Our Path of Sin -- Colossians 3: 7

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When talking about sin, it is quite easy to put ourselves in a category that is different than the lost. We can see a list of sins in the Bible, like the one we looked at a few days ago in Colossians 3:5, and disassociate ourselves from the likes of those who are still committing such sins every day.  When we begin to process that "the wrath of God" will one day be fully displayed because of the sins and the sinners that practice such things, it is easy for us to sit on our spiritual high horses.  It seems that God knew that we might respond that way, and He used Paul to speak directly to us. lest we fall to the sin of self-elevation.  This is what our Bible verse says today:

"In these you too once walked, when you were living in them."

There it is . . . we too once walked in the kinds of sins that will eventually cause God to avenge Himself with His wrath.  We are not off the hook.  We must now have a special kind of patience and compassion upon those who are still walking that way.  The kind of patience and compassion that God had for us when we were the ones who were stumbling on the path of sin. 

This is also important for us to consider because we are to be dying to our self and the sins that we commit.  To put to death all of our sins and idols is to be able to honestly say that we once walked in  them.  If we are not putting them completely to death, then they are still apart of our journey, a part that God clearly wants us to remove.

Who I once was and what I once did can no longer be a part of my walk of obedience, for my works were all about disobedience.  I was a sinner dead in my trespasses.  If I am now raised with Christ and truly focused on Him, if I am crucifying my flesh in order to live in the Spirit, then there is no sin that I am free to live in.  They are dead to me, and I am dead to them.

What sins are you currently still trying to live in while trusting in the blood of Jesus?  These are the very sins that belong in the "I-once-walked-in-them" category, where all sin should be.  It is time for the church to get off its SIN PATH and on to the PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The Wrath of God (Do I have your attention now?)

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God's wrath . . . it's not a topic that believers talk about much, or even want to  think about.  Depending on which theology you have on the Rapture, you might think that it is not something that you will have to deal with.  Yet our passage of Scripture today forces the idea of God's wrath in front of our eyes, and should cause us to give it some thought today.

"On account of these things the wrath of God is coming."       Colossians 3:6

On account of what things?  In order to correctly dissect this verse, we have to look back at the previous verse, which says, 

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

Our fleshly and earthly sins are the "these things" spoken of in today's verse. It is because of these sin that the wrath of God is coming.  His wrath will be displayed particularly in the last three and a half years of tribulation, and ultimately after the Millennial Reign of Christ on earth. At this point, the earth as we know it will be destroyed forever, and God will usher in a new heaven and earth for those who have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ and have experienced the necessary heart conversion.

This heart conversion takes place when the believer in Christ surrenders his whole being to the Lordship of Christ.  When we surrender in this way, Christ is then able to live out His life through us by the power of the Spirit within us.  It is only by the Holy Spirit that we will be able to put to death all that is earthly in us.  It is not something that we can simply "will ourselves" to do.  It is God's work to do within us, completing what He has begun in us.  The work is simply this, to put to death every form of idolatry in us.  Every single place in our heart that elevates something other than God to the throne of our life is an idol. If you depend on it without thinking, rather than on God, it is an idol.  It you have to have it or do it (because that's just the way you are made), its an idol.  If it is repetitive and habitual sin, it is an idol.  If it is an attitude (like self-reliance and dependence, prejudice, worry, etc.), it is a sin.  It 

The Spirit's job is to topple every form of idolatry that we practice.  It matters not if it is a physical idol (like a food addiction), a financial idol (like greed), an emotional idol (like anger), or a mental idol (like worrying and fretting).  It matters not whether the people around you can see it or not; it is an idol.  

Now, back to today's verse.  It is on account of the endless idols that are worshiped on earth, by unbelievers and believers alike, that God's wrath is coming.  How very important it is then for all believers to be about the business of truly surrendering our idols to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Why should we continue in our idolatry when we are to be dead to sin and alive in Christ.  How can we continue in our idolatry knowing that our idolatrous sins are the very same sins of unbelievers.  Will we continue to sin with the same sins that will eventually bring to the earth God's full wrath?  God is clearly calling His church to clean house!

