Please turn with me in your Bibles to Colossians, chapter three. Colossians, chapter three, I'll just begin reading in verse one. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth, for you died.
Your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth. fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
But now you yourselves are to put off all these—anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 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, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. 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 God 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. Wives, submit to your own husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ.
But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a master in heaven. Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Meanwhile, praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Amen.
Introduction and Overview
I just want to give you a brief overview of the section before we pray. We're going to take up verses 1 to 11 this morning. But in verses 5 to 11, what we find is the admonition to put off vice, put to death those deeds of the body that are consistent with the old man, rather than being consistent with the new man in Christ. As I said, we'll develop that as we go along this morning.
In verses 12 to 17, we are to put on In other words, the saint, the believer in Jesus, is to live in a very particular way. Chapter 3, verses 18 to 4, 1, we are to be subject to one another. The apostle highlights this relationship between wives and husbands, and parents and children, and children to parents, and bondservants and their masters. The new man in Christ Jesus is a man who is subject to others.
And then the final admonitions in chapter four, verses two to six, prior to some parting greetings, is the admonition to watch and pray. So having set forth the doctrine of the gospel, the truth of Christ and him crucified in chapters one and two, the apostle now comes to make relevant application with reference to the life of God's people. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your Holy Word. We thank you for its clarity. We thank you that it is God-breathed. We thank you that it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.
Our heart's desire, Lord God, is that we would be attentive, that we would give our minds and our hearts to instruction, that we would receive the good things that you have for us in your Word, and that it would thoroughly furnish us unto every good work. Please forgive us now for our sins. We confess our Father. We have not lived in light of your holy law.
We have not lived in light of your holy gospel. We are told by Paul to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel. We confess our sin now. We pray for forgiveness and we pray for cleansing in the blood of the Lamb.
And we pray for the ministry and the aid of the Holy Spirit, that He would guide us, that He would lead us, that He would direct us into all truth. And may these things affect us in a very powerful and in a very real way. And we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Introduction
I suppose you've all heard of the Bishop of Smyrna in the second century A.D. His name was Polycarp. And there's a book by S.M. Putin called Sketches from Church History.
And it records Polycarp's martyrdom. I would suppose that you have heard this before. I know that I've quoted it. at his martyrdom in about A.D. 155. He's referred to as an apostolic father.
That means he was very closely, he just came on the heels of the apostles. He was an early church leader. It says at his martyrdom in about 155, Polycarp was required to venerate Caesar by calling him Lord. In other words, at that time in the Roman Empire, Caesar was referred to as Lord and Savior.
So every time you read that ascription given to our Lord Jesus in the New Testament, you need to remember that that was almost a revolutionary statement. What the Christian church was being instructed and being told was not to call Caesar Lord and Savior, but to call Jesus Lord and Savior. Remember in the book of Acts, in Thessalonica, What was the crime of the Christians? They preached another king, Jesus.
You could have any number of gods in the Roman Empire, but when you said there was one true and living God, to the exclusion of Caesar and the rest of the pantheon, you were looked at as the vicious criminal. So that's what's going on here with reference to Polycarp. He was required to venerate Caesar by calling him Lord. Hutton goes on to say he was firm in his refusal.
I have wild beasts, said the consul. If you refuse, I will throw you to them. Send for them, replied Polycarp. If you despise the wild beasts, I will send you to the fire, said the consul.
Swear and I will release you. Curse the Christ. Here's Polycarp's response. Eighty and six years have I served Christ, and He has done me no wrong.
How then can I blaspheme my King who has saved me? You threaten the fire that burns for an hour and then is quenched, but you know not of the fire of the judgment to come and the fire of eternal punishment." He then says, "...bring what you will." dying statement of a man prior to his departure from this world to enter into the arms of Christ. Well, in this past little while, I learned something about his life as well. And I think that attaches or that brings us to consider Colossians chapter three in a preface to Polycarp's epistle to the Philippians.
Michael Holmes wrote this of Polycarp. He said that Polycarp believed that wrong behaviors were prima facie evidence. That means on the face of. Wrong behaviors were evidence of wrong beliefs, and that wrong beliefs inevitably produced wrong behaviors.
Further, wrong beliefs and behaviors are a characteristic of outsiders, not insiders. And then Holmes goes on to say, for him, orthopraxy is the other side of orthodoxy. I'm sure you're familiar with the term orthodox. That means sound doctrine, true doctrine, right doctrine.
Well, orthopraxy means right practice, proper conduct. And so what he says is, for Polycarp, orthopraxy is the other side of orthodoxy. If the community is behaving properly, it is also likely believing properly. I don't think Polycarp was an innovator.
