← Back to sermon library

They turn in your Bibles to Colossians 
chapter three. Colossians chapter three, as 
I was thinking about this section, it does portray for us a picture 
of the new man. Thomas Watson, that Puritan pastor 
and author, wrote a book. several hundred years ago called 
The Godly Man's Picture Drawn With A Scripture Pencil. It's currently in print through 
Banner of Truth, if you are so inclined. It's a wonderful study 
of a godly man. And as he says, drawn with a 
scripture pencil. Now, he goes to all over the 
scriptures. We're going to confine ourselves 
here to Colossians three. But we are sketching with the 
scripture pen pencil what a new man looks like. He is new, not 
because he is good, not because he has accomplished something, 
not because he has performed well, but he is new because God 
is gracious and God is merciful. And he sent his son, Jesus, to 
live for us and to die for us. and to rise again. In fact, the 
language specifically in verses 9 and 10 of Colossians 3 highlight 
that fact that God has sovereignly worked in the new man. Do not 
lie to one another since you have put off the old man with 
his deeds and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge 
according to the image of him who created him. It is God who 
does this. It is God who is supreme in the 
matter of salvation. Truly, as the prophet Jonah said, 
salvation is of the Lord. We'll pick up reading in chapter 
three at verse twelve. Therefore, as the elect of God, 
holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, 
meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving 
one another. If anyone has a complaint against 
another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, put 
on love, which is the bond of perfection and let the peace 
of Christ rule in your hearts, to which also you were called 
in one body and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell 
in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one 
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with 
grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or 
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to 
God the Father through him. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for the Holy Scripture and we pray for the spirit of 
God to guide and direct us now. We pray, Father, that you would 
deal with us graciously, deal with us severely if we need it, 
Father. We pray that you would correct 
us, that you would reprove us, that you would instruct us in 
righteousness. We genuinely desire to be thoroughly furnished unto 
every good work. And again, for those who do not 
know Christ as Lord and Savior, we pray that you would humble 
them under your mighty hand this day, that they would have an 
appreciation of who Jesus is and what he has accomplished. 
And that we will never stand in the presence of thrice holy 
God and our own righteousness or in our own strength. We stand 
clothed in the righteousness of Christ alone. And God, I pray 
that this would give us peace and this would give us cause 
for eternal thanksgiving. And we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. Well, as we come to chapter 
three, specifically verses 15 to 17, we need to understand 
that the new man is not simply a moralist, a moralist. He's not someone that just puts 
off bad things and puts on good things. The new man isn't a legalist. He doesn't earn his status with 
God by his accomplishment of putting off and putting on. The 
new man, rather, is defined ultimately by his belief in the gospel. 
And that belief will ultimately yield the putting off and the 
putting on. But it will all be bathed in 
or saturated in his desire and his orientation to be Christ 
centered. Christ centeredness ought to 
define the new man. If somebody were to ask you, 
why are you a Christian? Don't say, because I put off 
sin and put on righteousness. I'm a Christian because Jesus 
lived, died and rose again. I'm a Christian because of Christ, 
because of him, because of the Lord of glory himself. We need 
to be very careful that we don't fall prey to a Christ-less Christianity. We all of us are pretty proud 
and we all think that we've accomplished things pretty well and we can 
give ourselves a pat on the back and we don't do this anymore. 
We don't do that. We don't do this. And now we 
do this and now we do that. We're feeling pretty good about 
ourselves. Well, the best, the very best 
is still a miserable wretch who stands justly under God's condemnation 
and wrath. We stand by grace. We are here 
because of grace. We will enter into the New Jerusalem, 
clothed in a righteousness which is not our own. That righteousness 
which Luther called an alien righteousness. It's imputed to 
us. It has been secured by the Lord 
Jesus. And I believe here in chapter 
3, verses 15 to 17, the emphasis is on the Christ-centered orientation 
of the new man. And Paul highlights specifically 
three things. He highlights first the peace 
of Christ, verse 15. Secondly, the word of Christ, 
verse 16. And then thirdly, the name of 
Christ in verse 17. So when all you're putting off 
and then all you're putting on, do it under the conscious reality 
that you are walking in the peace of Christ. that you are driven 
and governed by the word of Christ and that you do whatever you 
do in word or in deed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
for the glory of God, the father will look at. Let's look at this 
piece of Christ first in verse fifteen. After having said that 
the new man puts on tender mercies, kindness, humility, he bears 
with one another and he forgives one another. He has above all 
put as a crown upon himself love, which is the bond of perfection. 
Paul now says in verse fifteen and let the peace of Christ rule 
in your hearts. to which also you were called 
in one body and be thankful. What is this piece of Christ? 
I realize the new King James translates it, the peace of God. But I think for symmetry, the 
peace of Christ is probably a better rendition here. Christ is God. So it's no stretch whatsoever. 
