Untitled Sermon (26)

There is a pithy saying in Christian circles, that whenever you see a therefore you should ask the question, and the women’s Bible study recently heard this from me in the week I was with them, what is the therefore there for? Therefore is a word that is pointing us to, and demanding us to, read and understand context. So this morning we continue in our series… and we arrive at Colossians 2:6-7 where Paul will take what we have discussed in the first chapter up until 2:5 and begin to apply them practically. This morning that application is specifically about how we live our lives as disciples of Jesus. Let’s pray and we will dive in. 

So to continue with the theme of therefore, let’s do a recap of what we have discussed thus far in Colossians, because reminding ourselves of that will help us put into practice what we will read this morning and next week. So far we have covered 3 main sections of the letter. We began with the introduction where Paul told this church how he is thankful for their faith and prays for them regularly as he has a deep love for the people of God that they are. Which led to the One in whom they have the faith he is thankful for and he discussed how Jesus is the ultimate Truth, Jesus is supreme in all of creation and in salvation. And the third section is Paul saying that because of their faith in the True Jesus, who is supreme over everything, he works to present them mature in Christ, knowing the true Gospel and living out. 

And because of all of that, they should therefore be persistent in what we received and walk. Let’s begin by reading all of verse 6… the main false teaching that Paul is addressing in this letter will come to be known as gnosticism. In gnosticism, the core teaching is that there is a higher, secret knowledge that is better than simplistic baby Christian faith. I think we see that a bit today with progressive Christianity in particular and the deconstruction movement. Like they started with the orthodox faith but then moved beyond that, Scripture does not paint the full story so they take out the things they do not like and latch on to things they do, adding that to their Christianity. And what is the standard by which they do this? There is none, it is almost like a secret knowledge. 

Paul says that the Gospel they received, the true Gospel, they should not abandon that initial Gospel. We should treat the Gospel more like a great piece of art, not a piece of technology. Here is what I mean. With technology, the goal is to learn it, master it, then change and improve it. Maybe some of the initial steps are there but you end up with something that is far removed from the original piece of tech. But when you examine a piece of art, like an incredible sculpture or painting, the goal is not to improve it but to dive more deeply into the details, noting things you did not see before. 

So Paul does not want them to abandon the Gospel for something new, adding on to the Gospel thus changing it to something that is not the actual Gospel. The way we received the true Gospel, that Jesus Christ is Lord, we must walk in that Gospel always. (Present Gospel). Walking with the true Jesus is what we are called to do for our entire lives. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:7 “7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” He did not begin a new race, he walked with the true Jesus that is presented to us in Scripture. He walked with the true triune God of the universe. This takes effort on our part and self sacrifice. Galatians 2:20 “20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 

Not only do we have to be persistent but we must be planted which means we are rooted and built up. Verse 7 begins with this language… The language of being rooted in Christ and built up in Christ is quite common throughout the entirety of Scripture. Remember Psalm 1:1-3 that we looked at a couple months ago “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; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 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.” If our roots are in the true Gospel, planted in Christ, then as we grow, as we continue on in our walk with Christ, we will be built up in Him. If what is building in our lives is contrary to Scripture, contrary to the person of Jesus, then we should look and see if there is a crack in our foundation. 

This made me think about blockbuster. I used to love blockbuster, there was something special about movie night, getting to go and walk the aisles, deciding on the movie, finding hidden gems, getting candy or whatever snacks at the register. Side note, I really miss that experience. But when Netflix showed up and started changing the game, blockbuster simply was trying to bandage the situation. They made some tweaks here and there, changing their rental strategy, pricing, adding retail items to their stores, but ultimately the thing they did not understand, which led to their downfall, was that they had a flaw in the very foundation, their business strategy as a whole, it did not work. Instead of looking at that, they only used bandages and that ended up leading to blockbuster’s demise and Netflix, and now more streaming, to take over our movie and tv landscape. 

Jesus tells a parable that helps illustrate this in Luke 8:5-8 where He says 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” So what is the proper foundation? It needs to be the true Gospel, and a desire for God. An old friend of mine posted to social media this week a long post about their faith and in it he posed 2 questions: if you received none of what you desire would God be enough? Do you feel like God owes you something? As I read that status I saw those questions as foundation, as root, questions.

