Colossians 09: Put on the New Self

Scripture Text: Colossians 3:5-11

Introductory Comments

For the next two weeks in Colossians, Paul is going to paint a couple of pictures for us. The first picture, if you were to see it in a museum, would consist of two sections. We can imagine that Paul might entitle this painting, “The Old Life as Adam.” Each section of the painting shows us an image the same sinful human being from two angles.

The second painting could be entitled, “The New Life in Christ.” In this second painting, Paul will show us the appearance of the person who is born again. The two paintings, as we will see, stand in stark contrast with one another. The subject for this week’s sermon is the first painting. We’ll talk about the second painting next Sunday.

The First Painting – The Old Life as Adam

The first painting shows us the old, dead, worldly life of an unsaved, sin-enslaved human being. The painting shows us the cause of death, which is sin. Paul commands those in Colossae, who have known the mercy of Christ and are empowered by the Holy Spirit, to cast off the trappings of this old life of sin and death.

[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.

This list of five items is the first section of the first painting. The first four items in this list of sinful vices are all related to sexual behavior. God’s Word has much to say about human sexuality and God-honoring sexual relationships, despite what many in the culture and the church would prefer. I’ll touch on each of these briefly:

Sexual immorality – This Greek term Paul uses here refers to almost all sexual sin apart from that ordained by God at the creation between one man and one woman united in marriage. Included under this term are unchastity, fornication, prostitution, relations with those who are too close in the family tree, et cetera. Paul makes it clear that those who engage in these behaviors have broken away from God.

Impurity – The term here is frequently paired with the previous term in the bible and in extrabiblical literature. This term refers to someone whose behavior is “determined by his commitment to his natural lusts.”¹. These natural lusts are the result of living in the worldly ways of sin.

Passion – This word was commonly used by Paul to describe a “shameful passion which leads to sexual excess” and so is included in the list of things to be abandoned by faithful Christians.

Evil Desire – Not all desires are evil. But some are. Some desires take over the person who is still rooted in the ways of the world and can consume them. When I see this term here, I think of stalkers, for example, who are consumed with their desire for someone. This kind of desire represents a carnal lust which separates a person from God.

Covetousness, which is idolatry: The fifth and last item of this first list gets additional emphasis because Paul calls this covetousness “idolatry.” This is “the insatiable desire to lay hands on material things.”². Because this covetousness is idolatry, it means that the thing, rather than God, becomes the object of worship. In the bible, idolatry is presented as a most grievous sin. Almost all other sins in the bible are inevitably the product of covetousness which is idolatry. It is covetousness that creates the unhealthy objectification of another human being in order to pursue sexual pleasure at all costs. It is covetousness which is at the source of our greed, our desire for more and more material and monetary goods. It is the seed which when it takes root in the heart leads increasingly us to increasing sinful outward expressions of sin. Covetousness leads to evil desires leading to sinful passions which lead to impure thoughts which ultimately lead to sexual immorality. What this first list, this first panel of the painting, shows us is how the sinful heart enslaves the sinner.

Paul says that it is on account of these things that the wrath of God is coming. God’s anger will be poured out on those who are idolaters in the heart and whose idolatries play out in the bedroom. Among other things, this text teaches us that God indeed knows everything that goes on with us. He knows the conduct of our hearts and he knows that corrupts our desires and our thoughts and he knows how that is lived out in our “personal” lives.

Paul also reminds the Colossians and us, somewhat uncomfortably: “Hey folks, you once walked this way. This is how you used to live. This is what life was like before Christ. But you’ve received Christ now. You’ve been transferred into his kingdom and have been raised with him into a new life which increasingly reflects Jesus’ life. Therefore, all these things I’ve just listed? They need to die, and they need to die right now if you have received Christ. If they haven’t died, then you are still in your sin and subject to God’s justified wrath.”

Think about where we live as a culture right now. Think of some of the images you see on the television or in movies or hear in music. Is this world not fraught with temptation for the Christian? Are we not always under assault to make an idol our of sexual pleasure? We must always take care when we put images in front of our eyes or when piping songs into our ears. And we should be especially on guard for the young people in our communities who are pelted by these things and are subject to even greater temptations.

All of these vices are part and parcel of the old life as a member of Adam’s fallen people, who are by nature subject to God’s justified wrath and anger for sin. Therefore, Paul says, Christians who have been saved must throw these things out of their lives because they are now Holy People in Christ, empowered by the forgiveness of Christ.

