Colossians 3:5-11

Colossians 3:5-11  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 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 Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 

Having our hearts and minds opened to accepting the firm foundation of security and freedom God has provided for all believers who have been raised with Christ, we now see the logical conclusion of this amazing victory over sin and death.  Jesus did not merely save us from our sin, He filled us with himself: Christ is all, and IS IN ALL.  Christians should have the mind of Christ preeminent in our thinking and actions.  Since He is love, we should allow ourselves to be vehicles of that love.  Because He went to the cross for us, we should willingly sacrifice for others.  In that He was a servant to all, we should be servants to those He allows us to serve.  The infallible mind of Christ should motivate our thinking and our actions.  His indelible character should change our lives so much that we portray his image, though filtered through our imperfections, to a hurting and needy world.  Adversely, if we allow our natural selves to maintain prominence in our lives, we will regretfully display more of the character of the evil one than the beauty of Christ.  Our lives will lean toward self-centeredness, materialism, and even a mean-spirited attitude rather than the altruistic, loving, and caring manner of living the Holy Spirit would bring forth if we allowed the mind of Christ to have preeminence.  A lack of dedication to Jesus as Lord of all and failure to depend upon his holiness as our righteousness in our lifestyle can lead us into anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language.  Negative thoughts and actions can destroy the harmony and peace in our relationships, homes, and our sense of self.  When we end up betraying our Christian testimony of CHRIST IS ALL, AND IS IN ALL, we have to take inventory as Paul says to the Colossians. We have to say those things are part of my old life, my old self.  I am going to stop lying to myself and walk in the freedom that is mine.

Paul said we used to walk in these ways of sin; but since we are IN CHRIST, we should no longer participate in this former lifestyle.   Instead, we should realize that in Christ we are to be like him.  IN HIM, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free.  We are all as Jesus is, Holy.  Since we are IN HIM and since the Holy Spirit is IN US, we have the means to live victorious lives through the resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead.  Nevertheless, what if we feel we are not like him?  What if our fleshly selves are always condemning us, making us feel as if Christ's work in us is of none effect?  Paul says, consider this old man who constantly bothers you with his exploits of sin to be dead.  Don't pay the dead person any attention.  His life, the flesh, will not go to heaven.  He is dead because Christ died that you might consider him dead for all time.  When he acts up, ask for forgiveness and then go on with your life.  God has chosen you IN CHRIST to be his beloved child.  The Word is clear on this as we read in many passages such as this message to the church in Rome: Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.  (Romans 6:11-14 NKJV)  Redemption is always yours IN CHRIST.  As you willingly place Christ on the throne of your life and accept his new life IN YOU, you will grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord.  When you feel sad about your failures, you will remember Christ is still on the throne; He has won the victory over sin and death.  He is the only one who ever has or ever will live a perfect life.  You can put your confidence in Christ.  Regardless of his human circumstances, Paul told the church to trust in Jesus: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:19)   

If you sin and you find yourself not sorry, then you have entered dangerous territory by ALLOWING THE OLD FLESHLY DEAD MAN TO GAIN NEW LIFE rather than Christ.  We are what we eat.  If we feed only on the things of this world, we will gravitate toward the god of this world.  We know Satan is the great deceiver, going about as a roaring lion seeking to devour those who feed at his table.  If you have put your trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior, remember you are born again.  The Bible says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  (2 Corinthians 5:17)  This new creature needs food, manna  from heaven: THE WORD OF GOD.  Allow the Holy Spirit to use the Word to defeat the devil and his cohorts.  Listen to the Spirit: the Comforter will counsel you in doing what is right.  He will comfort you when you fail.  He will teach you and guide you in the faith.  Jesus said, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.  (Matthew 11:15)  To overcome, human effort is not enough: we must see ourselves enlivened by the Spirit to follow Christ.  We must live in him and through him by every word that has come forth from his mouth through the Word.  Paul told the church at Galatia, Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  (Galatians 5:25)  Then we will pray, meditate, sing spiritual songs, and make melody in our hearts.  This will strengthen our inner person and lessen the strength of the dead person we carry around with us on this earthly journey.  If you begin to forsake meditating on the Word and your lips do not sing the songs of Zion, your life will ebb slowly toward worldliness.  Your thoughts will begin to hinge on what is happening to you in the present, whether good or bad, rather than on almighty God and his amazing everlasting mercy and goodness, his perfect will.  Our abiding hope is that these breakfasts help us all focus on the horizon of faith, on the joy of the Lord.  Since, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  (Colossians 3:1-3)  Praise God, nothing can keep you from victory IN CHRIST EXCEPT YOU.