May 25, 2003 Colossians 2:20-3:3
“I pledge allegiance”
INTRODUCTION
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Where does your allegiance lie? A couple of months ago, just as the Iraqi war was getting ready to begin, I heard the story of one soldier who was preparing to depart for armed service even though his young child was desperately ill with a defective heart. He was given the opportunity to change jobs and sit behind a desk here in the States rather than going to Iraq so that he could be with his family during this trying time. He refused this offer. As his reason for doing so, he simply stated that he needed to go so that he could be there to lead the men he had trained. His allegiance was to them. You may or may not agree with this soldier’s system of priorities, but can I suggest to you that this kind of devotion is exactly what Jesus expects out of us. (Luke 14:26-27) “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Jesus expects our total devotion even to the point that obedience to Him may be dangerous, costly and even deadly for us or for our families.
This weekend, and especially tomorrow, we will honor those who chose to give their allegiance to the United States of America by serving in her armed forces. They had to choose between doing what they wanted to do and what sounded good to them, or becoming part of something that was higher than themselves and living a sacrificial life. Like these men and women have done, each of us has to choose who will hold our allegiance throughout our lives. The choice for us is the same as it is for them. Do we live for ourselves in our own way of thinking, or do we set our sights higher and choose to live and think according to God’s standards?
This morning, I want to present both options to you and then give you 7 reasons to refuse allegiance to a worldly way of thinking followed by 7 reasons to declare your allegiance to a heavenly way of thinking.
I REFUSE TO PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO WORLDLY WAYS OF THINKING BECAUSE:
1. I died to them. “died with Christ”
This is the 2nd time in this chapter that Paul has used this phrase “the basic principles of this world”. The 1st time is at the end of vs. 8. In that verse, these “basic principles” are tied together with “hollow [or empty] and deceptive philosophy”, and they stand in opposition to Christ. Look with me at one other passage of Scripture that can help us understand these basic or elementary principles – Galatians 4:3. [read it] This exact phrase is not used again, but the same idea is spoken of again in vs. 9 of Gal. 4. [read it] If I had the time, I’d take you through Galatians 3-4 to show you what Paul is talking about with this phrase. I would encourage you to read these two chapters on your own. Just from the few verses that we have read about these principles, it is clear that they were something that we lived by before Christ and something that these Colossian Christians were in danger of going back to. It is also clear that they are “empty”, “deceptive”, “weak” and enslaving. They have no power to help you live a free life. Taking the things spoken of in Col. and Gal., the basic principles of life has to do with man’s own ideas about how he can be right with God. That way is through keeping the law, by being good. It is the “idea of achieving divine acceptance by one’s own efforts.” – John MacArthur, Galatians That’s the way the Jews used to think before Christ came and told them that the way to God was not through the Law but through faith. Yet many of them still thought that faith in Jesus was not enough. And people today have the same idea. “If I can just be good enough, then God will love me and let me into heaven.”
Paul says that when you came to Christ and placed your faith in Him, you died to that way of thinking and all those other silly and deceptive ideas that you used to have. Things like, “My purpose in life is to accumulate as much stuff as I can and to have fun” or “Everyone has to look out for himself because nobody else really cares about you.” The basic principles of the world are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life – what feels good, looks good and makes me look good (1 John 2:16) Those are thoughts that a child might think and that drive him to do the things that he does. Paul says in 1 Cor. 13, “when I became a man, I put childish ways [and particularly childish ways of thinking] behind me”. I died to that way of thinking when I came to the cross and offered myself to Jesus, so I refuse to give me allegiance to those kind of thoughts any longer.
2. I don’t belong to the world they control. “still belonged to it”
(Rom 12:2 NIV) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…
In the just concluded war, we were very blessed that only a handful of our soldiers became POW’s, and that they were quickly released. We all let out a sigh of relief and prayer of praise when Jessica Lynch and then the remaining POW’s came home. As torturous as their stay in Iraq was, it was nothing compared to the years of imprisonment that many U.S. soldiers have endured. Many of them could not take it. They gave up. Some even forgot what world they belonged to and gave their allegiance to the enemy in order to make things easier on themselves.
Senator John McCain tells of how he and other POW’s were able to survive their ordeal during the Vietnam War.
“In the final years of our imprisonment, the North Vietnamese moved us from small cells with one or two prisoners to large rooms with as many as 30-40 men to a room. In addition to moving us to new quarters, our captors also let us receive packages and letters from home.
“In our cell was one Navy officer, Lt. Commander Mike Christian.
Over a period of time Mike had gathered bits and pieces of red and white cloth from various packages. Using a piece of bamboo he had fashioned into a needle, Mike sewed a United States flag on the inside of his shirt, one of the blue pajama tops we all wore. Every night in our cell, Mike would put his shirt on the wall, and we would say the pledge of allegiance. I know that the pledge of allegiance may not be the most important aspect of our day now, but I can tell you that at the time it was the most important aspect of our lives.
