Alive in Christ

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a privilege to share in the Word of God together as a congregation.

I have made it no small secret that I am not the biggest fan of Halloween. While I like to have as much fun as the next guy, there is a lack of reverence and a weird indulgence in the occult that doesn’t sit especially well with me. At the same time, I do enjoy candy! And we are provided with an opportunity to witness to our neighbors in ways that would otherwise be unavailable. I do believe that it possible for us to redeem the day and use it as another opportunity to give God glory.

When this time of the year comes around, we are inundated with spooky themed television programs from children’s shows to sitcoms. Fictitious stories of ghouls and ghosts. Visitors from beyond the grave. Mad scientists harnessing lightning to reanimate a lifeless body.

This morning we are going to look at the story of life being given to a dead creature. However, this story does not fit into the category of Halloween fiction. This is not a story about the afterlife, but the life after. This is not a horror story, but a love story. And the biggest distinction comes from understanding that the tales we see on TV are pure fiction, but this story is shockingly fact and eternally consequential.

This is the story of how the dead in sin are made alive in Christ.

Before we discuss the glorious transition from death to life, we first see the Provider of the transition and the proper response to the Provider.

We have much to cover today so if you would, open your Bibles to Colossians 2. We are going to begin in verse 6. When we last went through this passage, we saw the blessed interconnectedness there is between those who know the Lord. The Local Church and the Church at Large are united through Christ and we rejoice to see the church standing firm, in good order, centered upon the person of Christ.

This brings us to verses 6 and 7.

Colossians 2:6–7 ESV

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Now, we have yet to see the transition from death to life that I alluded to in our introduction, but as a spoiler, I will go ahead and tell you that the Provider of that transition is Jesus Christ.

The name Jesus Christ gets much attention from the teaching of this pulpit, as it should! Just look at His title there in verse 6! Christ. Jesus. The Lord!

Christ is “anointed one”. That is the called out, consecrated, Christ, the Messiah!

Jesus is the specific first name and local identifier of this individual. But even the first name Jesus means “The Lord is Salvation” and Mary was directed by the angel to give her Son this heavenly distinction.

The Lord is “The master”. It is a divine title that declares the Supremacy of God.

Jesus Christ is not just a simple first and last name, nor is it a swear word to throw around in times of distress.

Christ Jesus the Lord is the proper title given to the magnificent, holy, anointed, called out, saving, master, owner, and heir of all things.

This is the glorious Jesus that reverberates through all the endeavors of this congregation. And the incredible truth we see right here in verse 6 is that this incredible Jesus is given to us! Paul writes, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord.”

By the grace of God, through faith in Christ Jesus, believers are given the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit. Believers have the hope of Glory, Christ in us! And its not by our own doing that this occured, but something we receive by the free gift of God.

In the rest of verse 6 and verse 7 we see the right response to receiving the gift of Christ. Receiving the gift is not the end of our story. Ligon Duncan said, “Receiving Christ, professing Him, acknowledging Him to be our Savior, does not end our spiritual adventure; it inaugurates a spiritual relationship which will never ever end. And Paul wants us to remember that receiving Christ is not something isolated, it is not something that you just did in the past, and it is something that continues to go on in your experience.”

If you have received Christ through faith, WALK in Him.

Those with true faith in Christ are enabled, empowered, and commissioned to plod on in life for the glory of God. This is the slow and steady, sanctifying walk through life for those reconciled to God. Step by step, day by day, the believer lives each moment in joyful submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ. This is not some sort of sprint, but a marathon. We push through moment after moment recognizing and responding to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives.

We will get to it some weeks from now, but one of my favorite verses is Colossians 3:17

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This is the Christians rubric for walking in the Lord. Consciously thinking about what we do and willfully taking actions that bring glory to God. We walk in Him.

Go back to verse 6 again.

Colossians 2:6 ESV

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,

I want to note that in our flesh, we miss steps. We do not always glorify God in what we do. But the life of one who has received Christ will be marked by the desire, neigh the conviction to have Christ LORD over their life. Pastor Ligon Duncan noted a situation some of us here may be familiar with. Do you remember or know friends from when you were a student. They for a brief time had interested in spiritual things. They may have quick to make a profession of faith in youth group or at church. Well, whether stated or implicit from their actions, they’re intention in that profession was to get back in the business of living their life however they wanted but now being relieved from the fear of eternal punishment.

