kolose 3

Colossians: Put Off the Old Man, Put On the New Man

08.02.15

Grace

Col. 3:1-17

Have actions that match your faith.

35 min

Introduction

(Attn):

(Them):

(Relv):

(Struct): Moving fast, so there are some things left on the table. Self-study is key. Today we are going through 17 very theological verses: key to the gospel and our transformation

(Rev): Chapter 1 and 2 we learned the essence of the gospel and how to avoid unnecessary spiritual activity. Jesus is everything, nothing else is needed for salvation.

Please open in your Bibles to Col. 3:1-17 on Page 984.

·         Col. gets real practical now. P has warned them of the heresy and now tells them how they are to live – offers the “Christian Solution” to sin and distraction in life.

Set your Mind on the things above (1-4)

·         V1 – if then is in ref. to v. 12: “Having been buried and raise with Him.” The practical implications of this transformation are now going to be explained.

·         “Set your mind on the things above… not on the things of earth.”

o    JC is above. He is “Seated at the right hand of God.” He is our goal and our intercessor. By him alone do we have access to God and a means to live right.

§  “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” Ps 110:1

§  “Seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places” Eph 1:20

o    A heavenward gaze keeps life in its proper perspective. We see and value things in light of who Christ is. “All rubbish” compared to knowing JC.

·         We must focus on eternal purposes rather than earthy purposes and pursuits.

·         We are told to seek first the kingdom of God by JC: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” - Matt 6:33

·         Ill

·         App

Cling to the hope is that you’ve been hidden in Him (3-4)

·         You have died re. to the affections we have for the world. If we are alive in JC than your affections for the world are as if we are dead. A dead man has no affections.

·         We are secure, hidden in Him. The powers of darkness have no hold on us:

o    “In the shadow of his hand he hid me… in his quiver he hid me away.” Is 49:2

o    “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.” Psalm 27:5

·         “Christ who is [y]our life” » source of spiritual nourishment and earthly strength.

·         Our great hope is that we will be with Christ and have total perfection when Christ appears and we appear with Him in glory. Cave story – hidden in Him our hope.

·         Three key themes for all Christians: (1) You are to keep your eyes on Him, (2) You have been hidden (protected) in Him, (3) put to death what is earthly in you.

Put Off the Old Self (5-9)

·         “put to death” lit “to make dead” – very strong verb. We are not to suppress or control, but rather wipe out completely. Exterminate the old way of life.

o    We starve the sensual appetite so that it will no longer be alive and active.

o    “Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within in you.” Col 3:5 NLT

·         The 5 things listed first are all sexual/sensual in nature. The desires to gratify the flesh in a sensual way are strong. JC rose again to show he had power over sin.

·         The word, Sexual Immortality is the word porneia in the Greek, where we get our word “Porn”. Porn is not just images of nudity or sexual acts; it is any kind of sexual immorality that exists in a person’s life, especially that outside of marriage.

1.        Impurity – a wider range of meaning, any misuse of sex and moral evil.

2.        Passion – “lust” (NIV) misguided selfish desires lived out only for self.

3.        Evil Desire – “shameful” (NLT) perverting sex from how God intended.

o    “Sow a thought, Reap an action.” Stop thinking this won’t affect anyone

4.        Covetousness – “greed” (NIV) sin against other by wanting what is not yours.

5.        Idolatry – greed escalated to the highest level, replacing Christ with something you believe will bring your more than God can. “Sin always escalates.”

Sharing Chris’s story (use “Curtis” and “Catharine”) and the redemption God has brought/is bringing as he submits to Christ. Handing it all over to God for freedom.

·         For these sins the wrath of God is coming. Obviously God’s wrath was to be poured out for more than just sexual sin. This underlines that God will have His way.

·         We must put away all the sexual sin as well as 5 more vices we can easily fall into: (1) Anger, (2) Wrath, (3) Malice, (4) Slander, (5) Obscene talk from your mouth

o    The sins listed, both the sexual and speech sins, all are relationship-breakers in the body of Christ. We are one body, to live holy lives in unity.

Why do we avoid purity?

·         We love our lust and sin more than we love God. Sin is sweet when we don’t have an appetite for God. If we feed on sin we will love and long for it more.

·         We don’t understand what it cost us: impurity results in separation from God.

·         If I had a deeper love for God then I would have a deeper desire for purity.  

·         We must keep in mind that God loves me so much in spite of my impurities

o    My purity is so important to God, he gave his son to die for it.

o    The cross gives me a clean slate, but then demands my pursuit of purity

·         When God calls you to pursue a life of purity, He is not trying to deprive you of joy; rather He is calling you to a life of greater joy.