I think he is simply reflecting the thought, the ministry, and the writings of the Apostle Paul, the rest of the Bible as well. But we see that connection here very powerfully in Colossians chapter 3. verses one to eleven. So,
The Three Considerations Stated
I want to take up this section under three considerations this morning. First, the command stated of verses one and two. Secondly, the theological incentives given for obedience to that command in verses one and two. And then the mortification of sin that should naturally follow or naturally flow from.
In other words, if we have proper orthodoxy, if we believe the truth concerning Jesus, if we believe the truth concerning the gospel of free and sovereign grace, then our practice, our conduct, our lives will evidence that reality. It will display it. It will manifest it. So in other words, if we see someone who is living consistently, we can assume They're believing consistently.
Conversely, when we see someone who is living like the world, we have no reason to conclude that they have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ and are walking according to his will. So
The Command: Seek Things Above
let's look at this command in verses one and two. Notice Paul says, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above. where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. So he assumes the reality.
He says basically in chapter three, verse one, since you were raised with Christ, since you believe the gospel, since you've closed with him, since you've been called out of darkness into marvelous light, since you are a believer in him, Based on that reality, you ought to seek those things which are above. You ought to set your mind on those things which are above, not be tied to this earth. In many ways, the Apostle Paul is simply encapsulating what Jesus does in Matthew 6. Remember, Jesus says, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Douglas Moos says, Believers, seek the things above by deliberately and daily committing ourselves to the values of the heavenly kingdom and living out of those values. We are to think God's thoughts after Him. Notice where He begins, brethren. Before he gets to what you need to stop doing and what you need to start doing, the first is about mental.
The first has to do with intellect. The first has to do with focus on the things above. Look at the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 2, the apostle condemns various approaches to Christianity.
He says we are not to seek Christ through legalism in chapter 2, verses 16 to 18. We're not to seek Christ simply in the externals. We're not to seek Christ simply in the law. We are rather to seek Christ in the gospel through his written word.
Now, Paul's not saying the law is bad, the law is wicked, the law is holy. The law is good if one uses it awfully. But the condemnation in chapter 2, verses 16 to 18, or 16 and 17, is that idea of those seeking acceptance and favor with God based on their law keeping. But Paul doesn't stop there in Colossians 2.
He says we're not to seek God through mysticism. We're not to seek God through some esoteric means. We are to seek God through Christ in the written Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what he means in chapter three.
When we seek those things which are above, when we set our minds on those things above, not on things of the earth, it's not like we're disconnecting our minds. It's not like we're letting go and letting God. It's not like we're chanting some mantra to try and empty ourselves, but rather the means by which the believer is to seek and set is through the scripture. through prayer, through seeking after Jesus Christ, through those things that God has purposed as a means of grace for the good of His people. And I wanted to just make this comment with reference to this idea of mysticism.
Mysticism, and we might even see it today manifested in an emotional ism, has more taproot in the religion of Baal than it does in the God of Israel. I'm not suggesting that the truth doesn't inflame our hearts. I'm not suggesting that the truth doesn't drive our passions for Jesus. What I am suggesting is this idea where we conjure up the right emotion, where we get the right things in place, where we go about certain means and certain things to sort of prime the pump, and then we're ripe for a visitation from God.
That is far more consistent with Baalism. Remember on Mount Carmel with Elijah and those false prophets. What did the false prophets do to try and get Baal to respond? They cut themselves with knives and lances.
They bled on themselves. They danced around the altar in an attempt to get Baal to reciprocate. Again, it's not wrong to want to be blessed by God. It's not wrong to have our passions inflamed by the truth of God.
But there's something Baalistic about seeking to prime the pump in our own strength or by our own means in order to get the blessing from God Most High. Paul says that's not what you're supposed to do. He also condemns the idea of asceticism. That means as long as we don't taste things, we don't touch things, we don't have dealings with those things of this world, that somehow God will bless us.
No, the command is far more simple than that. Seek those things which are above. How do you do that? You read your Bible.
You pray. You attend church. You use the means. You take the sacrament, you fellowship with the saints, you gather together, you make Christ your all in all.
That's the way we seek those things which are above. And then in verse two, set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Now, again, he's not saying don't have any dealings with the earth. Leave the earth, construct a spaceship and fly away from the earth.
No, what he goes on to say are very earthy practical applications. Don't behave this way. Behave this way. Why submit to your husbands?
Husbands, do not be bitter against your wives. Children, obey your parents. Fathers, do not exasperate your children. He's not suggesting that we somehow leave the earth.
But what he is saying is that when we set our mind on things above, not on things on the earth, And then we're in the better position to live the way God has purposed in this world that He has called us to Himself in. So that's the command of verses 1 and 2.
