The Christian's Daily Life

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

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This is the 24th week of our study in the book of Colossians and next week we will wrap up this study. But this morning we are going to see Paul begin to bring the letter to a close.

The book of Colossians is one of the shortest of Paul’s letters but it is also one of the most exciting because in this letter Paul is writing to a young church that is just discovering what it means to be Christians, what it means to trust in and follow Christ, and they are learning how their newfound faith interacts with the philosophies of the culture around them. The main theme of this book is the Gospel Jesus Christ. The good news of how God sent His Son to save us from our sin by dying on the cross in our place and being raised from the dead to seal our forgiveness.

Now you might be thinking, “Why does Paul want to write a letter to a church filled with believers and teach them about something they already know and believe?” For two reasons: 1. Is that we never graduate up from our need to understand and appreciate the gospel. The fact that God loves us and saves us by His grace alone not only forms our identity as Christians but it also forms the basis of our motivation to love and serve God. We don’t obey so that God will save us, we obey because He has saved us.

2. Paul makes the gospel the theme of this letter because within this small church the gospel has come under attack. Paul is writing this letter is to warn and protect this church from false teaching that had crept its way into this brand new baby church.

You see, there is a group of people who are teaching things that aren’t true and Paul is writing this letter to help the church sort through what they are hearing. This group is saying that in addition to Jesus we need to add a whole host of religious rituals and practices to our lives in order to be acceptable to God. But Paul wants the church to know the truth that Christ is more than enough. So he writes this letter to help them sort through what is true and what is false.

Transition…

Over the last 24 weeks, we have been learning the truth about who Jesus is and what He came to accomplish. We have learned how the gospel affects all of our relationships from God Himself all the way down to our neighbors. But here at the end, we are going to see things come down to the very basics of how we live our day to day life. He has taken us on a journey from the eternal being of Christ all the way down here to the way we live each day as followers of Christ.

This morning we are going to see 4 daily rhythms that should mark our lives as Christians.

Col 4:2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Sermon Focus…

There are really two main verbs in this section and they are: Pray and Walk. These are the imperatives that Paul wants us to see as part of our daily lives as Christians. But the other parts are meant to help us to more clearly and thoroughly understand how our prayers and our behavior are to be directed. This final section is intended to be very simple and very practical. This is what our day to day life as a Christian should look like.

I. Devote Yourself to Prayer (v. 2)

Col 4:2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Question: Can anyone remember how many times you’ve become frustrated this past week because you are in a hurry and everybody around you seems to be on vacation? How many times have you become frustrated because someone was driving too slow in the passing lane? Or how many times have you become frustrated and impatient with someone who couldn’t make his or her mind up at the coffee shop, or a restaurant?

In the summer time, one of the things our family has learned to do to try and cope with the Texas heat is to get out of the house together and go to an indoor mall. This gives us the chance to get away together; people watch a little bit and enjoy someone else’s cold air. But sometimes walking in the mall becomes a source frustration for me that I am sure each of you can identify with. You know when you are in a place and you can see in the distance a store that you want to get to, but in front of you is a family of 4-5 people who is spread out taking up the whole aisle and they are walking so slow that they might as well be standing still.

Don’t people realize that they are being rude and that they are taking up the whole walkway? Don’t they realize that they are being self-absorbed by not focusing on my need to get around them? Don’t they realize that their conversation is not nearly as important to me as it is to them?

This happens to me all the time and then something else happens to me. I realize that all the accusations that are running through my head about these insensitive and selfish people are actually the way that I am acting on them. I’m the self-absorbed person who thinks my needs come before everyone else. I’m the one being rude staring down my nose at people who are just having a good time together. My biggest problem in that moment is not the group of people in front of me, it’s the self-absorbed jerk inside of me that’s the problem. And often I am too busy to realize it before it happens.

My guess is that I’m not alone. We get so caught up in the frantic pace of American life that we don’t slow down and focus our attention on what really matters. There is always a deadline in front of us and even when we should be relaxing we are still working. About a quarter of all vacationers say they check their voice and email while on vacation. Many others refuse to take a vacation because of the fear of the pile up that will be waiting on them when they get back. We live at a pace that makes us think we are on a deadline even when we’re not.

The technology in our hand keeps us from slowing down because every couple of minutes we get that critically important notification that somebody actually liked something. Our inbox is a constant reminder that we have a lot of things to respond to and very little time to get it done. Meetings fill our calendars, responsibilities at work, at home, at church, to our neighbors, etc.

Our hearts are filled with attitudes and motivations that want to put our needs in front of the needs of others. The pace of our lives is relentless. The demand on our attention is constant and ever growing. Our responsibilities seem to be limitless. And the question is what is our antidote to all this stress, noise, obligations, deadlines, and busyness?

“The pace of an industrialized America whispers insistently to all of us every day, ‘Hurry up!’”[1]

But prayer is Gods way of inviting us and commanding us to slow down.

“Slow down and pray.” Let me give you a couple of examples of this from the life of Jesus.

Mark 1:35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Luke 5:15 But now, even more, the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would often withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Over and over, we see in Jesus’ life that the demands on his time are growing but He withdraws from all the demands and busyness in order to pray? Does it surprise us that Jesus withdraws from the crowds to pray?

I don’t know all the reasons why Jesus prayed so much, even in the face of great demands but we can probably put together a short list:

1. Jesus prayed this way because He loved communicating with the Father

2. Jesus prayed this way because He needed guidance and comfort which He received from communion with God.

3. Jesus prayed this way because His task was great and He needed spiritual help which He gained from fellowship with God.

4. Jesus prayed this way to set an example for us to follow and the example is that prayer is as common to the life of God’s people as singing is to a mockingbird.

Prayer was as common to Jesus as our morning coffee is to us. It’s the way he started the day and the way he finished the day. Deadlines didn’t get in the way of prayer; they drove home the need for more prayer.

The pace of our lives is set to constantly try and make us hurry up, but God wants us to slow down. He wants us to remember that He is God and we are not. He wants us to rest in the fact that though we do have weighty responsibilities we should also remember that we can’t do it alone.

John Piper writes:

“The very spirit and essence of prayer is dependence. So, even when we are not speaking consciously to God, there is a deep, abiding dependence on him that is woven into the very essence of our faith. In that sense, we are praying. We are experiencing a spirit of dependence continuously, and that kind of disposition is, I think, right at the heart of what God creates when he creates a Christian. There should be a spirit of dependence that permeates all we do.”

So here’s the first application for us in how to live for Christ today; rather than allowing your schedule, your iPhone, and your inbox to drive you toward irritability, selfishness and stress; allow those things to drive you to prayer. Build prayer into the rhythm of your morning as consistently as coffee. Voice your dependence upon God. Ask for His help in keeping a watch on your heart and life.

But there is something specific that we should also be praying for…Gospel Advance.

II. Pray for the Gospel’s Advance (v. 3-4)

3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Don’t miss the fact of what Paul is asking for here and the context of his request. He is in prison for preaching the gospel and here we see him asking the church to pray for God to enable him to…preach the gospel. This man lived with a sense of gospel urgency that was incredible and all of us could stand to catch some of what he had.

Paul here is asking for one of two things: either he is asking for God to open the door of his prison cell so that he can take the gospel out into the world. Or, he is praying for God to open the hearts of his hearers so that they will see their need of Christ and will repent and believe. Either way, he is calling on the church to pray for the gospel to advance and bear fruit, and he wants to be a part of that even if that means he remains behind bars.

Do you ever find yourself at a loss for what to pray for? Pray for boldness and a burning desire to share the gospel. Pray that the gospel would be declared and that more people would be born again. The heartbeat of the Christian life is the gospel, that we are saved from our sin and the wrath of God because Christ took our place on the cross. We deserved death and judgment, but in His mercy, God applied the blood of Christ to our account. We are saved by faith in Him and when we truly come to an understanding of this gospel reality we want others to know it as well.

The result is two-fold: we pray and we proclaim. First of all, we bear witness to the testimony of Christ; we preach the gospel. We teach it to our children, we share it with our friends, we comfort our family with the truth in the hopes that all will see their need of Christ and believe. Secondly, we pray for God to make the gospel clear and undeniable. Pray for your lost loved ones and ask God to open their eyes and hearts to the gospel truth.

Yes, there are things going on in your life that you should pray about. There are big decisions in front of you and you should be praying for God for wisdom, guidance, patience, and confidence. There are things going on in the lives of others that you should be praying about: sickness, uncertainty, marital problems, struggles with sin, etc. That’s why we email out a weekly prayer list. But there is one major thing going on in the world that we should be praying about all the time and it’s the need for folks to hear the gospel and be saved.

1. Devote Yourself to Prayer, 2. Pray for the Gospel’s Advance…

III. Live Wisely (v. 5)

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

Be wise in the way you act, especially toward outsiders/unbelievers. You see in this verse that Paul assumes that Christians are going to be in regular contact with those who are outside the faith. And because we are going to be engaging with unbelievers on a regular basis he wants us to make the most of our time with them. How are we supposed to do that? By conducting ourselves with wisdom.

Now, this is going to be a challenge for us because at a foundational level we are more prone to feeling than we are thinking. And wisdom requires that we think our way through life more than we feel our way through life. Most of us, not all, but most of us have more of a tendency to elevate the importance of how something makes us feel over the importance of whether or not it is right and wise. There is room in our lives for both, but notice that Paul doesn’t say that we should walk in emotion toward outsiders. He calls for wisdom.

Christian Wisdom is the mental capacity to understand and function according to Biblical truth. As Christians, we should govern our conduct with unbelievers on the basis of Biblical wisdom. What constitutes Biblical wisdom?

