7 Ways to "Hold Fast"

In Philippians 2:16, Christians are called to "hold fast" to the Word of God. Theoretically we may understand that, but practically? In my dad's sermon yesterday, he highlighted seven ways that Christians can hold fast to the Bible. May you be encouraged, convicted, and motivated anew by this list.

1. We hear the Word of God (Eph. 1:13).
2. We read and apply it (1 Thess. 2:13).
3. We study and interpret it carefully (2 Tim. 2:15).
4. We meditate on and memorize it (Col. 3:16).
5. We are taught it (Gal. 6:6).
6. We speak it (Phil. 1:14).
7. We love it (Titus 2:5).

Hear his full sermon here.

What Colossians Says About Speech

Today we'll finish off this ongoing series on what Colossians says about many important topics to consider. We'll tackle the final big subject in this post - speech.

"Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person." Colossians 4:6

I'm just going to say it - this is going to be one of those OUCH posts, for me definitely, and, if you're anything like me, then you too. How we speak is something we all struggle with. What is the criteria for godly speech? Well, here in Colossians 4:6, we get it. The one thing that must always be in godly speech is graciousness. Dictionary.com defines "gracious" as, "characterized by or showing kindness and courtesy ... merciful and compassionate." In other words, our speech must always be kind. Another verse that I find illustrates this topic masterfully is Ephesians 4:29.

"No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear."

Our goal in talking should be to build others up. I think we often undermine the power of our words. We often forget, or just have never thought, that our words do one of two things - build up and edify or tear down. We have immense power at our fingertips. We can do wonderful things for others through our words. We can also do terrible things. We can proclaim Christ with our words, or we can choose not to.

But what does that second phrase in Colossians 4:6 mean? "Seasoned with salt"? How can we season our speech with salt? And why would we even want to? The ESV Study Bible offers an interesting note on this:

"This statement echoes the teaching of Jesus when he called his disciples to be “the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13). When applied to conversation, the metaphor suggests speaking in an interesting, stimulating, and wise way."

Our words are to be wise, gospel-centered, and Christ-exalting. Now, let's just admit that that's easier said than done. We all struggle with how we speak, in many different ways. Some people struggle with talking too much. Some people struggle with crude joking. Some people struggle with bad language. And all of us struggle with building others up all the time. We all slip, sometimes without even meaning too. But that does not excuse us.

We, like the Colossians, are called to godly, gracious speech. And what's our purpose in that? "So that [we] may know how [we] should answer each person." If we have wise, gracious speech, then when people talk to us, we'll always know how to answer them - graciously, with the intent on building them up.

So let's seek to cultivate godly speech, just like the Colossians. For our words are powerful weapons; we can destroy or save with them. Which will you choose?

What Colossians Says About Prayer: Part 2

"Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2

We've looked at what it means to practically "devote [our]selves to prayer." Now we'll take a look at what it means to "stay alert in it," and then to do it "with thanksgiving."

"Stay alert in it ..."

What I like about the phrase "stay alert" is that it implies activeness. We can't passively pray. We must always be alert in it, always thinking about it, always preparing for it, always doing it. The HCSB Online Study Bible suggests that "Stay alert or "staying awake" refers to the mental attitude of expectancy and watchfulness." We're always watchful in prayer.

"... with thanksgiving"

The next phrase is a little bit different. How do we pray "with thanksgiving"? Well, simply, we must pray with a thankful heart. That includes expressing thankfulness in our prayers. God has given us so, so many good gifts, and we often don't even take a minute to express our thanks to the Giver. When we pray, we must always thank the Lord for His work, His gifts, and even the trials and difficult things in our life. But thanksgiving is not the only thing we should express in our prayers. Adoration, confession and repentance, and requests are all a part of speaking to God, too. But, thankfulness is a huge part of prayer, a part that must not be neglected.

Prayer is a wonderful, fantastic, mind-blowing gift that we should never take for granted. This is precious, holy communion with our Creator. This isn't a chat with our BFF, or even a talk to our parents; this is the King of kings we're talking to. We should hold a great sense of reverence and awe. That doesn't mean we need to be scared of God, though. He is our Friend, but we must never lose the fact that He is also our Lord and Master.

So, what does Colossians say about prayer? We must be devoted to it. We must be watchful and alert in it. And we must be thankful in our prayers.

