Sermon Tone Analysis

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message.

The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

Engagement

We’re probably all familiar with the phrase “dress for success”.

But did you realize there are actually scientific studies that show that the way we dress actually impacts our performance?

In one study, researchers found that those wearing a white lab coat made half as many mistakes as those who did not.

And in another study, athletes who wore the color red were able to lift more weight than those who wore the color blue.

Tension

This morning we’re going to talk about how to dress for success in the church.

In the first church that I pastored I was expected to wear a coat and tie every Sunday morning.

And some of you may have been in churches where everyone was expected to wear their “Sunday best”.

But that’s not the kind of dress that we’re going to be talking about today.

I don’t really think that God cares a lot about what we wear to church as long as it’s not immodest or it unnecessarily brings attention to us.

But He cares a lot about how we dress spiritually.

Truth

As we head into the second half of Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae, we’re going to see that the focus changes.

Much like several of Paul’s other letters, this one begins with an emphasis on doctrine and then ends with a focus on how that doctrine ought to impact our day to day lives.

So while Ryan has done a really good job of bringing practical applications out of the first two chapters, these last four weeks in our “Rooted” sermon series are going to be even more practical.

We’ve seen so far that if we get Jesus right, we will get everything else right.

We’ve learned that Jesus is supreme and sovereign over His creation and His church.

And knowing that ought to influence and impact every area of our lives.

While the section of Scripture we’re going to study today probably deserves at least 2 or 3 weeks of our time, I think that that sometimes taking a broader look at a passage without getting caught up in all the details is actually more beneficial.

So that’s what we’ll do today.

Before we read this passage, let me make a couple of general observations:

There are nine Greek imperative verbs, or commands, in this section.

This is certainly consistent with the idea that this section of Paul’s letter is very practical.

I’ve been joking for a couple of weeks that this requires a nine point sermon, but don’t worry, I’m not going to do that to you.

This passage is structured into three major sections:

The overall premise is given to us in verses 1-4: Set your minds on the things that are above, not things on earth

Beginning in verse 5, Paul uses one of his favorite metaphors - that of taking off the old and putting on the new.

Verses 5-11 describe those old things that we need to take off.

Beginning in verse 12 and continuing through verse 17, Paul then describes the new things we need to put on.

We’ll go ahead and tackle each section one by one.

Once again the “if” we see in verse 1 is what is known as a first class condition in Greek.

That means that Paul assumes that it is true of his audience that they have been raised with Christ.

So it could almost be translated “since”.

The very moment that any of us place our faith in Jesus, Jesus makes us a completely new creation.

Here’s how Paul described that process in his second letter to the church in Corinth:

Here in Colossians Paul paints that same picture from a slightly different perspective.

He writes that just like Jesus died and was raised to life, we, too, need to die to self so that we can be raised up with Jesus.

Once that occurs, our primary citizenship is no longer here on this earth, but in heaven:

Therefore, we need to have a whole new mindset in which we are to continually set our minds on the things that are above, rather than on the things of earth.

That is the overall principle that Paul will expand in in the rest of the passage.

Then, beginning in verse 5, Paul gives us some very practical advice on how to do that.

Before we continue reading, I want to share with you the main idea we’re going to be developing today so that you can keep it in mind as we continue through this passage:

To be rooted in Christ, I must “dress” in a manner that is consistent with who I am in Jesus

Or, to put it in the terms we used earlier, we need to “dress for success”.

With that in mind, let’s read the next section of this passage:

Before we were Christians, our lives were characterized by certain thought patterns and actions.

Paul refers to that as having our minds set “on earth”.

And in verse 5 and again in verse 8, he includes two lists of five that are examples of what that looks like.

Those lists are not comprehensive - they don’t list every kind of sin that we need to take off.

So I’m not going to go through either of these lists in detail.

However, I will say that it is probably worth some of your time to go through these lists individually and use them to evaluate whether there are some things from your old way of life that you need to take off.

The first list of five in verse 5 focuses more on what we might call “sins of the flesh”, and particularly sexual sins.

While all sins, including the five listed here, have the potential to impact others as well as us personally, this first list focuses on sins that have a more limited circle of impact.

The second list in verse 8 deals more with the way we treat other people.

With this list, Paul seems to be focusing on sins that have a broader impact within the body of Christ.

These are sins that tend to create division within the church.

So it’s not surprising that Paul follows up that list with a command to not lie to one another and then a reminder that despite our outward differences, we are all one in Christ.

It’s important to note that we don’t become new creatures by taking off our old way of life.

The “therefore” at the beginning of verse 5 is crucial.

Paul never says to take off our old way of life and then Jesus will make us into new creations.

The fact is that we’re incapable of doing that in our own.

We might have a bit of success for a time, but it won’t last because we can’t overcome our sin nature on our own.

Instead, when we put our faith in Jesus, He raises us up with Him and makes us new creatures and gives us a new identity.

And He then gives us the ability to put off the old way of life.

But that doesn’t happen automatically.

I have to choose day-by-day, moment-by-moment to put those things off in order to live in a way that is consistent with who Jesus made me to be.

But it’s not enough to just take off our old spiritual clothes.

We also have to put on the new.

That’s what Paul writes about beginning in verse 12:

In verse 12, Paul includes another list of 5 character traits.

This list includes the kinds of things that ought to be present in our lives now that we know Jesus.

Again the list is not all-inclusive.

But is does demonstrate the kinds of things that will characterize our lives when we set our minds on the things that are “above”.

And again, we are to put on those attitudes and action so that our life will be consistent with who we already are in Jesus.

You’ll note here that Paul continues to move from the personal toward the corporate.

The things we are to put on all impact our relationships with others, particularly with those in the body of Christ.

This entire section is summarized really well in verse 14:

If we are truly dressing in a manner that is consistent with who we are in Jesus, then that will be demonstrated by the love we have for each other and the unity that is present within the church.

So how do we get there?

Fortunately Paul provides us with three very practical steps we can take in order to dress for success in the church.

Application

HOW TO DRESS FOR SUCCESS

Live based on what I know, not what I feel

Most of you know that I have been officiating basketball and volleyball for a number of years.

And one of the things that I have learned is that the best officials are the ones that keep their cool under pressure.

They know the rules and they do their very best to enforce them fairly based on what they observe rather than to respond based on their emotions.

Paul is expressing a similar idea in verse 16 when he commands us to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.

The underlying Greek word translated “rule” originally described an umpire or referee who controlled the athletic competitions that were so popular in the ancient world.

It is in the imperative form, which means that it is a command.

It is also a present tense command, which means we could translate it “keep on letting the peace of Christ rule...”

Because we are all human, we are going to have conflicts and disagreements with others, even within the church.

And when that occurs, our natural tendency is to respond with some of the emotions Paul listed back in verse 8: anger wrath, malice.

But what we are to do instead, is to let the peace of Christ take control of the situation and make the call instead of letting our emotions rule us.

So what exactly is the “peace of Christ”?

First, let me explain what it is not.