First, it begins with a proper fear of God which means we stand in awe of God and we give appropriate respect to His Word. Our lives are oriented around our Creator God as the center and source of all things.

Second, we let the word of God/Christ dwell in us richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another. We read the Bible. We study the Bible. We listen to sound teaching and we let all that we learn shape our view of the world, of family, of others, of life.

Third, the process through the decisions in your life with the fear of God and the Word of God as the guiding principles. Some decisions are simple because the Word of God is clear.

Let me give you a few questions to help us make decisions when it’s not so clear what to do.

1. Is this spiritually beneficial to me personally and to the gospel generally?

2. Will this decision make God look glorious or will it slander His name?

3. Will this cause me to lose self-control?

4. Will my actions be affecting others in a sinful way or a godly way?

5. Does this violate God Word? Is it illegal?

6. Can I do this in a way that glorifies God?

7. Am I following the example of Jesus to help reconcile sinners to God?

Christ calls us to walk in wisdom with outsiders and not waste our time with them. In other words, we should make use of every opportunity to magnify Christ in our relationship with others. There should be a greater sense of urgency in us about the gospel and the need for other to see and hear the truth.

And when we do speak up we should speak of grace and with grace…

1. Devote Yourself to Prayer, 2. Pray for the Gospel’s Advance, 3. Live Wisely…

IV. Speak Graciously/Powerfully (v. 6)

6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Conduct and speech go hand in hand. The way we feel or think in the moment is typically going to come out of our mouths because the primary way that we communicate is through speech. And so a component of the command for us to walk in wisdom is to exercise self-control in the area of our speech. Once again this is going to be hard for many of us because we have a tendency to say what we feel and Paul is saying that we need to let our speech be filtered through grace and seasoned with salt.

Let your speech be gracious and salty. One of these refers to the attitude of our communication while the other refers to the impact of our words. To speak graciously means that we speak with care and concern for others. There is a connection between the attitude of our hearts and the way we communicate with others. For instance, if you are an angry person it is going to come out of your mouth. If you are a bitter person, the people around you know it because of the way you talk. If you are a person who has come to understand and enjoy the grace of God then that grace should flow out of your mouth to others.

For our speech to be salty means that we should speak in a way that makes an impact. This is not a reference to speaking like a sailor, but a reference to speech that is witty, winsome and powerful. This doesn’t mean that we master the art of the one-liner but that our words have an impact on a person’s heart. I think the best way that we can do this is to be so thoroughly familiar with the rudimentary truths of the Christian faith that we can give clear and powerful answers.

1. Devote Yourself to Prayer, 2. Pray for the Gospel’s Advance, 3. Live Wisely and 4. Speak Graciously.

Conclusion…

These are foundational disciplines for living the Christian life and if we aren't careful we may learn to treat them like an old set of golf clubs. Some of us have an old set of clubs and back in the day we used them all the time, but over the years those clubs got pushed to the back of the garage and every now and then we pull them out to go play a round. Then we come home, shove them back in the corner and forget about them for months. This is the definition of a hobby, and Christianity is not a hobby, but we often treat it like it is.

Prayer shouldn't be that thing we do once every couple of months. Advancing the gospel shouldn't be that thing we only did back in college. Living with godly wisdom is the calling every day. Speaking with grace and impacting the lives of others with the truth should be our daily goal…

At the end of the day, as Christians, we want to let the gospel shape our lives. We want to value what God values and we want to love what He loves. We don’t want to live as though the only things that matter are the items on our to-do list, but rather we want to live by pressing into the spiritual reality that God is there and He loves us and He saved us and He wants us to cry out to Him in prayer.

He wants us to look at the people in our lives not just as those who serve to meet our needs in some way but as souls who will live for eternity. He wants us to live like eternity really matters and that means we care about where our loved ones will spend eternity. So we pray to God for gospel courage and we pray to God for gospel fruit. We get up every morning desiring to live wisely and to speak graciously/powerfully.

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[1] Jared Wilson, Abide pg. 37

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ (2 of 2)

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17

Christ's Victory is our Salvation

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 2:11-15

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There are times when I am preparing a sermon and I know that the subject matter is going to make some of you uncomfortable. There are times when I think, “Oh this should be helpful.” Or “This will be difficult” or even “this is going to be offensive.” It’s not my intention to be offensive but I know that God’s Word has that effect on our hearts, so in those moments I want to check my own heart, try to say things carefully and be faithful to the text. But in the end, I often have a good idea of how the sermon is going to impact the congregation.

But there are rarely those times when I know the sermon is going to make half of you squirmy and uncomfortable; today is one of those days because our subject is circumcision.

Now we know that this issue comes up throughout Scripture and our understanding of why it’s a thing could range from, “I have no clue” to “Got it! Let’s move on.” Many of us understand that it’s more of an Old Testament/Old Covenant command and we are New Covenant people so why even bring it up? The reason we need to bring it up is because it’s right here in our text and in some way it is becoming a hindrance to the Colossians church.

In Colossians, and other books of the NT, the issue of circumcision hasn’t gone away, in fact it is a main point of emphasis in several books of the NT. Jesus talks about it quite a bit in the gospels of Luke and John. Circumcision comes front and center in the book of Acts. Paul addresses it in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and it even comes up in the book of Titus.

Circumcision was a very significant issue/problem for the early church and that’s why we see it in our text this morning. But you’ll notice that the way Paul talks about it is very different from the way it was viewed in the OT. So let’s read the text and try to understand why this issue has come up again and what it means now that Christ has come.

Transition…

Col 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Sermon Focus…

Let’s remember that in this section Paul is addressing false teaching that is aimed to cause the church to put their confidence in something other than Christ. Some Bible scholars believe that the false teachers are exclusively Jewish and you can see why in this section. But Paul’s wants the church to understand that while Jewish tradition is valuable and important, it all points to Jesus. In verse 17 he says that the traditions and laws are but a shadow while Christ is the substance.

So Paul’s point in these verses is to show how Jesus is better and in verses 11-15 he wants to teach us 4 ways that Jesus and His gospel are better.

I. Jesus is better because He solves the problem in our heart (V. 11)

One of the most significant debates that the early church had to work through was the issue of how much Jewish law and tradition would continue into the life of the church. Should Christians be circumcised as well as baptized? Should Christians observe the Passover and the Lord’s Supper? Should Christians go to temple on the Sabbath and gather with the church on Sunday (the Lord’s Day)? These were questions that needed to be answered, but at first they weren’t pressing.

The early church was made up of Jews who had all been circumcised, who observed Passover and who went to temple on Sabbath (Saturday). But when the gospel began to spread to the Gentiles, these issues came front and center. A little history on this issue…

In Acts 10 God gave Peter a vision and this vision would motivate him to go to the house of a Gentile named Cornelius, an Italian soldier who loved God. When Peter came to Cornelius’ house he shared the gospel with everyone present. And while Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on everyone in the house and they began to speak in tongues even though they were uncircumcised.

Now this is incredibly significant and here’s why. The Old Testament demonstrated that in order for God’s presence to dwell in the midst of His people they must be ritually pure and to be ritually pure meant circumcision, it meant that sacrifices had to be offered, it meant strict dietary laws, and they needed to have a consecrated priesthood serving as a mediator. There were even times when all of this was in place and God would still not allow the people to come into His presence. All of this was to demonstrate that the sinfulness of man is a barrier to fellowship with our holy God.

But in Acts 10 we see this whole paradigm turned upside down. God’s presence has fallen on a group of people who were uncircumcised, ritually unclean, Gentiles. They had made no sacrifices to atone for their sin, they had no priesthood mediating for them and yet they believe the gospel and have been filled with the Holy Spirit. God is pleased to dwell, not just near, but within these people despite their lack of adherence to the law of Moses. This was amazing and confusing at the same time.

Shortly after this, Paul and Barnabas begin their ministry together and they too preached the gospel to the Gentiles, many of whom believed. Gentiles were getting saved and were being filled with the Holy Spirit but many of the Jews weren’t comfortable with what was taking place. The whole situation came to a head in Acts 15.

1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.

4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

So here we see a group of Jewish believers who were convinced that in order for Gentile Christians to be justified in the eyes of God, they must be circumcised and they must keep the law of Moses. This sparked a big debate and in the end a decision was reached. Both Peter and James spoke up and here is what they had to say.

Acts 15:7 …Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

Then James, the brother of Jesus, stood up and said…

28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

Now why am I bringing up all of this history and this old debate? Because I believe this debate is what Paul is dealing with in the book of Colossians. The issue of circumcision simply will not go away and this debate has found its way into this young church. A group of people, most likely a group known as Judaizers, had begun to teach that in order for these Gentiles to be truly saved they must undergo circumcision according to the law of Moses.

These same men had begun to teach that Christ wasn’t enough. That faith wasn’t sufficient and if these people truly wanted to be the people of God they must become Jews, be circumcised and then obey the law of Moses.

But Paul says here in Colossian 2:11 that won’t be necessary because, as believers in Christ, they have already been circumcised.

Col 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

Paul is making a distinction between circumcision performed by man in the flesh and circumcision performed by Christ in the heart. And this is what the practice of circumcision has been pointing to all along.

In Genesis 17 we see God command Abraham to institute circumcision as a sign of God’s covenant relationship with him. There wasn’t much explanation as to why this was taking place, just that God wanted it to be a sign of his covenant with Abraham.

