Closet Check: What Are You Wearing?

Well, good morning!

If you’ve got your Bible—and I hope you do—go ahead and open it up with me to Colossians chapter 3.

…

Listen, let me ask you something before we get started here—how long did it take you this morning to pick out your outfit?

For some of you… probably like 30 seconds. You grabbed whatever was clean(ish), you looked in the mirror—maybe—and you walked out the door.

For others of you… let’s just be honest, it took a little longer, right?

But either way, whether you thought about it a lot or not at all—what you’re wearing right now, it says something about you.

It shows people what you like. It gives them a first impression. It tells a story about you… before you ever say a single word.

Now imagine this: What if people could see your character the same way they see your clothes? Not just what you wear on the outside… but what you “wear” on the inside.

Your attitude. Your reactions. The way you treat people when no one else is watching.

If your character was an outfit… what would people say you’re wearing?

Would they see kindness? Would humility stand out? Would love be the first thing they notice?

Or listen… would it be impatience? Pride? Anger? Something else?

…

This year you’ve been talking about “Uncommon Focus,” right?—setting your mind on the things above, not just what’s right out in front of you.

But here’s the thing—what you focus on doesn’t just stay in your head. It shows up in your life.

It shows up in how you talk. It shows up in how you react. How you treat people.

In other words… it shows up in what you’re wearing. Because following Jesus isn’t just about avoiding the wrong stuff. It’s not just, “Don’t do this, don’t say that, don’t hang with those people.”

It’s deeper than that.

It’s about putting something on.

A new identity. A different way of living. A visible change in who you’re becoming.

Listen, in Colossians 3, Paul gives us this picture that’s honestly super practical: Every single day, you’re getting dressed—spiritually. You’re choosing what kind of person you’re gonna be before you ever walk out the door.

And so the question isn’t just, “What are you taking off?” The real question, its: What are you putting on?

That’s what we’re gonna talk about today.

And so if you’re there, let me read our passage—and then we’ll walk through it together.

Colossians 3, starting in verse 12…

And so, let’s walk through this passage together. There’s a couple things I want you to see here.

I. Start with Who You Are (v. 12a)

The first thing, its to start with who you are.

The first thing Paul does here is really important—he doesn’t start with behavior. He starts with identity.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved…”

Before he ever tells them what to wear—before kindness, and humility, and patience, and forgiveness—he reminds them who they are.

And that matters, because most of us get that backwards.

We tend to think, “If I act better, then maybe I’ll become someone better.”

Or, “If I can somehow just fix my behavior, then I’ll finally be acceptable.”

But Paul flips that completely.

He says: you don’t dress yourself up spiritually to become God’s chosen, holy, loved people. You put these things on because that’s already who you are in Christ.

Think about it like this—most mornings, you don’t put on a hoodie hoping it’ll eventually make you a hoodie person, right? You wear it because you already are the kind of person who owns it, who likes it, who identifies with it. The clothing follows the identity.

And Paul’s saying here: that’s how the Christian life works.

You’re already:

Chosen

— You’re not an accident, or overlooked, you’re not random…You’re chosen.

You’re also holy

— set apart, marked by God as His.

You’re beloved

— deeply, fully loved by God right now, not after you clean yourself up.

And listen, if that’s true—and Paul says it is—then everything changes about how you live. Because now you’re not trying to earn your place. You’re living from your place.

That means when you put on kindness, it’s not to become acceptable—it’s because you’re already accepted.

When you practice humility, it’s not to get God’s attention—it’s because you already have it.

When you choose patience, it’s not to prove something—it’s because your identity is secure.

And honestly, a lot of pressure should come off when you see it that way.

Because some of you walk around every day trying to figure out who you’re supposed to be—based on friends, and grades, and sports…social media, what people say about you.

But Paul starts right here for a reason: before you figure out what to put on, you need to know who you are in Christ.

Because as a believer, your identity isn’t something you build—it’s something you receive.

And once you know that… then you’re ready for what comes next: what it actually looks like to “get dressed” in a way that matches who you already are.

II. Put on the Right Clothes (vv. 12b-13)

Which is the second thing I want you to see here, its that Paul shows us what kind of clothes to put on.