Colossians 3:5-17 Kill and live

Colossians 3:5-17

Have you ever wondered why we go through books – why we start at the beginning of Colossians and go through to the end? Or when we do a more topical sermon we always set the scene of where we’re preaching from – tell you a bit of the context?
I wonder why more churches don’t do this. It is bizarre to me – just as bizarre as someone who reads the books on their bookshelf by pulling a book at random, opening to a random page, and then thinking hard about that page. But it is not only bizarre (strange) but it is also dangerous. Let me illustrate:

Colossians 3:5-17 is all about how to please God. Like it says in v24-25 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done.

He is our Master, and will pay us back if we do wrong. So we must not do the wrong things , and we must do the right things. Otherwise we will be punished. Dt 4:24 (NLT) The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.

So, how’s your performance. Are you a sinner, loving the earth? Or are you righteous? Are you full of lust and sexual sin (v5). Don’t lie to me! I can see your lust from here. The wrath of God is on you! 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.
And are you greedy (v5)? For you are an idolater! Get rid of it, you sinner. Instead you must be merciful, kind, humble, gentle, patient. Now do it.

How does that make you feel?

If you’ve been coming to Rock Church for a while you’re probably feeling a little off-balance right now. Thinking that’s not quite right, there’s something wrong with this message. And that’s right – it’s a message completely devoid of the Gospel. It had Bible in it, it seemed to be the passage – but I was using the Bible to support MY ideas, rather than preaching the Bible’s ideas. It was all stop doing this and start doing that. It was try harder, do more. And that’s the opposite of the Gospel. The Gospel is that Christ has done it.

Beware the preacher who preaches out of context.

There’s another version designed to make the congregation feel better at the expense of other people. This is where you change the focus of the text off the Christians (which is who Paul is talking to) to the non-Christians “out there”. It’s the Paradise Hotel or Jerry Springer version – you know, that type of TV show which exists to show people at their worst so that you can feel better about yourself. Many churches do this, and so the “pastor” rails against the sexually impure – these divorcees and unmarried people fornicating, these homosexuals – because of them our country is facing the anger of God. Look at v6. The Bible says it and I believe it. And so as God is my witness I will fight against the scourge of gays in this country….

A text without a context is a pretext for a con. In that little example there I made “the Bible” say what *I* wanted it to say. Which was “I hate gays”. How many churches and sermons are full of bigotry and hatred dressed up in Christianised clothing. In context this is exactly what Paul is warning us against! Not pride, but humility before the Lord. Not looking at the sins of others, but looking at our own sin. Not judgementalism and hatred, but peace-making, gentleness, kindness, love. Be like Christ, who went to the cross to die for his enemies. And so if gay people are really your enemies, then if you belong to Christ are you ready to die for them? Are you ready to welcome divorcees, fornicators into your home, your church? Are you willing to recognise that you too are a sinner, just like “them”?

So what does this passage say? What is it that makes this a gospel passage, and makes our two preachers that I started with wrong? It is the word “so” or as other translations translate it “therefore”. Of course, it’s not just that – the gospel is sprinkled everywhere through this passage – v7 you used to when you were part of this world (past tense). V10 you are renewed V11 Christ is all that matters and he lives in all of us, v12 God chose you to be holy, v14 the Lord forgave you, v15 the peace that comes from Christ. It’s everywhere – for those who are reading with open minds. But if you are reading for a religious list, if you are reading for a way to be right with God by your own efforts, if you want to find a way to make God owe you – you will miss them, and you will miss the word “so”.

When you’re reading the Bible be on the lookout for these words like “so” because” “since” and “therefore” – and when you see them ask what they are there for. What’s the therefore there for? Especially just before a list of “this is how you are to behave”.

David Cook, an Australian minster, was telling the story of inviting some of his gym buddies, who all happened to be Roman Catholic priests, to a talk he was giving on the 10 commandments. One of his friends came, and afterwards David asked him what he thought. His friend said “what really struck me is that 2 came before 3”- David thought “whaaaat? What kind of great thought is that? 2 comes before 3 – that’s what he got out of it?” But it was a great thought: Ex20:2-3 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me”.
Notice the order. God says “I am the one who has redeemed you, now live this way”. He does not say “now if you want to be redeemed, live this way”. Redemption is always first. Never tell people a gospel of morals without its redemptive context. We are saved by grace, not good behaviour!
David said “for my friend it was a great breakthrough that redemption (v2), must come before lifestyle (v3)”

It is the great message of grace that runs throughout the Bible, and it’s the same message here. Paul lays out the lifestyle of the redeemed, the saved, the Christian, after first reminding us of the grace of God which saved us. So let’s remind ourselves of the “therefore” – what’s the context.

Turn back to chapter 1, and look at v2. The letter is addressed to God’s holy people, literally “saints” in Colossae, who are known 1:6 as people whose lives were changed by the Gospel. When we come to Christ we become, in an instant, saints. God’s holy people. Because the gospel is not “try really hard”, or “despise all the sinners and fornicators around you” but look at v13. The Gospel is 1:13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
Just like in Romans, just like in the story of Abraham, we find that being a Christian is not a philosophy or even a lifestyle, but is a spiritual transfer from darkness to light, from judgement to blessing – and no matter what we do, we are blessed by God, because Christ’s actions are viewed as our actions. Abraham kept sinning – for example lying about Sarah being his sister instead of his wife – because he couldn’t quite believe in the promises of God – that God would be faithful towards him even when he was faithless. But, as we saw, God was faithful.
How often are we like Abraham, disbelieving God’s promises, thinking our performance somehow changes things. Look at v13. HE has rescued us. HE transferred us. HE purchased (redeemed), He forgave our sins. All of them. If we could really grasp that, it would transform our lives. What freedom we would know! Truly forgiven. Truly blessed. That is the truth. We live in the realm of blessing.

