Colossians 3:5-17
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Ephesians 4:22-24 - …that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Colossians 3:5 - Therefore …
Colossians 3:5 - Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
Colossians 3:8 - But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
Colossians 3:9 - Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices…
Colossians 3:6 - For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience…
Colossians 3:7 - …and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.
Colossians 3:10-11 - …and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:5 - Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
Colossians 3:8 - But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
Colossians 3:9 - Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices…
Colossians 3:15-16 - Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:12-14 - So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
Colossians 3:17 - Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Put to death
Renew my mind
Put On
Sinful anger
I believe that sinful anger is wrong and is a disgrace to the cross of Christ. I hate what it is doing in my life and relationships.
I believe that my anger should be consistent with the Lord’s.
Righteous anger
Sinful expressions of anger
I believe that my expressions of anger are sinful. They are not consistent with the Lord’s treatment of me nor are they appropriate.
I believe that my anger should be expressed in ways consistent with biblical truth.
Righteous expressions of anger
Impatience
I believe that my impatience is sinful and if God treated me the way I am treating _____, then I would be in serious trouble.
It is my responsibility, by the power of Christ, to bear with ___________ in love.
Bearing with one another
Put to death
Renew my mind
Put On
I yelled
I believe that sinful anger is wrong and is a disgrace to the cross of Christ. I believe that my anger should be consistent with the Lord’s.
Righteous anger
I threw a ball across the room in frustration
I believe that my expressions of anger are sinful. They are not consistent with the Lord’s treatment of me nor are they appropriate. I believe that my anger should be expressed in ways consistent with biblical truth.
Righteous expressions of anger
I left the house and slammed the door on the way out.
I believe that my impatience is sinful and if God treated me the way I am treating _____, then I would be in serious trouble. It is my responsibility, by the power of Christ, to bear with one another (warts and all).
Bearing with one another
Directions are a beautiful thing aren’t they? I am sure most, if not all, of us have had the “I can figure this out on my own moment.”
God was so gracious and so kind that he gave us directions for Christian Growth … directions to change … directions to get to a better place.
With that in mind please turn in your Bibles to Colossians 3. That is on page ____ of the back section of the Bible in the chair in front of you.
As we are turning there I want to remind us:
Not only do they have to be on guard against forces from the outside (false teaching) they must deal with the forces from the inside (their own wants and desires). Thus, they need to change.
Read Colossians 3:5-17. This sounds a lot like one of the most sacred passages of Scripture in this church …
Ephesians 4:22-24 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
While we could describe the text with three points … put off, renew your mind, and put on. I would like to be a bit more specific and show 5 steps to Growth in Christ Alone.
Colossians 3:5 Therefore …
In v. 5 it says “therefore.” This refers back to the promises of Christ. The truths we learned in Colossians 1:1-3:4. Just for sake of time I want to remind you of what I spoke about in Colossians 2:9-15.
These same ideas are reiterated in our text through the language of the new man.
Why talk about love? Why talk about appreciation? Why talk about giving thanks? Friends, we cannot force someone to love, can we? Love is a choice to give. Sometimes we are not willing to give.
All of us love, or set our affections, on certain things. No matter what arguments people bring, it does not necessarily result in love.
Friends, I understand that just telling you that Jesus died for you … just telling you that he made all who trust in him part of the people of God … just telling you that he gave you new life, forgave your sins, or cancelled your debts does not make you love him.
But I am asking that you would. You know that in a marriage one of the key skills is learning to appreciate all that your spouse does for you, for the family, and for the ministry.
Likewise, one of the keys to Christian growth is that you have to love what Jesus has done for you. Your love and appreciation for Christ serves as a motivation to change.
If you treat his blessings like the Pharisees did, then Christ will have very little influence on the moments of your daily life.
I want to encourage you to pray silently this morning that the Lord would work in your heart right now. Not just soon, right now. You would appreciate his work and you would set your affections on Christ.
Well, we have covered one word so far … let’s keep going.
Ephesians 4:22 emphasized the ongoing corruption of the new man with the lusts of deceit. This corresponds well to the emphasis in Colossians 3.