Paul reminds the Colossians, and us, that we all walked in these ways before our conversion. Think back to your own conversion. Do you not remember how your mind used to function? I can tell you most people do remember. For those who have not confessed and received forgiveness, the usual result of theses memories is a deep, deep shame. It is a shame borne out of the knowledge that what was done was contrary to the will of the creator. The shame is unresolved because the guilt remains. And the reason the guilt remains is that there has been no confession of sin and a pleading to God for the forgiveness granted by Christ. The reason we won’t confess is because our hearts our hardened. There are, perhaps, other vices besides these to for which we still find the illusion of joy. We are wary of letting them go, because we are convinced that the joy of following Christ could never exceed that of the joy of our sin. Think back over your life, dear ones. Reflect on your life now. Are there activities you are engaging in which cause you feelings of guilt? There is a reason for that. R.C. Sproul someplace once said that the reason a person feels guilty is because they actually are guilty. Everyone is born guilty. Not everyone seeks forgiveness. If you have not confessed your sin, will you not do so now, and receive the full and free pardon offered by Christ. He died to free you from guilt so that you can live into holiness in total peace and joy.

More Old-Self Tattered Garments

Paul continues:

[8] But 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 [10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Here is another perspective of the old self rooted in the sin of Adam. What is interesting about this list is how the first items, anger, wrath, malice, lead to the last two items – slandering others and using obscene language and the utterance of lies. The first list moved from the outside to the heart, and this list moves the opposite way. Imagine accidentally slamming your thumb with a hammer. Doesn’t the resulting anger and wrath produce obscene talk?

Anger and wrath are the tough ones on this list, I think, because it is extraordinary easy to get angry. But we must be careful. Not all forms of anger are sinful. For example, there is an anger which is rooted in witnessing things like gross injustice. In Ephesians 4:26, Paul writes, “[26] Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27] and give no opportunity to the devil.” The teaching implication is this: Christians can get angry about things, but the anger ought not to last. The anger that Paul is writing to the Colossians about is the kind of anger which is rooted in the hatred of something or someone else, and which festers and over time grows over time. How often are you angry with circumstances or with other people? Does it last? Unresolved anger has a corrosive, divisive, isolating, effect. Resolve your anger, and if you need help resolving it, get it. Don’t let anger consume you.

Malice here probably means bad things we do to one another. This is troublemaking for the sake of inconveniencing or harming others. The word is placed next to slander. Slander defames someone else, and when the object of defamation is God, it becomes blasphemy. Christians are commanded to “speak evil of no one.” Small towns like Jackson are easily filled with these things, and greater harm usually results because there isn’t as much anonymity in a small town.

Paul concludes by telling Christians do not lie about anything to each other. Don’t make blithe promises you cannot or will not keep.

In this first painting presenting theses two views of the old, Adam-like life, you can imagine a central figure, representing an unsaved human, burdened by the tattered clothing of the old life, emblazoned with the vices and sins Paul has been listing out. The pictures aren’t very pretty, are they? And yet, Paul tells the Colossians, and us, that everyone is guilty of these things prior to our salvation.

Throw Off the Cursed Garments and Receive the Pure Clothing of Christ

Sara and I have kind of a recurring fun argument about my t-shirts. She monitors the condition of the necklines very closely, because they eventually wear out and become frayed. Inevitably, the request comes to throw out the tattered t-shirt. I usually protest a hasty trashing. Why is that, do you suppose? Well, I think it might be the same reason I like keeping blue jeans past their expiration date - they are comfortable.

Sin can be comfortable to us because it’s the way we’ve always lived. T-shirts are one thing, but sin is quite another. As Christians who are saved by the precious blood of Jesus, we are remade into holy people who need the new clothes that can only be granted by God. Those clothes are Christ. In Romans 3:14 Paul instructs his readers, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” In the Old Testament, a constant refrain is to be clothed with righteousness. Psalm 132:9 reads, “Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.”

That’s what Paul means when he says, “[9] Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices [10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” He uses the “put off” and “put on” phrase as one would with clothing. He’s reminding the Colossians, and us, that because you are in Christ and have been forgiven of all the sins represented on the two panels of this painting, you need to throw off the tattered garments, burn them up, and put on the new garment which is the righteousness of Jesus. Just as I should listen to my wife and toss the old, frayed, t-shirts, Christians are to immediately throw of any vestiges of sin which do not reflect the righteousness they have already been granted by being saved by God through Jesus Christ.

How about you? Are there some sins still clinging to you that need to be thrown off? Don’t hesitate! Throw them out by repenting, confessing, and living more fully into the news clothes of righteousness that you’ve already received in Christ’s death and resurrection.

Next week, we’ll look at the second painting, the one that describes how the “chosen one,” the elect of God ought to live, clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Amen.

