Col. 3:1-17 - 1Since you have been raised to new life
with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven,
where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor
and power. 2Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think
only about things down here on earth. 3For you died when
Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
4And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the
whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within
you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and
shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of
this life, for that is idolatry. 6God’s terrible anger will come
upon those who do such things. 7You used to do them
when your life was still part of this world. 8But now is the
time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander,
and dirty language. 9Don’t lie to each other, for you have
stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.
10In its place you have clothed yourselves with a
brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you
learn more and more about Christ, who created this new
nature within you. 11In this new life, it doesn’t matter if
you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised,
barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that
matters, and he lives in all of us.
12Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he
loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted
mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13You
must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the
person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you,
so you must forgive others. 14And the most important
piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds
us all together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace that
comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of
one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be
thankful.
16Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in
your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and
counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs to God with thankful hearts. 17And whatever you do
or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the
while giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Col. 3:1- Assumes we understand...and have followed
the pattern set forth in Rom. 6:3-6
Rom. 6:3-6 - 3Or have you forgotten that when we
became Christians and were baptized to become one with
Christ Jesus, we died with him? 4For we died and were
buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father,
now we also may live new lives.
5Since we have been united with him in his death, we will
also be raised as he was. 6Our old sinful selves were
crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our
lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.
We have all, hopefully, been raised to a new life in Christ.
A. If this is true, we should have made a real change...
a tangible change...a change that others can see in
us, and a change that we can realize, as well.
1. This is not something static, but this change is
always in flux.
a. The change that took place when we were
baptized was just a start....we continue to
change as we live and learn the Christian
life.
Col. 3:10 - 10 In its place you have clothed yourselves
with a brand-new nature that is continually being
renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who
created this new nature within you.
Col. 3:2 tells us that our thoughts, which have been earthly
and materialistic...survival, jobs, pleasures, material things,
money........these things need to be, replaced with....and...
controlled (in the mind) by our new, spiritual, man.
A. If we think and act so very much as the world
does.....or if we are still thinking and acting as
we did when we were in the world....something
is dreadfully wrong.
ILLUSTRATION: A long time ago, a man married a
catholic woman and converted to Catholicism. This man
had a lot of problems with eating fish on Fridays. This man
loved his steaks and did not like fish. On Fridays, he
would sneak into his back yard and bar-b-que a nice, thick,
steak.
His wife reported him to the priest. The next Friday the
priest hid in the bushes by the man’s back yard. When the
man was just about finished with his steak, the priest
popped out of the bushes and said, “Ah-ha! Caught you!
Just what do you think you’re doing?” The man felt really
guilty but was honest, “I’m cooking a steak”. The priest
said to him, “You were born a sinner, you lived a sinner,
but now, you’re a Catholic”. The man said, “Oh...now I
understand.” The priest went off.....all smiles. But just
to be sure, he repeated his little trick the next week. To
his surprise, the man was out in his back yard with his
bar-b-que grill all fired up. As he picked up the steak...he
pronounced these words over the steak. “You were born
a cow....you lived as a cow....but now you are a fish.”
** This man was as converted in his mind as a lot of
Christians are.
1. There may be an outward change....they may do
all the right things, in the right way....but their
minds...their hearts...their attitudes have not
changed.
a. How can we say that we have really changed,
when our minds are still locked on the things
of this world that are an offense to God?
Paul goes on to remind the Colossians of the major change
that should have occurred in them.
A. He says that “you died when Christ died, and your
real life is hidden in Christ....in God”.
1. When a person dies in this world....he no
longer thinks of this world...this world no
longer has any hold....any attraction...any
interest.......this man has died to this world.
John 17:14-16 - 14I have given them your word. And the
world hates them because they do not belong to the world,
just as I do not. 15I’m not asking you to take them out of
the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They
are not part of this world any more than I am.
** We will share in His glory only if we have died...WITH
HIM! (vs. 4)
With this in mind...that we have died and come back to life
as a new being....verses five through nine become clear.
A. If we have died to sin and live for Christ....we need
to shovel out the old things that have died....we
need to shovel them out of our “NEW MAN”.
1. “Put to death the sinful, earthly things
lurking within you”.
a. Non-specific....we are all different...we
all come to this thing called,
“Christianity”....with a lot of internal,
sinful....baggage.
1.) The baggage needs to get lost....
forever....it needs to DIE.
2. “Have nothing to do with sexual sins” (vs. 5)
a. This is all-encompassing....”NOTHING
TO DO”....is not a ambiguous ban.
1.) This doesn’t mean, “a little bit”...
this doesn’t allow for “situational
ethics” to play any part....this
makes room for NO EXCUSES!
3. “Impurity” needs to be cleansed from our
minds and hearts.
a. We are not told what impurities....we are
not told anything specific.
1.) This is a Biblical principle.....
WHATEVER IS IMPURE...IN
ANY WAY....NEEDS TO GO!!
4. “Lust”.
a. Lust is not just connected with sexual
sins......lust is an overpowering emotion
which causes the person displaying it
to HAVE TO HAVE THE OBJECT
OF HIS/HER’S DESIRES.
