Paul is not bashful in the slightest about telling us about the Lord. Look at Colossians 2:10. We read, “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
These false teachers had been trying to tell people that Christ is not sufficient within Himself, but Paul says “…Ye are complete in Him…”
After showing us that Christ is the foundation on which we build our Christian lives, he goes into chapter three to show us HOW TO BUILD ON THIS FOUNDATION.
There is nothing wrong with our foundation, but I am afraid sometimes Christians build very inadequately on it.
Illus: If you have ever built a house, you know that if you don’t build according to the code, the inspector will tell you that you have to tear it down and start all over.
A lot of folks got saved years ago, but the problem is that they did not build according to the blueprint of God’s Word. They built according their own code. But as they stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ, they are going to find out that their house will not stand.
Look at 1 Cor. 3:13-14, we read, “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.”
Notice, we are saved by grace, not by works.
Look at verse 15, “If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
Everything they did according to their plans, when tested by fire, shall be burned up. But if their works pass the test, God’s Word says, “…He shall receive a reward.”
So that we can have rewards on that day, let us look at the Word of God, to see how we are to build. First, let us look at-
I. OUR DIRECTION
Look at verses 1-4. We read, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
Notice, Paul starts this passage off with the conjunction, “if”. He does this for two reasons. The word, “if”, is conditional.
For example, Paul recognized two things:
(1) Paul recognized that EVERYONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE SAVED, is not saved. And it doesn’t matter who does the preaching, or how many times they hear the Word of God preached, they never grow spiritually because they have never been born spiritually.
The Lord said in Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
The Lord said that many are deceived about salvation. They actually think they are saved, but they are in for the shock of their lives.
(2) Paul recognized that once we come to know Christ as our Savior, and build our lives on Him, it will become obvious that we are saved, by the way we build.
Notice, in Matthew 7, the Lord tells us that many are deceived about knowing Him. He says in the same chapter, only a few verses before, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
The Word of God clearly states that we are not to judge one another, but the Bible does tell us we are not to be so naïve, that we cannot tell an apple from an orange, spiritually speaking. There are some things that are so obvious, they do not require any judgement on our part.
As you look into the Word of God, and look into the lives of some folks, it is as obvious as the nose on your face, that the kind of salvation they claim to possess, is not the kind the Bible teaches.
The Bible teaches that once a person has built their life upon the Lord Jesus, their DIRECTION in life will show that their life is built on the Lord Jesus.
Look again at what Paul says, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
LOOK AT TWO WORDS IN THESE TWO VERSES:
(1) LOOK AT THE WORD “SEEK”
The word “Seek”, is the word, “Zeteo”, which means to desire. We who are risen with Christ, should have a burning desire for the things of God.
Illus: There are some today who profess to know the Lord, but you have to beg them:
• To come to church
• To pray
• To read their Bible
• To witness for Christ
Listen, something is wrong here! When we desire something, we do not have to be PUMPED and PRIMED. It comes natural!
Illus: Suppose you love strawberry ice cream, and you walk by the table, and see some delicious strawberry ice cream. Automatically, your taste buds would get cranked up, and you would start DESIRING it.
We who are risen with Christ, have a natural DESIRE for the things of God. We spend our lives SEEKING THE THINGS OF GOD!
(2) LOOK AT THE WORD “SET”.
God says we are to, “SET OUR AFFECTION on things above.”
The word “set”, is the word “phromeite”, which means “to exercise the mind.”
The reason a lot of folks do not exercise, is because it requires discipline. We, who are RISEN WITH CHRIST, discipline our minds to think in the direction of Christ.
Did you know that you can be happily married today, but if you allow yourself to watch the “Slop operas” on television, you soon will start having wrong desires, and become discontented in your marriage?
Illus: The way to keep that from happening, is to discipline your mind, and set your affection on your spouse only.
The same thing can happen to us spiritually. The way we keep from committing spiritual adultery, is by keeping our minds on the THINGS ABOVE, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of the Father.
Once we build our lives on Christ, we cut the strings of our affection for the things of the world.
Look at verses 3-4. We read, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
Notice he says, “Ye are dead”. This is exactly what the Bible teaches.
Look at Romans 6:3-6. We read, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
But not only did we die with Christ, notice, we were raised with Christ. Look at verse 4. We read, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
We were raised, so that we might "walk in newness of life". We are “hid” in Christ. When Christ appears in glory, so will we!
Because our lives are built on Christ, we should SEEK and SET our affection on Him. The DIRECTION of our lives should be obvious to everyone. They should see that our lives are aimed at Christ, not the world. Why?
II. OUR DEATH
Look at Colossian 3:5-9, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.”
This is a passage of scripture that deals with people’s lives, concerning the things they have to deal with every day. In other words, this is where the rubber meets the road.