We need to understand the difference between the selfish fear of punishment and the reverential fear of the Lord. Salvation is not about saving our own skin, but about giving glory to the Lord! That is why those who possess saving faith WALK in Him. Hear me out here, I am not suggesting that those who possess saving faith live out perfect lives. But rather, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they are continually and consistently drawn to focus on God as they fight with the flesh on this side of eternity. They walk in the Lord, not sprint for a time and then quit all together. The journey may be long and difficult, painful at times but when you see the worthiness of the Lord to receive the glory, you see the great pleasure there is in a life lived for Him. You have received the Lord by Grace through Faith, now Walk in Him.

We are given a deeper understanding of what it means to walk in Him in verse 7.

Colossians 2:7 ESV

rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

To walk in the Lord is to be rooted, built up, established, taught and thankful. Let us quickly describe these five attributes of walking in the Lord.

First, Rooted.

The best biblical picture of this comes to us in Psalm 1.

Psalm 1:1–4 ESV

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

This morning I do not have the time to give this section of Scripture the exegetical analysis it deserves, but for our purposes we should note that the psalmist is describing someone who does not get caught up in all of the unrighteousness around them. Instead this blessed man is inundated by the declarations of the Lord. He has seen the goodness of God and the great benefit of the Lord’s declaration. He ponders and mediates on those things rather than settling comfortably in iniquity. Verse 3 compares this blessed man to a tree that is planted by the water. It is sturdy, producing fruit, growing as it should. To put it into the terms of Colossians 2, this man is rooted! He has found his foundation in the Lord and is secure in that position! But notice then verse 4 of psalm 1, unlike the blessed man, the wicked are not rooted. The wind drives them away. The changes in life carry them to and fro, there is no anchor in the life of the wicked.

“As a trees roots sink deep into the earth for stability and nourishment, so too our faith should strike deep into the sound doctrine and solid food respecting the Messiah -- these strong roots will hold you forever and forever.” (PreceptAustin)

Walking in the Lord begins with being rooted in Him. Then in Col 2:7,

Colossians 2:7 ESV

rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Paul writes, built up in him and established in the faith. These terms refer to progressive sanctification. This is what I was alluding to early as I mentioned that we will still be struggling with the flesh. Walking with the Lord on this side of eternity will not be done perfectly, but we are called to grow, grow in our dependence on the Lord and in our likeness to Him.

Our growth occurs through reflection on and consistent reception of sound, biblical teaching. Paul writes, “just as you were taught.” This means that the Colossian church received these principles before! We should surround ourselves in truth, bask therein, and revel in it! Being surrounded with sound doctrine, truthful teaching, is so important for our flourishing in our walk with the Lord. I say this often, but evaluate the teaching you receive, even from me! Evaluate it by the Word of God and cling to what is true and reject what is false.

Being rooted in, growing, and surrounded by the truth of Christ results in our thanksgiving. We give thanks to the God who saved us when we could not. We give thanks to the God who loved us even while we were enemies living in sin. We give thanks, glory, honor, and praise the wonderful, saving, majestic, and powerful God of all who knows us and loves us.

One commentary noted, “A thankful believer is not easily led away from Christ. A discontented, grumbling, whiny believer, however, will be easy prey for false teachers who are more than willing to [be snake oil salesmen and] offer ‘just what you’ve been missing.’”

Which leads us to the next verse in our walk through Colossians 2. Look with me at verse 8

Colossians 2:8 ESV

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.

In verse 7, we are shown where our foundation is to be found and here in verse 8 we see the necessity of being grounded in our faith.

The simple reality is that our world is filled with those who reject Christ and wish to have everyone else join them in their rebellion to the Lord. Sometimes this is obvious, sometimes it is subtle.

The subtle cases are those of false teachers. We see it often manifest itself in our age in the prosperity gospel. The ones who get you to lower your defenses by sharing familiar verses of Scripture but after some time begin asking for “specific donations to secure your blessing and favor.”

