As Paul writes to the Colossians, he speaks to them about the fact that since Christ has given them new life, it’s time for a change! That is, since we as believers have new life in Christ, we should determine to learn how to live the changed life that is ours. Paul mentions in this passage two determinations every Christian should make.
1. There are some things we must determine to deal with - vs. 5-9
A. Sin - vs. 5-8
Paul says that we must not be content with victory over obvious sins, but that we must continue to deal with the other sins in our life that might not be so readily obvious as well.
Now, while God’s people can certainly have trouble with the sins listed in verse 5, it seems to me that the second list in verse 8 more often can be our undoing. The reason being that it is far more difficult to justify sins like greed, lust, and immorality, than it is to justify sins like anger, rage, or slander. Sometimes we even justify sins like slander in the name of “sharing a prayer request”! Oh, how we need to see our sin as God sees it; and get serious about dealing with sin in our life!
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
What a wonderful promise this is! But we need to understand what it means to confess sin. The Greek word translated “confess” here is “homologeo,”which means “to say the same.” That means we face the darkness of our sin in light of the holiness of God. That we do not make excuses for our sin or color code our sin or justify our sin or blame someone else for our sin. We see it as God sees it and acknowledge it as the evil and wicked thing it is.
I call it an accident; but God calls it an abomination;
I call it a blunder; but God calls it blindness;
I call it a defect; but God calls it a disaster;
I call it chance; but God calls it a choice;
I call it an infirmity; but God calls it iniquity;
I call it a liberty; but God calls it lawlessness;
I call it a trifle; but God calls it a tragedy;
I call it a mistake; but God calls it madness.
B. Hypocrisy - v. 9
The Greek word translated “hypocrite” is “hypokritai,” and originally referred to stage actors. It referred to someone who was a pretender. So, what is hypocrisy? It is pretending to be what you are not. So hypocrisy is lying to others, as Paul describes here.
“A hypocrite [is the one who] wants to impress others with an external façade of religious piety that he knows is devoid of internal spiritual substance.” - Sam Storms
And try as hard as one might, inevitably, your hypocrisy will be exposed! You cannot fool yourself or others forever! If it isn’t exposed in this life, it will be exposed before God’s throne.
Once upon a time, there was a goat who wanted to be a lion. He told himself if he could learn to walk like a lion, talk like a lion and prowl where lions prowl, he would be a lion. So he practiced stalking through the jungle and tried to swish his stubby little tail majestically. Then he worked and worked to turn his pitiful little bleat into the deep, awesome roar of the king of beasts. Finally, he convinced himself that he really looked and sounded like a lion. “Now,” he said, “all I have to do to be a lion is roam where the lions roam.” So he marched into lion territory one day about lunchtime. You can imagine what happened! He was indeed quietly turned “into” a lion!
“Hypocrisy can plunge the mind of a man into a dark abyss, when he believes his own self-flattery instead of God’s verdict.” - John Calvin
The best policy is to live in the open with both God and man; and deal with any hypocrisy that God reveals to us in our lives.
2. There are some things we must determine to develop - vs. 10-14
A. We must develop our knowledge of God - v. 10
What helps us deal with sin and hypocrisy? Growing in our knowledge of God! And one of the primary ways in which I grow in my knowledge of God is through His Word.
“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” - James 1:21-25 (NLT)
Too many Christians approach the Word of God, looking for what they can agree with in it. Instead, we need to approach the Word of God, looking for what it might disagree with in me. If I approach the Bible with this spirit, two things will result:
1) The Word of God will convict me of my sin and hypocrisy.
“An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly.” - A.W. Tozer
2) The Word of God will correct my sin and hypocrisy.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” - 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)
God’s Word shows us when and where we’ve gotten off the right path. But it also shows how to get back on the right path and avoid getting off the right path again! And what will be the primary result of God’s Word being allowed to work fully in our lives? Love for others.
B. We must develop our love for each other - vs. 11-14
We do this by recognizing that . . .
1) None of us is better than the other - v. 11
A) There is no racial superiority or inferiority - “no Greek or Jew”
B) There is no religious superiority or inferiority - “no . . . circumcised or uncircumcised”
C) There is no cultural superiority or inferiority - “no . . . Barbarian or Scythian”
D) There is no social superiority or inferiority - “no . . . slave or free”
2) None of us is to be inconsiderate of the other - v. 12
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” - Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)
A our world today that is so self-centered Christians should really stand out from the crowd in the way we consider others before ourselves.
“There are no traffic jams on the extra mile.” - Zig Ziglar
3) None of us can afford to not forgive the other - v. 13
In the days before no smoking sections on airplanes, it was required that if someone was smoking, the stewardess had to ask those seated near them if they minded. If so, they would be seated near someone who didn’t mind. A man was smoking a cigar. The stewardess asked the lady seated beside him, “Does his cigar bother you?” The woman replied, “Yes. I hate the stench of a cigar.” As the man was being moved to another part of the plane, the lady loudly told the stewardess, “I’ve been married to that man for thirty years, and I still can’t stand his cigars!”
Everywhere we go in life, there are things about others that can “bug us.” And Paul tells us when that happens in the church, we are to put up with each other’s idiosyncrasies; and should they become offences, we are to forgive. And we are to forgive as Christ forgave us. How?
A) Completely -
“Love . . . Keeps no record of wrongs” - 1 Corinthians 13:5d
B) Redemptively -
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
Why do we bear with one another and forgive one another? We do so with the goal in mind of bringing out the best in one another.
4) None of us can love one another without promoting unity - v. 14
A. Christian unity isn’t uniformity - everyone acting alike.
B. Christian unity isn’t unanimity - everyone thinking alike.
C. Christian unity is loving God and one another alike.
That’s why our primary concern in every meeting, in every gathering, in every decision, must be to find together the answer to the question, “What does God want?” Once we discern that, we can each work together, each of us making our unique contribution to the work of the church. Only then, does the church grow as God wants it to grow.
“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” - Ephesians 4:16 (NLT)