¹O'Brien, Peter Thomas. Colossians, Philemon. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1982. 182.
²Ibid.

Given at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Minnesota
May 22, 2011
Fifth Sunday in Eastertide
Copyright © 2011 by Christopher Donald Drew

QOTD - The Wrath and Love of God

The wrath of God is not to be set in sharp contrast with the love and mercy of God. It is so often asserted that if God is truly love then he cannot be angry. But wrath and love are not mutually exclusive. In the NT as well as the Old, in Jesus as in the prophets and apostles the proclamation of God's mercy is accompanied by the preaching of his wrath. A holy God does not stand idly by when men act unrighteously, transgress the law, show disdain to him as their creator or spurn his love and mercy. He acts in a righteous manner punishing sin in the present and especially on the final day. Yet God also acquits the guilty, and only the person who understands something of the greatness of his wrath will be mastered by the greatness of his mercy. The converse is also true: only he who has experienced the greatness of God's mercy can understand something of how great that wrath must be.

-- Peter T. O'Brien, Colossians, 185, quoting Stählin's TDNT entry on the wrath of God.

Colossians 08: Seek the Things Above, Where Christ Is

Scripture Text: Colossians 3:1-4

Introductory Comments

I come before you this morning feeling a bit like I have a target painted on my chest. Here is what has been happening. Things began with a combination of allergies and a small cold while on vacation with Sara and Daniel in Louisville. We had a wonderful time with my sister, her husband, and her kids, but I was personally dogged by this combo-punch set of ailments the whole week. When we returned home this past Tuesday, we arrived at our car in the Sioux Falls Airport parking facility, tired, dirty, and cranky, wanting nothing more than to get home and sleep in our own beds.. I used the remote keyless entry to open the car doors. Nothing happen. I pushed every button on the remote. Nada. I manually used the key the open the driver’s door, something I hadn’t had to do since we bought the car. I put the key in the ignition, turned it, and got absolutely nothing.

How many of you have had something like that happen to you? Isn’t when you’re usually tired and just want to get home, or when you’re in a hurry and need to get going, that something like this happens?

That’s not all. More punches came along since Tuesday, including (1) a huge decision by a group of people, including many I know personally and love, with which I totally disagree, (2) learning of broken relationships and hurt people in our community and feeling powerless and inadequate to help, (3) on Thursday, the car, the one with the formerly dead battery, was damaged as a result of a driver making an illegal turn in front of Sara as she was driving home from Sioux Falls, causing worry about Sara and our unborn child (Sara is okay, as is our unborn little one, praise God), and then (4) I received some excellent news that under normal circumstances I would celebrate without pause, but the celebration was marred by feelings of envy because the good news didn’t include me.

I’m telling you these things not because I desire you to feel sorry for me. On the contrary, there has been much blessing which has accompanied these combo-punches, including a very helpful parking lot attendant who jump-started our car, an auto-insurance company appears to be acting as our vigorous advocate (we’ll see what the renewal premium looks like), I’ve received encouragements and help from friends similarly aggrieved by the decision I mentioned earlier, and there has been the appearance of regenerate, born-again life in Christ amid broken relationships pain. The presence of God and his blessings have been clearly discernable.

Even so, punches can leave bruises, and that’s where I am now, as I prepare to preach on the first four verses of Colossians 3. They read:

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.

In the verses that precede this text, Paul has told the Colossians that, having received the gospel, they are now new people in Christ. The Colossians have been qualified by God to “share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:12-13).

Everything the Colossians have, everything they are, is as a result of what Christ has done for them by his death on the cross. I testify to you today that if you are in Christ, everything you have and everything you are, is also the result of the forgiveness you have received because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Beloved brothers and sisters, it cannot be said enough – If you have received Christ and living in Him and for Him, you will not bear any condemnation whatsoever for any of your sins. It matters not how many sins or the magnitude of the sins, if you have faith in Jesus you need never fear any condemnation.

Paul has made also made it clear to the Colossians, and to us, that there is nothing you can add to faith that will enhance what Christ has already accomplished. For the Christian who has received God’s gracious forgiveness and mercy, there is nothing left to fill up. You are already fulfilled by receiving Christ’s sacrificial love. That is why Paul decries the attempts by some false teachers in Colossae to persuade the Colossians that there were additional things they needed to do to achieve greater spiritual fulfillment and peace (Col. 2:16-23). Paul basically says these “additions” are rubbish. They are appealing, he writes, because “These indeed have the appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col. 2:23). Indeed, Paul has asserted that these extra-spiritual practices were really about pride and self-worship. The overriding message is that Christ is everything and the only thing necessary for life.

