So, Colossians chapter 3, reading from verse 1 to verse 14.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
But now, you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which has been renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator.
Here, there is neither Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free.
But Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Bear with each other, and forgive one another.
If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let's pray before Alex comes to speak from the word.
Lord, we are blessed by the reading of your word, Lord Jesus.
We thank you for the evident truth that it has.
Whether we are a believer or not, Father, its truthfulness and its honesty and its helpfulness shines through.
And Lord, we thank you now for Alex, who you have blessed with many gifts.
And we thank you that he is able to come and teach us now from your word, to preach your word, to speak into our hearts the word of God.
Be gracious to him.
Lord, help us to listen well through the power of the Spirit.
Amen.
Well, good morning, everyone.
As Ralph said, our summer series is based on the Christian life.
And so today, we will mainly, but not totally, be dealing with the issue of dealing with sin.
I want to make this as simple as possible for us all.
So that we can go out and put it into practice straight away.
We will look at three main points.
Some in more depth than others.
So if you're taking notes, these are the three main points.
Spoiler alert.
The main points are, when dealing with sin, we need to look up, we need to put off, and we need to put on.
Just before I continue, everybody at the back and the front, can you hear me okay?
I haven't got a microphone.
Good.
So first, look up.
Let's read chapter 3 again, verse 1 to 3.
Since then, you have been raised with Christ.
Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ and God.
Set your minds on things above, it says.
By looking up, or setting our minds on things above, we will think, meditate, and wrestle with the things of God.
As we think about sin, we will meditate on Christ's saving work on the cross on our behalf.
Let's try and understand first what sin is and what its consequences are.
Kevin DeYoung, the author and theologian, describes sin like this.
He says that the Bible makes it clear that sin is both a condition, inherited from Adam, and an action, manifesting itself in thought, word, and deed.
That when fully grown, gives birth to death.
Very simply, sin is lawlessness.
It means that we've broken God's commands and have fallen short of his glory.
But it actually goes much deeper than just missing the mark.
Sin is idolatry.
Look again at verse 5.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature.
Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
Sin is worshipping false gods or idols.
Whether these gods are overt and physical, like actions,
or whether they're more subtle and internal, like thoughts or attitudes.
Idols aren't necessarily bad things as such.
Idols can very often be good things, which we have made to be ultimate things.
Sin can also be considered adultery, which is seeking for other sources of satisfaction and meaning other than God.
As we trace sin through the Bible, from Adam to Abraham, from Lot to Laban, from Joseph to Judah,
I didn't get as far as dead.
We see that sin is a big problem.
And human beings are clearly not the solution.
Kevin de Jong again puts it like this.
Every sin, no matter how private or quiet,
is an affront to the holiness, goodness, and kindness of God.
This is what David meant in Psalm 51, verse 4,
when, after he committed adultery and murder,
and tried to cover both of them up,
he confessed to God.
He says,
Against you, you only have I sinned.
God is ultimately the one we have offended.
When we sin.
As a result, sin cannot be without consequences.
God is a God of justice.
And in the end, every sin and sinner must face consequences.
God would be less than God,
and sin would be something less than sin,
if the Lord allowed our treacherous disobedience to go unnoticed and unchecked.
It is clear that sin must be paid for.
The good news is that Jesus deals with our sin by becoming sin for us.
He conquers the God-defiant wretchedness of sin by divine satisfaction through divine self-substitution.
The truth is that we are sinful.
And no matter how hard we try not to be,
we are still sinners.
And as a result, the punishment for sin is death.
God has seen our desperate state and the state of our heart,
and has decided to do something about it.
Sin is so serious,
that only death can satisfy or pay the cost.
That's why verse 6,
or that's what verse 6 means when it says that the wrath of God is coming.
The wrath of God is defined as the divine attribute by which God intensely hates sin,
and is poised and ready to punish it fully.
For forgiveness,
leading to salvation from God's wrath to occur,
his anger must be satisfied.
So Jesus took the wrath of God on himself,
on the cross,
and as a result,
Christians will never face the wrath of God.
But if you don't believe,
you will experience God's fury in eternal judgment and punishment.
So our sin is our thoughts,
our words,
or our deeds,
that separate us from full union with God.
And Christ's death on the cross
is what brings us back
to God.
Once we have realised what we have been saved from,
God's wrath,
it is easier then to see what we have been saved for.
Look with me at verse 3 and 4.
For you died,
for you died,
and your life is now hidden with Christ and God.
