First Sunday of Advent Romans 13:11-14

How Do We Prepare for Jesus' Arrival?

Part of Advent Sermon Series 2025

Locating Jesus: Finding the Messiah in Advent

Introduction

A Different Kind of Advent

In this first week of Advent, we find ourselves looking for Jesus’ return. It may seem an odd place to start in Advent—why not look to a messianic prophetic text or the first few chapters of the gospels? The answer, which you can find in more detail here by Fleming Rutledge, is because there are, in fact, three “Advents” that we celebrate during the season of Advent. 

The final one is the “Adventus Glorificamus,” the coming of Christ in glory to be our judge on the last day.” It is in a sense, to begin with the end in mind. Another way of putting it, we do not celebrate Christ’s birth merely because he was born some 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. Rather, we celebrate Christ’s birth into the world because we believe that he will one day return, setting the stage for the consummation of all history.

Locating Jesus' Return

As we look to “locate Jesus” in the Advent season, this week we are focused on Jesus’ return. As with Jesus’ own words, Romans does not tell us when to look for Jesus’ second coming, but instead reminds us that our “salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Rom. 13:11c, ESV). We therefore are called to wake up, spiritually, to be prepared for Christ’s return. We do this by casting off “the works of darkness” and instead putting “on the armor of light.” This guide will walk us through these instructions to the church in Rome in the words to come.

Ancient Lens

What can we learn from the historical context?

The Broader Context of Romans 13

Our passage takes place in a broader section of Romans on how to live in light of Christ’s sacrificial, atoning work on the cross. As the new kingdom breaks into human history, we are called to model our own lives on that of Jesus Christ, to be a “living sacrifice,” taking our inspiration not according to the world’s standards, but rather to live according to the power of the Holy Spirit, who renews our minds.

Apocalyptic Foreshadowing & the Destruction of the Temple

Paul’s letter to the Romans was written during an especially tumultuous season in the life of the early church-a season where the Jewish leaders revolted against their Roman overlords, leading to the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, as well as the massive change to Judaism that ended the leadership of the Sadduccees and Pharaisees and the rise of Rabbinic Judaism, in which no temple exists. It also was a period of persecution of the fledgling church.

These events probably led Paul down the eschatological path he takes throughout his letter to the Romans, including our passage today. Paul probably believed that the destruction of the temple would be a part of the final judgment when Jesus would return in the second coming to “judge the living and the dead” (Apostles' Creed). Paul, like Jesus, uses the language of “time” (kairos) and “hour” to describe the realities of their present moment:

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. (Rom. 13:11-12a, ESV)

The Time (Kairos) and Hour of Jesus’ Return

Paul uses well-known and well-used eschatological language here to place the emphasis on Jesus’ return. When Paul says in verse 11, “you know the time,” the word used here is not chronos but kairos, which denotes the idea that God's eternal purposes will become manifest in this time.

Paul then uses two words that were already associated with Jewish apocalyptic literature (the hour, which has come) and the need to “wake” from sleep. Each reminds the reader that there is a spiritual diligence we are called to live out, because, like Jesus’ own words, we will not know when the hour will arrive and the world as we know it will pass away. What we do know, however, is that “our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” This is true of course regardless of whether Jesus returns in our lifetime.

Walking in in the Light

After the general call to spiritual wakefulness, Paul encourages the church in Rome to pursue the light over and against the darkness that so easily entangles us. In this way, they both prepare themselves for their eventual union with God and act as witnesses to a different, better way of life, one that does not give in to sexual immorality or drunkenness.

Jesus Lens

How do we point to Jesus?

Looking For Jesus’ Return

A look at each of the lections for the first week of Advent reveals a focus on the 2nd Advent—the second coming of Christ and the eschatological fulfillment of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It is a reminder that the season of Advent is not merely about waiting for the birth of Christ but his return to, in the words of N. T. Wright, “set the world to rights.” 

While some may see such a focus as a “downer”, it may be that we are focused too much on this world—with its myriad cares and joys. When we enter into the season of Advent, we can be encouraged that the sin and suffering of this world will be like a dream compared to the eternal life we have in Christ. 