Theological Incentives for Obedience
Notice, secondly, the theological incentives given for obedience to this command.
Past, Present, and Future Incentives
He speaks of the past, the present, and the future. He says, for you died. You died, he says, in verse 3. You died to that old manner of living.
The old man is part of the old creation. Remember, you're a new man in Christ Jesus. The new man doesn't think about the things of the earth in the sense that he's obsessed with them, in the sense that he is riveted by them, in the sense that that is everything for him. His whole life is governed by what he senses, what he touches, what he feels, what he tastes.
No, that is true of the old man. You died. You've died to that old system. You profess to be a believer.
You profess to be a Christian. You profess to be in Him. You've died. What was once there is no longer there.
What was once true of you should not be true any longer. But He not only stops at the past, He speaks of the present. Your life is hidden. with Christ in God. Currently, presently, right now, your life is hidden with Christ in God.
In other words, you're in union with Him. When we're in union with Christ, where are our minds to go? When we're in union with Christ, should our minds go to the gutter? Should our minds go to the base sins condemned in verses 5 to 11?
Should our minds gravitate to those things which are vile and wicked and ungodly? No. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. You see, that's an incentive.
Because of that reality, because of the union with Christ that you currently possess and enjoy, it ought to be a no-brainer. You see, verses 1 and 2 are never to surprise anybody. Oh, you mean Paul wants us to seek those things which are above? What's his problem?
What's his deal? What's he thinking about? He wants us to set our mind on Christ rather than on the things of the world. What is he talking about?
No, it's evident. It's a no-brainer. It's similar to Paul's convention in Romans chapter 12. Therefore, beloved brethren, I beseech you by the mercies of God, I beseech you by the mercies of God that I just opened up for you in chapters 1 to 11.
I beseech you by the mercies of the God of Jesus, the God and Father of Jesus Christ, who has redeemed you, who has saved you, who has justified you by faith. He says you are no longer to live in that way. But rather you are to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. And then he says, this is your rational.
This is your reasonable. This is your spiritual service. This is a no brainer. The same idea follows here.
So the past, you died. The present, your life is hidden with Christ and God.
The Future: Appearing with Christ
Notice the future. Verse four. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. I like Paul's idea of the end times better than some modern proponents of end time theology.
End times studies, or we might just call it eschatology, wasn't designed so that we have a weekend seminar filled with charts and maps and newspapers and the sort of goings on in the world so that we can somehow piece together the puzzle of who the Antichrist is and whether he's alive and well. You see, for Paul and for John the Apostle, eschatology, or our understanding of what's going to happen in the future, ought to affect us presently in an ethical manner. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Do not forget that reality.
He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Based on that future truth, set your mind on things above. Seek those things which are above. Focus upon the realities that are most important.
John the Apostle puts it this way. He says, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And then he goes on to say, now, everyone who has this hope purifies himself, even as he is pure. You see, so Paul wants the believer.
Paul wants you to seek those things which are above. He wants you to set your mind on things above. He has given incentive in verses 3 and 4. The past, you die.
The present, your life is hidden with Christ and God. And the future, when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? A believer always lives in light of the reality of Jesus.
No matter what your situation, no matter what your challenge, no matter what your hardship, no matter what your difficulty, the command does not change. Seek those things which are above. Set your mind on things above. And I suspect that as we do that, As we adopt the apostles' mentality, as we by God's grace obey this command, we will start to see some things straighten out in our lives.
So many of the problems connected to the church. So many of the problems connected to individual Christians. So many of the sins of 5 to 11. The lack of the virtues in 12 to 17.
The lack of the submission in 318 to 411. The lack of prayerfulness, the lack of watchfulness, the lack of being the Christian that God has saved us to be is traced right back to this root. It's because our mind isn't where it ought to be. It's because our affections are not where they ought to be.
It's because we're not seeking those things which are above. We're not smarter than God. We're not smarter than the Apostle Paul. You want to be a better wife?
Obey verses 1 and 2. You want to be a better husband? Obey verses 1 and 2. You know, oftentimes the literature today suggests have a date night, man.
Have a date night. It might help you. But you know what precedes that? Get your mind out of the gutter.
Get your mind away from the garbage. Get your mind off of your belly aching and start focusing upon the things above. And just see if, perhaps, that some of the difficulties associated in your life are smoothed out. Yes, wives, there might be a book written on how you should be a good cook.
I remember, I think it was from Housekeeping Magazine for Better Homes and Gardens, something like that, from the fifties. You know, make sure you Take time to get yourself spruced up before your man comes home. I don't know if it said man. It probably said husband.