When Christ,
who is your life,
appears,
then you also will appear with him in glory.
It is easier to see what we have been saved for.
To be hidden with Christ in God,
to appear with him in glory.
This is what we are to set our minds on.
To set our minds on things above
is to think about what we have been saved from
and what we have been saved for.
How can we think about these things
or meditate on them
if we neglect to go to the source of them?
We know these things
because the Bible tells us about them.
To meditate on things above
is the original mindfulness.
Filling our minds with good things
and good truth.
It is filling our minds with God's truth
and the good news of saving faith
through Jesus Christ.
Similarly,
as we set our hearts
on things above,
our hearts will yearn
for the things of God
and not for ourselves.
If we love our jobs,
or see our identity
in what we do,
or if we love our spouse,
or we love our children,
or we yearn for a relationship more
than we love God,
then our hearts
are not set on things above.
If we pride ourselves
in self-sufficiency
and never need to ask for help,
then we are not
setting our minds
on things above,
because it robs people
of the opportunity
to serve us.
If our hearts
are more inclined
towards personal comfort
and rest
than fellowship
with other believers,
then our hearts
are not set
on things above.
to have our hearts
set on things above
where Christ is seated
is to be doing
our everyday life
in our jobs,
in our relationships,
in our trials,
in our struggles,
with our eyes fixed
on Christ,
sitting at the right hand
of God.
The image comes
from Psalm 110,
a famous psalm
where David says,
The Lord says to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool
under your feet.
The image is of Jesus
sitting next to the Father
and speaks of
the promise of glory,
a glory which we,
as believers,
will also enjoy.
And that's picked up
in verse 4
of Colossians 3 again.
When Christ,
who is your life,
appears,
then you also
will appear
with him in glory.
People often say
about someone
that they are
too heavenly minded
to be of any
earthly good.
Well, in actual fact,
what Paul is saying here
is that to be
of any earthly good,
we should be
more heavenly minded.
For example,
when we are
tired or weary,
instead of
vegging out
on Facebook
or YouTube
or in front
of the telly,
we could turn
our minds
to things above.
And God's word
tells us in
Matthew 11,
Come to me,
all you who are
weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Or suppose we are
anxious about the future
or about our finances.
Well, we could worry
about them
or we could set
our minds
on things above
and read
Matthew chapter 6,
which tells us
of the uselessness
of storing up
treasures on earth
where moth and rust
destroy,
but to seek first
his kingdom
and his righteousness.
Or suppose we are
discouraged
by taking a stand
for Christ publicly
or continually doing
the right thing,
we are still discouraged
because we don't
think it makes
any difference.
Well, we could just
give up doing
the right thing.
Or, as Matthew
chapter 5 says
in verse 11,
Blessed are you
when people insult you,
persecute you,
and falsely say
all kinds of evil
against you
because of me.
Rejoice and be glad
because great is
your reward in heaven.
For in the same way
they persecuted
the prophets
who were before you.
Even when we are
tempted to sin,
having a heavenly
outlook will help us.
For example,
in Psalm 139,
David says,
Search me, O God,
and know my heart.
Test me and know
my anxious thoughts.
See if there is
any offensive way
in me and lead me
in the way everlasting.
Our help in times
of trouble comes
when we have
a heavenly mindset.
It's like when
training for a marathon.
The average runner
will run close to
500 miles over 16 weeks
leading up to the big day.
There will be
early mornings,
there will be
long runs,
there will be
rainy runs,
there will be
hilly runs,
there will be
really hot
and sticky runs,
there will be
blisters on your feet
and even nastier things
which I won't go into now.
But once you set
your mind
on running
and finishing
that run
on that one day,
that is what gets
you up early
in the morning
for the runs
and drives you
through the pain
of blisters,
setting your mind
on the goal,
the glory
that awaits
for you
on this finish line.
set your hearts
and minds
on things above.
Look up.
Secondly,
put off.
With the benefit
of looking up,
we are now equipped
to put off.
Verse 5.
Put to death,
therefore,
whatever belongs
to your earthly nature.
Sexual immorality,
impurity,
lust,
evil desires
and greed,
which is idolatry.
When it comes
to our response
to sin,
the Bible is stark
and clear.
We are to put it
to death.
Put to death
whatever belongs
to your earthly nature.
What's our earthly nature?
Well,
things that feel good
and natural
and normal
and things that we are told
are normal
and natural
and good.
That's our sinful nature.