Col 1:21–22 (NLT) This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
You are holy and blameless. Why? Because you are in Christ, and Christ is holy and blameless.
Our response is in v23 Col 1:23 (NLT) But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

Believe it. Act like you believe. Live in a manner that agrees with your beliefs.
At the train station I stand on the platform as the train hurtles towards me because I believe that I am safe. Normally if a huge chunk of metal was racing towards me I wouldn’t stand only an arm’s length away! But I know that the train will follow the tracks and will go safely past me. I am safe. I act in accordance with my beliefs. I don’t leap into the air shouting “look out!” and running as hard as I can off the platform and out of the train station.
But how often are we doing that as Christians?
God says do not fear. He says that the forces of darkness are powerless over us. Col 2:15 (NLT) In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. But often we are afraid of evil spirits, of ghosts, of curses, of the “evil eye”, of the tokolosh. Oh there can be real power there – but Christ has shamed them publically and stripped them of their power. If you are in Christ, you are safe. If you are not in Christ, you are not safe.
He says in 2:8 that we are not to be captivated by the empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.
But how often are we! We are fooled by the rhetoric, the clever speeches, the flash delivery, the “science” backing it, the zeal of the people delivering the message, and of course, the core of truth in many of these philosophies. But they miss Christ – and without him wisdom is just foolishness. As v2:17 he is the reality these philosophies are searching for. In Christ is found true feminism: women honoured for their womanhood in all its different forms, not a one size fits all, but each woman showing off her unique gifts and beauty to the praise of her Saviour. In him is found true consumerism: the things that promise satisfaction are put in their proper place, and we find satisfaction in Christ – and then those things are ours to enjoy, to use to the praise of God. An example is the Farm – given by God, used to his praise and glory so many times. All of us have experienced hospitality, warmth, fun, beauty there. My parents delight in the farm because they delight in the Giver of the farm, and delight in using it to his praise and glory.

See, the secret to Christian life is death. It is to die to your self and your own interests, and live for Christ. Only when we lay aside ourselves can we truly live.

Colossians 3 is a real trap for us. We can look at it as a list of behaviours, and try to squeeze ourselves into that list, contorting ourselves to fit it – shouting look God, look, see, look, aren’t I a good boy, hurry up and look, I can’t hold this for much longer…
Or we can die to self, stop being preoccupied with our performance, and live for Christ. For his life is ours, we must let it shine out. That’s all chapter 3 and 4 is. Showing us what this new life looks like. Showing us what we are, and are becoming in Christ. We are holy and blameless. That is what we are. And we are becoming holy and blameless as his life in us shines out all the brighter.

Col 1:27 (NLT) For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

Christ lives in us. Colossians 3 is not a list of how to live, but a description of Christian behaviour. How will you recognise Christians? Because they start more and more to live like this, like Christ. They start to look like Jesus. 3:10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

And the way to live like Christ is not try really hard – but to surrender yourself to death. I must give up my life, my pride, my reputation – remember Paul’s hard-to-preach words in chapter 2 about suffering (download the sermon if you haven’t – it’s sermon 5, called “true Christianity”). As we die, our new life in Christ is seen.

Death is the path to life. It’s sprinkled all throughout this chapter: v3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.;
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you;
7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world;
11 In this new life…Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. We need to die to world’s way of thinking – the lie that we can save ourselves. Trying really hard seems the wise way, but it is empty and pointless. 2:23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. What kind of people are we when we follow this way of thinking? Graceless, harsh, superior. With an appearance of false humility. Exactly the opposite of Christ, and exactly like the Pharisees and religious leaders who put him to death!

We must put it to death v5. In fact, the word in v5 is “nekrosate” lit. kill. We must KILL that old way of life. Surrender to the cross. It is an active act of faith.

So, practically, how does this work out? How does v5 work out in practice, with its warning against sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires, and greed? And v8 with anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language, and lying (v9)?

Well, firstly we must believe that these are sins, and stop trying to justify or explain away our sin. Put to death or sinful self-justification! And acknowledge, yes, I am sexually immoral. Yes, I am greedy. Yes, I am full of impurity and lust and evil desires. Yes, I am a liar, and angry, and a slanderer. Only then will we be willing to take action against it, to put it to death.

Let me give an example: If Debby is not at home or about to come home, I will not invite anther woman into my house. So if you’re standing there on the step, ladies, and Debby isn’t home, you’re not coming in! Why? Because I don’t trust myself. And you know what – I don’t trust YOU! We are sinners. Sin is destructive. Part of me wants to tear down and destroy all that is good. Satan waits like a roaring lion, ready to devour. We want to sin. That is who we are without Christ. Now, we probably wouldn’t, but I won’t take that chance. And, gentlemen, if you come a-calling when I’m not home and Debby is, well, you’ll be standing on the steps as well!
So, first we must recognise all the sinful, earthly things lurking within you (v5).

Secondly, we need to take action. I must kill that part of me, the old me, the old sinful man. (v5 Nekrosate: put to death). Remind him that he is dead. I cannot sin, I say, because dead men cannot sin! I have died to this life – Christ is my real life (v3). I used to do these things when my life was part of this world (v7) but no longer.

Thirdly, recognise that this is a struggle to the death. Our goal is to kill our sinful desires, not make life comfortable for them! So often we walk right into situations we shouldn’t. We follow the same tired old paths towards our sin again and again.

In the film the Matrix, Neo, the main character is faced with a choice. He’s standing in the doorway of the car, not knowing whether he can trust these people he’s just met. As he stands and looks down the street, the easy option, the safe option, one of them says to him “Neo, you know that street, you know where it leads…” and he gets into the car, and into a whole new world.

We know where our sin leads. We have been down that road before – some of us many times. Don’t go there. Instead, lift up your eyes to heaven. Keep your eyes fixed on Christ. And a whole new world is open to you.

