Warning! The Gospel Can Result in Death!
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We avoid death at all costs. And we should! God built in us the fear factor to help keep us safe (imagine if we had no fear of anything whatsoever? We would die because we would do dumb things unwittingly.
Text:
Main Idea: Obedience to the Gospel Brings Death and New Life!
We avoid death at all costs. And we should! God built in us the fear factor to help keep us safe (imagine if we had no fear of anything whatsoever? We would die because we would do dumb things unwittingly.
Second, He builds in us an innate desire to stay alive. This is why, when someone is in the process of drowning, they fight for survival. This is who we are! We fight for survival!
Introduction
So, when we come to biblical Christianity, and we hear phrases like we see in Colossians, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.” or in other passages that tell us to “Die to self” or what Luke tells us in 9:23 “Deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Jesus.”
Attention (Why should they listen to you?)
When we hear these commands, there is a part of us that rails against them. There is a part of us who fear this death of self and fight for survival.
But, until we do what Paul and the other authors of the Scriptures tell us, unless we put these things to death, we cannot truly live!
Today, I invite you to start the process of truly living for Christ. We’ll be talking about this for the next two weeks.
What is the Biblical Solution?
This week will focus more on the “put off” and also consider one profound implication of “putting on” of the new self. Next week will focus on the practical ways to “put on” the new self.
What do the hearers need to know?
Main Textual Idea:
Main Idea: Obedience to the Gospel Brings Death to the Old Life and Identity to the New!
Interrogative:
There are three thoughts I’m excited to share with you from this text and the first is...
Transition:
Body (Satisfaction)
1. Obey the Command to Kill Sexual Sin (vs. 5-7)
Lead in...This is a huge challenge, folks. Take a look...
Col
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
Explanation -
A command from Paul to actively put to death (verb - active, aorist, imperative) Meaning Paul has an expectation of completion.
If someone tells you to plow and uses the present imperative then they expect you to go
and do some plowing but they aren't too bothered about how much you do.
If they say plow that field and use the aorist they are giving you a task that they
will expect to be completed.
Believers are to pursue “mortifying the flesh”
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Why are we to put to death the deed of the flesh? So we can truly live!
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
What is Paul referring to when he commands them to “Put to death the earthly in you?” He give a very specific list that focuses on the sexual.
Just a note before I go into Paul’s list.
Sex is a gift from God and should be celebrated and cherished only in the confines of biblical marriage. It’s not dirty and it’s not shameful or evil. Sin has perverted sexual activity. God, on the other hand delights in the marriage bed.
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
And the perversion of sexual activity is what Paul is preaching against. Look at his list with me...
Sexual immorality - porneia (πορνεια), “illicit sexual intercourse in general.” (Wuest)
porneia (πορνεια), “illicit sexual intercourse in general.”
Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 220.
Impurity - akatharsia (ἀκαθαρσια), “uncleanness in a moral sense, the impurity of lustful, luxurious, profligate living.” (Wuest)
akatharsia (ἀκαθαρσια), “uncleanness in a moral sense, the impurity of lustful, luxurious, profligate living.”
Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest
Passion - pathos (παθος), “depraved passion.” (Wuest)
pathos (παθος), “depraved passion.” (Wuest)
Kenneth S. Wuest)
Evil desire - epithumia kakē (ἐπιθυμια κακη), “evil, wicked cravings.” (Wuest)
epithumia kakē (ἐπιθυμια κακη), “evil, wicked cravings.”
Kenneth S. Wuest)
Covetousness (aka idolatry) - pleonexia (πλεονεξια), “greedy desire to have more, avarice.” “Idolatry” is eidolatreia (εἰδολατρεια) “the worship of false gods,” used here of the worship of Mammon.
pleonexia (πλεονεξια), “greedy desire to have more, avarice.” “Idolatry” is eidolatreia (εἰδολατρεια) “the worship of false gods,” used here of the worship of Mammon.
