Monthly Archives: December 2020

New life, new resolutions, Colossians 3:18-4:1

As we get close to the New Year, it’s interesting to hear about what sort of New Year resolutions people come up with. With my birthday being yesterday, I sort of feel like I get a double whammy with this sense that I need to do something different this year. So I usually start my New Year resolutions before Jan 1st. I start them on my birthday. And like most people, from what I hear, I tend to think along the lines of getting more disciplined in my daily exercise. After all the rich food and cakes and cookies consumed over the holidays I feel like I need to do something drastic to counterbalance all of that.

I suppose we make these New Year resolutions because we think that with the start of a new year, there is an opportunity to start fresh. And perhaps that analogy can be applied to our spiritual life as well. Paul says that now that we are made new, since we have new birth, since we have new spiritual life, we need to put away the old and put on the new. There should be a new resolve to live differently now that we are Christians. Our life is not the same and so our behavior should not be the same. Furthermore, Paul says that in this new life we should emulate Christ in our attitudes, in our actions, and our behavior.

As Christians we have a new life in Christ, and so we must begin a new way of living. Our relationships with others is going to be changed. Our actions towards others will be different. And in this context Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit lays out our duty as Christians in our relationship to our spouse, to our family, and in our work environment. These areas of our lives are ones which should be most impactful as Christians. I believe that the foundations of society are the home and the workplace. And so as Christians if we want to change society, if we want to impact the world for Christ, we start in these areas first.

You know, there are many husbands who have testified to the fact that when his wife became a believer, she changed. And many wives have testified that when her husband became a believer, he started acting differently. The same can be said concerning children. They may have been rebellious, always getting into trouble, but when they became saved, there was a noticeable difference in their behavior and the way they responded to their parents. And vice a versa for the parents who may have been saved. The children noticed a big difference in the home. And many an employer has been able to say, “You know that guy that worked for me? Something happened in his life. I don’t know what it was. It seemed to have had something to do with religion. But, boy, is he different on the job.” And many an employee has said, “Something happened to my boss when he became a Christian.”

So when there has been a change spiritually, then there will be a change in behavior, and especially that will be evident in the nature of relationships. In this passage of scripture, Paul talks about a new kind of wife in vs 18, a new kind of husband in vs 19, a new kind of child in verse 20, a new kind of father in verse 21, a new kind of servant in verse 22, and a new kind of master in chapter 4, verse 1. All of a sudden, a person’s whole orientation to society is dramatically changed, because Jesus Christ has entered his life. There is a new, controlling authority in their lives which dramatically affects the way that they live.

Now today there is a lot of pushback on some of these principles because society believes that there is no place for submission to authority anymore. They especially don’t like to hear that wives are to be in subjection to their husbands. And young people don’t like to submit to the authority of their parents, or to the government, or even to the law. Look at what’s going on in Portland and other major cities. They want to overthrow any semblance of authority.

But there are many institutions of authority which God has established in the world. Whether you like it or not, there are certain authorities and they are established by God. There is the authority of government which is spelled out in detail in Romans 13. There is the authority of the church and it’s leaders as indicated in 1 Peter. And here we see that God has established authority in the home, in marriage, and in the workplace.

Now our scripture passage starts with a word a word to wives concerning submitting to authority in verse 18. Notice, it does not say “women.” Of course, to be a wife you must be a woman. That should be understood. But the admonition is not to women in general to submit to men in general. That is not what this scripture is teaching. It is an admonition to wives. So it is an admonition to women in a marriage relationship with their husband.

So verse 18 says, “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” Notice that it says to your husbands. The KJV says to your own husbands. My wife is not being told to submit to another man who also happens to be a husband. It’s not a general admonition for women to submit to men, but in the marriage relationship, the woman is to take the role of submission to the husband’s role of authority.

The word “hypotassō” was a Greek military term meaning “to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader”. In non-military use, it meant “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden”.

But let’s be clear; submission doesn’t mean inferiority. It doesn’t mean you’re inferior to your husband, not at all. Jesus wasn’t inferior to God; but He submitted to the authority of the Father. Christ is equal to the Father, yet He submitted to Him. In Phil. 2:5-8 it says, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (held onto), but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” So Jesus, though equal with God in divinity, submitted Himself to the Father by becoming obedient even to the point of death. Equality does not negate the imperative to submission. God has ordained the husband to be the leader in the marriage and in the home.

Notice what be says at the end of verse 18, “as is fitting in the Lord.” The only justification for submission is because this is the way God intended marriage. I think it might be helpful to remind ourselves of how God designed marriage in creation. Starting in Genesis 2 vs18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought [them] to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

So the order of creation should teach us the nature of marriage, and the nature of the relationship between husband and wife. The wife was made for man, and made from man. She was made to be a helper to him. And in creation, God established that authority of the husband and the submission of the wife. They have different roles in marriage. Even as Christ was submissive to the Father, yet equal in divinity.

It’s also helpful to consider what it says in Eph 5:22-24 “Wives, [be subject] to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself [being] the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives [ought to be] to their husbands in everything.” So the wife is to have the same relationship to the husband as the church has to Christ. That’s an astonishing principle.

It also puts a tremendous responsibility on the husband to be like Christ. Eph.5:25 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” And that brings us to the admonition to husbands in vs 19, “Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.” Now these commands to the husband and the wife are not contingent upon the other party keeping their part of the deal. Love is not contingent. Agape love is not reciprocal. But the command is for the wife to be subject to her husband’s authority, and for the husband to love his wife. The command is to continue acting in love. A lot of men are all lovey dovey until they get what they want. And then they are self serving. But agape love is focused on serving the other to the point of self sacrifice. Love is not simply an emotion. Love is action. Love is the act of putting aside your prerogatives for the sake of another, to see them built up and edified. To see them benefitted.

If husbands truly loved their wives with a self sacrificing love, seeking their benefit and not his own, then I don’t think there would be a lot of problems concerning the wife being subject to him. The problem is that too often men seek their own benefit, and demand the wife submit to that. But as each serves the other then both are benefitted.

The second part of this admonition is “do not be embittered against them.” Some have suggested that this word “embitter” should be translated “harsh.” “Don’t be harsh toward them.” Well, either word emphasizes a harshness of temper. Harshness produces resentment that leads to misery, and often leads to divorce. In the Greek it’s pikrainō that is the verb here, it could be translated as “exasperate” or “irritate.” “Don’t irritate your wife. Don’t exasperate your wife. Don’t be harsh towards your wife.” I would suggest that the way to not exasperate your wife is you don’t lord your authority over her. You don’t treat her less than an equal. You may not be equal in size or strength or practically any physical characteristic, but you treat her as an equal in consideration of her dignity as a person, in her intelligence, in regards to her opinion.

You know, with authority comes responsibility. And in marriage the man is given a grave responsibility. Your family is going to follow your lead. They are going to follow your wisdom or lack of it. If you make a mistake, they are going to suffer with you. It’s a great responsibility to have authority in the family. You better lean on God’s word for wisdom. And if you’re smart, you better lean on your wife for advice.

But I will also say this. I think a lot of men shirk their responsibility to lead in the family, especially in the realm of spiritual things. And so the wife dutifully picks up the slack, and the man is actually relieved that he doesn’t have to make those decisions. But there are consequences to that dereliction of duty that may take years to come out, but they will eventually hurt the relationship. One thing for sure, is it will hurt the man’s relationship with the Lord. Wives, you need to support your husband in becoming the spiritual leader in your house. He may not be as smart as you in things of the Lord. He may not be as spiritually mature as you. But if you don’t encourage him to accept that responsibility then you damn him to be forever immature and unspiritual. And that’s going to work against your home and your marriage more than you can possibly know at this point. Don’t fall for that lure of the devil to overstep his authority and take the lead. Eve took the lead, and Adam was willing to submit to her. And look what happened as a result to the human family.

