"CHRISTIAN ENTITLEMENT"

"CHRISTIAN ENTITLEMENT" Colossians 2:6-12 January 27,  2002 Given by Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory Karl Valletin of Munich, Germany, was a master among that rare group of performing artists we call clowns. The scene for which he is best remembered took place on a darkened stage illumined only by a solitary circle of light thrown by a street lamp. Valletin, with long-drawn face and deeply worried expression, walks around and around in this circle of light, desperately looking for something. A policeman enters the scene and asks, "What have you lost?" "The key to my house," replies the clown. The policeman then joins the search, but they find nothing. After a while the policeman inquires, "Are you sure that you lost it here?" "No," says the clown, pointing to a dark corner of the stage, "over there." "The why on earth are you looking for it here?" asks the policeman. The reply, "There is no light over there." Clowns are not only performers, they are teachers, illustrating sometimes-important truths by their ridiculous antics, and themselves becoming absurd expressions of our common human frailty. Valletin's parable is a picture of the human snare of always running after whatever promise of light is available. For this reason Paul writes to the small congregation of Christians in Colosse,"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." (Col 2:8) Human beings are hopelessly religious creatures. We are always looking to find something to worship. If our hearts are blind or stubborn against the knowledge of the true God, we will invent another, or several others. A couple of more popular categories of such idolatry are: materialism, with its offer of finding security in the things we can amass for ourselves; hedonism, the philosophy of "if it feels good, do it". Here, too, human beings trying to find fulfillment settle for temporary and never-satisfying rounds of indulgent pleasures; narcissism, the endless pursuit of happiness through self-realization, self-improvement and self-absorption; then there are the countless other modern "isms" that masquerade as truth and sidetrack human beings from the one thing that will, in fact, satisfy their souls-coming to know and enjoy fellowship with their Creator-God. If we can learn anything from the book of Colossians, it is this-even Christians who have been reconciled to God can be distracted by the lesser gods of this world. The devil is very good at deceitful scheming that will draw believers away from their first love. The first thing he does is plant doubt in the disciple's mind. "Are you sure you're saved? After all, you haven't exactly been behaving in holy fashion lately!" "Hey, if you're really a God-related person, shouldn't you be feeling considerably more peace and joy than you are?" "You know, it's a long time until you have to stand before the judgement seat-don't you think your God wants you to enjoy life a little more?" "There is a lot more mystical and exciting religious experience available, don't you think? Why not dabble in some of these other ideas?" And then he makes his move. Bringing some divergent teaching, or intellectually stimulating notions to your attention. And he'll always use a "religious" person, some trustworthy teacher or popular guru, to get you interested. Now, the devil will dabble in some of the more colorful and exotic temptations sometimes. But when he wants to get you confused, doubtful and afraid, he is considerably more stealthy. He'll get you to follow some idea that's just a half bubble off the truth, with just enough religious appeal. This is precisely the kind of thing that was happening in Colosse. Under the direction of the Spirit of God, the apostle Paul writes to correct these young Christians' thinking. He warns them against being snared by false ways of thinking that seem very religious, but will ultimately draw them away from a genuine and vital relationship with God. In a nutshell, the answer for combating false teaching is to focus on all that you have in Christ. Read with me the first 5 verses of Colossians 2, and watch for the hints. "I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is." Now, when you read through the book of Colossians, you easily pick up certain hints about what the false teachings that threatened this church were like. A couple of key words in this passage are: full (words like "full" and "fullness" keep popping up in this letter, and the reason is simple-the false teachers had been throwing such ideas around); mystery-any time you want to rouse interest in something, make it mystical; treasures, wisdom, knowledge, and so on… Frankly, some people in and around the Colossian church had been disturbing the Christians, leading them to believe they didn't have enough religion! How did they do it? They shamed them, telling the young Christians they weren't acting good enough; they teased them by telling them they, the teachers, had more esoteric wisdom, and the Colossians were just not very wise in spiritual things; they lured them into following non-Christian patterns of belief according to worldly philosophies. What is Paul's answer to the hollow and deceptive philosophies of human tradition and the principles of this world? Two words: CHRIST ALONE! If you are a Christian, Paul says, you must rely on Christ alone, and not on any other source of wisdom, or rules or notions. It is not Christ and following some religious orthodoxy