In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found

Colossians 1:1-8 & Colossians 2:6-15 & Colossians 3:1-4

This morning I just want to run through some of Paul’s writings in Colossians. We will be in chapters 1, 2, & 3, throughout the message. I have used these on a few occasions, but hopefully today we can be encouraged in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I want to set this up so we can understand what was going on in that day to bring about this letter. Paul had never been to Colosse on his missionary journeys, Epaphras helped begin the church there after he was saved during a visit to Ephesus when Paul was there teaching the Gospel.

According to some theologians and historians there was some very divers folks there in Colosse, diverse in philosophy, religion and many other ideas. There were a lot of Jews there teaching legalism. They were telling those Christians that they still had to be circumcised, they had to observe the ceremonial rituals, and also that they had to observe all of the OT dietary laws. These Jews taught them that all of that was necessary for salvation, that Jesus Christ and Him crucified wasn’t enough.

There was also these folks that taught that there was higher knowledge above Scripture that was necessary for enlightenment and salvation. Some even denying that Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us.

A lot going on here at this church of Colosse, satan had infiltrated the church. We were talking yesterday at the hospital and I made mention of what I heard a preacher say: He said the devil has never been able to gain any ground by persecuting the church, the church seemed to grow after persecution, but infiltrating the church with false teaching has been effective, taking our eyes off of our only Hope, which is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

1. This is the idea, if the devil could get you to believe that your salvation depended on you, then you will die 2 deaths trying to achieve your own salvation. You will be on a roller coaster of death!

These different teachings had filled this church, these Christians, Epaphras their under-shepherd travelled a hard journey to Rome to talk to Paul, who was in prison at Rome. Paul heard the report of Epaphras and wrote this letter! I have this caption in my Bible............Read page 1804......

In Christ Alone................We are going to hit the high parts of this letter, but I find it most encouraging in our time when so much is going on. It seems that our comforts are slowly slipping away and turmoil is on every side, this Gospel of Jesus Christ is truly our only hope! Even everything is alright in this world, there is no hope without the complete and finished work of Jesus Christ!

Let’s start....Colossians 1:1-8.........

Paul starts off this letter, by giving the report of what he heard of them.....

We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God's people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. 6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace.

I want to point out a great truth here......Their in Jesus Christ alone produced love for fellow believers, a love that only comes from a hope of what God has reserved for you....

1 Peter 1:4 “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,”

That hope of salvation through Jesus Christ cannot be tainted and never fades away....and if our hope in Jesus Christ is such then we are willing, in this life to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by following the example if Christ and always trusting that there is a confident hope in this salvation!

This life is what is, it is fallen and our hope is greater than this life, and the fears that this life causes san be thrown in the trash because of Jesus Christ!

Life no longer becomes about what tomorrow may bring or about what I have done in my past, but a hope that transcends time and is greater than any earthly treasures or even earthly deliverance we may find here!

The hope we have in the Person and Complete work of Jesus Christ, frees us up, releases us from our bondage to this world to live with love, joy, peace, and a sense of wanting others to know this powerful truth!

Let’s keep reading.....Verses 9-23...........

Now Paul is reminding them of Who it is that gave them salvation........Paul tells them that they are praying for them again, to stay or remain in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and be filled further with the wisdom and understanding of what? Jesus Christ and Him crucified, the Gospel!

That is how we walk worthy of the Lord, producing fruit, the fruit of the Gospel

Notice, that in verse 11 that we/they are strengthened with all might by His glorious power.....

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Folks the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power, because it is the truth and it gives us a release from this world, so that we can have patience: meaning endurance, longsuffering: meaning patience, and joyfulness: that carries a meaning of a steadfast joy!

How many like that sound? Everyday is joy in Jesus Christ, because of the hope we have in Him that He has delivered us from sin and death and that hope is reserved for us and fades not away!

How can we be confident in this truth.....because of Jesus Who gave it to us.......

We have redemption, Jesus Christ restored the relationship between God and man with His death on the cross, by His shed blood our sin debt is paid, we are forgiven!!

All that baggage you are carrying around is not held over your head and your are free, not because you stopped committing it, but because Christ’s blood cleansed you of it!

You stopped committing it because of Christ in you!

All of this was done by the Creator of all......He has power over all....this power is not a distorted humanly viewed power.....it is the only true power, which is righteousness

All things consist by Jesus and in our faith in Jesus Christ we have that true blessed confidence that Jesus is truly the Way, The Truth,and the Life!!!! We can live that out in this lif not fearing what man can do to us, as we spoke about last week!

This is where our faith is found in the Creator, He is over all.....and He came as flesh and died to cleanse me from my reproaches to God........

Jesus made peace, not me, Jesus did!! I was alienated from God, but Jesus brought me nigh to God through His blood, the Creator did what I couldn’t do because of my disobedience

He reconciled me to God!

Paul now tells them to not leave that truth, do not try and improve on it stay there......

Grounded....not moving away from it or compromising the Gospel, because it gets scary or boring or whatever causes those thoughts....

Because we have confidence in this Gospel, because of Who has given us this good news!

Settled.......Dad used to tell me about work, never be settled, I will say about this Gospel settle yourself on the truth of Jesus Christ, if your confidence rest in Jesus Christ of the Scriptures then you should have no fear in settling with Jesus!

Do not listen (Move) to other attractions that attach themselves to Jesus, these are satan’s infiltrators....stay in this truth and cast your confidence in Christ Alone!!

Colossians 2:6-15.........

We are complete in Jesus Christ.....this is our confidence, this is our hope!

We are complete in Him, because we are raised through our faith in what God has given us in His Son Jesus!

God, Who raised Jesus from the grave!!!!!

People try to pull us away, with other theories, ideas, ways....and add the name of Christ to them, but it is not of Christ....

The word spoil carries a meaning of capturing away..........

Go back to verse 6.........that that you have been given of Jesus Christ......The Gospel of Jesus Christ, walk, live, trust, hope, let your confidence be in that, not anything else!

Colossians 3:1-4.........If you remain in Jesus Christ and set your affections in that truth......When Jesus, Who is our life, shall appear, then you shall appear with Him in Glory!!

In Christ Alone My Hope Is Found!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!