Then later in Exodus we see it come up again. Moses’ son has to be circumcised so that Moses didn’t die under the wrath of God and then when the law is given at Sinai it includes circumcision. And in the law we learn that circumcision is the external and physical sign of the covenant relationship between God and His people. It was an outward mark of the relationship that existed and it symbolized that in order for man to come into relationship with God, something needed to be removed from us, our sin needed to be removed from us.

As a symbol, circumcision pointed to a deeper truth that went beyond the physical act. Circumcision was designed as a metaphor to show us the deep need of our soul. There is sin in us and it rests in our hearts and this sin in our hearts needs to be cut away if we are to have peace and fellowship with God.

This is what Moses taught in Deuteronomy 10:16 when he says, “Circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and no longer be stubborn.” He is saying, “As the foreskin is cut away from your flesh, your stubborn rebellion needs to be cut away from your heart.”

But how can we cut the rebellion out of our own hearts? We can’t, but God can.

In Deuteronomy 30:6 Moses passed on this promise, “The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” In order for us to live as the people of God we need God to remove the sin from our hearts.

And Paul is saying that this has already happened in those who believe. He is saying that what marks us as the people of God is not the circumcision of our flesh but the circumcision of our hearts, which is evidenced by our conversion. IOW, when you were born again this took place. When the gospel was preached and the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of your heart showing you that you were a sinner in need of Christ, that is when this circumcision in your heart took place.

God called you from death to life and the Spirit removed your heart of stone and gave to you a heart of flesh and you received Christ Jesus as Lord. You believed the gospel and repented of your sin and you believe today; all of this is evidence that your Christian circumcision is complete.

We needed a circumcision of the heart and only Jesus provides that for us. Jesus is Better in that He Cures the Problem in our Hearts.  But there is another way that Jesus is better…

II. Jesus is Better Because He Has Given Us New Life (V. 12)

12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him…

Circumcision as a symbol pointed to our need for God to remove the sin from our heart. Baptism as a symbol points to the reality that by faith in Christ we have been circumcised in our hearts and we have been raised from death to live a new life. And it seems quite clear that Paul understands Christian baptism to have taken the place of circumcision as the outward sign of our covenant relationship with God.

Circumcision, as a religious rite and symbol, pointed beyond itself to a deeper spiritual reality that God would address in the future. Baptism does the same thing but in a different way. It points beyond itself to the spiritual realities that God has already accomplished in us when we believed. Circumcision pointed forward to Jesus and baptism points back to Jesus.

And for all those who trust in Christ for salvation and who are baptized in obedience to Him, Paul wants us to understand that everything that Christ accomplished for us has been applied to us. Paul loves to use the language of “in Christ”, “with Christ”, “through Christ” and when he does this he is showing that the blessing of salvation, the security of eternal life, the power of Christ’s redeeming blood have already been applied to us.

And this is what baptism symbolizes? Here in verses 12-13 Paul teaches us to understand that Baptism symbolizes our involvement, our mysterious but very real involvement, in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Christ died and by faith we died with Him. Christ was buried and by faith we were buried also. Christ was raised from the dead by the power of God and by faith we too have been raised from the dead. Christ is alive and by faith we too are alive in a way that we weren’t alive before we believed the gospel.

As believers in Christ, we have spiritual life in us and that life didn’t become ours when we were circumcised. It didn’t become ours when we got our act together and began keeping the law. It became ours when we heard the gospel and believed.

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself.

Jesus is better because he removes sin from our hearts. Jesus is better because in Him we have new life, and Jesus is better because in Him we have forgiveness of sins.

III. Jesus is Better because in Him we have the Forgiveness of Sins (V. 13c-14)

V. 13c…having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Listen to this phrase again, “In Christ, God has forgiven us all our trespasses.” Christian your forgiveness is complete and definitive. All of our sins are forgiven.

“Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

Forgiveness makes our hearts sing and in Christ, we have been forgiven all of our sins. Paul understands that this truth, more than others, brings joy and freedom to our hearts; so he doesn’t just teach us about forgiveness with cold logic. He paints pictures for our minds.

First, he says we should understand our forgiveness in this sense that there was once a record of debt that stood against us. The judge held it in his hands and he read off all the charges that we were required to pay. In the end, the sum total of our debt couldn’t be paid. We couldn’t buy ourselves out of it and the law demanded that we give our lives to pay the price, “for the wages of sin is death.”

But Christ came and he took the ledger in His own hands. He paid our debt and covered our sin, past present and future. There is no longer a record of wrongs that can be held against us in court. Our debt has been canceled, obliterated, erased completely.

The second image brings joy as well but with a more somber tone. Paul wants us to see that this debt was paid in full but it still came at a cost. Our debt was paid by Christ himself. When Christ was crucified he wasn’t paying for his own crimes, he was paying for ours. And He paid our debt to the very last drop and then he died to show that the sentence had been carried out.

Jesus was nailed to the cross as payment for our sin but He didn’t remain on that cross. His body was taken down and placed in a tomb, but even that was not the end. He was raised. He was raised from the dead, showing that God the Father accepted His offering as paid in full.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Was nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Jesus is better because He fully took upon Himself the due penalty for the sins of all those who believe.

IV. Jesus is better because His victory results in our salvation (V. 15)

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Paul has one last image he wants to paint for us in this section and this image is that of Jesus as a triumphant King who rules over every authority. Jesus is the valiant warrior who stepped onto the battlefield to defeat his enemies and ours. We didn’t lift a finger in this fight, He did it all and it was hardly a contest.

He triumphed over ever ruler and he defeated every authority in creation. He conquered every human king and he disarmed every spiritual being with one devastating blow. He put them to open shame; this phrase should actually read that He stripped them bare, removing every hint of power they had and He triumphed over them singlehandedly.

The false teachers who want to lead us away from Christ with their plausible words, they stand no chance. The Judaizers who claim to know the secrets of how we can truly get our names written in God’s book of life, they are powerless against this Champion. The modern-day false prophets who teach that God’s favor comes to those who name it, claim it and pay money to get it, they will be stripped of their high-priced and high-quality garments when they stand before Jesus.

Jesus Christ is better than all of them and His victory over sin, death, and Satan has resulted in our salvation.

Conclusion…

So what does all of this mean? It means that there is nothing that you can add to the work of Christ that will make you more saved or more secure as a child of God. The mark of circumcision already rests upon you because of your faith in Christ. You have been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus and that is enough. All of your sins are forgiven, your debt is canceled, the record was nailed to the cross and you bear it no more. In Christ’s victory, you have received salvation and eternal life. All that He accomplished, all that He promised, all that He offers is yours, not by your works but by faith in Him.

But why do so many of us try to attach works to our faith? Why are all the religions in this world, save Biblical Christianity, so bent on creating a system of works that they promise will result in your salvation? Because faith is hard and we would rather take matters into our own hands.

It’s easier to go to mass and say a few hail Mary’s than it is to feel sorrow over your sin and truly live a life of repentance and faith. It’s easier to make a trip to Mecca and mark off one of the 5 pillars on your list than it is to trust that Christ’s death, burial and resurrection are all that you need. It’s easier for us to give $100 to plant a “seed of faith” in the hopes of reaping a 10-fold reward than it is to battle the sin of greed and trust that the greatest gift we can receive is salvation by faith in Christ alone.

Grace is hard because it demands we trust our souls into the hands of someone other than ourselves and at the same time grace is the most comforting thing because if we’ve ever tried to be religious we know how much of a failure we are at it.

Brothers and sisters Jesus is better so put all of your hope in Him. Rest in His victory knowing that by His triumph we too are more than conquerors. 

The Fruits of Gospel Ministry

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Series: Colossians 

Scripture: Colossians 2:1-5

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How hard are we willing to work in order to help one another grow in the faith? How much time and energy are you willing to give to see your brothers and sisters bear fruit for Christ? How far are we willing to go to safeguard the gospel in our generation? How far will you go to ensure that you and your family aren’t led away by false teaching? How hard will we work to ensure that sound doctrine is established and upheld in the church? These aren’t questions that we often ask ourselves, but we should.

The church exists to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s why we are here, to see people come to faith and to teach them to be faithful and mature Christians. The goal of the Christian life is not a lifetime of church attendance; it is to be faithful to Jesus, to grow to be more like Him and to engage in the mission He called us to.

In a parable, Jesus taught that the church is a like a field where good seed was sown. That seed has sprouted, taken root, and is now growing up and one day it will be mature, ready for harvest. But in the night an enemy came and sowed weeds in among the wheat.

The church and her message is always under attack by what appear to be well-meaning and sensible people. Their stated goal is to help a new generation of seekers find peace with God. They don’t really want to redefine the faith so much as they want to restate it in terms their generation can understand. They adopt new language, they might ask new questions, they want to help us see things in new ways and this approach isn’t always a bad thing.

Every generation needs to wrestle with the deep questions of faith. We need to study hard, pray faithfully and think deeply about the nature of the gospel and its implications for our lives today. But at the same time we need to put just as much energy into guarding our hearts against false teaching.

We need to adopt two postures when it comes to gospel ministry: we want to help nurture genuine faith in others while also guarding against false doctrine in those same people. We are like gardeners in one sense and guardians in another. We sow the seed of the gospel, we water the seed, seek to nourish it with good food and we trust God for growth and fruit. But we must also weed the garden, pull rocks out of the soil, fence out the animals that want to devour those fresh new shoots and we protect the garden from outside threats.

Transition…

This dual posture of gardener and guardian is what Paul is after in Colossians 2. The bulk of this chapter is about Paul addressing the false teaching that is affecting the church. He wants to make sure these believers aren’t led in the wrong direction but he also wants to see the church grow in the right ways. He is striking a balance between nurturing them and protecting them.

