Colossians 4:18 – Remember Your Chains
And so we have reached the end of the book of Colossians. I may be worth your while to go back and read the book from start to finish, to remind yourself of all the good stuff that Paul wrote. All the sermons are online, too, if you missed any. Today we look at the last verse, v18, to tie it all together. Let’s read.
In this last verse, Paul reminded his readers where he was - in a prison in Rome. It appears that the actual scribes to the book were Epaphras and Onesimus, according to Paul’s dictation, and Paul signed his name at the end in his own handwriting.
The book had covered many facets of what Christians should be on board with. The deity of Christ, what He accomplished on the cross, how things are so different for believers today than in the OT, and so on. And Paul described several things that we believe are part of God’s purposes for Centreville Baptist. This church exists to Glorify God – to live lives pleasing to Him. Colossians 1:10 says that Paul was praying that the believers would “live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way.” This church also exists to Reach out to others. Paul asked the readers in 4:5 to “be wise in the way you act toward outsiders”. It matters. This church also exists to Aspire to live like Jesus. He told the readers in 3:12 that “as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, [they should] clothe ]themselves] with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” This church exists to Commit to serve. Paul said in 1:25, giving us an example, “I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness.” And this church exists to Encourage one another. Colossians 3:14 says simply, above all else, more important than anything else, we need to put on, to wear, to clothe ourselves, with love for each other.
So we believe that this book carries an important message for us today. And I believe that Paul’s mention of chains is important for us. As we celebrated Remembrance Day this past week, there was much talk of freedom. I am thankful for the country we live. We do have freedom to vote, the freedom to choose occupations, the freedom to choose religion.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to live in a country where even Christianity is enforced. Choice is important, and we are free to do that. This country is flawed, to be sure. But we are free, to an extent.
I’d like to share with you today the freedom we have in Christ. The chains that we as believers have been set free from. What has God done for us? What chains have been broken? What should we remember that has happened to us?
Romans 5:1 says that we have been justified, completely forgiven and made righteous. And Romans 8:1 says that we have been set free from condemnation. We are not condemned. Sometimes we feel that God is pointing His finger at us, condemning us for our stupid choices. But that is only a feeling, and not actually the case.
The first part of Romans 6 says that we died with Christ, and we died to the power of sin’s rule over our lives. We do not have to obey sin’s leading and sin’s temptations. Sometimes we choose to, but it’s never because we have to. It’s so easy to blame the devil, or blame the way we are, or blame the way we were raised, or whatever. But the reality is, we died to sin, and we no longer are its slaves.
1 Corinthians 1:30 says that we have been placed into Christ by God’s doing. We are in Him. He is where we get our identity; not from our clothes or our gadgets or our cash or our houses or our vehicles. We get our identity from Christ, because we are in Him, and He is in us.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says that we have been bought with a price; we are not our own, but we belong to God. There are times when we feel like God has deserted us, but that is never true. We belong to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21 says that we have been made righteous. This is a big one. We often say that we are sinners saved by grace. How can a sinner possibly be righteous? How can a person be a sinner and a saint? You can’t. Now, a righteous person may occasionally do an unrighteous act, but that doesn’t make them unrighteous. If we see ourselves as sinners, just moments away from sinning again, we’re not surprised when it happens. But if we see ourselves as righteous, saints in His eyes, then we see unrighteous acts as something apart from ourselves, and not us. Simply put, the Bible says we are righteous.
Galatians 2:20 says that we have been crucified with Him, and we are no longer alive, that the lives we live are by faith. This is where faith really means something. Do we see our lives as forgiven by grace but fueled by effort? Grace changed our location, but how we get there is up to us? Or do we believe that God saved us, grace changes us, grace gives the strength, and that grace teaches us what to do? What does it mean to be crucified with Him?
Ephesians 1 and 2 are rich what God has done for us. Not what He’s going to do, but what has already happened. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame before Him. We have been adopted as God’s children. We have been redeemed and forgiven, we have been made alive together with Christ, and we have been raised up and seated with Christ in heaven.