I'm just trying to make it sound even more chauvinistic. Make sure you spend some time to comb your hair to look nice. Your husband's been in the world dealing with ugly people. He wants to come home and see a lovely wife.
Make sure the children are calmed down. He's been out in the world. He's had to deal with children all day. When he comes home, the children shouldn't be swinging from the light fixtures and running around spraying water on it.
He wants to have a haven of rest. Make it happen. Make sure you've got dinner ready. This isn't Christian Christianity today.
This was a secular housekeeping magazine in the 1950's. We've come a long way, baby, as they say. That's a hate manual today. What do you mean?
He can get it himself. Make sure the dinner is delicious. Make sure you do the dishes afterward. This whole list of things.
You know what Paul says? Get your mind out of the gutter. Get your mind off this world. Get your mind fixated upon Jesus.
So that when your husband comes home, you have dealings with Christ and then this other stuff just falls into place. You see, we've missed the mark. We've tried to deal with the symptoms of the problem without going to the root of it the way Paul does. Your Christian conduct or lack thereof can be taken right back to orthodoxy.
What do you believe? If you are believing consistently, if you are believing the truth, as Polycarp says, well, then your practice will follow. If the practice is there, we can reasonably conclude that the doctrine is in place.
Mortification of Sin
Let's look at the mortification of sin, verses 5 to 11. It's a vice list, a very common vice list in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul deals in two major categories here. The sins of the flesh, verse five.
And then he gives reasons why we ought to avoid those. And then the sins of the tongue in verses eight and nine. And he gives reasons why we ought to avoid those. Not rocket science.
It's pretty clear, pretty straightforward. It's pretty simple.
Sins of the Flesh
Note first, the sins of the flesh. He says in verse 5, Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth fornication. That comes up first. You've got to remember, ours isn't the first generation with sexual sin.
Ours isn't the first generation with sexual immorality. Now, it's probably easier access today. Three quick clicks, or two, or one, or five, or however, can bring the most base and carnal things right into your living room. But it's not to say that there hasn't always been sexual sin.
In fact, the Roman Empire, the Greek Empire prior to that, they were notoriously wicked, notoriously evil. Ours isn't the first generation with homosexuality. Ours isn't the first generation with these sins of the flesh. Paul says, for those who are in Christ, for those whose minds are where they ought to be, Put off fornication.
Don't sin this way. Don't engage in that muck. Illicit sex. Activity outside of marriage.
Unlawful sexual activity during marriage. Adultery is encompassed here. Paul often warned about this sin. 1 Corinthians 5, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 10. You see a pattern there in Corinth?
Paul says, fee it. Free sexual immorality. You've been bought with a price. You've been redeemed by blood.
Therefore, glorify God in your body. He deals with this sin here. He deals with this sin in Galatians 5. He deals with it in 1 Thessalonians 4.
For those of you who are struggling with finding God's will for your life, may I suggest 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 3. You ever met those people? I'm just really wondering what God's will is for my life. Now, I know what they mean.
They mean, is God going to give me a husband? Is He going to give me a wife? Am I going to go on to college? Am I going to engage in post-grad studies?
Am I going to be a minister? Am I going to be a plumber? Am I going to be a bookkeeper? I really want to know what God's will is for my life.
One of the problems with that mentality, though, is we neglect what God really does say is His will for our lives. We're so busy trying to find out the secret things. We're so busy trying to find out those things that, you know, we just got to wait till we get there, that we neglect 1 Thessalonians 4.3. This is the will of God that you abstain from sexual immorality.
That's it. I mean, there's other things the Bible says in terms of the will of God for you. You need to get that in your mind and in your heart. Notice Paul goes on, he says uncleanness.
The term here is usually associated with sexual sin. He then mentions passion. The word indicates a driver force which does not result until it is satisfied. It's used with this connotation in Romans 1 26 and again in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
He then condemns evil desire. The word desire in and of itself isn't bad. He uses it in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 1. If any man desires the office of an overseer, this is a good thing.
But here the word modifying desire is evil. More than likely, it has to do with sexual sin. Paul doesn't have a one-track mind. Paul isn't consumed with this sin alone.
But Paul knows his audience. Paul knows the people to whom he is writing. And Paul is cautioning them against this truckless society that is marked by sexual sin. I've often supposed that if Paul fell out of heaven and he took the pulpit, he probably preached the same sermon in 21st century North America.
There's nothing new under the sun. The availability, the accessibility, the carnality, the baseness, all that stuff may have taken on some technological dimension, but the 1st century Christian had his or her temptation as well. And so Paul is saying that your mind ought to be rooted on Christ. Your mind ought to be above, and you ought to disassociate with these vices that are characteristic of an unbelieving world.
