Colossians 3:5-11
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· 18 viewsThe new life you have because of your identification with Christ should cause you to discard the ugly remnants of your former lifestyle and display the Christlike character appropriate to your new life. Knowing the truth about Christian living invites us to live an ordinary life in an extraordinary way.
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The Transformation of Christian Living
The Transformation of Christian Living
Genuine spiritual living is behaving in accordance with the character of Christ.
Colossians 5
Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, God’s wrath comes on the disobedient, and you once walked in these things when you were living in them.
Paul is calling for a complete extermination, not careful regulation.
What must go?
Paul gives us an outside - in perspective. He starts with external actions and then moves to the internal drives which cause the conduct.
Paul mentions 3 categories of behavior
Perverted passions
Hot tempers
Sharp tongues
Why are these behaviors and attitudes to be put to death?
Because they are the very things which will bring the wrath of God, which is his future judgment.
These behaviors and attitudes are to be eliminated because they reflect the way we once lived.
A transformed lifestyle should be the trademark of our new life.
Colossians 3:
But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.
Believers are to discard their old, repulsive habits like a set of worn-out clothes.
We are then to adorn ourselves with kinds of behaviors that will make us well dressed and appropriately fashionable.
Not only are perverted passions to be eliminated, believers must also rid ourselves of hot temper.
Anger is a settled feeling, the slow seething, smoldering emotion that boils below the surface.
Rage is a quick, sudden outburst, the blaze of emotion which flares up and burns with intensity.
Malice refers to ill will, the vicious, deliberate intention of doing harm to others.
Slander is basically defamation of character. To slander someone is to injure their reputation.
Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.
Perverted passions, hot tempers, and sharp tongues are to be removed as part of the life-transformation process.
What is the old self and the new self?
The old self refers to an individuals condition (sinful nature) and also has a corporate aspect.
The new self refers to taking off the old self and identifying with Christ.
As individuals, and as believing communities, our objective is to be a part of the transformation process by being renewed in knowledge and in the image of Christ.
The reason human categories no longer matter, is that Christ is all, which means Christ is central and supreme.
Our relationship with Him is really all the matters.
Unity within the community is based on the fact the Christ is in all.
The truth is, all believers are equal; all believers are to discard any and all behaviors and attitudes which are inappropriate for our new life.