Sermon Tone Analysis

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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,

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!