We want to continue our study through the book of Colossians. Many of the things that you just got done singing, Paul is reinforcing, encouraging, and helping the church at Colossa as well as us, and Christians throughout the ages to understand our position and purpose in Jesus Christ. Why did Jesus come to be the penalty for our sins? Why did He call us out of darkness into light? In America, over the last, I don’t know, probably 20, 30, 40, 50 years, there’s become a philosophy of just say a prayer and walk an aisle and you’re a Christian.
Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t talk about it that way. The Bible talks about the fact that Jesus doesn’t just have us walk an aisle, say a prayer, so that we can be a notch on an evangelist’s belt, but rather He desires that we come and repent of our sin, confessing Him as Lord and Savior, and in acknowledging Him, we come to Him and He forgives us our sin as He said He would do. And then He transforms us into a new creature.
If you’re a Christian here this morning, I just want you to stop and think, we talked about it a little bit earlier in the earlier studies in Colossians, how that you think back before you accepted the Lord as your Savior. Did you have a different perspective on the things of the world? Were there different influences in your life that were directing your paths to walk in a different direction than you walk now? Because you need to understand that when before you became a Christian, you were not being directed by the Spirit of God or being led by the power of God, but instead you were being influenced by a world system that’s in diametric opposition to everything that God stands for. Some people say, as you look at our world today, how can people be so foolish as to believe some of the things that they believe, and to follow some of the people that they follow? It’s because they are so blind they cannot understand that they have the truth in their hearts.
As you look at what’s happening, as I mentioned briefly, at the beginning of the service during prayer time in the Middle East today, we probably think, how could people be so awful as to just brutally murder people and laugh about it? Because that’s Satan. And Satan has many different ways of doing that besides just using guns. He destroys souls by taking you in a direction that denies God, His power, His love, His forgiveness, and His Son.
Paul wants us to understand you’ve been delivered from that system. Last week we looked at the fact that we weren’t to be influenced by a world. We weren’t to go back and take on the philosophies of the world.
We weren’t to get caught up in those ideas. Paul laid out a number of them. This morning I want us to look at what Paul says we are to do.
And let’s take a look, beginning at verse 10.
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Colossians 3:10-15
Let’s just bow. Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you just speak to us through your word this morning. Help us to understand the importance and significance of the passage we’re looking at. Lord, things were really not much different during the time of Paul than they are today. Just as Paul admonished the believers at Colossae to take on your character, we need to understand that same admonishment today. Help us to do it.
You’ve given us all that we need. You’ve given us your Spirit to indwell us, to empower us, to teach us, to guide us, to help us, to encourage us, to correct us, to convict us. And Father, I pray that we would listen to him and that we would seek his guidance and his help.
And Lord, that you would use us in our moment of history. And help us to see the significance of you allowing us to be placed in this moment of time. And Lord, teach us through your word today, we pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
A lot of times I debated whether we should sing this song, which is in our hymnals as well, little is much when God is in it. Because often times we can become discouraged.
We can become defeated. Because we say, what can I accomplish for God? What form of ministry do I have? What platform do I have to speak on? What kind of lives can I touch? But I want you to understand and look at history. The history of the church.
I want you to understand that God in the past has had some of the greatest movements in history. Working through the most unknown people that had really no authority to speak from. But loved Jesus.
And that’s what Paul is reminding the church at Colossae. The church at Colossae wasn’t much different living in a different culture than we’re living in today. We’ve spoken before that they were living during the time of the Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire was a republic, but it was very, very degenerate. And it was becoming more degenerate by the hour. During the time that Paul lived, the things that were happening in Rome were not unlike many of the philosophies that have influenced our culture in America today.
Marriage was put on the back burner. All kinds of deviant lifestyles were being promoted. False gods were being worshipped.
Man was being exalted. And wickedness and evil were everywhere. These people had grown up in paganism.
They had been exposed to this. This was their lifestyle that they’d been transformed. And Paul is telling them, this transformation just isn’t a ticket to heaven.
This transformation is a transformation of your life. And God is calling you to live in the manner that we just read. And we want to look at that in greater depth today.
Just last week I listened to a YouTube video by Denzel Washington. Denzel Washington is a Hollywood actor. I can tell you from listening to the video, I don’t know, he grew up in a Christian home.
But I know today he’s a Christian. Because the video he gave was along much of the lines of what Paul is speaking of right here. It’s an address to the Christians of America.
And in that video, he talked about the fact, are you prepared? Are you prepared for what’s coming this next year? And in the years ahead. Because he says as Christians, our source of power has to be the Lord Jesus Christ. And His Spirit.