To sum up then. V6 is true: Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. We are sinners, and we desrve his anger. And if we are not in Christ, we will face his anger.
But to avoid his anger we don’t try really hard to impress him. No. We come to him and say “Help me”. We come to Christ, and follow him to the Cross, the Cross of our salvation. And we leave our old life there with him, and he takes our sins, our old life, and it is nailed to the Cross with him. And then as he is resurrected, we too are raised to new life.
And so we are now saints. Holy and blameless. Christ is in us – and his new nature starts to affect the way that we live. New speech. New actions. New feelings. New love. We are new.
Put to death the old life. Kill your sin. Lift up your eyes to Christ and embrace him.

Father, thank you We do not come to church to pretend that we are good. We come to church to be reminded that we are sinners, that we are saved by grace, to confess our sin, and to celebrate the Good News that Christ died to save sinners. Help us to strip off the dirty rags of the old sinful life, and put on the royal robes of righteousness. Amen

Colossians 2:13-23 Christ has set me free

Colossians 2:13-23

PICTURE IN YOUR MIND.....As Jesus was dying on the Cross that Friday, in the halls of Hell, Satan and his demons were laughing hysterically and with delight.

 

They were partying and celebrating. The party was in full fling!

It was the party to end all parties. Devilish laughter filled the air! From time to time Satan rose to make a speech to the cheers of the demons.

He displayed the calm confidence of someone who’s won his greatest victory.

It was hard-fought to be sure and until the last moment he was nervous, but then it happened, and when it did, he knew he was the victor at last.

That old curse ...this puny God is finally gone…we’ll see who crushes who’s head.

 

Hours passed…the music and partying grew even louder. They danced and sang and drank and cheered and laughed the night away.

 

By Saturday morning, when you’d have expected the crowd to thin out, it grew larger–and louder–and even more rowdy as more and more spiritual rulers from distant realms came from around the spiritual world. The world we cannot see....

 

Speeches were given, followed by one toast after another. Then, more dancing and in the darker corners, wild immoral behavior took place.

 

But then it happened! .......No one knows the precise moment but in the early hours of Sunday morning, a messenger arrived whispering something in the ear of Satan..... and he looked as though he had seen one of his own ghosts...But he grew faint at the news.

 

A nervous whisper ran through the crowd. It happened that fast.

 

The music stopped, the dancing ended, and on Sunday morning the party in hell was over forever...... Hell’s rejoicing was short-lived. The party that started on Good Friday ended on Easter Sunday. What appeared to be Satan’s greatest victory turned into his absolute defeat?

 

The Cross on Calvary and the empty tomb meant for Satan the party’s over.

 

When Christ rose from the dead he took all the power and sting out of ALL the principalities powers or domains of the spiritual world.

All the powers that rage against the Christian...Christ exposed them... laid them bare and then he shattered smashed them.

Read vs 15.

Now they are empty and defeated...beaten completely

 

That is what Jesus did on the cross...

 

When I was about 18 a friend of mine got hold of some drugs...

But he died after being thrown to of a moving car onto the hospital steps.

I had a dream....standing before God ...backing away... saying hope  less... hopeless hope less end.

 

One thing Steve got right....in his short life

"Hopeless" describes exactly our position before the cross.

Before the cross, we were not friends with God. Thrown out of the Garden of Eden...we became independent of God...we were on our own.

We made the mess and we were powerless to fix it.

Then came plan of God...Calvary and the cross!! Starting with the Angel being placed at the gate to stop Adam and Eve coming back in...The tree of life was there...you don’t want to touch that when your in a state of rebellion with God. Then go across history to the cross at Calvary and to the empty grave.

And what was a hopeless end became for the Christ one an endless Hope. Check out 1 John 5:11,12. With Christ life without Christ ...no life.

Look back over history to the guy who ordered the death of Jesu...Pilate. Before Jesus was nailed to that cross he put a small sign was nailed above his head...

Jesus of Nazareth ...the king of the Jews!

The Jews authorities said, "no, no, … but Pilate said, "what I have written, I have written."

What you couldn’t see written in very small letters was all the sins of little Jackie Garratt

Vs 14 He cancelled All the record of sin against little Jackie!!!

 

Every time you or I broke a command of God... forgiven and cancelled...

 

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned.

Rom 6:23 Wages of sin... PAID IN FULL…so free the gift was eternal life.

Forgiven when we take Christ seriously and follow Him…     

In colossia jews who were used to having holy days and following rules started to lea non the gentiles and said they had to do the same….( this is why the letter)

But Sinful man could never reach a holy God through his own efforts.

No matter how sincere the effort, no matter how agonizing the labour self beating or fasting....

 

Sinful man can never bridge the chasm between himself and a holy God.

 

Eph 2:8,9...Not by works or human effort...but by grace!!

 

It was the Grace if God that bridged that chasm between God and Man.

 

Do you really think God would put his Son through the humiliation and agony of the cross if all that was needed for us to get right with God was a little dieting here holiday there and of course a little skin whacking for the guys!

 

Sin is a horrible, and hideous, and it effects every human on this planet.

To be rid of sin demands the very wisdom and power of Almighty God.

 

All these visual practices are doomed to failure spiritually, Paul says in verse 23, ‘‘Because they are based on human teachings, human strength."

We could not fix it!!!

Because Jesus came to this earth to die and rise from the dead...not so that He could simply just plonk you in heaven for eternity. That’s only part of it and a very important part.  But it was also to get himself out of heaven and into you where you are...taking His rightful place as God intended man to be...full of God...as it was in the garden of Eden!!

 

A man of God is a man in whom God

 

Through what Jesus did on the cross, if you are a Christ one you are acceptable. WHY? Because... The life of the Lord Jesus is placed in you to stop you being what you are in your nature, and that is unholy. That my friend is something only the Holy Spirit can do for you.

