Seeds for 3/20/2023 - Colossians 3:5-7
Scripture: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”
Observation:
Wrath is a word we often find troublesome in the bible. It conjures images of fits of rage, arbitrariness, and foolish impulsivity. But this is the wrath of humans, not of God. The wrath of God is characterized as right response of judgment on evil, wickedness, sin, and injustice. Understood this way, the wrath of God is good news because it means that wickedness will not have the last word, in eternity if not on earth. It is proof that God cares about right and wrong. Imagine if a perfectly holy God was nonchalant about evil and injustice. What sort of world would that be?
Let’s look again at the prior passage to see what the “therefore” in this text is “there for.” In this case, Paul has reiterated the points that the Colossian Christians have died and been raised with Christ. Their lives are now “hidden with Christ in God” and they are to set their hearts and minds “on things above.”
As a consequence, then, they are to “put to death” the things named in our text, ways in which they used to walk. Here’s the key observation: The Colossians had professed faith in Christ, been baptized, and given their lives to Him. Yet Paul still instructs them to put their old lives to death in light of the truth of Christ. Profession of faith in Christ and baptism is the beginning of a new life in God, but it’s not the end. Initiation into a relationship with Christ through faith in His grace is the starting line; maturation in faithfulness to Christ is goal.
Becoming a Christian has never been about a magical transaction: Do or say this correct thing and, presto!—get an immediate desired result. Becoming a Christian is about relationship, trust, and surrender. It turns out that surrender is something we continually do so that our whole self comes under the Lordship of Jesus. Baptism is the beachhead; ongoing discipleship is the war.
Application: What old ways have you walked in that you need to put to death for Christ’s sake? What helps you grow in daily surrender to Him?
Prayer: Lord, lead me to more love, more faith, more trust, and more surrender, that I may cease entertaining any idolatries and more faithfully love and serve you today. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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