Useful Bible Studies > Romans Commentary > chapter 13

Our salvation is nearer that when we first believed

Romans 13:11

The first Christians often gathered for their meetings at night, and the meetings continued until early in the morning (Acts 12:12-18; Acts 20:7-12). It was the only time when Christian slaves were able to attend the meetings.

We can only imagine how impressive Paul’s words were on such an occasion. However, Paul is not speaking about the start of a new day, but about the return of Christ. For God’s people, that will be the day of their full salvation. Salvation means rescue and safety. Christ is coming to rescue them from all their troubles in this world. Under his rule, they will always be safe (Revelation 21:3-4).

We often use the word ‘salvation’ to mean the time when a person first believes in Christ (compare Romans 1:16). That is also a correct use of the word, because God’s work in a person’s life is both certain and immediate (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:17). God will certainly carry out all his promises to his people, but that has not happened yet (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). It will happen only when Christ returns to rule all things.

So, as we wait for Christ’s return, we must not become lazy. We must not behave like people who do not care about Christ’s return (1 Thessalonians 5:4-11). We must not be like servants who are not ready for their master’s return (Mark 13:32-36). The time of Christ’s return becomes nearer every day. We have believed Christ; we must continue to believe and trust him. We have put our hope in Christ; we must allow our hope to become stronger. We are the people of God; we must live our lives as God’s people should live in this world (2 Peter 3:11). We must not always be like children; we must allow our relationship with God to develop and to become mature (Hebrews 5:11-14).

Next part: The day of Christ's return is near (Romans 13:12)

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