Once that new life is placed in you... You are free!!! Vs 20.

Let’s put this in real life…

The things that took Christ to the cross…in Christ they are terminated ...Finished! Vs 20.

One of the happiest days of my father’s life took place about 67  years ago.

My father was standing on parade in army uniform.

He was about to leave the army after the war.

You are now dismissed from his majesty's army and may, if you wish, seek civilian employment. But if you desire to sign on for another seven years, his majesties government we'll be happy to entertain you."

My father said under his breath...Not bloomin likey. He was free!

There was a man that had made the life of the soldiers an absolutely misery and his name was ‘regimental sergeant major’ . He had an immaculate uniform, a big voice, and a big mouth and a big moustache.

He loved to come right behind you while we were on parade, standing stiff.

Staring straight ahead. He would open his very big mouth one inch behind your ears and shout at the top of his voice, 'Am I hurting you boy?"

We had to answer, "No, sergeant major." "I can't hear you!"

"You're not moving your head, are you?" "no, sergeant major."

"I’m standing on your hair at the back! Get your hair cut

He was not a nice man!!!

Whenever we saw him coming, our backs would spring up straight. We'd swing our arms up to the shoulder, thumb on top, heels dug in.

The day my Dad was released He saw the rsm walking toward him.

My Dads head sprang up, His back straightened, and he began to march. His arm went to leap up to salute ... And a little voice inside me said.. "You are free from him, You died to him a few moments ago on that parade ground.... so he is dead to you. He has no power over you!!!"

So why salute a dead man walking!!!

So a very funny thing happened. His back curled over to a relaxed position, my hands found their way deliciously into my pockets.

And as he walked past the man, he whistled. I whistle a happy tune......and gave a little wave not a salute..

The RSM went red, turned to purple, turned to puce. He couldn't do a thing.

That's what the cross means to the Christian. We also died to all that it was necessary for Christ to die for.

VS 16 read....

So the next time people come our way and lean on you to act like them because they have a problem with the new direction you are taking

Or it could be....something like the food or drink or Satan tries to have a go at you and tempt you.....remember that although some people are powerful and Satan is mighty .....God is ALL powerful and All MIGHTY.....we should just whistle at 'em.  Deg vara are....

Thine be the Glory risen conquering Son, endless is thy victory thou oer death has won.

The devil and the principalities, and powers, the determined people he uses...They can't do a thing.

 

With Christ He has set you free from following the world’s ideas of how to be saved—

He has don it...it really is finished.

Colossians 2:1-15 Complete confidence

Colossians 2:1-15

Last week we spoke about Paul’s willingness to suffer for the gospel, and why. And we were challenged to see that suffering is a fundamental part of being a Christian. In fact, if you are not willing to suffer for the sake of Christ then you are not a Christian! We are called to follow our Master on the road to Calvary. At the base level, suffering is simply the daily denying ourselves – saying no to our sinful nature, and saying yes to Christ. And that is hard!

At most, we may be called to give up our lives for Christ, like many church martyrs through the ages, like many today. Ordinary men and women who are being beaten tortured, have acid thrown in their faces, are maimed, bombed, shot, hung, their property is confiscated, they are spat upon in the streets, they are thrown out of their homes, they are forced to leave their villages, their churches are burned. That is the cost of following Christ. And when you speak to these Christians, our brothers and sisters, they say “I count it as pure joy”. A American missionary was interviewing a group of women believers in India who had been horrifically abused because of their faith. When she expressed her dismay at their suffering their response was remarkable. They said that they pray for us in the West, because “how do you know that you belong to Christ if you do not suffer for Him?”

Paul is willing to suffer for the gospel. Now we see the direction of his suffering. What is his goal?

1. Together we stand in Christ

Paul suffers to tell them the gospel, that the riches and glory of Christ are for Gentiles too. And this is the mystery: Christ in you, the assurance of glory.

And he agonises, presumably in prayer, probably also in writing this letter – he feels deeply for them to be bound by love, and to have confidence in Christ.

I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. 2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Did you notice the repeated pattern:
V1 I want – you to know my agony for you
V2 I want – you to be bound by love
V2 I want – you to have complete confidence in CHRIST

And why does Paul want these things? So that you are not deceived

4 I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments

How do we defeat such well-crafted arguments (and note they are well-crafted – we can be deceived by them)? By v2 being knit together with love in the gospel, confident that we have all we need in Christ.
Again we see the importance of our church family. We need each other. We need Sunday morning sermons, explaining the truth, pointing us to Christ, driving us to lift our eyes to him. When else in your life do you get the riches of the Bible served up to you? The sermon expounds God’s Word, cutting through our culture, our sins, our excuses and laying us bear – and then comforting us, meeting us in our needs, exactly where we are, giving us encouragement to endure for one more week.
And Wednesday night Bible studies where you get trained to unpack the Bible for yourself. That’s the main goal – teaching you to read and understand the Bible.
And then we put into practice what we have heard the Spirit say to us. And His words are not just words, great knowledge - but they are also Power. As we obey, as we step out in faith – at the moment we step out in faith, trusting God – then the power comes, the ability to do what we have been called to do. But not before. Obedience first, trust first – then power.
We lean on each other, we love each other, we put each other first. We accept each other, we are quick to forgive, we are honest with each other (there’s nothing worse than Christian fakery, fake smiles, fake politeness – let us never let that creep in here. Let us deal with issues quickly, honestly, gently, openly. Sin breeds in darkness).

In the Greek these verses are all run together so reads more like this “I want you to have joined together hearts in assurance of knowledge of mystery of God: Christ, who is the treasure of all wisdom and knowledge”

The word joined together or knit together is the word symbibasthentes which is linked to our English word symbiosis: two different organisms living together as one unit, one creature.
The church is like a solid tree with intertwined trunks, firmly planted on Christ. As Ecclesiastes 4:12 says A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken

Together we will not be held captive

2. Don’t be deceived

Together we will not be held captive.

