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August 01, 2010
“Who’s Death?”
Colossians 3: 1-17
Sunday, August 1, 2010
As we look at the communion table, we all know what is under the cover. Bread and Wine. And we all know what they represent. The body and blood of Jesus the Christ or the Death of Jesus. When we participate in this sacrament we are remembering and honoring the death of Jesus. We are also remembering and proclaiming that his death was for us. He died for our sins.
It is easy to think of his death in the way that theologians describe as the substitutionary atonement. In other words, that the death of Jesus paid the price or cancelled the punishment due us for our sins. For nearly 2,000 years those who call themselves Christians have understood that this was the Apostle Paul’s understanding of the effects of the death of Jesus.
But there is another aspect of the teaching of Paul about the effects of the death of Jesus that has unfortunately not been so clearly understood by Christians from his day to ours. That teaching is that not only are the punishments of our sins done away with by the death of Jesus, but so are the sins themselves.
In the first 3 verses of the third chapter of Colossians, Paul, inspired by the Spirit of God, wrote two things about those who have believed in Jesus that might seem strange to us if we really read or hear them and think about them.
In the first verse he wrote “So, if you have been raised with Christ,…”. And in the third verse he wrote, “…for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
According to Paul, it is not only the punishment for our sins that has been done away with, but also the sins themselves. It was not only Christ who died on the cross, but also the sinful lives of all who would believe in Him. Our old selves, our old sinful lives and lifestyles also perished on the cross.
We were raised as new beings with Christ as he rose from the dead. Our new life is with and in Christ and we are to set our minds and our life practices on the things that are important in the presence of God, where Jesus now is. In short, since we have been born again, we are to live the kind of life that will be lived by the saints in heaven. We are to treat people as we will treat others there and as we will be treated there. We are to direct our thoughts toward heavenly ways of thinking and behaving: loving others and forgiving others.
We should be living our lives here on earth trying to increase God’s kingdom, not our own.
It is at this point that we would probably be at a loss as to how to proceed. How does one live the redeemed, post-resurrection life, the life of heaven in this world that is still full of sin and sinners? I would not be able to tell you if Paul, inspired by the Spirit of God, had not given the Colossians and us some directions.
In verses 5-11 he tells us what we need to get rid of in our lives. Fornication (sexual sins and temptations) impurity, passion, (being driven by human, earthly passions) evil desire, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive language, the telling of lies, and, racial, gender, and class prejudices.
Most of those are plainly addressed in our English translations and require no elaboration or explanation. But I would like to spend a few moments explaining the issue of racial and other prejudices.
Paul wrote that we are to clothe ourselves “with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.
In the context of the Greco-Roman world in the first century, this was an amazing statement. Jews thought they were the only ones who were chosen by God and who truly mattered to God. The Greek cultured Romans thought they were the enlightened ones and looked down upon those who were not Greeks or Romans or who did not speak Greek. Those were called by them Barbarians. They were considered to be uncultured.
The Scythians were at the bottom level of the so-called barbarians. No one thought they were worth anything. In an interesting twist of historic fate, some 400 years later, many individuals of Scythian descent became quite numerous on the police force in Rome. Even then they were disrespected and parodied by the people. Kind of like the way the Philadelphia police force was ridiculed by Mack Sennett as the Keystone Cops in the teens and twentys.
All of these folks considered those on the other side of the divide to be less human than they were. Slaves were legally considered to be non-persons. They were given the status of a tool.
But for Christians all humans are to be considered to be fully human, equally created in God’s image.
Then, having instructed Christians as to what behaviors they needed to get rid of or to put to death, in verses 12-17 he enumerated for them some of the qualities of the new life they were to be living. This is the life of heaven to be lived as a sample on earth. The things that are to be a part of this new life include: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love. And over all we are to experience and be guided by the peace of Christ. It is to be the “Umpire” of our hearts, And we are to be Thankful to God in all things, singing Psalms, hymns and Spiritual songs to God.
Then Paul finished this section by writing in verse 17, And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” For the Christian, everything is to be done in the name of Jesus. In other words, if some action or word cannot bring honor to Jesus, if it is inconsistent with the words and ministry of Jesus, then it should not be said or done.
When you receive the bread and wine this morning, remember that they are symbols of the death Jesus the Christ died for you. And you should also think about how much of your old life you have put away or died for Him. Are you in all things living for Jesus? Or is there still plenty of death left in your life?
Pastor David Horner
Faith Presbyterian Church
West Lafayette, IN 47906
Posted by faithpres at August 1, 2010 01:54 PM