Unity: The 21st Century Apologetic

Sermon-8/19/01-Col. 2-Unity: the 21st century apologetic

Key Idea: The Unity of the body of Christ should draw the world to Christ.

Hook: Told from time we’re children-Christ comes into your heart-true, but can make Him seem small, fit in here

need to also emphasize what else happens at the time of salvation, not only does Christ now live in us, but we are in Him,

All of us-That’s how big God is we can all be in Him together, not crowded, always room for more,

we are one in Christ-That oneness in Christ should be attractive to the world

Apologetics-defense of what we believe.

SEMP apologetics training, defend what we believe from the Bible

Today we live in a world where our logical defense of our faith may not carry any weight with people.

-Don’t believe the Bible

-Don’t believe the historical evidence

-Don’t believe in absolute truth, right & wrong

All our defenses of our faith taken off the table, what can we do?

Our best apologetic is our life, and the greatest apologetic we can have in the 21st century is the unity of the body of Christ, we are one in Christ and the world should look at the body of Christ and say “Wow! I want in I want that love, acceptance, and forgiveness.”

Col. 3:1-14

Col. 3:1-4-Christ is our life

Since what Paul just finished writing about, our new life w/ Christ, since that is true, our mindset should reflect it, our lives should reflect it.

Why? We are in Him, He is our life.

5-9-what to put off

Not a laundry list of religious requirements that we need to follow to earn God’s favor, rather what we are to put off because of who we are in Christ.

These things may be who we were but now we are so much more-

Ill.The Beggars rags-

A beggar lived near the king’s palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted outside the palace gate. The king was giving a great dinner. Anyone dressed in royal garments was invited to the party.

The beggar went on his way. He looked at the rags he was wearing and sighed. Surely only kings and their families wore royal robes, he thought.

Slowly an idea crept into his mind. The audacity of it made him tremble. Would he dare?

He made his way back to the palace. He approached the guard at the gate. “Please, sire, I would like to speak to the king.”

“Wait here,” the guard replied.

In a few minutes he was back. “His majesty will see you,” he said, and led the beggar in.

“You wished to see me?” asked the king.

“Yes, your majesty. I want so much to attend the banquet, but I have no royal robes to wear. Please, sir, if I may be so bold, may I have one of your old garments so that I, too, may come to the banquet?”

The beggar shook so hard that he could not see the faint smile that was on the king’s face.

“You have been wise in coming to me,” the king said. He called to his son, the young prince. “Take this man to your room and array him in some of your clothes.”

The prince did as he was told and soon the beggar was standing before a mirror, clothed in garments that he had never dared hope for.

“You are now eligible to attend the king’s banquet tomorrow night,” said the prince. “But even more important, you will never need any other clothes. These garments will last forever.”

The beggar dropped to his knees. “Oh, thank you,” he cried. But as he started to leave, he looked back at his pile of dirty rags on the floor. He hesitated. What if the prince was wrong? What if he would need his old clothes again? Quickly he gathered them up.

The banquet was far greater than he had ever imagined, but he could not enjoy himself as he should. He had made a small bundle of his old rags and it kept falling off his lap. The food was passed quickly and the beggar missed some of the greatest delicacies.

Time proved that the prince was right. The clothes lasted forever. Still the poor beggar grew fonder and fonder of his old rags.

As time passed people seemed to forget the royal robes he was wearing. They saw only the little bundle of filthy rags that he clung to wherever he went. They even spoke of him as the old man with the rags.

One day as he lay dying, the king visited him. The beggar saw the sad look on the king’s face when he looked at the small bundle of rags by the bed. Suddenly the beggar remembered the prince’s words and he realized that his bundle of rags had cost him a lifetime of true royalty. He wept bitterly at his folly.