Encouraging, Continuing Conclusion pt. 2

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a great privilege to share in the Word of God this morning.

My wife will probably be surprised its taken me so long to use this in a sermon illustration, seeing as I talk about it all the time, but I love a good Costco hot dog! You can’t beat the deal! $1.50 for a hot dog and a drink. And what do you have to do before you get a hot dog? You have to hit the sample circuit as an appetizer! You get a whole meal for $1.50 or if you’re feeling crazy you add a slice of pizza and leave overstuffed for $3.70 after tax. So, I often find good reasons, or just plain excuses to make Costco runs around noon. Many times I’m with Brother Troy here so we’ll go up and hit the circuit together.

You all probably know that Troy is almost always wearing a shirt with something on it that is either a reference to the gospel or a bible verse. On one of our trips through the Costco buffet, one of the service took notice of the shirt that read across the front, “I exist to proclaim the gospel.” That shirt is often a conversation starter, but 10 minutes of conversation later, we were both so encouraged to meet another Christian “out there in the wild”! About a month, probably more than that we went back, she recognized us and we had another encouraging conversation.

It is an incredible thing when you feel the unity of Christ in the full expression of fellowship. There is a fellowship enjoyed between authentic, born-again believers that cannot be found anywhere else in existence. I’ve shared this often-altered quote before but, “You have more in common with a Christian believer in the middle of Mozambique than your next door neighbor who votes the same as you, dresses the same as you, and has the same hobbies as you, but denies the existence and authority of your God.”

True fellowship does not exist if it is not founded upon the shared faith in the Triune God.

1 John 1:3 ESV

that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

“Fellowship with the Godhead spawns fellowship with other believers.”

Why is this so? Well think about the things that all believers share in common with one another.

We share the same view of reality. That is we all understand that God created the earth. We understand that Jesus is the one for whom all things were created through and for. We understand the Holy Spirit guides us and seals us for the day of redemption.

We also share in the same of self. We understand that all we, like sheep, have gone astray and that there is not one of us who is righteous on our own account. We understand that our sin is an offense to God. We understand that we were helpless to change without Christ’s intervention.

We also share in the same values. We understand that we are called to love God and love others. We understand that those two commands tie all moral and ethical standards together.

We also share in the same submission. We understand that Jesus Christ is Lord! We understand that our lives are His to do with as He pleases. We understand that God has spoken to us through His Word and when our thoughts and ideas are incongruent with His Word, then our thoughts and ideas are to change and to be molded into congruence with His Word.

We also share in the same hope. We understand we are heirs of the promises of God. We understand that Jesus is coming back. We understand there is coming a day when God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things have passed away!

We could continue, but I hope the point has been taken! You’re relationships with believers share more in common than any earthly relationship could ever hope to hold.

This is why we should seek to have all of our relationships enriched by forming them with believers. The friends I’ve stayed the closest with throughout the years, are those who share in the same faith I hold. My marriage is enriched and enhanced and thankfully for my sake, full of much grace, because we both have experienced the grace of God!

Think about it like this, when you are in some form of relationship with an unbeliever, be it a romantic friendship or something romantic, If that person is not a believer then they think the thing most precious in your life, your relationship and faith in Jesus Christ, is foolishness!

Now, the intention this morning is not to say that we should sever all ties of any kind with unbelievers. That would not be practical nor would it allow us the opportunity to participate in the Great Commission and be the ambassadors of Christ we are called to be.

Rather, the intention this morning will be to highlight great value there is in Christian Fellowship so that we all may learn to cherish it all the more!

With that in mind, would you open your Bibles to Colossians 4, if you have not done so already.

We are almost coming to an end of the book of Colossians. Today we will be focusing on the middle portion of Paul’s Salutation. Last week we looked at the ordinary instruments Tychicus and Onesimus that God used to accomplish His Will. Today we will be pressing through six more ordinary instruments wrapped up in God’s extraordinary plan. We will see five God-driven benefits of Christian fellowship. Let us begin in verse 10.

Colossians 4:10 (ESV)

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you,

We’re going to stop right here for a moment and see the first benefit of Christian Fellowship.

Christians struggle with one another.

Look at how Paul describes Aristarchus. He calls him his fellow prisoner. Aristarchus and Paul had seen some stuff together! They were in prison together. They were intended targets of a riot together. They were in a shipwreck together. Adversity did not lessen the affection between the bothers, it increased it!

Our brothers and sisters in Christ are there for us when others would’ve deserted us.

