Scripture: Colossians 3:1-17
Theme: New Life - New Clothes or New Clothes for the New You!
INTRO:
Good morning and I am so glad you are here this morning!
Throughout the years, America has been identified by various iconic images. For example, during the great western expansion days, our nation was dotted with wagon trains heading west and wooden forts being built all across the plains. During the Industrial age, we were a nation littered with bricked factories, manufacturing plants and smoke stacks that lined the skies. As we transitioned into the Information Age, those factories and manufacturing plants were replaced with Dot.com sky scrapers and mini-Silicon Valleys. The old smoke stacks which were replaced with electrical grids, giant wind turbines and solar panels kissing the sun.
Today, at least on the weekends, we could be known as a nation of garage sales. As soon as the weather warms, out come all the garage sale signs. All you have to do is to travel to Erin, Cumberland City, Dickson or to Clarksville, TN and you will find dozens and dozens of yard sales littering the highways and subdivisions. Everywhere, people are encouraging others to take home some precious pre-owned treasures for a fraction of their original price.
I am sure, this morning, that we have dozens of people who love to go garage sale shopping as much as others like to be out on the water in their fishing boats or riding on a jet ski. Our garage sale lovers are keen bargain hunters. They get all charged up in the adventure of finding a valuable treasure or a super deal. Garage sale shopping is in their DNA and they love it.
There are times that I too, like to visit a garage sale. Usually, it is when I want to observe people and how they interact with one another. I like to watch how the seller and the buyer communicate with one another over different sale items. I like to watch how people share life together as they share their individual stories. You can hear a great deal of life at a garage sale if you just listen. A lot of times, life around a modern garage sale is similar to life around an ancient watering hole. Ancient watering holes were these places that people would gather to get their daily supply of water. And as they gathered their water they would talk, share life and even barter and trade goods.
If you have been to a recent garage sale, one of the things that you quickly notice is the over abundance of clothing we have in our country. More often than not, there is this abundance of clothing, especially, baby and children's clothing. No child in America should ever be in need of something to wear with all of our garage sales.
Did you know, that there was a time when having more than two or three changes of clothes was rather unusual in our country? If we could travel back to the time of the Little House on the Prairie (late 1800's) or even to the time of the Walton's (1933 -1946), we would discover that most people owned only one, two or at most three changes of clothing.
I remember when the Erin COTN bought the old Coleman house, one of the things that we noticed was that most of the rooms did not have an original closet. And the rooms that did have a closet had a very tiny closet. Houses built back in the time of the Coleman house (early 1900's) did not build the large walk in closets that are so common today. They did not need them. Why would you need this big ole closet when all you had was one or two outfits and a couple pair of shoes?
Today, houses are built with closets that would rival ancient bedrooms for their size. In fact, one of the selling points of many homes, is the fact that they have these large wardrobe closets. If there one thing we Americans love almost as much as food, it is clothing. We love to wear clothes, we look good in them and we love to constantly update our clothing.
Our passage this morning, deals with the metaphor of clothing. Paul uses the metaphor of clothing as a way to teach about the new life in Christ. It appears, that the Colossian people also loved clothing. Given the fact, that their city was located on one of the major trade route that brought together Greece, Rome, Syria and Mesopotamia this should not surprise us. Every day, the people of Colossae had a front role seat as they watched travelers and caravans transport goods along their roads. Each day they would have been able to witness all kinds of different dress and apparel.
Therefore, Paul employs the metaphor of clothing in his teaching on holiness. He want these Colossian disciples to wear spiritual garments of white, without spot or wrinkle. The Apostle wants the people of Colossae to both theologically understand sanctification and to experience a sanctified life. Corporate and personal holiness was to be both understood, professed and possessed by all who know Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Paul's letters normally followed a predictable pattern. He would dedicate the first part of his letters to theological education He wanted his readers to understand what it meant to be redeemed, sanctified and justified in Jesus Christ. The latter part of his letters were dedicated to realistic ethical application. It was Paul's desire that his readers understand the life in Christ and live out their lives in Christ. So, as we read chapters three and following, we read material dedicated to orthopraxy; that is to say, living out our Christian life for the majesty and glory of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This morning, before we get into the clothing section, (verses 8 - 14), we need to focus briefly on verses 1-8, where Paul explains to his readers that they were no longer the same people since they had experienced salvation. And since, they were no longer the same people, they were to no longer live like they once lived. In Christ, they had experienced New Birth and had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They had been redeemed by the blood of the cross and therefore, must live like God's redeemed people.