And how we’re going to live is how we’re going to influence a culture where even many who name the name of Christ don’t get it. I want you to look at what’s happening in our nation today. I’m so thankful for some of the things and decrees that the President has made against some of the wickedness and vileness that’s going on and has gone on in our culture.
But I want to tell you, the one thing that I never hear about is repentance. I don’t know when the last time you would listen to a Christian speaker and you hear him say that we as Christians need to get so serious with God that we would turn our back on sin and turn to Jesus. People say, you know, we had a young man that attended here.
Oh, it’s a number of years ago now. But I was speaking and we were going through the Gospels and it came to John the Baptist where he called Israel to repent and prepare for the way of the Lord. And afterwards I was talking to this young man and he says, well, you know, in our church we teach that repentance is works and you can’t be saved by works.
I said, well, it’s rather odd. The prophets of the Old Testament were constantly called by God to go forth to the nation of Israel and call them to repent. Jonah was sent to Nineveh, the head of the Assyrian kingdom.
And he was told to bring one message. It was a message that was so short. Judgment is coming unless you repent.
The apostles, Peter as he spoke in Jerusalem, talked about repenting. Jesus himself uses the word repent. Why doesn’t the church today speak of repentance? Because repentance demands a mental, intellectual decision to turn from and to. That is what repent means. You’re going one direction and you turn and go the other. You’re going one direction intellectually and you repent and flee from it.
You’re going one direction in your relationship with God and you turn from this world and to God. That’s what repentance is. And Paul is saying that should be a mark on your life.
This turning from to repentance. And as you come and repent and turn to God and cry out, He redeems and saves you and transforms your character. And Paul says, gives you all these wonderful things.
Why then don’t we talk about repentance? Why don’t we talk about that as the foundation of calling people to give up their sin? Out on a book table. Dave Hunt had a burden for the church because he saw the direction it was going in. He saw that the church was giving up the Bible for psychology. Giving up prayer for yoga and centering and meditation. Giving up the power of the gospel for social transformation. And he tried to warn.
And he’s saying you’re called to a much higher standard. That is to be God’s and to follow God. Paul tells us in verse 10, And have put on the new man.
It doesn’t say, and Jesus having put the new man on you. He says, and having put on the new man. That’s a choice on your part.
You know the amazing thing about God? God could have done everything for us. But He allows us to be participants in our walk with Him. Daily you choose whether you’re going to follow God this moment or not.
In this situation or not. God doesn’t force you. But you’re allowed to choose.
You’re allowed to choose whether you’re going to respond wrongly. Or in the power of God’s spirit. And so Paul tells us in order to live the right life.
And not be caught up in all the things that we see in the world. Because we’re constantly being bombarded with philosophies. Which are doctrines of demons and vain philosophies of men.
That are incorporated into our news broadcasts. They’re incorporated into our cultural standards. They’re incorporated into our music.
They’re incorporated into our television and movies and videos. They’re incorporated into much of the internet. And he’s saying don’t be influenced by them.
Put on the new man. Put on the new man. And when you put on the new man an amazing thing happens.
He says put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge. I want you to understand. When I’m talking about what’s going on in the Middle East today. Do you realize there’s many people that are saying genocide is occurring in Gaza. Where you don’t have any genocide occurring at all. You have Hamas being attacked because they attacked Israel.
And they continually threaten to attack Israel. But yet the world says genocide is occurring there. Yet genocide is occurring just a few hundred miles away in Syria. And everybody ignores it. Now why can Christians see what real genocide is. But much of the world can’t.
Because you’ve been given a different mind. You understand the forces of evil and death. And you understand because you have been introduced to the author of life.
And you see that those that walk diametrically opposed to Jesus Christ. And who he is. And the God of heaven. That they possess the characters of hell. And Satan. You understand that.
Or you should. Because Paul tells us when you put on the new man you’re given new knowledge. You’re given greater understanding.
I don’t know if you’ve ever listened to somebody and maybe they say all the right words. Maybe they even use the name of Jesus or God. But something seems off.
And you listen to them a little bit more and you understand. They’re not really speaking with the power of God’s spirit. But they’re speaking with something that it’s words of this world that have been covered over with Christian terms.
I would challenge you to take the knowledge that God gives you. And ask him to give it to you every time you listen to a speaker. The apostle Paul did.
You know when he went to Berea. He went to the Berean synagogue. Because that’s where Paul would go first when he went to a city.
If there was a synagogue Paul would go there. Why? Because these people had an understanding of the scriptures. The scriptures at that time were just the Old Testament.
The New Testament hadn’t been written. And so they had the scriptures. And Paul.
And this is why it’s important to study the Old Testament. Jesus is revealed in the Old Testament. The gospel is in the Old Testament.
