FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST
A MESSAGE SERIES FROM COLOSSIANS
The Heart And Walk Of A Healthy Church, Col 2:1-7
INTRODUCTION:
A. Col. 2:1 For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
1. Here are the words of a man passionate about God’s people
2. Though Paul had never met this church face-to-face- he says he was in “great conflict” for them
3. The Greek word translated “conflict” in this verse is the word we get our word agony from.
4. In other words Paul was telling the church that he wished they could know how he agonized over them.
B. We must remember that Paul is writing to a church, that according to his words in Verse 5, is in good order and strong in faith.
1. But they were under a great strain – false teachers were present and trying to give sway to a different view of Jesus Christ
2. They had a Gnostic view of things: They believed that matter was evil, so they did not believe
a. That God created the earth
b. They did not believe in the incarnation
c. And they did not believe Christ was enough.
3. So Paul is writing this letter to encourage the church to stay true to the gospel they had been taught.
C. Maybe, now you can understand why Paul was agonizing over this church, full of Christians he had never met.
1. He wanted the best for them and the best was to be found in Christ and in obedience to Him.
2. In his book entitled In the Pit With a Lion On a Snow Day, Mark Batterson wrote a statement that struck a cord with me
a. I’ve always believed the truth it states, but I guess just seeing it in on paper made an imprint on my mind,
b. He said, If you were always to act in your best interest, you would always obey God.
3. So Paul continues to pray for them and asks God to strengthen them and make them a healthy church.
D. As I agonized over this mornings scripture passage (it was and is a very difficult passage to unravel) I really began to think about our church
1. As a pastor I feel much the same way Paul felt for the church at Colosse
2. I don’t want us to be removed from the simple yet grand truth of Jesus Christ.
3. I want us to be found complete in Him and be a healthy church.
4. So I wondered, How healthy are we? Individually and corporately as the church
5. Paul mentions two aspects of a healthy church: heart and walk
a. Is our heart healthy?
b. Is our walk healthy?
6. As we look at these two aspects of a healthy church you should
a. First examine yourself – are you healthy?
b. Then examine the church – is it healthy?
7. We will begin with the heart and then move to the walk.
PRAY
In his agony over the church at Colosse, Paul writes concerning
I. A HEALTHY HEART, Col 2:2-4 I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding, and have the knowledge of God’s mystery--Christ. In Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive arguments.
A. Paul begins by mentioning their heart
1. Now Paul was not talking about a literal heart
2. The word heart as used in scripture refers broadly to the inner person
3. Often encompassing his mind and emotions, and on occasions referring specifically to our faculty of thinking, the mind
4. So when Paul says I want their hearts to be…, he is referring to their general person, the inner man, the way they think and even feel.
B. So note what he says, I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love,… Paul wanted two things for them:
1. First, Paul want then to be encouraged
a. The Greek word is very general and has a wide rage of meaning: Other translations ascribe strength, comforted, braced, and courage to the context
b. I think this passage found in Ephesians clarifies what Paul is saying to the Colossians, That he (God) would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; Eph 3:16
2. Secondly he wants their hearts to be joined together in love
a. He encouraged the Colossians to stand unified.
b. The only way that could happen was if they loved one another.
1) As the rumor mill started to turn in the church, one would hear so and so was talking to so and so and they are said to believe such and such
2) Suspicions would start to mount and the fellowship would be broken for no apparent or founded reason
3) And that would allow those with false doctrines get a foot hold.
c. That is not what the world needs to see: it needs to see the church unified through encouragement and love
d. Believing this to be of utmost importance Francis Schaeffer called the unity of the church “the final apologetic.”
C. The ultimate goal of having their hearts encouraged and joined together in love is so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding, and have the knowledge of God’s mystery--Christ.
1. Paul expressed this type of assurance when he wrote to Timothy, …I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 2 Tim. 1:12
2. As the church at Colosse was strengthened, primarily by the word, and united in love they could come to a fuller assurance and understanding of this former mystery – Jesus Christ
- More specifically, Christ in us the hope of glory as detailed in Col 1:27.