What Colossians Says About Prayer: Part 1

"Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2

What an interesting, somewhat puzzling, yet convicting verse. Tucked in between a command to slave owners and a prayer request, it's so short, if you're not careful, you'll miss it. But despite its small size, there's certainly a lot to learn from it! We'll divide it into three parts: 1) devote yourselves to prayer, 2) stay alert in it, and 3) with thanksgiving.

"Devote yourselves to prayer ..."

The first word really sets the tone for this first phrase: devote. Don't just dabble in prayer, try it out, use it occasionally, or only when you need it, pray just in church, or only in devotions. Devote yourselves to prayer. Make it a top priority. Think about it constantly. Pray without ceasing. Never let your devotion to it waver.

Now I'm just going to admit that prayer is something I struggle with. Often, I find myself not devoted to prayer. Not because I don't want to be; simply because I forget. I struggle with praying without ceasing, thinking about it constantly, making it a top priority. Maybe you feel like me, and prayer is something that you find yourself often struggling with too. So it's for people like you and me that I made a list of ways to practically "devote [our]selves to prayer."

• Have a prayer buddy. Having someone to keep you accountable and pray with you is awesome! Mom is my prayer buddy, and I find that I'm in prayer so much more because she's there to encourage me to pray and help keep me accountable.
• Set a designated prayer time each day. Mom and I meet to pray at 8:30 every morning, and we sit down and pray through the day. We discuss what I have on, and then pray through those things. I have a friend who specifically marks out three times a day to pray by herself. Having that set time is a really good way to keep you in prayer.
• Read godly books on prayer. A great one that I read was "A Praying Life," by Paul E. Miller. My parents read another good one called "Praying Backwards" by Bryan Chapell. Books on prayer can help give you more ways to have a prayer-centered life.
• Pray throughout your devotions. This is another one Mom taught me. While I read through my Bible during my private devotions, I pray throughout it. I'll read a portion of Scripture and then pause to pray. 
• Have a prayer chart. This is a helpful list that I have that is divided into days of the week. Each day I have different people, situations, and groups that I pray for. This will also help you in remembering more people to pray for.

These are only a few ways, but I hope they are helpful to you. As Christians, we must devote ourselves to prayer, as Paul so graciously reminded the church in Colossae. But there's more in this verse that Paul discloses. We'll look at the rest in What Colossians Says About Prayer: Part 2.

What Colossians Says About Work

Well, we've finished our series within a series on what Colossians has to say about the family, so we can now turn our attention to our next topic - work. Colossians 3:23-24 are probably some pretty familiar verses to many of you.

"Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ."

I like how the verse begins with an important blanket statement - whatever you do. This is the statement that gets rid of any chance of loop holes - there is now no excuse. Whatever we do, however we work, whether we're working at school, working at a job, working at church - whatever way we work - we've got to do it enthusiastically. But this doesn't make much sense unless we include the next phrase. We can be really enthusiastic about things, but there's a big difference between plain old enthusiasm, and enthusiasm, "as something done for the Lord." This enthusiasm in Colossians 3:23 is an excitement in the Lord! This is pouring ourselves into whatever work we do, doing our very best, totally and fully to glorify the Lord. This is doing whatever we do not to magnify ourselves or any man, but to magnify Christ.

This verse goes hand in hand with 1 Corinthians 10:31,

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory."

That about sums it up. Whatever we do, we must do everything for God, for His glory, for His sake, for His name.

But the verses don't end there. "Knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ." For our commitment to doing everything for Christ, we'll be rewarded with an inheritance. This inheritance is an eternal reward from God.

Finally, we must not neglect the last part of vs. 24 - "You serve the Lord Christ." Who do we ultimately serve in all of our work? Christ. When we hand in that English essay, or math test, or report, we may be serving our teacher, but we're firstly serving our Lord Christ.

So, in summary of all this, what does Colossians say about work? That 1) it must be done enthusiastically, 2) it must be done for the glory of God, not men, and 3) we will be rewarded for our faithful work.

What Colossians Says About the Family: Part 4

"Wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and don't be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so they become discouraged." Colossians 3:18-21

Today, we end our series on the family by looking at the head of the family,

"Fathers ..."

