Qualified

Introduction

If you have your Bible, open it up to Colossians 2:13 zzzzz

Qualify illustration

Throughout life, there are going to be situations and circumstances where others will try to decide if you are qualified or not to be able to do certain things.

This can be a job interview, an audition for a play, a tryout for the varsity team, a driver’s test, or a test at school.

There are so many different things we have to be qualified for in the world, so when we talk about being a difference maker, we first need to not only establish that we have been qualified to be difference makers but also HOW we are qualified to be difference makers.

Many of us have had to work extremely hard to qualify to go on to whatever it was that we were chasing.

However, Paul is going to present something much different in his letter to the Colossians.

Bible Context: Paul wrote the letter to the church in Colossae, and a common theme he carries throughout the letter addresses how we are qualified.

Over and over throughout the letter, Paul stresses the phrase “in Him” repetitively.

Colossians 1:14 (in whom we have redemption), 1:16 (in Him all things were created), 1:19 (in Him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell), 1:22 (reconciled in His body), 2:3 (in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge), 2:6 (walk-in Him), 2:7 (rooted and built up in Him), 2:9 (in Him the fullness of deity dwells bodily), 2:10 (you have been filled in Him), 2:11 (you were circumcised in Him).

He carries this theme of IN HIM throughout the entire book Colossians!

You see, Paul was eager to point the believers in Colossae to the reality that they are completely and dependent on Christ as He is the Lord over all and has secured our redemption through the cross, which therefore qualifies His followers to live for Him.

Therefore, the HOW we are qualified is through Christ alone, and the passage tonight is going to emphasize that as we pick up in Colossians 2:13.

Qualified in Christ (v.13-15)

Read Colossians 2:13-15 zzz

Notice right away in verse 13 that Paul establishes our status in this scenario as dead.

There is nothing a dead person can do on their behalf to bring themselves back to life in the same way that there was nothing you could do to will yourself into existence.

I know this is early in our text, but I don’t want you to miss the importance of this.

If someone is dead, it requires something outside of them because a dead person has nothing to offer, nothing to bring to the table, and nothing they can do to earn their life back.

What causes us to be dead?

Our sin and our trespasses. Though we were not with Adam and Eve, they willfully disobeyed God, and we are therefore born into sin.

Every time we disobey God, we sin.

Romans 6:23 reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Even though we were dead and had nothing to offer, the second half of verse 13 tells us that God made us alive together with Him

When it comes to being qualified in Christ, I want you to understand that there is nothing you did to earn or deserve God's grace, nor did you do anything to deserve His willingness to use you as a difference maker.

We were dead in our sins and trespasses, but God acted for us to have a relationship with Him. Paul goes on to explain this further in verse 14.

v14 tells us, our sin caused us to have a debt that stood against us.

There was an outlying balance that needed to be paid in order for us to be redeemed in our relationship with God, and He has done that through Christ.

Western Wanted Posters Illustration: It was common in the western days for someone to have a wanted poster made out for them if they had an outlying debt the way that we are described as having because of our sin.

These signs would typically have their crimes listed along with a picture of the person and the amount of money that was being offered for the person.

These wanted posters served as a record of their wrongdoing and the debt that they owed.

Paul explains our sinful debt in a similar fashion. However, unlike the case for the western days and the wanted poster, he explains that our debt has been canceled and erased because it has been paid by someone else.

To carry on with our wanted poster example, it’d be as if someone else came along and paid the outstanding balance of the criminal in full, meaning that they would no longer be wanted for their actions.

Rather, they would be forgiven or pardoned for everything they have done.

Jesus is the one that came along and paid our debt for us, and in doing so, He wiped away every single sin that we have ever committed so that we could be forgiven.

But rather than paying our debt with money, Jesus paid the debt with His life on the cross, and that is why Paul, therefore, writes that our record of debt has been set to the side because it has been nailed to the cross.

Through His death, our sins were taken away from us, and our debt was paid in full as He proclaimed through His final words that it is finished.

When we place our faith and trust in Him, we join Him in His death and resurrection so that our sins are put to death, we are forgiven, and we are given a new life that we can use to serve Him.

What Jesus has done for us is what qualifies us to be able to serve Him in everything we do. We are Qualified in Christ.

Qualified Beyond Question (v.16-20)

Read Colossians 2:16-20.

Paul identifies two distinct dangers through these verses that Paul points out to the Colossians, and even though Paul wrote this letter many years ago, they are dangers that we still face today.

These two dangers, which are religious observances, or legalism, and mysticism, are a couple of salvation myths that people falsely believe will be enough to grant them salvation outside of or in addition to what Christ has done.

The Colossians were particularly pressed by teachers of these salvation myths as they sought to disqualify other believers from their salvation because they were not living according to these ways.

The first salvation myth that Paul addresses is legalism or the practice of religious observances.

When I use the phrase salvation myth, I mean that it is something that someone is clinging to believing that it will offer them salvation rather than finding their salvation in what Christ alone has done for them.

We call these myths because the reality is that none of these things will save you.

An example of this could be someone that simply goes to church here and there and therefore believes that they are saved because of it. Wrong.

Another example might be that someone knows a lot about God or a lot about the Bible. Still, if they don't truly know God and have a saving faith relationship with Him, they are not saved because knowledge does not equal salvation.

One last one that is fairly common is the belief that if I do a lot of good things, I will be let into heaven one day. Wrong. The only means for salvation is through what Christ has done for us.

