Colossians 3:1-17 Sermon given September 10, 2017

This last Sunday, September 10th, the sermon covered the scripture found at Colossians 3:1-17.  This was a sermon of conviction; not every sermon can be (or should be) all nice and sweet... this week was a reminder that we all fall short of the glory of God.

It's not a long sermon at under 14 and a half minutes, and most of it was (out of fashion for me) from a manuscript.  I did this because I knew I had to keep the sermon reasonably short due to other events outside of worship.  I've included the manuscript which is only minus the introduction and some history about the letter to the Colossians.  Please take a moment and watch the video or read through the manuscript.

Thank you all for stopping by and please remember to...

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His grace, glory, and love,
Roy

Colossians 3:1-17New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The New Life in Christ
3 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your[a] life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.[b] 7 These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.[c] 8 But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive[d] language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11 In that renewal[e] there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord[f] has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ[g] dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.[h] 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Footnotes:

a) Colossians 3:4 Other authorities read our
b) Colossians 3:6 Other ancient authorities lack on those who are disobedient (Gk the children of disobedience)
c) Colossians 3:7 Or living among such people
d) Colossians 3:8 Or filthy
e) Colossians 3:11 Gk its creator, 11 where
f) Colossians 3:13 Other ancient authorities read just as Christ
g) Colossians 3:16 Other ancient authorities read of God, or of the Lord
h) Colossians 3:16 Other ancient authorities read to the Lord

Partial Manuscript of the Sermon given on Sept. 10, 2017

Colossians 3:1-21  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

3 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

If you've been raised with Christ has your life changed?  Are you focused on earthly things or focused on Christ who has risen and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  How many here have been baptized, especially those who've been baptized in a believers baptism or in other words dunked? All of you and myself as well have symbolically died to our old way of being and been raised again in and with Christ.  It is Christ who has hidden your old way of being.
I've said it many times, your life may be the only Bible that someone will ever read. Is your life revealing Christ to those around you?  That's a question we should each ask ourselves every morning and every evening of our lives.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 

Turn your backs on your old ways of being.  Here the author makes us a bit uncomfortable in his verbiage...

Fornication is defined as sexual intercourse outside the confines of the marital bed. Though it's not politically correct nor considered polite in today's world to point these things out, it's quite plain that whomever wrote Colossians is warning us that we who have been risen again with Christ... are called to live up to a certain standard of behavior.  Put to death, fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, I believe all of these are addressed towards sexual sins and all of these are difficult to preach to and even harder to live up to. But, we've been called again to a higher standard. Let us each examine our own lives and reflect upon ourselves.

I've told a few of you the story about how before I came here to Lake City, that during an interview with another church, actually a Baptist Church, that one of the ladies on their search committee asked me a very pointed question.  She asked if I would ever conduct a wedding for a couple that had been living together.  I could see in her eyes the answer that she wanted, of course she wanted me to say that 'NO' I would not... but rather I said “yes”, that I would and I went on to say “you see they unlike most of us... are doing something about their sin.” You could also see in her eyes that she didn't care for my answer, you see she wanted to focus on another's sin not be reminded of her own.

Greed, this one isn't sexual in nature, rather it's a caution about placing things on a higher scale than you place God.  The writer clarifies his commentary and reminds us that greed is idolatry... do not let anything come before God in your lives.

7 These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. 8 But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11 In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

In this new way of being, it doesn't matter who or what you are.  What matters is how you... we... treat one another. By now, you have all more than likely heard me say my own quote “If when reading scripture you never feel convicted, if you never see the hairy hand of God pointing a fat finger right back at you... well then you're not paying close enough attention”.  

If you didn't get a peek of a fat pointing finger at fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, then I'm willing to bet you spied one... or more... at anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive language, or telling an untruth.  Don't worry about the fingers pointing at the person beside you either... you and I have more than enough to be concerned about with the fingers aimed in our own direction.

These words are of course very similar to what we read in the book of Ephesians.

Ephesians 4:25-32
25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not make room for the devil. 28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up,[b] as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 

We are to have clothed ourselves with a new self, the act of submersion in that baptistery is not only a symbolic death but a symbolic re-clothing.  We are to put on the robes of Christ. And as the author of Colossians says here there is no longer Greek, Jew, circumcised or those under the law, uncircumcised or those born as a gentile, no longer slave nor free, for all are one in Christ.  This closely follows the language found in the book of Galatians, a letter that is indisputably written by the Apostle Paul.

Galatians 3:28 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Of course, it is important to note that in Paul's own words he includes that there is no distinction between male or female.  When our God looks at us He does not see a white man or an African-American female, He doesn't see a sex nor an ethnicity at all... what He sees is one of His children.  A child that He loves, and a child that He wants to have a relationship with for all eternity.

12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 

Again we are reminded of the words found in Ephesians that we just read a moment ago: 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Forgiveness of others is serious and vital business, in fact as it says... just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

In the Gospel of Mark we read an even more startling statement:

Mark 11:26  New King James Version (NKJV)
26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

And the Gospel of Matthew repeats this message:

Matthew 6:15New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

It appears that God really means it... we are to forgive those who trespass, sin, or are indebted to us. The extension of grace is not just important... it's imperative. 

14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.


Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, be in a constant state of gratitude to God for all the blessings and the grace that He extends to us, and be always in a state of praise and worship to Him and live your lives in the name of your Lord... Jesus.