Pentecost 11 8/4/13

Pentecost 11 8/4/13 Text: Colossians 3:1-11 Title: Last week in studying the letter to the Christians at Colossae we discovered that the Christian Church still struggles with the same thing that the Christian Church has struggled with since it began; adding human traditions to the Word of God. It first started when the Apostles in Rome sent out Paul to the Gentiles with their list of acceptable things that the new Christians needed to do if they were to be truly Christian. When I say adding human traditions to the Word I mean saying that certain human traditions are equal to or in some cases, above the authority of the Word of God. I don’t ever see this problem going away. For some unfathomable reason we just don’t seem to be able to let the Word of God just speak for itself. We must add more to it; do this, do that, say this, say that, and so forth. What arrogance on our part, to think we need to add to God’s Word. Colossians 2:21-23 while not being part of our reading for last Sunday or this Sunday is an important part of God’s Word, for in these last few verses of chapter 2, Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit not only wraps up what God wants us to learn, but sets the stage for what he wants us to learn in chapter 3, our reading for this Sunday. In chapter two Paul had just taught them and us that in Christ everything is complete; our life, our death, our resurrection. Listen to God’s Word, as Paul makes his point, "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations--21 "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)-- according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." Then, in our reading for today; you might want to get your service folder out and follow along. Starting with verse one. "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” “If then”, is not a maybe, but a given, for when you are in faith and have been baptized you are raised with Christ because you died with Christ in your Baptism. “Seek the things above” is not a searching for something like it means today, something that is lost, but a life style of reading and meditating on those things that truly matter, the things of God. And where do we find those things heavenly things of God? It is certainly not by, as so many try today, by looking into oneself, or reading the latest bestselling spiritual book, whatever that might mean, but by reading and meditating on God’s Word. In case anyone did not understand what Paul is saying he added in verse 2, “2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” In other words, watch what you trust, and depend on, as Paul warned us last Sunday "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." Continuing in verse 3, Paul once more tells us, “3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” You have died, not a physical death, as Jesus did, but a spiritual death in Jesus, in that Jesus took the condemnation of your sins upon himself. And since you are in him in his death, you are in him in his resurrection and ascension to heaven. And you will be, as Paul writes in verse 4, “4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Notice that Paul when he wrote, “Christ who is your life,” is saying that not only has God created you, but that he has given you eternal life. Paul is assuring those who believe in Jesus as their Savior that because of their faith in Jesus life, death, resurrection, and ascension that when Christ comes back they will join him, both body and soul, in the resurrection. Now Paul gets to what a Christian is do who is joined in Christ. There are two lists as you will see. The first are sins against self. The second list starting in verse 8 are sins against others. “5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” Put to death, in other words control yourself, for even though we still struggle with sin, Jesus in his death has already these and all other sins to death. Notice that Paul has grouped these sins together. First sexual immorality and impurity, for God clearly teaches that to live a sexually immoral life is to live an impure life. He then groups “evil desire, and covetousness” together explaining that both are a form of idolatry. Why is that? When desire and the coveting of others or things that are not yours you are so focused on yourself that you break the First Commandment, “You will have no other gods before me”. This breaking of the First Commandment leads to breaking more commandments whether we act on the evil desire and covetousness or just think about it. He finishes his thought by telling us, “On account of these, referring back to what he just said, the wrath of God is coming.” In other words those things will not go unpunished. He then reminds them, as he did in last Sunday’s lesson “7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.” In other words, don’t go back to living the way you were. You, since you are joined in Christ in his death and resurrection, are now a child of God and are not to live the way you were in purposeful sin, for that is to deny Christ and his saving work. Then Paul gets to the second list of sins that give us all trouble from time to time. These are just a partial list of sins that hurt others. “8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another,”. Notice the progression. First anger, which is an emotion, which leads to wrath, a forceful, sometimes, vengeful anger, that leads to malice, a desire to harm, which leads to slander, which is false and malicious statements, which leads to obscene talk, where you flavor your words with the most hurtful and harmful words to further hurt the person you are angry with. God tells us through Paul’s writing, “Don’t even get angry, for the sin of anger can and often does compound itself to even more harmful sin.” He finishes his thought in verse 9, the reason why those sins are not to be part of your life. “seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” You are no longer the old Adam, for Jesus the New Adam has put him to death. You, in Christ who are buried and raised in him are now new, so live like it. Continuing in verse 11, he writes, “11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all." Today we would have our own list of who is in and who is out of God’s Church and even our own congregation. Paul runs through a list of the most vital differences found in his day. “Greek and Jew” were opposed to each other, the Greek emphasizing his Greek culture and high social standing, the Jew boasting of his divine religion. Both Greek and Jew disappear before the spiritual glory of the new man in Christ. Jews boasted of their circumcision while Gentiles boasted of their uncircumcision. Paul says were the new man is in Christ, there is no boasting. The next four terms are not compared with each other but are listed to show the obvious differences that according to God’s Word are not to be present in in the Christian Church. Like I said earlier we have our own lists today, but the problem is still the same. Barbarian is one who cannot speak the Greek language, not just a savage; a “Scythian” is not simply a native of Scythia but worse than a barbarian, a savage. Paul ends his list with slave and free. In doing so he has effectively including all humankind for you are either a slave or free. This still holds true to today. Now he is ready for his concluding statement. “but Christ is all, and in all." Just as the word “but” today means to disregard what was just said, Paul is saying none of the divisions, while they exist in the world can exist with those in Christ, for in Christ there can be no divisions, for he cannot be divided. If that is true and it is, then why are there so many divisions in Christian churches today? The answer really is very simple. There are divisions because the same problem exists today that has existed since religions started; the desire for power over others. Christianity is in need of a reformation, much like the reformation of Martin Luther’s day. A reformation, not of making sure that everyone toes the line, but a reformation of not just talking about God’s grace, but living our lives in the freedom of God’s grace. Amen.