It has been my personal experience that my Christian friends are also the ones who have been particularly there for me in times of need. When my father passed away, it was predominantly my church family that surrounded the rest of my family with support. Within the just last few weeks a brother from this church was with me when I was moved to tears on two separate occasions for very different reasons. Both times there was judgment or belittling, but genuine compassion and care.

Within the church we are called to bear one another’s burden. To assist each other in the time of need. This could play out in a variety of ways and will look differently for each of us, but here our some ideas on how to be there for each other.

Be someone’s accountability partner. If they confide in you that a certain sin is plaguing there thoughts, offer to walk with them through the trial. Ask them how its going. Pray with them genuinely call them to repentance for their own spiritual benefit.

You could also start a discipleship group. Study the word with other believers. If you want to do that but don’t know where to start, I’ll help you!

You could offer to watch someones kids so a husband and wife could have a date night. Family life can be frantic. Offer to give a reprieve.

Often times the best way to help a church member is simply to just BE there. Be here in the building with them worshipping together regularly. Be with them in thick of everyday life. Pop over for dinner. Sit and just chat. Just being there does a great deal.

Christians should absolutely seek to help their struggling brothers and sisters out, but I would selling verse 10 short if that was as deep as we took the concept of struggling with one another. We should all note that Paul and Aristarchus were imprisoned together for the sake of the gospel. The bonds of love that exist between Christians should keep us together even in the face of persecution. I don’t know if or when biblically Christianity will be violently and legally persecuted in our American Context. But I do know that we Christians are called to be faithful to our Savior even unto death. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego we can walk into the fiery furnace together, not knowing the outcome, but knowing God is good. We may not ASK for the struggle, but when it comes it is a grace of God that Christians can struggle with one another.

Let’s press on in verse 10

Colossians 4:10 ESV

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him),

with the mention of Mark the cousin of Barnabas we note:

Christians forgive one another.

Notice that Paul tells the church of Colossae to welcome Mark the cousin of Barnabas. This seems simple and really uneventful on the surface. Throughout the book of Acts we get to see the backstory of this Mark mentioned here. He is first mentioned in Acts 12:25 where we learn he also goes by the name John. This John Mark accompanies Paul and Barnabas on a mission trip to Cyprus. They preach the Word of God in the synagogues. Mark is helping them. Then things get a little dicey. An important roman political figure wants to hear what the group has been preaching. but they are opposed by Elymas the magician. He tries to stop them. Paul calls out the wickedness. The hand of the Lord blinds the wicked magician. The political figure ends up believing in the Lord. The group is ready to move on to the next place to spread the gospel, but apparently the drama was too much for John Mark. He tucks tail and runs back to Jerusalem where its safe. It looks like ministry isn’t in the cards for John Mark. So Paul, Barnabas and the rest of their group continue traveling around from Antioch to Iconium to Lystra, back to Antioch before returning to Jerusalem themselves. Now there’s a whole lot of others things on, but this is basically a very brief paraphrase of the book of Acts chapters 13-15.

After Paul and Barnabas settle their business in Jerusalem its time to head back out on the road. Paul says to Barnabas, “Brother, lets go back to the cities we preached the gospel in and see how they’re doing.” Barnabas is like, “That’s a great idea! But let’s bring John Mark with us.” Paul says, “no, that’s not happening. He deserted us once before.” Well these two friends in the ministry get in a big disagreement over this and decide to part ways. Barnabas and John Mark go one way. Paul heads off another direction with a guy named Silas. Now if your Bible were to stop at the end of Acts, that is all we would ever know about John Mark. But between the gaps of the events of Acts and the writing of the Pauline epistles something wonderful happened. Through the power of the Holy Spirit along with the nurturing and encouraging direction of his cousin Barnabas, Mark’s ministry was restored! At some point, Mark is even able to reconnect with Paul and this time, Paul doesn’t refuse to work with, instead they enjoy Christian fraternity in the service to the Lord! Mark is right there with Paul at the writing of this letter! It looks like Paul may be sending him at some point to visit the church at Colossae. Later on towards the end of Paul’s life he writes Timothy and commends Mark saying that Mark is very useful to him in the ministry.

So why do I bring all of this up and go through the whole story of Mark? Well for two reasons. First, sort of chasing a rabbit from the primary topic of the sermon, it is a reminder that as long as you got breath God ain’t done with you yet. Mark failed in ministry. He tucked tail and bailed on His brothers. This is a reminder to us all that in this battle with the flesh we are in, we don’t always get it right. But under God-driven guidance, surrounded by His grace, we can be used for His glory. The deserter Mark would also pen the Gospel of Mark. Don’t allow your previous failure to dissuade you from future service to the Lord. But the second reason we jogged through the story of Mark is more germane to our overall topic this morning. I bring up this story because Christians FORGIVE one another. Paul forgave Mark. Remember Paul and Barnabas’ argument over Mark? If Mark new about it, that had to hurt! Paul didn’t want him to go on the trip with him! Did Mark hold hard feelings against Paul? I’m not sure, but if for a time he did, then by the rest of the testimony of Scripture we can deduce that Mark FORGAVE Paul!