that's going to make you holy in the sight of God-it's CHRIST ALONE! It is not Christ plus some other man-made doctrine that will make you wise spiritually-it's CHRIST ALONE! It's not Christ's atoning death on the cross supplemented by your perfect obedience that pays the debt of your sin and brings you forgiveness-it's CHRIST ALONE! It's not Christ as Savior & Lord plus strict adherence to some externally imposed set of rules that makes you acceptable to God-it's CHRIST ALONE! Who puts you right before God? Who is your Savior? Who is your Lord? In whom is your salvation? Your righteousness? Your freedom? Your hope? Look at Paul's apostolic advice in verses 6-7 - "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness" Then, in the next verse, Paul's warning against being duped by so-called teachers with their fine-sounding arguments. "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human traditions and the basic principles of this world." (verse 8) Why? Because Christ is enough-CHRIST ALONE! Verse 9 - "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." There is nothing lacking in Christ! Paul says that if you have Jesus, you have all you need. Don't forfeit the freedom from the bondage of rules and regulations that Christ died to give you. Galatians 5:1 - "It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." In the course of the next couple of messages in this series I hope to speak directly to some of these brands of false teaching because they are still with us. Shades of the same kinds of religious thinking that the apostle opposed in first century Colosse are all around us today in our culture. And when these ideas encroach into the minds and hearts of Christians, they lose the life, liberty, joy and passion of serving Christ. Satan is still trying to use subtle forms of persuasion to get believers to veer ever so slightly to the left or right and lose their pure devotion to Christ. Specific issues I hope to address are LEGALISM in its various modern forms, TRADITIONALISM and the way it robs Christians of the abundant life God intends for them to have, PIETISM including systems of expected religious behavior that put Christians back into bondage to guilt and oppression; and SANCTIMONIALISM which, rather than helping people draw closer to God, actually erects a spiritual blockade by spoiling their personal relationship with the Lord. These all play themselves out in cold, dead religion. People who are caught in such snares no longer feel capable of just genuinely loving God and being themselves before Him. They lose their ability to worship Him in Spirit and in truth, their sense of spontaneity of service and witness and they begin to lose sight of the spiritual power and blessings that are their birthright in Christ. That all brings me back to verses 6-7. This is the counsel Paul brings to those who feel like they are beginning to slip out of abundant life and into dead religion. Here in this sentence, Paul touches on four "entitlements" that every Christian has. He begins with the words, "…just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him…" Do you remember what it was like when you first gave your heart to Christ? Maybe you were a young child and one day you suddenly realized that you were one of those sinners the Bible talked about, and you needed Jesus to be your Savior, too. Raised in church and familiar with all the Bible stories, maybe you had Christian parents and you had always felt secure in the love of Jesus. But then you faced the dreadful truth that it was your sins, too, that Jesus died for on the cross, and with genuine repentance and sincere personal faith, you surrendered your life to Him. Or, like many today, perhaps you did not have the privilege of being raised in the church, you were never taught the truths of the Bible and therefore had not considered the claims of Christ until you were an adult. Then, without warning, something began to happen to you, and all the other issues of life (career, family, and possessions) began to fade into less importance as God began to crowd into your life. Maybe it was through the witness of a friend or a passing encounter with a television evangelist. Maybe in your case you just thought it was time to try out a church, and you heard the gospel-the good news-in all its attractive simplicity. The warm and personal invitation of God to be forgiven and reconciled to Him through His Son Jesus. You might have hesitated, debated, cogitated and even been aggravated, but finally the day came when you knew, you just knew, it was time to bow to His lordship and accept the salvation He offered you. Do you remember that season? That day? Do you recall the sense of being filled with faith? The joy mixed with questions? The way your doubts had suddenly melted away? You felt all your questions were answered, all your needs were being personally met by the Lord and all your hopes were about to be realized? That was quite a feeling, wasn't it? Remember the day you were baptized? You stepped into the water, a little self-conscious of how you looked, mindful that this seemed to be an odd thing the Lord was asking you to do. But you were sure, soul-certain, that it was right, and no matter what it took you were going to carry out this obedience to him. Your new Christian friends celebrated your decision, some of your old friends shook their heads, but you didn't care. Thanks to Jesus, you were now right with God, for the first time