Living the New Life Colossians 3:1-17 (English Standard Version)

I decided today to make my sermons available on a blog, enjoy!

 ¹ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 ⁵ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ¹¹Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

 ¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Introduction:

Ø Did you know that in order to live a new life you need to change out of your old clothes?

Ø You do need to change your old clothes to live a new life.

Ø As many of you know, I was raised on a dairy farm. 

Ø One of the things I learned growing up is that there are many situations in which one may wear smelly barn clothes and many situations that one may not.

Ø One could wear smelly barn clothes to buy feed, to the hardware store, or even the grocery store, if you washed your boots, but one did not wear one’s smelly barn clothes to church or to a special event.

Ø When my father began his career in Real Estate, all of the old barn clothes had to go.

Ø Some time ago while I did interim work, pulpit supply and served as a deacon, I also worked as a labourer and would be apprentice to my father-in-law who is a journeyman carpenter.

Ø The clothes I wore for construction were quite often grimy from dirt, sawdust, and sweat from a day’s work.

Ø I often wiped the caulking from my fingers on my pants after sealing under a door, window, or around new interior trim work.

Ø Frequently, I had to do some painting and if I got paint on my hands & didn’t have a rag nearby I could grab, I wiped my hand on my shirt or across my pants.

Ø Those clothes bore a lot of wear & tear, and have permanent stains.

Ø On weekends while I was out visiting as a part of interim pastoral work, or doing pulpit supply, I needed to wear different clothes.

Ø Today, I rarely wear those old clothes.

Ø Why? Why did my father & I change our clothes?

Ø I am not a labourer or would be carpenter’s apprentice anymore.

Ø My dad is not a farmer anymore.

Ø I am not living that old life. I have a new life. I wear clothes that suit this life.

Ø Smelly barn clothes do not suit Real Estate any more than badly stained & worn clothes suit pastoral work, usually.

Ø Many times our lives require that we change our wardrobe.

Ø Pregnancy requires a changed wardrobe.

Ø Transitioning from education into the workforce usually requires a new wardrobe.

Ø If you joined the Canadian Armed Forces you’d receive a new wardrobe since the military requires all its members who are on duty to have a uniform wardrobe.

Ø The point is that we dress in ways that are appropriate to our life circumstances or situations.

Ø In our passage for today, the apostle Paul uses changing clothing as a metaphor for the Christian life.

Ø Just as we wouldn’t wear smelly barn clothes to Sunday Service growing up, we need to put off the old self and put on the new.

Ø When one becomes a Christian, we must understand the old life we used to live no longer suits us. 

Ø When we receive Christ as Saviour and Lord, God begins a new life in us.

Ø Transition: The former way of life we used to live is worn, torn, stain, and smelly like old clothes that are not acceptable for a new life.

Exposition:

Ø Paul says our life has a new focus.

Ø  ¹ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Ø Our new focus is Christ. Our minds are to focus on him because we are dead to this life. 

Ø In fact, Paul implies that God looks at us as though we died with Christ in his crucifixion.  That’s why he wrote, “For you have died,” past tense.

Ø People who are dead to this life have no need to worry about the cares of this life.

Ø We, who are dead to this life, have a new life that is hidden with Christ in God and when Jesus comes back his glory will also be our glory.

Ø Christ is our new focus in life.

Ø But what about the old life? What do we do with it? How do we deal with it?

Ø Well, we have to invest time, energy, and resources to replace a wardrobe, don’t we?

Ø It can be expensive to replace a wardrobe not merely in the money we spend, but in the time and energy it takes trying things on and putting together outfits, and coordinating outfits across your wardrobe.

Ø Take time to consult with others about clothing purchases (And men remember to check with your wife or, if you’re not married, a female friend for coordinating your wardrobe).

Ø The costs are high, but the long term rewards outweigh our short term sacrifices.

Ø A well put together wardrobe sends a message to people.  When you dress, you’re not merely dressing for yourself, you are dressing for everyone who will see you.

Ø Paul tells us these things are equally true of our Christian character.

Ø ⁵ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ¹¹Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Ø We need to invest time, energy, and even resources into putting to death what is earthly in ourselves.

Ø We need to consult others as we work at putting away our sinful habits and attitudes.

Ø Why?

Ø We can’t be like the Lone Ranger and wear a mask all the time to cover up our identities.

Ø We cannot hide who we really are for long. Our character will present itself to others.

Ø We sort through our wardrobes to figure out what to keep and what to give away, what to replace, and what to trash.

Ø We also need to sort through our habits and attitudes because they display our character to others.

Ø Paul instructed his readers to put off two types of sin that were specific to the Colossian area: sexual sin and spoken sin.

Ø These two types of sin rank among the most insidious and sinister.

Ø Sex inside marriage is a beautiful gift of God. Sex outside the union of one man and one woman for life is lustful perversion.

Ø Words spoken in kindness, patience, and compassion build up. Words spoken in anger, wrath, malice, and slander tear down.

Ø If we want to change our lives, then we must learn to avoid them at all costs.

Ø Paul says, because God’s wrath is coming, the Christian must strip off the old self and put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator (verse10).

Ø Paul put it differently elsewhere.  To the Romans he wrote, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:2, ESV).

Ø Paul is saying that since we are no longer of this world we ought to act differently because we are learning to think differently.

Ø When we think differently, we will have hearts that respond differently, hearts that are filled with love.

Ø Just as Paul wrote, ¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Ø Paul mentions five coordinating ideals that are part of the wardrobe of the new life: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Ø These qualities prove outwardly and inwardly that we get it, that we have experienced God’s forgiveness and love.

Ø Let’s look at five questions we can use to evaluate where we are with putting on the new self.

Ø Compassion: Am I genuinely sensitive to the needs of those around me?

Ø Kindness: Do I act charitably by responding generously to the needs of others?

Ø Humility: Do I understand where I stand before God and act accordingly?

Ø Meekness: Am I gentle and considerate of others for their sake and for the sake of the kingdom of God?

Ø Patience: Do I bear with, put up with, and forgive those who irritate me or who habitually offend me rather than angrily & hastily retaliating?

Ø Love makes these new clothes fit.  Love is tailored to our every need.  Putting on love is the number one priority.

Ø AGAPE love is the central message of the NT: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…

Ø It is the kind of love which Paul referred to in his first letter to the Church of Corinth as unfailing and as greatest among the three ideals: faith, hope, and love.

Ø  In short what Paul teaches in this passage is: To live the new life, change your old clothes and get dressed in love’s clothes.

Ø How will we know if we’re putting on love each day?

Ø As Paul wrote: ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Ø How will we know if we’re putting on love each day?

Ø We’ll know because we will have Christ’s peace among us.

Ø We’ll know because our lives will be characterised by thankfulness.

Ø We’ll know because we will use our voices to build each other up in word and in song.

Ø We’ll know because everything we do & say will be for Jesus sake with thanksgiving to God the Father.

Ø Since Christ is our new focus in life, the former way of life we used to live is worn, torn, stain, and smelly like old clothes that are not acceptable for a new life.

Ø To live the new life, change your old clothes and get dressed in love’s clothes.