“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:11-14) - Romans for Everyone XXIV / Mother's Day -

Augustine’s Conversion 

It’ Mother’s Day. Some of you may wonder why I chose this particular Bible passage. You may wonder what this has to do with Mother’s Day. I’ll explain in a minute. In fact, today’s passage did bring about Augustine’s conversion. By his own testimony, Augustine lived a wild life in his teens and twenties. He practiced a heretical religion called the Manichaeism, which is kind of a gnostic, new age-type thing. And also, he had had a mistress. He had a son with this mistress, but he did not want to get married. When he was 31, Augustine was still living this lifestyle and struggling with his flesh. One day he was in a garden and he was praying, saying, “Lord, how long, oh God, wherever you are, how long will I live in despair and despondency?” The more educated he got, the less happy he was. The more he traveled, it was like he was running away. He could not find any joy. He was so restless. So, he prayed, “Lord, how long will I have to continue in this unclean life? Will I just live this way forever?” Then, he heard the voice of a child in the garden singing, “Take up and read. Take up and read.” He immediately went into the house, picked up a Bible, opened it up and it fell open to Romans 13:13-14, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (ESV) He said he read no further until all of the doubt vanished away. He felt as if his heart were flooded with light. That was his conversion. Augustine became a Christian in that instant. But, to be precise, he didn’t just become a believer in a day. It was a fruit of his mother’s persistent, persevering prayer. In his book Confessions Augustine spoke of his grief and weeping for the mother, saying, “Now she is gone from my sight, who for years had wept over me, that I might live in God’s sight." This great man came to Christ because of the prayers of his mother.

“I’m with You” 

When I think about my mother, there are many things to be grateful for. But out of all of them, what I am most grateful for is that she didn’t just raise me in the church, but she raised me in Christ. She showed me Christ through her everyday life. When I was a highschooler, one day I was so stressed out because of the exam. And my mother gently said, “Why don’t we go out together to get some fresh air?” And we did. We had a good nature walk. We didn’t say much while taking a walk. But I was able to hear her clear inaudible voice, “Son, I’m with you!” When I was a senior year in high school, I became very skeptical about Christianity. I felt that I was a hypocrite. I couldn’t pray. When I did, I felt like I talked to the wall. I couldn’t read the Bible. It just didn’t make sense to me. One day I shared my struggles with my mother. She patiently listened to all my doubts and problems. She didn’t try to convince me. Instead, she just told me her story how she came to Christ. There was no pretense. Instead, I could feel her authentic relationship with Jesus. After listening to her story, I said to myself, “Ok then, I will keep searching, because I trust my mother.” And I did keep on going until I did meet my Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but for me actually, I’ve had quite a few mothers who did give new life, welcome, nurture, and love me. In particular, I have had three spiritual mothers, in addition to my own mother. Interestingly, all three were my Sunday school teachers at different times in my life. Mrs. Kim was my 3rd grade Sunday school teacher. She genuinely loved me and all her students. I just knew it. She remembered our birthdays, and she knew our family situations pretty well. She was really fond of each of us. And I knew God is love because Mrs. Kim was such a loving Christian. When I was in 7th grade, I met another spiritual mother, Mrs. Won. At that time, I had reached puberty. I was disobedient, even rebellious. But she was so patient, always kind and caring. Every time she prayed during our gathering, I knew that she did pray for each of us, not just that moment, but throughout the whole week. I called Mrs. Won Jesus freak. She was the real deal. When I became a senior in high school, I was losing my faith and at my lowest point. And to make things worse, I failed the college entrance exam and had to retake next year. Around that time, Mrs. Han, who was my Sunday school teacher, was with me. She did visit me, and invited me to dinner. She shared tears when I was down. She was with me. These three spiritual mothers were different in many ways, but they had one thing in common: They did show me more of God, more of Christ. They all did point me to Jesus. They helped me to know Jesus more and to fall in love with him all the more.

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ 

As a spiritual mother, in today’s passage the Apostle Paul commends us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ (14). But what does it mean? How can we put on the person? When ancient Greek writers spoke of putting on Plato or Socrates, they meant receiving them as teachers and following them. So, if I say I put on Jesus, that means I am wearing him as it were, receiving him, radiating him, imitating him, following him. In this respect, J. N. Darby says, “We put on in our ways and heart the walk and character of Him…the Lord Jesus Christ…we purify ourselves as He is pure, we walk as He walked.” F. B. Hole also says, “We must always remember that the ‘putting on’ is not the assuming of something wholly external to ourselves, but rather putting on something from within, rather as a bird puts on its feathers.”[1]

Put on Jesus Christ means live with him 24/7. It means clothe ourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ all the time (NLT). It means let Jesus be as near to us as the clothes we wear (CEV). It means wear him as our protection, our supplier, our glory, our treasure, our identity, our character. In today’s passage Paul chooses a word that implies that the Christian life is a battle – put on the armor of light (12). As the children of light, we ought to dress like it, live like it, fight like it. In others words, we ought to put on the Lord Jesus Christ day by day. I like the way John Piper puts it:

Put on Jesus Christ means put him on as the parachute for your skydiving behind enemy lines. It means put him on as the high-impact protective anti-explosive suit when you disarm the bombs of the devil. It means put him on as the asbestos fire-proof suit when you rescue sinners from the flames of hell. It means put him on as a bullet proof vest when you confront the pistols of sin and unbelief.[2]

Hear the Word, Do the Word 

So we put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, how do we put on Christ? How do we do that? The answer is we put on Jesus by hearing the word and doing the word. First, we put on Jesus by attentively listening to him at his feet every morning. “Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.” (Ps 143:8, NLT) But hearing the word itself is not enough. We also must put on Jesus by doing the word. We are called to be “doers” of the word. We are called to be “love doers.” The Bible says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1Jn 4:8, ESV) When we drink or do drugs, we do harm to our minds and bodies. That’s not what love does. Love keeps the mind clear by putting on Christ and rules the body. When we participate in sexual immorality, we do harm to other individuals as well as ourselves. That’s not what love does. Love keeps the marriage covenant clear by putting on Christ and rules the body. When we gossip, argue, and cause divisions, we do harm to our community. That’s not what love does. Love keeps the community of Christ clear and subdues dissensions and quarreling by putting on Christ. That’s what love does.

Best Mother’s Day Gift 

I still remember the day when I said “Yes” to God’s calling to ministry. My mother offered me to the Lord even before I was born just as Hannah did. She always wanted me to be a pastor. She never forced me, but I always knew that was her desire. I began to sense God’s calling when I was in 7th grade. But I was resistant, because I knew how difficult path it was. I saw my grandfather and my father how they lived as pastors at firsthand. But when I was a senior in college, God’s calling was so clear and strong. So finally, I said “Yes.” And I can’t forget the day when I shared that news with my parents. I had never seen them so happy – their facial expressions, their body gestures, etc. Later, they said that that day they heard the news that I would follow in their steps was the best moment in their lives.

In the same way, when we follow in Jesus’ steps, when we put on Christ, when we become more like him, God will rejoice over us with joyful songs. So brothers and sisters in Christ, let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us dress like his children, live like his children, love like his children, and people around us will see Jesus and give glory to our heavenly Father. That is our best Mother’s Day gift to God.

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[1] Michael J. Penfold, “How to Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” http://www.webtruth.org/walking-with-god/put-lord-jesus-christ/
[2] John Piper, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, Part 2,” https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/put-on-the-lord-jesus-christ-part-2