And Colossians is so good too. We have been rescued from the domain of Satan’s rule and transferred to the kingdom of Christ. We pray often, “Lord, save us!” We already have been, and there’s still more to come. And Colossians 1:14 says that we have been redeemed and forgiven of all our sins. The debt against us has been cancelled. We think we have to work to pay off the debt God has against us. But we don’t. The debt has been paid. And that leaves us free to love and thank, but never repay.
Colossians 2 says that we have been buried, raised and made alive with Christ, and that we have been made complete in Christ. We have died, but so many people try to make it happen. “Lord, I want to be alive. I want to be free from sin. I want to kill this sin in me.” But that’s like turning the ignition of a car that’s already running. These things have already happened. We are alive, we are free from sin, and sin is already dead. We can’t do what has already been done, and we can’t kill what is already dead. We just need to realize what has already been done for us.
I like in Hebrews 2:11 where it says that Jesus makes people holy, that is, set apart for God’s purposes. It also says that He has made us holy – already happened. Now, because we are holy, and we are one with the One who makes us holy, He is not ashamed to call us family. Too often, we hang our heads and say, “God is ashamed of me. He must be so ashamed of who I am.” That’s not true! Even though Christians do things all the time that God is likely ashamed of, He is never ashamed of His people. We are so embarrassed of some believers, yes, but Jesus is not, even when they do things that shame His name.
Hebrews goes on in 4:16 to tell us that we have the right to come boldly before the throne of God to find mercy and grace in the time of need. We don’t deserve it, in and of ourselves, but Jesus said it’s OK. So without being arrogant, we don’t need to grovel either. “Oh please, I am but a worm! Who are You to hear me?” That’s not boldness, and that’s not humility. It’s a misunderstanding of what Jesus has done for us.
I like how The Message words Galatians 5. It says, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” Christ set us free so that we could really be free. Free from people’s opinions about what we should or shouldn’t do, free from OT laws and customs, free from having to have a perfect performance in order to please God, free from having to follow NT rules for that matter, I mean, in order to be right with God. If how we carry on our spiritual lives does not bring freedom to our spirits, then we are missing out.
Romans 3:24 says that Christ freed us from the penalty of our sins, and Romans 6:7 says that He freed us from the power of sin. Colossians 2:20 says that we are free from the evil powers in this world, and Hebrews 2:15 says that we are free from the fear of dying. Galatians 2:4 says that if anyone forces you to follow religious rules, you will lose your freedom, but Galatians 5:13 warns us not to use our freedom so that we can go sin however we want. Colossians 1:14 connects our freedom with forgiveness, that Christ has already forgiven us, and we don’t need to plead with God for more.
All this is for us, right now, as part of the total package. We picture our sins forgiven, maybe, but never really dealt with until heaven. But the New Covenant, which began at Jesus’ death and resurrection, totally changed everything. The thing is… if we are not aware of what salvation is meant to accomplish, we will still live under the Old Covenant, the old way of dealing with things. Where sins were covered over, but not removed. Where nothing was really enough to cleanse the heart. Where nothing really cleansed the conscience. Where sin was never dealt with, and the Law didn’t fix anything, no matter how hard anyone tried.
If you think that things aren’t really different, then that’s how you will live. But if you read the NT, and see who you are in Christ, and realize what has happened to you, in you, and believe that it’s true, then you will find freedom.
I’d like to share this prayer with you that I found on Facebook this week. It’s called The Knot Prayer. It goes like this… Dear God: Please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life. Remove the have nots, the cannots and the do nots. Erase the will nots, may nots, might nots that may find a home in my heart. Release me from the could nots, would nots and should nots that obstruct my life. And most of all, dear God, I ask that you remove from my mind, my heart and my life all of the “am nots” that I have allowed to hold me back, especially the thought that I am not good enough. Amen. Author known to God.
Let me ask: do you know this freedom? Do you have what Jesus died to accomplish? I would like to invite you, as we come to the communion table, to receive what Jesus may have for you. To receive His sacrifice, to remember His death. But also, to walk into His resurrection, His life-changing power. Perhaps coming to the Lord’s Supper is like receiving what He has for you. Accepting by faith the freedom His death provides. As we celebrate and remember, say yes to whatever God may have in store for you.