Putting Your Sin To Death --The Short List (Col. 3: 5b)

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In the first 5 verses of Colossians 3 we have learned these 5 principles:

1.  We have been raised with Christ and must now begin to seek what is above. (Col. 3:1)

2.  That means we must stop living for earthly pleasures.  (Col. 3: 2)

3.  All believers are now considered dead to themselves.  (Col. 3: 3)

4.  Christ now has the right to live His life through us.  (Col. 3: 4)

5.  All that is "earthly" in us must be put to death.   (Col. 3: 5a)

My guess is that you believe all of these statements to be true.  God has said it, so it must be true, right?  But we must take it beyond what we know to be true in theory, to the place where it is true in our response to God.  Our actions must align with the truth.  That is why He gave us the second part of Colossians 3: 5.  God gets very specific now with us.  We are to put to death what is earthly in us.  Then He gives us a specific list by which we are to examine our own lives.  Theory should become highly personal in this part of the verse as you read through this short list of sins.

"Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry."

Ouch!!!

I have to say, though, at first blush, it is so easy to read each one slowly and tell yourself that "That is not me."  But if you wait just a moment, the Holy Spirit will likely begin to convict you in one of these areas, if not all of them.  That is where my "ouch" came from. 

You see, you don't have to be sleeping around to be sexually immoral.  A inappropriate sexual thought is all it take to make you guilty of the sin.  And if you have had one of those kinds of thoughts, you are now guilty of impurity as well.

Then if you consider what things you are passionate about, you might discover with the Spirit's help that you are imbalanced in your passion, so it has become sin in your life.  If you have let that passion develop a deep root in you, then you are likely have to crossed a line without even knowing it into desire that is no longer pure, but evil.

Now, maybe you still can't relate, and the Spirit is convicting you of nothing so far.  Praise God for that!  You may be the rare one that is not guilty of the first four.  But don't break your arm patting yourself on the back just yet, for the fifth sin will convict us all.

We don't often think of coveting something as being idolatry.  We tend to think it is only wanting what someone else has, stemming from our own jealousy.  But biblically speaking, covetousness is far more than desiring someone else's stuff.  Covetousness has a much deeper root than that.  It is the act of wanting something instead of what you have.  In this case of sin, it is wanting something more than you want God.  That is why is is referred to as idolatry.  It is the sin of having something that is more important to you than God.  And if you think about it, all of the 5 sins listed could be considered idolatry.

In the course of any ordinary day there are idols in my life that choose above God.  In this, I break the first commandment of God which states I should have no other gods other than God.  I can think of several idols that are currently active in my life.   Maybe you struggle with the same thing.

No matter which of these 5 sins you commit, (and of course this is not the complete list!), Paul is telling you in Colossians 3: 5 that they are earthly, and they are to have no part of you. They are to be put to death.  They are to be mortified.  Your life and mine is hidden in the holiness of Christ, so we must put to death anything that will tarnish His holiness.  It is a command:  "Put to death what is earthly in you."

 

Put To Death what is earthly in you! Really? -- Colossians 3:5

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Death . . . it is not a topic that we like to talk about much.  It ranks right up there with surrender and obedience when it comes to living as a believer and convert of Jesus Christ.

Yet, it is impossible to walk in the Light and by the Spirit without a death in us, not a physical death, but a death of our flesh.  That is what makes the topic so very unpopular in the western church. Those who claim to love the Lord struggle with the thought of crucifying their passions, lusts, idols, and sins.  We tend to justify our sins under the guise of, "Well, I am just made that way."  And if that is your excuse, I bet you have one, just like I do.

             " PUT TO DEATH what is earthly in you."

As I came to this verse (and a few that follow it), I found the very flesh that I am to be crucifying rising up inside of  me.  You see, I struggle a bit with anyone telling me what I have to do. Maybe you experience the same struggle.  If so, Colossians 3:5 will likely hit you over the head, especially as you realize, as I did, that knowing that we are to do something does not equal the actual doing of it.  This verse requires strong, immediate, and continual action. This one is our responsibility in Christ.