Col 2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Sermon Focus…

Here in this passage we see Five Specific Fruits of Gospel Ministry.

I. Gospel Ministers set an example for others to follow (V. 1)

Col 2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you…

The word Paul uses here is one of his favorite metaphors for Christian ministry and he takes it from the Roman athletic arena. It is often translated as striving or contending but it is the Greek word ἀγών and from it we get our terms agony or agonize. The Greeks would use this term to refer to athletes who were entering into a contest and it draws our attention to the hard work, the intense struggle that is necessary for an athlete to be able to compete in the games.

An athlete strives, agonizes and competes with all of his might and he does this in front of a watching crowd. The Greeks and Romans loved their athletes. They showered them with praise, erected statues to them; much like today those athletes and their accomplishments spurred on a whole generation of young people with dreams of athletic glory. When Roman athletes would enter the arena they were willing to put it all on the line to win and the watching crowd was focused on every move they made.

And notice here that Paul wants his readers, he wants us, to be aware of his struggle. He wants to draw the church’s attention to his agony. He wants them to see his labor and to understand what he is going through. But why? For two reasons: he wants them to see the seriousness of his instruction and he wants them to follow his example.

This is a church wrestling with what to believe about how the gospel compares with other religious teaching. Some hybrid ideas from Roman paganism and Jewish mysticism have crept in to this church and it has begun to challenge the teaching of Christ. So, this church is struggling to know what to believe. They are not sure if the Christian message is true, they are not sure if Christ is enough and here is Paul saying, “Let my confidence in Christ encourage you.”

Paul is saying, “I’ve stepped into the arena, not as an athlete struggling for a prize, but as a minister struggling to make the gospel known and I am willing to lay my life on the line for this gospel and for you” As Paul writes this letter he is sitting in a Roman prison for preaching the gospel and he wants this knowledge to help strengthen their faith in Christ.

How does his suffering strengthen their faith in Christ? Let’s ask a few questions…

Why would a man put his life on the line day in and day out for something unless he was convinced it was true? Why would Paul, a genius of a man, allow himself to suffer imprisonment on account of his obedience to Jesus unless he was convinced that obedience to Jesus was worth dying for? Why, would he write a letter from prison to the people of Colossae and Laodicea encouraging them to trust in the sufficiency of Christ unless he himself trusted his own life to the sufficiency of Christ?

Paul wanted the people of Colossae to know about his suffering because he wants his example to strengthen their trust in Jesus and the gospel. Brothers and sisters, one of the fruits of the gospel in our lives, one of the fruits of our gospel ministry, is the impact that our example of faithfulness will have on other believers.

The primary example that we are to follow is the example of Jesus:

John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

I Peter 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

Christ is the prime example for us to follow. But also, within the church God has also left us faithful examples in the men and women who have gone before us. This is the nature of discipleship, that those who follow Christ leave an example for the next generation to follow.

Phil 3:17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

There is great benefit to our struggle in the faith. Our labor for the sake of the gospel bears a unique kind of fruit in the lives of others. Our labor is a testimony of the truth of the gospel fleshed out in our lives. Paul wants the church to see his struggle and to be encouraged by it to trust in Christ all the more.

But how does he want them to be encouraged?

II. Gospel Ministry Encourages the Hearts of Believers (v. 2)

2 that their hearts may be encouraged…

Paul wants the knowledge of his struggling to have an effect upon our hearts or more accurately upon the core of our being. We have to be careful not to assume that when the bible mentions the heart that it is simply referring to our emotions. When the Bible uses the term Heart it means to refer to our emotions but not exclusively and certainly not on a superficial level.

The heart refers to the core of our being, the seat of our emotions, and at our core there is emotion as well as conviction. Our core/heart is the foundation of what we believe to be true, what we believe to be right; and this is what Paul wants to encourage in us.

Paul is not saying, “I really want you guys to feel good about everything.” But rather he is saying, “I want you to be strengthened and encouraged in your faith in God, your trust in Jesus alone, your confidence in the Apostles teaching.”

He wants us to have resolve in our hearts about what is right, and good and true. This is what Paul is aiming to encourage. He wants the core of our faith in Christ to be established and fortified.

But how is this going to work?  

III. Gospel Ministry Promotes Unity (v. 2)

being knit together in love…

Our faith in Christ will be encouraged to grow by the example of Paul’s struggle and by the unity that we have with other believers. Solo Christianity is not just a lonely walk but it is also not the way God intended us to live and grow. The gospel draws us into community with other believers where we can learn, grow, and be discipled by other more mature believers.

Notice that Paul uses the phrase being knit together and what he means is that the church is to be so united that we are like one big quilt or scarf. Our lives, our faith, our hearts are to be so intertwined with one another that you can’t pull us apart.

(Illus…Have you ever seen a Giant Sequoia? Giant Sequoia trees are the largest in the world and are among the most massive living things on our planet. The Giant Sequoia named The General Sherman Tree reigns supreme as the largest of the living things on earth. This tree is so large that it’s growth in a single year yields enough new wood to equal that of all the wood found in a 50 foot tree.

But these massive trees don’t grow on their own, they are interdepent. Giant Sequoias can survive in less than 3 feet (1 meter) of soil and they do this by spreading their roots out instead of down. They send their roots away from the tree, up to 300 feet (100 meters). That such mammoth trees have such shallow root depth is astonishing.

How do such trees remain upright without a deep anchoring system? Sequoias don’t grow alone, they grow together and help each other. Giant Sequoias do not compete with each other for resources, rather their huge root systems fuse together and they share resources. The complex intertwining of roots helps support these huge trees.[1]

Paul wants us as a church to benefit from one another in a similar way. He wants our unity in the faith to help us grow and mature. He wants us to be so knit together that we support one another, encourage one another, and enable one another to grow.

Now, don’t forget the context here. This young church is under attack, not from Roman officials, but from false teachers who are attacking their faith in the gospel. And the result is that this church has grown unsure about the what they believe. They want security but this new teaching has shaken the foundation of their hope. In terms of sheer emotion this is a terrible state to be in.

But Paul wants them to abandon every hope but their hope in Christ and he wants them to do this together. Their good works can’t save their soul. Their devotion to religious rituals, whether they be pagan or Jewish, can’t save their soul. Their only hope is to trust in the work of Christ to save them. Their only hope is to accept God’s grace by faith in Christ.

False teaching effects the church by small divisions that grow into church splits. One person shifts from a position of orthodoxy and they start talking to the guys in their small group. Or a person reads an article on Facebook and they start sharing it with their friends before Sunday school. Then before long there is a small group of people who have gotten off track and they start to feel themselves separated from the rest of the church or they seek to actively separate themselves from the rest of the church.

False doctrine is a ploy of Satan that seeks to tear apart the people of God. But the gospel, the pure unadulterated truth of Christ, as our only hope of salvation brings unity. Christ is the substance of our unity. If we begin to shift from our trust in Christ as the foundation of our faith, then our unity will be no more.

Christ is our tuning fork and when our hearts and lives are tuned to Him we will all be in harmony with one another.

IV. Gospel Ministry Helps Us Grow in Assurance (V. 2-3)

to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge…

Humility is a virtue of the Christian life but humility and assurance are not the same thing. Humility is a posture of the heart that says, “It’s not all about me.” Assurance is the settled trust that when it comes to salvation, “It’s all about Jesus.”

We need to be people who exercise humility in our interactions with others. We need to be patient with others, able to listen to people and eager to learn from others. But at the same time we need to be resolved on the foundations of the faith. There is no greater mystery in this world than the mystery of Christ. There is no higher knowledge to ponder than the truths of the gospel. There is no greater purpose in the universe than that, “Every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

Our assurance is rooted in Christ. Not our performance, not our worldly wisdom, not even our worldly success; but our settled faith in Christ. Our unity as a church doesn’t center around a method, a model, or even a tradition, it centers around Jesus.

Now why is all of this important? Because someone is trying to deceive this church with false doctrine and Paul wants the church to be able to defend itself. He trusts that if the church is healthy in the ways that he has described then it will be able to defend itself against the deception.

So let’s summarize what we have seen thus far…Paul wants the church to be made bold by his example (first). He wants their hearts, the deepest part of our soul, to be settled on the gospel (second). He wants them to be knit together in Christian love (third) and he wants them to have assurance that Jesus is Lord (fourth). He wants the church to be strong in all of these ways so that it can withstand the efforts of false teachers.

V. Gospel Ministry Strengthens us Against False Teaching (V. 4-5)

4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

False teaching doesn’t come in the front door and present itself as false, it comes in a window and presents itself as plausible (reasonable). If someone came into the church and sat down in your Sunday school class or your community group and claimed that Jesus was really a transgendered man who learned how to do miracles through inner eye power he picked up as a teenager in Egypt; you wouldn’t entertain them at all. You would simply say, “That’s ridiculous…” and you would move on.

But plausible arguments come across as reasonable. When you hear a plausible argument you come away saying, “I’m not sure if that’s true but it sounds reasonable.” Let me give you an example of how this is happening right now in our backyard.

(Illus…This past week I heard an example of how false teaching is finding its way into the church here in Dallas. It came in the form of a prayer request where a woman who found out that she was pregnant with triplets, via in-vitro fertilization, was asking her ladies group to pray for her to know God’s will. She and her husband were prayerfully considering whether to do selective elimination of one of the babies. They were considering whether or not it was God’s will for them to abort one of their babies because they didn’t feel that God was calling them to raise triplets, so she was calling for prayer and seeking God’s will about what to do. (15:33)

This mom was using the language of Christianity, she was asking people to pray for her, she didn’t feel God was calling her to something; but all of this was divorced from the teaching of Scripture. In other words, she wasn’t leaning on her understanding of Christian ethics or even sound Biblical logic; instead she was leaning on feelings alone. She used the language of sentimental piety to try and get the others to sympathize with her situation even though what she was considering amounts to moral horror.

