What Christians Should Do
Colossians 3:1-17
In this Chapter, Paul explains true Christian
behavior-putting on the “new man our new nature” by accepting Jesus
Christ and considering our “old man our old earthly nature” dead.
· We must change not only our moral behavior
and character change by letting Jesus Christ live with in us, so that he may
continue to shape us into what we should be,
which is “that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
to God” according to Romans 12:1.
· You may be asking yourself, “Holy? Me” Yes a
Holy and acceptable. When we offer our body, God intends it to be
a holy and acceptable
Living the New Life Not In Carnality but In Christ and
The Character of the New Man.
1 If then you
were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting
at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on
things on the earth.
·
We must set our sights on the realities of
heaven, which means that we must put heaven’s eternal priorities into daily
practice. We must focus on the eternal matters and not on the temporal issues. Do not focus on the here and now, but focus
on the then and there (eternity).
·
We are
told to seek those things which are
above, and set our mind on things above. But how do we
practically seek and set?
o By
spending time in the Word of God.
o By
spending time in prayer.
o By
spending time with things that build us up in God instead of merely
entertaining us.
o By
gathering with others in the Lord.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then
you also will appear with Him in glory.
·
V3. Hidden means “concealed and safe”. This is
not only a future hope but also a current fact.
·
One thing we must remember is that our service
and conduct do not earn our salvation, but they are the result of our
salvation.
·
V4 Christ gives us power to live for him now and
gives us the hope for the future. We must remember that his return is our hope
and expectancy and can happen at any time.
5 Therefore put to death your members, which are
on the earth: fornication, uncleanness,
passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because
of these things the wrath of God is
coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves
once walked when you lived in them.
·
The sins
mentioned previously are part of the way the world lives, not the way Jesus
lives. Every Christian is faced with a question: “Who will identify with, the
world or Jesus?” Paul tells us to put to death these 5 things. We should
find ourselves dead to sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Now
please try and understand that Paul is not against sex, but against its
perversion.
·
What is the line between the two?
o The
Bible is clear in celebrating heterosexual, monogamous marriage as the proper
situation for sexual fulfillment. As Christian men and women you should be open
to true love and to physical intimacy-within the boundaries of a lifelong
committed faithful relationship. That is God’s
Way! The rest is dangerous, sexual sin and perversion will cause you to
turn your eyes away from God. (elaborate,
expound on the world today, and do not conform.)
·
V6. These sins invite the wrath of God.
Because the world loves this kind of sinful lifestyle. One sin is enough to send anyone to hell. (elaborate on 1 sin, but
they are forgiven except one.)
·
V7. In which you yourselves once walked when
you lived in them: These sins may mark a world in rebellion against God,
but they are in the past tense for the Christian.
o A
true Christian cannot be comfortable in habitual sin.
o Paul
says that Christians once walked in these sins. It is possible - though
tragic - that these sins should occasionally mark a Christian’s life, but they
must not be a Christian’s walk or their manner of living.
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all
these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy
language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since
you have put off the old man with his deeds,
·
In 3:9, Paul tells us to rid ourselves of the
things that deal with sins of speech, because these are relationship breakers.
·
As Christians we can think of these as “little”
sins that are often overlooked.
·
Paul challenges us to be careful with what we
say and asks us to bridle our tongue. James 1:26 states “If anyone among
you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own
heart, this one’s religion is useless.” No matter how spiritual we are
we need to be more effective in controlling our speech. How many times have we “eaten leather” or in Bob’s case put our fit in
our mouth.
·
Our tongue is one of the most powerful things we
have guys. This is how powerful it is. James
3:6-12 states, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The
tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on
fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For
every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and
has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It
is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless
our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the
similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and
cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a
spring send forth-fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can
a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring
yields both salt water and fresh.”
·
The more notorious sins of
Colossians
3:5 are easily seen as incompatible with the nature of Jesus. But
these “lesser” sins are also incompatible, so
put off these sins also.
10 and have put on the new man who is
renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where
there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian,
Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
·
It almost seems like you a change of clothes, we
can almost picture yourself taking off the old and putting on the new man
in Jesus.
·
The new man is renewed in knowledge; he
is hungry to know what God says in His Word.
·
Remember that if you are a Christian you should
act like it. To be a Christian is a straightforward step. You must put rid
yourself of all evil practices and immorality, and then commit fully to what
Christ teaches.
·
Do not be discouraged though, because this is a
lifelong process, the more we know Christ the more we are being changed to be
like him. This takes practice, (practice what you preach and obey what you
learn); it requires ongoing review (Lord what am I doing that I shouldn’t or
what do I need to do that I am not doing), patience (simply waiting for the
word to do the work) and concentration, (keep your eyes focused on the Lord).
·
V11 The new man is also part of a family that
has an open invitation to join. There is no exclusions or exceptions in God’s
family, other than our own free will to not accept that invitation, this family
only favors Jesus.
Character of the New Man
In these verses Paul offers us a strategy to help us live
for God day by day:
(1) Imitate Christ’s compassionate, forgiving attitude
(3:12-13);
(2) Let love guide your life (3:14);
(3) Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart (3:15);
(4) Always be thankful (3:15);
(5) Keep God’s Word in you at all times (3:16);
(6) Live as Jesus Christ representative (3:17).
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy
and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness,
longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one
another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you,
so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on
love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God
rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be
thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And
whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
·
Now Paul is asking us to clothe ourselves with
mercies, kindness, humility, meekness and longsuffering, bearing with one
another and forgiving one another. These are relationship builders, which we
should express to one another as Christians.
·
Remember the criteria Jesus gave regarding how
the world could judge His people:
By this all will know that you are My
disciples, if you have love for one another (
John
13:35).
·
Each of these qualities also tells us what
it means to live in the nature of Jesus, as
Philippians 2:1-11 describes.
·
Therefore if there is any consolation in
Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any
affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having
the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let
nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of
mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you
look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in
the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but
made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and
coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a
man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even
the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him
and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth,
and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
·
We are told to live forgiving one
another, after the pattern of Jesus’ forgiveness towards us.
·
The promise of forgiveness, as with the pattern
of Christ’s forgiveness, is not made to the unrepentant, but to those who even
show the slightest promise of repentance. Luke
17:3-4 states, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a
day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
·
Above all these things put on love, which is
the bond of perfection: Love is the
summary of all the things described in this passage. Love perfectly fulfills
what God requires of us in relationships.
·
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
to which also you were called in one body: The rule of the peace of God
means that peace should characterize the community of God’s
people, and that peace is a standard for discerning God’s will.
·
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in
all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs: The new man walks in the Word, and in worship with other
believers.
·
Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus: The
new man lives his life, all his life, for Jesus.