Just clearly defining more, I think, the person that is in view. Well, 
the peace of Christ has already been spoken of by Paul in Colossians 
chapter one. It is vitally connected to his 
crosswork. Go back to Colossians 1 and verse 
20 for just a moment. So if we need to let the peace 
of Christ rule in our hearts, we need to understand what we're 
talking about. Jesus is not the innovator of 
the leader of the United Nations or some other man-centered peacekeeping 
association. The peace that Christ gives is 
of a different kind altogether. And if we are to let that peace 
govern us, or umpire us, or referee us, or rule in our hearts, we 
need to have a fresh appreciation of that peace. Notice in Colossians 
1 at verse 19. It pleased the father that in 
him all the fullness should dwell and by him to reconcile all things 
to himself by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, 
having made notice peace through the blood of his cross. So letting 
the peace of Christ rule in your heart isn't some nebulous, warm 
feeling that just causes you not to get too bent out of shape 
over certain circumstances. No, it is to let the gospel peace 
influence you. It is to live near Calvary's 
cross. It is to let the shadow of Calvary 
shine or cast its shadow in your life. This is the piece that 
Jesus spoke of in John fourteen and verse twenty seven in the 
upper room. What does he say to his disciples? 
My piece I give to you. My piece I leave with you. Not 
as the world gives do I give the world has a semblance or 
an appearance of peace. The world can offer what appears 
to be happiness and some degree of stability, but that's not 
the kind of peace that Jesus gives. The peace that Jesus gives 
cannot be found in a bottle. It cannot be found in a pill. 
It cannot be found in the United Nations. The peace that Christ 
gives comes as a result of his blood shedding at Calvary. And do you know what else? This 
peace that we are to let govern our hearts is not connected to 
our performance. Let peace rule in your hearts 
as long as you're being peaceful. Let peace rule in your hearts 
as long as you're stable. Let peace rule in your hearts 
as long as you're doing well. We tend to connect peace with 
our sanctification. We tend to connect peace with 
how we're feeling. That's what the Bible says. We are to connect peace with 
the cross. We are to connect peace with 
justification. Turn to Romans chapter 5 for 
just a moment. Romans chapter 5, where you see 
that peace is intimately connected again to the gospel, to Christ's 
doing and dying on behalf of sinners and to that justification 
which flows freely from his grace received by faith alone. Notice 
in Romans 5.1, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, one man 
as well said the doctrine of sola fide needs to be proclaimed 
again from every pulpit in the land. That means faith alone. That Reformation cry that we're 
saved by grace through faith in Jesus needs to be thundered 
in the churches. Not so we can just win over the 
Roman Catholic arguments. Not so we can just put to shame 
the new perspective on Paul. Not just so we can show those 
federal vision guys who's right and who's confessional, but so 
that you may know peace. Your peace is connected to the 
cross, not to whether or not you read your Bible today. Now, 
I'm not saying don't read your Bible today, but I have met a 
fair share of Christians who, when they read their Bibles and 
pray, they have peace. That's not what this text says. 
In the language of Romans 5.1, he uses a perfect participle. That means something's happened 
in the past. It is a perfectly completed activity, 
but it has current and abiding results for you right now. Isn't 
that beautiful? Therefore, having been justified 
by faith, Remember, when we looked at the doctrine of justification, 
it's a one time declaration. You don't grow in your justification. 
You don't get more justified. I heard a sermon yesterday and 
the man quoted Spurgeon. And then the man said, rightly, 
I don't think I'd have the guts to say it like Spurgeon did. 
Spurgeon said something to the effect that when God justifies 
you. When God pronounces not guilty 
over you because of the work of Jesus Christ, he loves you 
as much as he loves his only begotten son. An hour after you 
believe the gospel, a minute after you believe the gospel 
and you have been justified by faith, God loves you in the same 
measure that he loves his son. And Donnelly says, I don't think 
I would have said that like that. But the scriptures testify we 
are co-heirs with Christ. We are joint heirs with Christ. When the father says of the son 
in his baptism and at the transfiguration, this is my beloved son in whom 
I am well pleased. We are vitally connected now. 
We are legally united to the son so that the father's pleasure 
in his son is now the father's pleasure in us. I know that's hard to comprehend. I understand that. I realize 
that to be a sinning wretch, it's difficult to realize that 
God loves me. That's why the Bible tells us 
so many times. That's why the New Testament 
underscores this reality so many times so that on Thursday, if 
you forgot to read your Bible, it's not as if God has cast you 
off and has forgotten all about you and you have to shimmy your 
way back into his affection. That's the way we think. Paul 
condemns such madness in Galatians 221. If righteousness comes through 
the law, then Christ died in vain. If righteousness comes 
because I performed well, then why Golgotha? Why Calvary? Why that cry of dereliction? 
Why has thou forsaken me? If all of us sinners could perform 
in obedience to God. Therefore, he says, having been 
justified by faith, we have peace with God. Notice in Romans five. There is that past action. We 
have been justified by faith. We have present peace with God 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. And then in verse two, through 
whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand 
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. There's a future orientation 
as well. Yes, we've been justified by 
faith. Yes, we have peace with God, but we're not in the New 
Jerusalem yet. We have that hope. Hope in the 
New Testament isn't, I hope I win a million dollars. I hope I get 
that job promotion that I have no business getting. I hope that 
this woman will marry me when she doesn't even know who I am. 
We use hope as just, I hope it happens. That's not hope in the 
Bible. It is a confident expectation 
based on the truth of God. This hope that we have in future 
glory has been secured for us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul 
says, let the peace of Christ rule. And the word rule here, 
as I've already alluded to, means to referee. What would be an 
umpire? Kind of amazing, huh? The guy 
standing behind the plate, this big pad and the headpiece on, 
umpiring the game. He's ruling it. He's over it. You as a coach may not like his 
ruling and you may come and you may kick dust on his shoes. And 
what does he do? You're out of here, right? He 
rules that field. It is his dominion. Johnny says 
very well, the peace of Christ is not merely to have existence 
in your hearts, but it is to exercise supreme command. You are to let that piece of 
Christ, which he secured at Calvary, govern, rule, dominate, and exercise 
supreme command in your hearts. That explains why, in the most 
difficult circumstances, we find Christians doing amazing things. 
