I read the book of Colossians today, and the good news of what God has done for us is summed up rather well in chapter 1, verses 21-23, "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. / But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - / if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel..." In addition to that, chapter 2, verses 13-14 say, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, / having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us, he took it away, nailing it to the cross." That is really good news! It clearly shows God as the one who worked out His plan of reconciliation when we were powerless to do anything. No one can claim to have earned salvation, it has to come as a free gift that we accept. The rest of chapter 2 warns us against placing our hope on traditions and rituals rather than Christ. Verse 23 tells us why: "Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." This isn't saying that we shouldn't restrain sensual indulgence, it's saying that this way doesn't work to do it.
So what way does work? Chapter 3, verses 1-3 contain phrases such as "set your hearts on things above" and "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" as well as "Christ... is your life". Some certainly try to use the former chapter as license for permissiveness, implying that since Christ saves people before we change then we are under no compulsion to change, and that any such compulsion is therefore wrong, or even evil. That's not what it's saying at all, as evidenced by the fact that after telling us the way that does work to restrain sensual indulgence, chapter 3 continues with this command, warning and reminder, in verses 5-10. "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." Wow. That's not just a "let it slide" mentality, it's a complete life change!
So how do we make that change without resorting to reliance on man-made rituals and traditions? Allowing Christ to transform our minds and hearts, being open to changing our lives when they don't line up with His, and not holding onto our own, or our culture's, usual way of doing things just because it's comfortable. What does that look like? Verses 12-17 take a good look at it, so I'll end my post with those verses. "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. / Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. / And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. / Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. / Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. / And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
No comments:
Post a Comment