As archaic as this may sound today, I would suggest that the Christian husband should be chivalrous towards his wife. He should protect her, cherish her, honor her, give preference to her, serve her. If we loved our wives that way, I don’t think there would be too much problem with the wife not being submissive to the husband. I think that part would come naturally.

The next admonition is directed to children. Vs 20 says, “Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.” Now one question that immediately comes to mind is who qualifies as children here in this verse? “Children,” ta tekna, is a very general word for a child, an offspring. It could be any age. What it basically means is, anybody who is still under parental guidance. You stop being a child biblically in terms of this word when you go out to establish your own independence and your own life. As long as you’re in the home, as long as your parents are responsible for you, as long as you’re under their leadership and authority, you have one command.

You know there’s only one command in the entire Bible given to children or young people living in their home with their parents. That one command and the only command is to obey your parents in everything; that’s it. Ephesians 6: 1 states it even more clearly, tying it back to the Old Testament commandment. Eph 6:1-3 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.”

One of the hallmarks of the last days, according to 2 Timothy 3:2, is that children will be disobedient to parents. Children today are taught to think that authority is something terrible, as unnecessarily restrictive. And parents contribute to this by focusing on trying to be their child’s friend, rather than being their parent. I think a lot of parents fail to properly exercise their authority, to properly maintain any discipline or control over their kids, and then because they are such poor parents, they then try to mollify the situation by overcompensating in terms of permissiveness and lack of authority in the kid’s lives. They excuse their own lack of discipline as a parent by saying “Well, I just want them to be happy.” But when there is no discipline, no boundaries, no guiding influence, then the child just ends up miserable and feeling like the parent doesn’t love them.

The unspoken command in this verse is actually directed to the parents. To exercise their authority and their responsibility to raise their children in the admonition of the Lord. So that the child will live in such as way to be well pleasing to the Lord, according to vs 20. In Ephesians 6:1 notice that it says obey your parents in the Lord. That’s the same idea. According to the desire of the Lord, to be pleasing to the Lord.

And I would remind you that Jesus when He was a child was under the authority of His parents, and He was obedient and submissive to them. The Holy Son of God, God Incarnate, subject to Mary and Joseph. And yet it was God’s will. It was pleasing to God. In Luke 2:51 it says, “And [Jesus] went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” So no matter how smart little Johnny may be, if Jesus could be subject to the authority of his parents then so can he.

Then Paul addresses the other side of the coin in child rearing in vs 21, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.” There are some commentators who say this word translated “fathers” is broad enough to cover both parents. That may be so. I think though it is given to fathers especially because it is their responsibility to raise the children. It’s not something that should be shifted to just the mother. The fathers are the governing authority so to speak. I remember well my mother saying, “Just wait till your Dad gets home.” And I remember thinking, “I am happy to wait.” I knew that when he got home there would be a reckoning, and I didn’t look forward to it one bit.

But this admonition to fathers not to exasperate, or irritate some versions translate it, is a pretty broad statement. It doesn’t mean that we don’t exercise authority, or administer discipline. But perhaps it means that we do not use a heavy hand in doing so. It’s not always conducive to have the attitude that it’s my way or the highway. I have talked to a number of fathers that thought that they had to lay down the law and then issue and ultimatum, either do what I want or hit the road. And sometimes the child hit the road and was never heard from again. You can’t raise a child you don’t have.

I remember the worse whipping I ever got when I was a boy. My father thought I had tried to run away from home. And he never gave me a chance to explain. I’ll never forget that. Parents, fathers especially, talk to your children. LIsten to them. Don’t just administer your authority without considering their feelings and what they might be going through. You know the Lord is our heavenly Father. And if He always gave us what we deserved when we break HIs law then who could possibly stand? But He forgives. He is gracious. He loves us and administers discipline for our good, not for punishment’s sake.

The last category Paul addresses is employee, employer relations. Let’s read the part applicable to employees first starting in vs22 , “Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who [merely] please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”

Now Paul addresses this section specifically to slaves or servants. But I think the admonition is applicable to employees. In ancient Rome it is estimated that there were 60 million slaves in that society. It was a vital part of the economy, it was a vital part of society. 60 million slaves would have been a very large segment of the population. And it is a certainty that a large part of the church were in fact slaves. By the way, historically, slavery wasn’t restricted to only certain races. In fact, the Jews as a nation were enslaved for 400 years. That’s longer than slavery was practiced in this country. In Rome, practically all nationalities of people could be slaves except Roman citizens. Even doctors and teachers were commonly slaves. It has been said that the Christian church was one of the only places in the known world in which slaves were considered to be on equal footing with slave owners. In the church, in Christ, there was neither slave nor free. But in society, it was a part of life which was not able to be easily done away with.

It’s also been suggested that the spread of Christianity was the primary means by which slavery was eventually done away with throughout the world. The Great Awakening spawned a realization that slavery was something that needed to be abolished, and within less than a century it had been outlawed in both America and England and soon throughout the civilized world.

But I really do not want to make this about the evils of slavery today, and what the Bible says and doesn’t say about it. I think the primary point Paul is making here is in regards to employee relations. When you agree to work for someone for a wage, you in effect are serving that person or that business for the hours that you have committed to. Some employers demand more than others. But for the most part, it’s safe to say that you abrogate a lot of your freedom and your rights when you go to work. The business, or the boss, is now the governing authority over that part of your life. In the manner of Paul’s speech, to some extent you are a servant and they are your master on earth.

So what does it say regarding employees then? To obey those who are your master, or your boss, or your employer. And not with just external service as those who merely work to please men. In other words, don’t just work for the eyes of men who may be watching, and when they are not watching then you have a different work ethic. But work as unto the Lord who is always watching. Do your work as unto the Lord. It goes back to vs 17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

I told the story of the cobbler last week. I won’t retell it. If you missed it, you missed one of my very few illustrations that aren’t found in the Bible. But the cobbler wouldn’t cut corners, even though the customer would never know the difference. And the reason he didn’t do that was because he did it as unto the Lord. You know, the Christian employee should be the best employee on the job site. That’s basically what Paul is saying. Your attitude, your work ethic, is your testimony to a watching world. And to do it as unto the Lord means that you will find favor with God and man.

And Paul includes in that admonition a warning that if you do what is wrong you will receive the consequences of that wrong, and that without partiality. I believe there are inherent consequences to sin. And when you sin, those inherent consequences take effect. God will not always deliver you from the consequences of your sin. He will forgive you if you repent, but he still may allow the consequences of sin to take effect. I know a few guys in prison who are living testimonies to the inherent consequences of doing wrong. And what else Paul seems to indicate is that the employer has a responsibly to administer justice to those who do wrong. And if he doesn’t, then it’s possible that God will. Because God is a God of justice. God will reward you for how you worked here on earth, and He will punish you for how you worked here on earth. If we are Christians, we have a higher authority than our boss who is watching us. Let us work for our heavenly reward. Even if you are slighted here on earth and don’t get that raise, or promotion that you think you deserve, God says He will reward us for our work. Vs 24, “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” Do your work as unto the Lord.

The last admonition then is to employers. And for that we look at chapter 4 vs 1, “Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.” If you are an employer, then God says you have the responsibility to be just and fair. At the end of chapter 3 we saw that God is concerned about justice in the workplace and also fairness. And so as the governing authority in the workplace which is established by God, masters or managers or CEO’s are to administer justice and fairness, because they will be judged by the same standard with which they judged. Jesus said in Matt. 7:2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” God is going to judge managers, and bosses and CEO’s according to His justice and fairness.