This is how false teaching is creeping into the church today. It doesn’t focus on doctrine it focuses on feeling and experience. Doctrine doesn’t matter or at the very least it shouldn’t matter that much. What matters is how people feel. What matters is how tolerant we are. What matters is how sensitive we are to other people’s experience.

What we are facing in the culture around us is a complete rejection of objective truth and moral absolutes and what matters is how things make us feel. This means that we not only need to know sound doctrine but we also need to be on guard against the spirit of our age. And Paul wants us to do this together.

False teaching seeks to redefine the foundation of our Biblical worldview. It wants us to trust in Jesus + ____________. It wants us to redefine the nature of God’s love and grace? It doesn’t want us to think about who Jesus is and what Jesus came to do, it wants us to feel who Jesus is and what Jesus came to do.

It wants to say that sin against God is not the problem we need to solve, what we really need to do is to discover our true self and that happens when we embrace people for who they are.

But notice what Paul says about this kind of plausible argument in Colossians 2:8:

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ…10 who is the head of all rule and authority.

Paul is saying that doctrine matters. The teaching of Christ matters because he is God and is the source of all that is true and right and good. False teachers want to take us captive with philosophy, empty deceit and human tradition but we need to have our hearts filled with the truth.

Conclusion…

Our task in gospel ministry is to nurture and protect. We want genuine faith to grow and to produce fruit, so like Paul we labor to set an example for others to follow. We stand firm in the truth. We stand up and teach what accords with sound doctrine and when opposition comes we endure. We want encourage the hearts of believers and labor to see them resolved to trust in Christ no matter what.

But our task also involves protecting the church against the plausible arguments of false teachers. We pull weeds. We confront wolves, we expose lies and liars. We do this so that faith can grow. We labor on two fronts so that the church can be strong, and healthy and protected.

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[1] Learn More about Sequoia Trees

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The Character of Gospel Ministry (1 of 2)

Series: Colossians 

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 1:24-29

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Paul’s Conversion in Acts 26:12-18

“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” It’s a simple question but the answer will surprise you. This question comes up because Jesus’ disciples were having a conversation while they were walking from Galilee to Capernaum. To be honest it was more of an argument and it had to do with which disciple was the best disciple.

I can imagine them comparing notes about who cast out the most demons, or who had memorized more of Jesus’ sayings. I imagine Peter reminded everyone that he did in fact walk on water, even if only for a minute. I’m sure John reminded everyone that Jesus did seem to love him more than the rest. Judas probably bragged about how Jesus has asked him to manage all of the finances.

This probably wasn’t the first time they had this argument but it must have come to a head on this day because Jesus decides that it is time to set the record straight; not by pointing out who is the greatest but by teaching them what greatness means in His kingdom. Jesus tells them, “he who is least among you is the one who is great. If you want to be first in the Kingdom of God, then you must be the servant of all”

It’s not about what you do that makes you great in Christ’s Kingdom, it’s about how you serve. This is quite different than the pattern of greatness that we are accustomed to in the kingdom of this world, but don’t forget that God’s Kingdom is different, it’s upside down.

This morning we are looking again at the character of gospel ministry through the lens of the apostle Paul’s suffering. What he has to say to us is not simply an outline of the Apostolic role but is intended to serve as basic instruction for all who participate in the ministry of making disciples, which in one way or another involves every single Christian. If you are a believer in Christ, then you have been given not only the gift of salvation but also gifts that the Lord intends for you to use as you take part in the Great Commission which is found in Matthew 28:18-20.

The task that Jesus has given to all of us is that as we are going through life as His people we are to be making disciples. We are to be sharing the gospel and making disciples in our homes, in our churches and out in the world. Now it’s true that we don’t all have the same gifts nor the same responsibilities, but great commission ministry rests on all of us. Because as disciples of Christ we are all servants of God.

That’s the term Paul uses in our passage this morning. He doesn’t introduce himself as an apostle in this text, nor as an elder, nor a pastor; he calls himself a servant (διακονος). In verse 23 Paul refers to himself as a servant of the gospel. In verse 25 he calls himself a servant of the church and we saw last week that at this point in his life, Paul is willing to serve even to the point of suffering.

But, that wasn’t always the case. Paul wasn’t always so supportive of Jesus, the gospel, and the church. So what changed to bring him to the point of being a servant of Christ and a servant of the gospel, who was willing to suffer in order to make disciples and strengthen the church. That’s one of the things we are going to talk about today.

This morning we are going to continue to look at the 8 characteristics of gospel ministry that Paul outlines in verse 24-29. Last week we learned that the Spirit of Gospel Ministry is one of Joy and we learned that serving in gospel ministry often brings Suffering. Today we are going to learn the Source, Scope, and Subject of Gospel Ministry.

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Sermon Focus...

I. The Source/Stewardship of Gospel Ministry (V. 25)
V. 25of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you...

It might seem like an odd thing to say but it’s true that Paul didn’t choose gospel ministry, rather he was chosen for gospel ministry. When we first learn about Paul in Acts 9 he was on track to become the next big leader within the ranks of 1st century Pharisaism. He was the rising star of his day.

Paul was born a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin. He had a Jewish mother and a Roman father. From early on he devoted himself to the strictest Jewish religious party of the Pharisees, and he was head of his class. His life was devoted to memorizing the Torah and applying its truth to every bit of his daily life. He was a great student and undoubtedly looking at a career as a great teacher.

He was an apologist for his cause, like a 1st-century blogger ready to argue his position with anyone who disagreed. But he was willing to do more than just argue with his opponents. When we meet him in Acts 9 we find that he is a zealot and the followers of Jesus are his enemies. Paul was a persecutor, having placed himself in the legal position to condemn and kill those who claimed Jesus as the Messiah of God. The first time we meet him it’s in Jerusalem and he is holding the garments of murderers like a boxing manager holds the robe of his prize-fighter, and these men are set to stone Stephen to death.

Now, I imagine that while the men picked up stones to throw them at Stephen, they would look over their shoulders at Paul, the law expert, who quoted scripture to justify what they were doing. He was a proud man, a powerful man and a man who saw great gain in his religion and way of life. But God had another plan for Paul and he kicked it off by turning the man’s life upside down.

In Acts 26, Paul gives an account of what happened in his own words:

Acts 26:5...according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee... 9 “I was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

12 “In this connection, I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am

Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Paul had his career plan mapped out and it included stoning those who followed Jesus, but after this encounter with the Christ, Paul became a man who was willing to be stoned in order to serve the followers of Jesus. That’s a radical transformation and it came directly from God.

Notice that Paul says that he became a minister/servant according to the stewardship from God that was given to him. It wasn’t that he chose this role, he was chosen for it. And make no mistake, it was a shock to those who found out about it.

Near Damascus, there lived a man named Ananias who was a disciple of Christ. One day Ananias had a vision from God and God said to him, “I want you to get up and go into town and take a right on the straight street and stop at the house of a man named Judas. Inside you will find another man praying, his name is Saul of Tarsus.” Ananias answered back to God and said, “Are you talking about the Saul that has been killing Christians in Jerusalem?” And God answered, “Yep, that’s the one...he is a chosen instrument of mine who will carry my name to the Gentiles...I will also show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

The source of Paul’s ministry wasn’t a decided career move. He didn’t sit down to weigh out his options and chose Christian ministry. He was chosen for it. God changed his life, called him into service, and gave him a specific stewardship/responsibility to take the gospel to the Gentiles

Now, what does this mean for you and me and the ministry that we serve in today? Do we all have to have a radical conversion story and see a vision of Christ to know we are called to ministry? Not exactly.

All those who serve in gospel ministry must be born again and embrace to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And all who serve in gospel ministry should seek to use the gifts that God has given them to meet the needs of others and the needs of their local church. And let me be clear, that all Christians have been called to serve God in one capacity or another. When God calls us to salvation He calls us into service to Christ, the gospel, and the church.

Each of us has been called into service within the household of God and to shine as lights in the world. But how do we know where to serve? I’m going to try to make this really simple because I think this has often been one of the more complicated issues in the church.

It starts with an understanding of calling and I’m not talking about a Damascus road experience or some mystical prophetic word. I’m referring to the Biblical understanding that all of us are called to serve the Lord in the ministry of the Word and the making of disciples. Nowhere in the NT does God say to Christians that we are saved for nothing more than to sit and learn from others for the rest of our lives. We are all called to serve. We are all called to engage in disciple making whether it is in the home, in the church, in our neighborhoods or in the world.

Once we have embraced the fact that we are all called into service the next step is to identify what you are burdened about. What area of ministry are you most drawn to? What do you desire to do for the Lord and for the church? Is it consistent with the Scriptures?

Then I would encourage you to explore your gifts. What are you able to do? What skills and abilities do you have that could be useful to the body? In what way have you been gifted by God to serve His people? Are you a musician, an artist? Do you like to study and share what you are learning with others? Do you have organizational skills?

Then seek the wisdom, direction, and affirmation of church leaders. Spend time with men and women and get their feedback on how you can grow, on where you can serve, on how you can improve or be more consistent, more clear, more helpful, more faithful.