Set Your Mind on Things that Are Above, Where Christ Is

Christians are new beings in Christ. If you receive Christ has your Savior, the way you approach the world and it crises goes through a fundamental transformation. You discover that your mind will start thinking more and more about Christ and less and less about all other things.

That is why Paul says, in 3:1, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” The “if then” words at the beginning of the verse could also easily be translated as “since.” “Since” you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above. Paul is reminding the Colossians, and us, that because you have been transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, you will begin thinking increasingly about the things of Christ. [What do you find yourself thinking about, usually? Is your mind almost totally consumed by worldly concerns, and the only time you think about Christ is in church? The degree to which Christ is at the core of our mind is the degree to which we have matured as Christians. In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” All of our thoughts ought to be the thinking of Christ working in us.]

Christ alone is worthy of all of our attention and thinking. Paul therefore repeats, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” Dear citizen of the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, because you live in a new reality and servants of the great Lord and King, your allegiance must change. No longer are you preoccupied entirely by the things of the world, but you ought to be totally engaged with the things of Christ, your Lord. Life is not longer about what I want and what I can get. In the kingdom of Christ, life is about what Jesus has already done, and about living in obedience to his command to love Him and one another through acts of sacrificial service, by taking up our cross and following Jesus wherever he might lead us.

Focusing our minds and our thoughts on Christ can be very hard. In fact, based on how I started the sermon this week, I can tell you from personal experience that it is very hard. That’s one reason while we were created to be in a community with others believers. In Galatians, Paul writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Being a Christian is not what many people might call the good life. Until Christ returns, we live in his fallen world, and are constantly under assault by the idols and elemental spirits and principalities and powers who would have us thing about all other things except Jesus. We still contend with sin, with jealousy, anger, worry, fear, anxiety, disappointment, and suffering, don’t we? And yet, if we really are in Christ, we have a hope that produces a joy that cannot be defeated. The victor over sin and our accuser is Christ! If you are in Christ, no matter what the devil throws at you, you will share in His great victory and his beautiful glory.

In the midst of trials, temptations, or sorrows, look to Christ and there be comforted and uplifted, and receive peace. Set your minds on his glorious face. You need to know that this will take work, practice, and purposeful submission to Christ’s authority over you. When you are reborn into this new life, such focus doesn’t come naturally, but it can and will become, for those in Christ, a holy habit.

In the meantime, we strive forward in faith, living in a broken and hurt creation that is still in need of final redemption, which is still “groaning together in the pains of childbirth” (Rom. 8:22). Although we know our salvation is secure, it is not visibly apparent to the world, or even fully apparent to us. “For you have died,” Paul writes, “and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). We’re like the caterpillar in the cocoon, sitting in a stew, subject to the buffeting of the winds, our full glory not evident to anyone else in the world, and not even to ourselves. We still grow old, we get sick, we die. But the hope we have is founded on the fact that we are in Christ, and that we will ultimately share his glory.

One day, however, the glory we have in Christ will be revealed to the whole universe. Verse 4, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

The first part of that phrase is crucial. If you want the hope of eternal life with God, Christ must be your life. Notice that it does not say, “Christ must be the central focus of your life.” For those who are in Christ, Christ is the life. In Philippians 1:21, Paul says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” When you become a Christian, you are not your own person anymore. Instead, Christ takes residence in you by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what it means to be born again. The old life is dead and gone and a new life, the life of Christ, takes root within you. Jesus said as much when he declared to Thomas and the other disciples in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Writing to the Galatians, Paul says,

[20] I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Is this true for you this morning? Does Christ live within you? If not, I testify today that he is knocking at the door. He holds forth the promise of the forgiveness of every one of the sins that separate you from God.

We are all cocoon Christians. God is at work in us, and what he’s doing is not always going to evident to the world or even to you. But know this, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” What this means is that you will appear glorious, and that glory will be a magnification of the glory of the God who created you for that purpose.

As I reflect on the events of the week, I believe they are tests, tests of my heart, my soul, and of my faith. All of these tests are designed to produce sanctification in the believer. Writing to the Church, James 1:2 reads, “Count it all joy, brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Loved ones, reading these words from Paul, and writing the words of this sermon, actually gave me peace. And I hope they give you peace as well. And the reason for that peace is the knowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, that is purposes of redemption, will be completed in everyone who has received him by faith. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” The things of the earth decay and pass away, but Christ reigns forever. Amen.

Given at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Minnesota
May 15, 2011
Fourth Sunday in Eastertide
Copyright © 2011 by Christopher Donald Drew

A Biblical Example...