Colossians 3:5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
Colossians 3:8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
In verses 5-11 there are three commands (imperatives) that dominate the text.
It is Put to death, put off, do not lie. The classroom instruction is over and it is time for action.
Friends, what does “put to death or put off” really mean? I am convinced that putting to death involves at least two elements. First, you must “hate the corrupting influence” and then we will look next at the need “to repent of your willful participation.” These are implied in the commands.
Let me explain … “How many of you have been told you need to lose some weight? What about you need to eat right?”
If you are going to change, not only do you have the love Jesus and appreciate all he has done for you, but you need to hate the corrupting influence of your sin.
Paul lists a few of the sins that plagued the Christian community.
Verse 5 describes five areas of sin and sums them up with the word idolatry. In Paul’s mind idolatry was not just worshipping little Buddha’s in a worship or in a home shrine.
Immorality: The church has a pornography, adultery, and lust problem. This is not merely an epidemic found in those who have no allegiance to Christ. These issues are clearly found in the church.
But if they are going to come out of it, they have to see what it is doing to them. They have to see its corrupting influence on their thinking and living.
Greed: Greed is not limited to financial resources. Greed impacts our desire for power, for control, for relationships, and for material possessions. Greed continually offers a promise … “you will be happy if __________.”
Yet, we all know that does not make us happy. Even if we receive power, control, a relationship, a material possession greed will return and tell us the same thing “you will be happy if ___________.”
It is an idolatrous path and a path that no longer allows us to fulfill God’s will in our lives because we are too concerned about fulfilling immorality’s will or greed’s will.
Idolatry leaves a path of destruction … it starts with the destruction of our character and moves progressively outward. We have to learn to hate the sin that leads to that corruption.
Paul also gives a couple reasons …
Colossians 3:6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience
Paul’s point is that it seems very strange that believers would have an interest in engaging in idolatry when idolatry brings the wrath of God.
But those who reject the Lord endure suffering on the grandest scale imaginable.
Why would we, as believers in Jesus, want to indulge in something that is common for those who do not know Christ? Why would we want to join in worshipping something that deserves a one way ticket to hell?
Colossians 3:7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.
Colossians 3:10-11 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— 11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
This second reason is related to the first. We were confronted with a choice. When we heard the message of the gospel we had to decide.
The day we answered those questions “yes” was the day we exchanged the old for the new. It was the day that we were made alive with Christ.
Friends, the idea that we would indulge in the sins of our past is just as crazy
Paul explains that I should want to hate my sin because God’s wrath is upon those who reject Christ and live like this and because I set that aside. I gave that up when I asked for Christ.
I want to encourage you right now to write down on your notes the two sins you struggle with the most.
Then, I want you to think how that sin continues to corrupt you (making it easier to do the next time). Think about how that sin is what brings the wrath of God on those who disobey the gospel. Think about how contrary to the new man these sins are.
Learn to hate them. Learn to hate what they produce in your life.
Go back to v. 8
These things destroy relationships. We avoid these people in Meijer. They put in 3D our hypocrisy. They result in putting us in the position to continue in our sin.
Friends, after choosing to appreciate all Christ has done, we need to hate everything that results in destruction and corruption. Without a genuine hate for it, we will not change.
Colossians 3:5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
Colossians 3:8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
I suggested to you that to understand vv. 5-11 we need to pay particular attention to the commands or imperatives (Put to death, Put on, do not lie). Inherent in these commands is the belief that these things are wrong and hating all of the consequences they produce in my life.
But putting to death is more than hating isn’t it? It is also repenting. I don’t have time in this sermon to unpack the concept of biblical repentance but here are 3 common characteristics of a repentant person.
But I cannot just hate what sin does to my relationships. I cannot just appreciate Christ.
When I am in trouble I want to find as many ways as possible to minimize the damage. If I am 80% wrong then I want to find a way to make the 20% as important as possible.
Repentant people do not do this. They take responsibility for their sin and acknowledge their wrongs without trying to blame someone or something.
When we sin the Lord provides various warnings. Sometimes they come from the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it comes from our Bible reading. Sometimes it comes from sermons.