The following verses unpack that concept of staying bound together in love, with deep confidence in Christ.

He says

Don’t be deceived: be rooted in Christ

Don’t be deceived: philosophies are empty and from spiritual powers and human wisdom, and therefore ultimately nonsense.

Don’t be deceived: you are complete in Christ (he lacks nothing)

Don’t be deceived: Christ is above all other powers

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

A tree is only a strong as its roots. Ever been up in the forest and seen a tree with shallow roots because of rocks? What happens to it? Bang! A church is only as strong as its grip on Christ. If we are not rooted in Christ, it doesn’t matter how united we are – we will fall. We may fall together, and have a great time on the way down, patting ourselves on the back with how “united” we are… but we will crash in disaster if we lose our grip on Christ. How many churches around us are doing or having done exactly that? The Episcopal church in America, the Methodist church, parts of the Anglican church in England, the State church here in Norway – united in opposition to the word of God. It is appalling. So Paul reminds us don’t be deceived – but be rooted in Christ.

Unity is not what is required. Unity IN CHRIST is what we are called to. So feel free to oppose anything in this church which takes us away from Christ, away from his powerful word, away from the simple message of repent and believe. Do not allow us to be united in rebellion against God, because that unity is the unity of the tower of Babel – and we all know how that went! 6 just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.

And one of the marks of being rooted in Christ is a strong faith and deep thankfulness: 7 Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
The corollary is, of course, that if you’re full of bitterness and grumbling, if being a Christian is a chore, a bore, another wretched thing to do – perhaps you have forgotten Christ, perhaps you have forgotten the glorious good news of the gospel: that you, a sinner, have been declared righteous in the sight of God Almighty, by pure grace; or perhaps you have never known it, never been rooted in Christ and for the first time need to repent and accept that you cannot save yourself, and let Christ save you.
Are you gripped by Christ? Is he your treasure? Your all-in-all? Are you so rooted in him, so united to him, that wherever he goes you will follow, even if that costs you great suffering, even your very life? 6 just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.

Don’t be deceived: be rooted in Christ. Build your lives on him.

Why? Because everything else is ultimately empty deception.

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

Why are they “empty philosophies” high-sounding nonsense”? Well, because they misdiagnose the problem – and with the wrong diagnosis comes the wrong solution. God’s diagnosis is that the problem is sin, the solution is Christ.

It’s like going to the doctor with pneumonia – and he diagnoses a broken foot, and sets your foot in plaster. Now your foot’s in plaster and you’ve still got pneumonia, which will eventually kill you.

These empty philosophies are based on human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world (that is, the devil). Now these are all around, all the voices around us claiming to be the truth and two of the loudest, two which hit closest to home are: feminism and consumerism.

Now there’s some danger in this, because criticising these philosophies so ingrained as “truth” in our society can often overpower the sermon and we forget the point: that Christ is our wisdom and truth, that he has rescued us, that we belong to him, that we were dead because of our sins and now he has made us alive in Christ. That’s what we must remember from this.

But it’s also worth spending some time deconstructing the high-sounding nonsense around us.

So, first feminism.

Remember that all philosophies are attempting to solve the problem of human sin and alienation from God, but blaming something other than sin as the problem, and therefore coming up with the wrong solution.

Feminism identifies men as the problem – not the sin within men, but just men generally. Men are the problem, and so the solution is to get rid of men – oops, that sounds too extreme – get rid of any power men might have over women. So women need to be completely independent of men.

They need to be financially independent, and relationally independent.

So women must now work, because otherwise you are dependent on a man. The feminists paint a picture of women in Important Jobs, changing the world. Of course, as men have known for centuries, there are very few such jobs – most work is a hard slog! And the work women most commonly do is jobs that involve cleaning, organising, packing shelves and cashing up, and looking after other people’s children while they are at work – basically being a housewife but for other people, outside the home. Wow, feminism has really “freed” women hasn’t it? No longer can she work in the home, working for love, working for her own family - but now must work for money, outside the home, neglecting her own family.

Women must also avoid having children, because having children takes up too much time, and makes it impossible to work. Of course, asking women to never have children is a step too far against our biology, so that has been modified to women can have children only if they want them – which has lead to the horrific slaughter of hundreds of thousands of unwanted babies in the womb. As Phillip Jensen, a well-known Australian preacher put it: “any philosophy or worldview which ends up in the systematic slaughter of babies, and majority girl babies, is fundamentally flawed”.
Not to mention the evil of classifying people as either “human beings” or “lump of cells” depending on whether they are WANTED or not.

The impact of feminism over the last 50 to 60 years has been catastrophic. Very few children have grown up in a stable home. Most have experienced multiple break-ups with their parents and their “partners”. Most live in two homes, swapping each week. Would you like that?
Sexual diseases have rapidly increased. Young women are under increasing pressure to prove that they are “sexually liberated” just like men (which is a lie anyway), and are therefore having sexual intercourse much earlier, much more often, and with many more partners. Feminists ranted against the “sex-bargain” of marriage (as they called it): I give you sex, you give me protection and shelter and food. But now women are giving sex and getting…. nothing in return.
Women now experience the curse of men (cursed is the ground because of you – basically, work will suck) AND the curse of women (you will crave your husband’s position, and he will rule over you). And the effect is angry, bitter, overweight, exhausted, divorced women, trying to “have it all”, and then wondering if there is something wrong with them because they can’t squeeze a career, children, husband, friends, family responsibilities, healthy eating, excerecise, a great sex life, and enough sleep into 24 short hours.

Let me tell you something: no-one can. It is impossible. It is a feminist lie to tell you that you can have it all. You must sacrifice something. Something has to give. And it’s normally the children. And then your husband. And then your health, particularly mental health. And your happiness.