D. So lets look at our own hearts this morning – are they healthy
1. Paul’s desire was that our hearts be encouraged and joined together in love.
2. There many relational situations we could consider: Ourselves & Christ, Husband and wife; family members and, of course, the church.
3. Are we strengthened, encouraged and of the same mind?
a. Are we on the same page, so to speak, concerning the need for a new associate pastor; paying off the land, on the need to minister to our community, to reach families, etc.
b. If not, are we still able to love one another, even those who have different opinions from ourselves?
4. The strength and unity this brings helps us to have all the riches of assured knowledge and understanding in Christ!
5. In other words we may move forward with assurance we are following our Lord!
6. And quite frankly, that is the heart of the matter! Is it healthy?
From this Paul moves on to articulate the embodiment of
II. A HEALTHY WALK, Col. 2:6-7 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
A. As we look at this passage there is something that should have jumped off the page at us, the phrase, As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord…
1. This is the key to our healthy walk, Christ Jesus the Lord
2. Yes, we have come to Him for salvation, but do we recognize Him as Lord?
a. I just finished a book by Ed Bulkley, entitled How Big Is Your God?
b. In it he speaks of “practical atheism:”
c. This is when we say we believe in God and yet live as if He does not exist – we may call ourselves Christian, but practically speaking we are atheists.
d. This is what Paul was referring to in 2 Tim. 3:4-5 when he wrote that they are…lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:…
e. And why Jesus asked …why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke 6:46
3. How can we live for Christ if we live for self? Who’s Lord of our life?
B. So with the Lordship of Christ established we come to word “walk” – the Greek word speaks of “how one conducts himself”
1. It should be obvious that if we have received Jesus as Lord then our conduct should be in obedience to His word? (Sounds logical?)
2. Look back over the last two weeks (and without making excuses) – have you conducted yourself: your words, activities, attitudes in such a way that could be described as Christ honoring and under His Lordship?
3. Paul uses a couple of word pictures to illustrate what we need to be if we are to walk in Christ:
a. The first is that of a tree – specifically its roots - Roots have two main purposes
1) First, to get nourishment, they go deep to find water and nutrients: how deep are you into God’s word: that’s where we find the living water and nutrients for life
2) The second, to provide stability: without roots an Oak tree would just fall over: are we rooted firmly in Christ, so that we cannot be moved?
b. The second picture is that of a building – …built up in him.
1) God did not save us to let us stagnate, He wants us to grow, add another floor to our maturity
2) What good is a house with just a foundation?
c. Are we living under the rule of His Lordship: rooted and built up in Him?
C. As Paul discusses our walk he also says it should be …established in faith….
1. In his book In the Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washigton D.C. makes another statement that caught my attention when he writes “Sinking is better than sitting”
a. He is referring to the story of Peter getting out of the boat, walking on the water and then sinking.
b. He was trying to get the point across that faith does not necessarily change our circumstances, nor does it always seem sane, and sometimes it is just down right risky and God can work it so even our failures bring Him glory!
2. Walking with Christ as our Lord and being established in our faith allows us to make a move without looking back because we know we serve a all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present God who is with us, ensuring we are able to accomplish His will regardless of the obstacles.
D. Finally, under His Lordship, …we should overflow with thankfulness.
1. How could it be otherwise?
2. Jesus died that we might become a part of the family of God and when we do, He supplies us with all we need to glorify Him!
3. The writer of Hebrews said, By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. Heb 13:15
4. To this I add the words of biblical expositor Alexander Maclaren, “continual thanksgiving will ensure continuous growth in our Christian character and a constant increase in the strength and depth of our faith.”
CONCLUSION: In closing let me say the world needs to see a healthy church
A. For a church to be healthy there must be a healthy heart and a healthy walk
B. For that to happen, each individual member must be healthy.
C. How is your heart?; Your walk?
D. For The Love Of Christ, let’s be a healthy church.