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter Three
pleonexia (πλεονεξια), “greedy desire to have more, avarice.” “Idolatry” is eidolatreia (εἰδολατρεια) “the worship of false gods,” used here of the worship of Mammon.
Notice the reason Paul gives to avoid these activities and attitudes? Take a look at verse 10...
On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
The point? GOD TAKES SIN SERIOUSLY!!! So seriously that he will, sometime in the future, clean the slate. The first time His wrath manifested in a world-wide flood. The next time will be fire...
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
His wrath is coming! It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But don’t be a fool and think that just because you haven’t seen His wrath come, doesn’t mean it will not come. That’s like saying just because I haven’t had cancer means I won’t get cancer!
God promised His wrath will come and it will come. And the reason it will come is because of sin!
Paul says, the old way is not how you are to walk. It’s not how your life is to be characterized! Why would you live your life for something that is not only against God’s holy character but is the causation of His terrible wrath!
Wrath of God - A term for God’s displeasure with human beings and their sinful actions. The word “wrath” is a concept represented by many different words and idioms in the original languages of the Bible, all of which express the notion of justifiable anger for unjust actions. - Walter A. Elwell Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Tyndale Reference Library (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 1312.
A term for God’s displeasure with human beings and their sinful actions. The word “wrath” is a concept represented by many different words and idioms in the original languages of the Bible, all of which express the notion of justifiable anger for unjust actions.
Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Tyndale Reference Library (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 1312.
God promised His wrath will come and it will come. And the reason it will come is because of sin!
9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Paul says, the old way is not how you are to walk. It’s not how your life is to be characterized! Why would you live your life for something that is not only against God’s holy character but is the causation of His terrible wrath?!
Paul says, the old way is not how you are to walk. It’s not how your life is to be characterized! Why would you live your life for something that is not only against God’s holy character but is the causation of His terrible wrath?!
Don’t do it! Don’t walk that way! It is wrongheaded and heading you in the wrong direction. It is, for the believe, a non sequitur - it doesn’t make logical sense. To behave this way habitually, is the behavior of an unregenerate, unredeemed, unsaved soul. “By their fruit you will know them.
Angie and I saw a mother duck and a baby duck scurrying across the highway on the way home from Muskegon the other day. It was pretty cool to see. Ducks are amazing creatures! They can float, dive into water, fly in the air, have water roll right off their back, oh and they quack! Pretty cool!
But I can’t expect a duck to be an elephant or a bear or a wolf. It simply doesn’t have the capacity to be anything but a duck! Imagine a magician comes along and waves his wand over the duck and turns the bird into a squirrel. I mean from head to a big bushy tail, this duck was now a squirrel. The only thing that didn’t change was his mind. In his little brain he still considered himself to be a duck. What would happen to this poor creature? Certain death! If he finds himself on a bridge overlooking a river he may think to himself, “I’ll simply swoop down into the water and have a float for a while I do some fishing for dinner.” So he jumps and soon discovers he has no wings and so he smacks the water firmly! His ability to float is gone and his capacity to swim is limited. He is swept away in the current only to meet his impending death.
This is the point Paul is making! You are no longer a duck! You are now a squirrel! Act like it or it could be deadly.
Okay your not a duck or a squirrel, but you get the point? If you are a follower of Jesus stop acting like you are not one!
Specifically in the area of your sexuality!
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
Preaching the Word: Colossians and Philemon—The Supremacy of Christ Laying Aside the Old Life: the Challenge (vv. 5-9a)
Centuries past in England, if a pickpocket was caught and convicted, his right hand was cut off. If he was caught again, his left hand suffered the same fate. One pickpocket lost both hands and continued his occupation with his teeth! Physical dismemberment cannot change the heart. “Put to death,” as Paul uses it, means to discard evil practices and, here in Colossians, to get rid of the twin evils of sexual sin and covetousness.
Perhaps the application is obvious? Don’t mess around with Sexual Sin or Covetousness. It will destroy you!