However, these examples of salvation myths all fall into the category of being legalism or the practice of religious observances. The teachers of such ways we're seeking to disqualify other believers for not doing enough to earn their salvation.

Legalism is this idea that your moral activity, or the good things that you do, could somehow earn or add to your salvation. It completely eliminates the work of Christ and instead relies solely upon the works of the individual.

However, Ephesians 2:8-9 reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Paul nor I am saying or suggesting that religious activities are bad and that we shouldn’t do anything religious. However, he states that religious activities do not qualify or disqualify you from being a difference maker for Christ.

Rather, we emphasize that what truly qualifies you to be a difference maker for His kingdom is accepting His love, grace, mercy, peace, and all of the other unbelievable things that God offers us through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Your religious activities do not save you. Jesus is the one that saves you!

The second of these salvation myths that Paul identifies and warns against is mysticism.

These are those who would say that to be saved and serve God, you have to be some top-notch level of the believer.

Think of it as the varsity and junior varsity football teams.

You make the varsity team by being one of the best athletes in your position and at your sport.

However, if you’re not quite there yet or you haven’t had enough experience with the sport, then you are placed on the junior varsity team.

In a similar sense, the believers of mysticism believe you have to have some kind of a varsity level of gifts or a varsity level of experience with God to truly be saved.

If you have these gifts or experiences, they believe you are at a higher level than other believers.

They often say and phrase things as if you would just do the things I do; then, you would join me as a greater believer and be able to do more for God.

The only problem with this is that there are not levels or varsity and junior varsity when it comes to the Kingdom of God.

In the Great Commission, Jesus did not say, "Go therefore, those of you who are great believers or those of you pray varsity level prayers or those of you who never ever miss church." He simply says, "Go therefore and make disciples."

In the same sense, John 3:16 does not say God sent His only Son so that only the elite may experience salvation. Rather, God sent His only Son so that whoever places their faith in Him may have eternal life.

Therefore, mysticism fails because there are not different levels when it comes to being a believer. As a believer we are simply all saved by grace for grace through the same means of the cross.

The Colossians were under constant pressure from these two false beliefs, so Paul addresses them and says in verse 18, “Let no one disqualify you…”

What he is saying here is don’t buy into a salvation myth thinking that you are saved when you’re not. The only thing that saves you is Jesus, and the price He paid cannot be undone.

As individuals who are qualified in Christ, there is no one who can undo the work that He has done.

In His final breath, before He died on the cross, He declared it is finished and that declaration lasts forever.

Therefore, no one can disqualify you, but there will be those who try. In the same way that false teachers were seeking to disqualify the Colossian believers, there will be those who seek to disqualify you as well.

Students let no one, not even your doubts, disqualify you. There is no man or authority that can undo what the King of kings has done on your behalf, and you have the opportunity to tell others about what He has not only done for you but what He has done for them as well.

We can have absolute confidence in what He has said and done for us. Therefore, we are qualified to action as we respond to the fact that Christ’s finished work on the cross cannot be undone.

Qualified to Actions (v.3:1-4)

Read Colossians 3:1-4.

This text is really a bridge text that connects everything Paul has just explained and connects it to how we are to go about applying this truth to our own lives.

As Paul transitions here from our identity is founded in what Christ has done for us to our participation in the work of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, he wants to make sure we understand that we don't do these behaviors to know Christ but because we know Christ we do these behaviors.

The “If then…” statement Paul uses in verse 1 indicates that there is a pre-standing qualification of first being raised with Christ.

If someone is a firefighter, then they are expected to be the ones working to put out fires when they come up.

If someone is a teacher, then they are expected to teach students how to understand things like math or science or reading.

If someone is a professional athlete, then they are expected to play at a higher level than other athletes.

In the same sense, if we have been qualified by Christ, then we are expected to act like Christians as we seek the things that are above and set our minds on things that are above.

The if Paul uses here is whether or not you are a Christian.

If you are indeed a Christian, then you should be seeking to live for Him in everything that you do.

1 Corinthians 10:31 reads, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Do you see everything that you do as an opportunity to glorify God? The sports you play, band performances, social media platforms, interactions you have with others, the people you sit next to in class, and everything you’re involved in as opportunities to glorify God?

If you have indeed been qualified by placing your faith in Him, then you should be seeking the things that are above (v.1), setting your mind on the things that are above (v.2), and seeking to serve Him in all that you do.

We should live our lives as a constant celebration and declaration of everything that Christ has done for us.

However, there is a danger of hearing about all Christ has done for us, but not doing anything in response to what He has done.

James 1:22: “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Don’t deceive yourself by just being someone who only hears the Word, but instead respond to the Word and all that He has done for you by aligning your life with the ways of Christ.

We are called to be doers of the Word because Christ’s qualification has qualified us to action.

Are you ready to surrender your life and every single bit of it to be used by Him as a qualified difference maker? Are you ready to be a doer of the Word and not simply a hearer? He has done the qualifying work for you; now, you simply need to respond.

Conclusion

Throughout this study, we have focused on how we are called by God, dependent on God, and now how we are qualified by the atoning work of Christ on the cross.

Understand that it is not your actions that qualify you as a believer to make a difference in the world, but what Christ has done for you.

Aligning our actions with what Christ has commanded us to do is obedience, but it is not earning or adding to the salvation that Christ bought on your behalf.

We are fully His and fully able to be used by Him, but you must first be Qualified in Christ by having a relationship with Christ.