in your life, and you knew it would be so for all of eternity! Do you remember that feeling? Paul says you should continue to live JUST LIKE THAT! Just as you received him, continue to live in him. I want to say to you who watched that original fire in your life burn out, you can ignite it again. Oh, the feelings will be different, more mature, less impetuous and extemporaneous, but still full of real commitment to the Lord and sold out to Him. You can recover that same zeal, that same dedication, that old passion. How is that so? Because in Christ all the fullness of God lives, and YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN FULLNESS IN CHRIST! This is Paul's point! You don't need a revival meeting, another seminar, a crackling sermon, a word of discipline, a new book, a new gift or a new church. You have Christ and you have all you need! It is not Christ plus something else-it's CHRIST ALONE! How does it work-this re-kindling of the first love for Christ? First and foremost, it is getting hold of this truth-that Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever, and He has never left you, nor will He. If you've felt distant from the Lord lately, it wasn't He who moved, it was you. And you can come back, today, now. He has put in you everything you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3); He has blessed you in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3); and He is always ready to make all things-including your mistakes-work out for good. Entitlement Number One: You are ROOTED. There in verses 7, the first of four participles, is the word ERIZZOMENOI. It is an agricultural word that refers to the time when a newly planted tree or bush is "set". That is when its roots actually begin to stretch past the ball of dirt it arrived in and starts to get established in the new soil. It is ready to draw nourishment from its new environment and begin to grow and bear fruit. That's what Jesus has done for you! This word appears in the text in the perfect tense and passive voice, and that simply means God did it for you and it's a done deal! If you received Jesus Christ as Lord and committed your life to Him, then He has called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9), He has forgiven you of your sins, He has placed His Spirit in you, and YOU ARE HIS, and He says He will never leave you or forsake you. You are planted, rooted and ready to bear fruit for His glory. You don't need anything else besides what He has already given you, you need CHRIST ALONE! Entitlement Number Two: You are being BUILT UP IN HIM Here's a great word. In the Greek it is EPOIKODOUMOUNEMOI. This word is in the present tense, passive voice, which means God is doing it for you. It's a continuous process. Think of it-God is purposely, lovingly building you up, right now! This is an architectural word instead of agricultural, and it's just like building a building. You will find that word used several other times in the New Testament and it's always used in the sense that God is providing for the Christian's growth, upbuilding. Even when you don't feel like it's happening, God is growing you. If you are a Christian, you are being "…transformed into His likeness, with every-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18) Isn't that something?! God is taking a personal ongoing interest in you. His goal for you is to be renewed in likeness to Christ. That is why He honored your faith and you "…put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator…" (Colossians 3:10) In fact, as a Christian, you are "…predestined to be conformed to His image…" (Romans 8:29)! And God is perpetually overseeing this process in your life. By the way, every time this word is used in the New Testament, whether talking about building up the corporate church or the individual Christian, guess what God is using to get that "building up" done? Other Christians! That's right. In Ephesians 4:12, it's the equipping gifts of the church leaders "building up" the rest of the body of Christ. In Ephesians 4:29 and Romans 14:19 and 15:2 it is the Christians "edifying" one another. Three times in 1 Corinthians (8:1; 14:3 and 14:26) edification is commanded among the Christians in the church family. In 2 Corinthians, Paul twice refers to how he was trying to edify the believers there. Do you see why it's important to be involved in the life of the church, in the lives of fellow believers? That's where God is going to get you "built up"! Get together meaningfully with other Christians and get edified. Hebrews 10:24-25 -"...let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…" Well, so far, that's two very precious entitlements you have as a Christian: Your are rooted and you are being built up in Him. The third entitlement is strength. Entitlement Number 3: You are being STRENGTHENED IN THE FAITH We've had an agricultural term and an architectural term. This word, strengthened, is a LEGAL term, BEBAIOUMENOI. In the first century Roman culture the term was used to speak of a guarantee in a contract. Again, you have the idea here that God is giving you everything you need to live in Christ. He gives us strength, strength that guarantees we'll make it to the end. But don't you sometimes feel like you don't have any strength to live for God? Let me share with you one of the few things I feel I've learned in my 33 years as a believer. When you feel weak and anemic, God is still with you, and He is working in