Romans 13:12
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The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
The night--of evil is far spent, the day--of consummated triumph over it is at hand: let us therefore cast off--as a dress the works of darkness--all works holding of the kingdom and period of darkness, with which, as followers of the risen Saviour, our connection has been dissolved. and let us put on the armour of light--described at length in Eph 6:11-18.
Open source ↗There are three good lessons taught us in this chapter, where the apostle enlarges more upon his precepts than he had done in the foregoing chapter, finding them more needful to be fully pressed. I. A lesson of subjection to lawful authority (Rom 13:1-6). II. A lesson of justice and love to our brethren (Rom 13:7-10). III. A lesson of sobriety and godliness in ourselves (Rom 13:11 to the end).
Open source ↗13:12-13 the day of salvation: The word day reflects two sources. First, the Old Testament repeatedly predicts the day of the Lord when God’s plan culminates (see Isa 13:4-13; Jer 3:18; 30:8-9; Joel 2:1-32; Obad 1:15-18). Second, the tradition of moral instruction in the ancient world associated light/daytime with good and darkness/nighttime with evil. The Greeks, Romans, and Jews all used this contrast. Because believers belong to the day they should be living out its values, avoiding the dark deeds that are typical of nighttime.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
in truthful speech and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.
to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold— the idols they made to worship.