First, let's look at the first part of this command to fathers - "do not exasperate your children." Dictionary.com defines this word exasperate as: "to irritate or provoke to the highest degree; annoy extremely." The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says simply, "to excite the anger of." Needless to say, this is a serious thing. Other translations have defined this word as "provoke," "embitter," "aggravate," and "be so hard upon." Basically, it comes down to a father provoking his child to anger, or "discourage[ment]."

But what exactly does that mean? A child being "discouraged"? John Piper has more to say on this:

"The goal of a good father is to rear children who are not discouraged. The word implies losing heart, being listless, spiritless, disinterested, moody, sullen, with a kind of blank resignation toward life. Don't be the kind of father who rears that kind of person. Instead develop a style of fatherhood that produces the opposite of discouragement. Now what is that? I would sum it up in three characteristics: The opposite of being discouraged is being hopeful. The opposite of being discouraged is being happy. The opposite of being discouraged is being confident and courageous.

So I would say that the negative form of verse 21 really implies a positive command as well. It says, "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged." But it means not only avoid one kind of fatherhood; it also means pursue another kind, namely, the kind of fatherhood which gives hope instead of discouragement; and gives happiness instead of discouragement; and gives confidence and courage."

So fathers are to raise kids that are hopeful, happy, and confident and courageous in the Lord. That sounds like a big task. And it is! But it's also a blessing. I know my dad recognizes the huge responsibility he has as a father, but also embraces it and cherishes it.

Now, last but not least, just because Paul only mentions fathers in this passage, he does not negate the mother's role in the familial setting either. Remember on Tuesday when we looked at verse 20, "Children, obey your parents." Then we looked over at Ephesians 6:2, where Paul quotes Exodus 20:12, saying, "Honor your father and mother." (emphasis mine) Throughout the Scriptures, especially the Proverbs, a mother's role is lifted up and honoured. So, though Colossians 3:21 focuses on the father's role and we discussed primarily the father's role, the mother's role is still very important!

The bottom line is that the family is an important, incredible, fantastic, God-given institution that is meant to be exalted and cherished and respected. But, as much as we love our families and our fathers, we must love and exalt our Heavenly Father even more. For it was He who gave us life, rescued us from the darkness, granted us redemption, adopted us into His family, called us heirs, named us sons, and blessed us richly. I think the final stanza of that old hymn, A Christian Home, by Barbara B. Hart and Jean Sibelius sums it up well:

"O Lord, our God, our homes are Thine forever! We trust to Thee their problems, toil, and care. Their bonds of love no enemy can sever if Thou art always Lord and Master there. Be Thou the Center of our least endeavor. Be Thou our Guest, our hearts and homes to share."

What Colossians Says About the Family: Part 3

"Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so they won’t become discouraged." Colossians 3:18-21

Today we'll tackle Colossians 3:20, and what Paul says in regards to ...

"Children ..."

Children are given a singular command here - obey your parents. Not just partly or in some things, but in everything. Whatever Mom and Dad say, do it. And why? "For this pleases the Lord greatly." When we're pleasing our parents, we're pleasing the Lord. That's pretty cool, if you think about it. When we submit to our parents, we're ultimately submitting to God. 

What's even better is that we'll get something back for obeying our parents (though that's not the reason we do it). Ephesians 6:1-3 tells us,

"Children, obey your parents as you would the Lord, because this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land." 

"Honor your parents" is the first commandment out of the 10 Commandment that includes a promise! How crazy is that! Obey Mom and Dad ... so it can go well with you. A lot of kids (me included) have thought that our parents' rules and orders were for their benefit, but they're really for ours! Now that doesn't mean that the blessings we receive from our obedience will be material, but they will certainly be great.

So, to end this short, sweet, and simple post, as children, let's obey and honor our parents, always remembering to follow the perfect example of a child's obedience - Jesus, submitting Himself to the Father's will, and coming to earth to die the sacrificial death that we all deserved, and rising again to grant life to all who will trust in His name. That is what obedience really is, and that is the obedience we children must seek to exemplify. 

"Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." ~ Exodus 20:12

What Colossians Says About the Family: Part 2

"Wives, be submissive to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and don't be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so they become discouraged." Colossians 3:18-21

Today we'll take a look at the next verse in this short passage. Colossians 3:19 is addressed directly to ...

"Husbands ..."