And then the final statement with reference to the sin of the flesh, he says in verse 5, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Now its association with other sexual terms there could mean sexual covetousness, Or it could be the broader category of garden variety, covetousness. But notice what he says with reference to covetousness. You take that tenth word, you shall not covet.
That has broad implications. It's as if the Decalogue starts where it began. What's the first commandment? You shall have no other gods before me.
Right? The Tenth Commandment says, you shall not covet. According to Paul here, and Paul in the book of Ephesians, covetousness is what? Idolatry.
You see, the Decalogue has as two ends, book ends, or inclusios, or the end pieces of a loaf of bread. It is governed by that reality. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not be an idolater.
This is what Paul says is conduct associated with the world. This is not conduct associated with the believer, with the new man in Christ. When your mind is where it ought to be, when you're seeking those things which are above, you're not going to engage in these realities. You're not going to engage in these base practices.
Rather, you will, by the grace of God, let your orthopraxy reflect your orthodoxy.
Reasons to Flee Fleshly Sin
Notice the reasons, very specifically, we won't get into opening these up in detail. Verses six and seven. He says, don't do these things, put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry. Verse six, because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.
Don't do that, that angers God. Don't engage in that which is going to bring down God's wrath. Don't do those things which are associated with the sons of disobedience. In other vice lists, he says, you will not enter the kingdom of God if you practice these things.
And then he says that this is the characteristic of the unregenerate. Notice in verse 7. After saying upon these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them." Again, that whole idea, this is old man conduct. This is old man characteristic.
This is old man stuff. This is old man life. This is what used to typify you, but such is not the case anymore. We've gone through that portion of the vice verse, and you may, in your nobility, In your righteousness and in your ability, be congratulating yourselves.
Well, you know, I don't look at internet pornography. I've never had homosexual thought, never engaged in fornication. I've never looked at those magazines. I'm doing quite well thus far in the vice list.
He doesn't stop there.
Sins of the Tongue
He deals with the sins of the tongue as well. I suspect that if by God's grace you've made it thus far, maintaining moral purity with reference to your sexuality. You have probably stumbled a few times along the way with reference to the tongue. Isn't it a sad reality?
James says this little tiny pink thing between our lips is the cause of such chaos. A little rudder guides a massive ship. A bit and bridle restrain a horse. The tongue is an unruly evil that he says no man can tame.
I often thought about that. Is he trying to discourage us in the attempt? Isn't that James's words in James 3? He essentially says men can teach bears to dance.
Men can open or have a crocodile or an alligator, I'm not sure which one, maybe both, open their jaws and put their heads in and not get bitten off. Why any man would want to train an alligator or a crocodile in such a fashion is beyond me. Imagine the learning curve on that one. James says we can do that.
That's doable. You can hold out a ring. and make a lion jump through it. You can let dolphins eat fish right out of your hands. You can do all these things.
I just read in the news recently, some child got bit by a pet piranha. Who teaches piranha as pets? Can't tame that one. But James' logic in James 3 is impeccable.
Man can tame these beasts. But no one can tame the tongue. Is he saying that to cut out all attempts? No, I think he's saying it to cast us upon the lap of sovereign grace.
You can't do it. You can't tame the tongue. You can't stop it. You need the Spirit.
You need the Word. You need the Gospel. You need Jesus. You need the blood.
You need power from on high that is alien to you. Paul says, when you set your mind on things above and you seek those things that are above, you are not to speak as an ungodly man or woman. Notice the specific sins. Verse 8, but now you yourselves are to put off all these, anger, wrath, malice.
You say, well, you can't hear anger, wrath, and malice. Oh, yes, you can. I had cause to drive to Richmond on Tuesday. Unbeknownst to me, the Massey Tunnel only had one lane going into the city.
That's not fun. And if you're like me that struggles with patience, it's a recipe for disaster. Especially as you're making the approach, you already see the red X up here in this lane. The bottleneck doesn't come for quite some time.
But the red X is here. So a lot of people, I won't say all, a lot of people when they see that red X already make their venture. They already merge over. And then if you're sitting there with your green X, you're watching all those other people drive as far as they can down that red X lane.
And you know in your heart of hearts that that's going to create a bottleneck. And it's going to create more time. You say, why don't they just put the end here? Well, then they do it back here.
You start in Chilliwack just to try to get through the Massey Tunnel. Such is the nature of man. Now, you're sitting there stewing. You're sitting there looking at your watch.
You're sitting there thinking, you know, don't these people know I have to be somewhere in an hour? There's a lot that goes into it before you finally shout, no, to the guy that's driving down the red X lane. Or you look at him and you scowl at him and you shake your head. He's doing this, by the way, he doesn't care.