That's our earthly nature.
Well,
as we know,
not all things
that feel natural
are good.
Paul says
that as Christians
we no longer
need to take
the bait of sin.
of what feels natural
or our sinful nature.
We are freed
from that compulsion
to sin.
Believers can reject
all those behaviours
that alienate them
from each other
and from God.
Because
when we died
in Christ
we died
to the power
of sin
over us
and that power
was replaced
with the power
of the Holy Spirit
which enables us
to reject
sinful behaviour.
Verse 5 says
to put to death
therefore
whatever belongs
to your earthly nature
sexual immorality
impurity
lust
evil desires
and greed
which is idolatry.
Because of these
the wrath of God
is coming.
You used to walk
in those ways
in these ways
in the life
you once lived
but now
you must read yourself
of all such things
as these
anger
rage
malice
slander
filthy language
from your lips.
When we look
at a list like this
we can be tempted
to start counting up
well
one and a half
out of five
in the first list
and
two out of five
in the second list
well that's not too bad
really is it?
That's nearly a pass.
Well that's not the point
though.
Let's look at
the first list.
Verse five again
sexual immorality
impurity
lust
evil desires
and greed
it's no accident
that these are listed
in order of
most visible
to the least visible.
So Paul begins
with
public
sexual immorality.
which was rampant
in the ancient
pagan world.
He moves
from
behaviours
to
attitudes
including
greed
which focuses
on satisfying
physical desires.
He concludes
by saying
that if we
trace back
from the behaviour
to the motivation
behind it
we find
idolatry
at the core.
By focusing
inwardly
on satisfying
our physical
passions
well that
amounts to
placing ourselves
at the centre
instead of God.
Therefore
if we want
to bring about
change in the
public behavioural
level
of our lives
we have to
ultimately kill
that which led
to it all
in the first place
which is
idolatry.
as with
weeds
in the
garden
simply
snapping
off the
shoots
will not
make
permanent
changes.
The gardener
must dig
out the
roots
for any
lasting
results.
So I
ask you
this morning
what's
your
idol?
The
second list
starts
with
anger.
The
public
demonstration
of which
is
rage.
And he
goes on
to the
more
subtle
forms
of
anger
such
as
slander.
Well in
each case
what comes
from a
person's
mouth
dishonours
or pollutes
them.
As new
creations
the
Colossians
are to
rid
themselves
or to
put off
their
old
repulsive
habits
including
evil
speech.
Anger
and rage
destroy
harmony
in human
relationships.
Malice
is a
general
term
describing
an evil
force
that
wrecks
fellowship.
Slander
in this
passage
means the
insulting
of human
character.
Filthy
language
ought to
be
stopped
before
it
even
comes
out
of
their
mouths.
In
light of
this
what
comes
out
of
our
mouths
is
important
and so
there
is
no
place
for
lying.
If we
are
Christ's
image
bearers
well then
we must
be truthful.
so this
morning
if you
are
a
Christian
you
probably
at one
time
praised
the
prayer
of
repentance
and
asked
Jesus
to
forgive
you
of
your
sins.
Well
this
is
good.
I
give
thanks
that
many
of
you
have
reached
that
point.
But
the
Christian
life
is
not
a
one
off
decision
to
repent
of
your
sins
and
carry
on
life
as
normal.
Our
daily
lives
are
changed
after
we
have
encountered
Jesus.
We
cannot
live
like
we
did
before.
As
followers
of
Jesus
we
have
received
a
new
heart
because
like
in
Colossians
3
verse
3
it
says
you
died
and
your
life
is
now
hidden
with
Christ
in
God.
Or
back
in
chapter
2
verse
12
we
have
died
with
Christ
or
been
buried
with
him
in
baptism
and
raised
with
him
through
your
faith
in
the
power
of
God
who
raised
him
from
the
dead.