This is why we find in Acts chapter five, after the unbelieving Jews 
took whips and opened the flesh of the disciples, they left from 
there, not threatening to call their congressmen, not threatening 
to call the governor, not invoking their rights as Jewish men, but 
rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer shame 
for the name of Jesus. How do they do that? Because 
the peace of Christ doesn't merely exist in their hearts, but it 
exercises dominion. This is why Paul and Silas, who 
are rounded up in the marketplace and brought to the Roman magistrate, 
having had the Roman rod laid upon their backs and their feet 
placed in the stocks at midnight, instead of crying and agonizing 
and calling upon the jailer to give them their one phone call, 
they're praising God and singing hymns. I think it was Tertullian 
who said, while the feet are in the stocks, the heart is in 
heaven. That's how Christ's people operate. They understand justification 
by faith. They understand that peace with 
God. That's what matters. That's what 
counts. That's what I ought to let govern 
me. And notice the theater that this 
piece is to flesh itself out and notice in verse 15 of Colossians 
3. Let the peace of God or peace 
of Christ rule in your hearts to which you were called in one 
body. To love Paul, he'll never let us forget sovereign grace. 
Paul is the quintessential Calvinist. He won't let us forget we were 
called to this. We didn't arrive at this. We 
didn't get together and work these things out. Why don't we 
just live together in peace? No, we wouldn't do that. He says 
you've been called to this. You have been called to participate 
in the government of Christ's peace. You have been called to 
be subdued. You've been called to be enslaved. You have been called to have 
a yoke placed upon you. And in this instance, it is the 
yoke of Christ's peace. You were called to this in one 
body. So this vertical peace that you 
enjoy with God, having been justified by faith because of the finished 
work of our Lord Jesus Christ, that peace with God ought to 
flow out into the church. It ought to affect other people, 
it ought to be evident in your home. It ought to be evident 
in your workplace. It ought to be evident in your 
church. Having been justified by faith, new man is a peaceful 
man. Because when things are right 
with God, things are right. We don't often think like that. 
Got to get my house in order. Got to get my job in order. Got 
to get my schooling in order. Got to get this in order. Got 
to get that in order. Then I'll have peace. You see 
what Paul's saying? You have peace with the most 
important one. Everything else is in place. 
Right? It's his argument. That's what 
he's saying. A new man walks like. It ought 
to affect you in the life of the church. We've been called 
as one body, Romans 12, 5, 1st Corinthians 12, 12 and Ephesians 
4, 4. F.F. Bruce says that strife inevitably 
results when men and women are out of touch with him, who is 
the one source of true peace. But there is no reason why those 
who have received the peace which Christ established by his death 
on the cross should have any other than peaceful relations 
among themselves. Let me just read that again and 
listen, because sometimes in our churches we forget that this 
peace which has come as a result of Christ justifying us doesn't 
always flush itself out the way that we live. Strife inevitably 
results, that means it comes certainly, when men and women 
are out of touch with him who is the one source of true peace. 
It shouldn't surprise you that there is chaos in the world. It shouldn't surprise you that 
there is a whole host of unrest in this world. I mean, it should 
still shock us when we read about Fort Hood. It should still cause 
us to weep and break our hearts. We should never become comfortable 
with sin. But we shouldn't throw up our 
hands and say, I don't know how this could ever happen. You don't. Men are at war with the living 
God. Men hate God. Men have mounted an opposition 
against God and against his Christ. And you wonder why there's not 
peace. Sometimes we Christians ban in our in our judgmental 
attitudes really undo what Christ came to do. How dare you behave 
like that. It's like saying this to the 
bird. How dare you fly. How dare you swim to a fish. No more so we should say I understand 
that you swim like a fish because you're a fish. Christ came and 
died for sinners and rose again. He says there is no reason why 
those who have received the peace which Christ established by his 
death on the cross should have any other than peaceful relations 
among themselves. Oh, we'll bump into each other. 
We'll be, there'll be friction. There'll be tension to be sure, 
but because we're going to forbear and because we're going to forgive 
and because we're governed and ruled by the peace of Christ, 
we're going to bury those things. We are going to embrace one another 
and we are going to dwell in peace. Paul says in Ephesians 
4 that we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit 
in the bond of peace. That doesn't mean if the pastor 
comes up and starts preaching heresy, you don't challenge him. 
