Romans 13:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

NIV: Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

NASB: But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

CSB: But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t make plans to gratify the desires of the flesh.

NLT: Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

KJV: But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

NKJV: But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Paul is urging those of us in Christ to change the way we live. We don't belong to the darkness any longer. The sun is coming up. It's time for us to leave behind the works and darkness and live as if we're standing in the light.

In the previous verse, he described some of the nighttime activities we must leave behind. Here's what we must do, instead: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The metaphor at work has to do with what we wear. In verse 12, Paul told us to cast off the works of darkness. Instead, we will symbolically wear Jesus. In other words, our goal as Jesus-followers is to live as Jesus would live. That would include all of Paul's commands and instructions in Romans 12 and 13. The opposite of this happens when we arrange our lives to satisfy our flesh.

When Paul uses the word "flesh," he means more than just sexual immorality. He means all the human appetites we experience to feel good, to get what we want, and to be treated well. It's not wrong to want any of those things, per se, but those cravings become sinful when we serve them above all others and are willing to harm others to gratify them. Instead, as Jesus did, we must put others first and trust God to provide for us in all other ways.

Romans 13:8–14 describes the Christian obligation to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. To do this is to fulfill the law of Moses, because love itself never hurts anyone. The time has come for believers to cast off any works of darkness, including drunkenness, immorality, and jealousy. Instead, we should live as people who walk in the light, taking on the spiritual armor of light and Christ Himself.

Romans 13 tackles three big areas that living-sacrifice Christians must address. First, since God puts every human authority in place to serve His purposes, Christians must submit to them; this idea comes with a particular context. Second, we must love our neighbors as ourselves. Third, we are called to live as people of the light and throw off works of darkness like drunkenness, sexual immorality, and jealousy. We are to take on the armor of light against the darkness and, in fact, take on Christ Himself instead of serving our own desires.

The prior chapter described the ideas of becoming a living sacrifice for Christ and being transformed by that relationship. In chapter 12, Paul gives certain applications of what this looks like for Christians who have received God's great mercy. Paul instructs believers to live in submission to human authorities in government because God has put them there for His purposes. Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves is the ongoing obligation of every Christian. Finally, we must throw off any works of darkness we have been taking part in and take defensive positions against the darkness in spiritual armor of light. The time has come to take on Christ and stop arranging our lives to serve our own desires.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.