It would do us some good here to pause and reflect on Paul's overall teaching:
1. The Apostle wants us to understand that in Christ, we have made a crucial life transforming decision. We have gone from being children of darkness to children of light.
2. Now, we are to grow in grace. Salvation is the doorway to living the Holy Life. After we receive Jesus as Savior, we are then to make Jesus Lord of our lives. We are called to live out a sanctified life.
3. Paul wants us to also understand that the Devil and his demons will fight us. That now that we have chosen Christ, we will be in a spiritual battle. It will be a battle we can win through the infilling power of the Holy Spirit.
4. And most importantly, Paul wants us to understand that what he writes here is not a suggestion or an opinion. Paul is not into the philosophy of "you might want to try these things" or "if it feels right please do these things." What Paul shares in these verses are not suggestions, they are convictions. His words have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and are therefore to be read, understood and put into practice.
What exactly is Paul telling them and us this morning? Let's see:
1. First and foremost , we are to set our minds. We are to set our minds on Christ, in Christ and for Christ.
Colossians 3:2 -3; "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (ESV)
God has created our minds with amazing abilities to both think and create. However, our minds can also simply flitter away time and opportunities. Without guidance, our minds will day dream and concentrate on evil things.
Back in chapter one, Paul reminded the Colossians of this fact concerning the mind:
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. (Col. 1:21 NIV)
The Apostle Peter would share similar thoughts with his churches -
1 Peter 1:13 - Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
and in writing to the disciples in Roman, Paul enlarges this teaching:
"For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so" (Romans 8:5-7)
Paul tells us that we must coral out thinking, that is we must set or control our minds. Our minds need to be placed under the submission of the Holy Spirit. How we think determines how we choose to live.
"A man's thinking and striving cannot be seen in isolation from the overall direction of his life; the latter will be reflected in the aims which he sets himself."
(Goetzmann - quoted in Word Biblical Commentary # 44, page 163).
Paul tells us that we can't allow our minds to drift. Instead, we must make sure our minds are engaged and being renewed by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:1-3). Paul points out in Romans 1:12 -18, that our minds can be a place where a whole host of evil things grow. An unfit, lazy and unset mind can cause a disciple of Jesus to fall into all kinds of evil. We must allow Jesus to set our minds on Him.
This is Paul's first bit of instruction - SET YOUR MINDS!
2) Secondly, Paul tells us that some things in the Christian life that have to be put to death! - Verses 5-7
This is Paul's instruction before he uses his clothing metaphor. These two verses are powerful, but before we look at them let's remember:
+None of what Paul is getting ready to share is normal for humans - either before salvation or after salvation.
+It all will involve a transformative partnership with the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, hard work and time
+It will involve intense spiritual warfare as the Devil will do all he can to confuse us, deceive us and spread his lies.
+It will involve making hard decisions that run counter to the ways of our world and even to our friends.
Verses 5 - 7 tell us that there are some actions that cannot be tolerated, suppressed or even reformed. The only way to deal with them is to put them to death. The word Paul uses (nekeroo) is similar to the word we use today for mortuary. Nekeroo is a strong word meaning - put to death, having no power or strength. There are some actions and attitudes in our hearts and minds and lives that we as Christians must put to death:
a. They will not die on their own. Like weeds in a garden they must be dealt with intensity, they must not be tolerated, they must be annihilated.
b. They will not die by accident. If we don't kill them they will grow greater and greater in our lives.
c. They will fight for their existence - there will be spiritual warfare.
d. Even after death they will attempt to find ways to be resurrected in our lives.
e. These things will either be put to death or they will put you, your walk with Christ and your testimony to death. Either through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will kill them or the devil will use them to kill us. It's just that simple.
Even before Paul begins to talk about clothing, he wants his readers to go ahead and put their big boy and girl pants on, so to speak. He wants them to understand that there are certain actions, certain life choices that simply cannot be tolerated in our Christian walk. Pay particular attention that greed is on the same level as idolatry as a sin.