Paul
puts it
another way
in chapter
1
verse 21
when he
says
once you
were
alienated
from
God
and were
enemies
in your
minds
two
things
are clear
from
these
passages
one
if we
were
dead
and
now
we
are
alive
or
we
can't
live
like
we
used
to
we
can't
live
like
dead
people
if
we
are
alive
if
we
were
separated
or
alienated
from
God
because
of
how
we
were
living
we
cannot
continue
to
live
like
that
now
we
are
different
people
brothers
and
sisters
and
friends
there
are
no
half
measures
here
if
there
is
sin
in
your
life
if
you
have
idols
which
are
not
God
if
there
are
good
things
even
good
biblical
things
in
your
life
that
have
become
ultimate
things
then
put
them
to
death
put
off
what
belongs
to
your
earthly
nature
someone
close
to
me
was
admitted
to a
rehabilitation
centre
a while
back
they
entered
into
the
program
because
they
felt
they
were
overly
dependent
on
alcohol
once
in
there
they
were
told
that
to
beat
it
they
must
never
drink
alcohol
again
they
must
put
it
to
death
the
problem
was
that
they
didn't
believe
they
had
a
problem
they
just
had
a
temporary
or
an
over
dependency
on
it
a
little
night
cap
to help
them
unwind
and
to
sleep
by
the
time
they
left
the
centre
they
hadn't
had a
drink
in a
month
and so
they
didn't
feel like
they
needed
to
drink
again
which
was
great
for a
while
when
they
were
offered
a
drink
at a
party
they
could
easily
say
no
fast
forward
a year
and for
whatever
reason
they're
drinking
again
the
idol
or the
sin
of
pride
or
self
regulation
had
stopped
them
initially
calling
themselves
an
alcoholic
sin
had
blinded
them
to
their
weakness
to
the
earthly
nature
or
the
flesh
as
we
might
know
it
I
have
sat
through
addiction
lectures
counselling
sessions
support
group
meetings
I
have
seen
the
devastation
that
addiction
causes
to
families
and
to
relationships
the
first
three
steps
of
the
addiction
12
step
programme
are
these
but
I
have
changed
the
substance
of
choice
to
the
word
sin
as
I
don't
believe
there
is
a
difference
step
one
we
admitted
that
we
were
powerless
over
sin
that
our
lives
had
become
unmanageable
step
two
we
came
to
believe
that
a
power
greater
than
ourselves
could
restore
us
step
three
we
made
a
decision
to
turn
our
will
and
our
lives
over
to
the
care
of
God
as
we
understood
him
sin
is
not
something
that
we
get
a
handle
on
or
learn
how
to
manage
sin
is
something
we
must
die
to
we
must
put
to
death
we
if
we
are
Christians
daily
need
to
admit
that
we
are
powerless
over
sin
that
Jesus
can
restore
us
and
I
would
add
bring
us
into
glory
and
that
daily
we
need
to
turn
our
lives
over
to
the
care
of
God
by
acknowledging
our
weakness
and
our
need
of
help
we
often
open
ourselves
up for
the
spirit
of
God
to
work
in
us
when
we
are
weak
he
is
strong
and
moves
in
and
takes
up
residence
in
us
it
is
when
the
spirit
is
at
work
that
we
are
able
to
look
up
and
set
our
minds
on
things
above
when
the
spirit
is
at
work
in
us
we
are
able
to
say
no
to
sin
and
put
off
or
put
to
death
that
which
is
our
sinful
earthly
nature
look
up
put
off
and
put
on
in
contrast
to
the
list
the
two
list
of
vices
that
we
read
in
verses
5
to
10
here
we
have
a
list
of
five
virtues
in
verse
12
read
it
with
me
therefore
as
God's
chosen
people
holy
and
dearly
loved
clothe
yourself
with
compassion
kindness
humility
gentleness
and
patience
bear
with
each
other
and
forgive
one
another
if
any
of
you
has
a
grievance
against
someone
forgive
as
the
Lord
forgave
you
and
over
all
these
virtues
put
on
love
which
binds
them
all
together
in
perfect
unity
now
if
all
we
did
was
to
take
everything
off
in
our
lives
and
chastise
ourselves
all
the
time
and
criticise
ourselves
well
then
we
would
be
left
naked
so to
speak
we've
taken
everything
off
and are
left
bare
and
naked
but
thankfully
Paul
doesn't
leave it
there
I was
planning
on just
speaking
about
dealing
with
sin
this
morning
and
the
importance
of
taking
off
or
putting
to
death
sin
but
of
course
I
couldn't
just
leave
it
there
because
we'd
all
go home
naked
and
that
would
be
awkward
you can
laugh
if you
like
thanks
it
would
be
awkward
well
thankfully
Paul
doesn't
leave us
naked
and cold
and feeling
vulnerable
he tells
us to
clothe
ourselves
to put
on
look at
the passage
again
therefore
as God's
chosen
people
holy
and
dearly
loved
clothe
yourselves
with
compassion
kindness
humility
gentleness
and
patience
do you
see that
opening
line
as God's
chosen
people
as God's
chosen