“This had been going on for some time until one of the guards came in as we were reciting our pledge. They ripped the flag off the wall and dragged Mike out. He was beaten for several hours and then thrown back into the cell.
“Later that night, as we were settling down to sleep on the concrete slabs that were our beds, I looked over to the spot where the guards had thrown Mike. There, under the solitary light bulb hanging from the ceiling, I saw Mike. Still bloody and his face swollen beyond recognition, Mike was gathering bits and pieces of cloth together. He was sewing a new American flag.” - [A Flag of Rags, Citation: John McCain. From the files of Leadership.]
Mike survived and helped others to survive because he refused to yield to the mental or physical control of the world that he was living in. He didn’t belong to it, so he didn’t have to live by its value system or its principles.
The same is true of us. We live in this world, but we don’t belong to it. Heb. 11:9 says of Abraham that he lived “in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country…” Verse 10 tells why he was willing to do that – “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Three times in the book of 1 Peter (1:1,17; 2:11), Peter calls Christians “strangers”. This world is not our home. We don’t belong here, so don’t give your allegiance to this world’s way of thinking.
3. They are all negative. “do not”
Within the church at Colosse, there were people who were trying to convince the Christians that they could live holier lives if they would just deny themselves pleasure and enjoyment in life. You’ve heard people say that cleanliness is next to godliness. Well, they had the idea that boredom and self-denial was next to godliness.
In his book, The Fight, John White tells what he used to think of when he considered holiness: “thinness, hollow-eyed gauntness, beards, sandals, long robes, stone cells, no sex, no jokes, frequent cold baths, fasting, hours of prayer, getting up at 4am, stained glass, [and] self-humiliation.” – John White, The Fight But “Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervors, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks and willing as God wills.” – John Brown, Expository Discourses on 1 Peter If you choose to go live as an Amish person in order to live a simpler, freer life, then you have my blessing. But if you think that living that kind of way is going to make you somehow more pleasing to God and more able to resist the sinful urges within yourself, you are wrong.
Paul speaks of people who have a negative attitude toward holiness and what God wants. He says that there were teachers who (1 Tim 4:3-4) They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods. It’s all negative! Who wants to be a part of a faith that is all negative?! God didn’t create Christianity that way. Sure, there are a lot of things as Christians that we’re not supposed to do, but Jesus spent a lot more time talking about all the positives of Christianity than He spent talking about its prohibitions. And even the prohibitions that are there are for our protection from the danger that God knows sin will bring into our lives. He wants us to enjoy life and all that He has put here for us. When God put Adam and Eve in the garden, He gave them the whole garden to enjoy. He gave them each other to enjoy. They were two perfectly formed human beings, naked in a beautiful garden, and God told them to go out and fill the earth by making babies. How do you make babies? I think all of you, that should know, know that by now. Does that sound to you like God is a restrictive God? In that 1 Timothy passage I just referred to, Paul goes on to say that marriage and food were created by God to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. If God tells you to take a vow of celibacy, then do it. If God tells you to become a vegetarian or if you just want to do so for health reasons, then do it. If God tells you to take a vow of poverty, then do it. If God tells you to give up food all together for a short period of time, then do it. But don’t think that the celibacy, poverty, or diet makes you any more holy than the person sitting next to you. The self-denial does not make you holier; the obedience to the command of God is what makes you holier.
Reject the world’s way to holiness because their ways are all negative, and God is a very positive God.
4. They are not eternal. “destined to perish”
(1 John 2:15,17) Do not love the world or anything in the world… The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
(1 Cor 7:31 NLT) Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away.”
5. They rely on human wisdom. “human commands & teaching”
(Prov 16:25 NIV) There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
(Isa 55:8-9) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
6. They have no substance. “appearance of wisdom”
7. They don’t work. “lack any value”
(Gal 2:21) …if righteousness could be gained through the law [through being good], Christ died for nothing!" Denying yourself the pleasures of life won’t bring you peace with God. It won’t ease your guilty conscience. It won’t bring you satisfaction. So you say, “Fine, I’ll just indulge myself with all the pleasures of life. Eat, drink and be merry.” That won’t take away the pain either. It might dull it for a while, but it’ll just come right back. Listen to the words of Solomon - a man who had it all and tried it all: (Eccl 2:10-11) I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. …Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. The only way that you can meet the real needs of your life, get rid of the guilt, find peace and satisfaction is through Jesus.
That brings us to the second possible option for our allegiance – Jesus and a heavenly way of thinking.
Paul says in 3:2 that we need to set our “minds on things above, not on earthly things.” In Heb. 12:2, he says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…” God’s desire for us to move our minds off of ourselves and an earthly way of thinking, and permanently, unalterably, super-glue our focus on Jesus and start thinking from a heavenly point of view. But why should I do that? 7 reasons.
