5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and
covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath
of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in
them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk
from your mouth.9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with
its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in
knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:5-10
In the first chapter of Colossians, Paul
focuses on the preeminence of Christ.
In Him, through, Him, for Him, by Him all things were created. He is before all
things. He is the head of the body, the Church. The mystery of the gospel is
revealed through Him.
In the next chapter, Paul reminds the Colossians
to stand firm in their faith. To not
allow false teachers to trip them up or make them feel judged or unqualified. The
gospel of Jesus is sufficient…nothing
should be added to it or taken from it.
In this third chapter of Colossians, Paul
begins to describe what it looks like to live in our new life in Christ. First and
foremost, we are to set our minds on the
things of God, not earthly things. But we are also to take some old things
off and put some new things on.
What are we to take off, or put to death? Earthly sinful ways of living. Paul
gives examples that really cover the spectrum of sin in our lives…sexual
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness. He likens these to
idolatry. It is putting our passions/desires above the things of God, in
essence making them an idol in our lives. He goes on to list additional things
we must put away…anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from our mouth,
lying.
Didn’t Paul just go through a lot of
effort to make sure we weren’t adding to or subtracting from the work of Jesus,
even criticizing certain do/do not lists?
Yes, but the difference is ritualistic religious practices to earn
salvation versus holy living. The bottom
line is God is holy and just and sin cannot be tolerated by His people.
Sin is a big deal to God. Just because we
don’t always see the immediate consequences of sin doesn’t mean they aren’t there
waiting to be poured out. Sin must be paid for. Justice will come to pass and God’s wrath poured out. Either on Jesus,
who took all the wrath of our sin upon Himself on the cross for those who
believe and put their faith in Him, or on the individual offender. A time
will come when all sin must be paid for in full.
As Christians we declare Jesus as our Lord AND Savior. We are comfortable
with the Savior part, but less so with the Lord part. As Lord, He is in
charge. We willingly submit to His will, plans and way of living. We put off
the old self, with us as lord, and put on the new self, with Jesus as Lord.
Think hard
for a moment about who is truly lord over your life. Your
family, your ambition, your health, your kids’ future, your security, your social
status, your financial situation…or Jesus. Whose voice and whose direction are
you most likely to follow on a daily basis? It becomes more clear what dying to
self looks like. And if it sounds hard, it is. Jesus says,
If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish
ways, take up your cross, and follow me. Matthew
16:24
Even our author Paul struggled…
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the
flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I
want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who
do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that
nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my
flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry
it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.21 So I find it to be a law that when I want
to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law
of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and
making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Romans 7:14-23
But be sure that it is easier than taking the wrath upon ourselves
on judgement day. And if we are earnestly seeking God first in all things, the
ability to overcome will be provided to us. We keep pressing on in faith.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice
in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-3
How we live matters. It reflects who is Lord in our life. Yes, we mess up. Some things in us are still hidden and we wrestle
with sin and earthly things. Our Savior Jesus has covered it all indeed. But
our part is seek His forgiveness to repent…constantly turning from our old ways
steeped in sin.
God is a loving and just God. Justice will
come to pass. But God is also patient.
Patient for people to come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. He desires for all to be saved.
O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Matthew 23:37
Say to
them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the
wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Ezekiel 33:11
In His love and patience, He gives an abundance of warnings. In the Old Testament it was by way of specific people, judges,
prophets. In the New Testament, He comes to the earth in flesh to testify to
this truth and accomplish it. And post resurrection, it is through the Church body.
It is through us! We are to be the voice testifying to truth.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go
therefore and make
disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with
you always, to the end
of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
It matters that we are living as
disciples making disciples. In our time, we
are the vehicle for making salvation through Jesus known. Of showing people
God’s plan to have the wrath of our sins paid by Jesus.
Make no mistake, judgment day is coming. For
those of us who have pressed on in our faith, it will be a beautiful day of
full revelation. But for those who continued to deny Jesus, it will be painful
and the punishment eternal. Excerpts from the last four chapters of the Bible…
11 Then I
saw heaven opened,
and behold, a white
horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his
head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will
tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords…
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was
seated on it. From his presence earth and
sky fled away, and no place
was found for them.12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead
were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in
them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if
anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire...
Then
I saw a new heaven
and a new earth, for the first heaven and
the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He
will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for
the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life
without payment. 7 The one who conquers
will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the
cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death”…
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come,
Lord Jesus! Revelation 19:11-16; 20:11-15;
21:1-8, 22:20
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