It’s High Time to Awake out of Sleep

Romans 13:11

Have you ever completed a task, and some smarty pants goes, “It’s about time; you should’ve had it done a long time ago?” Most likely it’s been said to you, you’ve heard it being said to someone else, or you’ve said it to someone yourself. Here Paul uses the phrase “it’s high time” in his letter to the Roman church. According to Farlex Dictionary of Idioms, one meaning of “it’s high time” is it is the appropriate time (that something happens); it is long overdue (that something happens). In verse eleven the phrase it’s high time signifies a state of urgency. Yes, it is long overdue for us the church to be concerned for our souls and our eternal destination. Not only that, there is much work to be done. The light of Jesus shines in us; darkness has been dispelled, and yet sometimes we have to be stirred to action.

When we think however, of being “awake or to wake up,” weliterally think of being aroused from natural sleep. We’ve probably been vigorously shaken at one time or another and told to wake up; it’s time to get up. Sometimes we have our alarm set to wake us up at a certain time. We may get up right then, or we may reach over and push the snooze button, giving us another 8-9 minutes of sleep. Sometimes we push that snooze button two or three times before we finally drag out of bed. That’s truly a sign of laziness or sleep deprivation. We must have that period of time when our consciousness is suspended so that the body can rest and rejuvenate itself.

We are compelled to realize that it is high time we wake up; the church has been spiritually sleep and inactive far too long. We know what time it is. Wake up and live right “for our salvation is now closer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11b). Jesus is on his way back, and he’s coming as a thief in the night. We don’t have time to waste; Jesus is not coming back for a pretentious   church – one that is loveless and committing evil to her fellow man. He’s coming back for “a church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy, set apart for God, and blameless” (Ephesians 5:27, AMP). 

Christians, it is urgent. The clarion has been made. We are not being called to awake from natural sleep. Paul is figuratively calling us to “awake from our state of moral sloth,” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words), or laziness. We are urged to wake up from that sleep because it is used to “characterize unbelievers as spiritually insensitive” (Zondervan KJV Commentary). This sleep is not appropriate for believers; we must wake up now from our spiritual slumber, be alert to the critical time in which we are living, and sensitive to our fellow man. Otherwise, it is impossible for us to fulfill the ministry for which we are called. It’s high time for us to awake from our state of spiritual slumber. We can’t do the work of the Lord while we sleep. Jesus told his disciples on one occasion, “I must work the works of Him who sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

In verses 7-10 of this chapter, Paul tells the Roman church, “Owe no man anything but to love one another.” It’s high time we get ourselves together and love our fellow man just like Jesus loves us. His death on that old roughed cross at Calvary was the ultimate act of love. He’s not telling us to die for one another, but because of his unselfish act of love for us, he commands us to love one another. Love is “unselfishly seeking the best or higher good for our enemies.” God is not partial toward us, and neither should we be toward each other. So you’ve heard it; you’ve read it; now it is high time to wake out of sleep and put love into practice. How radically refreshing that would be!

But we can only love as commanded, and pray for those who spitefully use us and persecute us when we genuinely get malice out of our hearts. Some foolishly say, “Fake it till you make it.” That won’t work because the Bible says that what’s in a man’s heart is what will come forth from his mouth. We may pretend for a moment, but we can’t pretend forever. Just remember that we are commanded to love every day; love has no expiration date. And even though it may not always be reciprocated, it is necessary that we love unselfishly that we may be the children of our Father who is in heaven. Don’t you think it’s time to awake out of sleep? Yes, it is high time for the church to wake up, turn from our evil ways, and love on purpose every day.