Those who are repentant acknowledge that God is seeking to get their attention. Rather than listening to the various warnings they told God he needed to get a bigger stick.
Sometimes it is very difficult to accept consequences for our sin. Yet, the repentant person must be willing to bear whatever the Lord allows. Those who refuse to let the consequences come demonstrate that rather than repentance they want to control the situation.
Let’s come back to those two sins you wrote down earlier.
I want to encourage you to decide that today is a day you are ready to put these to death.
If I am loving Christ and all that he has done for me and thus valuing my new man condition and if I am willing to hate my sin and repent for it, then I am in the perfect position to take the next step.
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
A key aspect of the change process has to do with the mind. We will only put off what we believe needs to be put off. There isn’t a put off or a put on without some change taking place at the level of the mind and heart.
There is not a change at the level of the mind or heart with a willingness to
Jesus came to make and bring peace. But when the peace of Christ is not ruling in our hearts then we will find ways to have conflict.
When the peace of Christ is ruling in our hearts then we don’t have to have our agenda. We don’t have to our way and that is the pathway to peace in our relationships.
One of the reasons that we are not convicted is that we do not have the Word dwelling in our hearts. One of the reasons that we do not see a reason for change is the Word is not dwelling in our hearts.
This is where ABFs and FCI classes come from.
Our final step is …
Colossians 3:12-14 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
Colossians 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
The final part of the change process is replacement.
Both of these actions are concerned with how we relate to people.
But compassion and kindness is not just for the large special moments, they are supposed to be part of our character. Part of how we relate to people in our daily routine. Compassion and kindness should impact how we wake up, how we greet our children, the attitude we have the moment we walk into work.
If people don’t like to hang out with you, maybe it is because you are not a person who has compassion and kindness as a part of your character.
In Greek culture humility was always bad. It was a symbol of weakness.
It means that I can produce like crazy and not ask for all the credit. It means I can work hard and not ask people to worship me along the way.
This is another description for patience. Patience is not a one-time occasion. It is supposed to be part of our character because we recognize that God is patient with us. We could ask ourselves if God responded to me the way I am responding to others, what would be true?
Some of us have very little patience for others of us. This is an area God may want you to think about today.
I have covered a lot of ground today. This passage is one of the richest passages in the Bible on the process of biblical change. I think it is helpful to put this process on a couple of charts to make it something easy to use.
Foundation: I love and appreciate Jesus for who he is and what he has done. He brings about conviction regarding an area of sin. (this was point 1)
Put to death
Renew my mind
Put On
Sinful anger
I believe that sinful anger is wrong and is a disgrace to the cross of Christ. I hate what it is doing in my life and relationships.
I believe that my anger should be consistent with the Lord’s.
Righteous anger
Sinful expressions of anger
I believe that my expressions of anger are sinful. They are not consistent with the Lord’s treatment of me nor are they appropriate.
I believe that my anger should be expressed in ways consistent with biblical truth.
Righteous expressions of anger
Impatience
I believe that my impatience is sinful and if God treated me the way I am treating _____, then I would be in serious trouble.
It is my responsibility, by the power of Christ, to bear with ___________ in love.
bearing with one another
You can even take this exact same chart and use it with one instance in your life (even it if only took 10 minutes).
Event: Sinful expressions of anger
Put to death
Renew my mind
Put On
I yelled
I believe that sinful anger is wrong and is a disgrace to the cross of Christ. I believe that my anger should be consistent with the Lord’s.
Righteous anger
I threw a ball across the room in frustration
I believe that my expressions of anger are sinful. They are not consistent with the Lord’s treatment of me nor are they appropriate. I believe that my anger should be expressed in ways consistent with biblical truth.
Righteous expressions of anger
I left the house and slammed the door on the way out.
I believe that my impatience is sinful and if God treated me the way I am treating _____, then I would be in serious trouble. It is my responsibility, by the power of Christ, to bear with one another (warts and all).
bearing with one another
I want to encourage you this week to take this chart and use it as a template for the 2 areas that you believe God wants you to change.
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