So in conclusion, I want you to notice that in all of these admonitions, to each of the parties involved, whether it be wives, or husbands, or children, or parents, or employees or employers, all of them as Christians should live a life that is lived as unto the Lord. In vs 18 it says, “as is fitting in the Lord.” In vs 20 it is “well pleasing to the Lord”. In vs 22 it is “fearing the Lord.” In vs 23 it is “as for the Lord.” In vs 24 “It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” And in ch4 vs 1 it is “you too have a Master in heaven.” The over arching theme is found in vs 23, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.”

And in so doing, we will be found to be pleasing to the Lord, and gain favor with God and men. Let us resolve in this new life in Christ, to live in a way that is pleasing to Him and is a reflection of Him to the world.

The life of the new man, Colossians 3:12-17

Today we continue in our study of the epistle to the Colossians. And as a matter of context, I would remind you that Paul, in chapter three, began by speaking to those who have been saved, to those who have received new life in Christ, saying “since you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”

So from that we determined that since we have a new life in Christ as our representative, then our perspective on life should be spiritual, and not physical. We are to seek those things which come from above, and not the things which come from below. In other words, our focus should be on Christ and the things of Christ, and no longer should our focus be on the natural, the physical, the earthly. We should walk by the Spirit, and not according to the flesh.

Now of course, Paul is not advocating that we all go live in a monastery and remove ourself from all creature comforts and from society. No, we are to be in the world, but not of the world. Jesus said in John 17 that He sent his disciples into the world, but that they were not of the world, just as He was not of the world. So if we are not of the world, but we are in the world, then that means we must have a focus on the things of God and not on the things of this world.

And Paul said that the way in which we do that is that we must die to the world in vs 3; “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Representatively, we died with Christ on the cross to our sins and the lusts of this world. But in practice we must die to the world as well. But our new life is not just some sort of ethereal, out of this world kind of existence, but the spiritual is to be applied to the natural, so that our doctrine is lived out physically. That which is spiritually true must be applied practically in our day to day life while on this earth.

Now to do that, you will remember that Paul gave a list of sinful behaviors which are indicative of this world, and he said that we must put those things to death. These are things which must be put off, or put to death. Remember we used the analogy of having taken a bath, and being washed, made clean by salvation, we must throw away or put away those filthy clothes which were representative of our old man, and put on new clothes of righteousness, by righteous living.

So last week we looked at the old behaviors, the old lifestyles which must be put off; and they were immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which Paul said amounts to idolatry. In addition to those, Paul said put these aside as well: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. And do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.

At the new birth, we are born again spiritually. We receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ which gives life to our spirit. So now the mind and the body are to be under the rule of the Spirit within us. The Spirit within us dictates how our mind and body should function.

As a result, you are a new man, a new creation, old things are passed away, so lay aside the old self with it’s evil practices, and put on the new self, the new body and mind, which is being remade or renewed into the image of Jesus Christ. In other words, the new life of Christ is to be lived out in you physically. The old sins of the flesh have no business in this new self. So in keeping with who we are in Christ, let us put on the deeds of Christ. That’s what Paul talks about in Eph 2:10 saying, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Notice then that Paul begins this section starting in vs 12 by saying, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on…” We are chosen of God, holy and beloved. That’s a three fold expression of our salvation. We are God’s chosen people, foreordained before the creation of the world, elected unto salvation. God chose us to believe in Him and be saved.

We are holy – that is set apart from the world. We are different by design. God has established that we are not to be identified with the world, but to be identified with Christ. Set apart for good works. Set apart as a royal priesthood. Set apart as ambassadors for God. And beloved means we are loved as the children of God. We are His offspring. You love your children in a special way that’s hard to explain. It’s an unconditional love. An unfailing love. That’s the love we have from God when we are born of Him. Beloved by God. And so those descriptions define us as Christians. Because we are Christians, Paul says we are to put on certain things.

Now once again in our text Paul utilizes the analogy of clothing, put off the old, and put on the new clothing which we have in Christ. You know, we see less of it in fashion today in our society, but it used to be true that people wore uniforms according to the type of work they did. Men wore business suits, usually a grey pin stripe suit and tie, who worked in corporate business. Milkmen wore a white uniform. Postmen wore uniforms. Police, military, firemen still wear uniforms today. And their clothing helped identify who they were, or at least, what kind of work they did. Well, in the Christian life, Paul is saying, we should wear the kind of clothes that represents what we are, that identifies us with Christ, the clothes of rigtheousness.

The first article of our clothing we should put on according to vs 12 is compassion. This is a good example of how the KJV’s wording is a little difficult for people today. In the KJV, it reads bowels of mercy. We don’t use that expression today, thank goodness. If you spoke of bowels of mercy today, people might not know what you are trying to say, and quite possibly point you in the direction of the nearest bathroom. But bowels of mercy actually comes from a Hebraic expression which is best translated compassion. It’s similar to an expression which we still hear today sometimes, someone may say “I have a gut feeling about something.” It’s sort of an emotive response.

Compassion is related to a feeling of sympathy. We should put on sympathy and empathy for others. That means you feel what it’s like to be in their shoes. Jesus was often moved to compassion when He ministered to the people of His day and consequently fed them or healed them. He felt sympathy for them. He understood their dilemma, their fear, their concerns and His desire was to help them. Compassion should be a characteristic of the Christian. Not condemnation, not unconcern, but compassion. Especially compassion for the lost.

Secondly Paul says put on the garment of kindness. We shouldn’t need too much explanation of kindness. But I will say that kindness is the extension of compassion. Compassion should move you to kindness. You feel compassion so you act in kindness.

Thirdly, he says put on humility. Humility is the opposite of pride. Humility is the garment of a servant. Pride and arrogance acts for their own benefit, but the humble acts for another person’s benefit. Jesus was humble, so we should be humble. He came not to be served, but to serve. Phl. 2:5-8 says, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Fourth characteristic we should be clothed with is meekness, or gentleness. I prefer the word meekness. Meekness is not weakness. A lot of times it’s presented as weakness. But it actually comes from a word associated with a horse, meaning strength under control. A horse is very powerful, but he is under the control of his rider. And so we should exhibit and practice meekness, strength under the control of our Master.

Then added to that list Paul gives patience, or forbearance. Forbearance or patience has to do with recognizing the weakness of another, but accepting it. Don’t get me wrong, Paul is not saying that we wink at sin. But it means that we recognize that we are all weak, we are all human, and not expecting perfection in someone else when you are not perfect yourself. In other words, don’t be quick to judge, don’t be quick to condemn, don’t be quick to retaliate. God is patient with us, is He not? I know He certainly is with me. They use the word forbearance sometimes in the loan business. You owe a debt, but the bank gives you a forbearance. It means that they will not collect that debt. When someone offends you or sins against you, you don’t collect. You don’t bring judgment upon them.

2Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” Patience is crucial to bringing someone to repentance.

The next attribute Paul gives is bearing with one another. It sounds like it might be similar to forbearance. Perhaps though this means bearing one another’s burdens. When you see a weakness in someone else, rather than condemn them for it and stand aloof from their problems, stoop to help them bear their burden. Paul says in Gal. 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

Next, Paul says put on the attribute of forgiveness. To forgive means to not bring up those things later on in some argument, bring that hurtful thing back out of the closet and use it against them. To forgive is to put the offense away. Many of us have been hurt by someone. Maybe it was your spouse. Maybe a loved one or a close friend hurt you. We are told to forgive them and not bring it back up again. That’s tough, I know. That doesn’t mean you have to be a door mat for the rest of your life and let them do it again and again. But it does mean you forgive them and not hold a grudge.

In Matt. 18:21-22 Peter said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Forgive, even as Jesus forgave us. In vs 13 Paul says, “forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.” Has the Lord forgiven you of your sins? Then forgive others also.