... of obedience to God's will, from Numbers 9:15-23 (ESV):

On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.

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Colossians 07: Let No One Disqualify You

Scripture Text: Colossians 2:16-23

Introduction

Today is the second Sunday in Easter, and it is important to remember that the Easter season continues this week. We live as a resurrection people, as men and women who believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead, and we acknowledge him as Lord of everything in the universe, including our own lives, how we use all of the resources God has given to us, including our time and our money. Everything flows from this reality that Jesus is the risen King.

When we last examined Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we saw how Paul has shown them, and us, that God had put our sin-debt to death by nailing it to the Cross of Christ (Col. 2:14). If you acknowledge Jesus as Lord by faith, then the totality of your sin-debt is wiped out. It doesn’t exist anymore. In putting sin to death, Jesus disarmed all of the demonic rulers and principalities who would love to use that sin-debt as an occasion to accuse you, in order cause you shame and guilt in an attempt to persuade you that you might not be forgiven. Instead, Paul tells the Colossians, and us, that Jesus has “disarmed the rules and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col. 2:15).

You would think that the stupendous payment God made for our sin through Jesus’ death on the Cross, followed by His vindication and victory of the resurrection, would be sufficient for everyone in the church who believes in Jesus by faith. How can you “achieve” any spiritual “fullness” greater than the full and complete pardon for sin granted graciously by a loving and merciful God? You can’t! Yet, beginning in the early church and continuing to this day, there are those for whom the idea of God’s gracious forgiveness is never enough. There has to be something more, some kind of ecstatic personal experience or insider knowledge of the divine that goes beyond the totally and complete victory Jesus won for us. And so there have been some, who usually appear in the church, who would employee “plausible arguments” (Col. 2:4) to persuade Christians into thinking there are ways to achieve spiritual fullness and enhanced spiritual knowledge apart from the fullness that is found only in Jesus, “in whom are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3).

The Text – No Judgment, No Disqualification for Those in Christ

This week, Paul uses language that gets to the crux of what was going on in Colossae. It’s impossible to know with certainty, based on this letter, the exact details of the false teaching, but the details aren’t important. What is important is that there is, in the church, a suggestion that the completed work of Christ isn’t sufficient for the Christians, and that “spiritual advancement” could take place apart from the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

When people appear in the church claiming to have a superior way of experiencing the fullness of Christ, we ought to be greatly suspicious. Such claims inevitably lead to unhelpful and even lethal divisions in the church. In Colossae, there were those who insisted that real spiritual fullness and advancement could only be achieved through the observance of certain rules and regulations, including engaging in spiritual practices of asceticism (self-denial).

Paul has just said that Jesus has “disarmed all the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him,” If Christ has won the victory of all demonic powers and has through His word granted forgiveness of sins, and if you, Colossian Christians, and you, Jackson Christians, believe this by faith, what more do you need? Do you need the approval of others who claim a great knowledge of spiritual techniques and refinements? To this Paul says, No!

[16] Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. [17] These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

One thing we can deduce from this is that it seems there were elements that were part of some kind of syncretism, a melding of religious systems, that a certain individual or individuals were trying to persuade the Colossians to follow. The allusions to festivals, new moons, and Sabbath seem to be a clearly Jewish in origin. And what Paul says about these is that they are “shadows” of the things to come.

The reason these “judgments” of others are invalid is that the old order has given way to a new kingdom reality in Christ. So, for example, what a person eats or drinks is not longer of concern. Romans 14:17, Paul states:

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

What Paul is saying here is that righteousness comes from Christ and by faith in Him alone. And when by faith you know that the perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed to you, you can have peace and joy because you know that you will not ultimately be condemned in the judgment to come. The suggestion by some false teachers that non-observance of these regulations might impede spiritual growth is shown to be foolishness, mere shadows of an old order that has been decisively defeated by Jesus.

Just as there is no judgment for those who believe in Christ, no one who is in Christ will be disqualified by refusing to engage in other speculative, nonsensical spiritual practices of the world:

[18] Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,

Here we get a sense of what these spiritual practices are really about, they are about appearing puffed up, of being more advanced in spiritual exercises that produce salvation in God. Today, this kind of thing surfaces with the increasingly popular melding of, say, Yoga and Christian meditation. But there is a fatal flaw in these practices, they are not rooted in Christ, but are instead of the world. So these false teachers are not, as Paul says, “holding fast to the Head” (verse 19). The Head is Jesus Christ, “from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” Spiritual growth and maturity in the church comes exclusively from God in the person of Jesus Christ. And such nourishment is for “the whole body,” not just for those who engage in various superfluous spiritual exercises.

