Colossians #10: If we could get this right...

We have a berry patch in Centreville. It was so warm this winter, I wasn’t able to spray the grass and weeds like I wanted, so earlier this spring, my wife Michelle got in there and weeded about 100 feet of brambles. I was in awe watching her work that hard.

She cleaned out each row about 15 feet, even mulched them when she was done. They looked great. And I’d say it did help them get some great new growth in them.

But now the grass is growing again. How did they look so great and now, it may not all be back, but it’s definitely coming back.

What happened? Well you know as well as I do… and she did too. it’s hard to get rid of grass because the roots are so aggressive, and if you don’t get the root, it will for sure be back.

This weekend we celebrate the 4th of July, and that same principle applies… we need to get to the root of the problem if we are going to fix our nation as well.

Nation in a bad place… overwhelming… what can we do?

defend statues? defend businesses? protest? march?

Let me ask what has gone wrong? Not what is going wrong…because we can identify a lot of things that are wrong.

But what is the root of the problem? As a pastor and follower of Jesus I think that the problem is discipleship.

I think back to Paul’s list in Col 3:5-11 and I am see all things that are happening in our world today.

Rage, hate, anger, sexual immorality, slander, malice, filthy language, lies, lust, greed, … division…

The issues are easy to recognize… but, now bear with me for a moment. I don't think those things are the problem.

I come at this as a follower of Jesus. Someone who tries to see the world through a Gospel lens. And when I see the brokenness in our world today what I see is a group of people who don’t know how or aren’t willing to follow Jesus.

I’m not talking just about the people looting, burning, and destroying statues… I’m talking about our nation as a whole… many people believe in Jesus... but how many people in our nation follow him?

I’ve lived in Christian culture my whole life and I could probably count on one hand the number of people I’ve met who said I don't believe in Jesus. Everyone believes in Jesus… Christmas is right around the corner if you need proof… the question is, how many follow him?

Now, pointing the finger at other people’s issues… even though that’s much easier to do… does me no good.

So where last week, Paul shined the light into the church and said look here… how you live in relationship with one another… now he turns the lens and focuses the light a bit, shining it into their households. Paul is saying this week… yes that IN CHRIST thing it wasn’t just a clever phrase… it is real, and it really affects all your relationships… especially those closest to you.

He writes that as a new person… living new way in an old world. Living a new way because we have been changed would radically transform relationships that the world said had a clear order… the Gospel says, oh but not so fast.

Remember now, why Paul is writing here…

He is writing to the church to remind them that Jesus is enough… that you don’t need special revelations, to follow traditional laws, all you need is Jesus and he will radically transform your life as you follow him,

“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God...” so take off “your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.  Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.”

Paul is writing to Christians to help them live this out; what it looks like to “set your minds on things above for your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” HOW to put to death their sinful nature.

He’s writing to help the church live with the peace of Christ ruling in their hearts.

That’s important as we begin today’s text, because in our culture today, these concepts tend to get us excited and we forget why Paul is writing.

He’s not writing to put women in their place… or to prevent a slave revolt… he’s not writing to establish male dominion in the church. No he is writing to help and encourage husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and slaves that “whatever they do, whether in word or deed, to do it all in the name of the Lord.”

Paul begins with husbands and wives… the center of the household.

Colossians 3:18–19 NIV

18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

as another translation says:

Colossians 3:18 NCV

18 Wives, yield to the authority of your husbands, because this is the right thing to do in the Lord.

If we could just get this right: Husbands and Wives…

Let me first ask what should be an obvious question: Why would Paul need to encourage wives in this way… wasn’t it a patriarchal culture? Didn’t men run everything? Have all the authority anyway? We hear that women in the ancient world were essentially the property of their husband or their father… why would Paul start off with such a silly thing when it was how things were supposed to be? Why tell a woman to submit when it was required culturally?

I think that was exactly the point.

We don’t always accept things as they are, do we? Just because it’s hot doesn’t mean that I like it or don’t work against it with a fan or an ac unit. It was the same then I think. Women had minds, they were intelligent, they could do many things… some probably better than their husband, yet their culture said, yea but - you don’t count as much.