Over 40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites. The average visit lasts 6 minutes and 29 seconds
There are around 42 million porn websites, which totals around 370 million pages of porn.
The porn industry’s annual revenue is more than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined. It is also more than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC.
47% of families in the United States reported that pornography is a problem in their home.Pornography use increases the marital infidelity rate by more than 300%.
Eleven is the average age that a child is first exposed to porn, and 94% of children will see porn by the age of 14.
56% of American divorces involve one party having an “obsessive interest” in pornographic websites.
70% of Christian youth pastors report that they have had at least one teen come to them for help in dealing with pornography in the past 12 months.
68% of church-going men and over 50% of pastors view porn on a regular basis. Of young Christian adults 18-24 years old, 76% actively search for porn.
59% of pastors said that married men seek their help for porn use.
33% of women aged 25-and-under search for porn at least once per month.Only 13% of self identified Christian women say they never watch porn – 87% of Christian women have watched porn.
55% of married men and 25% of married women say they watch porn at least once a month.
57% of pastors say porn addiction is the most damaging issue in their congregation. And 69% say porn has adversely impacted the church.
Only 7% of pastors say their church has a program to help people struggling with pornography.
https://conquerseries.com/15-mind-blowing-statistics-about-pornography-and-the-church/
27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?
If these statistics are true, perhaps this is one of the largest reasons the Church of Jesus Christ is so powerless in the world today? Perhaps we are more enthralled with fulfilling our fleshly desires than we are fulfilling the Great Commission? This isn’t a guilt trip, but a reality check!
The point Paul is making isn’t about legalism, it’s about acting like who you claim to be! If you claim to be a son or daughter of God Himself, act like it!
3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?
31
Make a covenant not just with your eyes, make a covenant with God that you will pursue holiness and righteousness and you will PUT TO DEATH WHAT IS EARTHLY IN YOU!
And then pray to God for the strength and empowerment to accomplish such a monumental task!
Remember, your flesh doesn’t want to die! But you must put it to death so you can truly live!
Review - Obedience to the Gospel Brings Death to the Old Life and Identity to the New!
Obey the Command to Kill Sexual Sin
2. Obey the Command to Sacrifice the Old Life (vs. 8-9)
Lead in…Paul continues with another list...
Text -
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Well, Paul doesn’t just stop with sexuality, he moves to how the Colossians use their mouths. Each one of the characteristic he lists often manifests themselves in our lips! And Paul says the YOU must put all these practices away! Literally from the Greek it should be translated “…see that you strip yourselves of these vices.”
Take a look at each one with me from the text...
Anger - orgē (ὀργη), “an abiding, settled, and habitual anger that includes in its scope the purpose of revenge.” (Wuest)
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter Three
orgē (ὀργη), “an abiding, settled, and habitual anger that includes in its scope the purpose of revenge.”
Wrath - thumos (θυμος), “the boiling agitation of the feelings, a sudden violent anger.” (Wuest)
“Wrath” is thumos (θυμος), “the boiling agitation of the feelings, a sudden violent anger.”
Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 220.
Wrath -
Malice - kakia (κακια), “malignity, ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness, depravity.” (Wuest) Haman’s joy in building the gallows for Mordecai ()
kakia (κακια), “malignity, ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness, depravity.”
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter Three
kakia (κακια), “malignity, ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness, depravity.”
Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 220.
Slander - blasphēmia (βλασφημια), “slander, detraction, speech injurious to another’s good name.” (Wuest)
blasphēmia (βλασφημια), “slander, detraction, speech injurious to another’s good name.”
(Wuest)
Obscene talk from your own mouth - aischrologia (αἰσχρολογια), “foul speaking, low and obscene speech.” (Wuest)
aischrologia (αἰσχρολογια), “foul speaking, low and obscene speech.”
Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 220.
Lying - Present imperative Stop lying to one another!
Here again, Paul puts the responsibility squarely on shoulders of the individual christians at Colossae!