Put on the New Self (10-17)

·         When we are told to put off the old self: means our conduct must match our faith.

o    Do not just have good intentions or resolutions but follow faith w/ actions

o    Good intentions don’t abolish lust and sin, discipline does.

·         This is not just speaking of behavior modification. It is more than sin management. It is about living out a righteous life in Jesus Christ.

o    The form of this verb put off suggests that it has already happened when we have given our faith to Christ. GEORGE MACDONALD quote

o    “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.” Ro 6:6

·         According to the image of Him who created him: Paul alludes to Genesis 1:27, God created Adam in His own image. Now that the first Adam is the old man who should be put off; we are now created after the image of the second Adam, JC.

·         Christ is all and in all is a powerful statement to say that all lines have been crossed and Christ provides salvation for all who have faith in Him. Build bridges, not walls.

o    Paul uses extreme examples to show God can save all men – in that time in the roman world, there were all sorts of barriers. JC was going to cross them all.

o    Jew and gentile—no separation on national or religious rite.

o    Slave or free—no separation on wealth, power or vocation.

o    Barbarians and Scythians—lived about 500 miles N of Colossae along the Black Sea coast seen as violent, uncivilized, uneducated and unworthy people

·         Clear to “Put off” certain sins, but now to “put on” 5 things in the next 3 verses:

o    God’s chosen ones, made holy and beloved by JC’s blood and are to put on:

1.        Compassion – Ps 103:13 God is compassionate Father, favor and attn.

2.        Kindness – sympathy, friendliness more volitional than emotional.

3.        Humility – “Humility is a grateful and spontaneous awareness that life is a gift, and it is manifested as an ungrudging and unhypocritical acknowledgment of absolute dependence upon God^”.

4.        Meekness – “The meek shall inherit the earth” controlled mind & actions

5.        Patience – ability to withstand the blows of life and not take vengeance.

·         V. 13 - Forgive as Christ forgave you. This means we hold no grudges, truly allowing our bond to be preserved and welcoming back those who did us wrong.

·         All these virtues are bound together by love. To practice a list of good virtues but to not have love will lead to distortion, fragmentation and stagnation.

o    1 Cor 13:6, “The greatest of these things is love.”

·         Peace of Christ reigns – this is not an inward individual peace (though that is a byproduct) it is a peace that characterizes a community and affects the whole.

·         All in the name of Jesus – It is only “By him and through Him and to Him” that we can live a redeemed life.

·         In all we do, we are continually “thankful” for His power to live with eyes fixed on heaven. We express gratitude when we live in full dependence on God.

So How do we “Put off the old self” and “put on the new”?

#1. Realize that true forgiveness can only be found at the cross

·         Christians are not to walk around feeling guilty; but forgiven. They are to walk around with an attitude of gratitude for the forgiveness they have received, rather than cringing because of guilt.

·         If you are plagued by guilt then you do not truly understanding the power of forgiveness.

#2. Acknowledge that true repentance is more than “I’m Sorry”

·         Repentance is doing life differently than how you’ve been living. God’s way

·         Jesus has a “CUT IT OFF” philosophy. Why? b/c God takes impurity very seriously. When Jesus Said if your had causes you to sin “Cut it off!” and if your eye cause you to sin “Gouge it out!” he was using a tone that was to help those

·         MIND: Acknowledges or situation and our savior and the need to change.

·         EMOTIONS: Feeling sorry for our past desiring to go back and do it all over again I would do it differently.

·         WILL: I will change the way that I have been living and strive for true holiness.

#3. Remember, There are no points for style: True change pay not regard for style

·         God doesn’t care how you fight sin, eh just wants you to fight it. He won’t say, “I really like what you did there, you really were creative in killing sin.”

·         Avoid arousing ungodly desires. Romans 13:14 – make no provision for the flesh to gratify it’s desires.

·         Be Killing sin or sin will be killing you. James 4:7 – Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

·         Know that saying “No!” is not enough. We must continually turn to Christ (saying “Yes”) and find all of our pleasure in Him and Him alone.

·         Always look to the cross. Keep your eyes on the things above in temptation.

·         “Lust grows fast in a garden of leisure,” work for Christ and sew seeds of the spirit and you will reap eternal life. Don’t grow lazy in your battle against flesh.

·         Don’t fight the battle alone. Have accountability and vulnerability where needed.

Closing Questions:

What changes do you need to make to bring honor to Him in all areas of your life?

What impressions to people have of Christ when they hear you talk or see you act?

The gospel is your hope!

Appendix:

“Can it be any comfort to them to be told that God loves then so, that he will burn them clean? … They do not what to be clean and they cannot bear to be tortured.” George McDonald