The command to husbands has two distinct parts. The first part is "love your wives." This phrase may sound a bit peculiar at first. Love their wives? Isn't that just a given, we might ask? But, if we look a little more into this kind of love, we'll see that it isn't just any ordinary sort of thing. The HCSB Study Bible suggests that this love "refers to selfless sacrificial concern and care for the welfare of another person." This is the kind of love that Paul talks about in Ephesians 5:25-28: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself." (emphasis mine) Paul encourages husbands to love their wives by using the example of Perfect Love - Jesus came to earth to die on the cross for His bride, the Church, because He loved her so much! He was willing to lay down His life sacrificially for His Bride, just as a husband must for his wife.

Now, let's keep in mind that we're sinful humans, so it is impossible for us to love in the same way Christ did. So, though we can never model perfect love ourselves, we can still rejoice in Christ's perfect love for us, and try to emulate it.

The second part of this command to husbands is to "not be bitter toward" their wives. This is another phrase that, on the surface, may seem a bit puzzling. Well, I was curious as to that word "bitter," so I went and looked up this verse in a couple different translations. The ESV translates the word as "harsh." The NASB says "embittered against." These help us understand this verse's meaning a little bit better. Husbands are not to be bitter, or harsh, to their wives. The ESV Student Study Bible says in regards to this: "Violence, threats, and unkind words are not acceptable in a Christian home." That is certainly true. Husbands are to be the spiritual leader in a home, and an example to others. Harshness, bitterness, violence, and unkindness are all to be exempt from the husband-wife relationship.

So there's the second role of the family as defined by Paul in Colossians. Next, we'll look at verse 20 and what Paul says about children! 

What Colossians Says About the Family: Part 1

"Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and don't be bitter towards them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so they become discouraged." Colossians 3:18-21

Today we'll begin looking at what Colossians teaches us about the sacred institute we call the family. Paul has divided it up into four neat little sections, so let's take a look at each one of these. We'll start, as Paul does, with wives.

"Wives ..."

Out of all the things Paul could say about wives, a single sentence sums up what he wants the Colossian wives to know: submit to your husbands. And it wasn't as if that was the only thing Paul could come up with! Throughout other letters, he mentions wives and their roles nearly ten times (1 Corinthians 7:29; Ephesians 5:22; Ephesians 5:24; Ephesians 5:25; Ephesians 5:28; Colossians 3:18; Colossians 3:19; 1 Timothy 3:11). But submission of wives is a major theme Paul touches on in many of his letters. In Ephesians, he goes so far as to tell wives to submit to their husbands twice - and only two verses apart! And why? Because submission of wives is a major role they have, one that goes back as far as the Garden. It was one of the first roles God gave woman after the Fall. "To the woman he said, ... "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”" (Genesis 3:16 - emphasis mine) Now, this isn't a dictatorship type of ruling, but simply a different role. Man's role is to rule, or "be the head over" (Ephesians 5:23) his wife. Just like Christ is the head over the Church, husbands are the head over their wives.

Now, this does not mean that every woman must submit to every man. The Bible is clear that a woman is to submit to her husband. That is what the Lord commanded. It also does not mean that women are inferior to men in any way. As people before God, they are entirely equal. God does not love men more than woman, or favour them more. He just purposely gave them different roles.

Now, what about if you aren't a wife? Well, if you're a young woman like me, who, if the Lord wills, hopes to get married someday, then this is applicable in that we can study qualities of a godly wife and prepare to be one one day. But if you're an older single woman not planning on getting married or anyone else who is not a wife, by studying the role of a godly wife, you can encourage Christian wives you know. Just like Paul set out to encourage the Colossian wives in their role of submission to their husbands, 21st century Christians can encourage younger wives in their church to submit to their husbands, "as is fitting in the Lord," just as the Lord would have it.

We'll take a look at the next three familial roles, husbands, children, and fathers in the next posts.

What Colossians Says About the Christian Walk: Part 2

"Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude." Colossians 2:6-7

On Tuesday we looked at the first two parts of those verses, seeing what it means to "walk in [Christ]" and be "rooted and built up in Him." Today we'll look at the second two parts, beginning with ...

"... established in the faith, just as you were taught ..."

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that establish means "to make firm or stable." So, in other words, we're to be firm and stable in the faith. Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 16:13, which says, "Be alert, stand firm in the faith ... be strong." Paul later echoes this in Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, and 2 Timothy 2:1. Peter also encourages believers to remain firm when he says in 1 Peter 5:9, "Resist him [the devil] and be firm in the faith."