I hate feminism, because I love women. Feminism is not about empowering women or setting them free. Feminism is about forcing women to conform to a political idea of how they must be. Just listen to our politicians haranguing women for daring to work, and calling them lazy for staying at home with their young children. Feminism is an abusive ideology, and according to v8, from the pit of hell.

Men are not the problem. Sin is the problem. Sinful men and sinful women. Abusive men should be dealt with, yes – but feminism makes this harder because their solution is always “empower the woman” and so the abuser just says “well, she should have stood up to me. She should have resisted me”. It puts the onus of change on her rather than him, on the victim instead of the abuser. And that’s wrong. Men, what are we doing to stand up against abusive men in our community? What are we doing to encourage men to honour women, to protect them and provide for them?
Let us honour and respect the roles of mother and wife. These are infinitely valuable roles. No-one but you can be a wife to your husband. No-one but you can be a mother to your kids. You are irreplaceable. Anybody can pack fruit at Kiwi. Or process building permits. Or look after other people’s children at SFO.

Husbands, are you honouring your wife in her role as mother, as wife? Are you giving her the space to be a woman? Are you providing and looking after and leading sacrificially – or are you pressuring her to provide for herself and stop being so needy? Have you looked at your budget – is there stuff you can cut so that your wife can be with the kids? It is far more valuable for your kids to have their mom home after school than to have a trip to Disneyland. You cannot pay people to LOVE someone else’s child.

Now for many women the option to stay home does not exist. Many are victim to the ravages of feminism which has destroyed any concept of men providing for women and has left many women alone with the children (because they love their kids), and have to work, often long hours, to provide. As a church, how can we support these women?

8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

Consumerism is the other ideology I’d like to examine, more briefly this time. Consumerism is, basically, the idea that if I buy this thing, then I will be happy. It is a materialistic philosophy and the root of our trade and industry, marketing and advertising. Watch the adverts. What do they promise? Happiness. Success. Your life sucks now, but buy our product and your life will change. You are a loser, but spray this deodorant on your armpits and you will be successful and surrounded by beautiful people and have a yacht and a fast car- It’s ludicrous, and we fall for it every time.

Whereas feminism identified men as the problem, and freedom from men as the solution, consumerism identifies “lack of stuff” as the problem and “buying stuff” as the solution. It’s that stupid. But who of us doesn’t get a thrill from getting a new phone. Or a new car. Or a new dress, or so my wife tells me. How often do we sit around thinking “I wish I had that thing. My life would be so much better if I only had that thing”. How long does the thrill last?

It is fleeting, and then something else catches our eye and we are off chasing after the next thing. Consumerism hooks into our sins of discontentment and greed. Consumerism attaches a price tag to everyone and everything, a cost/benefit analysis to everything. Children cost too much, so let’s not have children. An abortion’s much cheaper than a child. And never mind disabled children – those things are expensive! You can never buy what you want if you get stuck with one of those! And so our society quietly eradicates them – almost nine out of ten pregnancies with Down’s in Norway ends in abortion.

It is the reason we are sending more and more asylum seekers home – even if that means sending them to their deaths. It is the reason our formerly wonderful, compassionate country has banned begging. Don’t bother us with your problems, we says, you’re getting in the way of us having more stuff. You cost us too much. One article in VG described Norway as the world’s Bortskjemt drittunge (spoiled brat). We have abandoned Christ and therefore abandoned what made us great.

Consumerism leads to seeing people as either building blocks to getting the stuff we want, or obstacles to getting the stuff we want. It also leaves us open to the debt trap (like credit card debt) and ironically leaves us desperately unhappy and under pressure as the bills mount up and the stuff we have accumulated becomes like a noose around our neck. It’s like the story Jesus told of the rich man who tore down his barns to build bigger barns – to hold all his accumulated wealth. How does that story end? But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ (Luke 12:20)

It is a fundamentally stupid philosophy – how could more stuff, exactly like the stuff we’ve already got, but a bit shinier, satisfy our deepest longings and cravings and bring happiness and wealth. So stupid, and because we’re greedy, we fall for it every time.

So, how can we start to fight the influence of consumerism over us? One of the Bible’s antidotes is to give away your money (or more correctly, God’s money which he has given to you to use wisely). Giving to gospel work really helps to break the hold that consumerism has over us.
Another is the practice thankfulness, which leads to contentment. Consumerism only thrives in the soil of discontentment. Wanting more. Wanting better. If you are continually thanking and praising God for what he has given you: a warm house, food on the table, a phone that works, socks without holes, whatever – it’s hard for greed to grow.
And stay away from temptation. Don’t go to the shops just to see if you “need something”.
Call your “needs” what they really are: “WANTS”. Challenge yourself with every purchase: do I really need this? Is this greed?
Be generous and hospitable, not “when I have a little bit more, then I can…” but now. If you want to know how to do that – ask my parents. I have watched them live generously my whole life. Learn from them.

So, don’t be deceived by these empty philosophies, but embrace the fullness of Christ

3. The fullness of Christ

So let us now turn from the pale lies of the spiritual powers and lift up our gaze to Christ in all his fullness. Why settle for anything less than him? Why listen to a two-year old explain relativity instead of Einstein? Or why rush over to meet the mayor when the King is in the room?

9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Christ is supreme. Why settle for second best? We often do, though, don’t we, because it makes us feel in control, important. These empty philosophies are very good at hooking into our sinful desries: our desire to be superior, to have power, to be in control, our greed, our jealousy.

And coming to Christ destroys that. We cannot feel in control, because we are not. We are helpless, we are dependant, and our illusion of being God is destroyed. And oh how we hate that. But it is the truth.

We are helpless to solve the real problem, and that is found in v13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away

Diagnosis is death because of sinful nature.