Then in vs 14 Paul gives us the last thing to put on; “Beyond all these things [put on] love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Some have said in looking at this verse that what Paul is getting at here is the idea of a belt or what they might have called a girdle. All of their undergarments and clothes would have been girded up with a belt. It tied everything together.

And that’s the superlative definition of love; it should be the motivation for all our behavior in this new life. Not a sentimental feeling towards others. Sentiment might be nice, but it’s not necessary. In fact, agape love is more likely to be what is expressed when it’s without sentiment. You may not even like someone, yet you can still love them with a Christian love. Love is charity. Love is sacrificial. And it’s a response of our salvation. We love because He first loved us. And so we should love others even when they are our enemies. Even when they attempt to crucify us. Love is a commitment, it’s a decision. Put on love.

Now that’s the last of the clothing we should put on in this new life. But there are a couple of other points that Paul makes concerning what we should put in. The first is found in vs 15; “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” What that verse literally says is let the peace of Christ be the arbiter in your hearts. Now an arbiter is a person with the ultimate authority to settle a dispute. So what that indicates is that there is going to be a battle in your heart between the new nature and the old nature. The old nature is still there, but we are not under it’s authority anymore. We are supposed to be killing it off. But we don’t always do that.

There is the story of the missionary to an American Indian tribe, and there was an old man in the tribe who came one day to talk to the missionary about the difficulty he was having living this new life as a Christian. He said he was troubled by the spiritual conflict going on within his heart.  He said he wanted to do what God wanted him to do, but found that he was frequently disobeying God.  He found that he was prone to do evil things, even as he did before he became a Christian.
 
The old Indian described this conflict within himself as a dogfight.  He said to the missionary, “It is as though I have a black dog and a white dog inside me fighting each other constantly.”  The black dog, he explained, represented evil and the white dog represented good.
 
The missionary asked him, “Which dog wins the fight within you?” After a few moments of silence, the old man said, “The dog that wins is the one I feed and the dog that loses is the one I starve.”

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And as we submit to him as Lord, then we put to death the old man. He is our peace. He is the authority in our life. And submission to Him gives us victory over the old nature.

Paul adds to that peace, to be thankful. To have an attitude of gratitude. When we focus on what we have in Christ we should be thankful and that gives us joy and peace. But when we focus on what we think we are missing out on, then we find that the old nature rises up in jealousy for what we think we need. We need to remind ourselves to be thankful.

Then in vs 16, Paul says what else we should put in. “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms [and] hymns [and] spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

So the word of Christ is what we should put in this new man. This is so important. The word of Christ is the authority in our new life. It is the instruction manual for this new life. It is our comfort. It is the source of our power. It is our guide. I am reminded of Psalm 199:105 which says, “your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” If we are to walk by the Spirit in this new life, then we must walk by the word.

It’s very interesting to notice that in Ephesians we have almost the same wording as this verse and yet it is talking about being filled with the Spirit. But in Colossians it says let the word of Christ dwell in you. In this age of charismatic emphasis in the church, there is a tendency to think that someone filled with the Spirit is going to be speaking in ecstatic tongues or acting in some supernatural way. But the parallel between Colossians and Ephesians shows that the Spirit filled man is the man in whom dwells the word of Christ.

I want you to notice the correlation between these two texts. Turn to Ephesians 5:18-20 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.”

You can see then as you compare this text with the Colossians 3 text the similarities. Even the structure of the verses are similar. And what that teaches is that the Spirit filled Christian is the word indwelled Christian. The Holy Spirit is the author of the word. So there is no distinction. Paul says that everything that we do in our meetings as a church, should be done with a view to instruction and admonishing and in the building up of the body. I would point out to you then that the purpose of singing is to teach doctrine. You can also make the argument from both of these texts that it seems to indicate that the giving of thanks is also the purpose of singing. And I will not dispute that with you. However, it does not necessarily mean that, but it could mean that.

But if you look at the Psalms for instance, you will find songs there which are very much thankful in nature, praising and extolling the virtues of the Lord. You can also find songs which extol and praise the virtues of the word. Psalm 119 for example, the longest chapter in the Bible, is all about the word of God.

But this idea that God is sitting around in heaven just wanting us to sing Him some praise songs is really a low perception of the character of God. God is not a narcissist. He doesn’t need us to repeat you are holy fifty times in a song in order to feel good about himself. I risk sounding blasphemous when I say this. But I really think that we do God a disservice in a lot of what we call praise music. God is not so concerned about what we say as what we do. We cannot give lip service to God, flattering Him and buttering Him up and then think we can go live the way we want. To obey is better than sacrifice.

So our teaching is to be the words of Christ. Our singing is to be the words of Christ. And all that we do is to be done to build up the body in Christ. So that we are conformed to the image of Christ.

So what we should put on, what we need to put in, and then finally, what we need to put out. Our lives should be an outworking of the Spirit of Christ within us. Vs.16, “Whatever you do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” What Paul seems to do here is move from the specific to the general, giving as a final word the sweeping statement that whatever you do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. The whole wide arena of life, the whole of the outward life, is to be done under that authority, and under the approval of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord.

I read a story by Dr. Henry Ironside which I will tell in closing that hopefully will illustrate this principle. He said; “When I was a boy, I felt it was both a duty and a privilege to help my widowed mother make ends meet by finding employment in vacation time, on Saturdays and other times when I did not have to be in school. For quite a while I worked for a Scottish shoemaker, or “cobbler,” as he preferred to be called, an Orkney man, named Dan Mackay. He was a forthright Christian and his little shop was a real testimony for Christ in the neighborhood. The walls were literally covered with Bible texts and pictures, generally taken from old-fashioned Scripture Sheet Almanacs, so that look where one would, he found the Word of God staring him in the face. On the little counter in front of the bench on which the owner of the shop sat, was a Bible, generally open, and a pile of gospel tracts. No package went out of that shop without a printed message wrapped inside. And whenever opportunity offered, the customers were spoken to kindly and tactfully about the importance of being born again and the blessedness of knowing that the soul is saved through faith in Christ. Many came back to ask for more literature or to inquire more particularly as to how they might find peace with God, with the blessed results that men and women were saved, frequently right in the shoe shop.
It was my chief responsibility to pound leather for shoe soles. A piece of cowhide would be cut to suit, then soaked in water. I had a flat piece of iron over my knees and, with a flat-headed hammer, I pounded these soles until they were hard and dry. It seemed an endless operation to me, and I wearied of it many times.
What made my task worse was the fact that, a block away, there was another shop that I passed going and coming to or from my home, and in it sat a jolly, godless cobbler who gathered the boys of the neighborhood about him and regaled them with lewd tales that made him dreaded by respectable parents as a menace to the community. Yet, somehow, he seemed to thrive and that perhaps to a greater extent than my employer, Mackay. As I looked in his window, I often noticed that he never pounded the soles at all, but took them from the water, nailed them on, damp as they were, and with the water splashing from them as he drove each nail in.
One day I ventured inside, something I had been warned never to do. Timidly, I said, “I notice you put the soles on while still wet. Are they just as good as if they were pounded?” He gave me a wicked leer as he answered, “They come back all the quicker this way, my boy!”
“Feeling I had learned something, I related the instance to my boss and suggested that I was perhaps wasting time in drying out the leather so carefully. Mr. Mackay stopped his work and opened his Bible to the passage that reads, “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
“Harry,” he said, “I do not cobble shoes just for the four bits and six bits that I get from my customers. I am doing this for the glory of God. I expect to see every shoe I have ever repaired in a big pile at the judgment seat of Christ, and I do not want the Lord to say to me in that day, ‘Dan, this was a poor job. You did not do your best here.’ I want Him to be able to say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’“
Then he went on to explain that just as some men are called to preach, so he was called to fix shoes, and that only as he did this well would his testimony count for God. It was a lesson I have never been able to forget. Often when I have been tempted to carelessness, and to slipshod effort, I have thought of that dear, devoted cobbler, and it has stirred me up to seek to do all as for Him who died to redeem me.”