Then serve. Go on mission trips, assist in Sunday school, take up the offering, volunteer to serve with the deacons, as a deacon, talk to Cody about music ministry, talk to Kim about helping out with hospitality, talk to the elders about hosting a community group, leading a community group, etc.

Let’s not make this mysterious or more complicated than it should be. Here are those 5 steps: calling, burden, gifting, affirmation and service. I believe that all of these steps are initiated by the Holy Spirit in our hearts. He opens our eyes to see that our calling to salvation involves a calling to serve. He burdens our hearts to serve in specific ways. He gives us gifts to use in our service. He guides our leaders to be Biblically discerning and wise, then He empowers our service by His own strength.

Now that we have seen the source of Gospel ministry let’s turn our attention now to the Scope of Gospel Ministry.

II. The Scope/Task of Gospel Ministry (v. 25) to make the word of God fully known...

Our role is not to present ourselves and our ideas but to present God’s Word faithfully. Paul says here that his task is to present the Word of God in its fullness or to fulfill the Word of God. Now what does he mean by this?

The task of making disciples starts with a presentation of the truth. Gospel ministry is a revelatory role in that we are making the truth of God known in the world through preaching, teaching, and sharing God’s Word.

Romans 10: 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

But what does Paul mean by making the Word of God fully known? There are two ways we should understand this:

• Making the Word of God fully known must be understood to refer to Jesus Christ and the gospel as the pinnacle of revelation. The Bible is incomplete without Jesus. The OT history, law and prophecies are unfinished without the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The OT characters we love, the OT stories we learned as children, the Psalms we love to quote...these all point beyond themselves and find their ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Christ.
• Making the Word of God fully known also refers to the effects of preaching the gospel. The Word moves in power and it is not only heard, but it plows up the rocky soil of men’s hearts, it brings dead women to life, it produces fruit of the Spirit, and changes the world.

The Word of God is made fully known when the gospel is proclaimed and that proclamation accomplishes the purpose God has for it.

Now, there are countless ways that we can serve our community. There are ways that we can help the homeless, provide counsel to needy people, and feed those who are hungry. There are ways that we can show love to our neighbors, be good friends, and serve those around us at home, at work, or in the city. We can and should volunteer our time, we can and should be salt and light wherever we go. But these things are not the focal point/scope of gospel ministry.

The focal point of gospel ministry is to make the Word of God fully known. To preach the truth once for all delivered to the saints. To preach Christ and Him crucified, this is the task of gospel ministry.

Let’s turn our attention now to our last point this morning...

III. The Subject of Gospel Ministry (V. 26-27) v. 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory

We have already hit on this a little bit in the previous point but here I want to take the time to be crystal clear that all of Scripture finds it pinnacle and purpose in the gospel. All the Scriptures, the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Writings, they all concern Christ. The whole of the Old Testament is drawing our attention to the main stage where God is showcasing the main event which is Jesus Christ.

The entire Bible has been pointing to Him; He is the mystery of God revealed. He is the one who fulfills all the promises of God. He is the climax of the story and the climax of world history as well.

God the Son, the second person of the eternal triune God, became a man clothed in flesh to die in the place of sinners as the crescendo of God’s plan of redemption. This truth which baffles the mind is the means through which God has determined to undo and destroy the effects of sin upon creation.

Every story the Bible tells is pointing us to Jesus. Every promise finds it’s fulfillment in this; that God became a man and humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross in order to settle our debts with God and grant us eternal life. Where imperfect men have failed to rise to the standard of Holiness that God demands, Christ came to succeed.

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing whither he went to create a new people of God.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life but gave his life to save his people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.

All of the Bible is ultimately about him.1

The overwhelming trajectory of the Biblical witness concerns a movement by God towards man. The Father sends the Son. The Word became flesh. To save us, God did not come in the fullness of His glory, but rather he came in the humility of a man; as a baby crying in the arms of a teenage mother, who required feeding and changing and who would be condemned to die as a criminal upon a cross. Jesus hid his glory, limited himself and walked to the cross in our place.

And all the while, He remained equal, one with God, even though He had taken the form of a slave. He became one with us, sharing in our limitations, our sorrows and bearing our burdens. He experienced the temptations that we know too well, only he remained sinless to the day of his death. And in his death, he atoned for our sins and by faith, He unites us to God.

Conclusion...

In the OT, God dwelled in the midst of His people when His glory came down and rested within the Tabernacle. In the NT, Christ walked in the midst of His people when He humbled Himself and took on flesh to tabernacle among us. Now since Jesus’ ascension, the Holy Spirit of Christ dwells in the hearts of God’s people, leading us, guiding us, gifting us, empowering us for gospel ministry, and He will never leave us nor turn away from us.

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1 Tim Keller, from class lectures on Preaching Christ in a Post-Modern World.

Suffering and Joy

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 1:24-29

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Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Suffering and joy are two words that don’t often go together in the human experience. Suffering and sorrow work together, comfort and joy go together; but not suffering and joy. Perhaps we can understand joy in the midst of suffering, or we might attempt to cling to some joyful thought as we are enduring suffering; but rejoicing in suffering, well that’s just weird.

Paul’s statement here is counter-cultural. It is contrary to our normal human experience, this is counter-human. Either this man is mentally unstable or there is some set of values within the Christian life that run contrary to the values of the world around us. Just so that I’m clear I don’t think Paul is mentally unstable.

The Kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom. While the world values power, strength, wealth and notoriety the church of Christ values humility, charity, faith in the strength of another, and sacrificial love. In the days of the early church, as the message of Christ spread to new cities it became obvious to the people that the Christian message overturned the normal course of the world.

This was the testimony of the men of Thessalonica when Paul came to town. Acts 17:6 These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,

The upside-down kingdom of Christ spread like fire through the Roman Empire during the 1st century, taking root in the people’s hearts, upsetting accepted cultural norms but the world had a strategy for putting a stop to it, persecution. When things got out of control in Jerusalem, Rome clamped down on both the Jews and Christians. When the gospel message reached a new Roman City it was often met with suspicion and those who preached it faced legal opposition.

You would think that a world power like Rome would be able to get a handle on the Christian problem. You would think that persecution and the threat of death would put a stop to the spread of the gospel, but not for the upside-down kingdom of Christ. In fact, according to Paul, what appeared to be devastating to the spread of Christianity was actually serving to advance it.

The book of Colossians is a prison epistle most likely written while Paul was under house arrest in Rome. He is writing this letter from Rome as a prisoner of the state, but how did he get in that position. While on his third missionary journey, Paul took a trip through Macedonia (Philippi) at the beginning of Acts 20:1-6. After this we know that he spent some time encouraging the Ephesian Elders and then he made his final trip to Jerusalem.

Paul went to Jerusalem to deliver a gift, a collection of money from the Gentile churches, which he had hoped would strengthen the relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians. But on arrival he became aware of a large number of Jews who were not on board with his missionary methods.

A few days later Paul was apprehended in the temple by a group of Jews from Asia who sought to put him to death on the charge of bringing a Gentile into the court of the Jews. The charges were false but their zeal was not. He was then rescued by the Roman authorities as a peacekeeping measure, but this was only the start of his trials.

From this point he was held in chains in Jerusalem as a Roman prisoner awaiting trial. (Acts 22)

He was made to stand before the Sanhedrin and give an account of himself in what proved to be a pre-trial hearing (Acts 23)

Then he was transported to Caesarea to avoid being murdered by another group of Jews who had plotted against him (Acts 23)

While in Caesarea for two years he would stand trial before Felix, Festus and Agrippa before exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar. These two years were spent in bondage as a prisoner of the state (Acts 24-26).

When he left Caesarea he spent months at Sea during the worst time of the year and his cruise ended in shipwreck off the coast of Malta (Acts 27).

Finally, after more than three years he arrived at Rome only to be kept in custody for another two, while awaiting trial as an insurrectionist, a charge punishable by death (Acts 28). During those two years in Rome Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon and Colossians.

So this brief catalogue of trials is the suffering that he refers to in verse 24. In other letters we get an even more vivid picture of what had happened to Paul in the cause of Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:24-28 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Many who study the life of Paul are left with the conclusion that this man was either delusional or he was a masochist. Many would say that Paul should have abandoned his ministry because it would appear that he was an utter failure. Hated by the Jews, loathed by

the Gentiles; Paul was a marked man who spent the better part of five years in a Roman prison. It would appear that Rome had succeeded in silencing this man, but things aren’t always what they seem in the upside-down kingdom.

Philippians 1:12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Why is that Paul can rejoice in his suffering? Because he knew something that the Romans did not. He knew that God has chosen the foolish in this world to confound the wise. He knew that God has chosen the weak to overpower the strong (I Cor 1:27). He also knew that his suffering was not in vain, but was for the sake of the church. If the state was opposing Paul’s work it was because Paul’s labor was bearing fruit for the upside- down kingdom of God.

Now, all that I have just shared with you should serve as the backdrop to this next section of the book of Colossians. This section (1:24-2:5) marks a shift in the letter, a shift that takes us from what Christ has done to reconcile us to God to what gospel ministers do to extend that reconciliation to others. From reconciled to reconciler, this is the pattern of the Christian life but especially for those serving in gospel ministry.

At the end of verse 23 Paul let us know that he had become a minister of the gospel. He calls himself a servant of the gospel (διάκονός). He is a courier who serves by carrying the message of God wherever he goes and communicating that message to all who will listen. In His day, Paul was the foremost champion of the gospel in the world. He travelled throughout the Roman empire preaching Christ, planting churches, training other ministers and discipling believers who would join him in spreading the good news to the ends of the earth.