Verse 7 tells us that all these activities were present in the lives of some of the Colossian Christians. There were people who were going to church, who were doing all they could to worship Jesus, and they were struggling in these areas. While they loved the LORD, they were struggling spiritually with these mortal sins. Paul compassionately understands that problem and his gives the only solution, that being, you have to kill these sins out of your heart and life. You have to put them to death once and for all. You cannot tolerate them or attempt to appease them.
Sexual immorality, dirty mindedness, evil desires, lust and greed cannot be tolerated, suppressed or reformed. They have to be grabbed around the neck and choked to death. When they raise their ugly heads we better not smile, wink or snicker at their antics and temptations. We have to meet them head on with the power of the Holy Spirit and they have to be killed. They cannot be redeemed, they can only be annihilated through the power of the Holy Spirit.
All of the things listed here, still affect and infect believers and churches today. The Devil loves to trip up both the very young and old in all of these areas. Because of that, these are things we can't play around with or the Devil will use them to destroy us.
We can't think we can just handle them. We can't think that we can moderate them or that we can allow them to exist in our lives. We must call upon the name of Jesus Christ. We must crucify these activities in the name of Jesus. After that, we must roll the stone and seal of the Holy Spirit over them and keep guard or they will find a way to resurrect.
There was a time in America that sexual immorality, pornography, prostitution, extra-marital, adultery, fornication and perversions were not tolerated or desired. There was a time when people did not see such activity displayed on the screen, on magazine covers or were a part of everyday conversation. But that day is not our day. Today, all of those things are very visible and even promoted. All of those things are common talk around the water coolers. You and I live in an America that sadly is going the way of Sodom and Gomorrah right before our eyes. Our children are ever more being exposed to this type of filth and garbage.
We may even feel helpless about those things being in our world, but they do not have to be apart of our lives or Christian homes. Paul tells us we can kill these things in our lives and not allow them a resurrection of any kind. We do not have to be a slave to these sins.
For Paul tells us these things (sexual immortality, dirty mindedness, evil passions, lust and greed) will kill our walk with the LORD. The devil will use these things to kill our very souls and bodies. For the things mentioned here in verses 5-7 have caused
+Families to break apart - literally exploding and leaving carnage everywhere
+Marriages to erode and disintegrate
+ People to use other people for their own selfish pleasure, involving superficial relationships that leave behind all kinds of sorrow, pain and suffering
+People to contact lifelong diseases that wreck their bodies, minds and souls
+ And that have caused all manner of degrading perversions and violence on humans, especially preying on women and young girls.
When it comes to the body, we have to put to death anything that would cause us to live like some kind of animal. We have to put to death anything that would dehumanize another person or ourselves. We have to kill anything that would cause us to take advantage of someone physically or sexually. We have to put these things to death because as Paul says we are the very temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).
III. Thirdly, Paul tells us that there are other things that we have to put off (v. 8-11) while some have to be put on (V. 12-17).
In verses 8-11; Paul gives us a list of things that deal with our tongues, our hearts and our minds. They deal mainly with our social lives. Paul points out that these things include such things as anger, malice, hatred, blasphemy, filthy language and lying. All of these are things that we have to put off like dirty, ratty clothing we no longer need.
All of these are things are like garments that we wore before we were born again. They are clothes that still want to hang in our life's closet. They want us to wear them as we attempt to live out the Christian life. The devil will use them to trip us up in our walk of holiness.
Paul instructs us therefore, to do some spiritual clothes burning. He wants us to take those hellish things out of our spiritual clothing closets and give them to Jesus to be incinerated. Now, don't worry we won't be naked. In verses 12-17, we see where Jesus provides for us some Born Again Jesus clothes.
Please remember, none of this is automatic. We don't fall on our knees, give our hearts to Jesus and suddenly find ourselves just all perfect and wonderful. It is true that our hearts are clean, we have been washed by the blood of Jesus. However, we still have character flaws, bad habits and wrong mental thought processes. There is a marked difference between a saved heart and a mature Christian character.
Think of it like this:
It's like the man who just retired after 35 years from being an accountant. He now has decided to take a part time job in a local garden center. He has retired from Wall Street and is getting ready to work for Wal- mart. For years he has been getting up and automatically putting on a suit and tie and going into an office. He is used to wearing wing tip shoes, starched shirts and carrying a leather briefcase. He doesn't even have to think about what to wear. His closets are full of suits, ties and starched shirts. His has gold toed socks and a pair of leather shoes for each day of week. He loves his monogram initials at the end of each cuff and the smell of wearing expensive men's cologne. He gets dressed without hardly a thought, in fact, he can do it in the dark.
