A Costly Redemption (Colossians 1:21-23)

A Costly Redemption

Colossians 1:21-23

Sunday, July 5, 2026, at Land O’ Lakes Bible Church

i. Introduction

Thanks to ads being more targeted at us using online data points, I’m realizing that I’m getting to that age where the ads are being targeted at me for the need for easier exercising. Ads for things like 7 minutes a day and you can essentially go from Dad bod to Fit bod in 30 days from this set of exercises.

And the way they try and draw you in is their clever marketing. If you do this, then in x number of days, then you will see these incredible kinds of results. Call me a skeptic, but I’m not buying the marketing scheme.

These if-then clauses are used in all kinds of sales points in current marketing. And it makes it hard to hear them and pay close attention.

But we must not toon out every if-then statement we hear. Especially when it comes to matters concerning our faith. And we see one of these in our passage this morning.

Please then take your copy of God’s Word and open with me to Colossians 1:21-23. If you do not have your own copy of the Bible, that is perfectly fine. We have some Red Bibles there in your seat, and you can open it up to page #1168.

In this passage, we are going to see one of these if-then clauses. The if being clearly visible with the then implied. This if-then clause deals with one being reconciled in order to be presented holy and blameless and above reproach. It revealing that these things will be true, provided one endures in the faith.

ii. Context

A. Paul’s Prayer

1. Thanksgiving (1:3-8)

2. Intercession (1:9-14)

B. Paul’s Christology

1. Christ’s Supremacy in Creation (1:15-17)

2. Christ’s Supremacy in Redemption (1:18-20)

>Read Colossians 1:21-23

Main Idea: As Christians, we can rest confidently knowing that we have been reconciled in order to be presented holy and blameless before God, provided we endure in the very faith that qualifies us.

1. Once Enemies (Colossians 1:21)

2. Now Reconciled (Colossians 1:22)

3. Continue Onward (Colossians 1:23)

I. Once Enemies (Colossians 1:21)

In Colossians 1:15-20 last week, we saw the supremacy of Christ over all things. A supremacy over both creation and reconciliation. A reconciliation of all things, that Jesus was making peace by the blood of his cross. This then giving us more of a 60,000-foot arial view of the work of Christ’s reconciliation.

But now, this reconciliation zooms in on the Colossians here in verses 21-22. First in what they were reconciled from. Verse 21…

Paul indeed was thankful to God for his work in these Colossians. And even as he seeks to pray and intercede for them in prayer, asking that they be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, he reminds them here of the power of the gospel that has saved them. Reminding them of what it is this message of the gospel rescued them from. For it says that they were alienated and hostile in mind. It also paints the picture that from these evil deeds worked out of their alienation and hostility of the mind.  

This then begins to paint the picture for us of what kind of alienation we are talking about here of the Colossians. Their alienation from God was not a separation merely of distance, but one that included hostility and enmity. An alienation that had a clear line between the Colossians and God as they stood as enemies of the Almighty!

And while we do not know precisely what their evil deeds were that they were doing previously, we can guess by the things that the letter addresses in calling them to put off. That of sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry as seen there in Colossians 3:5.

It was this kind of alienation and hostility of mind that lay between God and these Colossians. These are the things in which Paul says, they once were.

But this is not just the case for the Colossians. This is the case for all mankind, because of the fall of man as described in Genesis 3. For once Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, sin entered the world and it has continued to increase ever since. For now, as we are born in Adam of a natural mother and father, we are conceived and born in sin. We are born with a natural bent to be alienated and hostile in mind to God and given over to evil deeds. For this is what the doctrine of total depravity sums up.

And all we need to do to see such depravity and how it has kept us alienated from God and hostile to him, all we need to do is look even throughout the story of Scripture. For even as the LORD declared a people for himself, having delivered them out of Egypt through the Exodus, he gave instructions to them for a Tabernacle. Instructions that there would be an inner court, the holy of holies. And that none could enter that, except that of the High Priest, and he but once a year after having cleansed himself. And to warn the people of the distance between God and man, big keep out curtains were hung of these Warrior Cherubim Angels. This telling the people if they drew near as they were, they would not live.

Even with that of David, being a man after God’s own heart, sin prevailed. Then of course there is that of Solomon and Samson, and on and on throughout the Bible. None of these are the heroes. They show how deep the alienation between man and God was.