Paul’s criticism in verse 19 is very devastating, because it clearly suggests the false teachers in Colossae were not attached to the head. Their practices had no substances, were mere shadows, and the “fulfillment” achieved by these false teachers was empty.

Paul reminds the Colossians that once you’re in Christ, you die to the old ways of the world and you die to the slavery that the demonic powers had over your life:

[20] If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—[21] “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” [22] (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?

If you have been so liberated from sin, Paul says, why on earth would you continue to obey worldly regulations about things that don’t even last, but perish “as they are used” Isn’t it nonsensical to give up your Christian liberty from sin in this way, by taking on rules and regulations that have no value whatsoever?

Now, at this point, you may be in total agreement with Paul. Why yes, you might say, I understand that if I’m in Christ and worship him alone, the old life is dead and gone and I have a new, joy filled eternal existence in Jesus. What would persuade me that Jesus isn’t enough in my life?

Why would anyone be tempted to go back to the worldly ways and under the slavery of the elemental spirits of the world? Paul reveals the answer to this question in the last verse of today’s reading:

[23] These [false teachings] have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

All of these things, including asceticism (self-denial) and “severity to the body” (which may have included self-mutilation practices) are “of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” In fact, what I think Paul is saying here is that they are totally about the indulgence of the flesh. These practices may seem to be very spiritual and pious, says Paul, but they are, in fact, rooted in our innate, sinful desire to justify ourselves by actions and practices we can undertake in order to be favorably received by God. These worldly exercises are about our sinful pride.

To all of that Paul says, forget it! Why, if you have received Christ through the Word of truth, the gospel, and have been graciously transferred into God’s Kingdom and have the assurance of eternal life with him, would you ever try to go it your own way? Why would you adopt the old ways of the world in an attempt to look better in the new world into which you have been transferred? All of the worldly ways lead to death! Why would you adopt ideas and practices that lead to death when you are already a recipient of eternal life in the Kingdom of God in Christ?

Application

It is easy to stand here and, with you, say that we would never buy into this kind of thing, but in fact Christians do all the time. We live in a culture that thrives on self-exaltation and self-promotion, and I deeply worry that we are easy marks for spiritual teachings that make much of us and what we do at the expense of making much of Jesus and what he has already done.

Christians are constantly tempted to shift their focus away from Jesus and onto themselves. But, as Tullian Tchvidjian wisely notes, “To focus on how I’m doing more than on what Christ has done is Christian narcissism."¹

These spiritual practices of the false teachers in Colossae were designed to make much of the self. “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion” Paul writes. We always want salvation on our own terms, because then we can maintain some control. We can affect other’s perceptions of us though the power of positive thinking, we believe, even through others perceptions are infinitely less important to us than God’s perception of us in Christ. We are, by nature, a people who cannot stand the idea that Jesus should have had to die for our sins, especially if we like the sins in question, so we adopt practices and interpretations of Holy Scripture that suit us, even if they are false. We see this today in the contemporary debates over human sexuality and other hot-button topics. Humans have an almost unparalleled ability to find ways to avoid the saving purposes of God in their lives when there are parts of their lives they would prefer not be put to death. The reason they don’t want them to die is that have bought the lie that joy in God will someone be an insufficient replacement.

Is this the case for you? Is there some sin in your life that you think you cannot part with because it brings you such pleasure? Is there some kind of spiritual discipline or practice you believe is necessary to use in order to get God to do your bidding? Has the bible or the cross become a kind of talisman or good luck charm to you, to be used to provide a desired spiritual result that doesn’t depend first of all upon faith in the completed work of Christ?

Our text today says there ought to be none of that in the church because we are not the head of the body. Christ is, and Jesus will nourish us with his Word and Sacrament, as he always does. The end of our spiritual quest for fulfillment is a person, Jesus Christ. He is the Head. He leads the way. He feeds us the spiritual food He knows we need. He is our Lord. He is our Savior. He is our Rock and Fortress when the world itself shakes. He is the Alpha and Omega of all creation. He is the Lord of all life, including yours and mine. In Him, we are new people. We are resurrection people. Rest in that knowledge whenever your feeling disoriented and lost and let down by the elemental spirits of this age. Amen.

¹From the following Twitter posting: http://twitter.com/#!/PastorTullian/status/63277008897060864

Given at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Minnesota
May 1, 2011
Second Sunday in Eastertide
Copyright © 2011 by Christopher Donald Drew

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The Wonderful Interruption

Scripture Text: Matthew 28:1-10

Introduction

We are gathered here today to celebrate something we celebrate ever single Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Notice that I used the word, ‘dead.’ Our tendency is to imagine lots and lots of scenarios where Jesus wasn’t really quite totally dead. In fact, however, the Resurrection only has meaning for us if Jesus was totally, completely dead. He was as dead as you and I will be one day. As dead as those loved ones we pay visits to in the cemetery on Memorial Day. The Apostle’s Creed, which will we declare together during the baptism that follows this sermon, contains this phrase:

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.