Paul saw great success on the mission field. He was blessed to see people converted under his ministry, to see churches established under his leadership, and to see the gospel advance in the world to the point that in Romans 15 he wrote, “I no longer have any room for work in these regions.”

But his ministry was not without its difficulties. The same can be said for gospel ministry today. While the external circumstances have changed a bit, the foundational character of Christian ministry has not and here in this passage Paul is going to give us 8 Characteristics of gospel ministry which we will be studying over the next few weeks. This morning we are going to look at 2 of these characteristics and both of them are found in verse 24.

I. The Spirit of Gospel Ministry (v. 24)

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up

what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

The spirit of gospel ministry is one of joy and this outlook was modeled by Christ himself. “For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross despising it’s shame (Heb 12:2).” Yes, I know Jesus was a man of sorrows but beneath it all was a deep seated joy that was more powerful than the day to day circumstances of life.

Perhaps it would be accurate to say that Jesus wasn’t happy about the cross, who would be. But joy and happiness are not the same thing. If we view emotion as a sliding scale, then it is easy for us to see that our emotions will fluctuate depending on what is happening to us at the moment.

(Appli...If I bring a box of donuts into the house my kids will all of a sudden become happy. If I bring flowers home to my wife her emotional state tends to swing toward happiness. We have all experienced this to some degree.

John MacArthur writes: ‘Happiness is an attitude of satisfaction or delight that is based upon some present circumstance.’1 The word happiness is related to the word happening, or happenstance. Our degree of happiness is directly related to what is happening in our lives at the moment. And because of this happiness is a fickle thing.

But joy, on the other hand is an emotional state that is not tied to circumstances. Joy, understood Biblically, refers to a deep sense of confidence that all is well, no matter what the circumstance of life may be.

Joy is not on the sliding scale of emotions but rather it is a is a steadfast, immovable satisfaction of the deepest longing of the soul. It goes beyond circumstances and is able to say, “To live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21).” For the Christian, joy is the internal confidence that says, “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:28f).”

The gospel is the root of our joy and as ministers of the gospel we have to understand that our joy is not tied to performance but to faithfulness. Joy in ministry is not tied to worldly success. It is tied to faithful service to our redeemer God. Joy in ministry is not tied to worldly success it is tied to faithful service to Christ, His mission and His people.

II. The Suffering of the Gospel Ministry (V. 24)

Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up

what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

Paul is clear that he sees his suffering as a benefit to the church. He says it is for your sake and for the sake of his body. But what does he mean when he says that he is filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ? Let’s first point out what he is not saying.

Paul is not saying that we (ministers or saints) do anything to add to the saving work of Christ. There is no redemptive power in my suffering for you. All that was needed for our salvation was accomplished by Christ alone. He paid the full price for our sins and supplies us with all that we need to be reconciled to God forever, Paul has already made that point clear.

The Catholic church uses this passage to prop up its doctrine of purgatory, prayers to the saints and the practice of indulgences. But Paul is not teaching that through suffering we add something to the redemptive work of Christ. But what is he saying?

Paul understands that his mission is that there is one thing lacking in the sufferings of Jesus and it is the presentation or proclamation of Christ’s sacrificial love to the people for whom He died. The only thing lacking is that there are still people who have not yet heard or seen the gospel and so Paul sees his missionary work and the subsequent suffering at the hands of Christ’s enemies as working to complete the sufferings of Christ.

John Piper explains it in this way, “Christ intends for the great commission to be a presentation to the nations of the sufferings of His cross through the suffering of His people...that’s the way it will be finished. If you sign up for the Great Commission, that’s what you sign up for.” Those who wish to represent Christ and serve His church must be willing to suffer for His name.

When ministers of the gospel suffer for faithfully preaching the gospel, two things are bound to happen:

The elect, those for whom Christ died, will be called to salvation as an application of the sacrificial suffering of Christ.

Those present will witness a sample of the suffering poured out on Jesus. They will see a picture of Christ, in the picture of our suffering.

Conclusion...

Some will say that Christian suffering shows Christian weakness, but there is another side to this. God has a habit of working in such a way that he accomplishes his purpose through weakness, because the upside down kingdom of Christ has a totally different pattern, a totally different set of values and a totally different power, than the right side up kingdom of this world.

In the book of Exodus, the people of Israel were in bondage as slaves to the most powerful nation on the planet. Moses, a murderous, stuttering outcast was chosen to be the deliverer who would stand before Pharaoh and demand the release of the Jews. But through this weak man, God brought Pharaoh to his knees.

But do you remember how he did it? God warned of the last plague that was to come, the destroyer who would take the life of every first born son in the land. This destroyer was unstoppable and Pharaoh’s army was powerless against him. He swept through Egypt in the night and without any opposition he took the life of every first born son in Egypt. But do you remember what kept this unstoppable force from destroying the Israelites?

The most insignificant animal in the herd; a defenseless, helpless little lamb. What seemed weak was the only thing that could hold back God’s messenger of death. Every home in Egypt that night either had a dead son in it or the blood of the lamb on it. You see it was the lamb of God who covered the sins of the people and kept death from their door.

The greatest and most powerful army in the ancient world could not stop the destroyer whom God sent, but the blood of the lamb did. What looks like weakness is actually an unfathomable power in the upside-down kingdom.

Fast forward 1500 years to the time of Christ, whom John the Baptist called “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Christ taught a system of values that turned the world’s pattern upside down, and for that he was nailed to a Roman cross.

The cross was nothing if not a warning to the world of just how weak they are in comparison to the power of Rome. The cross was a tool of torture and humiliation and served as a deterrent for anyone who might get the idea of trying to start a revolution. Jesus, the son of God, hung upon a Roman cross and died.

But, what appeared to be folly, what appeared to be the end of Christianity, what appeared to be weakness was the wisdom and power of God to save men from sin and to reconcile them back to Himself. What looked like failure, was actually the greatest victory ever.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

You see, Paul knew the pattern of God’s kingdom not only from the past, but also through his own firsthand experience. Because rather than silencing the gospel through imprisonment, Paul’s suffering actually promoted it. He writes this letter while he is still imprisoned, in chains, in Roman custody and uncertain about what he will face next; but as he looks upon his suffering he can rejoice because the gospel is not in chains. The mystery of God has been unleashed to turn the world upside-down.

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1 J. MacArthur, The Epistle of Joy Philippians 1:1-; code 50-1 (taken from www.gty.org)

Our Division Destroyed

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 1:21-23

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I want us to think for a few minutes about the divisions that we experience in our lives, our families, our culture and our world. When I mention division I’m talking about the differences that divide us from other people. Some of those divisions are simple ones, like which college football team you root for (Aggies, Longhorns, Red Raiders, Bears, or Horned Frogs). Some of those divisions are more personal, like your convictions on education (homeschool, private school, public school). Some of those divisions are more serious, like political philosophy, ethical positions or theological heritage.

Then some of our divisions rise to the point of being eternally serious, such as our religious beliefs and worldviews. You probably have neighbors and friends who don’t practice any faith, some who are atheists, some who are Christian but from a different denominational heritage, then others who are Muslim, Mormon, or Jewish.

These are all very real divisions that we deal with on a regular basis. Some of these cause us more stress than others. And yet, all of them pale in comparison to the division that matters the most, which is the division between a holy God and sinful man.

Over the last few weeks we have been looking at Jesus. We have seen this glorious picture of His eternality, His authority, His power, and His preeminence. Jesus’ glory fills the entire stage of Colossians 1 and what it does is to cast this huge shadow upon us.

Jesus beauty and glory is staggering but the thing that stands out for us is just how unlike Jesus we are. He is holy and we are not. He is totally righteous and we are totally corrupted by sin; and this helps us to see the division that exists between God and man.

Transition...

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus talks about the division between Heaven and Earth as being this great immovable chasm. Because God is holy and we are sinful there is an unbridgeable space between us and it is the greatest division that we will ever experience; but Jesus Christ has come to destroy this division.

Listen to Paul talk about it...

Col 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Sermon Focus...

My purpose in preaching this morning is to show how Jesus has destroyed the division that exists between God and followers of Christ. In order to fully grasp what Christ has done we are going to look at our past, our present and our future and then we will finish things up with the encouragement to stay grounded in the faith.

Let’s look first at our past...

I. What Once Was (V. 21)

The Contrast of Once and Now (Vv. 21-22)

Col 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled...

In this new section of Colossians, we see Paul put into use one of his favorite literary devices when he contrasts what we “once” were and what we are “now.” This should be one of our favorite literary devices as well. But that depends on how well we know our sin and how much we long for forgiveness.

And it depends on whether or not you have turned from your sin to trust in Christ. For many of us here this morning we can say that this is a description of what we once were, but for some I want you to understand that this is a description of what you still are.

As we come to understand our spiritual condition according to the Bible we are confronted with the fact that we are not just separated from God but we are sinners who deserve God’s wrath. As a culture we tend to avoid talking about the wrath of God, but if you read your Bible faithfully you can’t avoid it. God’s wrath is an extension of His justice and since we have rebelled and broken God’s law we deserve His just wrath.

Now, I believe that when we have a right understanding of our sin it is going to cause us to long for forgiveness, to long for salvation, to long to be made right with God. We are going to long for our status to change. Like the prodigal son when he finally recognized how desperate and dreadful he was, he wanted nothing more than to be reunited with his father, even if only as a servant.

When we see just how broken our lives are we want the kind of change that only the gospel can bring. So the question we need to ask is, “How desperate is our situation? Just how broken are we?”