people
we are
chosen
we are
holy
and we
are
dearly
loved
they are
special
titles
which
were used
of Israel
as God's
own
possession
in the
Old Testament
and they
are titles
that are
used
for Jesus
in the
New Testament
they are
used to
show how
similar
we as
Christians
are to
Christ
it is
Jesus
who is
the chosen
one
and so
it is
an
incredible
privilege
to be
addressed
in the
same
way
as
Christ
what
more
motivation
do we
need
to behave
in a
Christlike
way
these
virtues
or these
graces
which we
are to be
closed with
are seen
elsewhere
as
characteristics
of God
or Christ
and they
show us
how we
should behave
in our
dealings
with others
particularly
other
believers
three of
these
kindness
gentleness
and patience
are listed
in Galatians
chapter 5
as
fruits of
the spirit
in fact
all of
them are
characteristics
that we
show towards
other people
they're all
things that
we do
towards
other people
Paul is
showing us
how we
should be
relating to
each other
he has
just been
writing
so he's
been talking
about in
verse 11
here there
is no
gentile
or jew
circumcised
or uncircumcised
barbarian
slave
or free
but Christ
is all
and is
in all
so Paul
is showing
us how
we should
be
relating
to each
other
he's
just been
writing
about the
social
racial
and ethnic
differences
that should
not divide
the people
of God
he's been
saying that
lying can
affect the
whole community
of believers
and here we
are with
these five
graces
which also
tell us
that we
are to
clothe
ourselves
with those
things
which are
Christ-like
and important
for the unity
of Christian
community
Paul was
thinking of
the whole
body of
Christ
and the
importance
of its
unity
bear with
each other
and forgive
whatever
grievances
you have
with
each other
and then
comes the
sucker
punch
the ground
and the
motive
for
forgiving
is
just as
Christ
forgave
you
our sin
put Christ
on a cross
where he
died
and when
he was
there
he said
father
forgive
them
they don't
know what
they're
doing
if we have
a disagreement
with someone
in the church
we need to
forgive them
because Jesus
forgave us
but also
because we
need each
other to
hold us
up when
we fall
and when
we stumble
one major
step in
overcoming
addiction
is meeting
regularly
with other
addicts
through
anonymous
meetings
or through
sponsoring
programs
the sponsoring
program is
like having
an accountability
partner
someone you
can ring
in times
of weakness
or craving
someone who
knows what
you're going
through because
they have
been there
too
someone who
has benefited
from the
encouragement
of another
both of
these methods
of ongoing
accountability
are vital
for the
continuing
health
of the
addict
I hope
by now
you've seen
the correlation
to deal
with sin
effectively
we must
put it
to death
there can
be no
half measures
but we
must also
put on
the clothing
that has
been offered
to us
surround
ourselves
with the
fellowship
of other
believers
as we
navigate
life
after
repentance
turning
away
from sin
we
say it
time and
time again
that God
speaks
primarily
these
days
through
his
words
his
spirit
and through
his
people
the
church
of God
is a
vital
method
of
communicating
the
good
news
of
Jesus
to
the
world
and so
we
as the
church
of God
are tasked
with representing
it well
to do
this we
need to
be quick
to deal
with sin
to kill
it
to root
it out
to turn
away from
it
and also
to use
what the
Lord has
given us
to put
on that
which will
help us
he has
given us
his word
his spirit
and his
people for
a purpose
so my
charge to
you this
morning
is to
look up
fix
your eyes
on Jesus
in glory
put off
kill
whatever
takes
your focus
away
from
Jesus
in glory
and put
on
use
what we
have been
given
use the
people that
we have
been given
to bring
us
to Jesus
in glory
will you
pray with
me
heavenly
father
we
confess
that we
are weak
to the
sinful
nature
we take
the easy
option
more times
than we
should
we
confess
that we
have
idols
even good
things
which have
become
ultimate
things
and we
put them
before you
we
give
thanks
that you
have
demonstrated
forgiveness
on the
cross
that our
sin
has been
dealt
with
please help
us identify
the sin
in our
life
help us
by your
spirit
to put it
to death
to say
no to
it
help us
to put
on
truth
help us
to
use what
you have
given us
your word
your spirit
and your
church
to bring
us
to Jesus
in glory
fix our
eyes
on
Jesus
we
pray
in
Jesus
name
amen
we're
going to
close
with
one
final
song
see
key
first