He is saying, since it is a forgone conclusion that you have done this. The NASB gives a better sense here...
9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
In other words, because you are dead to your old self stop living as if you are alive to them. PUT THEM OFF!
“Lying is a great sin against God, against the Church, and against love! That is why God struck down Ananias and Sapphira in the first church. He wanted truth, not deception, not hypocrisy. A great church demands great honesty.” (Hughes)
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Eph
In other words, because you are dead to your old self stop living as if you are alive to them. PUT THEM OFF!
I was a brand new Christian and I was invited to play on the church’s softball team. It was fun at first, until game day when one of the men on the team, a man that I went to church with LOST HIS TEMPER during the game. I mean he lost it! I was shocked to say the least. He was action polar opposite to everything I was learning about the Christian life. Even worse, this wasn’t an aberration, this was his regular practice! From my perspective, I saw no difference from this “christian man” than the many unbelieving men I had played ball with over the years. In fact most unbelievers were more respectful and kind than this man.
What a shame it is when you and I live in the old ways of anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk and lying. We do it so often it is second nature to us. We forget that it isn’t supposed to be second nature, but of our OLD NATURE!
We must STOP making excuses for ourselves! We must STOP allowing our OLD NATURE to rule in our lives!
Have you stopped in the practices that Paul lists in these verses? Have you taken them off like you would dirty clothes?
What are your habits?
This week I challenge you to assess your heart and mouth. How often are you getting angry, wrathful, malicious, slanderous, obscene or dishonest?
What is your response when you fall?
Paul gives us this list to raise our consciousness! To admonish us to stop living in the old patterns because of who you now are!
To be a genuine follower of Christ you must renunciate (get rid of) the old life!
Based on the habits of your life alone - who would you say that you are? Who would your spouse or close friend say that you are? If your or their assessment is anything but Christlike, you need to repent today and pursue Christ!
Review - Obedience to the Gospel Brings Death to the Old Life and Identity to the New!
Obey the Command to Kill Sexual Sin
Obey the Command to Sacrifice the Old Life
3. Obey the Command to Replace the Old Life with a New Identity (vs. 10-11)
Lead in...Okay, so we are now going to look at a “Put on”...
Text -
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Now, in case you have missed this in your reading of the Scriptures and especially Paul’s writings, whenever he commands us to put off something he always commands us to put something on to replace it.
Do you notice from the text what we are to replace the old life with? What the “new self” is being renewed in?
“Which is being renewed in the knowledge after the image of its creator.” What does this mean?
There is a consistent and growing renewal happening in the life of a true believer. A renewal that keeps increasing in the knowledge of what God is like. As we grow in our understanding of Him, we grow in His likeness!
The NLT helps clear it up a little for us...
10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Isn’t that awesome! It’s not through a bunch of religious activities or expectations. It’s not through legalism or mysticism. Nope! You are expected by God to “Put on your new nature” by getting to know your Creator! It’s through a relationship with Him that you become like him!
20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Is their anyone more wise than God? And as you spend time with Him you will grow in love, grace, mercy, kindness, compassion and most importantly, forgiveness.
We may not be getting better on the outside, but God is constantly growing us on the inside!
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
2 Cor
18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
The more you strip off the old self, the more you can and will become like Jesus! And according to Paul, YOU are to be at the center of this activity!
Do you know what God does for you when He saves you? He FREES you to be like Him! Is there anything better than God? Then there is nothing better for you to strive to be! To be like God, Himself!
Paul strips away everything they would identify with and list them know no matter their station in life if they are Greek or Jewish, if they are circumcised if they are uncircumcised, if they are barbarian, Scythian (like barbarians, they were considered to be uncivilized people. They were considered more barbarian than the barbarian!), slave or free it no longer mattered! Their spiritual renewal caused a glorious social renewal as well!
Paul says that in the new self “...there is no...
