Look Up and Live!

I believe we have lost our focus. We have taken I our eyes off the things of God and have concentrated on the things of the world. This is what had occurred in Colasse. The people were being constrained by rule theology instead of the liberty of Christ.

Observe in this chapter that he begins by reminding the saints of they have risen with Christ! So the message is to the Church. Those who have confessed their hope in Christ!

If they indeed have risen with him, he argues that they should leave the grave of iniquity and the grave-clothes of their sins behind!

So we are to act as those who are endowed with that superior life!

Our sin debt is paid by Jesus. We who were once dead in our sins now are alive in Christ!

He then goes on to declare that the believer’s life is in Christ, “for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

He infers holiness from this also. Shall those who have Christ for their life defile themselves with guilt? Is it not inevitable that, if the Holy One of Israel be in them as their life, their life should be fraught with everything that is virtuous and good?

Our holiness is based solely on the finished work of Jesus. We talked about that last week. When God sees us, he sees the holiness of Jesus imparted to us by the fact that Jesus paid the penalty of our sins on the cross. We are holy only because Jesus is holy. However, as Jesus, through His Holy Spirit has taken up residence within us, and His indwelling has brought about a change of heart, mind and our very soul. Because of the inward change in our lives, there ought to be outward evidence of that change.

What does Holy Living look like? Perhaps this message should have been the first message in the series rather than the last. We must remember, we have been called to holiness:

1 Peter 1:15–16 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

Our call is clear. It is God will for our lives: 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col 3:3–4).

Now in order to do this Paul lays a a very simple road map

Kill the old

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Col 3:5). There is a stern warning here. If we don’t we will be subject to Gods wrath!

Paul reminds them that they once walk on shaky ground. Look at the list of sins they endulged in: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk

This type of behavior should never be evident in the church!

Put on the New

when a Christian realizes who Christ is and what Christ has done for him so graciously, as we have been seeing, it tends to have a dramatic effect on this life, not only in salvation but in holiness.[1]

This is exactly what Paul is saying in these verses:

Colossians 3:1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Paul is referring to the picture of our baptism. We were buried in our trespasses and sins and raised from that death with Christ:

Colossians 2:12–13 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

Seeing then how we are alive in Christ, our minds needs to be transformed to seeing those things which are above and holy Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

When we begin to see things as God see them, we will want to discard what is unholy and embrace what is holy. We begin to see the importance oTo live a holy life, reflecting the holiness of Jesus which was been placed within us, we must leave all that was part of our carnal, or worldly life, because we have a new person, because we have been made new in Jesus.f what is eternal verse the things of earth which are temporal. “When Christ, who is our life.” Christ is our life! Being in Christ, being a Christian ought to be who and what we are. It is the very fabric of our being. When Jesus appears, we should see a family resemblance.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

Considering then to whom we belong and the family of which we are part, we are to put aside all that takes away from our holiness.

Colossians 3:5–7 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.

Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—

A holy life will, a life that is being sanctified, will resemble Jesus more and more, the image of the one we were made to look like in the beginning, but sin had altered that image. If we, as Christians begin to look like the One who created us, in whom we have the new self, then we also begin to have a family resemblance with one another:

Colossians 3:11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

In the church, there should be no racial issues, no matter our skin color and ethnic background. We all will resemble Jesus, and we all will have individual expressions of that image. So we all in the church belong to Jesus, Paul goes on to say:

Colossians 3:12a So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved,

The KJV has the “elect” of God. God chose us and we responded. Because we were chosen and we responded, we are holy – set aside for the purposes of God, and beloved. Considering whose we are, Paul goes on and says:

Colossians 3:12–13 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

These are the traits of a holy life. Consider: “heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;” I believe this is just an abbreviated list, and they sound a lot like the fruit of the spirit:

Galatians 5:22–23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

All Christian, true believers and followers of Christ have these qualities within themselves, and since we do, we need to display them in all areas of our life. These are what set us individually apart from the rest the world.

.We are to make complete shift! Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; (Col 3:13).