And the cure is spiritual circumcision. And that is something that feminism cannot do, the consumerism cannot do, that chauvinism, capitalism, communism, Nietzsche’s nihilism, or any other –ism cannot do. It cannot solve the problem at the centre of our hearts: that we are spiritually dead, alienated from God and from each other. And that is where all our problems come from.

And only Christ – ONLY Christ – can solve that problem.

11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Why is Christ supreme? Better? Because he dealt with the PROBLEM. Not just plasters on sores, but surgery to cut away dead flesh and graft on new skin.

Our problem is not men, or lack of stuff, but SIN. And only Christ can cut away our sin – circumcise our sin.

We were dead and he has raised us to new life. Let’s celebrate that now as we take communion. Let’s use the time to examine our own lives, our won thinking – let’s confess where we have built our lives on empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense rather than Christ, and let us turn from them and embrace Christ in all his fullness.

Colossians 1:23-2:6 True Christianity

Colossians 1:23-2:6

Picture a small room with stone walls and a small window. The room is quite sparsely furnished: there is a bed, a bookshelf with many scrolls on it a chair, and a small desk. The window has bars in it, like a prison cell. There is a man sitting on the chair, speaking to a scribe, seated on the floor. He is dictating a letter, which the scribe is writing down.
There is a third person in the room: a Roman solider. He is holding the end of a chain, a chain which links up to the hands and feet of the man who is speaking. He is a prisoner, under guard 24 hours a day.
And this is what the man is saying “I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church”

What does it mean to be a Christian?

What does it mean to say “I follow Christ”?

That is what we will be thinking about today.

We’ve had a magnificent opening chapter, focussing us on Christ. He is supreme over everything. He is our head, our master, our leader and our guide. He holds all things together. He gives us every breath. He is our destiny, our wisdom, our all in all, our very life. He is Lord of all, God Almighty, the physical visible image of the invisible God.
And by his grace he looked down on us and had mercy on us. He became fully human, the first true man (since Adam messed that one up!), and in his own body reconciled us to God. By his blood on the cross we who were far away from God are now drawn near.

This is what we have been given by God, and our response is to love God’s people, living changed lives, bearing fruit everywhere. We know and understand the gospel, and in knowing and understanding our lives change: we are filled with love for each other, and for the lost. We have endurance and patience. We are filled with joy and thanksgiving. That’s chapter 1.

Today we will see that we are willing to suffer anything for the sake of the gospel, because of the glory we share with we share with Christ. And that suffering for Christ is easy, because he lives in us.

1. Suffering for Christ

This is a strange passage. Paul suddenly starts talking about his suffering – probably as a contrast to the false teachers with their “secret knowledge” who didn’t really care about the Colossians and would never suffer for them – their goal was comfort (just like many “Apostles” and “Pastors” today, particularly on TV). But it’s also a challenging passage, because it strikes right at that false religion we can so easily take on – we can so easily play the part of a Christian without ever being one. A Christian is one who follows Christ to death - and Paul’s example exposes us.

23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. 24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.

Paul is in jail, in chains, for nothing other than preaching the gospel. He has been beaten, shipwrecked, jailed, flogged, and stoned to death (but then he got up again and went into the city to keep preaching!) – this guy will let nothing stop him from proclaiming the message of Jesus. Paul is like the Terminator of preachers. Unstoppable!

And about all this suffering he says: “I am glad”. The word is chairo (khah-ee-ro) and means “to rejoice, be glad. to rejoice exceedingly. to be well, thrive”

Is Paul crazy?

Well, we think so. Our culture cannot stand suffering. In Tim Keller’s latest book “Walking with God through pain and suffering” he makes the point that many others have made: throughout history, our materialistic western society is the worst at dealing with suffering. Only our culture is so negative towards suffering. How can this possibly be good, we say?

How about developing character? How about the nobility of sacrifice? How about the discipline of patience? How about the legacy we leave, how people will speak of us after we are gone? How about the spiritual treasures we store up as we suffer in this world? Those are some of the many positive ways other cultures value suffering. But not ours. Ours sees suffering as only negative.

Why? Because our culture is driven by materialism, by enjoying the here and now, defeated by a short-term view that this life is all there is. If this is all we’ve got, then it better be good. If this is all we’ve got, then what’s the point in investing in character development, or in delaying getting what we want? Give to me now!
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it NOW! (Queen)

That is why suffering destroys us, defeats us. That is why so many turn from the gospel because they know they will be called to give up the things they want, to set aside their own desires. They are afraid of the potential suffering – and so they turn aside in fear.

But listen to Paul: “29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. 2:1 I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally.”

He is glad to suffer. He works and struggles beyond his own ability, needing the power of Christ to sustain him. He agonizes over the church. Have you ever wrestled in prayer to the point of pain?

Now, if you’ve been paying attention in Bible study, you might be saying “well, that’s Paul. You know, Jesus said to him that he would suffer much for the sake of His name, and he did: Acts 9:15–16 [T]he Lord said, “[Paul] is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

And you know what, you’re right. We’re not Paul. And this passage doesn’t say “be like Paul”. Our job is not to gladly suffer for the church – that’s Paul’s job. His responsibility, as it says in v25. Our job is to not drift away from the truth (v23), and 2:6 , just as we accepted Christ Jesus as our Lord, we must continue to follow him.

Shoo, dodged that one!

But have we?

Paul certainly was called to a special mission. None of us has met the risen Jesus and been specially commissioned as an Apostle to the Gentiles! But, we are all called to follow Christ. And what was it that he said to us about following him? Remember what he said back in Mark 8:34–35 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Take up your cross. Give up your life. This is the language of suffering. And this isn’t advanced super-apostle Christianity. This is basic Christianity. If any of you wants to be my follower.
This is the bare minimum.

That’s why the people we know who are trying to dodge Christianity, ducking and diving and trying to avoid you when you invite them to church, or talk about Jesus, or just are their friends – they’re right. They know the cost. And the cost is everything.

