Less Talk; More Action (Foundations of a Christ-Centered Life)
Notes
Transcript
Announcements:
Anniversary service next week! Pastor Forest Jones and Men’s Challenge of the Smokies will be doing the service! No kids church will be provided.
Worship:
1. Great Things
2. Build My Life
3. Another in the Fire
Introduction:
Review:
Chapter 1: The Supremacy of Christ
Chapter 2: Built on Christ the Foundation
Chapters 3-4: Building blocks of the Christian life
This book is addressing heresies in the church. The heresy is a combination of several:
Humanism (2:8) – influenced by Greek philosophy (defined as man is the center of the universe, destiny and his/her own solution to their problem and their meaning to life is defined by what brings them happiness/pleasure)
Legalism (2:11-17) – influenced by the Jews (you have to obey rules, regulations, tradition, feasts, festivals to get in and stay in God’s good favor/standing)
Mysticism (2:18-19) – influenced on Eastern mysticism (define by emphasis on the supernatural and spiritual things such as worshipping angels)
Asceticism (2:20-23) – the result of spiritual influence (depriving yourself of anything that is pleasurable because all pleasure/fun is not from God) extreme view of this is to punish and inflict injury on yourself makes you closer to God
Transition: This morning we will be speaking directly to those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and are living for Him. For those who are here or watching online that are still trying to figure things out, I want to encourage you to listen to how a Christian is supposed to live. This is the standard we as believers in Jesus Christ try to live up to with the help of the Holy Spirit. So, let’s look at Colossians 3-4 this morning and take away from observations we can apply to our life.
Paul tells us to:
I. To set our mind on things above and take off old self
1. Set your hearts and minds on things above (3:1-2)
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
12 The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
We are only passing through so we cannot be so earthly minded and miss out on having an eternal perspective
2. Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature (3:5-7)
5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient, 7 and you once walked in these things when you were living in them.
Five things and the first four have to do with sexual sin (sexual in Gr is porneo – any sexual sins outside of marriage between a man and a woman is sin; God transcends the culture and knows best!)
Greed is idolatry because we become preoccupied with something other than God
Putting to death is not negotiating with your flesh but to put them to death (pick up your cross)
23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.
3. Rid yourself of such things (3:8-11)
8 But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. 11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.
Vv 8-9: primarily regarding verbal sin (things in anger)
Anger is an attitude of hatred being bottled up within
Rage is outbursts of anger or a quick temper for selfish reasons; could be continual and uncontrolled behavior
Malice is anger with revenge; doing evil to another in spite of the good received; deliberate attempt to harm another
Slander is destroying another’s good reputation by lies, gossip, rumors etc.
Filthy language is crude talk, abrasive language and expletives
4. We have taken off the old self and have put on the new self (3:10)
Taking off the old clothing and putting on the new clothing
5. we are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved (3:12) cf 1 Peter 2:9 (we are grafted into the vine of the Jewish people)
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
II. To put on new self
Things above: 3:12-17
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. 14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.
Compassion is genuine sensitivity and heartfelt sympathy for the needs of others
Kindness is acting is charitably, benevolently toward others, as God has done toward us
Humility is an attitude of self-esteem that is neither puffed up with pride, nor self-depreciating. It is a true understanding of one’s position with God
Gentleness means consideration for others and a willingness to give up one’s rights for the sake of another
Patience Is putting up with people who irritate. The person might have the right to retaliate, but chooses patience instead.
Bearing with one another and forgiving one another means “Bear with” means putting up with the “extra grace required” crowd. This is only possible for those who are clothed with patience (3:12). To “forgive” implies continual, mutual forgiveness of the problems, irritations, and grievances that occur in the congregation. In order to do either one of these actions, a Christian must do both. It takes forbearance to forgive, and forgiveness means putting up with offensive people.
Bruce B. Barton and Philip Wesley Comfort, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1995), 216.
Love means as they clothed themselves with these virtues, the last garment to put on was love, which, like a belt, holds all of the others in place. Love pulls together the other graces in perfect, unified action. To practice any list of virtues without practicing love will lead to distortion, fragmentation, and stagnation
III. Practical application
What does it practically look like?
In the home Col 3:18-21
Colossians 3:18–21 (CSB)
18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they won’t become discouraged.
Submit is a military term that means to come under; to yield. It does not mean “less than”.
Illustration: Keith and myself working together
Paul talks about this in Ephesians as proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit!
Ephesians 5:18–6:4 (CSB)
18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. 28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body. 31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. 32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, 3 so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land. 4 Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
If we can’t or don’t submit, what is Paul saying here?
6 Start a youth out on his way;
even when he grows old he will not depart from it.
In the workplace Col 3:22-4:1
22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.
Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.
5 Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ. 6 Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. 7 Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people, 8 knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. 9 And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
With others Col 4:2-6
Colossians 4:2–6 (CSB)
2 Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, 4 so that I may make it known as I should. 5 Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Ephesians 5:15–17 (CSB)
15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ.
5 Ways to speak the truth in love:
1. Listen before you speak.
Make sure you understand the other person’s perspective by asking good questions, taking time to hear their perspective. Ecclesiastes 3:7 teaches that there is a time to remain silent and a time to speak.
2. Check yourself.
Do you harbor hidden motivations? Are you dismissing your role in a perceived offense? Are you speaking in order to “set someone straight”? Ask God to reveal the meditations of your heart (Psalm 19:14).
3. Watch your words.
Keep it simple. Speak with kindness. You can’t take back some things that you say.
It’s OK to be angry, but don’t sin in your anger (Ephesians 4:26). Your words have the power to restore and creatively rebuild, but they also have the power to harm relationships in a lasting and damaging way (James 3:9-10).
Don’t be afraid to speak words of love throughout the exchange. Keep returning to the home base of love, the reason why you’re needing to speak the truth.
4. Pray before, after and during the conversation.
Ask the Spirit to help you to have the right words to say and that your words will be saturated in love. Search the Spirit’s counsel before your exchange and rely on the Spirit in your weakness (Romans 8:26-27).
5. Trust in God.
Conclusion:
Is Jesus the most important person in our life? Does everything we do and say come out of our relationship with Jesus Christ?
Are we building on Jesus Christ as our foundation or what we can do?
Are we putting off the old self and putting on the new self as we follow Christ?
The heresy is similar to today:
Humanism (2:8) – influenced by Greek philosophy (defined as man is the center of the universe, destiny and his/her own solution to their problem and their meaning to life is defined by what brings them happiness/pleasure)
Legalism (2:11-17) – influenced by the Jews (you have to obey rules, regulations, tradition, feasts, festivals to get in and stay in God’s good favor/standing)
Mysticism (2:18-19) – influenced on Eastern mysticism (define by emphasis on the supernatural and spiritual things such as worshipping angels)
Asceticism (2:20-23) – the result of spiritual influence (depriving yourself of anything that is pleasurable because all pleasure/fun is not from God) extreme view of this is to punish and inflict injury on yourself makes you closer to God