This is what Paul is saying. There are certain realities in the heart of man that precede the outburst of sinful anger. Notice, anger. Jesus says in Matthew 15, 18, "...but those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man." Paul is consistent.
He says, anger, mental excitement to which bitterness gives rise. Before you ever shout at those people, you've already been angry in your heart. Before you ever shout at your child, you've been angry in your heart. Before you shout at your husband or your wife, you've been angry in your heart.
You see, these are the precursors. The shout is simply the opening up of the floodgate to let that garbage out. You see, Paul deals internally before he gets to the externals. He says in verse 8, now you yourselves are to put off all these.
Anger. You got a problem with your tongue? Cut it off at the root. You got a problem with your choice of language?
Cut it off at the root. It's easier to crush the serpent while it's in the egg, rather than when it's a full-grown snake that's coming after you. He says wrath. This is burning anger which flares up and burns with the intensity of a fire.
This isn't righteous indignation. See, I'd like to be able to say while I'm sitting there, to borrow a pastor, Dr. Dale Ralph Davis-ism, that I'm just concerned for my neighbor behind me. I don't want him to be late.
I don't want him to miss his appointment. I'm simply angry because it's a righteous indignation which manifests my love for those people behind me. I want to see them pass through the Massey Tunnel and make it to their appointment on time. This is not righteous indignation.
This is unrighteous hostility. And then malice. It refers to the vicious nature which is bent on doing harm to others. God have mercy that that's still in us.
God have mercy that Paul has to write Colossians 3. God have mercy that anger and wrath and malice are in the redeemed's heart. You see, the very fact that He's addressing these issues means they're realities. I don't believe we'll ever, on this side of heaven, get to the point where we have no anger, we have no wrath, we have no malice.
The idea is that by the grace of God, we mortify sin. If by the Spirit, Romans 8.13 says, you do mortify the deeds of the body, you will live. The idea is that the Christian man has been purchased, body and soul. He's been brought out of darkness into marvelous light.
Regeneration has occurred. That radical revolution has occurred. That there is remaining corruption in the heart of man. And Paul speaks to that here.
And the primary element, the primary offensive measure to take to destroy these things is where is your mind? You see, if you're focused on Christ, you're not raising your fist at the neighbor. You're focused on Christ. You're not screaming at the wife.
You're focused on Christ. You're not disobedient to the master who's paying you. You see, you start to think the way you ought to think. You ought to do what Christ calls you to do.
You ought to function in the manner that Christ function. You ought to be like him by the power of his spirit. You see, that's the dynamic that's in view here. So anger, wrath, malice precedes these things.
And then the actual acts themselves. Blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. The blasphemy with reference to God we understand. I believe here the reference is to man and the idea is to slander. to slander.
You see, you let that anger settle, you let that wrath settle, you let that malice settle, and it's a recipe for disaster. Because the issuing forth is not love, it's not charity, it's not psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, but because you let that stuff brew, what then flows is slander to your neighbor. That's what Paul said. Blasphemy.
It indicates the attempt to belittle and cause someone to fall into disrepute or to receive a bad reputation. God have mercy on us. Cut it off. Destroy it.
Put it to death. Deal radically with this sin. You know, we've been studying on Wednesday night. The Israelites were to go in and utterly dispossess the land of the Canaanites.
They weren't supposed to let them stay alive. They weren't supposed to let them inhabit the land with them. They were to dispossess the land of the Canaanites in a very bloody manner. Paul's saying that ought to be the war in the heart of every redeemed Christian.
Don't let these Canaanites stay in the land. Put off anger. Put off wrath. Put off malice.
Don't let blasphemy or slander arise. He then says filthy language. This isn't just the F word. This isn't just the S word.
This isn't just the bad words that you've been told you ought not to say. No corrupt speech flow from your mouth. But what is good for necessary edification? Whatever is contrary to necessary edification is filthy speech.
Have you ever had that word? Maybe you're a little upset with your wife or your husband and they do something for you and you say, thank you. And then she or he responds, you're welcome. We're using the acceptable terms.
We're using the agreed upon conventions. We're using the words we ought to use. But the heart is far from us. You say, well, I never used the F word.
Yeah, you do. It's filthy speech if you say things in a spirit that betrays the words themselves. And then he says, lying to one another. Now, I don't think Paul means you can lie to people outside the church.
As long as you're not lying to one another, you know, all bets are off. Lie to the pagan. Lie to the heathen. Lie to those people and take everything.
No, he's speaking about context. He's speaking in the context of the local church here in verse 9. Do not lie to one another. Truth.