Or he starts exercising undue authority, you don't challenge 
him. Or if someone in the church offends you legitimately, you 
just suck it up and knuckle under. That doesn't mean that. You deal 
with it biblically, you deal with it scripturally, but you 
deal with it so you can have peace with one another. And notice 
there is a thankfulness which accompanies peace. I love Paul 
in Colossians puts thankfulness in here so many times we find 
it in his own prayer in Colossians 1 3. We see it in Colossians 
1 12 that they themselves were to be thankful. Colossians 2 
and verse 7 here in Colossians 3 and verse 15 again in Colossians 
3 17 and in Colossians 4 2 at the end of verse 15 he says and 
be thankful. That's interesting. Peace and 
thankfulness go hand in hand. In fact, if we're really thankful, 
it facilitates peace. It's hard to be mean to your 
brother and sister when you're thanking God, right? Isn't it? It's hard to be Eeyore 
from Winnie the Pooh when you're thanking God. It's hard to be obnoxious when 
you're thanking God. We can still do it, but it's 
harder. When we're living in an attitude 
of pervasive thankfulness unto God, which thankfulness is necessary 
because it causes us to look always at God's grace. It's a 
legitimate and excellent motivation. Listen to Douglas Moody says 
believers who are full of gratitude to God for his gracious calling 
will find it easier to extend the fellow believers the grace 
of love and forgiveness and to put aside petty issues that might 
inhibit the expression of peace in the community. Simple right. When you're thanking God hopefully 
you're able to deal with people in a righteous manner. Let this 
peace rule in your heart and be thankful. So not only be thankful 
to facilitate peace, but that peace ought to promote thankfulness. 
Praise God, I'm right with God. This may not be in order, that 
may not be in order, this may have some issues. You ever feel 
like your life is a bunch of frayed ends? Like if somebody 
could look inside your head, instead of seeing a nice rope 
or a nice string, they'd see a bunch of frayed ends. Am I 
the only one that ever feels like that? I doubt it. But even 
though you've got all those frayed ends, the most important thing 
is covered. We have peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice Paul moves on. It's not 
only the peace of Christ. But it's the message of the word 
of Christ. Notice, in verse 16, that the word of Christ dwell 
in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one 
another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with 
grace in your hearts to the Lord. First, I want to look at the 
centrality of Christ's word. Then we'll look at this translation 
a little bit just to try to make some sense out of what Paul is 
actually instructing us. Notice the first thing with reference 
to this, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Now, there 
is that personal or individual element, to be sure, every Christian 
ought to let the word of Christ dwell in him richly. We'll get 
to that in just a moment, but there's a corporate element to. 
How should our churches look? Should the pulpit be off to the 
side or in the center? Should entertainment take priority? 
Should the abomination of the mass take priority? The very 
asking of the question says no. What should take priority in 
the assemblies of God's people? Let the word of Christ dwell 
in you richly. Don't have a bit of familiarity 
with the word. Don't come near the word, but 
let it dwell in you richly. Let it take up residence in your 
heart and mind. Let it be a part of you. Let 
it be something you are more than familiar with. Let it be 
a ready and a constant guide. Corporately, the church should 
be about proclamation. Now, there are other elements 
of worship to be sure. This very context highlights 
one of those other elements. But we ought not to forget that 
when Paul was about to die, He's about to go the way of all flesh 
and enter into his eternal reward. The very last charge that he 
gives to his young companion, Timothy, is not be the best, 
be the happiest, be the most dazzling, be the most gifted, 
speak in tongues, prophesy, have great entertainment, do all those 
things. His last and his final admonition 
to Timothy is simply this. Preach the word. Not preach your feelings. A preacher 
experiences not preach stories. The preacher actually in America 
says my congregation really loves stories, so we got the pulpit 
out of there, put a big brown easy chair in there and I sit 
down and I tell them stories. God have mercy that we have fallen 
such from the Reformation standard of the centrality of the preaching 
of God's word. The Heidelberg Catechism is very 
clear. When a man is accurately and 
faithfully preaching the word, you are hearing from God himself 
that I'm God. I think if we appreciated this 
admonition to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, we 
might approach worship with a bit of a difference. We wouldn't 
come thinking we're just going to hear the ramblings of a man, 
and I hope he finishes by 11 or 12, 15. We're not coming in 
just to get our ears tickled. We're not coming in just to get 
some life experience or a bit of help from our coach, but we're 
coming to meet with the triune God. Let the word of Christ dwell 
in you. Paul says preach the word. Be ready in season and out of 
season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with 
all longsuffering and teaching. And then, you know what? Paul 
gives two reasons why Timothy is to do that. The second reason 
is because Paul's about to die. The first reason is because the 
church may not want it. I love his logic. If Timothy 
would have got on the phone or he would have emailed Paul and 
he would have said, look, the church I'm ministering to doesn't want sound 
doctrine, what should I do? Paul would say, preach sound 
doctrine. Not move your pulpit over and 
get a big brown easy chair and have entertainment. He'd say, 
preach the word. For the time will come, Paul 
says to Timothy, when they will not endure sound doctrine. It's 
almost like they're going to stomp up their ears and say, 
no, we want this. We want to heap up men that'll 
tickle our ears, that'll tell us peace, peace, when there is 
no peace. And to tell us about every other thing save the doctrine 
of the cross. Paul says the time will come 
when they will do that. So here's the response. Preach 
the word. That's his logic. Paul wants 
the word of Christ to dwell in you richly. Corporately as a 
church. There ought to be a longing to 
hear from God's word. We don't look at it as if the 
hymns or the prayers are all just preliminary. Let's get to 
the stuff. We don't want to fall into that trap either. We ought 
to be worshiping in song. We ought to be worshiping in 
prayer. We ought to be gathered together as the corporate body 
of God's elect, holy and beloved coming into his presence to meet 
with him. By the same token, we don't say, 
well, we worship for an hour and then we throw a little bit 
of an exhortation in. No. I've met people that think that 
worship stops when the singing stops, do you know that right 
now, if you're really paying attention, you're worshiping 
God. Did you know that you're not 
just some passive stuff, you're not just a bump on the log, you're 
not just an oddity on these pews, but you're a worshiper of the 
triune God. That's how you come to this. That's how you prepare 
your heart. You come to hear and worship. Corporately and individually. It's like a fire, right? You 
just throw one log on the fire, it'll burn right up. You throw 
a bunch of wood in there and it burns hot and it burns bright 
and it burns strong. That's how it ought to be on 
the Lord's day. A lot of logs coming together to burn strong 
and bright for their God. You should be feeding your soul 
each and every day. Your status with God does not 
depend upon your Bible reading, but your life with God is certainly 
helped as you read your Bible. Having been justified by faith, 
we have peace with God, that means I can read, I can pray, 
I can commune with this God, I can learn from him. You know, 
most of us spent the better part of our lives doing everything 
wrong. Now we get the privilege of being 
transformed by the renewing of our minds. And yet laziness is 
a reality. Indifference is a reality. We 
have to fight. We have to just put those things 
off and we have to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. Notice what Paul says in verse 
sixteen, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, 
teaching and admonishing one another in songs and hymns and 
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 
The New King James reads as if teaching and admonishing one 
another takes place while we sing. This has some weight when 
we compare Ephesians chapter five, because as we read Ephesians 
five, it does read that way. But that's not how the grammar 
of this text reads. I think it's a twofold thing. 
