Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:1-17 NIV)
A few weeks ago, our family went to a college basketball game. It was fun. But there was one annoying thing: The announcer. At least a dozen times during the game, the announcer felt it was his job to get everybody to cheer. So, he would yell: “Get loud.” Or, “Make some noise!” Over and over again! Can you guess what happened? Like two people would clap. It didn’t work. We’re not robots! But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t cheering at the game. Do you know when people clapped and cheered really loud? When our team made a three-pointer or a dunk or a steal. Telling us to cheer didn’t work at all. Giving us reasons to cheer made us get loud. Agree?
All around us today, people realize the need for kindness. So they say, “Be kind. Be good.” It’s even on billboards around the city, right? “Be kind. Compassion: Pass it on!” Does that work? About as well as the announcer shouting, “Get loud!” “Well, if the billboard says it, I guess I’ll be kind…” said nobody ever! Did you know that no book of the Bible starts with “Be kind”? Instead, do you know what every little book in the New Testament starts with? Jesus! “Look at Jesus. Look at what Jesus has done for you. He’s better than three pointers or dunks!” Telling us to be good doesn’t work. Showing us the good Jesus has done for us? That’s a different story!
As we’ve gone through Colossians, I hope you’ve noticed that the apostle Paul hasn’t said much about how we should live. Instead, he’s said a lot about Jesus. We started with how you “truly understood God’s grace” (Colossians 1:6). God’s grace—his undeserved love for us sinners—is at the heart of the Bible. Then we heard, “Once you were alienated from God,…but now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (1:21-22). We heard, “When you were dead in your sins…, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, … nailing it to the cross” (2:13-14). Look at Christ! Look at Christ! Look at what Christ did for you! We have new life in Christ.
So now look at how today’s lesson starts: “Since, then…” Now we’re finally ready to see how Christ impacts our lives. Understand? “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Do you see how Jesus motivates us? Since we died and rose with Jesus, since Jesus is in heaven preparing a place for us, since Christ is our life… “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Today’s a perfect day to talk about this. What day is it in the church year? Transfiguration Day. Jesus wanted his disciples to set their minds on things above, not on earthly things. So before he went to the cross, before his disciples watched all of his sufferings, he showed them heaven. And not just his glory. He showed them people in heaven: Moses and Elijah. The message was clear: “This is what’s waiting for you! Don’t get discouraged. Don’t think that death is the end.” “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” What a promise! This is what the Bible does for us: It shows us Jesus. It shows us what Jesus has done for us. It shows us what’s waiting for us in heaven. Then it tells us how to live a new life in Christ.
Are you ready? Since you have new life in Christ, since your heart is set on things above, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature.” Those are really strong words: “Put to death!” Whatever sin there is in your life, kill it! There’s a common criticism of Bible-believing Christians like us who teach that we’re saved by faith in Jesus. People says, “That means I can live however I want to. That means I’m free to sin as much as I want to!” Is that true? No way. That’s making a mockery of God’s grace. Here’s the truth: If you understand what Jesus has done to save you, what will you want to do with the sin in your life? Put it to death!
Paul gets specific. He gives us two lists of five sins. First, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” This list is all about sex. Sex in marriage is a blessing from God. But sex outside marriage is sin. Lust? Pornography? Also sin. What is a Christian to do with sin? “Put to death!” Not, “put up with it.” Not, “try not to go too far.” Kill it. Don’t get comfortable with the sins in your life. Get rid of them! If we call ourselves Christians and live in sexual sins, it’s not okay.
Now some of you are thinking, “Yes. Get ‘em! Preach against those sins.” We always think first about everybody else’s sins, right? Don’t do that today. God’s talking to you. Maybe right now, you don’t struggle with sexual sins. Well, here’s list #2: “You must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” Ever struggle with anger? With filthy language? With talking bad about others? “Rid yourselves of all such things as these.” Those are strong words! Don’t cling to sin. Put it to death. Rid yourselves of it.
Faith in Christ is meant to impact your life. Can you see that? “Set your minds on things above.” Sometimes we get confused on what faith really is. Some of us are stuck with family faith: “I go to church because my family goes.” That’s not true faith. Some of us get caught up in civil faith: “God bless America! (but if I commit adultery on the side, it’s no big deal.)” That’s not true faith. Some of us have cultural faith: “It’s good to go to church once in a while, when I’m back at home, but that’s good enough.” That’s not true faith. Faith in Jesus is always a personal faith. A life-changing faith. “When Christ, who is your life, appears…” Who is your life? Christ!
If, instead of living a new life in Christ, I cling to the sins of my old self, do you know what’s coming for me? I skipped over verse 6: “Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” “The wrath of God.” Does that sound out of place today? God wouldn’t send anybody to hell, right? Let’s ask Jesus. Do you know what Jesus said? “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36). The result of a sinful lifestyle is the wrath of God! Do you realize that? If we cling to our sin, if we excuse our sin, if we refuse the new life Jesus offers us, the result will be God’s wrath. Hell.
That wakes you up, doesn’t it? God’s wrath is scary! So Paul peppered words of hope throughout this powerful section. He says, “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.” See how he talks in the past? He says, “You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” He says, “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved…” How can he say those good things? Because of Christ! Remember what Christ did? He reconciled us to God with his death. He nailed our sins to his cross. You’re not defined by the sins of your sinful nature. You have new life in Christ.
So there’s a third list, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” This is what Jesus works in us. Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. It comes from Jesus. “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” This is what new life in Christ looks like. It’s having Christ’s humility and compassion and forgiveness so overwhelm us that they change us from the inside-out. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Show compassion and patience, as Christ has shown to you.
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Over everything, put on love. You know we moved here from Green Bay, WI, home of the Green Bay Packers. We learned something there: Green and gold go with everything. Did you know that? Blue hospital scrubs? Look great with green and gold. Red Santa Christmas tie? Looks great with green and gold. All colors match well with green and gold. Just like Christian love. It goes with everything. Christian love is like the winter coat you put on over everything else. All the time.
Are you beginning to understand the Christian life? Grammar is really important. “Oh no,” you say. “Not grammar!” There is a difference between statements of fact and commands. Follow that? In these words from the Bible, which come first: The statements of facts or the commands? The facts! This is so important. It’s never, “Be kind and compassionate so that God will love you.” It’s, “as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion.” It’s never, “Forgive and maybe God will forgive you.” It’s, “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” It’s, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our actions follow God’s actions for us.
That is where peace comes from. God does have commands for our lives. But his commands are always wrapped up in his promises in Christ. What you do is the result of who you already are in Jesus. So, “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another.” There is peace in Jesus and his forgiveness. There is peace in hearing God’s Word. There is peace in being surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ. No matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, there is peace in having new life in Christ.
So here’s a phrase to remember: Simul justus et peccator. You weren’t expecting Latin, were you? Have you heard that phrase before? Simul justus et peccator? It’s an ancient phrase that means, “At the same time, a saint and a sinner.” That’s the truth about you. And me. You are a saint in God’s eyes. Holy. Forgiven! But as long as we live in this world, we’re also sinners. In constant need of repentance. In constant need of Christ and his grace. “At the same time, a saint and a sinner.” Every day we need God’s law to convict us and God’s gospel to forgive us. Every day we need God’s commands to guide us and God’s promises to empower us. Saint and sinner.
And they don’t get any clearer than this: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” You have new life in Christ! “Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature.” You have new life in Christ! “Rid yourselves of … anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language.” You have new life in Christ! “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” You have new life in Christ! “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” You have new life in Christ!
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