But how do we become established, rooted, strong in the faith? "Just as you were taught ..." We must be taught! Through sermons, Sunday School lessons, personal study of the Word, Bible Study, small groups, one-on-one times with a mentor. Those tiny seeds didn't become towering oaks without someone to care for and water them.

Another component is time. We won't become established in the faith in just a few months. It will take years of careful study and endurance until we truly become established in the faith.

"... overflowing with gratitude."

Just over one chapter later, in Colossians 3:16, we read, "Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God." (emphasis mine) That verse answers the first basic question that comes up from that phrase, "overflowing with gratitude." Gratitude to whom? As we just read, to God! It is God who provides us with the growth in our faith. (1 Corinthians 3:7) It is God who saved us, who redeemed us, who is sanctifying us. I think that there should be no question of us overflowing with gratitude.

I like the word choice there - overflowing. It makes me picture a glass placed on the water cooler. I press the ON button and the water starts to flow into my cup. But then I get distracted and before I know it, water is gushing over the sides and splashing everywhere. That's how we should be with gratitude to God! We should be bubbling up with it, splashing it all over the place, affecting all areas and peoples around us.

So, after all that, what does Colossians say about the Christian walk?

1. It must be walked in Christ.
2. It must be rooted in Christ.
3. It must be established in Christ.
4. It must be walked gratefully in Christ.

What Colossians Says About the Christian Walk: Part 1

"Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude." ~ Colossians 2:6-7

I was tempted to skip over these short verses. Not because of a lack of value and wisdom, but because, quite simply, they're verses that are often overlooked. But as I recited the book of Colossians this morning, these verses really stuck out to me. Why? Because they reveal so much about the Christian walk, a topic I wasn't even planning to touch on. Yet here they were. And here we are. So I've divided the Christian walk into four steps as outlined in these verses.

"Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him ..."

What in the world does it mean to "walk in" Christ? We've figured out in previous posts that we must live in Him, but walk in Him? What is that all about? In Romans 6 and 13, Paul expands on this.

"Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life." Romans 6:4

This refers to walking "in a new way of life." That is definitely a part of walking in Christ. It means we turn away from our previous life of sin and choose to live a new life in Christ.

"Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy." Romans 13:13

This adds another component to walking in Him - walking "with decency, as in the daylight." But why the daylight? Because we're children of the light: "The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:12) We need to "put on the armor of light," and walk in the light! That is what "walk[ing] in Christ" is - turning aside from our old, sinful lives to walk in the light, a new way of life.

 "... rooted and built up in Him ..." 

I always picture a tree when I hear this. But not just any tree. An oak. Big. Thick. Solid. Immovable. Nothing is going to move this towering strength from its place. It's rooted in the ground, and those roots are stronger than steel. That's what it means to be rooted in Christ. Our entire being is buried and built in Him. Our roots are embedded in Christ. We're not some itty-bitty, tiny, weakling of a tree; we're strong in Him.

We'll cover the last two things Colossians says about the Christian walk in part two. Until then, my friends, let's strive to walk in Christ, rooted and built up in Him.

What Colossians Says About Sin

We've looked at probably the two most important topics in Colossians - Christ first and then salvation - but now we're going to look at maybe not the most fun topic, but certainly one of great importance - sin. Colossians reveals many painful, yet redemptive, truths about this deadly parasite called sin and here I've outlined just four of them for you.