We cannot rush to the resurrection without seeing this first, because it is in the stark reality of death that our greatest hopes are realized – that God is, in fact, the sovereign Lord of all Creation, of all life and death, including all of our forthcoming deaths and burials.

Exposition

One of the things that I love about the resurrection accounts in the scriptures is that you get a sense, in reading them, of just how confounding, confusing, the resurrection was. Nobody had seen anything like this. In this reading from Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other, mysteriously unspecified Mary, make their way in the twilight hours to the tomb where the corpse of Jesus has been placed. They were going there to care for the body on a Sunday morning. They couldn’t perform this work on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, because God commanded rest on that day. So they left for the tomb in the morning. I imagine they are like most people leaving for work on the first workday of the week. If we were around then, we’d probably conclude that the two Marys had a bad case of the Sundays, made devastatingly worse because of this grave duty they were to perform.

Normalcy comes to an end, however, in verse two. There is an earthquake caused by the arrival of an angel, resulting in the stone that sealed the tomb off to roll away. Verse 3 reads, “His [the angel’s] appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.” Something huge has already happened, something altogether unexpected. Tombs and graves tend to creep us out, don’t they? So how would you react when, while visiting a much-beloved family member’s grave at the riverside cemetery, something like this happened? What would your response be? My guess is that it would be not much different from that of the guards, who were likely battle-hardened and unafraid of just about anything. But in the presence of the angel they collapsed like dead men in fear. Which is pretty ironic when you think about it. Jesus is supposed to be inside the tomb, dead, but, as we will soon see, is not in the tomb and is alive, while the guards, in confronted by the appearance of the angel, end up like dead men.

And in the middle of this shock and confusion, here’s this angel, this beautiful, glorious angel, shining with the blinding light of a bolt of lightening. And the angel is sitting on the recently removed stone. I can imagine the angel sitting there, dangling his legs over the edge of the stone, perhaps even smiling, because he already knows the best news in the entire universe. I like to think he could barely hold it in.

He sees that the women, like the guards, are filled with fear. And so the angel tells the women this, “[5] Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. [6] He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. [7] Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” There is so much here to unpack.

First, the women are told not to be afraid. Fear blinds us to the truth. And the message the women will carry needs to be heard in all its fullness. And so the first thing the angel does is allay their fear, so that they will be able to hear and see the truth. We need to hear this message every week, and yet many, many people are fearful, fearful of life and fearful of the future. If you’re like that, this news from the angel is exactly what you need to hear, because the resurrection puts death, and therefore fear, to death.

Second, the angel already knows why the women are there, to do work with a corpse. Having told them not to be afraid, the angel then shares with them the greatest news in the universe. “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.” The corpse you’re here tend isn’t there. The reason is this: That corpse no longer a corpse. It is the risen Lord Jesus Christ. The past-tense verb translated “he has risen” means that Jesus is already on the move. If you want to be with Jesus, you need to go where he is.

Third, the God appointed the women to know the truth using their physical senses, so the angel directs them to go and see, use their eyes, to see that Jesus is no longer entombed. We are granted the grace to see Jesus through the eyes of faith, illuminated by Word and Sacrament. If the Holy Spirit comes upon you right now, you will see Jesus by faith.

Fourth, the women are then charged with sharing the best news in the universe with the disciples. No dilly dallying for them! And notice what the angel says about Jesus, “…he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” This is the Christ of the past, present, and future. Again, the angel instructs them to look. “Behold,” “you will see him,” “See, I have told you.” The Jesus we praise has been seen in glory, and sends those who call Him Lord into the world to share the news of God’s kingdom to every nation on the planet.

The women are instructed to leave quickly, and so they do leave quickly. Can you imagine what they might be feeling at this point? Matthew says in verse 8 that they were filled with “fear and joy” at the same time. That seems to be a very odd combination, doesn’t it? Most of us would conclude that fear and joy cancel each other out. In my preparations for this Resurrection Sunday, I was reading a commentary by Dale Bruner about this very verse. In it he relates the story about being at a pastor’s conference where this very question was raised. “How can fear and joy exist at the same time?” During the discussion period, one pastor rose up and declared: “Fear and joy can co-exist; I know, I just got married.”¹ In fact, encountering a mighty work of God will cause both fear and joy.