But now, everything is different. Now, he has to put on the tough clothes that he will wear for working outside. He needs jeans, wash and wear shirts along with white socks and boots. He no longer needs monogram shirts. He is trading in his office for a place of rocks, plants and fertilizer. He has to trade in his leather briefcase for some leather gloves.
You can imagine how it would be different for him for quite a few weeks. Almost by habit he might grab a starched shirt and a pair of suit pants to put on. Would it surprise us if one morning he were to get impeccably dressed ready for the office only to realize that now, there is no office, there is only the garden center at Wal-mart?
The only way for him to get it right each morning would be to:
a. Consciously each morning put on the right clothes for Wal-mart.
The right clothes will not fall out of the closet. They will not jump off the hanger and force themselves on him. In fact, if he is not careful he could find himself half dressed for the office and half dressed for the garden center.
Over time though, it will all work itself out. Day after day, he will choose to wear a whole new wardrobe. Before he knows it, he will soon develop new habits and get used to a new look. But at first, it will look unnatural and feel unnatural. And if any of his old clients see him they may even tell him that he looks different or that he looks odd or funny. They may tell him that he doesn't look like his old self.
And that is just the point our Apostle wants to make.
In Christ we are no longer the same people and we have to think different and using his metaphor we have to dress differently. We have to as much as we can remove the old clothing of anger, malice, blasphemy, evil speaking and joking and lying from our life closet. We may even find out that in the process we had some extra of those things hidden back in the closet.
Now, we are to put on a whole new set of clothes, let's call them Jesus clothes. Clothes that show compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness and love. We must put on the clothes of thankfulness and peace. We must choose to put on clothes that will lead us to living a life of wisdom and love. In fact, love garments will be our main articles of clothing.
Again, remember, none of this happens by accident. Before we know Jesus, it is easy to be grumpy, hold grudges, want our own way, display fits of anger and even rage. Without Christ in our hearts, it is easy to be comfortable in our shirts and skirts of gossip and dirty conversations.
And it is possible that one day we will experience a wardrobe malfunction, where we find ourselves wearing one the things Paul referred to in verses 8-11. When that happens, we simply confess, repent and ask the Holy Spirit to help us do a quick wardrobe change. Soon we will find that we are once again clothed in garments of compassion, forgiveness, patience, humility and love. Again, all of this is by choice, through partnering with the Holy Spirit.
At first, our new Jesus clothes may feel uncomfortable. I mean if we are use to grumbling and gossiping and throwing little fits of anger to get our way, it is going to be difficult to wear and display humility, compassion and forgiveness. It is not going to feel nature to take second place, to serve others and to be okay in not getting our way or being in charge. It is not going to feel natural to let someone have the last word or for us to experience some persecution without lashing out.
We fool ourselves this morning if we think otherwise. It is hard work to form Christian character and grow into spiritual maturity. It is far easier to just put on our old clothes and treat everyone the way we have in the past. The truth be told, many times, we may find ourselves wearing parts of both sets of clothes; our old ones and our Jesus clothes.
If we find compassion easy to wear, we put it on. However, if we find forgiving others a little chaffing around the collar, we may be tempted to put on a little anger, malice and wrong thinking. If we don't get our way, instead of putting on robes of humility we may grab a shirt or two of slander and gossip.
The devil loves it when we attempt to wear mix clothing. For the Devil knows that a double minded person is unstable in all his ways. He knows that unstable people mess up and ruin their Christian testimonies. The Devil loves for us to destroy first our witness and then eventually our entire lives. He loved it when Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden and he loves it when he gets a Christian to recant and reject Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
Again, let me say this again - spiritual growth is hard work. Making disciples is hard work.
I remember as a boy wanting to wear a neck tie. Mom had bought us some of those clip on ties. My dad did not wear a tie and did not know how to tie one. In fact, I don't think I ever saw him wearing a tie, either in a picture or in person. He wasn't a dress up kind of man. He was more comfortable in work clothes than in any kind of dress clothes.