Others subtly twist Scripture to fit their own view on the world. They want you to join them in glossing over the parts that would seem inconvenient or against the pleasure they enjoy.

Then there are the more obvious cases of rebellion. Just this week I was at Target and found instructional books on witchcraft in the nonfiction section. The Lexington Public Library hosted a Teen’s Intro to Tarot cards course just this past Thursday. At best these books, cards, and courses are attempting to trivialize and commercialize spirituality and at worst are actively teaching young people to find their hope in the occult.

I don’t bring this up to cause some sort of unwarranted scare, but rather so that we would know that the warning Paul gives here in verse 8 is still applicable to us today! As we walk through the life, the enemy is seeking to render us ineffective in our purpose of serving the Lord.

Paul lays out one of the tactics used to distract believers from the truth of Christ. You have philosophy, the field of philosophy studies human knowledge, reality, and existence. We shouldn’t take this statement to mean that we should never think beyond the surface and examine why we think the things we do or how we came to be. In fact, those topics are addressed from this pulpit on a regular basis. Rather then, we are being warned to avoid philosophy that is empty and deceptive. This means that we can and should think about how the world works, but we must be diligent and weary of instructors that pull us away from the truth of Christ. We’re shown that such teaching comes to us according to human tradition. That is to say that these deceptive philosophies are the creations of the human mind. They were based upon tales and fancies rather than the inerrant Word of God and His divine revelation. Bunk philosophy is derived also according to the “elemental spirits of the world” Paul says. This is referring to the basic building blocks of matter. Think naturalism.

It is important to remember that Paul is talking to the Colossians about a specific heretical groups. But the principle laid out here is really applicable to them all. And it is what is described in Romans 1.

Romans 1:25 ESV

because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

The false philosophies, full of deceit, stemming from the minds of fallen men, giving the glory owed to God to the things He created for His glory, plague our world, infest our churches, and distract believers from the true object of their affections. And that is true problem. All false, distracting beliefs, are distorting the reality of Jesus’ place as King! Look back to the end of verse 8.

Colossians 2:8 ESV

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.

We have no business being captive in any of those false philosophies because we should be completely captivated by Christ! But don’t just take my word for it, let us look to verses 9 and 10 to see why Christ is so worthy of our captivation!

Colossians 2:9–10 ESV

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Christ is worthy our attention and focus because He is the great God-Man! The False teachers would seek to just make Him another spiritual influence, one of many prophets, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Jesus Christ is completely God! And what is so wonderful about that truth is that in Him we are complete! This morning we sang, Hallelujah, All I have is Christ! Hallelujah, Jesus is my life!

Christ is over all things, He is the ruler and the righteous authority. And that same Christ dwells in, completes, and fills all those who believe in Him. It is futile, worthless, and unnecessary to look for spiritual fulfillment any where else! It truly is in Christ alone our hope is found.

Let’s spend the rest of our time this morning looking at what Christ has actually done, how and why He is the only source of spiritual fulfillment.

Colossians 2:11–12 ESV

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, 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.

Here we see that Christ fulfills what ritual could not. Paul describes two rituals familiar to the Jewish and Christian faith, but shows us how Christ picks up where they are lacking in and of themselves. These are the rituals of circumcision and baptism. Let us first understand what these acts are and then we can see how Christ fulfills them.

Circumcision was the physical sign of the covenant God made within Abraham. That sign would be passed down from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and to all of Israel. It was a physical signifier that these are God’s people. We need to note that though, that the physical mark alone was not enough, even in the old testament. At least twice in Deuteronomy it talks of the “circumcision of the heart” that is truly loving the Lord and being in a right relationship with Him.

What we see here in Colossians is that through faith in Jesus Christ, His in dwelling presence, believers are enable to put off the flesh, to put off the dirty sin that plagues us and honor God in our lives! Through Christ, the great High Priest, we are empowered to love the Lord our God will all our heart and with all our soul, that we may live! as was foretold in Deuteronomy 30:6.