1. Sin alienates us from God. "Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions ..." (Colossians 1:21) "Your evil actions." Ouch. This first thing Colossians reveals about sin is that it alienates us from God. Because of evil - sin - we are separated and hostile towards God. Before we were saved, sin stood like a stone wall separating us from God. Because our God is holy, He can not be in the presence of sin. So when we sin and we revel and dwell in that sin and do not repent, we're alienating ourselves from our Maker. We don't think about that too often, do we? No, we think of sin as momentary pleasure, fun that will last for a while. We think of it as being enjoyable, not realizing with every step towards sin, we're laying a brick in that wall in front of God. Sin corrupts our relationship with God. Fortunately, there's good news for us. Even though our sin alienates us from God, "now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death." (Colosians 1:22) Through Christ's redemptive death, we can repent and be reconciled to God! How awesome is that!
2. Sin destroys us. "And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh ..." (Colossians 2:13a) I've already talked about this in my posts on salvation, but, I'll just briefly say again, sin kills us. It destroys us. Before we were in the light, we were in the darkness, the suffocating, deadly darkness. We were dead people. Dead in our trespasses, our sin. Only the light of the gospel, the light of Christ can stop sin from destroying us.
3. Sin puts us in bondage. "He erased the certificate of debt ..." (Colossians 2:14a) You may not have realized it, but before we were Christians, we were enslaved to sin, indebted to it. Most non-Christians think that even though they don't serve Christ, they can be just neutral. They think that they don't serve anyone. But, sadly, that's just not true. If you don't serve God, you serve sin. And sin is a harsh, evil master, who does not want your good. It wants your harm. Sin puts us in bondage.
4. Sin incites God's wrath. "Therefore put to death what belongs to your worldly nature. ... Because of these God's wrath comes on the disobedient." (Colossians 3:5-6) Because God is a holy, just God, He must punish the guilty. He must pour out His wrath, His judgment, on the unrepentant sinners. Many people don't like to hear this, but as Christians, it should spurn us on to tell everyone we know about the gospel, warning them of the coming wrath of God and of the good news of Jesus. 

As we study this sobering topic, I hope we'll all keep in the mind the good news that comes along with this - that Jesus Christ died to set us free from sin and death and to grant us newness of life in Him! That is why we can discuss sin and death and still rejoice - because we no longer serve sin; we serve and rejoice in Christ!

What Colossians Says About Salvation: Part 2

Today we'll answer a final question on salvation: how must we live once we're saved?

"So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4) 

Once we've been saved and have put sin to death, we have another responsibility. We've died to sin, so we must now live in Christ. We must set our eyes on eternal things, not on the fleeting happenings of the world. And why? Because our life is hidden with God!  We must seek what is above, where our Messiah is. And why? Because we were raised with the Messiah! We crucified ourselves to sin with Christ when He saved us, but now we are raised with Him to live in Him. Just look at the verses from Tuesday in Romans 6. It says "if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ... So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." (emphasis mine) We are no longer dead to God, but alive to Him! So now we must live in Him!

This is salvation. We were 1) saved by God, then we realized we must 2) become sin-slayers and, finally we 3) live in Christ. That is what Colossians says about salvation.

To see a chart outlining the order of biblical salvation (ordo salutis), check out here.

What Colossians Says About Salvation: Part 1

Today we'll be looking at the theme of salvation in Colossians by way of answering three important questions.

Who Worked Salvation Out?
To answer this, we'll start with Colossians 1:21-22:

"Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body, through His death to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him."

The first thing I noticed in this passage is how it focuses on Christ working our salvation out. It starts with us being alienated and hostile in our minds because of our evil actions, our sin, and then He reconciled us by His physical body, through His death so that we may be presented before Him. He did everything. We learn that later in Colossians 2:13-14: "And when you were dead ... He made you alive with Him and forgave us ... He erased the certificate of death ... and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross." We were dead people; we could do nothing. It was He who was able to work our salvation out and raise us from our old, lifeless selves to new creations. It starts with sin, our evil desires which separate us from God. But then Jesus' atoning death saves us. We're new creatures. Now we have a responsibility ...

What Must We Do Once We're Saved?

"Therefore put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry ... But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old self with its practices." (Colossians 3:5, 8-9)

My dad got a sweatshirt for Christmas with a famous John Owen quote: "Be killing sin or sin will be killing you." Profound and true. Once we've been saved, we have a responsibility. What we once served, we must now slay. We must daily be putting sin to death. Romans 6:8, 10-11 sheds a little more light on this - "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ... For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." (emphasis mine) Our duty as Christians is to put sin to death. But what does that really mean? It means to literally remove each sin from our lives permanently. This isn't a temporary thing; it's for good. We need to get rid of sin, or, you see, sin will get rid of us.

We have one more question to answer, but we'll save that for the next post. What is that question? you wonder. I'll leave it for you to ponder on - How must we live once we're saved?

What Colossians Says About Christ: Part 2

There's so much more to learn about Christ in Colossians. That's why I've looked through the rest of the book and selected just a few more sections that speak of the picture of Christ that Paul paints in Colossians.

