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On Killing Sin
As believers, we are to be sin killers, putting to death evil desires, and sinful actions with the aid of the Holy Spirit. If we do not fully obey the Lord, this is the same as making a truce with our sins. Sin can rip our lives apart, hurt others, and bring serious consequences. We must have a steady resolve to acknowledge our sin, face it, see its ugliness, and eradicate it from our lives.
Amazing Grace
Grace is undeserved, unearned redeeming love and forgiveness. God’s forgiving grace is eternal and irreversible.
Christ Our Life
All believers in Christ are “with the Lord” even as we live on Earth because of our vital connection with Him. Christ is our victory, our security, and our destiny. Therefore, in light of Christ’s preeminence and lordship, let us set our hearts and minds on things above.
Why Memorize Colossians 3?
Why should we memorize scripture, in particular Colossians 3? Scripture is the objective recorded Word of truth from God. It is able to move our hearts and shape our lives so that we can resist sinning against God (Psalm 119:11). Colossians 3:1-17 is an all-encompassing passage which concerns how to glorify God by crushing our vices, cultivating virtues, and becoming preoccupied with Christ.
Our Faithful God
Pastor Gregory steps away from the series on Colossians to remind us of the faithfulness of God during Hurricane Florence. No one ever trusted God in vain. God is faithful, perfectly trustworthy to all generations. In the passage above, God renews His promise to Abram at a time when Abram’s faith is wavering. Let us lean on God, remembering that He will fulfill His promises in His own timing.
Say No to Bogus Religion
Self-made, counterfeit religion is powerless to produce change in our lives. Lists of regulations, mystical experiences, asceticism-all these should be neither a foundation for salvation, nor a way to measure the progress of ourselves and others, nor a remedy for besetting sin. Instead, it’s essential to cling to Christ and draw near to Him everyday. It is also important to find and give encouragement to others in the body of Christ, the church.
Nailed to the Cross
Nothing more powerful than the love of Jesus on the cross has ever happened in this world. The entire sin debt that we owe to God has been cancelled forever. Satan and his demonic forces have been defeated. The cross is a triumphant cross of victory.
In Christ Our Life
Colossians 2:11-15 describe the unbreakable spiritual bond that believers have with Christ because we are in Christ. Christ’s death on the cross makes it possible for us to be united with Christ. Our sins are forgiven, our debt cancelled, and the forces of Satan that bound us are defeated. By faith in Jesus, we can enjoy the benefits of what God is doing in us. We become dead to sin and alive in Christ. Let us always express our love and gratitude to Christ for all He has done.
Let No One Take You Captive
Colossians 2:8-10 contains a warning to believers: We must be aware of the real danger of being kidnapped away from the truth. Empty deceptive philosophies that are not found in scripture rob Christ of glory and rob us of our spiritual freedom. To protect ourselves we must diligently examine the scripture with a humble, teachable spirit, seeking to know Christ as He truly is.
Holy is His Name
The eternal holy, self-existent, unchanging God reigns in supremacy over all. When we realize God’s holiness and our accountability to Him, this leads to humility and the revival of our heart and spirit.
Wholly God, Wholly Human
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Colossians 2:9-10 (ESV)
It is supremely significant that Christ is divine. More than possessing the attributes of God and performing the acts of God, Jesus is the full totality of God in human form. God became flesh in order that He might deliver, redeem, change, forgive, and rule us. May Christ always be preeminent in our lives.
Walk in Him
You have received Christ Jesus (believed the message of the Gospel and embraced Him by faith), so steadfastly pursue Him. Be devoted to growth through the truth of scripture, and overflow with heartfelt gratitude.
Our Lord’s Crucifixion
“It is finished” (John 19:30). What was finished? Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation – the satisfying of the wrath of God. The cross was necessary because we have sinned against a holy God. God’s wonderful love for us is always linked in Scripture to the cross. Salvation through faith in the crucified and risen Christ is free and available to all.
Maturing in Christ
In Colossians 2:1-5 Paul explains how healthy, mature believers and churches should be established. Church leaders must be vitally involved with their congregation, struggling in prayer for them. Members should have a spirit-generated unity, being “knit together in love,” and every individual should be a fully engaged part of the whole. Lives will be transformed as believers grow in their assurance of all things that relate to Christ.
Something Worth Living For
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This is the message to which Paul had a single-minded devotion, the Good News that we can all be reconciled to God.
Paul was convinced that this message worth dying for and worth living for with all his energy. We too, are to be Christ’s ambassadors, sharing in the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Before and After
Saving faith has three essential components, all described in Colossians 1:21-23. We must recognize our condition apart from Christ, alienated from God and falling short of His holiness. The next step is reconciliation, in genuine repentance accepting the forgiveness that we could not earn for ourselves. Once we have found peace with God, we must continue to move foward in confident hope, steadfastly walking with Christ.
Reconciliation
Our world, filled with war and injustice, awaits the reconciliation of all things to God mentioned in Colossians 1:19-20. Sin brought personal separation from God and disruption to the universe (Romans 8:20-23). But God initiated reconciliation through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The final restoration will occur when the enemies of Christ will one day be destroyed (1Corinthians 15:24).
Christ is Preeminent
Colossians 1:15-20 provides a glimpse into the majesty and glory of Jesus. He is preeminent in His very being – the image and manifestation of the invisible God. He is preeminent over all all of creation – the source and force that holds the universe together. He is preeminent over the church, its head, ruler, and guide.
Let us pursue Christ over all else.
Giving Thanks to the Father
In Colossians 1:12-14, Paul expresses gratitude to God for many reasons, all related to Christ’s sacrificial death on our behalf. We have been qualified for heaven, delivered from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light. We are eternally forgiven and redeemed from our sins. Our expressions of gratitude should be natural and habitual. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
The prayers of Paul for the church are frequent and habitual. We too should pray the truths of scripture into our lives, never settling for spiritual mediocrity. Access to the Father through prayer is a privilege purchased for us through the sacrificial death of Christ on our behalf.