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, and it will flesh 
itself out in two ways. The first, you'll teach and admonish 
one another in all wisdom, and the second is you'll sing psalms 
and hymns and praises to God. In fact, the ESV renders that 
let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonishing 
one another in all wisdom, singing songs and hymns and spiritual 
songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. I think that captures 
the grammar. I think that is a good and legitimate 
translation. So the idea is that individually, 
Monday through Saturday, you're letting the word of Christ dwell 
in you richly. So that when you see a brother, or when you see 
a sister, or when you come in here on the Lord's Day, you can 
teach and admonish one another. That doesn't mean you call your 
friends and say, I've got a word from the Lord, come and sit down 
in my house, because I'm going to teach you and I'm going to 
admonish you. No, it doesn't mean that. Now, you may have 
a word that you want to share and it's burning in your heart 
and you want to tell them about it. But I think it's the day 
in, day out, exhorting one another daily while it is called today, 
lest we be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. He's not 
saying that we ought to get rid of the pulpit. We ought to get 
rid of the teaching ministry. We ought not to have elders. 
We ought not to have preachers. We ought not to have that. The body 
ought to just tend to itself. No, I don't think that's what 
he's saying. He's saying, let the word of Christ dwell in you 
richly so that you can teach and admonish one another in all 
wisdom. So if your brother says, look, I'm going to go out and 
do this, you can say, no, the Bible says don't do that. But 
if your wife gets, you know, unsubmissive, he said, honey, 
the Bible says don't do that. Or if your husband is acting 
like a jerk, you can say, honey, the Bible doesn't say that. It 
says to love me. You're going to teach and admonish 
one another in all wisdom. Paul connects wisdom with teaching 
in Colossians 1. I think it bears out the grammar. 
So what do you do? Two things. Let the word of Christ 
dwell in us richly so that we can be of benefit to one another. So, if somebody says, hey, I 
met with this Jehovah's Witness and they were challenging me 
about who Jesus is, you can say, wow, I just read today in Acts 
chapter 5 that the Holy Spirit is God. I read in John 20, 28 
that Jesus is God. And then a friend says, wow, 
that's great. I'm going to write that down. I'm going to remember that 
so that now I can be better equipped to teach Jehovah's Witness. It 
doesn't mean it has to be a formalized setting. OK, today we're going 
to hear from Brother Whoever, Brother So-and-so, Brother What? 
No, no, no. That's not the point. The point is, have the word dwelling 
in you richly so that you're of help to a brother. Right? So you can encourage a brother. 
So you can admonish a brother. So if a brother comes to you 
and says, look, I'm going to sell my house, I'm going to leave 
my wife, and I'm going to go be a rock star. You can say, 
no. Don't do that. Let me show you 
something in the Bible, right? Oh no, I'm settled. No, let me 
show you. You teach them and you admonish 
them. The idea is that you let the word dwell in you richly, 
not just so you can benefit, but so that you can benefit others. John F. Kay said, ask not what 
your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your 
country. Or at least his speechwriter said that. The church or the 
Christian ought not to always be about what can the church 
do for me. We live in a very self-centered age. People shop 
for churches like they shop for computers. I want this CPU. I want this program. I want this. 
I want this. I want this. Because it all has 
to serve me. Because I'm most important. How about this zany 
idea? You get up on a Sunday morning 
and pray and read, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly 
and then say to God, Lord, let me benefit somebody else. Let 
me be of help to another. Let me be an encouragement. Let 
me be kind. Let me share with them something 
that encouraged me during the week. That's what Paul is saying. It is to flesh itself out in 
our teaching and admonishing of one another and in our singing 
of praise to Jesus. Notice the connection here? Let 
the word of Christ dwell richly in your heart so that you can 
sing. Not empty yourself of any thought of doctrine, any thought 
of truth, any thought of whatever. Be experience-driven and feelings-oriented, 
and whatever music gets you going, sing. No. God's method is fill 
yourself with truth so that you can sing back truth. Not fill 
yourself with feeling and warmth, so that you can sing out for 
feeling and warmth. Right? You see that? Let the 
word of Christ dwell in you richly, so that you can teach and admonish 
one another, and so that when you come to sing, you're singing 
to God. Yeah, when a two-year-old is 
able to say, I love you, Daddy, that's great. But when he's 22, 
he should be able to articulate a few reasons why he loves you. 