If my answer is that God would not be enough that reveals that receiving stuff from God, which could be material or relational or anything, is the foundation of our faith. In one of the most famous miracles Jesus feeds the 5,000. After a little bit of time the people who were fed were looking for Jesus and finally catch up to Him they are wondering where He went and how long He had been there, and Jesus responds to them in John 6:26 “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” Their foundation was getting the miracles of Christ, not Christ Himself. If our foundation is wrong, we will be like the seed among the rocks or thorns. If the foundation of a building is weak, it does not matter if the building techniques are top notch, the building will fail. When our foundation is right, the building will stand and we can be content and flourish, but we will discuss that more in just a minute. 

Before we get to that I want to talk about how we progress that is established and taught. Look at the next phrase of verse 7… last week we saw how one of Paul’s concerns was that he did not want them to be deluded by plausible arguments, by false ideologies. So how do we avoid doing this? We need to be rightly established. Like we just were talking about with the foundation, if we are established in the faith, then are we are built up we will be built up in the Truth. While the foundation is important, vital even, like we were just talking about, it is also important that we are building with the right things as well. If the foundation is right, that is good, but now we need to be continually rightly taught. We mentioned this last week but Satan is relentless. There are so many false teachings and ideologies out there. If we are going to progress in our faith then we need to be taught things that are True. Are we sitting under and learning the Word of God? Are we learning about the true Jesus and being reminded regularly about what He did, what He accomplished, and how that impacts us and who we are? 

I heard a clip from a preacher once who said that, and I quote, “you don’t have to preach the Gospel at every service” and later in the clip he asked, basically, are we really only allowed to preach the Bible and the Gospel? Ok, if I ever say anything like that in sincerity, just walk out. Right then. I mean you can stay if you want to confront me after but leaving immediately is also a good option. We need to be taught about what we were established in. Now in Hebrews we are warned about staying in elementary doctrines, that we, as we continue in our faith, should be growing in wisdom and faithful obedience. Hebrews 5:11-14 “11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” But it is about continually going to this incredible book of wisdom, continuing to mine it for gold, and applying the Gospel to our lives. 

I think going to the sister letter of Colossians can be helpful here. There is a passage that mirrors this one and shows us that it is not about changing the Gospel as we graduate from it, it is about mining it for more because there is always infinitely more. Ephesians 3:17-19 it says, “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.” We will never reach the end of this limitless well of grace and knowledge. Look at this language. Does this look like something we just graduate from when something better comes along? No! The more deeply we learn about what Jesus did, who our God is, and how that impacts us, the more faithful and obedient we learn to be, then the better parents, children, friends, siblings, workers, missionaries, neighbors, we will be. 

And when we truly are learning and building upon the right foundation, our lives will be marked by praise that is abounding and thankful. Let’s finish our passage at the end of verse 7… this is a theme throughout Scripture. God’s people are to be a people that abound in thanksgiving, that are content in any circumstance. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Psalm 100:4 “4  Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” Ephesians 5:20 “20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,…” Philippians 4:6 “6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Psalm 107:1 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Hebrews 12:28 “28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,…” 

When we learn more about the glory of God, when we are rooted in Truth and growing in Truth, when we remind ourselves to be thankful to God for salvation, for Jesus, for the cross and resurrection, we will be content. Yes, there will be seasons of life that are hard. But being content with God means we will be able to suffer well, yes, we can cry out in hard circumstances, but also with a heart of gratitude, of thanksgiving, knowing all that the Lord has given us in our salvation. 

One of my favorite people to listen to on matters like this is Joni Erickson Tada. This is a woman who, in a diving accident at age 17, became paralyzed. If you read what she has written, she had many nights where she cried out, where she struggled, where she questioned, but look at what she says. “Contentment is realizing that God has already given me everything I need for my present happiness.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8 “6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” When we are truly content, we can be truly thankful, we can abound with thanksgiving. 

Our modern culture preys on us not being content, and if we are it tries to make us lose contentment. Just look at any advertisement you see. You could ask the question, is this assuming I am grateful and content or is this pushing me towards lack of contentment, showing me that I am lacking something they claim I need? If we have nothing else to abound in thanksgiving for, we can abound in thanksgiving for the simple fact that while our sins alienated us from God, severing the relationship and earning His wrath, Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly, that the cross and resurrection happened, that Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father and is ruling and reigning forever, that it is all under His control and He is working all things for our good, and one day He will return and set all things right. Let’s pray.