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Dying to the old nature, Colossians 3:1-11

In chapters one and two, Paul has expressed a litany of doctrinal principles that we have in Christ. He has shared his concerns about false doctrines that were permeating the church. But now in chapter three we see a change in his approach. His concern now is not so much doctrinal as it is practical. Not that doctrine isn’t practical. It is very much so. But it’s the application of doctrine which is what we mean by practical.

Now as we look at this first verse, we notice that it begins with the word “if.” In this case that word does not indicate something questionable, but it would be better if it were translated “since.” All the doctrine which has been said previously in Colossians up to this point has established the fact of our salvation. So Paul is not now questioning our salvation with the word “if”, but he is going to build on that fact, and so he begins with “since.”

Vs 1 then says, “Therefore if (or since) you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Now to understand what is meant here, we need to flip back to the previous chapter and look at verse 20 which starts in a very similar fashion; “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

We can apply the same translation of the word “if” to “since” in this verse as well. So notice then what Paul is saying. He says in 2:20, “since you have died with Christ…” And now in 3:1 he says “since you have been raised up with Christ…” Now that should help us to understand what he’s talking about in vs 1. He is speaking of our conversion, our death and spiritual resurrection to new life through our representative Jesus Christ.

Perhaps we can get another perspective of what he is talking about by looking at Rom 6:2-11 “How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [in the likeness] of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with [Him,] in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Ok then, it should be clear that Paul is referencing our salvation, illustrated by baptism – the fact that we have died with Christ, died to the old sin nature, and in effect buried with Him. So that since we have died with Christ, the sin nature no longer has dominion over us. We are made new creations. We are raised from death to a new life in Christ.

So since we have died with Christ, we have also been raised with Him to live a new life. Baptism symbolizes this fact. It’s an outward illustration of what has transpired inwardly. If we have died with Him, then we are raised with Him to newness of life. So that we walk in newness of life. We walk by the spirit and not according to the flesh. Our focus isn’t on temporal things, but our focus is on eternal things.

And that’s exactly what Paul indicates here in vs 1. “Since you have been raised up with Christ keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” So now that we have been converted from death to life, Paul says we are to keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. We have a different outlook, a different perspective. It’s a spiritual perspective. It’s a Christ centered perspective.

Notice a couple of things that Paul says of Christ. Christ is in heaven with God. He is alive, eternal in the heavens. He is seated; that indicates that His work is finished. His redemptive, representative work on our behalf is finished. And at the right hand of God indicates the place of honor and privilege. It indicates the place of intercession.

Consider what Hebrews 7:24-27 “but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the [sins] of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”

I like that phrase; “he is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him.” Our eternal security rests in the eternal Son who lives forever, and is above all rule and authority, having paid the price for our sins, who was the perfect, complete and final sacrifice so that we might be made complete and perfect in Him. And He intercedes on our behalf at the right hand of God. The favored, privileged position whereby He is able to save us forever by His power, and by His righteousness.

So since you have been raised up with Christ, since you have been reconciled, redeemed, justified, sanctified, cleansed, made new, forgiven, given new life in Christ, then keep looking to Christ. He is our example, He is our Help, He is our Comforter, He is our Guide, He is our Shepherd. He is our Master. He is our Lord. Keep looking to Him for everything relating to this new life. Keep pursuing Christ, keep following Christ. Keep seeking Christ. As James says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Now how do we do that in practical ways? Paul says in vs 2, “[by setting] your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” I like the KJV rendering of this verse better actually. It says, “Set your affection on things above, not on things that are on the earth.” I like that word affection because it indicates this is a matter of the heart. Now the mind is a part of what is referred to as the heart, but affection indicates what you desire, what you admire, what you like or don’t like. As Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” So you can think with your heart. The natural man is ruled by his heart, he is ruled by his affections. The heart by the way refers to the seat of your emotions, your will and your intellect. And part of our salvation experience is that we have a change of heart. We are given a new heart.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 speaking prophetically of this conversion God will says, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” So if we are given a new heart then we will have new desires, new affections and a new mind.

So let us set, affix, focus our affections, our minds, on things above. I have two dogs that live in our house, Maggie, an older lab, and Jackson, a young Siberian Husky. They have completely different personalities and temperaments. But they are both alike in one respect. When we sit down to eat at the dinner table, they sit up on their haunches with their ears erect, and their gaze fixed resolutely on us. They are not distracted by anything else, they watch us intently. I sometimes can’t help but think God created dogs to teach us how we are to act in our relationship with Him.

Dogs cannot understand everything we humans are doing. They have to look to us to feed them, to water them, to take them for a walk. They are totally dependent upon us whether they realize it or not. And when it comes to food, they want to sit where they can get an uninterrupted, unobstructed view of everything we are doing.

Perhaps that’s sort of the idea of how we should set our attention on Christ. Christ is the source of our life and so we should be looking to Him for our satisfaction. Paul understands though that our affections can be turned back to the things of the world. And our love of the world keeps us from unaffected love of God. Jesus said in Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I’m reminded of Lot’s wife. Remember how the angel of the Lord told them as he was delivering them from the impending destruction, to not look back. But Lot’s wife did look back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. That serves as a great lesson to not look back at the former things of the natural man. To look back with affection on the things of the world leads to destruction. But now that we have a new life, we need to have a new purpose, a new perspective, new desires. And seek those things which are above, not the things of earth.

That of course does not mean that we go live in a monastery or something and forego all earthly necessities, or earthly pleasures that God has given us to enjoy like marriage and children and even the work of our hands. But what it means is those things are not the focus of our lives now. We are no longer wrapped up in our careers, focused on society, or even all wrapped up in our family or those we love. We have a higher calling, a higher devotion, and consequently, a spiritual perspective. We look beyond the immediate to the eternal. We have a new heart with different affections. And our supreme affection is for Christ.

Vs 3 says, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Now we have already discussed this aspect of dying with Christ. But what does it mean our new life is hidden with Christ? I think it means that the new life is spiritual, and not physical. Our spirit is made alive, is made new when we are born again. It was made new in Christ. As He was raised from the dead, so are we. But from outward appearances, there is very little physically to suggest that. It’s an inward transformation, not a physical one per se. Certainly, there will be behavior differences between the old and the new life, but as far as appearances go, there is very little.

But also the word hidden indicates our spiritual union with Christ. We are now part of His body, the church. He is in us, and we are in Him. Furthermore the word hidden also indicates security. We are hidden in Him means that we are safe in Him, we are secure in Him, we are protected in Him. It is a common theme in the Psalms to speak of being in the shadow of His wings. It’s a place of refuge from destruction. So whatever destruction that may lay wait for us, we find refuge under His wings, and we are hidden in Him. In a manner of speaking, we are born again and like the offspring of an eagle who provides for and protects her young until they are mature, so we are kept hidden in Christ, protected, provided for, until the day of our completion.

In that day we will no longer stay hidden. In vs 4 Paul says, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” There will be a day when Christ will come to earth again, visibly, physically. He will come in power. He will come to claim HIs kingdom. And in that day we that are saved will also be revealed physically in a new body.

1John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” When Jesus returns, the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together to be with the Lord. And this old body will be changed to that which is incorruptible and undefiled, and from that which is temporary to immortal. Then we will be revealed in all our glory, for we shall be like Him and share in His glory.

So since this is who we are, and who we will be revealed to be, let us act like the people that Christ has redeemed for His own. Let us behave as children of God. Let us live the kind of lifestyle that comes as a result of our new life in Christ.

