Change Clothes Series

Above All: A Study in Colossians

Colossians 3:5-11

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church

07-17-2022

Mud Bowl

One of my favorite student ministry outreaches we ever did was what we called Mud Bowl. We will till up about half an acre in the back of the church. Someone had access to a fire truck and would pour thousands of gallons of water into this area. Then we invited students to bring their friends and play games in the mud. We always had over 100 students attend and it was a blast.

When it was all over, I would come home and take off my clothes. They would hit the floor with a splat. I would take a shower and try to get the mud out of my hair. Then I would take a bath and then another shower. I would use a q-tip to clean the mud from my fingernails, toe nails, ears and nose. After about an hour, I would feel clean again.

What would you think if I got out of the shower and proceeded to put back on the dirty, grimy, wet clothes I wore at the mud bowl? That wouldn’t make much sense, would it?

That’s the point that Paul is making with the Colossian believers in the verses we wills study this morning. Once we have taken off the old clothes of our old life and put on the new “in Christ” clothes, why would we go back to those dirty old clothes?

Look Up

Last week, we studied the first four verses of Colossians 3:

“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.” (Col 3:1-4)

In the first two chapters, Paul is seeking to establish a doctrinal foundation for these believers to guard against false teaching. In the last two chapters, Paul moves from creed to conduct, from belief to behavior.

Paul begins this chapter reminding them of their

Position in Christ - they have been raised with Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God.

Priorities - they are to set their hearts/affections and minds/will on things that are above.

Past/Present - they died and now their life is hidden with Christ in God. This means that we are safe and secure in Christ.

Promises of God - we will appear with Jesus, who is our life, in glory.

I said last week that I would be preaching on the second coming, but after the church voted unanimously to participate with Eastview in the All In series, I need to make sure that I can finish Colossians.

Now turn with me to Colossians 3:5-11.

Pray.

Kill it!

“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.” (Colossians 3:5-6)

Paul has made the case multiple times already in this letter that when Jesus died, we died. Now, because we have died with Christ, we are to put to death the deeds of the sinful nature.

We are not to try to tame our sin, or toy with it. We are to run a sword through it. We are take radical action against anything that belongs to the old nature.

The Puritan John Owens said it this way:

“Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work. Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

The Christian life isn’t not a merry-go-round. It’s war. It’s a battle. And as long as we are living here, we will be engaged in conflict between the old nature and the new nature.

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” (Gal 5:16-17)

Paul lamented this truth in Romans 7:

“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;  but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:21-25)