I GLADLY PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO A HEAVENLY WAY OF THINKING BECAUSE:
1. Jesus is my resurrection. “raised with Christ”
(John 11:25 KJV) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
2. Jesus is my authority. “seated at the right hand of God”
3. Jesus is my sacrifice. “you died”
(Phil 3:9-10) And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
A woman named Dawn McKnight wrote a letter to the editor of the Birmingham News. She said: “My 14 year old son and I were recently running an errand and saw a sight that made me sick to my stomach.
As we were going through a drive-through window at a bank, my son observed that in a pile of trash on the side of a neighboring building were two American flags - one still on a flagpole. When the management was questioned, one man appeared somewhat concerned and assisted with removing the flags in order for me to take them and have them treated with the respect that they deserved. The other man said he had ‘more important things to do.’ Fortunately, there have been others who felt that they had the “time” to fight, be wounded and die for this very flag. I was proud that my son was as concerned as I was. …The persons who so irreverently discarded these flags will hopefully [some day] think about what the true cost of these flags [is].”
As great as the cost of the sacrifice that provided that flag is, my salvation cost even more. It cost the sacrifice of Jesus on a cross. Every time that I start to think of myself and get my eyes off Jesus, it’s just as if I was taking His cross and throwing it in the trash. It’s as if it doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. It’s worthless. The American flag is worth a lot. It represents the sacrifice of millions of lives for the ideal of political freedom. The cross of Jesus is worth so much more. It represents the sacrifice of One for the freedom of billions from their slavery to sin. Jesus is my sacrifice, so I focus on Him.
4. Jesus is my security. “your life is now hidden”
Right now, our country is at “level orange”. Being that it is Memorial Day weekend, and because of information that they have gathered, the officials of our country believe that there will be an attempt made at terrorism here in the United States or in another country where U.S. citizens live. Could it happen? Sure. Am I worried about it? No. And it’s not just because I’m in WV where no real terror targets exist. My lack of worry is because my security is not dependent on Tom Ridge or President George Bush or any other human being. It is dependent upon Jesus Christ. Jesus says, (John 10:27-28) My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. Paul echoes that security with these words: (Rom 8:38-39) For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I am thankful for the police that drive our streets, the firemen who are always on call, and a government that is vigilant against our enemies. But I don’t look to them to provide my security and peace. So long as I keep my eyes on Jesus, my fears will fade away.
5. Jesus is my anticipation. “When Christ…appears”
(1 Th 4:16-17) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
(Phil 3:19-20) Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
6. Jesus is my life. “who is your life”
(Gal 2:19-20) For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
7. Jesus is my hope. “you also will appear”
Already, we have welcomed home some of the quarter million men and women who served during the War on Iraq. There have been many celebrations including the one that was behind us at Bridgeport City Park last Sunday night. There are many celebrations yet to come. I’m sure that part of what kept those soldiers motivated to do their jobs under difficult circumstances was the hope for a good welcome home. Keeping their eyes focused on home kept them pressing onward.
Many years ago, a retiring missionary was coming home to America on the same boat as the President of the United States. And just as they have done with our present soldiers, cheering crowds, a military band, a red carpet, banners and the media welcomed the President home. But the missionary slipped off the boat unnoticed. Feeling self-pity and resentment, he began complaining to God. Then God gently reminded him, “But my child, you’re not home yet.”
We too have a home that Jesus is preparing for us right now. One day, we will walk the streets of heaven and we will stand before our Commander in Chief to hear Him say the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Keep your eyes focused on Jesus and your allegiance devoted only to Him for He is your hope.
CONCLUSION
“In May of 2001, Congress heard a final vote on a monument that will be erected on the Washington Mall to honor those who fought in World War II. The vote was 400-15. However, it took longer to decide on the location than it did to fight the war. The turf war is over one of the most visible and hallowed pieces of territory in America: 7.4 acres of the Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. They want to save the Mall," Mr. Dole said, referring to opponents of the memorial. "Well, we wanted to save the world. The Mall was part of the world. And we did our job." Representative Pete Stark, a California Democrat was against placing the monument in the Mall because, as he says, "The memorial would louse up what is a lovely view of the Mall."
“You see, a lot of people want a monument, they just don’t want it to be in the way of a lovely view! I say that one of the most lovely views we can have is the remembrance that there were some who were willing to die for the lovely views we have and enjoy in this great land of America.” - Norman Lawrence, Kittanning, Pennsylvania. Citation: http://asia.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/05/21/senate.memorial/index.html
Memorials always change your view. They cause you to focus on those who died in your place rather than focusing on yourself. They remind you of what was paid for your freedom and cause you to take responsibility to treat that freedom as the cherished thing that it is. A fallen American soldier would ask, “Where does your allegiance lie?” Our crucified and risen Savior would ask, “Where does your allegiance lie?” “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”
LORD’S SUPPER – our memorial to Jesus
[use the words to “Lead me to Calvary” (#350) paying special attention to the chorus: “Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony, lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary.”]