There you have it!  Everything that comes from the inside of you that is worldly (earthly), must be put to death.  It isn't a suggestion; it is a command!

Thinking back to verse 3, I have to ask myself.a couple of questions  You should, too.

• If I have died and am hidden with Christ in God, then why am I working so hard to keep my flesh alive? 

• Can I be 'positionally' hidden in Christ, and still have sins that are clearly not hidden?

• What is preventing me from surrendering my earthly (and very fleshly) sins, and walking in obedience to what the Word commands me to do or not do?

• Why have I not reacted more diligently to the truth that what is of this world in me is NOT of Christ?

It is my responsibility, given to me by God Himself, to put do death my very flesh . . . every bit of it.  That includes some very specific sins (that will be included in my next blog), but it really includes every sin that can be found in me.  I am not walking in obedience if I do not take full vengeance on my every sin, idol, evil thought, passion and lust, personal goal, desire, dream, attitude . . . well, you get the picture!  To not hide them in the shadow of Christ and His every desire for me is to leave them active.  When they are active in me, they expose the true measure of my love for Christ, and it is not a favorable review.

The one who desires to be totally focused on what is above, not on what is earthly, will begin to take up his own cross of earthly and fleshly crucifixion, and walk after the Savior.  This one will discover what I am beginning to understand:  My part is to surrender; the Holy Spirit in me will live the Life of Christ through me as I do so.  But I must surrender in order to climb onto the cross of my own crucifixion.  When I do, the Spirit will lead me to the death of myself in every area where I am prone to stumble.

What sins, lusts, idols, and attitudes need to be put to death in you?  

 

 

Appearing With Christ -- Colossians 3:4

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In order to fully understand the meaning of today's verse from Colossians 3, we have to look back at the first three verses.  Here are the first three, followed by today's text.

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."   (Colossians 3: 1-4)

To take that last verse out of context, only looking at what it says without the previous verses, would surely keep us from discovering the reality behind its truth.  Let's see what we must do to actually appear with Him in His second coming.

When Jesus returns to earth in His 2nd Advent, the church will be returning with Him.  The church is biblically defined as the Body of Christ, or in other words, those who have been redeemed in the Church Age, from the Day of Pentecost to the Rapture.  The raptured Church, then,  is the body of Christ that will be raised up from the earth and into heaven at the end of the Church Age.  Those who are true believers who die before the Rapture will already be raised up. Understanding this part of the timeline found in the word of God will help us to better understand what Paul is writing about in Colossians 3.

Paul is telling the Church (whom have not yet died or  been raised in the Rapture) that if we are truly a part of the body of Christ, we have a responsibility to be seeking the heavenly things while we are on earth.  Remember, your focus must be on what is important to God, not on the things of this earth.  

In order for you to set your mind and your eyes on the truly important things, you will, by necessity, have to begin to die to yourself.  Your life must become less and less important, and the life of Christ, who dwells within you in the form of the Holy Spirit, must be come the only life that matters.  This is the criteria for being raised.  Those who live life in a state of crucified flesh will, by definition, be allowing the Spirit to live in us and be released out of us.

When you are dead to yourself,  your "life"  becomes all wrapped up in Christ.  This is the desired outcome:  that we are truly hidden in Him and only His desires are what come forth from us.  The believer who lives in such a way will not only be in heaven when they die or are raptured, but they will also be the ones who return with Christ in His glory!  (See Rev. 19:14)

Those who learn to live life hidden in Christ, those who have willingly surrendered their lives so that Christ is the One alive in them, these are the ones who will ride white horses with Christ in His 2nd Coming IN GLORY!  

Does your lifestyle line up with this picture of one who is "living dead?"  Are you seeking the things that are above and setting your minds on them?  Have you died to yourself so that you can be hidden in Christ?  Is He truly all of your life?  The ones who do these things are the ones who will appear with Him when He appears.

Today, contemplate the state of your life, and consider your standing before God.  I know I am.