When Christians reflect on the forgiveness they have received from the Lord, it begins to become easier to forgive others. A long gone preacher once noted, “If Christ will have us pardon our brother seventy-seven times, can we think he will press us[to do] more than He will be ready to do Himself?” Each day we fall short and yet the forgiveness of the Lord shines upon us. That should inspire us to forgive others.

When we talked about forgiveness as we read Colossians 3:13 I shared these four questions that help you diagnose if you have really forgiven someone. Here are four diagnostic questions:

(1) When you think of that person are you still angry, bitter or resentful?

(2) Do you have a subtle desire to see that person "pay" for what they did to you?

(3) Do you have a secret desire for revenge, which says something like "I wouldn’t mind if some "hurt" happened to the person who hurt me"?

(4) Do you find myself telling others how the other person hurt you?

If your answer to any of those questions is yes, then you haven’t forgiven. If you say that you have forgiven someone, and by that you really just mean that you are not actively seeking revenge, so you’ve forgiven them, but you cannot forget, meaning that you are rooting for that person’s downfall and you’re filled with resentment, that’s not forgiveness. And when that wrath festers inside of you, it grows and your spiritual growth is stunted. Theologian Trevin Wax suggests, “The only antidote to this miserable forgiveness— [is] choosing the harder path of rooting out bitterness rather than allowing the grumble of your spirit grow until it chokes out your humanity.” Christian forgive one another. It is both modeled and commanded in Scripture. May we do so as well.

Let’s press on in our text.

Colossians 4:11 ESV

and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

Now, we do not get a whole lot of new information about this Jesus Justus feller, other than that he is included with the rest of the other guys we’ve looked at thus far. But we do learn something very important from this verse. We learn that

Christians show no partiality between one another.

The full passage we are looking today lists six individuals. Three are Jews and three are Gentiles. This may not seem like much to us in our melting pot society, but this is a big deal. At that time “Language, national animosities, and differences in religion and culture had divided the world … into hostile camps that could only be held together by the sword [of the Roman Empire].” But in the simple salutation of Paul’s letter we see the ethnic reconciliation that only the gospel can bring! Groups that hate each other are made to love each other by the power of the gospel! Divisions between people groups were so deep that some of the Jews at that time would actually pray, “Lord, do not remember the the Samaritans in the Resurrection.” It’s like saying God your grace is good for me but not for them. Those same Jews must have hated to hear about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan Woman at the Well followed by the many other Samaritans who believed in the Word of Jesus.

Christian we are called to show no partiality between one another, no matter the tribe, nation, or tongue we come from. Here there is no Jew, there is no Greek, no cirucmcised or uncircumcised, no barbarian or Scythian, no slave or free, but CHRIST is all and in ALL! Those are the words we heard proclaimed in Colossians 3 and in this salutation we see that they are more than just virtue signaling! We must show no partiality or prejudice based upon someone’s upbringing or race. If you are a Christian then you are my brother. If you love the Lord your God with all your mind, soul, and strength, then you’re my sister!

May we not allow cultural distinctions separate and segment the body of Christ! One pastor once said, “It is impossible to hold racial prejudices in the heart and be Spirit filled; such goes against everything Christ taught and teaches.” If you find yourself predisposed to negative feelings towards another Christian because of their looks or upbringing, that’s a you problem. That’s an area where you need to pray for God’s sanctifying grace. You need to pray to God that He would root out the sinful bias in your mind and help you see the Kingdom as He does.

Now I realize that this can be different. Let’s face it, this is a predominantly white, middle-class congregation. But I hope that that is only a product of location and not a product of our view of the Kingdom. As I said before we have more in common with a believer in the middle of the Asia, than we could ever have in common with those who look exactly like us and deny our God.

Christians seek to have meaningful relationship with ALL believers that have been saved by the grace of God. Show no partiality to one another.

Let’s continue to verse 12.

Colossians 4:12–13 ESV

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.

From the words regarding Epaphras we learn:

Christians spiritually care for one another.

