4/2/19
Tom Lowe
Lesson VB2: Put Off The Old Man With His Deeds (Colossians 3:8-9)
Scripture: Colossians 3:8-9 (NIV)
8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
Introduction:
After warning us against the sensual sins, Paul then pointed out the dangers of the social sins (Col. 3:8-9), sometimes called "the sins in good standing." We are so accustomed to anger, critical attitudes, lying, and coarse humor among believers that we are no longer upset or convicted about these sins. We would be shocked to see a church member commit some sensual sin, but we will watch him lose his temper in a business meeting and call it "righteous indignation."
I frequently hear someone say, "Life is changing too fast and it is getting worse." I must agree with them because I believe it is due to the rapid increase of both sensual sins and social sins.
Commentary
(3:8) But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
If you looked back at the sins of verse 5, you would discover that those sins had to do with impurity and covetousness, whereas the sins of verse 8 concern sins of attitude and speech. "But now" marks an emphatic contrast. The imagery of "rid yourselves" is that of removing your clothes? the stripping off from oneself a filthy garment.
The first three terms?"anger," "rage," "malice"?are sins of disposition and contrary to the design of the gospel. Scholars are not in agreement on the distinction, if any, between the words for "anger" (orge) and "rage" (thymos). The view perhaps most widely held looks upon orge as the settled feeling of anger, and thymos as the sudden and passionate outburst of that feeling. Anger and rage are bad, but malice is worse because it is rooted and deliberate; it is anger heightened and settled. "Malice" (kakia), a general term for badness, seems here to denote a vicious disposition, the spirit that prompts one to injure his neighbor.
• "Anger"? There is a place for anger that is justified. You remember that the Lord Jesus was angry at the Pharisees because of the hardness of their hearts. That is not sinful anger. The problem is that we become angry about the wrong things. Anger becomes wrath when we develop an unforgiving spirit.
• "Rage"? (emotion), an intense form of anger or a period of feeling such anger.
• "Malice"? Someone has said that "malice" is congealed anger. It is an anger that has been nursed along. It is an anger that tries to take revenge and get even. Paul says that a Christian is to put that away like an old, dirty, filthy garment. That kind of behavior does not represent Christ.
• "Blasphemy"? There are two kinds of blasphemy. There is a blasphemy against God and a blasphemy against man. The first part of blasphemy is to defame the name of God. It is not just taking His name in vain, but it is to misrepresent Him, to hate Him. You see, hating God for something that has happened is really blasphemy. Did you know that you can also blaspheme another Christian when you make a statement about him that is not true?
• "Filthy Communication"? This includes all lewd and wanton discourse, foul speech, coarse humor, and obscene language [which comes from a polluted mind in the speaker] and propagates the same defilements in the hearers. The Greek for "filthy language" (aischrologia) may denote either filthy or abusive speech, the authorities are divided as to its meaning here; several have combined both ideas; "foul-mouthed abuse."
For some reason, some Christians think it is manly or contemporary to use this kind of speech. Low humor sometimes creeps into conversations. If someone says, "now take this with a grain of salt!" you can remind him of Colossians 4:6: "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt." Salt is a symbol of purity, and grace and purity go together.
• "Slander"? "Slander" (KJV, blaspheme) renders a word (blasphemia) that denotes insulting and slanderous talk? here against one's fellow man. A false spoken statement about someone that damages their reputation, or the making of such a statement.
• "Lying"? "Do not lie to one another (v. 9)," for it is contrary both to the law of truth, and the law of love, it is both unjust and unkind, and naturally tends to destroy all faith and friendship among mankind. Lying makes us like the devil (who is the father of lies) and is a prime part of the devil's image upon our souls. Satan is the liar (John 8:44), while the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17; 15:26). When a Christian lies, he is cooperating with Satan; when he speaks in love (Eph. 4:15), he is cooperating with the Spirit of God
A lie is any misrepresentation of the truth, even if the words are accurate. The tone of the voice, the look on the face, or a gesture of the hand, can alter the meaning of a sentence. So can the motive of the heart. If my watch is wrong and I give a friend the wrong time, that is not a lie. Lying involves the intent to deceive for personal gain. An old proverb says, "Half a fact is a whole lie."
(3:9) Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
(3:9a) Do not lie to each other
To whom is Paul speaking? He is writing this to unbelievers, because he says, "Since you have taken off your old self with its practices." Is it possible for a Christian to lie? It certainly is. That doesn't mean that you have lost your salvation when you do? otherwise many of us would have lost ours a long time ago. It does reveal that you don't reach a place of perfection, my friend, nor do you get rid of the old nature, when you become a child of God.
Some think the sin of falsehood is singled out for special mention because in it more frequently than in anything else we manifest ill-will toward our fellowmen. At any rate, the fact that lying is given separate treatment makes the condemnation of it more emphatic. The word "discontinued" has in it the idea of forbidding the continuation of the act. It might, therefore, be rendered, "stop lying."
(3:9b) since you have taken off your old self with its practices
The essence of this particular phrase is that the Christian has had a radical, life-changing experience in which he has put off the old self with its practices (i.e., habits or characteristic actions) and has put on the new self. The metaphor again is one of the clothing. The "old self" (i.e., the old, unregenerate self; RSV, "old nature") is like a dirty worn-out garment that is stripped from the body and thrown away.
The picture that Paul gives us here is that of a person changing clothes: "Take off . . . take on" (Col.3:9-10). This relates to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Col. 3:1); for when He arose from the dead, He left the graveclothes behind (John 20:1-10). He had entered into a glorious life and had no need for the graveclothes. Likewise, when Lazarus was raised from the dead, Jesus instructed the people to "loose Him, and let Him go" (John 11:44).
The graveclothes represent the old life with its sinful deeds. Now that we have a new life with Christ, we must walk "in newness of life," by putting off the old deeds and desires (Rom. 6:4). We do this by practicing our position in Christ, by reckoning ourselves to be dead to the old and alive to the new.