Here in Colossians, God’s Word tells us that our identity apart from Christ is that we are alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. Let’s break this down a little bit.

To be alienated from someone means to be separated or isolated from them. We were separated from God when He exiled us from the Garden and now we are strangers to Him. Apart from Christ we have no fellowship with God, no relationship with God, no communion with God.

One NT parallel is Ephesians 4:18 where it talks about being alienated/separated from the life of God because of our sinful ignorance. As unbelievers, we were not only separated from relationship with God but were separated from the very life of God.

We thought we were wise and we were confident that we had something to offer the world, but we were living like pagans in a pagan world with nothing to look forward to but death and judgment. In our minds there was hostility toward God.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you were angry with God, like many atheists are today, but rather it means that the things that you think of as good are actually the opposite of what God declares to be good. One of the clearest ways that our hostility toward God can be seen is that we, apart from Christ, love what God most hates and we hate what God most loves.

When we were separated from God the things of God were cold, dull and boring to us. But the passions of the flesh were exciting and we put all our energy into them.

We were enemies of God in our hearts, minds and behavior. Another NT passage that parallels what we see here in Colossians 1 is what we read in Romans 1:21-32.

Rom 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God...

Our hearts were corrupted by sin. Our minds were bent toward sinful ideas and our lives followed along. This is the spiritual status of everyone apart from faith in Christ.

You might say, but wait aren’t there good people who do good things who aren’t Christians? Well first of all that depends on how you define the term good. Within the scope of God’s common grace there are people who do good things. They care for their families, help others, perform services that strengthen and stabilize society; but every single one of those acts falls short of the type of good that would change one’s status with God.

The law of God makes two things abundantly clear to us: 1. We aren’t’ as sinful as we could be and 2. We are far more sinful than we care to admit. And the bottom line is that even though we aren’t as sinful as we could be, we are still sinful and that sin separates us from God and demands divine justice. The wages of sin is death...and that’s the bad news. But that is not where Paul ends.

II. What Now Is (Vv. 22)
V. 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and

blameless and above reproach before him

I can think of no greater comfort to someone who has come to understand the weight of their sin than for them to hear that because of what Christ has done they are now reconciled to God. The separation was our fault. The judgment was what we deserved. But Jesus kept the law perfectly and then gave His life in order to save us from sin.

And now, by faith in what Christ has done I am reunited to God. The sin that I committed in my youth is no longer held against me. That lifestyle that you once followed is no longer admissible in God’s law court. The past memories that haunt you are paid for, washed away, forgiven.

Apart from Christ we were enemies of God but now by faith in Christ we are children of God, invited to sit at our Father’s knee, to pull up a seat at His table, and to enjoy the closest fellowship we can imagine.

Do you think I’m over stating this? Should we really think of ourselves as that close to God simply because we trust in Jesus? Look back up at the beginning of verse 21 and notice how Paul begins this section with the two words, “And You.”

And You...just so we stay connected to the surrounding context of this passage we need to understand that Paul views “us” as a subset of “all things.” You can and should follow the progression that started with Christ being supreme over all creation, then moved to Christ being supreme over all authorities, last week we saw that Christ is supreme over redemption and here we see that Christ is supreme over us.

The focus of God’s redemptive work is not simply to restore creation to its former glory and it’s not just to bring peace into the animal kingdom. The culmination of all that God has done through Jesus is that we are now brought into intimate fellowship with our God, whom we call Abba.

I think this is one of Paul’s favorite things to teach. He wants us to relive our conversion and be moved to deep emotion and worship because we grasp again what it means to be saved. We were lost but now we’re found, we were blind but now we see, amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.

For all those who believe, Christ has fully reconciled us to God. By His death on the cross, Jesus bridged the gap between heaven and earth, He spanned the chasm between us and God. He has transformed our status, which means that we are no longer separated, hostile strangers, but are now newly adopted sons and daughters, who love and worship our redeemer God.

God shows us our past sins, He covers them to reconcile us in the present and He also promises to work in us in the future.

III. What is to Come (V. 22)
V. 22...in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him

Here Paul tells us the ultimate end of our reconciliation. Christ’s ultimate goal is to not only bring us back into fellowship with the Father but to present us to God. This word carries the idea of a formal presentation, like a wedding, when we will be led down the aisle to stand before God. And when we get there this is what we will be; holy, blameless and above reproach.

Let’s look into what these words mean and think about how this is going to be accomplished.
Holy (hagios) carries the meaning of being separated from sin and set apart to God. We see this

same language in Ephesians 1:4...
He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless

before him.

Now are we singularly responsible for making ourselves holy before God? Not according to the text here. This verse indicates that Christ is the one ultimately responsible to present us holy before God. He works this holiness in us both practically, through our grace-wrought obedience and positionally, through His own imputed righteousness.

Here is what I mean, we will not stand before God on our own and present ourselves as Holy but rather when Christ presents us He will covers us with His own holiness. His holiness is imputed to us, credited to our account, so that on the day we stand before God, God will not see our righteous deeds but will see the prefect righteousness of Jesus in us.

Christ will bring us to God and when He does we will stand before Him in the perfect holiness of Jesus. God’s purpose was to create a holy people and when the day comes that we are called to stand before God, Jesus will put upon us the robe of His holiness and present us to His Father.

Blameless means without blemish which reminds us of temple sacrifices. The lamb of the sacrifice had to be without blemish otherwise God would not accept it. When we stand before the Judge at the end of the world we too will be presented as spotless, blameless, with defect or blemish.

Above Reproach which means free from accusation. No charge will stand up to the scrutiny of our redemption. Christ’s work is absolutely perfect. It lacks nothing and accomplishes full atonement, full acquittal, full justification before God’s judgment seat.

On the day when we are called to stand before God, our purification from sin will be complete. In fact, according to the NT God sees us now as we will be then.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified...all in the past tense. In God’s eyes our salvation is complete. Christ has given us everything we need to stand before God and to be welcomed by Him into everlasting joy.

This is amazing! From hostile enemy exiles to humble loving children; this is what Jesus has done for us. This is the hope of the gospel; this is the power of Christ’s cross. All our sin cleansed away, all our separation removed, all of our future secure. Why would anyone turn away from this?

That’s Paul’s concern. His concern is that through false teaching or a lack in our understanding of the gospel that we might abandon this faith. So here in verse 23 he urges us to make sure that we remain firmly planted in our trust in Christ.

IV. Stay Grounded in the Faith (Vv. 23)

23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Christ calls us to persevere in the faith. To remain faithful till the end, not shifting from the hope of salvation and eternal life that we heard in the gospel. He has called us to His side and given us every reason to trust Him, and here in this verse He is saying to us, “Keep trusting Me. Keep following Me. I will not abandon you, I will not let you down, so don’t stop trusting in Me.”

When you are in a relationship with someone, especially a marriage relationship, there are ups and downs. There are days, weeks, months when things are great and there is joy and intimacy in the relationship; but there are also seasons when things get difficult. You are still married but you don’t feel the same security and confidence that you feel at those other times. And when this occurs it is often because we have stopped doing the little things.

We don’t say I love you. We don’t hug in the kitchen as much. We don’t flirt anymore. We don’t serve each other. We don’t sit and talk the way we used to and unless something changes the heart begins to wander. What has happened is that, in a sense, we have lost our first love. We have let things get in the way of our love for our spouse. We have let things get in the way of serving our spouse, flirting with our spouse, and making them feel secure in our love and in our relationship.

There are few things more painful than a lack of security in our relationships. But when that happens we have to ask how did it get this way and often times we will find that we simply stopped doing the little things. We didn’t stop being married, but we stopped being faithful to love our spouse the way we should. We stopped doing the things that fostered joy, intimacy and security.

So what does this have to do with Colossians 1? Paul is urging us to keep doing the little things so that we don’t look up one day and realize that our hope has shifted. He is urging us to stay grounded in Christ and stay faithful to love Him, to trust Him, to submit to Him, to learn from Him, to grow in Him.

As Christians, we have put all of our hope in Christ to save us, we don’t hedge our bets with other remedies. We build our house upon the rock of Jesus Christ and we don’t seek any other foundation. We stay grounded, we stay faithful.

This doesn’t mean that we never struggle, or never have doubts. But when doubts come or when sin gets the better of us we don’t run from Christ, we run to Him. Friends, the gospel is powerful enough to save us and it is powerful enough to sanctify us. The grace of God is the foundation of our salvation and it is the motivation for why we remain faithful.

When we stumble in sin we have to remember the gospel and cling to Christ once again. One of the marks of true saving faith is perseverance in believing and that is what we are being called to here in Colossians 1. To persevere in faith and faithfulness (obedience) to Christ and His grace.

Grace doesn’t lead us to ignore sin or to continue sinning, it motivates us to love God and to pursue a life of faith and obedience. Our active faith in Christ and active obedience to Christ are spiritual fruits that bear witness to our salvation. They are not the cause of our salvation but they are indications that we have been born again.

John 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Conclusion...

So in this passage, Paul wants us to learn 4 things. He wants us to understand the state of our souls before we came to Christ. He wants us to understand that because we now trust in Christ we have been united to God. He wants us to know that our future is incredibly bright because Jesus will present us to the Father and will supply everything we need on that day. He also wants us to stay faithful, to stay grounded in the gospel and not lose or abandon our love for Jesus.

One of the ways that we stay grounded in our faith is that we sing the praises of the One who saved us. So as I close in prayer let’s prepare our hearts to worship Christ and fix the hope of our hearts on Him again.

The Father's Plan

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 1:12-14

Grace and Peace to You

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 1:1-2