Truth and uprightness of speech. Absolutely crucial. Turn back for just a moment to Proverbs chapter 6. Having driven to Richmond, I had the time, the blessed time, to spend listening to some Dr.
Davis sermons. For those of you who do not know, he's my favorite living preacher. Somebody says, that's my favorite ice cream. It's my favorite candy bar.
He's my favorite living preacher. He pointed out something in a sermon on Proverbs 6 that you probably have already recognized, but it was new to me. You know, we often go to that statement of verses 16 to 19, these six things the Lord hates. Yeah, seven, seven are an abomination to him.
He says, a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift and running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies and one is so is discord among brethren. Go back for just a moment in verses 12 to 15. A worthless person, a wicked man walks with a perverse mouth. He winks with his eyes.
He shuffles his feet. He points with his fingers. Perversity is in his heart. He devises evil continually.
He sows discord. Dr. Davis says is that this convention, these six things, Yahweh, eight, seven are an abomination to him. is really an idiom, really a means by which he stresses the awful nature of the seventh. Of course Jehovah hates a proud look.
Of course he hates a lying tongue. Of course he hates hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies. He really hates one and sows discord among brethren. That's the connection in the context with verses 12 to 15.
Perversity is in his heart, verse 14. He devises evil continually. He sows discord. He's not a peacemaker.
He's a peace breaker. He's not promoting health. He's promoting illness. He's not promoting tranquility.
He's promoting chaos. You see, death and life are in the power of the tongue. The Apostle Paul says that if we seek those things which are above, if we set our mind on those things which are above, where Christ is at the right hand of the Father, we are to put to death the sins of the flesh, and we are to put to death the sins of the tongue. It is simply inexcusable.
It is simply ungodly. It is simply unrighteous to sow discord. That's what Paul's getting at in this section. Do not put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
Do not lie to one another. It's better to shut up. It's better to close the gate. Solomon says, even a fool is counted wise when he keeps his mouth shut.
It doesn't matter that he's thinking about how many monkeys can fit into a barrel. It doesn't matter that he's thinking about whatever. He's sitting there thoughtful. He's thinking about whatever else.
He's not involved in your meeting, but he looks wise because he's quiet. The best help with reference to verses 8 and 9? Just shut your mouth. If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his own tongue, this man's religion is useless, according to James 1.
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God and the Father is this, to visit widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. all the while bridling the tongue, keeping the mouth shut. If you do not have something nice to say, I'm sure your parents all said this to you when you were little, don't say anything at all. It becomes destructive in families. It becomes destructive in churches.
It becomes destructive I remember being a kid watching the Droopy cartoons. He was a dog that looked sad, and they called him Droopy. And there was one particular episode where he was supposed to, or someone was supposed to keep quiet around this big sleeping dog. So somebody else was smashing the hand of the cat, so he would make noise so the dog would wake up and the dog would get him.
What would happen, the cat's hand, not a hand, the paw, would get smashed, and he would Run to the top of the hill and go, ahhh! So he could scream it out, not wake up the dog. The cat could teach us something about Christian ethics. Don't say it.
You shut your mouth. Run to the top of the mountain and say, ahh! Don't say it at your brethren. Don't say it at your family.
Don't say it in your workplace. Because you've died. Your life is hidden with Christ and God. Jesus is coming again.
New man in Christ don't live that way. You see, that's Paul's point. Orthodoxy promotes orthopraxy with reference to the sins of the flesh and the sins of the tongue.
The Old Man and the New Man
His reasons for this statement concerning the tongue, verse nine, do not lie to one another. Why? Since you have put off the old man with his deeds. You see, the old man is characterized by anger, wrath, and malice.
The old man is characterized by blasphemy. The old man is characterized by these sins of the tongue. But you have put off the old man with his deeds. You have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of him who created him, where there is neither great nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free or nor free.
But Christ is all and in all. Paul's points, according to Murray Harris. He says, Paul's point, 11a, is that the new humanity, just as old practices were abandoned, so too traditional distinctions are obliterated, whether they be racial, ceremonial, cultural, or social. When we are new men in Jesus Christ, we don't treat each other as Scythians, who are barbarians, by the way.
We don't treat each other as black or white. We don't treat each other as male and female. He's not speaking about role distinctions and ethnicity that is true in the world. You can't get rid of that.
What he is saying that is in the church of Jesus Christ, the slave set free by Jesus can be freed by his human master to go and preach the gospel as a brother in Christ. Not only those social distinctions, but the ethical things. The new man in Christ does not conduct himself in this way. Now you say, Pastor Butler, I've got some issues and I have sinned.
Then repent. Believe on the Lord Jesus. Go back to the blood. I'm not suggesting that no Christian ever does these things.
