Avoiding Spiritual Shipwreck

Introduction

Why this passage (1 Timothy 1)

“I urged you…that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine…”

Certain persons who have swerved from [a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith]

Reminder: “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…”

“wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.”

Warning: “some have made shipwreck of their faith…”

Context of the Colossian letter (heresies creeping in)

Salvation: Justification, Sanctification, Glorification

Sanctification: We have a part to play!

Our ongoing need for the gospel…

The aim for our lives should be the same aim Paul has for us: SPIRITUAL MATURITY.

Outline for this morning: 5 word pictures for avoiding spiritual shipwreck

[Read Colossians 2:6-7 & Pray]

Therefore…

“Therefore” (what is the therefore there for?)

“as you received Christ the Lord”

“received” = both the transmission & the reception of teaching

Colossians 1:3–7 “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.”

What did they receive? —> Not salvation, but “Christ Jesus the Lord” (means/end)

Colossians 1:15–20 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

This is what it means to receive the Lord: See him for who he is. Repent of Sin. Trust in him. Follow him.

To believers, though, this is the exhortation: continue to stand firm

Colossians 2:1–5 “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.”

2 Reminders about the gospel: (1) The tense, and (2) Our ongoing need

Jesus is our Savior. Jesus is also our Lord.

“You received Christ Jesus, the one who is LORD…

Word Picture #1: Walk

This is the central command.

walk = live, abide (continually)

> 1:10 - “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him…”

> Manner of life, of living (Not determined by us…)

How are we to walk here? —> IN HIM (Continue on in walking in him)

The affirmation of Jesus Christ as Lord should lead to changed behavior, to a changed life—to a new way of walking.

Romans 6:4 (ESV): 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Walk “in union with” Christ, or “incorporated in him.”

Colossians 2:9–15 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. 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. 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.”

This is the gospel: A new REALITY in Christ Jesus

Colossians 3:1–4 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Maturity is alignment with this new reality!)

“Christ is the sphere [hemming in] the entirety of the life of the believer.”

> Same idea we see in 2 Corinthians 5:14 - “For the love of Christ controls us (hems us in)

“Let Christ—and no other! for he is Lord—establish your values, guide your thinking, direct your conduct.” -Doug Moo

How is this possible? —> “you have been filled in him who is the head” (2:10)

We can only walk in him because we have been united with him.

With this central picture in mind, Paul offers 4 more word pictures that illustrate what this spiritual maturity looks like as we walk in him…

Word Picture #2: Rooted

Second picture: a tree

Some information on healthy tree roots…

Healthy roots are known to spread beyond the “drip line” of the tree by 4 to 7 times.

Can extend 3 to 7 feet beneath the surface, if soil conditions are favorable.

Two parts: Larger roots grow horizontally (stability & anchor) & smaller feeder roots.

Rooted: fixed & well nourished.

Roots are underground and invisible, but the quality of the roots are always seen above the surface.

> If unhealthy, the whole tree will be fruitless and die (sometimes even though it can appear OK)

> If healthy, the tree will thrive (a birch tree can lift a boulder weighing twenty tons!!)

> The same is true for us spiritually.

The Christian life is inward transformation to outward expression

1. Are you rooted & GROUNDED? Are you ANCHORED?

In truth? What truth? —> “Father, sanctify them in the truth. Your Word is truth.” (Jn 17)

What is anchoring your life? Are your roots dug deep and wide in the truth that endures?

2. Are you being NOURISHED?

(Feeders will grow toward moisture, oxygen, and nutrients)

Where are the feeder roots of your life looking for these things? For information? For understanding? For wisdom? For answers? For life-giving nutrients that fuel your life?

Old Testament allusions…

Psalm 1 “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. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

Our spiritual strength is inevitably tied to our spiritual rootedness.

Ephesians 3:14–19 “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Jesus, to his disciples: John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

Are you becoming more rooted in Christ as you walk in him day-by-day?

Word Picture #3: Built Up

Third picture: a building

Paul likely has the community of God’s temple in mind…

Same idea found in Ephesians 2:19–21 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”

And in 1 Peter 2:4–5 “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Paul, to the elders in Ephesians…

Acts 20:32 …And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

There is a corporate aspect to this, isn’t there? We are being built up together.