Because you've given to me, you have taken care of me, you have 
not dealt with me according to my transgressions, you have loved 
me when others haven't. It's great. You get saved to 
say, I love you, God. It's no accident that our hymn 
book was written primarily, the hymns in our book were written 
primarily by pastors and by theologians. Why? Because they knew that the 
truth was to saturate the heart in order to sing it back to God. 
He speaks of three categories here, he says Psalms and he says 
hymns and he says spiritual songs. Psalms is probably a reference 
to the Old Testament Psalter. Some take this and say it's a 
Psalms only position that these three terms all refer to sections 
in the Psalter. I don't think that's right. Psalm 
itself means to sing with musical accompaniment. It's always been 
a curious thing to me that some of the Psalms only people are 
anti-musical instruments. It's very difficult to come away 
from reading the Psalms and conclude that musical instruments are 
wrong. The very word of the etymology itself suggests that you're singing 
with accompaniment. Hymns are praises to God. And songs is a neutral term. It could be religious or it could 
be spiritual. That's why he says spiritual 
songs. These three elements ought to 
be present in the life of God's people. Calvin defines song this 
way. A song is that in the singing 
of which some musical instrument besides the tongue is made use 
of. So, Charles Hodge says a song was agreeably to the etymology 
of the word, a song designed to be sung with the accompaniment 
of instrumental music. Calvin says a hymn is properly 
a song of praise, whether it be sung simply with the voice 
or otherwise. And spiritual songs, John Eady 
said, the ode is a general term and denotes the natural outburst 
of an excited bosom. Oh, that we'd have more natural 
outbursts of excited bosoms. As I said, I don't agree in a 
psalms only position. I think that singing is somewhat 
like preaching. The preacher is not to get up 
and simply recite the sacred text. In the same manner, I don't 
think the psalms only position is accurate that we simply recite 
the sacred text. However, in our preaching and 
in our singing, we must accurately reflect the sacred text. We must 
accurately teach and preach the sacred text. Now, having said 
that, I don't believe Paul is teaching a psalms only position, 
I am very sympathetic to those brethren who see it this way. 
In what is very shallow hymnody, in what is very trite singing, 
in what is very, very unbiblical. The church does well To get the 
songs of David under their belts, Robert Raymond commenting on 
the singing and worship, he says it will also include the much 
neglected singing of songs which express the full range of human 
emotions and worship. See, human authors don't sit 
down and write laments. A human author would never write 
song without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would ever 
write Psalm 88. Or Psalm 42 or Psalm 43. We're afraid to tell 
people that I actually cried out to God, where are you? But 
you know, when we search the Psalms, we find that those guys 
weren't afraid under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You see, 
God is real. And when I say God is real, I 
don't mean that he's real existently or he's existing. I mean that 
to be sure. But he's real. He knows us. He doesn't play 
games with us. We put on the game we put on the fake. We say 
we're fine when we're not. God knows better. Raymond goes 
on to say the biblical Psalms are realistic in a way that many 
hymns are not. And choruses could hardly ever 
be. They also contrast the righteous and the wicked. You're not going 
to find anybody today writing a hymn that says, you know, God, 
your enemies make make his children orphans, his wife, a widow. Now, 
whether we should sing all that in corporate worship, I actually 
think so, but that's a whole nother topic for argument. The whole use of the imprecatory 
songs. He goes on to say they also contrast 
the righteous and the wicked highlight the conflict between 
them and thereby encourage a bold militant spirituality such as 
the Huguenot and Puritan fathers knew and lived by. Remember reading 
that the Huguenot marching into battle would sing Psalm 68. French Calvinists going to battle 
would be singing the Psalms of David. Gordon Clark says singing 
hymns which were free to do. does not imply that the cheap, 
catchy ditties of some modern evangelism, if it is evangelism 
at all, are superior to the Psalms of David. And a hymn book without 
a good proportion of Psalms is not fit for a church service. Some of you, when we read the 
Trinity Psalter, that's an odd duck thing. There's a good deal 
of Psalms in our hymn book. But that Trinity Psalter is a 
good supplement to introduce more of them so that we can sing 
about those themes that would not otherwise be captured by 
an uninspired writer. So it's. The peace of Christ, 
the message of Christ, and then finally notice the name of Christ, 
our orientation is Christ word, verse 17, whatever you do in 
word or deed. It's the scope, isn't that great? 
Whatever you do, Paul said to put off and he said to put on. 
But just in case I missed anything, whatever you do, whether it's 
in word, what you say or it's indeed what you do, whatever 
you do, whatever you say, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. That doesn't mean, ladies, that 
you wash your dishes and before you do it, you say in the name 
of Jesus, I'm going to wash these dishes. It isn't simply a rote 
parenting of the phrase, in the name of Jesus. It means your 
orientation. It means your life. It means, 
as Scripture says elsewhere, your walk, your conversation. Whatever you do, you do according 
to the nature of, the person of, the works of Jesus. You're not parenting a formula. 