Now, I don’t know about you, but that would drive me crazy. and I think… no, I know... I would make me bitter.

But Paul says, yes I see how things aren’t perfect, but honor God as you are in Christ… by putting yourself under the authority of your husband as is fitting in this new relationship you have with Christ.

You see, submission is a voluntary act; the only one who can submit is the submitter… you can’t force it from outside. If you do it’s slavery… and we will get to that later.

Christian wives, Paul says, willfully submit to your husband.

Don’t buck against it, don’t complain about it, don’t wish you had a different husband… but do it because you love the Lord.

This isn’t a blanket statement for all wives… remember Paul is writing to Christian women married to Christian husbands.... where both are IN CHRIST.

He’s also not saying women submit to all men. He is talking specifically about a marriage relationship, one where the other is YOURS. Your husband… YOUR wife.

Why? Paul doesn’t say when you do this God will bless you… no he says, do this because you are IN CHRIST… it’s what you do because of who you are.

For the husband, it’s pretty clear that there was a culture of authoritarian behavior. In fact, the Roman world was hierarchical… if you were in a position of authority, you were expected to exercise it… you had full authority to demand respect and submission.

And yet here comes Paul… telling them. Yeah well, it used to be that way. Now this was challenging for a man in the Roman world, being told how to treat his wife. He was in charge, he could treat her however he wanted. Besides, it was the wife who had the rules for her behavior.

Paul says, yeah, about that. There’s a new way to live now.

In your old position, in the world, you lived by the worlds standards.. people deferred to you because of who you were. Now you are in God’s kingdom and his standard is love. And Love ALWAYS goes first. Not to be served but to serve as Jesus said.

So, go, agape your wife, love her deeply and sacrificially - be gentle, not harsh. And it doesn’t matter what she does or doesn’t do, but you make sure to love.

If we could just get this right: Submission

Do you hear that? Paul calls the husband to willfully submit as well… to submit to God’s way to treating his wife, submit to loving.

So, that was then. But what about now? How do we apply this same idea of submission in marriage today?

What would marriage look like where both actively submitted to the Lord to love...

Then Paul takes the conversation to the next logical place, the relationship between kids and parents.

Colossians 3:20–21 NIV

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

If we could just get this right: Fathers and Children…

Kids in the ancient world were less of a person than wives. They were considered more of an asset.

Think about it, if a family was in financial trouble, they could sell their kids into slavery or abandon them as orphans. Now Christian families may not have been known for this, in fact, it was Christian families who were known for taking in these orphans, but it’s clear to see that culturally children were not regarded highly.

To those kids, Paul says, obey your parents. Just like the instruction for wives, this one is equally as obvious.

But he adds why. It pleases the Lord. You see, their obedience was to be a response to their love for God.

It’s the father, not the child who gets the correction. Do not aggravate your children, encourage them.

Maybe this should have been the subject of my father’s day sermon, but dad’s play a powerful role in the lives of their children.

Not to say that moms aren’t important… they bring us into the world after all… and when we get hurt, we call out to mom right.

But there is something about a fathers influence

If we could just get this right: Obedience

Paul reminds them… use that influence to encourage your children. To develop them, not hold them back.

Think of what Jesus said of children.

Luke 18:15–17 NIV

15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Paul is calling father’s to obedience… to obey Jesus’s call to not hinder children growing up in the faith… actually to encourage their spiritual growth by showing them what the love of a father is like.

Kids today are much different from kids back then, but how would we apply this same call to obedience today?

Paul then concludes this passage with another household relationship.

Colossians 3:22–4:1 NIV

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. 1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

If we could just get this right: Slaves and Masters...