1.) People can lust for a particular
kind of food....they can lust for
a particular make or model of car...
they can lust for a higher position
on their job....etc., etc..
a.) Lust drives the will....while
God is the one who really
should be driving our
wills.....but we must let Him.
5. “Shameful desires”.
a. Anything that we desire that is a sin
against God.
1.) You make the application....God
knows the intents of your heart
(Heb. 4:12-13)
6. “Greedy for the good things of this life”.
a. Paul doesn’t mince words here...he
plainly states that this is IDOLATRY!
1.) We may excuse ourselves for the
little toys and gadgets that we
run after (some not so little)....but
God is not excusing us.
Let it be known that “God’s terrible anger will come upon
those who do such things”.
A. This is not an all-inclusive list....it points out some
areas in which we should be as good as dead to.
1. He reminds the Christians that they used to
do some (or all) of these things when they
were alive to the world.
a. If we are really “dead” to the world of
sin, we should be completely free from...
have no interest in...harbor no thoughts
for the life we used to lead.
1.) We should have completely
changed from what we were
to this new creature.
Just in case you thought that the list that I went over was
all inclusive....Paul goes on to dispel that thought.
A. He mentions a list of sins...and even these would
not be all inclusive.
1. anger
2. Rage
3. Malicious behavior.
4. Slander (transmitting or receiving)
5. dirty talk (transmitting or receiving).
6. Lies.
To show that it is an attitude that needs to be built, through
the Holy Spirit....Paul states, in conclusion, that we have
stripped off our evil natures and wicked deeds.
A. In it’s place we have clothed ourselves with a
BRAND NEW NATURE!!!!!
1. It’s our nature that should have changed.
a. A nature that would abhor anything
wicked or evil.
1.) We would not especially need a
list of what we need to get out of
our lives.....the list would be in our
hearts and minds.....our nature
would be repulsed by wickedness
in any form.
He addresses the aspect of physical justification or physical
condemnation.
A. The physical just does not matter.
1. You can be circumcised or uncircumcised...
you can be a philosophical and presumed,
wise, Greek or you can be a cave-man.....it
just doesn’t matter
a. When you become a Christian....you are
“born again”...you become a “new
creature”.....the physical doesn’t matter...
at all.
The first part of this lesson, by Paul, clearly tells us that
there are some things in our lives that we must put off.
A. A continual process....as we grow in Christ....as
we learn what is right and what is wrong....as we
apply Biblical principles to our lives.
The second part of this lesson shows us that simply
cleaning up the old dirty house is not enough.....we must
furnish the new house.
A. God has chosen us to be a holy people....He loves
us and we should love Him in return.
1. We will show this love....and we will make
our lives pleasing to Him if we will put on
the attributes of God.
B. As with the things that need to be removed from
our lives, the good things that we must start doing
or continue to do...do not come NATURALLY...
or accidentally...or by instinct...or with no effort
on our part.
1. It would be as difficult today to work at
becoming (or putting on) a new man as it
would have been for the people of Colosse.
a. As with “putting off”.....”putting on”
must start in the mind...the thoughts...
the intent.
1.) This change will produce “fruit”
in the form of deeds, or action.
C. Interestingly, all of these attributes have to do
with our loving treatment of others.
1. Mercy.
a. This is displayed by one who is in a
position of authority, power, or in some
way...is perceived to be better than the
one that is being shown the mercy.
2. Kindness
3. Humility
a. From a Greek word which means,
“lowliness of MIND!
b. The opposite of pride
4. Long-suffering
a. Do you think that this means...if you
hit your thumb with a hammer, you
be long-suffering???
b. This “long-suffering” is suffering long
with others.
5. Bearing with one another.
a. Everyone has quirks and oddities....
including YOU!
1.) We need to learn how to “put
up” with
6. Forgiving one-another
a. When we have a complaint...we don’t
need to champion our cause and make
sure that everything is made right...
we need to forgive those who trespass
against us.
7. Put on love.
a. If we can understand, embrace, and
master this thing called, love and all
it’s facets...we will become perfect in
Christ.
8. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.
9. Be thankful.
10. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
** It will take a real, conscious, and constant effort, on our
part....to put these things into our lives.
CONCLUSION:
The things that we are told to put off are selfish and fleshly
satisfying things...the things that we are to put on are things
whereby others will be blessed.
A. This is the principle that we learn from this
passage of scripture.
Matt. 16:24-26 - 24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If
anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow Me. 25“For whoever desires
to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
My sake will find it. 26“For what profit is it to a man if he
gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what
will a man give in exchange for his soul?
A. The “Old Man of Sin” is a selfish and self-centered
individual.
B. The “New Man” of God is one who extends self to
God, first...and to others, after God.
Let us answer a very vital question....this morning......”Of
which type am I”?
A. We know that the “Old Man of Sin” will not see...
much less, be in....The Kingdom Of God.
1. We understand that only this “New Man” who
has mat the real effort to put to death the
“Old Man of Sin” and grow into the “New
Man”....will be the “Joint Heir” of Jesus
Christ.