Their journey will be interrupted, however, in a wonderful way. As they are scurrying to the disciples, “Behold, Jesus met them.” Behold! Look! See! Jesus is not some kind of unreal, ghost-like figure. He can be seen an observed with the senses. He says to them “Greetings!”. But Bruner notes, very helpfully, that the Greek word here is actually a friendly greeting. It’s not the formal greeting we read in most English translations. There is familiarity in the greeting. Jesus is saying, in essence, “Hi! It’s so good to see you again.” I like being able to say that at Easter time. Jesus is again happy to see you here in worship.

What is the response of the women? They “came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.” They took hold of him. They took hold of his body, loved ones. The resurrection body has substance to it, just like your arm has substance if you touch it with your hand. And as they grabbed his feet, they worshipped him. What is huge in this passage is that Jesus doesn’t attempt to dissuade them from worship at all. Jews only worshipped the one true God. The law prohibited worship of anything or any creature apart from God. So what Matthew is saying here is very, very important – Matthew is testifying that Jesus himself the fullness of God incarnate, a God who can be reached out and touched. The God of glory can be touched and seen and experience in Jesus Christ. Your God can be known, loved ones, because Jesus rose from the dead.

Jesus gets the last word inn our reading, as he does everywhere in His kingdom. Notice that he gives the women almost the same instructions as the angel, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Jesus puts them back on the move. He does that when he calls someone to follow him. You don’t come to Jesus and then sit around. He calls you to go. “Salvation is for service” says Bruner, and I think that’s right. You cannot be a Christian if you do not believe that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. And you are likely not a Christian if your life shows no evidence in action that you believe in him by faith by living for him every day.

There is one more thing to notice in Jesus’ instruction. Do you remember what the angel told the Marys to do? He instructed the women to “go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead” (v. 7). But Jesus says to them, “go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee.” The disciples of the Master are now more than that to Jesus, they are his brothers. Mary and Mary are to tell them to go meet with Jesus in Galilee. Which means that the disciples will have to hear and believe the women and then to go Galilee by faith in order to see Jesus. It is the same way today. If you want to see Jesus, you must follow Him in faith. If you follow Him by faith, you become his brothers. Romans 8:14-17

[14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15] For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Doctrine

So that concludes the account of the discovery of the resurrection and the best news ever given or received in the universe. Why is this the best news? Here are the biggest reasons:

By payment of Jesus’ precious blood, your sin-debt was totally paid. Colossians 2:13-14, Paul writes, “[13] And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, [14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” So the first answer to the question, “Why is the resurrection the best news?” is this: It is proof positive that Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross for your sin and my sin was totally sufficient. It show that Jesus was telling the absolutely truth when he said on Good Friday, “It is finished.” In the resurrection, God displays his glory most fully by saving his people for the purposes of glorying Himself eternally.

Second, the resurrection is the best news in the universe because it is a declaration that death itself has been conquered. Death entered the world through humanity’s sin. Right now, the resurrection means that death’s stinger has been removed, and that death itself will be obliterated when Jesus comes again. Everyone sitting in this room will be resurrected on the last day. Acts 24:15, Paul states “there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.” (See also Revelation 20:11-15). This means that there will be those who will be resurrected unto judgment. But for those who are in Christ, the resurrection brings with it the sure and certain hope of eternal life with the Father, because by faith in Christ all of your sins are forgiven, and you will be spared from the judgment to come in order to become join heirs with Christ and even judges the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3).

Beloved, it is so good to see you here today. I want to encourage you to live as the resurrection-people you are. Because of Jesus’ finished work, you have inherited everything that Jesus has inherited. You lack for nothing, even though you may think otherwise. Our afflicted lives are no longer pitiable. You have no need to be afraid of anything, because you are destined for eternal life and glory with the Father. If he has called you by name, do what your instructed to do and go into the world proclaiming his fame everywhere, in word and deed. If he is calling you now to faith in Himself, do not delay. Run to him! Run to him and live forever for him and for his glory of his resurrection power! I cannot promise you that there will not be pain or suffering if you follow Him. Jesus told us we would suffer. But I can promise you that you will know His joy, the only real joy there is, the kind that knows it will live forever. Amen.

¹Bruner, Frederick. Matthew : A Commentary – The Christbook: Matthew 13-28. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 2007.

Given at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Minnesota
April 24, 2011
Resurrection of the Lord
Copyright © 2011 by Christopher Donald Drew

QOTD: Growing in Grace

A sign you're growing in grace: You remain humble & grateful when God uses someone more powerfully than you in your city.

-- Scotty Ward Smith