Let’s look at it this way. You were dead in your sins. You were by nature corrupt and vile. But , now you have been washed, cleansed, regenerated. You are made new. It’s like your mother making you take a bath when you were little, and then saying to you, “Son, you have just taken a bath, now don’t you dare put those old dirty clothes back on. Put on some fresh, clean clothes. That’s basically what Paul is saying in the remainder of this chapter. You have been given a bath spiritually. Now first of all put away the old dirty clothes of the past, and then put on these new clean clothes of righteousness.

Unfortunately, we are only going to have the time today to talk about what you need to put off. Next week we will look at what you need to put on. Here then in vs 5, is what Paul says we need to put to death. “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

Have you ever gotten your clothes so filthy that there was nothing left to do but throw them away? That’s how Paul describes these sins. They need to be put to death. Put to death the sinful way of life which belongs to your old nature. And the first one that you must put to death is immorality. That word refers to all forms of sexual intercourse outside of God honored marriage. It’s what is called “fornication” elsewhere in Scripture; and adultery, which is sexual misbehavior by a married person with someone other than his or her mate. This is to be “put to death” by all Christians. The Word of God is absolutely clear on this. Eph. 5:5 says, “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” Anything having to do with fornication outside of marriage cannot be something we engage in in this new life.

The second sin is “impurity.” It is the word for “uncleanness.” It refers to being corrupted, depraved, indecent. It may simply be expressed as hedonism. Then he says put off passion. Passion is being inflamed with desire for something. The Bible speaks of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Passion is closely related to lust. Lust consumes, and it is never satisfied. It only craves more and more, often leading to the destruction of that individual.

Evil desire is a lust for evil. Lust leads to even more vileness, which is a desire for evil. And then Paul mentions greed. Greed is covetousness. Greed is desiring more than what you have, more than what God has given to you. Ambition is one thing, in your career, or in your business dealings it’s fine to have ambition. But greed is the evil side of ambition. It’s wanting more than is right. It’s wanting what someone else has. Its’ wanting something that doesn’t rightfully belong to you. And Paul says greed is idolatry. Idolatry is worshipping something, isn’t it? And it’s possible to be guilty of idolatry because of your desire for a woman, or a man, or a car, or a house, or anything that you prioritize ahead of your relationship with God.

But as Christians we too often tend to accept these practices and to excuse or overlook the error of those who fall into them. The apostle says there are two things wrong that that acceptance. First, he says in vs 6, “For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience.”

The wrath of God is the judicial response of God to evil. In many cases, it is the inherent destruction that such sins carry with them. If you get drunk, for instance, there is an inherent judgment that is a part of drunkenness. It might mean that you wreck your car, or lose your life in some drunken accident, or you lose your family. It’s not always the same thing in every case, but all sin is destructive, and there are inherent consequences to sin that are part of the wrath of God.

But as a child of God, should you revert to your old desires and fall back into one of these evil practices, then you can expect God to discipline you as a son. And that too is a part of the wrath of God. In speaking of striving against the sinful nature, the author of Hebrews tells us in chapter 12:6 “FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” If you’re a child of God and you continue in sin, you can expect Him to discipline you. You will face the wrath of God.

The second reason Paul gives is stated in verse 7: “and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.” That kind of sinful lifestyle isn’t what God has saved you to live. It’s a part of the past life. And that past life is one that brings destruction and it caused the death penalty to be placed upon us. It’s not who we are made to be in Christ. We are a new creation. 2Co 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We are no longer walking the old paths, but walk in a new way, the way of Christ.

Peter said in [1Pe 4:3 NASB] 3 For the time already past is sufficient [for you] to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.” That time past should have been sufficient for you to realize the end of that life is destructive, and damning. Why would you turn back after being washed and cleaned up and put back on those filthy clothes? You have a new resource, a new power, a new life, a Savior who will help you in every moment of temptation, and by His power you can put that old lifestyle away. You can put it to death.

Then Paul takes us to a deeper level, to our inner attitudes in Vs 8, “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, [and] abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its [evil] practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—“

In this new life we are now different, therefore we should act differently. Our heart is different. We have new affections. You are to put off your old self. Paul described this earlier in this letter as “being circumcised with Christ.” A cutting off of the flesh. You are no longer what you once were. You have “put on the new self,” which is growing and increasing in knowledge of righteousness. The more you learn about this new life the more you will find you can put away the old. It is increasing in knowledge, growing into the image of Christ. Children grow up to look like their parents. So we should grow up to look like Christ.

So Paul gives us a list of attitudes to renounce. First, he says we no longer are to give way to anger. Anger is contrary to acting in love. As believers, we must not act in anger any more. We must not give way to anger. The Lord said to Cain, “why are you angry?” “Sin is crouching at the door, and it’s desire is for you, but you must master it.” Put anger away. It leads to sin.

The second word is “wrath.” This refers to vindictiveness. It’s taking your anger out on someone else. And wrath is closely related to the next word, malice. Malice is the hidden hatred of the heart. It’s acting in spite. Then related to that is slander. Slander is speaking ill of someone to injure them. I think we are guilty of all these sins of the tongue more than we would like to admit. James says in James 3:6 “And the tongue is a fire, the [very] world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of [our] life, and is set on fire by hell.” What comes out of the mouth reveals the heart.

The next phrase is abusive speech. I think that covers a lot of territory. It’s not just cursing. It’s demeaning someone. It’s talking down to someone. It’s abusing your authority over someone by what you say to them. Your words can wound deeper than any sword.

And then lying. Lying is bearing false witness. It’s one of the 10 commandments. It’s representing something falsely. How often do we do that? I think we do it without thinking sometimes. We may even excuse it as a means of trying to protect someone. But as Christians we are to be the ambassadors of truth. What we say must be trustworthy. We must be able to be believed, because we speak for God. So false witness, lying is something we must put off, and ultimately put to death.

And Paul speaks of that change in a positive way saying, “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its [evil] practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—“ Notice the conjunctive “Since” you laid aside the old self. I pray that is true. Past tense. That you have died to the old man with Christ. You have laid it aside. You no longer carry with you the remnants of that old nature. Put it to death. God has given us a new life, put it on. He has clothed you in righteousness, wear it. Practice righteousness. Practice holiness. Practice walking in His steps day by day, hour by hour. Keeping your gaze fixed on Him who will keep you, and sustain you, and hold you as you draw near to Him.

Notice Paul speaks of this new life as a renewal to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him. As we look at Christ, we learn how we can be conformed to His image. We learn to be like Christ by looking at Christ. And then in our daily walk we practice what we have learned. We walk in HIs footsteps.

Peter said in 1Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” That is what this new life is all about. Christ has called us, saved us out of the life we once lived, the life dominated by sin, by evil passions and attitudes. And now by faith in Him we have been washed, we have been cleansed, made new, and like children we walk in HIs footsteps, follow in His example in our actions and in our attitudes.

Next week we will see more specifically those things we are to put on in this walk of faith in Christ. But for now, I hope it’s sufficient to recognize those elements of the past life that need to be put off and put to death, in light of who we are in Christ. Paul says no matter our heritage, there is no physical distinction in our life with Christ, no matter if we are Greek or Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. He is our life. He is our affection. He is our example. He is our Lord.

I trust that you are hidden in Christ. I hope that He is your Savior and Lord. Faith in Him is the beginning of this new life. He has made salvation available to all who believe in Him and confess Him as Lord. You can have that eternal life in Christ today.

False spirituality, Colossians 2:16-23

Last week in the previous passage we looked at what Paul describes as the fullness of our salvation.  We said that in Christ we have all the benefits of our salvation complete.  There is no need to seek some sort of higher knowledge, or add some philosophy or experience in order to have all that need.  We are made completely saved in Christ.

