Casting off the Darkness Romans 13:12; Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 21:1-11

 

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and from Jesus Christ, our Lord and King, and our light in this dark world.

 

We’re going to talk about casting off the darkness, from our Epistle, especially verse 12, 12 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. 

 

The time is coming soon, when night will end, and eternal day will begin. 

 

Christ will return, we’ll rise in glory, and we’ll shed all our sin. It’s going to be so good to get rid of it at last, to be completely free of sin forever.

 

What will remain is the person God has always wanted us to be, and it’s going to be wonderful to be that way.    

 

Until then, in our journey on earth, let us cast off the darkness, and walk in the light of our Lord.

 

The title, or actually subtitle, of one of the textbooks for one of the ethics courses I teach for Concordia is: Casting Light or Shadow.

 

That can be a very beneficial question to ask ourselves. In my life, am I casting light or shadow? 

 

The answer for us is “some of both”. 

 

Even as God’s redeemed children, we still add some sin and darkness to the world, along with the love and the light we share, and the good we try to do.

 

Whenever we sin, we’re operating in the shadows, and we know we sin every day. And so casting off the darkness is a daily task for us. 

Because of the power of the Holy Spirit in us, it’s not an impossible task. We can’t be perfect, but God helps to be better. 

 

Living in repentance and faith, confessing our sin and having it canceled for us by Christ, we’re brought out of the shadows, back into the light where God’s children belong.

 

Still, it’s frustrating that we can’t seem to cast off the darkness completely. We’re weak to step back into the shadows of worldliness and sin.

 

But God’s grace is always with us. His Gospel brings us out of the shadows, and into the light; out of the darkness of the night, and into the brightness of the day.

 

There will come a day, a glorious day, when the shadows of sin are all gone, taken out of us completely, and away from us forever, 

 

The more the Holy Spirit is at work in us, the more we long for that holy, happy day.

 

How bright the day will be, when Christ returns with His angels, and is welcomed by His people, as He was welcomed riding into Jerusalem in our Gospel, but He’ll be welcomed far more gloriously.

 

As He raises the faithful in glory, eternal day will begin; the dark deeds of the night will end, sin having been judged and exposed, once and for all.

 

What a sad thing it would be if we had to wait until then to have God’s light in our lives. But thanks be to God, He sent His Son to bring us the light of Heaven on earth.

 

Matthew, in chapter 4, referring to the prophecy about the Messiah in Isaiah, chapter 9, says. The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” 

Through God’s Son, the light of the Gospel has come to us. Jesus lived for us, dies for us, rose and ascended into Heaven.

 

With His Son back with Him, God then sent His Spirit, so that the light would not be just around us, but within us. 

 

And so by His power, with His help, we can shine like the stars in this world, Paul says in Philippians 2. 

 

Isaiah encourages us in our Old Testament, O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

 

The idea here is walking together, with God and one another. 

 

We call our church body, our denomination, a synod, which means, walking together.

 

Walking with God, we’re led out of the dark and dreary places of the world, and into the light of His love for us, and our love for each other.

 

So as our sermon text says, let us cast off the deeds of darkness, and put on the armor of light. 

      

The armor of light. That’s some pretty cool armor. 

 

If it’s darkness we need to be defended against, then it’s light we need to be armed with.

 

I can’t help but think of the Star Wars movies, where the guns shoot, not bullets, but lasers. 

 

And the Jedi knights, they call them, have light sabers, laser swords instead of steel swords.

 

There’s a company that makes these light sabers, these laser swords as collectibles.

 

We’ve been given a far better sword to be defended with, what Ephesians 6 calls, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

 

About the Word of God, Jesus says in John 10:35 that Scripture cannot be broken. 

 

There’s nothing that can make God’s Word not true, or not real. It can’t be destroyed.

 

The world tries to discredit it, but that doesn’t keep it from being true… and powerful. 

 

It’s a powerful thing to be armed and equipped with the eternal, unchanging truth. 

 

Armed by the Holy Spirit, with faith in the Gospel, we have the light of eternal life as our promise, and as our soul’s protection.

 

Psalm 27:1 says, The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall fear? 

 

With the armor of God’s light, we need not shrink back from the world, nor lurk in the shadows; but we can boldly walk in the light, and speak the truth.

 

Whoever or whatever would hate us for walking in the light of God’s Word, it’s nothing for us to be afraid of.

 

Fear is one the devil’s tools, to accomplish his twisted goals. 

 

He tries to get us to second guess the Gospel. Second guessing God’s Word, is second guessing God, and that’s when doubts start creeping in.

 

What will it mean for my life if I walk in the light of Christ? 

What will other people think of me for standing on the Word without compromising?

 

Will my friends shun me, or my co-workers mock me, if I insist on doing what’s right in the eyes of God?

 

Will they think me a hypocrite, because in weakness I’ve sometimes sinned and done what’s wrong?

 

Will they consider me self-righteous and judgmental for loving God’s holy law, His perfect commandments, believing they are as relevant today as the day He first gave them to His people at the Mountain of Sinai?

 

All those fears are just the darkness at work.  

 

John 1:5 assures us that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it. 

 

We know sin lurks within us, and we know our world is fallen.

 

And it seems our world is growing darker with sin every day, but Christ shines brighter than the world.

 

So may our concern for what’s happening in our world, never turn to fear.

 

In the light we have nothing to fear, but we have something to do, God’s will; and something say, His Word for the world.

 

Living in God’s grace, let us walk in His light, rejoice in His love, and boldly share this truth that saves. 

 

And stepping out of the shadows, and abiding in the light, we have God’s peace, which passes understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, the light of our lives. Amen.