Paul's Letter to the Colossians 4

Heavenly Minded

Job 31:25–28 “if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.”

Colossians 3:1–4 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

We have been studying Paul’s letter to the Colossians over the last three weeks. Paul wrote it around 62 A.D. while he was imprisoned in Rome. Paul never visited Colossae himself. Epaphras, one of Paul’s co workers had ministered there and had traveled to Rome to tell Paul what was happening there. Based on that report Paul has cautioned them about false teachings that they should avoid. That their hearts have been circumcised by Jesus and they have been buried with him in baptism and they have been made alive with Christ. No longer bound by man made rules.

This morning we will consider how we should live out that freedom. We have been raised with Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus’ blood covered the need for a sacrifice, once and for all. It is finished, it does not have to be repeated. It was for everyone who has lived and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and it is for everyone living now and in the future. Paul also wrote to the Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Romans 6:4 “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

David Jeremiah tells the story of Watchman Nee, a Chinese Christian preacher, was struggling with temptations and his sinful nature, when he read the words in Romans 6:6 “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—” Nee was so excited by this that he ran and told a brother that he had died. The brother was puzzled, Nee explained that Christ had died and that he had died with him. From that day on he was more confident and strong in his faith. The Word of God is alive and will teach us what we need to know, to live a confident life, here and now.

Paul says, set your hearts on things above. (The KJV says affections instead of heart. The ESV says minds. ) We read in Matthew 6:19 ““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”

What are we doing in this life? Are we laying up treasures on earth that won’t last? I have heard numerous comments from people on this subject. For instance; 1. I need money here on this earth now, I will give to the Lord in my will. 2. the Bible doesn’t say anything in the New Testament about tithing it was an old Testament practice, therefore I don’t need to tithe. I give money to my family, others can take care of their own. Excuses, read the Word, Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.””

Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. He is now seated on the right hand of God the Father. Seated, because the work of redemption is finished. Now if the work is done. As I mentioned earlier the fact that we have been crucified with Christ brings us to the statement that we are hidden with Christ. Our old nature is dead. Paul says that we are dead. If I make the statement that all of us are dead, how would you react? I maintain that we have all died. We have either died in Christ and now live in him and he lives in our hearts until we meet him face to face, when he comes to take us home to eternal life in heaven. Or we are dead to Christ with no hope of eternal life in heaven. This is the good news of the gospel verses the saddest thing imaginable, life separated from God. When we believe we are now a new creation in Christ and our old self is hidden in the cross.

One of the supply pastors that was here many years ago was Dr. Dewitt Holland. He was a professor in a college in Philadelphia and a member at Forks of the Brandywine Presbyterian Church. He told us about an incident that occurred when he was just starting out as a young preacher. One of the older ladies in the congregation who had known him as Timmie from childhood would always pray that Timmie would get behind the cross. At first he found this to be a nice prayer, but he learned that she was praying that when he preached that people would see Jesus not him. This was a humbling lesson to learn. When we are out and about, do people see Jesus in us? Do we make a good impression? will others say ; “I want what that person has?”

Let’s move on to the next passage; Colossians 3:5–11 “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

If we are dead to sin we need to get rid of the sins that enslave us. Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. God has given us our sexual nature, it is good, but it is intended to be expressed in a loving manner in the marriage of a man and woman united in love, giving to one another. When it is expressed in other ways it is harmful to one or both. Impurity; the struggle to live without constantly sinning. This is in every facet of our lives. Lust, we often think of this in a sexual manner, but it can be in our work and play as well. Evil desires; anything that is contrary to what is good. Greed; This can also be in many forms. We often think of this as wanting more and more, never being satisfied, wanting , at the expense of others. Paul says that it is idolatry, putting things in the place of God. He goes on to list things that we do as a result of these sins. Things that we can control in our relationships with others. Anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Have you heard about anger management? We hear about people who have problems controlling their anger being required to take anger management training as part of a sentence for domestic abuse. Malice wanting to hurt someone physically or mentally. Slander; making false allegations against someone. Perhaps you have noticed that some people are well trained in how to make an allegation in a manner that is suggestive but not definite so as to avoid being sued for slander. Filthy language, This is one that I have seen from a young age. I questioned it as a child. How could a person talk like that? Every other word was a cuss word. I was told that it was shop talk and really didn’t mean anything. As I grew older I thought that that person must really have a good relationship with Jesus because he mentioned his name so often. I once heard a father bragging about his young daughter, that she could out cuss any man alive. What a shameful thing to say. Paul ends that list with lying. this is something that we have all done at times. We talk about a little white lie. Something that might keep someone from being hurt. What might seem innocent enough can snowball into something huge. One lie often calls for another lie to cover up the truth from the first lie. You have probably noticed that a person who twists the truth, yes that is lying , thinks that other people are lying to him and has trouble trusting people. All this being said we need to put off the old nature and put on the new self that is in Christ.

Colossians 3:12–17 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Paul now lists the opposite. The things that we should put on as his chosen people. Compassion; concern for others, lending a helping hand for those who are in need. Kindness; do unto others as you would have them do to you. Humility; putting aside pride, not thinking that we are better than others. the funny thing about humility is that when we think that we have achieved it we are showing pride. Gentleness ; In our dealings with people, I think especially when dealing with children, a gentile touch, a kind word, can go a long way with helping or calming a problem. Patience; I used to say to people; “you would try the patience of Job.” I stopped saying that because I realized that we all try others patience at times. I think that we all need to cultivate patience. Many problems can be solved by stepping back and assessing the problem, (some time reading the instruction manual helps, ) before continuing.

Forgive one another as Christ forgave you. Remember When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother and suggested 7 times. The Jewish teachers said 3 time so he thought he was being generous, but Jesus relied 70 times 7. Put on love; this is to be a constant action. Even when things happen that hurt us we need to react in love. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. This is how we are able to do what Paul is asking. We have the Word of God, read it, teach it and let it guide you in all circumstances. Sing psalms and hymns with gratitude and joy in your hearts. I have mentioned before that it helps to remember scripture by singing it. To summarize; do everything in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him.