You're living a life. Again, Doug Moose says this to 
do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, then does not 
mean simply to utter Jesus name, but to act always in concert 
with the nature and character of our Lord. In other words, 
when you do something or you say something, you do it as a 
Christian, you do it as a new man, you do it as a new woman, 
you do it as one who has been justified by faith, who now enjoys 
peace with God. You do it in that manner. You 
don't do it as a heathen. You don't do it as a pagan. You 
don't do it for yourself. You don't do it for everybody 
else. The Christian priority structure is very clearly defined 
in the Bible. And we do well to heed that. 
God comes first. And you know that, ladies, if 
your husband puts God first, you're going to benefit. It's 
when he puts you first that things are going to go right. Same thing 
with the wives. If she puts God before you, praise 
the Lord for that. Because any other order, any 
other system of priority means that we're idolaters. We do all 
in the name of the Lord Jesus. And Paul ends again with thankfulness, 
giving thanks to God the Father through him. Thankfulness in 
the Christian life is so important because it is a constant recognition 
of the grace-based nature of God's saving dealings with his 
people. That's why thankfulness is important. 
It casts your eyes on God. It causes you to remember Jesus. 
It causes you to consider Calvary. It causes you to say with Paul, 
therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with 
God. That's what thankfulness is all 
about. Well, thus far in our portrait 
of a new man, we have seen that he sets his mind on things above 
where Christ is. That's where it begins. Chapter 
three, verses one to four. Before he says put off, before 
he says put on, before he says do this, before he says do that, 
he says you need to put your mind here. Because you see a 
spiritual or biblical mindedness will flush itself out on the 
earth. Biblical mindedness will have horizontal effect. on those 
around you. He sets his mind on things above 
where Christ is. He puts off sins of the flesh 
and sins of the tongue. He puts on virtues consistent 
with the Lord Jesus Christ. And he is governed by or ruled 
by the peace of Christ. He is filled with the knowledge 
of Christ's word because it was richly in his heart. And he is 
a man who is faithful with reference to thankfulness to his God. Do these things describe you? 
Real simply, if we set up the portrait of a new man here, does 
it look like you? Does it look like what you want 
to become? I mean, praise God, what Newton 
said is true. Yeah, I'm not what I ought to be, but praise God, 
I'm not what I was. And I know I'm not what I'm going 
to be by God's grace. You may look at this portrait 
and you may say, wow, I don't think there's a one on one correspondence, 
but by God's grace, I've been justified by faith and that is 
what I want. I don't care how old you are. 
I don't care how young you are. Does this describe you? Is this you? Can you look at 
Colossians chapter three and say, wow, by the grace of God, 
by the grace of God. This indwelling word of Christ. 
Rather, I don't know if you stand as amazed as I do at the biblical 
illiteracy that is rampant in North America, but it just drives 
me nuts. This isn't because I just finished up my Whitfield studies 
either. Biblical illiteracy. We have 
support groups, we have encounter groups, we have this meeting, 
we've got this meeting, we got men's this, we got women's this, 
we got kids this, we got all this. But how many can say that 
justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardons 
all of our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only 
for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by 
faith." That is a grand confession. It was on that confession that 
the Protestant Reformation launched forth. The greatest revival in 
the history of the Church centered on that truth. And we have people 
today that are ignorant of that truth. Please don't let it be 
you. Let the word of Christ dwell 
richly in your hearts. There's nothing better. What 
is the psalmist saying? Much to be desired, more than 
fine gold. King David had everything at 
his fingertips, but he wanted God's word. King Solomon had 
everything at his fingertips, but he wanted wisdom from God. 
You see, they understood, let the word of Christ well richly 
in your heart. And it's very interesting if 
you compare on your own later this with the parallel in Ephesians 
five in Ephesians five. Paul says, Do not be drunk with 
wine and which is dissipation, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. 
Ever wondered, how do I get more Holy Spirit? I hope you've wondered 
that. I hope that's a legitimate desire. 