What was it we read about in chapter 1 was the effect of the gospel? 1:6 changed lives.
Our lives are not our own. We have been purchased. We are under new ownership. We have a new master. His dreams are now our dreams. His goals are our goals. His life is now our life. Christ is our life.

That is why Paul says “I am glad when I suffer for you” because he is pleasing his Master, Christ. He is following in the footsteps of the suffering servant, our Servant King. And he does not care about the cost, because he has his eyes fixed on the prize, the glory that awaits him in the new creation

I find this immensely challenging. I have struggled with preparing this sermon, because any preacher must first preach to himself – and I can feel myself resisting. I am still resisting. I can hear all sorts of excuses bubbling up within me. I need to hear this message again and again. Because to say no to suffering is to say no to following Christ. If I am not willing to suffer for Christ – then Jesus says that I am not a Christian. If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

Now suffering doesn’t mean throwing ourselves into a bed of nails, or walking through fire, or whipping ourselves. It is the daily suffering of putting to death our sinful nature and obeying the word of Christ. It is caring about the lost instead of closing ourselves off into a not-so-holy huddle. It is speaking about our love for Jesus where we will get laughed at or shunned. It is risking our reputation by standing for the truth. It is inviting people to read the Uncover with us. It is loving our wives and children instead of hiding in our work. It is treasuring and honouring our parents. It is working hard when we are at work instead of slacking off and putting in a minimal effort. It is being good citizens, good neighbours. It is treasuring our church family, praying for each other, serving each other, encouraging each other by coming on Sundays and Wednesdays, inviting each other around for meals, phoning up and saying “keep following the Lord, keep your eyes on him”. In short, it is living for the glory of God, in everything we do and say. It is loving God, and loving others.

Paul unpacks this in chapter 3, how we are supposed to be living. Put to death the sinful life, and live the new life you have been given.

And there again you see this language of suffering “put to death”. If anyone told you the Christian life was easy, they were lying. It is a battle to the death against your sin. Every day, we pick up our cross and walk towards Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified, and say I die to myself, I live for Christ. He is my life, my everything. It is the picture of the bloodied soldier standing firm. And so we can with gritted teeth and manly determination we can echo Paul and say “I am glad when I suffer for the sake of Christ”

We must suffer for Christ.

2. The Christian life is easy

Haha. But you know what: it’s true. It is true. The Christian life is hard, a battle to the death. But the Christian life is easy, because that battle has already been fought and won. 2:25 [Christ] disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

We see this paradox in v29: That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me

My brother in law, Grant, always says “Work your guts out, and God will do it all”. And it’s true, isn’t it. We struggle and strive and battle – and when we look back we see how God carried us.

This church is a great example. At one level we’re battling along, putting in the hours of preparation, wrestling with the Scriptures, battling in prayer, talking, encouraging, evangelising, counselling – and all along the Holy Spirit is at work amongst us, walking us to new life, carrying us in his strength, forging this church out of nothing, It is is a miracle We are a miracle. And so through all the effort the overwhelming feeling I have of this church is of a spectator – an audience member watching the film of God’s grace at work in your lives and my life. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me

Just look at the “great mystery” of the gospel: 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

The ESV puts it like this: this mystery.. is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

It is that inward, subjective experience of knowing Christ. It is a personal relationship with the living God. That is the mystery, that he should indwell us (live in us). How bizarre. But how true.

That is why Colossians is so full of language like 2:7 let your roots go down into him and let your lives be built on him, 2:17 Christ is the reality of our religious experience, 3:4 when Christ, who is your life, appears, 3:10 put on your new nature (we are changed, new people, little Christ-ones running about) and that we are his body (1:18, 2:19, 3:15).

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

In the parallel passage in Ephesians 1, Paul puts it like this: 3 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

It is the Spirit of Christ, God’s Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity: he is the one who so powerfully works in us so that we can live changed lives in glory and honour to God, and can gladly suffer anything because we have assurance of the glory that lies before us, and because we are sharing in the sufferings of our Saviour.

He is so bound to us and we so bound to Him that Paul can say 24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. As we suffer for the spread of the gospel, as we battle our sin, as we proclaim the Good News of Christ crucified and victoriously risen from the dead – we follow in his footsteps, we follow his pain and his victory on the Cross, continuing his work in the world. He is in us, continuing his work. We’ve seen that in the book of Acts, how the Holy Spirit is at work building his church, we’ve experienced in this church, how he is changing us, binding us together, saving us; and we’ve experienced him in our lives as He has 1:13–14 rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

He is in us. His power is at work in us. And so living the Christian life is…easy. Oh battling sin seems so hard doesn’t it. We’re called to give up something we hold so dear, or not do or say something we so want to do and aaargh it’s so hard – but the moment we let go, the moment we obey, oh what bliss, what joy, what freedom. Why did I ever want that? What a nothing compared to the joy of Christ!

And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. 28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

The Christian life is easy, because He is at work in us. So let us tell others about Christ, warning and teaching with his wisdom. Let’s get out there and do it! Amen?

We are called to follow Christ, no matter the cost. And we cannot say no to suffering, because to say no to suffering is to say no to the gospel. It’s saying no to character development, to legacy, to endurance, to patience, to spiritual treasures. But worst of all, saying no to suffering is saying no to gospel, saying no to Christ.

And we are all tempted, because our western materialistic society is so negative towards suffering – “suffering is only, always, evil”, it says – and so we are tempted to lay aside the cross, turn our back on Golgotha, turn away from our Saviour, and take the easy road to Hell.

Brothers and sisters, let us turn back to Christ, pick up the cross, and follow him. And as we do that we will find the steps are easy, the burden is light, the road is pure joy for the glory laid before us – for Christ is in you, the assurance of glory. He is before us, Let us follow him.