Romans 13:11 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.
Paul hints a little in this verse at his apocalyptic thinking. We can see two ideas behind this verse. On the one hand, salvation is available now, “the hour has come.” Salvation is available now to those who will receive it. On the other hand, he is writing to believers already, and so the idea of “the time” could be when Jesus will come again. No one knows this time, but even during early church, people lived with a sense of expectation. Part of this is also due to the fact that life is short and no one knows when their life will end. It could come at any point. If we know of the way of salvation now, then we must respond now and not delay. Delaying may mean that we miss it. Some people spiritually act like they are asleep. They know about salvation but have never acted on it. Every church has a few people like that, and perhaps Paul is thinking of that as he writes this letter. He wants all of those associated with the Roman church to make the decision to believe fully in Jesus. If people have been saved from their sins, then they must act like it and not continue to let sin reign. Their faith in Jesus must lead to a change of life. This verse has a sense of urgency to it. The “hour” corresponds to the “now.” It is the time now to choose what path you will take. Paul will write about two paths in the following verses.
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