He Means what He Says

 

My text today comes from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians at Colossae. Here are the first ten verses from chapter one:

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God . . . 

 

Let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of the title Paul uses of himself: He calls himself an apostle. The word, to remind us all, means to be sent by someone in authority with the authority of the sender.  The social, religious, or academic credentials of the apostle are totally beside the point when God Himself does the sending. 

 

Of the twelve apostles of Christ, Peter, James, Andrew, and John were fishermen. Matthew was a hated tax collector. We do not know for certain the occupations of the other seven apostles, but it is likely they all were common laborers. Paul, of course, was the only exception. Called as an apostle after his experience on the Damacus road, we know he was well-respected among his peers as a religious scholar. I think it is worthy of note – especially to those of us who might feel some tendency toward pomposity about our own credentials, whether they be of academia, or wealth, popularity, birth, or whatever – I think it is of note what Paul said this about his ‘credentials’:

 

“If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more; circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. (Philippians 3:4b-9)

 

And because he was sent by God, we in the 21^st century also ought to pay close attention to what he says because his words are not those of a Doctor of Theology, or even a so-called Church Father, or esteemed high-ranking church leaders of the past or present. We are obligated to God to read this letter – its encouragement, its exhortation, its challenge, its warnings – as we must regard all God’s commands and instructions from one end of the Bible to the other.

 

And if he was an apostle to those at Colossae, then yes, he is an apostle to us at Ashwood Meadows.

 

At the very outset of his letter, Paul addresses the intended recipients as ‘saints and faithful brethren in Christ.” This point is also important AND it is instructive for us at Ashwood. We know from the rest of his letter – and we will look at that a bit more closely in follow-on messages – we know these men and women in Colossae were NOT ‘saints’ as we might think of what it means to be one. They had their share of human frailties.

 

For example, listen to this section of the letter from chapter three: “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices . . . (Chapter 3:5-9)

 

See?  They struggled with sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, malice, lying, and so forth.  I am reminded of Paul’s similar words to the saints (as he called them) in Corinth. The city was known throughout the Roman world as wicked and sexually immoral, and it seems from Paul’s two letters to that church, a number of those in their congregation were still acting like their godless neighbors. Yet, he wrote in his introduction to his first letter: To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .. (1 Corinthians 1:2)

 

It was not that they were saints because they had no sin. Paul called them saints because they’d been justified by their faith in Christ’s atonement. Their ‘sainthood’ was not based on what THEY did, but only on the basis of what GOD did for them.

 

This is not an insignificant point of theology. When Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 8:1), the word ‘justified’ – as we have noted in past sermons – means to have been declared by God as righteous.

 

Application? If you belong to God through your faith in Christ, you can consider yourself what God considers you: Justified. Righteous. A Saint.

Now we ought to ACT the part.

 

Paul then continues his letter to the Christians at Colossae: “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel.”

 

You and I are not Christians in a vacuum. We believe in Jesus, we learned of Jesus through the words, teaching and sacrifice of others.  Likewise, others hear of Jesus through our words and teaching and sacrifice.

 

That’s how the gospel message has spread since the Great Commission Jesus left with us in the last verses of Matthew’s gospel: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 

And note Paul’s comment regarding the outcome of our faith and service for Christ: “Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.”

 

It is good and necessary that we often be reminded of our forever home awaiting the Christian in heaven. Listen to Revelation 21:1-5, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. . . . . and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

 

Heaven. A place where God makes all things new. The Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle assures us an eternity without pain or sorrow or disease or death, or loss, or loneliness.  That is only part of the hope laid up for us in heaven through the work of God Himself. I say it is only part of the hope because, again, as Scripture tells us: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”  (1 Corinthians 2:9)

 

The Holy Spirit continues through His apostle in verse 9:  For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

What is God’s will that Paul prays we will have knowledge of? The Scriptures from one end to the other detail God’s will for us. For example:  1 Thessalonians 4:3, 7 - “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality . . . For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.”

 

What is sanctification? That we walk in holiness of mind, body, and action. That we purposely and intentionally separate ourselves from all that can lead us into temptation and sin.

Paul also asked God to give the Colossians spiritual wisdom and understanding. And what is wisdom? Here is Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” And Job 28:28  “‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

What constitutes a godly understanding? The text tells us: Departing from evil is understanding. And no one needs a Ph. D to know what is evil. Paul gives us a list of examples in his second letter to Timothy: “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of  good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.” (2 Timothy 3:2-6).

Have you watched the news lately? Sexual perversion, murders, riots, thefts, political and religious corruption. The list today is nearly endless. And it seems to me that only those who understand the signs of the times in which we live know that we are living in a time prophesied by the prophets. Listen to Isaiah 5:20-21 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!”

It ought to be self-evident; The Christian is not to live like the non-believers, and the godless, and the superficial religious pew-sitters. Rather, as Paul continues in verse 10 of this first chapter, we are responsible to God to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Indeed, Scripture makes it clear from one end of the Book to the other, the entire purpose of gaining wisdom and understanding is to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him, to bear fruit for Him, and increase further in the knowledge of God. We are responsible to God – and may He help us to do so with increasing success – to walk in a such a way as to please Him. Listen to the psalmist:

Psalm 1:1-3 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.” He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither.”

What kind of fruit do you want to bear for the Lord?  The New Testament talks of ‘fruit’ in context of drawing men and women, boys and girls toward His glorious salvation; It consists of sharing with them the wonderful news of forgiveness of all past sins, that they can be called a child of God, that He will rescue them from the power of Satan, the domain of darkness, and receive the gift of eternal life.

Don’t you want to hear God say to you after your death, “Well done, good and faithful servant; Enter into the joy of your Lord”? (Matthew 25:23.)

I will continue this series of messages through the book of Colossians over the next several weeks, but in conclusion of today’s message, let’s review quickly what the Holy Spirit, in the beginning verses of St. Paul’s letter to the Christians in the city of Colossae – and to us here at Ashwood – the Holy Spirit sets out to encourage every Christian to do several important things:

1. Regard ourselves as saints whom He has purposely set apart for His work – whatever that work might be for us at this stage of our lives.

2. Because He considers us ‘saints,’ we should strive every day to walk in a manner worthy as saintly followers of Jesus Christ – putting aside malice and gossip and greed and envy and immorality, and all other sins that want to cling to us.

3. We should make it our practice to grow in spiritual wisdom and understanding of God – through the reading of and reflecting on His word, and through prayer – and for Catholics among us, through the reverent reception of the Sacraments.

4. Finally for today’s message, we should seek opportunities from the Holy Spirit to share with others the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

God promises all who strive toward sanctification, who seek to be separate from the ungodly influences of the various media and from those who scoff at the very idea that God will judge the living and the dead – He promises even the elderly among His people: (Psalm 92:14-15) “They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

That’s His promise. And He always says what He means and He means what He says.