I hope you're like, man, I want more of the Holy Spirit. You know, all of the Charismatics 
and Pentecostals are saying, I don't know that that even really 
is the Holy Spirit. But because they abuse some things 
doesn't mean we, as Reformed folk, shouldn't seek more of 
the Holy Spirit. We want to be Spirit-filled. Well, when you take these two 
passages and you compare them, he says, but be filled with the 
Holy Spirit speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns and spiritual 
songs. Here is let the word of Christ dwell in you richly speaking 
in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Obviously, the same idea 
is going on. I'm just simple enough to say, 
well, maybe the filling of the spirit has to do with letting 
the word of Christ dwell richly in my heart. It's not magic. We don't roll 
the dice. We don't conjure up meaning so 
that the Spirit will come and visit us. We get up, we open 
our Bibles and we read. I know that doesn't sound as 
dramatic and as sensational, but when we compare the two passages, 
I think that's what's in view. Pastor MacArthur said this, the 
Holy Spirit fills the life controlled by his word. Isn't that great? The Holy Spirit fills the life 
controlled by his word. You want more of the spirit, 
read more of the Bible. He goes on to say. This emphasizes 
that the filling of the spirit is not some ecstatic or emotional 
experience, but a steady controlling of the life by obedience to the 
truth of God's word. You don't get the Spirit by selling 
everything you have and joining a monastery. You don't get the 
Spirit necessarily by going to a conference. More often than 
not, you are going to know more of the influence and the power 
of the Holy Spirit if you as a Christian man make a commitment 
to let the Word of Christ dwell richly in your hearts. That's how God rolls. through 
the due use of the ordinary means. We want the extraordinary. We 
want to be dazzled. We want our feelings on fire 
all the time. Do you know that if every day they 
had a great big fireworks display, it would take away from the specialness 
of it? Every day, normal guy Christianity 
is not fireworks blasting. Now, God, in his grace and in 
his kindness, sometimes punctuates the walk of a Christian with 
some fireworks. Great, glorious, wonderful, revive 
me, Lord, according to your word, fill me with your spirit, cause 
me to rejoice, let my bosom be so excited. I can't wait to get 
to the house of God and sing. But the absence of God doesn't 
mean the absence of God. Some bad teaching out there, 
that if you're not living on this mountain high, higher life 
plane, then somehow you're not a real Christian. Paul says, 
let the word of Christ flow richly in your heart. Not through magic, 
not through osmosis, but through reading, using that thing that's 
on top of your shoulders. And the final observation with 
reference to these three things, with reference to Christ, is 
peace, his word and his name. It keeps us balanced. The Christ-centered 
orientation of the new man keeps us balanced. We are a reformed 
Baptist church. That means we have some peculiarities 
in our community. Some people would look at us 
and call us hyper-Calvinists. Others would look at us and call 
us Arminians. Others would look at us and say, how could you 
ever be reformed and Baptist? Others don't have a clue because 
they don't have a clue about how we roll or how we operate. 
We're just a strange bunch of people. We have some distinctive. We don't speak in tongues. We 
don't have special meetings where we speak in tongues. We don't 
have supernatural, all that stuff. And we are odd to some. Do you 
know what, brethren? Our distinctive ought to be the 
gospel. People ought to say, well, you 
know what? This we do see. You're governed by Christ's peace. 
You really love his word and you really do everything in his 
name. It keeps us balanced. What are our distinctness supposed 
to be? Christ and him crucified. I was listening to a sermon by 
Pastor Ted Donley and he mentioned the man Jimmy Durante. Some of 
the older people will remember that Jimmy Durante, I think, 
was an actor or something in the States. In the early part 
of the world, he had a great big schnoz. In fact, they called 
him Schnozzle. Big, huge nose. People around 
him would say, why don't you blow your nose, Jimmy? He'd say, 
why don't you blow it, because you're closer. That was his distinctive. That's what made him unique. 
That was his claim to fame. Probably on that walk where they 
put their handprints or footprints, he put a nose print, because 
that's how he was known. I've got to tell you, brethren, 
I don't want to go to my grave having been known for just being a Baptist 
or just being reformed or just not speaking in tongues or just 
not doing this or not doing that or loving the law of God. I want 
to go to the grave having made much of Jesus Christ and him 
crucified. This keeps the new man centered. This keeps the new man balanced. 
This keeps the new man where he ought to be, the foot of the 
cross. Not standing out on the street corner and saying, I thank 
you, God, that I'm not like those Charismatics. I thank you, God, 
that I'm not like those Paedobactists. I thank you, God, that I'm not 
like those men. No. He stands and he says, I 
thank you, God, for your grace and mercy to a sinner like me. 
This is the perspective the new man ought to have. And if you're 
not a new man here today, there's one way of becoming a new man. 
It's not by putting off. It's not by putting on. It's 
by believing the gospel. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. This isn't a how-to manual for 
non-Christians. You just do this and you're part 
of the club. You just do this and you're in. 
You just do this and you get to be baptized. You just do this 
and you get to take the Lord's Supper. This is not a how-to 
manual for the non-Christian. This is a description of a new 
man. A new man is made by God alone. A new man sees himself as a sinner, 
sees God as holy, and he doesn't even look up into heaven and 
he says, God be merciful to me. And the man looks upon the Lord 
Jesus Christ and he lives. That's the way of salvation. 
Not performance, not our performance anyway. It is tied up in performance. It is in the doing and in the 
dying and in the rising of the Lord Jesus Christ. You look to 
him and you will live. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for the Holy Scriptures and God, we confess our sins if we 
have followed any of this with any degree of clarity. God, we 
don't always let your peace rule in our hearts. We don't always 
let the word of God dwell richly in our hearts, and we don't always 
do everything in the name of Christ. Forgive us, Lord, and 
cleanse us afresh in the blood of Christ. And how we thank you 
that we're justified by faith. We're justified by a sovereign 
act of a gracious God. And yet we pray, Lord, that you 
would just fill us with more of your spirit so that we may 
walk as this passage describes. And for those who have not looked 
unto Christ, we pray. That you would indeed draw them 
unto yourself, that calling with which you call sinners. We pray 
you would exercise today and that you would cause sinners, 
even in this room, to look unto Jesus and to be saved. We ask 
now that you would go with us and watch over us. And we pray 
again for those sick in our midst. We pray for Pastor Cam that you 
would just give him a good day of rest. And we pray that you 
would heal him quickly, that he would be physically well, 
and that you would restore our brother to physical health. And 
we ask now that you would be glorified in our lives. And we 
pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.