I've admitted it. At least one Christian you're looking at has done this thing last Tuesday. Getting angry, you shout it. You know what happened when I did that?
The tunnel opened up and I just soared right through. It doesn't do any good. That's it? Just get y'all worked up.
This is Jesus' point in Matthew 6. Don't worry. Don't worry. Don't worry.
Don't worry. How has worrying helped your life? You added cubits to your span? You live another 10 years because you worry?
Don't do that. I'm not suggesting Christians never do these things. The example of King David in our Bible. The example of the Apostle Peter denying his Lord.
We've got several examples in the scripture, but what I am saying is the Christian, when he does sin, seeks blood. When the Christian does sin, he goes to the cross. When the Christian does sin, he seeks forgiveness. connection between orthodoxy, what we believe, and orthopraxy, how we live. We are to put to death, we are to put off those things that are contrary to our position as new men and women in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So if we take Pauli Karp's words, and I think he accurately reflects the Scripture, and we see a life given to these sorts of things. We see a life steeped in the sins of the flesh. We see a life steeped in the sins of the tongue, a life wherein one does not repair to the blood, wherein one does not go to that fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness. What must we conclude at the end of the day?
We must conclude that their orthopraxy is the way it is because they have no orthodoxy. They have not believed the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus. Suppose you had a man that was a window washer. This man didn't just wash windows in homes in Chilliwack, but he went to Vancouver.
He braved that tunnel every day or those bridges every day. And he worked on the high rises. You've seen those guys before? They're on those scaffolds hanging from the top of a building.
I mean, it's just amazing. Suppose his son wants to be a window washer someday, just like his old dad. Lo and behold, he's 18. He goes out on his first apprenticeship, and he's paralyzed with fear.
He's afraid of heights. He can't even look down, let alone hang there and wash windows the way Daddy does. You see, it's not in his nature. Now maybe several years, several thousands of dollars, a professional might be able to help him inch a little closer to the edge of that scaffold His feet don't tingle when he starts to look down.
So perhaps there could be help with him. But don't make the mistake of saying, I need to beat my sexual sin. I need to beat these sins of the tongues by behavior modification. You need a new nature.
You need regeneration. This is why Jesus said, you must be born again. You see, Nicodemus' entrance into the kingdom of God isn't simply altering your life a little bit. It's not simply just sprinkling a little reform in there.
It's not just concluding, I ought not to look at that Internet site anymore, or I ought not to yell at people on the freeway anymore. Your nature needs to be changed. You must be born again if your conduct, if your lifestyle, If it is true of you, these things are reigning and not just remaining. And there is no repair to the fount that is open for sin and uncleanness.
There is no casting oneself upon the mercy of God and Christ. There is no belief in the Savior. There is no repentance from sin. The problem isn't that you just need to align your conduct up a little better.
The problem is you need to believe the Gospel. You need to look to Jesus and be saved. You need to look and live the way He describes in John 3. As Moses lifted the serpent out in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man also be lifted up.
What's the implication? All those looking to the Son will live. We need to make sure we're not just dealing with behavior modification. This is Christianity.
What we believe precedes how we act. And for the Christian, if you are dealing, struggling with these particular sins, praise God, it's a struggle. Praise God, it's a fight. You see, the heathen, the pagan, the unbeliever doesn't struggle.
I want to clean up a few things for appearance sake. They might have some consciousness or some semblance of, well, maybe God won't be as mad at me if I don't do these things. But Christians struggling. Christians fighting.
This is martial language and this depicts the biblical reality. What does Paul say in Romans 8? I've already cited it. If by the Spirit you do talk nicely to the deeds of the body and ask them to leave.
If by the Spirit you Make peace treaties with them to try and coax them to the door if by the Spirit you do mortify the deeds of the body. You fight. You struggle. You labor.
You deal. You cut off hands. You gouge out eyes. But never take your eyes off the Savior.
That's Paul's point. Verses 1 and 2. foundation for Christian conduct. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.
You don't know this Christ. He is there enthroned on high. The Bible says everyone who believes in him will have everlasting life. blessed, beautiful promise given from God Most High. All those who come to Me, I will certainly not cast out.
That's the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the Apostle and the good instruction that he gives to the churches. We just pray that You would help us to receive these things. Caution us against the mindset of thinking these are good words or a good passage for just about everyone else that we know.
But God, may we take these things to heart in our own life, in our own practice, and help us to truly focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ, to believe the truth of the Scripture, to believe what the Bible says concerning Jesus. And for any and all who are here that do not know you, we pray that you'd open their minds and their hearts to receive the truth of God by the power of your Spirit, that they may pass from death unto life. And we pray through Christ the Lord,