From Genesis to Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ. And so Paul would go to the synagogue and he’d speak to the Jews who had an understanding of the scriptures. And he’d present how Jesus was the Messiah according to prophecies given in the scriptures.
He’d show them how Jesus would come. And Jesus would lay down his life for the people. And Jesus would be buried.
And Jesus would rise again from the dead according to the scriptures. Well at Berea the people listened intently. But when Paul was done they said, We want to do one thing before we believe what you say.
We want to go home and compare it against the scriptures. We want to see if you have told us the truth. Or if you have tried to deceive us.
Because we want to understand if this is truth. We’ll believe it. But if you’re trying to deceive us.
We won’t. Now you would have think that the apostle Paul. Man, Paul is Paul.
He’d been taught to be a great rabbi. A great Bible student. He’s being prepared for the Sanhedrin.
The rulership of the Jewish people. You’d think the people would listen to Paul. You know what Paul does? He commends the Berean church.
He says, they were more noble than the Thessalonians. The Thessalonians just turned to everything that Paul said. And said, we agree.
But then they didn’t go and compare it to the scriptures. And they were easily confused. Because there came others in.
After Paul had left. And they began to add things and confuse the Thessalonians. And Paul had to write them the two letters.
To deal with the fact that. No, Jesus hadn’t come back. No, they hadn’t been forgotten.
No, everything he taught them was still going to happen. And so he said the Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians. What did the Bereans do? Even though they were in the process of accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
What they did is they sought the scriptures as their foundation. We need to make the scriptures our foundation. I want to tell you there are some people on the internet and the radio today.
Who are saying very good things. At least they sound good. When it comes to what’s happening in our world.
The one world government and all this. But yet if you listen to them. They hate the Jewish people.
My knowledge tells me. If you are a true Christian. You can’t hate what God loves.
And God isn’t done with the nation of Israel. And God isn’t done with the Jewish people. So if there are those teachers.
That have an animosity towards the Jewish people. What else has been influenced in their teaching? You need to ask God. Give me the wisdom and knowledge that you have promised to give me.
According to your word. Because I am a new creature. I’ve been given this new knowledge.
Give me the discernment. You know one of the things that I think is totally lacking in the church. I’ve shared this today or earlier in messages.
Is a spirit of discernment. During the dark ages. One of the reasons.
The Roman Catholic Church kept the Bible. From the people. Is they did not want them to have knowledge.
They wanted to have. The cardinals teach the bishops. The pope teach the cardinals.
The cardinals teach the bishops. The bishops teach the priests. What to say to the people.
And they would deliver the doctrine. They would tell them what was real. They would tell them what was not real.
The people were not to have a personal relationship with Jesus. But rather they were to have a personal relationship with their priest. Who was to take their concerns to Jesus.
Total lies. Why did they want the Bible hid? Because the power is in the word of God. Because the word of God reveals who God is.
That is who God is. And when you give someone the Bible. And he begins to read the book of Hebrews.
And it says that we are to come boldly into the throne room of God. Because God is our father. Our dear daddy.
And that we are not to go through another. But we have the right and privilege. To kind of undermine their whole theology.
And they could not control people. We are to understand our position in Christ. We are to understand the knowledge that we possess from God’s word.
We are to understand the new creature we are. Paul goes on. And he says that we have been renewed in knowledge for a purpose. After the image of him that was created. That created him. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew. Circumcision. Neuron circumcision. Barbarian. Scythian. Bond. Nor free. But Christ in all. Is all. And in all.And all of a sudden we realize we are one in Christ. There is not all these divisions. Look at what our world teaches.
I just want to take you an example. From the previous administration of our country. They wanted to introduce racial division to a greater degree.
They wanted to introduce the attacking of men and women to a greater degree. Yet the Bible tells us. If you are a Christian. There is no such thing as race. Scythians were some of the worst people you could find during the time of Paul. They were considered liars.
And everything else. But he said. They are no longer Scythians. If they have accepted Jesus. They are a believer in Christ. They are no longer a Jew.
If you accept Jesus you are a believer in Christ. There is not a division. Men and women.
But you are the same in Jesus. You have different responsibilities and different roles. God created you as men and women.
But you are one in Christ. And we are to understand this. And Paul is telling us that.
And when the world comes and says. You need to have all these divisions. Oh we need to have more divisions.
There are all these problems. That is because they are working for Satan. Not for God.
We need to understand that. Paul goes on. He says.
Put on therefore as the elect of God. Holy and beloved vows of mercy. Kindness.
Humbleness of mind. Meekness. Long suffering.
Forbearing one another. And forgiving one another. Totally different attitude.
From the world. We are to put on. Holy and beloved vows of mercy.
It is not merciful. To kill somebody who isn’t of the same sect you are. It is not merciful.
To attack people.And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: