In the last days, believers must remain alert. There is no time for sleeping. For it is while believers sleep that the enemy works most effectively. Even the Lord Jesus acknowledged the great need of the day when He said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). Just as it was in the days of Gideon (Judges 7:5-7), the Lord wants soldiers who are fully aware of their surroundings. A sober minded believer keeps his eyes open, knowing he has an enemy that is on the prowl and ready to devour (1 Peter 5:8). The sober minded believer also knows that one lapse in judgment can cause immense damage during the spiritual battle. Sobriety keeps every reality in the forefront of the mind.
Sobriety is much more than simply a way of thinking; it is the scriptural approach to Christian living. The grace of God, through the Holy Ghost (John 16:13), teaches the believer the proper approach to living the Christian life. Grace teaches separation by stating that believers should deny “ungodliness and worldly lusts.” Yet, grace does not stop there. It also teaches a threefold approach to living life: “soberly, righteously, and godly.” Not only must a believer have a sober mind, he must also approach every aspect of his life with sobriety. He should pray with sobriety. He should read the scriptures with sobriety. He should witness with sobriety. Any contrary thing will cause the believer to suffer great loss.
As time winds down, the need for sobriety increases. Temptations are seemingly escalating from every angle and source. Even if sin did not have the ability to lure away a believer, busyness and hobbies tug at his heart to steal away one’s time and strength. The Devil labours to keep the believer from working while it is day (John 9:4) knowing that a sober believer gets much more accomplished for the Lord. While men are spiritually asleep (Matthew 13:25), the enemy has free reign to disrupt and destroy the lives of others. The apostle Paul saw this dilemma and warned “that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11).
Paul and Barnabas admonished the heathen to turn from “vanities unto the living God.” One cannot trust in the Lord and simultaneously trust in anything else. In order for an individual to be saved, he must repent of trusting in anything other than the Lord. One aspect of repentance involves ceasing to trust vanity and turning one’s faith toward the living and true God. This saving faith needs to become a living faith following salvation. Believers should consistently turn from “vain thoughts” and love the law of God (Psalm 119:113). They should turn from the vain labours that spend their strength for nought (Isaiah 49:4) and be “steadfast . . . in the work of the Lord” knowing that their “labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Additionally, believers should turn from “vain words” (Ephesians 5:6) and hold “forth the word of life” (Philippians 2:16).
The book of Ecclesiastes contains documentation of Solomon’s life experiment apart from God. He examined the worth of subjects involving happiness, wealth, labour, and death. Ultimately, he concluded that life “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:14) was vanity. The word vanity means empty or meaningless. Though Solomon wrote extensively concerning vanity, he was not the only person in the Bible to declare the vanity of life. In fact, Solomon’s father David declared that “every man at his best state is altogether vanity” (Psalm 39:5). King David added that if both men of high and low degree were laid in a balance together, they would be “lighter than vanity” (Psalm 62:9). Thus, regardless of worldly accomplishments and accolades, a life void of God remains meaningless.
