Can we be Alienated from God?
Pastor Glenn Newton
February 7th, 2010
Text: Colossians 1:21-29 (NIV)
COL 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 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-- 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
COL 1:24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
COL 1:28 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
The Apostle Paul is in a fight, he is literally fighting for the souls of these young Christians who are in this Christian church in Colosse. You probably would like to know what exactly is he fighting against, right?
He is fighting for the Truth, he is fighting against false teaching that has infiltrated the church. Who were these false teachers?
They were called “Gnostics”, basically a lot like our current New Age philosophy that is making the rounds….They believed that you were not saved by faith, but instead, through “Knowledge”. Gnosticism, in all its forms, was characterized by belief in the evil of matter, in mediating beings, and in salvation through knowledge. Beginning with the assumption that all creation is evil, the Gnostics argued that God didn't create this world and that he has absolutely no contact with it.
But, then they realized that just didn’t make any sense, so they invented this wild belief that God had some mediating beings, who lived in the stars…lived between God and earth, and they controlled pretty much everything that happened, so as you will see, Paul deals with the worship of Angels…and this is what he is talking about.
You see it doesn’t take much for people to start believing all kinds of crazy things if your not grounded in the Truth. Just look at what people believe today. People will travel around the world to look at a tree that supposedly has the face of Jesus in it….by the way, did they have Polaroid cameras back in Jesus day? Why do we assume that we know what he looks like…..I think that is hilarious….deception is Satan’s game, we need to make sure that we are not being deceived through his trickery.
Paul is fighting for these young Christians, so he gets right to the point, he reminds them of something that we all need to be reminded of…..
1. “Once you were alienated from God …” v.21
Paul had a good reason to remind them that they were once “alienated”, or they were “estranged” from God, because these Gnostics were teaching that how you lived in the body was of no consequence, as long as you cultivated your soul…..
In words that we might understand today….You can live however you want during the week, as long as you “worship” on Sunday. This was the Gnostic belief that the Apostle Paul was teaching against. That Gnostic belief is still alive today, people living like the devil all week, then sitting in church on Sunday thinking that makes is all better….
Let’s see what Paul says about this idea… “COL 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” Remember he is talking to new Christians, many who have just walked away from pagan religions, some from Judaism, which was where they believed that they had to continue the OT rituals and sacrifices, some surely saw Jesus, saw the miracles that he performed, and believed in what they heard. The point is, they had at one time all been lost, separated from God because of their personal sin, they had been alienated from God because of their sin…they had been enemies of God because of their evil behavior…..
Can I tell you a secret? We all have been alienated from God, we were all enemies of God because of our behavior, until we repented of that sin, and we put our faith in Jesus Christ. Everyman is in this sinful condition and must come to the place of repentance.
Why were we once alienated? Sin.
What is the one thing that can separate us from God? Sin. The willful disobedience of a known law of God.
Friends, Sin is serious business with God. Do you think God plays around and just winks at those who willfully choose to live in a lifestyle of sin?
If you want to get a clear picture of what God thinks about sin, read in the book of Leviticus…here is one example…. LEV 20:27 " `A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.' "
The Israelites lived under the Law given to Moses, it was given by God for a reason, for His purpose. Today we live under the New Covenent which has fulfilled the Law, but make no mistake, God has not changed His mind about how he feels about sin. God’s wrath will be poured on those who refuse to listen to the truth, on those who reject Jesus Christ….this is New Testament….listen to what Paul says in Romans 1:18-20
RO 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse..”
Paul continues in chapter 2:1-5-11
RO 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God "will give to each person according to what he has done." 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
Once you were alienated from God…..my plea to you today is don’t allow sin to move you into that place again. God’s Grace is awesome, it’s beyond description….but Christian, don’t believe for a minute that God will allow someone who lives in willful disobedience to Him, to slip through come judgment day.
We don’t have to live in Fear, we need to live in obedience, and when we do…we have a peace and a confidence that allows us the kind of Freedom that the Bible describes.
I love my girls more than I can tell you. They are such a blessing. I love them so much that there are a lot of things I won’t tolerate from them, like lying, hateful attitudes, stealing and so on….God’s love for us is so much more than what I can muster, His love for you and me is unquestioned, no matter our choices, but He won’t tolerate a lifestyle of sin in the body of Christ. He is Holy, living Holy lives and living sin filled lives just cannot co-exist. Where are you today? There will be nothing worse than being separated from God on Judgment day.
Friends, no matter where you are in this life…there’s Good News….Amen?
2. “In Christ you are without blemish and free from accusation…”v 22
22 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-- 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.
Can you say “Thank you Jesus!”
Paul is in a fight. Paul is telling these young Christians who are being told that… “hey, you can be a Christian and still live like you used too, you can do whatever you feel like doing….” they were being fed a lie, just like so many today.
Paul says, “if” you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel…..then, because of what Christ did on the Cross, he died physically, He reconciled you to the Father through his death, so that you are Holy in his sight (God’s sight)….without blemish and free from accusation….
Look at your neighbor, can you see any blemishes? Anything that is not perfect? Don’t answer that question out loud…. So with all of our blemishes, how can Paul say that when the Father looks at us, He won’t see any blemishes, nothing to accuse us of?
“The Blood of Jesus washes me white as snow.” Thank You Jesus for shedding your Blood for my sin…for all my blemishes…for all my shortcomings….for all my hang-ups…for all my bad decisions…for all my addictions….for all my sins….thank you for suffering in my place, shedding your innocent blood for a sinner like me.
Friends, we need to stay under the blood of Jesus, we stay in Christ by following Him, listening to Him, getting into His Word, Talking to Him moment by moment, allowing His Holy Spirit to guide us into His Truth, lead us day by day in His Will…just letting the relationship grow into intimacy….
New Hope, will you continue in the Faith?
What if the water pipe breaks again next week? Will that be enough to rock your faith?
If the finances get tight….or tighter? Will that rock your faith?
If your car breaks down, if you lose your job….if your kids are sick………..
There is nothing in this old world that is worth you giving up your faith in Jesus Christ.
This body of believers, we may be going through some trying times…..but I have a feeling God is up to something…..this group is getting closer to each other and drawing closer to Him as we lean on Him, and as we Lean on each other…we are going to see God’s Hand, His Will, His Power displayed like never before…..don’t blink…don’t miss what God wants to do in you, and in His church.
You can be Alienated from God because of Sin. But the Good News is, Jesus Forgives sin, and His Blood washes it away as if it was never there……Praise God! Do you need to come to the River and be washed clean this morning?