This idea of spiritual maturity shouldn’t just be our desire for ourselves, but for one another!

Colossians 3:12–17 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (WHAT IS THE KEY): Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 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.”

Only as we walk in Christ will our lives be more and more built upon the foundation of Christ.

And what is the result of our being rooted and built up in him?

Word Picture #4: Established

Fourth picture: A Firm Foundation

Some: a legal term meaning “confirmed, validated, or guaranteed”

“firm” or “solidly grounded”

Paul often uses this term in the sense of “strengthening” or “confirming”

2 Corinthians 1:21–22 “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Established in what?

Established “in the faith”

NOT your faith, but THE faith

Colossians 1:23 “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard…”

“just as you were taught”

By Ephaphras & others … remaining firm in the truth they had received.

2 Timothy 3:14–17 “…as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

As you received THE TRUTH, so walk in THE TRUTH…” —> The Gospel

Don’t swerve! Don’t veer! Don’t drift! Don’t be like the Galatians!

Be ESTABLISHED in the faith.

Illustration: Ben at the 1971 World Jamboree at Mt. Fuji in Japan (Typhoon Olive)

Luke 6:47–49 “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.””

As believers, we will be strengthened and will persevere in our faith as it is reinforced through a continual commitment to the truth.

When the winds blow and storms come, can you face them with confidence because you are firmly established in the faith through a growing knowledge of God and his Word?

Word Picture #5: Abounding

Fifth picture: Abounding —> an overflowing well

Manhole cover during this week’s rain…

[in thanksgiving]

“Thanksgiving is not a natural virtue; it is a fruit of the Spirit, given by him.” -Jerry Bridges

The sort of thanksgiving mentioned here is focused on the Lordship of God in Christ and is not simply a response to certain favors received or to favorable circumstances.

God’s grace abounds for us…

John 1:16 “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

Romans 5:2 “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Ephesians 2:6–7 “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

This is a thanksgiving that is…

fastened to the eternal realities of the gospel,

focused on every sure and unshakable promise that is ours in Christ,

flows out of a certainty of God’s abiding presence and work,

fixed on the eternal reality of God’s good will that informs our physical experience in this life.

Colossians 1:12–14 “[continually] giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

In order to be abounding in thanksgiving, we must first be saturated by the gospel!

As I drove over that manhole a couple of times that day, I thought about what was going on underneath it…

Paul builds on this theme through this letter…

Colossians 3:15–17 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful… 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.”

Colossians 4:2 “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

Conclusion

Notice how this progression in 2:6-7 aligns with Paul’s prayer in 1:10-12…

Rooted [in him] Bearing fruit in every good work

built up [in him] Growing in the knowledge of God

established [in the faith] Being strengthened with all power

abounding [in thanksgiving] Giving thanks to the Father

Our aim for our lives should be the same as Paul’s: spiritual maturity.

The danger: spiritual shipwreck

Colossians 2:8 “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 need to be able to measure all things by Christ, but we will only be able to do that if we are walking in Christ.

If we are not walking in Christ we are drifting, and we will be prone to be carried away by whatever wave of doctrine seems right to us, ideas or ways that might even appear to be Christian, but that contain little of Christ.

If we are not rooted in Christ, our lives will lack spiritual stability. We will be spiritually malnourished, failing to experience fullness in Christ and not bearing fruit.

If we are not being built up in Christ we will lack the strength to bear with one another in love, and instead of pressing each other more deeply into God’s great agenda, we will clash as we pursue our own agendas, ambitions, and missions.

If we are not established in the faith, we will be far more easily blown away by the storms of this life, and look to the world to understand our identity and purpose.

If we are not abounding in thanksgiving then we are not experiencing the sweet abounding grace of life in Christ, and we will become increasingly entitled, self-centered, and/or continually dissatisfied as we look for other ways and to other sources to be filled up.

But I want to close with a positive word. I love how Paul, even as he offers some pretty heavy exhortations, urges his brothers and sisters on in 2 Thessalonians:

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, 2 Thessalonians 2:13–17 “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ… So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us… Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”