This week, we’re looking at the remainder of this chapter in which Paul continues with that line of thought, but he now is going to counter specific false doctrines which were being circulated in the church of Colossae.  In these last eight verses, Paul  gives us three areas of false teaching that were pervasive in the Colossian church, and I believe are still in effect in the 21st century church as well. 

These three areas of false teaching Paul addresses are legalism, spiritualism or mysticism, and asceticism. And I hope to explain what those doctrines look like as we go through this passage. There is an ancient Chinese proverb which says, “Know thy enemy.”  And I think it is very helpful to us to unmask these false doctrines so that we might know better how to defend our faith against the deception and attacks of the enemy. 

So first of all, Paul warns against what we may call legalism.  He says in vs 16, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—“  Now as we have always been taught to do, we must look back to see what “therefore” refers to.  Because what he says after “therefore” is contingent on what he said previously.  And as I said a moment ago, “therefore” refers to the fullness of salvation which we have in Christ.  Our salvation needs nothing other than what Christ has procured for us through His death and resurrection.  We don’t need Christ plus mysticism or Christ plus legalism, or Christ plus asceticism.  Christ alone is sufficient for all our spiritual needs.

But Paul wants to address some specific issues that were being taught at the church in Colossae. And the first one is that of legalism. In previous messages we have called the false teaching that was being offered in the Colossian church Gnostic Judaism.  You’re not going to find that title in Wikipedia.  Gnosticism would seem to have become popular a number of years after this epistle.  But it seems with Paul’s emphasis on the worship of angels and the subject of spirituality that the roots of Gnosticism had already begun infiltrating the church. 

Judaism of course is a reference to the religion of the Pharisees – Jews that put a great deal of emphasis on the outward appearance of things in relation to the law, but of whom Jesus said they were like whitewashed tombs  – clean and white on the outside, but rotten and corrupted on the inside. But the system of Judaism claimed spirituality based on keeping the law and ceremonies, as well as certain traditions passed down from their leaders.

So combining those two false teachings produces what we call Gnostic Judaism.  Paul first describes those areas which we might term as legalism.  They have to do with the law, or the keeping of the law.  It would seem that they refer to Judaism and the practices of eating only certain foods and drink. 

Some of those restrictions on food and drink had been given to the Jews in the Mosaic law.  The purpose of them was either to create a unique situation or to keep them from eating something that would be harmful to them physically or nutritionally. Primarily the issue, in the old covenant was that God wanted a peculiar people. God wanted a people set apart from the rest of the world by a different lifestyle, and one of the ways He did that was by prescribing a different diet. Because of their diet, the Jews were socially distant from the people of the country they were living in because they couldn’t eat together. And that was the plan of God for them. He didn’t want them to intermingle. He wanted them to be separate from the pagan world. 

So God gave these laws to the Jews, but in the new covenant, those laws were set aside.  In Acts 10, there is the account of Peter on the rooftop when God gave him a vision of all sorts of clean and unclean animals and God told him to kill and eat, and that all meat was declared clean.  Then in  Acts 15 that principle is elaborated upon by the apostles in Jerusalem to say that none of the old dietary restrictions were to be put upon the Gentile church. And that principle is echoed repeatedly in the New Testament.  For instance, Romans 14:17 says, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

But as we probably all are aware, the Jews didn’t stop with just restrictions on food, but they had added all types of traditions to the law, very often with elaborate ceremonies like hand washing which were not dictated by the commandments. And it would seem that sort of thing was being advocated in Colossae. 

So to paraphrase Paul, he says, “Don’t be deceived; don’t be tricked. Don’t let anybody judge you on the basis of what you eat or drink. Don’t let anybody evaluate your spirituality on that basis. And you know the same thing happens in Christianity today in many circles. Some sects teach that you must keep the dietary laws of the Jews.  Others teach you must be vegetarian. There will always be people who want to judge everyone’s spirituality by what they do externally: how they eat, what they eat, how they drink or what they drink, whether they keep certain rituals and requirements which they think are necessary to be spiritual.  

But the problem with that kind of spiritual evaluation is this: that somebody who isn’t a true Christian can qualify on the basis of their works.  So a test of your Christianity, it produces a false positive, so to speak.  It’s not that true Christians won’t manifest some different behavior than the world, but the problem is that those who aren’t  can always conform to some external standard. And so judging by that type of standard doesn’t reveal true spirituality.

Galatians 5:1 speaks to this principle, saying,  “For freedom, Christ has set us free; therefore, stand fast and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Christ set you free to live as free; so don’t go back to legalism. That’s the yoke of bondage which Peter said neither they nor the patriarchs had been able to bear.

And then Paul adds in vs 16, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—” – don’t let these false teachers try to define your spirituality by whether you go to the Passover, or the Pentecost, or the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Lights, or any of those ceremonies and holy days which were prescribed by the law – “or a new moon” – Numbers 28 tells us that the sacrifice was made on the first day of the month of the new moon – “or of a Sabbath day.”

So you have annual observances, and monthly observances and weekly observances. Rituals, ceremonies, what were called holy days.  That’s where we get our word holiday, by the way, from holy days.  There are a number of various groups through the centuries who have advocated either a return to the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday, or they want to ascribe Sabbath restrictions on Sunday, as the Sunday Sabbath. But the scripture doesn’t teach either one of those.

I remember though back in my twenties when I was not living for the Lord.  And I came under the influence of someone who was a Seventh Day Adventist.  And I had never given much thought to the Sabbath before that time.  And I became really confused about whether or not it was necessary to keep the Sabbath and return to Saturday observance.  

But this passage here makes it clear that no one is to be your judge in regards to keeping the Sabbath.  Romans 14 says “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.”  And in the early days of the church there were people who were being converted out of Judaism, and their conscience bothered them concerning the Sabbath.  Paul allowed such to do as their conscience dictated.  But it was never ok to be taught that that keeping the Sabbath is a necessary requirement for salvation, or to achieve some higher spiritual plane.  It’s a ceremony that speaks of a future fulfillment in Christ.  Hebrews 4:9 teaches that the Sabbath rest is fulfilled in Christ for us,  having accomplished His finished work on the cross, having sat down at the Father’s right hand. So as was the practice of the early church, we worship on the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, which is Sunday. And we have been set free from the restrictions of the Sabbath.

And I will make one last point about the Sabbath.  And that is that those who practice it do not really practice it according to the Law.  You can be very glad that we are not under that yoke any longer.  In Judaism it was a burden, it was not the rest that God intended it to be.

Now the rebuttal to all these legalistic doctrines is found in vs 17. [These] “things which are a [mere] shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”  These ceremonial, ritualistic things are a foreshadow. But the reality, the fulfillment is Christ. All these laws and all these legalistic things, they were just shadow. A shadow just anticipates the arrival of somebody, and when He comes, and you no longer need the shadow. Or another way of saying it, they were pictures, and when you have the reality, you no longer need the picture. 

Here’s the principle. Spirituality is not a matter of adding some external ritual or ceremony, but  its’a matter of the invisible attributes, a matter of the heart and your relationship with Jesus Christ.   So Paul is saying don’t let anybody intimidate you by the fact that if don’t do something, therefore you’re not spiritual.” It’s a matter of the heart, not external rituals.

Now the second area of concern in this false teaching in Colossae is what I am calling spiritualism or mysticism.  And we find Paul’s admonition concerning that in vs 18 and 19. “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on [visions] he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,  and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.”

Now don’t be confused, we are to be spiritual, but spiritualism is not spiritual.  It’s perhaps better called mysticism. What is mysticism?” Mysticism is a deeper or higher experience which one believes gives them an exalted knowledge of God or the mysteries of God. It’s like saying, “Well, I’ve had an experience that I can’t define, but I’ve touched God, or have come to understand something from God.”