Then there are of course our own lives. When we take a moment to pause and consider what we once were. Remembering that before Jesus, we too were of the world and like the world. That we were given to the things of Colossians 3 in living according to the desires and evils of the flesh. That we were alienated from God and stood as his enemies. For in our sin, no matter how small we think it might be, we were raging our fists against the LORD and his Anointed (Ps 2). We rejected God’s rule over us and chose our own rule.

A rule that we declared ourselves to be our own gods, determining what is right and wrong. A rule declaring what is just and unjust according to us and not God. A rule declaring what is right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable. This is the rule in which we lived under from the moment we were born until our treasonous hearts were brought to repentance by the power of the gospel.

We were not children of God by our sinful nature, but children of the serpent, of the evil one. This is what God has now rescued us from if we are in Christ. But we must remember this origin to stir us to continue in thanksgiving and the hope of the gospel.

However, not all have moved from this reality of being alienated and hostile in mind towards God. If you presently do not know Jesus and are not walking with him, you continue in this alienation and hostility. And the deeds that are at work in you and through you, are filled with evil.

For even if you think you are merely indifferent towards God, it is treason. For you resist the will and the glory of your creator and instead seek your own. You put yourself where God should be alone. For your desires, your belly is your god. And as you seek to satisfy those desires, your iniquities will ensnare you, the cords of your sin will hold you. And this great folly will lead you to death.[1]

Therefore, friend, see your evil deeds, and acknowledge the truth that you have been alienated from God and hostile against him and seek forgiveness in his Beloved Son, Jesus! For it is in him and him alone that we have hope of escaping the reality of our sinful origins, of our total depravity. For it is in Christ that reconciliation is possible. That leads us now to point #2.

II. Now Reconciled (Colossians 1:22)

Paul first mentioned what they once were, now he turns to what is true of them now. Verse 22…

Jesus, the Beloved Son (v.13), has come to reconciles to himself all things, including those who were previous enemies. Even the term reconciliation communicates this, for it is defined as the exchange from a hostile relationship to that of a friendly relationship.

It is precisely this, that takes place in those that Jesus reconciles to himself. For it is said here in verse 22, that the purpose of this reconciliation is in order to now present these who were previously alienated and hostile, full of evil deeds as those who are now holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

In this work of reconciliation, Jesus takes those who were enemies and hostile against the LORD and his Anointed and brings them near and declares them now blameless despite their previous treason.

 A reconciliation that comes because of its great cost. For it says, that they are now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death.

This language returning to verse 20, and that peace is made between God and those who were enemies by the blood of Jesus’s cross. For it is on the cross that the blood of Jesus was shed like the blood of a slaughtered lamb. It was at the cross, where he in his human flesh, was put to death on our account. Where Jesus would lay down his body (σώματι) of flesh in exchange for his body (σώματος), the church as seen back there in verse 18.

Reconciliation is possible, peace is possible, because of the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf! For he was blameless, he was holy, he was above reproach. Yet, Christ lays down his life to make these things now true of us! This is the great exchange of the gospel! That for our sake, Jesus was made to be sin though he knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God!

And though this news is nothing new to the ears of the Colossians, it was an important reminder to stir them to remember how thankful they should be for the message of the gospel that they have heard and believed.

A reminder that as Christians we all continually need! For when our love grows cold towards Christ, when we are tempted to turn to other hopes and comfort, it is necessary for us to be reminded of the great work of love that has come to us to bring about our reconciliation.

Just think back to the song, His Mercy is More, which we sang earlier:

For what love could remember no wrongs we have done?

Omniscient, all-knowing, he counts not their sum.

Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore.

Our sins, they are many, his mercy is more.

Beloved, let us see what love has forgotten our treason and counts us now holy and blameless in the blood of Jesus! That’s point #2.

III. Continue Onward (Colossians 1:23)

It has been declared that these Colossians have been reconciled by the blood of Jesus, in order to now present them holy and blameless and above reproach. But now we come to the if-then clause of verse 23…

Paul has been telling these Colossians already in this letter how thankful to God Timothy and him are for their faith and love, rooted in their hope laid up for them in heaven as heard in the gospel. But now, he encourages them to be rooted and grounded in this gospel. To endure in it.

