The renewed mind lives as a renewed mind. Paul here calls us not simply to understand how things ought to be, but to live according to what we are now.
As the days grow cooler, we consider the weather, gather our cold-weather outfits, and start actively making our holiday plans.
As Christians, we look to our lives. Once we were in darkness, cut off from the light, but now Christ has shone upon us (Ephesians 5:14), like the morning sun. Paul here tells us that we should be aware of this. As the day draws near, we should walk as those who belong to the day (John 3:21; 1 John 1:7).
Paul tells us to put away the works of darkness. We who have had our minds renewed must not allow room for darkness to dwell in us. We put away both the obvious sins, like sexual immorality, drunkenness, and sensuality, but we also must not become complacent and allow jealousy or infighting to take us over. Paul puts all of these in the same category.
Our conduct is not merely about avoiding evil. Paul tells us that we should “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14). This is an amazing picture because it is related to his earlier mention of putting on the armor of light (Romans 13:12).
We are the body of Christ (Romans 12:4–5), but Paul further emphasizes that we should put on Christ. Our lives as Christians are not passive. As Paul has shown before, the Christian life is an actively obedient life. By putting on Christ, we put on the armor of light, living in the obedience to which He has called us. Not so that we can do good works to be saved, but because we belong to Him and desire to obey God’s Word.
Now that we are in Christ, we should be awake and live our lives in and through Christ. Just as we notice that the seasons are changing, we should notice that we have been changed.
-steve