1. He is the revealed mystery of God. This is really a rather fascinating thing, if I do say so myself. The first time we hear about "the mystery" is Colossians 1:25-26. Paul writes, "I have become its servant, according to God's administration that was given to me for you to make God's message fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints." When I first read this, my interest was piqued. If you know me, you know that I love mysteries! Give me a good mystery novel, and I'll be hunkered down in my bedroom all day! But the reason I love reading mystery novels and even watching mystery shows is because of the end, when the mystery is revealed. Because there's no purpose to a mystery if, in the end, the mystery does not become a mystery no longer. That's why Paul is careful to reveal this mystery to us just five verses later in Colossians 2:2-3. "I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery - Christ. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him." There you have it! Christ is the revealed mystery of God! But why is that a mystery? The ESV Student Study Bible suggests that "the mystery refers to God's unfolding plan for the world and for redemption through the Messiah." So, the mystery of how God will redeem His people was revealed with Christ's coming.
2. He is victorious. "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; He triumphed over them by Him." (Colossians 2:15) Christ triumphed over the rulers and authorities! He triumphed over those who tried to kill Him, those who tried to conquer Him. Instead, He conquered them! The HCSB Online Study Bible offers a really cool picture of Jesus' triumph: "The word triumphed ... evokes the imagery of a triumphal procession where a victorious general would lead a parade to display the booty and prisoners of war from his conquest." Isn't that a neat thought? Jesus, the victorious, almighty general, leading a triumphant, joyful parade to display what He won through His victory! 
3. He is the new covenant. This is one that I hadn't spent too much time on before my dad brought it up. "Therefore, don't let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is the Messiah." (Colossians 2:16-17) You see Jesus fulfilled the old covenant, the covenant God made with the Israelites many, many years ago, spoken of in the Pentateuch. You see, all those laws and regulations they had to follow were fulfilled in Jesus. That's why we don't have to only eat certain foods and wear specific clothes and take part in special festivals. It's because Christ abolished the old covenant and became the new covenant. But why did Jesus have to get rid of the old covenant? The simple answer - because it wasn't being properly fulfilled. The sinful Israelites could not perfectly keep the covenant with God. That's why Jesus had to become the perfect sacrifice and the perfect priest and the perfect covenant-keeper. The old covenant that was not being upheld by the Israelites was taken out of the way with Jesus' sacrifice, and the new covenant was welcomed in. (Hebrews 9:15-28)
4. He is authoritative. "You have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority." (Colossians 2:10) Jesus is the ultimate authority. He is above and head over every other. Presidents, prime ministers, governors, senators, mayors - He's above them all. And nothing they do goes unnoticed by Him. His authority trumps every other. 

These 11 things that Colossians says about Christ only touches the surface. I encourage you to dig deeper! But I hope that this beginning has helped set the tone for what is to come in Colossians. For Christ is truly the most important thing we could ever study in any book, but especially in Colossians.

What Colossians Says About Christ: Part 1

Today we're back to Colossians. But before I begin part one of this series, I want to give you a few particulars about this book.

• Author: Paul, the apostle
• Date: Around A.D. 62
• Recipients: The church at Colossae
• Occasion: "Paul wrote to warn against ... false teaching and to encourage the believers in their growth towards Christian maturity." - ESV Student Study Bible

So now, without further ado, let's get started! I decided to begin with the most important theme in Colossians - Christ. So much in Colossians speaks of Christ. I think the best place to start is the magnificent hymn in chapter one, verses 15-20:

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on the earth, the visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and by Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He might come to have first place in everything. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself by making peace through the blood of His cross, whether things on earth or things in heaven." 

Through this passage, we discover seven important things about Christ.