The issue of slavery is part of a cultural conversation today. While it still exists today in dark corners of the world, even here in America; in biblical times, slavery was common place, I’ve seen estimates that as much as 1/3 of the roman population were slaves. It was a reality for families and individuals who were of a conquered nation, or were poor, or became indebted. In the Roman world, many were held as bondservants, described in the Old Testament, but many more slaves were held as property... property of their owner, much like it was in early America. These folks worked in mines or served as sex slaves. These slaves rarely if ever lived long enough to have the opportunity to earn their freedom. There were also agricultural slaves who, while also poorly treated but if things went right, they could earn a status similar to what we know as a sharecropper. But there were many more slaves who served as personal servants, craftsman, cooks, seamstresses who were afforded opportunities to develop their own business, gain education, and even the opportunity to earn their freedom as they worked off the debt that was owed.

Slavery was something that everyone in Colossea understood and accepted as a part of life as they knew it.

And from Paul’s description, it sounds like mistreatment of slaves was commonplace even here in Colossea.

We can also tell by the degree of instruction in Paul’s letter, he definitely had slaves present in the church… but likewise masters.

Slaves and masters worshipping together.

We think of them being in opposition, and they probably saw themselves in that way; but Paul puts them in the same place under the cross… servants of their Master in heaven.

So Masters, those in authority, those who are owed a debt, those who have rights, do what is right and fair because you two are a servant, only of God.

You and I probably have no first hand experience with slavery, but we do have experience being in authority and being subject to authority.

If we could just get this right: Authority

So, focus there for a moment.

We are all different, some of us are quick to question authority, and some of us, well following just comes naturally. But Paul is saying here… do it intentionally. Not to get ahead, not to stay in control, but mindfully, intentionally, submit yourself to the higher authority.

How are we to use our authority? How are we to treat those in authority over us?

I think this is the point of this section of scripture. It’s all about authority.

If we could just get this right: Who’s in charge?

Who’s in charge, Me or my spouse? Me or my child? Me or my Master?

And there you have it, My master is in charge… the question we have to settle is who is our master. Who has authority in our life.... rather over our life.

It seems like our nation is in a mess; no one wants to be told they aren’t in charge. Every one wants to be their own boss.

Our nation is in the midst of a struggle for power.

And what the world needs is a model of submission.

Husbands need it, wives need it, kids need it, father’s need it, bosses need it, workers need it.

We all need to take a breath and remember that we have a higher authority.

You want to see Jesus work in your relationships? It starts withhim working in you. You can start that work right now. Surrender your life to his authority. Invite Jesus in to take over. Commit yourself to following him, doing what he asks. Forgiving those he says forgive, loving those he says love, serving those he says serve. If you are ready to see change in your family, in your relationships, in your nation. Start now, start with you.

It begins with a prayer of surrender. Lord Jesus, save me. I need your authority in my life. I make a poor master, I need your leadership. I confess to you today that I am a sinner in need of forgiveness. Thank you for loving me enough to die for me, that I can be made new. Thank you for this new life. Teach me to live it for you. Use me for your glory. I love you! Amen.

What has always excited me about the church is seeing people come to Christ, God get’s their sin in order… and soon Jesus starts impacting their family… their work… Jesus is on the move through the lives of disciples.

The church is full of people who have come to accept that Jesus has authority over their life and their lives have changed.

What does the world need? Jesus.

Who’s responsibility is is it to show them and tell them about him? The Church.

I think a whole bunch in church come to believe in Jesus, get to the point where we grow, our hearts begin to change, we no longer do all the things that we used to do… but we are far from perfect. And since my life isn’t perfect, I never feel confident to reach out and share my faith, I never start making other disciples and our world doesn’t really change, even though the church is full of people who love Jesus… they just aren’t following completely.

Let me put you at ease… we know your life isn’t perfect… but you have come a long way with God’s help. Don’t you know someone who could use some help getting God’s authority in perspective in their life? I bet you do.

If I were to ask you today who you would share your faith with, if you could… who would it be? Who’s the first person to come to your mind?

Would you begin to pray that God would give you an opportunity to share Christ with them? You don’t know what to say? That’s fine, just ask them about their life. Let them talk. You listen and pray that God will give you the words to speak. Scripture promises that he will.

This July 4, our nation is in a mess. God has ordained one solution. His church. And the only way we are told to change the world is by making disciples. Disciples who get authority right.