To be a joyful season of Advent, it should be seen as a reminder that we were not created merely for this world, but for the world to come. We also were meant to stand as a witness to the inbreaking kingdom, to “wake from sleep” because “the hour has come” (vs.11). If we find ourselves brought low by the thought of Jesus’ return, there might be a need for some reflection on where our values lie. Has our faith morphed into merely a “therapeutic religion” to help us get through our days, or is our faith based on a sure and certain hope in the resurrected Christ, who will some day return, bringing his flock with him for all eternity? 

Reading Paul in Romans reminds us that because the hour of Christ’s return remains unknown, we ought to remain ready. The great 20th century British scholar F. F. Bruce puts it this way:

Paul recognized the critical nature of the times. He was under no illusions about the permanence of his present opportunity of preaching the gospel, but he was determined to exploit it to the full while it lasted. If he no longer uses the apocalyptic imagery of 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12, he knows that the restraint on the submerged forces of darkness and disorder may at any time be removed; Christians should therefore be on the alert. But the prospect should fill them with encouragement, not with despair. [1]

Modern Lens

How does this touch my heart, life, emotions, thoughts and relationships today?

Spiritually Awake, not Asleep

The application of this text is easy enough to grasp: we are called to remain spiritually ready for Jesus’ return, whether his return takes place before or after our own lives come to an end. What does it look like to remain spiritually awake?

Part of it looks like a life that sees its ultimate reward not in this life (more on that below), but in our lifelong “yes” to Jesus. 

It may also mean a type of sobriety that marks the Christian community as different from the world around us. 

There has been a trend among many strains of Christianity to “live out our Christian liberty” by regularly partaking in alcohol. But something I’ve noticed recently, just in conversations with friends and colleagues in ministry, is an increasing awareness that, at least for some, what was once enjoyed in freedom had begun to sink its addictive teeth into them.

It’s caused some to reconsider their relationship with alcohol, some going so far as to quit it completely or at least to take a break for a season. It’s caused others to cut back dramatically in an attempt to change their relationship with alcohol. This all seems a healthy approach in a culture that is constantly encouraging us to partake.

Paul does not, as some may argue, forbid alcohol consumption. We know of course of his advice to Timothy to “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Timothy 5:23, ESV). But the key word in that line may just be  “little”. For us to be prepared for Christ’s second coming, we ought to be sober, not just in our drinking of alcohol, but in all areas of our lives.

It may not be “sexy” or attractive, according to our broader culture, but that was never supposed to be a part of the criteria that shaped our decisions. In this season of Advent, may we be a people who take sobriety seriously, not in order to be self-righteous jerks, but because we recognize that being sober-minded is a part of what, ideally, following Jesus should look like. 

Waiting for a Better Future

Our text is a further reminder in the Advent season that Christian faith and life has always been “future-oriented,” one that rewards faithfulness in this life with eternal reward of life with God in the life to come. 

This exists counter to some popular strains of contemporary Christianity, especially prosperity gospel traditions that have seemingly inverted the reward structure present throughout the New Testament, both in Jesus and in Paul, where again the reward is based on “treasures in heaven,” rather than treasures on earth. A healthy understanding of Christ’s return (eschatology) may act as a buffer against this-world centric models of Christianity.

References

1. F. F. Bruce, Romans: Tyndale Commentary (Eerdmans, 1985).

1. How does starting Advent by focusing on Christ's second coming change your understanding of Christmas? What difference does it make to celebrate Jesus' birth, knowing that he will return?

2. What does it look like practically to live in a state of spiritual wakefulness?

3. How do we balance Christian liberty with the call to be "sober-minded"? What areas of your life might benefit from this kind of thoughtful sobriety?

4. The text challenges us to examine whether our faith has become merely "therapeutic religion" to help us through our days, versus being rooted in "sure and certain hope" in Christ's return. How can we tell if we're too focused on this world's cares and joys?

5. How does focusing on Christ's return serve as a "buffer" against worldly versions of Christianity?