your behalf! In fact, Paul would say (in 2 Corinthians 12) that until and unless we are weak in the face of the trials of life, we will not really experience God's strength. We think we're doing it in our own strength otherwise! Years ago we were having dinner with our good friends, John and Molly and their two children. Molly had brought out a fresh jar of her famous canned jelly to top our biscuits and she couldn't open it. Her then 7-year old son, Jason was sitting to her left and he proudly said, "let me open it for you, mom!" His face turned purple and his wrists nearly snapped before he gave up. Next in line was Heather who tried and failed, as did Charlotte. They must have budged it, though, because when I tried it, the lid released. No one noticed, though, so I re-tightened the lid just a little and passed it to four year old Laura. She puffed out her cheeks, held her breath and wrapped her little hands around that mason jar and gave it all she had. With almost no resistance the lid spun around, and you should have seen the look on Laura's face. Before pride had a chance to register, there was pure shock. Her jaw dropped open and her eyebrows raised all the way to her hairline. The believer who understands and trusts that God's great power is at work in her is always walking around in continual awe and praise over what God is doing. We only get in trouble when we begin to think it is we who have the strength. But it is not we ourselves who have the strength, it is CHRIST ALONE! His strength will continue to make us strong in the faith as long as we invite Him to work in us. Without our faith, our YES, He will not release His strength in us. So, it is best for the believer to remember God is strong, but remember--you are the weakest link! Entitlement Number 4: You can OVERFLOW WITH THANKSGIVING This last participle is PERISSEUONTES, and it is a favorite word for the apostle Paul. He uses it more than 25 times in his biblical writings. It, too, is present tense, meaning it shows continuous action, but suddenly there is a change in voice-this word is active, not passive. That means this word has the force of an imperative. But Paul isn't really commanding thanksgiving-after all, can you really tell someone to be thankful? I know we prompt our children when they've received something nice, "What do you say…?" The thankfulness alluded to here is gratitude in abundance. Picture the flood of '93 when the Mississippi River had a mind of its own. Everywhere, it seemed, the swollen river was overflowing its banks. That's precisely the meaning of this word picture as Paul tells us that the natural and anticipated response of the Christian who has received so much from God by his grace would be a superabounding and continual deluge of gratitude. Let's take a moment to consider two things about such thankfulness. Thankfulness is the great safeguard and the great motivator. Here is a very important truth: thankfulness, especially the variety that continually, habitually overflows its banks is a personal safeguard against error. Remaining a thankful person keeps you spiritually healthy and resistant to viruses of false teaching. Paul knew this and was therefore almost obsessed with encouraging the saints to continue in thanks to God. Besides the other 20 times Paul uses the word he uses here, look at what he says just in Colossians. "We always thank God…when we pray for you…" (1:3) "…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." (1:12) "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." (3:15) "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (3:16) "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." (3:17) "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (4:2) The other thing about thankfulness is that it is the great MOTIVATOR. Nothing motivates behavior like pure, unmitigated gratitude. If I am genuinely thankful to you for something, I will do anything in my power to please you. Consider all that God has done for you. What kind of gratitude should that call forth from you? Unbounded, over-the-banks thankfulness. Listen, brothers and sisters, if we will allow ourselves and remind ourselves to carry out this altogether appropriate behavior of thankfulness to God, we will never lack spiritual motivation! Conclusion This thought leads me to a concluding comment, which actually sets up the rest of the next month's teaching. These four entitlements, if we will regularly meditate on them, will serve as our perfect resource for continuing to live in Christ Jesus, just as we received Him as Lord. Please hear and reflect on this: the purest motives for Christian living come from WITHIN us. Those motivations that come from WITHOUT us are inadequate and dangerous. Many of us need to be healed of our propensity to DO things for God out of unhealthy motives. That is a dangerous position that sets us up for being badly wounded. Years ago the Lord healed me of perfectionism. You know what a perfectionist is-someone who takes great pains…and gives them to others! He told me to stop striving for perfection and expecting it of others. He directed me to release my perfectionism in every area but one. I am under orders to perfect only one thing-my relationship with Him. Let these four entitlements guard, protect and keep you strong as you continually offer Him a flood of thankfulness. Above all, always remember and always testify that it is not about you, it is about CHRIST ALONE.     [Back to Top]