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This is the last message in a series looking at the theme of Colossians—a theme which talks about giving a focus to our faith.
Today I want to pull just a few verses from the ending of Colossians that points us towards some of the practical implications of a faith that is focused on Christ.
In particular, the apostle Paul concludes his letter to the believers in Colossae with some indicators, or benchmarks, of what a Christ-focused faith looks like.
Most of the time when I give a message, we will first read through the entire passage and then I will work us through it pointing out the various features that tie it all together.
These verses for today are going to work a little better if we go through this an a more expository way.
That means we are just going to proceed one verse at a time through this sermon.
Let me set the theme in front of us again.
The letter of Colossians has been working this whole time to tell the church that Christ alone is sufficient.
All these other things we do and embrace as our part of being religious people is meant for one thing and one thing alone—to point us towards Christ at the center of our faith.
how Christ-centered faith can continually grow and take shape
Now in the closing remarks of this letter, the apostle Paul is leaving a few reminders of how a Christ-centered faith is nurtured and maintained.
I suppose it only makes sense.
Paul argues through the first three-and-a-half chapters of Colossians for a faith that focuses exclusively on Christ.
It would be good to add a little bit about how this kind of faith can continually grow and take shape in us as believers of the gospel.
And we absolutely need to note that these verses here at the end of Colossians do not make a comprehensive list to that effect.
There are so many things we could say about growing and maintaining a Christ-centered faith that comes from other parts of scripture.
We could point to the necessity of faith in the context of Christian community—that our faith grows together.
We could also point to the necessity of the Holy Spirit as an essential component to Christ-centered faith.
Those things are all true and we can find it elsewhere in scripture.
Both those are different sermons for another day.
Today let’s look at what scripture says here in Colossians—even though we can acknowledge it is a partial list.
Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts
let your heart be ruled by the peace of Christ
what is it that rules in your heart?
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.
Maybe first glance tells us this means find ways to be a more peaceful person.
But that’s not it.
There is more to it than simply engaging in or advocating for peace.
Let me rephrase it—not by changing any of the words, but by moving them around.
Let your heart be ruled by the peace of Christ.
The instruction in this verse raises a significant question.
What is it that rules in your heart?
Calvin Philosophy professor Jamey Smith addresses this question in his book, You Are What You Love.
The point being this: our hearts are all ruled by something.
What is it that rules your heart?
Maybe we have to back up one step from the instruction in this verse and acknowledge, I cannot let the peace of Christ rule in my heart if my heart is already being ruled by something else.
A Christ-centered faith must take a good honest look in the mirror and truthfully confess to God what it is in this world that competes to rule our hearts.
Because the peace of Christ will never rule in your heart as long as your heart is ruled by something other.
rule — to be controlled by | requires submission to the peace of Christ
Perhaps we should consider a little further Paul’s choice of the word “rule.”
It is not about advocating for peace, and behaving in more peaceful ways.
The Greek word means to be controlled by.
It is a word that requires submission.
I am not just a cheerleader for peace.
I am not just a practitioner of peace.
It is more than that.
I submit myself to the peace of Christ.
I live in submission to the peace of Christ.
A Christ-centered faith submits to the shalom-flourishing peace of Christ.
Nothing else rules your heart except that—except Christ.
Colossians 3:16 (NIV)
let the message of Christ dwell among you richly
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.
You gain the sense in this verse that Paul is steering this instruction towards worship and knowledge.
The message of Christ is the gospel message of grace.
A Christ-centered faith nurtures and grows by responding to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to be molded and shaped and formed by the grace of God revealed to us in the gospel message of Christ.
A Christ-centered faith responds to this amazing message of God’s saving grace by overflowing in worship.
responding to the gospel with overflowing worship
Maybe sometimes we think of worship as that activity we do here in church for one hour on one day of the week.
Paul’s instruction for a Christ-centered faith places this message of Christ so firmly within us that this overflowing response of worship is continual.
It becomes a life of worship, not just an activity for one hour on one day of the week.
lasagna
One of my better recipes in my kitchen is lasagna.
I make my own pasta from scratch, so the noodles don’t come from the store out of a box.
So, I make lasagna by layering fresh uncooked noodles into the pan along with the sauce and the cheese and seasoned meats.
Then, in the oven, the noodles cook by soaking and absorbing in all those other flavors that are layered around it.
It comes out of the oven with noodles that are the perfect al dente but still tender, and they have taken on all the flavor of the lasagna because the noodles have been baked in it.
let the gospel of God’s grace bake into your very being
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.
Don’t just make the gospel of God’s grace another layer.
Rather, let the gospel of God’s grace bake into your very being.
Let the flavor of God’s grace become so baked into your life that the grace of God becomes your flavor too.
Colossians 3:17 (NIV)
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus
the meaning of God’s name — Jesus = savior | Christ = anointed
Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.
This is a reminder for us that in the Bible names have meaning.
The meaning of a person’s name communicated something about them.
The name of Jesus Christ has meaning.
The name Jesus literally means “savior.”
And the name Christ literally means “anointed.”
Jesus is the one anointed—or specifically set aside and called to the task—to be the savior of the world.
A Christ-centered faith goes about every single deed with the truth of Christ’s salvation in mind.
The way I treat other people when I am at the store, or in the office, or in class at school is always filtered through the lens of seeing all those other people invited into the saving redemption of Jesus.
The work that I do with my hands and the things that I design or build or repair is always filtered through the lens of seeing this created world around us as saved and redeemed by Jesus.
Christ-centered faith sees everything we do as being in harmony with the saving and redeeming work of Jesus
A Christ-centered faith sees everything we do as being in harmony with, in connection with, in confluence with the saving and redeeming work of Jesus.
Because Jesus is savior of the world I treat other people as those loved enough by God to be given his salvation.
Because Jesus is savior of the world I treat the creation itself—the environment of this world—as something precious enough to be given God’s complete redemption and restoration.
Colossians 4:2–4 (NIV)
devote yourselves to prayer
Devote yourselves to prayer.
I am going to take verses 2-4 altogether as one instruction because verses 3-4 are subcategories—or further explanation—of what it looks like to be devoted to prayer.
This instruction is not a complete lesson of everything about prayer.
There are many things we can say about the place of prayer in the life of a Christian.
But here in particular, Paul talks about one aspect of prayer which lends itself towards a Christ-centered faith.
devotion to prayer that aligns our hearts with the heart of God
In particular, this is a devotion to prayer that aligns our hearts with the heart of God.
It is a request for prayer that the door may always be open for sharing the gospel message, proclaiming and declaring the mystery of Christ.
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