Most of the people mentioned in Paul’s salutation had never been to Colossae before. Even still, they loved their brothers and sisters in Christ! We see even deeper and particular care for the saints of Colossae in the life of Epaphras. He was from Colossae and traveled all the way to Rome to seek Paul’s guidance on how to deal with the heretics and the alluring lies of the false teachers. He acted for the benefit of the church by going to Paul, but also by praying constantly for them! He STRUGGLED on behalf of them in his prayers. Paul writes this because he watched Epaphras pray and that’s the best word to describe what was happening. Struggled comes from the same Greek word that we use in English: Agonized. He battled in anguish over the spiritual state of the Colossian believers! Now we know that because Paul saw it and described it for us, if someone were to watch you pray how would they describe it? Do you show care in your prayer? Or would your prayers be described as apathetic and shallow? I’m not saying that we have to scream and conjure up fake emotions in our prayer, nor should we be overly concerned with how others look at us. I’m saying that when we Pray we should CARE and CARE deeply for what we are praying about!

That is why I love the new prayer model we are employing on Sunday Evenings. If you haven’t been coming to that, you need to. We pray through Scripture, praising God in prayer. We pray for connections in His kingdom and ministerial work being done across the globe. We pray for the big issues happening in the country. And we pray for the needs that we have and those around us. I hope that we never begin to just phone that in, but truly care.

Spiritually caring for one another looks like praying for one another as well as desiring others to grow in spiritual maturity. That was the specific prayer Epaphras had for the saints of Colossae. In our context it is good and right to pray for the same, but we can also work towards that through forming discipling relationships. We can and should spiritually care for one another by getting together to read God’s Word, by praying with one another, by going together to share God’s Word with unbelievers, by reading good theologically rich books together, by spurring one another on in a myriad of ways to love and good works.

Then we also see another form of spiritual care in verse 13. Epaphras worked diligently for the church in Colossae, but also the churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Epaphras cared enough about the Kingdom to put in the work to see it multiply. We don’t know his exact role, whether he was an elder or deacon or simply helpful layman, but know that he was committed to seeing the kingdom of God spread through thriving Local congregations. Such should be our desire. The other churches even in our area are not our enemy, so long as they are preaching the same gospel. We should long to see healthy churches all around us and work hard for it to happen. Strengthening churches is strengthening the Kingdom. May all Christians spiritually care for one another.

Now, let’s look at verse 14.

Colossians 4:14 ESV

Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.

Finally from verse 14 we see a simple, and short point for those keeping time...

Christians are generally friendly toward one another.

This one may be a bit of stretch from such a simple verse but I do think it is important enough to briefly note. First, a quick summation of the people mentioned. Luke is the same Doctor Luke who wrote the book of Luke and the book Acts. A devoted follower of the Lord and companion of Paul. We do not know much about Demas other than sometime after this letter was written he actually deserts Paul and chooses love of the world over service to the Lord. As far as my study goes, there is no record one way or the other as to if he had a “spiritual comeback” like Mark did after he deserted Paul. We can only hope for his sake that he did and leave it between him and the Lord.

But the general principle we should take from this verse is that Christians who do not know this other group of Christians are extending a friendly greeting. The simple application is that Christians are to be generally friendly and well mannered toward one another. This may sound so shallow but I think it is important to note because if you get on the internet you will see example after example of Christian A fighting with Christian B because of *fill in the blank* and it just gets nasty and ugly. The flesh inside of us tells us to pop a bag of popcorn and watch the drama unfold, but all of that is just a disservice to the Kingdom and we shouldn’t have time for that! Calling out sin and urging repentance is good, but scripturally it is done in private. Those who are just putting everyone on blast in public are not a good representation of how Christians are to handle themselves.

Our general attitude towards other believers should be friendly kindness, pleased to see another soul saved by the grace of God.

The unity shared between believers truly is remarkable. When believers are successful in putting to death what is earthly in them and putting on the virtues of God’s chosen ones, it is an overwhelmingly beautiful expression of unity. Christians struggle with one another. They forgive one another. They show no partiality between one another. They spiritually care for one another. And they are generally friendly toward one another.

You wont find another fellowship like that in the world. You can’t! This is a God-bond between believers. Go back to the first verse I showed you this morning.

1 John 1:3 ESV

that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

I want all of us here to enjoy the fellowship described today. But that only happens when you have been saved by the grace of God through faith in the Son and filled with the Spirit. That happens when you understand that your sin is an offense to God with a price so high you cannot pay it. That happens when you understand the Jesus paid that price for you. That happens when you trust in Him as Lord and desire to follow Him.

Through faith in Christ you are saved and join the rest of us as we enjoy this fellowship, bound together by the blood of Jesus Christ. If you desire to know more about that this morning, come forward during this hymn of response. let’s pray.