For if they continue in the hope of this gospel, if they continue to be grounded in this, then all of these things will be true! They will be presented holy and blameless and above reproach as they rest in Christ and Christ alone for their reconciliation, for their standing before God!

However, if this is true if they continue and remain steadfast, if they endure in the faith, then the reverse is also true. If the Colossians fail to remain steadfast, if they fail to endure in the faith, then they will not stand holy and blameless and above reproach, for they will have turned from resting in Jesus alone for their salvation.

And this is the real danger for the Colossians. For these false teachers are laboring to turn the eyes of the Colossians away from faith, away from the hope laid up for them in heaven that is brought about and secure in Christ alone, towards other means for their sanctification and for their salvation.

For instance, the false teachers are turning their eyes towards the spiritual realm and the need for the worship of angels. Likewise, they are urging the forbidding of handling, tasting, and touching certain things of the self-made religious variety.[2]

So, Paul is setting the tone for them. He is telling them that the hope that they have heard and is now even laid up for them is secure, provided they do not shift away from this hope and turn elsewhere.

Beloved, this is the importance of this if-then statement here in Colossians. It is both a warning and an encouragement. A warning to not shift from the hope of the gospel that they have heard, and an encouragement to remain steadfast in this hope. To remain steadfast even when others argue differently, even when things get hard in following Christ!

A warning and encouragement that we desperately need!

For there is warning needed in reminding us of the need to continually examine our faith. For so often, we are tempted to measure our faith by looking to the past. To past graces, to past fruit, to past professions.

But how many have professed faith to only fall away? For did not even in the parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8, teach us that even if the seed of the word takes root at first, it can often be scorched by persecution and choked out by the cares of the world? A parable that shows that true fruit is not a previous fruit, but a lasting fruit. A fruit that endures!

This is why J.I. Packer once wrote:

“The only proof of past conversion is present convertedness.”[3]

So how then, can we rightly examine ourselves to see if we are enduring in a true faith and avoid the ditch of doubting our salvation?

1. The Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is one of two ordinances given to the church as a visible sign for us. The other being that of baptism. In the Lord’s Supper, we are remembering the truths of verses 21-22. We are remembering that of which we were and the purpose of Christ’s death, the shedding of his blood to wash away our sins. We are remembering that in Christ the forgiveness of sins is possible! Not only that, in the LORD’s Supper, we are being pointed forward to the day when we drink the cup of the Supper new with our Redeemer! A day in which we, like him will be raised to new life and where we will dwell with him forever in a Sabbath that shall never end! This is one way we hold to this faith in steadfastness. We continue to partake of this act of grace in the meal of remembrance, the Lord’s Supper!

2. The Local Church. The local church is another way in which we see if we are enduring. For it is in the local church, where we are both subjected to the authority of the elders and held responsible for one another, that we can labor to endure. For in such a body of gathered believers, we are to be united to the head of the body, Christ. And though this is true of the global body of believers, it is in these local bodies of believers, that of the local church, where we are known and able to be encouraged in the midst of doubting or rebuked and admonished when sin seems to be choking out our professed faith. The local church is an aide to us in the midst of such a struggle.

3. The Scriptures.

4. Prayer.

Beloved, let us faithfully examine ourselves to test in ensure we are not shifting from the faith, the hope we have in Christ! For it is in him alone that our salvation is made possible and stands! And when we stand in this hope, no matter how weak or shaky our faith feels, if it is continually anchored in Christ alone, it is a secure and sure faith! A faith that will indeed endure until the end! So, rest in Christ, beloved!

As for you who have yet to believe. See that if this assurance of reconciliation is true for the believer, that it is also a hope being extended to you!

GOSPEL PLEA FOR SINNERS!

IV. Conclusion

All who are truly in Christ will endure in their faith until the very end! For those whom Christ died, he will never let go! He will continue to sustain and strength us along the way. Let us never shift from that hope! The hope of knowing that he died for us to reconcile us and present us holy and blameless and above reproach. Amen!

Let’s pray…

[1]Proverbs 5:22-23 allusion

[2]See Colossians 2:16-23

[3]J.I. Packer. Keep in Step with the Spirit. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2005), 60-61.