Racial barriers (Greek or Jew)
Religious barriers (circumcised or uncircumcised)
Cultural barriers (barbarian, Scythian)
Social barriers (slave or free)
Believers still have these distinctions, but they are not bound by them. In fact, believers are no longer identified by them! Our new identity is with Christ!!
“…Christ is all, and in all!”
Christ is everything! He is the ruler and maker of all their is and we who are in Him have the privilege not simply to be saved but to call Him our Lord, our King, our Brother and our Friend!
And, Paul says, “Christ is in all!” For all who are Christians, we have the distinct honor to have Christ tabernacling or dwelling within us! And this fact means regardless of our background, our heritage, our experiences, our knowledge, we have a NEW IDENTITY based on Christ alone.
My Father-in-Law, Buck Veltman, whenever he prayed would say, “and we thank you for Jesus, whom we all have in common...”
I mean, lets be honest, would we be getting together this morning or on a regular basis just because we can? Nope! The singular reason we are gathered here this morning is our love, admiration, appreciation and worship of Jesus! That’s why we are here and this is whom we have in common. And this commonality is our new identity!
Our old life has been replaced with a NEW IDENTITY. Jesus is no respecter of persons, In other words, he is not impressed with anyone.
He is not impressed with your wealth (He has more).
He is not impressed with your intellect (He is way smarter than you).
He is not impressed with your beauty (He gave it to you).
He is not impressed with you strength (He is far stronger than you).
He is not impressed with your service (He has served more than you).
He’s not impressed with you at all.
But He loves you. He loves you with an everlasting love! There is no one anywhere that you possibly love you more than He. And because Christ is in all who are His we can all celebrate together this one person we have in Common!
Guess what the result will be if we start living in light of our new identity? No more jealousy. No more jockeying for position. No more pride and arrogance. No more anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk or lying to one another. The result will be sweet unity. A unity that can only be possible because of our IDENTITY in Jesus Christ!
I want to ask you one question. What might they write on your tombstone? I hope they can write on mine, “I saw Jesus in him.”
Review - Obedience to the Gospel Brings Death to the Old Life and Freedom to the New!
Obey the Command to Kill Sexual Sin
Obey the Command to Sacrifice the Old Life
Obey the Command to Replace the Old Life with a New Identity!
Conclusion
None of us like the thought of death. God built us to fight for survival!
Yet there is a death we are to purse. A death that is necessary for us to live! A transformational death much like a caterpillar transforms to a butterfly.
I’m wondering this morning how many of you who profess Christ are still hanging onto the old life and it’s practices? Paul is clear. And let me be clear! You will never live the life God intends for you if you continue to nurture the sin from your old life. You will be useless for Christ. But if you purpose to put it to death everyday, day after day, then you will begin to understand what it is to LIVE!
Rework below...
Preaching the Word: Colossians and Philemon—The Supremacy of Christ Laying Aside the Old Life: the Rationale (vv. 9b-Ll)
As in Paul’s letters to the Romans and the Ephesians, the high theology of Colossians 1 and 2 demands immense application. We must put off:
• Sensuality—“sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed.”
• Evil attitudes—“anger, rage, malice.”
• Evil speech—“slander, filthy language.”
• Deception—“do not lie to each other.”
Why must we put these things off? Because we have:
• A new self “which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
• New relationships—“Here there is no Greek or Jew … but Christ is all, and is in all.”
What motivation to put off the old and put on the new!
Connection Group Reflection Questions
Why is it important to understand that even though the Gospel is rooted in grace, believers are still to be obedient to God? What should the motive for our obedience be?
Paul gives a command “to put to death therefore what is earthly in you...” Why do you suppose Paul demands this of the Colossian believers (see verse 6)? How does one accomplish this?
Paul moves from the sexual to how we use our mouths. Why does he focus on these? Where do all these sins find their origin? Who’s responsibility is it to put them off? How do we do this (see verse 10)?
Discuss the phrase “…but Christ is all, and in all.” What can we lean from this for our Christian walk today?