Now what Paul says is that kind of thing can make you believe you have missed out on all that God has for you because you haven’t had a particular experience. He says that teaching defrauds you of the prize.  What is the prize?  It’s a full, complete, relationship with Jesus Christ.  It’s knowing all that He has for you and being content in that knowledge. It’s peace with God.  It’s assurance.  And as Paul indicates in this statement about the growth of the body it’s spiritual maturity. You cannot have spiritual maturity if you think that it comes from a false source rather than from following Christ completely.  If you’re seeking spiritual maturity from some sort of fake mystical experience then you’re going to miss out on the real prize of spiritual maturity.

Now Paul gives some examples of mysticism, or false spirituality which were being promoted in the church.  “Delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.” 

Delighting in self-abasement is another way of saying they delight in humility.  I would suggest he’s talking about fake humility.  It’s humility on parade.  The Pharisees loved to be seen fasting and wearing sack cloth and ashes.  That’s a false humility on parade.  I’m afraid we see a version of that today often times at Lent, with people advertising that they are fasting by going around with ashes on their face. Another way that is done is through restrictions in dress, by only wearing certain somber colors, or not allowing cosmetics or jewelry, or even avoiding hygienic practices. A look at church history reveals many things like that in practice from time to time. But whatever means by which it occurs, they were advocating some sort of self abasement by which they thought they achieved spirituality. 

And next, Paul says they worshipped angels, verse 18. What does that mean? This is where the Gnostic influence comes in, by the worship of angels.  They believed that they could achieve higher knowledge through the angels.  But the scripture says that there is one mediator between God and man. And who is that? Jesus Christ. But they were being urged to worship angels, denying the one mediator between God and man.

There is ample evidence at this particular time in Colossae that angel worship was very prevalent. But the scripture tells us that angel worship is forbidden. In Revelation, when John tried to worship an angel, twice the angel said, “Get up, do not worship me; I am a fellow servant of yours. Worship God.” Even the angels forbid us to worship them, unless, of course, they are fallen angels.  And I think that perhaps a lot of angel worship is really worship of fallen angels who reveal themselves as angels of light.

The next example he gives of false humility is those that take their stand on visions they have seen. You know, the funny thing is, I’ve never had a vision. In 62 years I’ve never seen anything. But these people who want to tell you the latest dream they had, the latest vision, the word that God spoke to them can be sort of intimidating. They are typically super pious, self-humiliating, having talked with angels, seen visions, received special revelations, claiming all sorts of amazing stuff. And the rest of us poor folks, we’re left to sitting around at Bible study, just trying to understand what it says on the page.

And that indicates the heart of the problem.  Rather than the word of God being sufficient, these people seek another revelation, a more distinctly personal word from God, a special vision from God.  And that serves to undermine the authority of God’s word.  They dare not say that God’s word is not authoritative, but in practice they reveal it’s not enough, they want God to speak directly to them.  I cannot tell you the number of people that I have talked to that claim that God has verbally, distinctly spoken to them in a verbal way.  And when those people say that sort of thing, there is nothing you can really say in return, other than “that’s nice.”  But in my mind I want to say, “why you?”  I mean, the prophets of old may have only heard from God once in their lifetime or not at all, and there are hundreds of years in history when no one heard a word from God, and yet God seems to speak to these people frequently, and about the most mundane subjects, like where to find a parking space at the mall.  It’s amazing.  It’s false spirituality.  It’s false humility.  But as Peter said, we have the prophetic word made more sure.  We have God’s word written down for us.  And it is more than sufficient for every need.

The last example may just be more of summary of their attitude, rather than a false doctrine, per se.  Paul says they are “inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.”  In other words, they have a big ego, but they have no basis for it. A big ego is a person that is prideful. Paul says they have nothing to be prideful about. They are fleshly.  That’s the opposite of spiritual.  They think they are spiritual, but they are fleshly. I see that every time I turn on TBN.  I try not to turn that stuff on.  About the only time I ever see it is when I’m in a hotel room and I turn on the TV.  But these people parading around as super spiritual, claiming all sorts of special powers, hearing from God, naming and claiming all sorts of things, and yet their lifestyle reveals that they are all about the flesh.  They are all about money.  And they fly private jets and live in lavish houses and so forth.  Inflated without cause in their fleshly minds.

Against that false spirituality Paul gives the correct principle in vs19 “and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.”  Spiritual maturity, spiritual growth, comes from holding fast to the head.  And the head of the body is Christ.  It’s not Christ plus something else.  It’s just Christ.  He is sufficient. His word is sufficient. Obedience to Christ produces spiritual maturity.  It’s very notable that those who want to claim all these experiences tend to put a very low value on obedience.  They value experience, but they don’t value obedience.  But that does’t produce spiritual maturity, it only produces mysticism, which is the devil’s duplication of the real thing.

The third area of false teaching pervading the church of the Colossians is asceticism. The dictionary defines an ascetic as somebody who lives a life of rigorous self-denial. An ascetic is somebody who sells everything and goes and lives in a monastery. Self imposed discipline and abstention.  The idea that the only way to be truly spiritual people are the people is to become monks or nuns and go live in a monastery. Or the only truly spiritual people are the people who have nothing, sell everything and live in absolute, abject poverty.

Paul speaks to that false teaching in vs 20-23;  “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,  “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all [refer] [to] things destined to perish with use)–in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, [but are] of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

Paul says if Christ is your representative, and you are in Christ, then you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world. Things like eating, drinking, being consumed with bodily functions, with the basic principles of living.  With Christ we have died to the natural man, and now we live in the spirit.  That doesn’t mean we stop eating or sleeping or working, etc.  But those things are no longer the reason for our life.  We have a higher purpose. And since these elementary things no longer control us, neither does neglecting them or depriving yourself of them lead to a higher spirituality. 

Spiritual purity, holiness is not found in denial of the body.  The ascetics of the past have thought that the path to holiness was to deny any bodily pleasure, to eat only bread and water, to forego sex in marriage, to go live on a mountain alone, to go without washing, or living without basic human necessities.  But Paul is saying if we are saved, then the body has already died with Christ.  Those things do not rule us.  But we now live in the Spirit.  And to deny these things of the flesh does not affect our spirituality.

Look at vs 21, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” You can almost hear the super pious tone in which someone might say that.  As if denying such things invoked a higher spiritual quality. He says saying such things refer to things destined to perish with use. The question then is why are you attributing eternal value to that which is passing away? 

Now when he says “in accordance to the commandments and teaching of men”  I think Paul is referring here to the commandments and the traditions of the Jews which had the semblance of holiness, but in fact were not a means of holiness.  They were for a time and a particular people, to be a picture of what was to be true in Christ.  I think this is further evidence of the Gnostic Judaism type of false doctrine that was pervasive in the church.  It somehow incorporated these ascetic restrictions on food and handling and touching of various things which were considered unclean. 

Paul gives his rebuttal to this false teaching in Vs23, “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

On the outside, it looks like you are holy because of these restrictions you have.  But Paul says that these outward manifestations are of no real value when it comes to indulging in the lusts of the flesh. 

So how do we guard against fleshly indulgence? Gal 5:16 tells us, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”  Walk by the Spirit is not worshipping angels, or seeing visions, or having experiences, it’s simply living according to the word of God which is authored by the Holy Spirit.  There is nothing mystical about it.  There is no mystical bypass around the spiritual discipline which produces spiritual maturity.  Just trust and obey. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. As Jesus said, “you are my disciples if you do what I command you.”  God has given us His word that we might know all that He has for us, and all that He requires of us.  Let us devote ourselves to that, and do not let anyone mislead us to think that we can achieve spirituality apart from clinging only to Christ.