But my sister's boy friend Clifford, wore a tie and some of the men at my church wore ties. All the male teachers and administrators at school wore ties. And I wanted to be like them, so one day, I asked Clifford if he would show me how to tie a real neck tie.
At first, he simply had me watch as he tied one over and over again. Then he helped me tie one on my own. Boy, did I mess up those first few times. Those first few attempts looked and felt horrible. I did not learn overnight, but I was determined. And so, I practiced and practiced and practiced. I can't tell you how many times I practiced tying a tie. I wanted it to look perfect. That was the standard that the other men set and I wanted to be like them. If I was going to wear a tie, I wanted it to look good.
Now, I don't even think about it. I grab a tie, flip it around and in a few seconds it is ready to wear. All thanks to Clifford and a whole lot of practice. He encouraged me and helped me when things did not turn out right.
When you and I received Christ, we got a whole new wardrobe of Jesus clothes to wear. It's like the Holy Spirit took us on a shopping trip. We got all kinds of new things to wear - compassion, kindness, humility, forgiveness, meekness, patience, peace and love.
But then He left it up to us to put them on. Along with those clothes, the Holy Spirit gave us both a body bag and a burn bag.
In the body bag we were to put those first things - sexual immorality, dirty thinking, lust, greed and idolatry. In the name of Jesus we can kill those evil things, bury them and keep them buried. We can't mess with those things ; they have to be killed and put in the body bags, buried and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
If not, they will attempt to resurrect like those little critters on a whack-a-mole game. But when we start seeing their little evil heads popping up, we got to take the club of the Holy Spirit and clobbered them back to death. They simply cannot be tolerated, only beaten to death in the name of Jesus. AMEN.
Jesus gave us a burn bag as well. He wants us to burn away our anger, malice, hatred, gossip, slander and filthy talking along with lying. He wants us to turn them over to Him and in return he will give us even more of a new wardrobe of love, compassion and the rest.
For a long time, all of this will feel a little funny. People around us may tell us that they don't know what to do with the new "us". After all, they are use to people getting angry and gossiping and lying. We may even discover that they get mad at us and call us all kinds of names and mock our walk of holiness. But don't quit, don't let the devil get you to go back to that old wardrobe.
Instead, wear you Jesus clothes not only on Sunday but on Monday thru Saturday. For when we wear our Jesus clothes people start seeing a difference in the way we talk, we walk and now we treat others. Suddenly, they notice we don't get mad and pout. We don't manipulate to get our own way. We don't talk bad about other people. We don't hold grudges and lie. Suddenly, we are different and look different. And it is then that the Holy Spirit can use us to help others find Jesus.
Oh, the devil will try to get us to wear both garments - a little of that as long as we wear some of that. Show a little love, but hold a grudge or two. Be patient with that one but gossip up a storm about that one. Use a little manipulation here and there to get your way and when that doesn't work, then use a little slander to get your way. But be forgiving and loving to the right chosen ones.
This morning, it is not easy to be a disciple of Jesus. If it were, Jesus would have never talked about picking up a cross and following Him. We are saved and sanctified in an instant, but it takes a lifetime to build Christian character. It takes a life time to become the person Jesus died for us to be.
This morning, how is your body bag - are those things still in it - buried or have they snuck back out and resurrected?
How is your clothing closet? Is it still full of some wrong clothes or are you continuously allowing the Holy Spirit to take one old carnal one away and give you a new Jesus one to wear today?
Do you find yourself wearing your Jesus clothes to church but on Monday morning grabbing those other clothes so that you can get along with others? You don't want to stick out, you don't want to get persecuted for being a holy person so you have just get back a shirt or two, a blouse here and there - just enough so that you can feel comfortable in both worlds.
This morning as we close we are going to open our altars for a time of prayer for anyone who would like to come forward. As we sing, Holy Spirit, Be My Guide, allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you.
This morning, is there something that needs to be put to death? Is there something in your life that you need to have the Holy Spirit destroy?
Is there something that need to be put off? Is there an attitude or one of these characteristics that you would like for the LORD to help you remove from your life?
Or, would you like to come and as Jesus and receive a new garment of compassion, love, kindness, patience etc... Today, our Lord is here to meet both your need and to pour out upon you His Holy Spirit. Here is here today to add to your "Jesus wardrobe" and to add His Presence and Spirit more fully in your life. As we sing, obey His call and leading.