Paul said we are to, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth…”
The word “mortify”, is the word “Nekroo”, which means to deaden or to subdue.
Illus: Have you ever had the blood circulation cut off in your arm, and it got so numb that you could not even tell it was there? This is what Paul is talking about. We who have died, and risen with Christ, have become dead to this old flesh.
THEN PAUL TELLS US WHAT WE ARE TO DIE TO.
(1) FORNICATION
Notice, the first thing on the list has to deal with sexual sin. The word “fornication”, is the Greek word “porneia”. This is the word we get “pornography” from. It is a word used for Illicit sexual intercourse, homosexuality, lebianism and bestiality.
We mortals don’t like to admit it, but our sexual desire is one of the strongest desires we all have to deal with. Every day, the devil would like us to allow our minds to dwell on sex, and if we do not subdue those thoughts, they will take over our lives.
(2) UNCLEANESS
This old sinful flesh that we dwell in, is anti-God in every way.
Look at Galatians 5:19-21. We read, “NOW THE WORKS OF THE FLESH are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
(3) INORDINATE AFFECTION
This is the word “Pathos”, which means a craving, strong desire, intense arousal, a driving lust. It is a craving for the wrong kind of things. It is because of this evil craving, that we read in Romans 1:26-27, that God gave them up to “vile affection.”
(4) EVIL CONCUPISCENCE
“Evil Concupiscence” in the Greek is, “epithumian kaken”, which is “a yearning for all kinds of evil.” There are some people who are always thinking about evil things. If you try to talk to them about the Lord, they will laugh at you.
(5) COVETOUSNESS.
The word “Covetouness”, which is the word “Pleonexian”, means a craving, grabbing, desiring to have something when it is not needed.
These are the things we humans have to deal with each day of our lives. We must control these things in our lives, or they will control us. Paul is telling these Christians that they need to “mortify” the evil desires of the flesh.
WHY SHOULD THEY MORTIFY THE FLESHLY DESIRES? There are two strong reasons why we cannot live in sin.
(1) WHAT WE RECEIVE.
The Word of God makes it clear, that when we obey God’s Word, we receive the blessings of the Lord. But also, the same Bible makes it clear, that when we disobey God’s Word, we receive the WRATH OF GOD.
It is not a spontaneous anger that comes from emotion, but rather, God’s anger is derived from a decisive and deliberate decision. It is an anger that is directed, and hates sin.
Illus: God’s anger is like the Quaker who was milking his cow, and the cow kept taking his tail and lashing him across the face. Finally, the Quaker stood up and said to the cow, “I would not do thee any harm for anything in the world, but thou standest where I am about to kick.”
God hates and punishes sin, and if we allow ourselves to be put in that place, we are going to find ourselves in the position where the wrath of God is going to be poured out on us.
Look at Colossian 3:5-6. We read, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.”
We should mortify our evil fleshly desires for another reason.
(2) WHAT IT REVEALS.
The reason we are to “Mortify” the sinful flesh, is because when we do, it shows that we have been saved from sin. The Christian life should reveal that we are saved from something. We have too many today, who claim to be saved, but show no evidence in their lives that they have been saved from something.
Look at verse 7-9. We read, “In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.”
Notice in verse 9, the words, “Put off the old man with his deeds.” This is the same thing we do when we fall into a mud hole, we “put off” the old clothes.
IN VERSES 9-10, PAUL TELLS US WHAT WE ARE TO PUT OFF:
(1) ANGER - This is the Greek word “orge”. Have you ever met someone who claims to be saved, but who is always angry? The reason they are that way, is because the devil controls them, not the Holy Spirit of God.
(2) WRATH - This is the Greek word “Thumos”. This is a step further than anger, this is a “boiling over”.
(3) MALICE - This is the Greek word “Kakia”. This is a desire to injure.
(4) SINS OF THE TONGUE
a. BLASPHEMY - This is the word “blasphemia”, which means to slander, injurious speech.
b. FILTHY LANGUAGE - The Greek word is, “aischrologia”, which means foul speaking.
c. LYING - This is the Greek word “Pseudomai”. {psyoo'-dom-ahee} which is to lie, to speak deliberate falsehoods.
We are to “PUT OFF” these things. But notice in verse 10, we “PUT ON” something. We read, “And have PUT ON THE NEW MAN, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”
These commands to PUT OFF and PUT ON apply to everyone. This is not something just for the Jewish Christians to do, but for everyone.
Look at verse 11. We read, “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”
Conclusion:
I. OUR DIRECTION
II. OUR DEATH
Note: You can hear Dr. Odell Belger preach some of these sermons on Youtube. Just type Youtube Lykesland
