in control. He had the authority to say, “no”, to sin because of the love of God! His love for God was greater than any desire to sin!