1. He is God. Colossians 1:15 tells us that "He is the image of ... God." Colossians 1:19 tells us that "God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him." The entire being of God dwells in Jesus Christ the man. He is fully man, yet totally and fully God. The entire deity is just as much a part of Him as humanity is. Yet it was this being God that allowed Him to remain totally perfect, for we know that God cannot sin, thus Jesus Christ, being God, could not sin. Later, in Colossians 2:9 we read that "the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ." This is just another point emphasizing Jesus' divinity.
2. He created everything. Colossians 1:16 says, "Everything was created by Him." He was there Day #1, creating the heavens and the earth, the ocean and the sky, the animals and humans. He and God the Father and God the Spirit were all working intricately together to create everything.
3. Everything was created for Him. Not only did He create everything, it was created with the purpose to glorify Him. All creation is for Him, for His glory, for His name. That was always the purpose of creation, the original idea back when it took place.
4. He is the firstborn. Colossians 1:17 tells us that, "He is before all things." Also, back in Colossians 1:15, we read that He is "the firstborn over all creation." He was before all human kind. He was there before Adam and Eve, before creation, before the angels, before everything and anything. What a mind-blowing thought! Colossians 1:18 adds that "He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead."  He is. He was. He always has been. He had no beginning. Yes, He was born on earth sometime between A.D. 6-4, but that was not when He came into existence. He was always in existence.
5. He is the sustainer of all things. The end of Colossians 1:17 says, "By Him all things hold together." He holds the invisible thread that suspends our earth in the universe. He holds our lives in His hand. Life and death are all dictated by Him. He sustains all living things and keeps everything working exactly the way He likes it.
6. He is the head of the church. Colossians 1:18 tells us this - "He is also the head of the body, the church." No matter what some pastors may tell you, Jesus Christ is the Shepherd of His flock, not any man. In our church bulletin, it reads, "Our Shepherd: Jesus Christ. Our Under-Shepherd: Sean Crowe." I like that. It reinforces the fact that Jesus is the head of our church, not my dad.
7. He made peace with God for us through the cross. Colossians 1:19-20 finish off this beautiful section with, "For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself by making peace through the blood of His cross, whether things on earth or things in heaven." His death paid the price for peace with God that we could never pay. It was a fee we could never even come close to paying! That's why the cross is so essential. Through the cross and through the blood He spilled, Christ reconciled us to God. How amazing is that! How blessed we are to have been saved from the wrath of God and to have been blessed with the ability to now have peace with God! 

I better stop now, but there's still so much more Colossians says about Christ. So stay tuned as we further delve into the theme of Christ in Colossians!

The Unsung Hero

What's your favourite book of the Bible? Like my dad, you may have 66 favourite books of the Bible, but most of us have at one time or another been specifically ministered to by a particular book. For many, that book is Ephesians. A great theological jewel, chockablock full of rich spiritual truths that we can draw upon. For others, it's Philippians, a book of great joy. For others, it's the Psalms, the 150 chapters expressing praise, frustration, anger, sadness, joy, and exaltation in the Lord. Others love the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Still others love Romans, or the Gospels, or Proverbs, or 1-3 John, or Hebrews, or so many others. But how many of you would say Colossians? Not many, I bet. A man at my church summed it up perfectly when he read a passage from Colossians 3 one Sunday morning. He began with: "I'll now be reading from Colossians 3:12-17." Here he paused. "Hm ... Colossians isn't a book I much think about." And, for many of us, and as of last year, me included, that's what comes to our mind when we hear Colossians. But after my dad and I memorized the whole book last May-September, my view slowly shifted until Colossians was my very favourite book of the Bible!

You see, Colossians is a sort of unsung hero of the Bible. If you ask people why they don't read it or think about it much, it isn't because it's hard to read, or lacking on rich theology, or too long, or too short. It's because we simply don't hear about it much. It's a somewhat quiet book with a few famous passages that everyone has heard about, yet with so many other wonderful verses that no one has ever heard about. Now I'm not saying that everyone ignores Colossians or hardly anybody reads it. Most assuredly not! I'm simply mentioning the fact that compared to others, it's a less thought of, or popular, book of the Bible.

For example, how many books have you read on Colossians? How many sermons or Sunday School lessons have you heard on Colossians? How many blog posts have you read on Colossians? If the answer to any of those questions is Few, Not Many, or None, then I hope you'll enjoy this next blog series. For I'm going to take several posts to discuss some of Colossians' main topics. We're going to look at what Colossians says about Christ. We're going to look at what it says about the family. We're going to look at what it says about salvation, sin, the gospel, life and death, and even more. I hope that by the end of this series, you'll be able to look back and have a pretty good overview of this magnificent book. Hopefully, you'll even be able to remember some key themes, some incredible verses, and some of the exciting topics it covers. Until then, why don't you read Colossians? Four chapters, 95 verses. It's not long. I assure you, it will be well worth your time.