The second ritual mentioned here in Colossians 2 is baptism. This is a physical act we see all throughout the New Testament. You can look to Mark 1:9 to derive the mode of Baptism. There Jesus came up out of the water, meaning that He was fully submerged when He modeled baptism. Then you see the command to continue baptism in the practice of the Early church in Acts as well as the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

But we must know that a cut of a skin or a dip in a pool in and of themselves have no inherent spiritual or eternal value. The Spiritual reality of the baptism that occurs when you come to faith in Christ is explained here in verse 12. Through our union with Christ through faith we are dead to our former selves and raised to new life! That is what is pictured in the physical act of baptism. We are dead in our sin, united to Christ by faith, and raised into new life! We live lives now restored to God, enabled to serve Him, and assured of eternal glory!

Then in the first part of verse 13, we are shown what I alluded to in the introduction this morning. We see how the spiritually dead are given real Life in Christ Jesus!

Colossians 2:13a (ESV)

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him,

If we want to make a Halloween comparison, yall, we have to recognize that in all reality, we are living in the Walking Dead! Our world is full of Zombies! Everyday people traverse this planet going about their business, not even knowing that they are spiritually dead! And the thing we all need to remember, is that if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are now alive and well, but you used to be a zombie too!

Paul writes, You, US, who were dead in our trespasses and the uncircumcision of our sin.

Our trespasses are our sin this is completely contrary to the Holy God. The uncircumcision refers to our uncleanliness and separation from God. Because of those things we were dead. Have you ever tried to start a car with a flat dead battery? It doesn’t matter how many times you turn that key, it aint gonna start. You can turn off all the dash lights, you can switch off the stereo. But that car is utterly incapable of getting itself going.

This is our condition before God. On our own we are utterly incapable of life. As a dead battery cannot wish itself full, neither can we wish ourselves spiritually full. We are Completely unable to change our condition. We are stuck as Zombies if you would.

But then look at the middle section of verse 13.

“you who were dead… GOD MADE ALIVE TOGETHER WITH HIM.”

God loved us while we were quite literally dead to Him and by an act of God, the sacrifice of His Son, HE made us alive! He gave all those who believe in Christ Jesus ETERNAL life!

We see the process of Life giving displayed from the end of verse 13 through 15.

Colossians 2:13–15 (ESV)

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, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

God has made us alive, by forgiving us of our sin! We have been made righteous before God! What the dead in sin, zombies, do not know is that all of us have a record of debt, a list of offenses we have against the Holy God. On this record are not only the things we actively did wrong, but the standards of righteousness we were unable to reach! If we were to take this list of offense to the cosmic court it would be a quick and easy full conviction! The just God has every right to render the most severe of punishments against our heinous sin. So what does He do with the record of Debt and list of offense? He CANCELS the debt! For all those who believe in Christ Jesus, the debt is no more! The legal demands have been set aside and we are given new life in Christ Jesus!

Yet we still need to understand the legal process of what is being described here! God took our debt and nailed it to the cross. What does this mean? This means that the price owed for our sin did not just go away! That would not be justice. When you purchase a house through financing it is possible for someone to pay the rest of your debt for you and allow you to live in the house. However, the debt, while not paid by you, does not go away. Instead it is transferred to the other payer.

That is what happened on the cross! When Jesus died on the cross, He was taking on the cost for all the sins of all the ones who should ever believe in him. He was taking the wrath owed for there transgressions and their short comings. He was the perfect sacrifice to atone, to pay for those sins.

When Jesus died, the condemnation owed for us was destroyed, the debt was paid. And here we are, alive, restored, fully forgiven.

Jesus was able to do this because He is the God-Man, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. Through His death, not only did He pay for the sins of those believe in Him, but declared victory over the serpent. He head and shoulders above Satan and deception. He is the

true victor.

And the wonderful thing we will conclude on this morning is that Jesus invites sinful creatures like you and me to share in his victory. If you have already experienced that victory, remember it, dwell in it, live in response to it. Don’t be caught up by the deceptive philosophies that seek to render your mission to serve God ineffective.

But if you are understanding what Christ has done, not just done, but done for you, paid the price of your sin, make that known today. This church would love to support you as you see that Christ has taken a sinful, heinous, zombie like you and me, given you new life, true life, out of his great Love and given you a purpose to truly Live. Make that known today in this hymn of response.

Let’s pray.