WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.120 Good afternoon, everyone. My name's Ian. Like Alistair and Peter, I have the privilege of being on the staff team here at church, and I'm delighted to repeat their welcome to you this morning. 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:15.359 I want today to think about a very important question, and it's on the screen there. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:21.539 That question is, are you a good Christian? Are you a good Christian? 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:26.000 Let's take a minute, Rudy, just to think about that. No need to talk to anyone else or discuss it. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:32.039 But let's just quietly for a minute think about this. Would you say you are a good Christian? 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:41.620 I wonder what your answer is. Maybe it's like one of my friends here. 00:00:44.019 --> 00:00:48.500 There's Satisfied Simon. Satisfied Simon says, yes, I think I'm a good Christian. 00:00:48.500 --> 00:00:54.759 I know I'm not perfect. Nobody is. But I live a good Christian life by the grace of God. 00:00:54.840 --> 00:01:01.920 I'm involved in church. I serve others. I'm generous with my money. I believe that I'm a good Christian. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:09.760 Or maybe you're like Humble Helen. Humble Helen says, well, I don't really think I am. I'm a work in progress. 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:15.820 By God's grace, I think I'm beginning to come to know Jesus better and to love him more. 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:22.040 But I know I have a long way to go. I don't think I'm a good Christian yet. 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:30.960 Or maybe you're like Sad Stan. Sad Stan says, no, I'm not a good Christian, and I never will be. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:37.579 I've just got too much baggage in my life, too many things that will hold me back from really being a good Christian. 00:01:37.679 --> 00:01:43.699 I'm really envious of people who seem so happy in their Christian faith and who seem so committed to God. 00:01:44.039 --> 00:01:46.419 I'll never be like that. 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:49.699 My last friend is confused Connie. 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:52.259 And confused Connie says, well, what is a good Christian? 00:01:52.919 --> 00:01:56.119 I don't really know what it means to be a good Christian. 00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:03.280 I don't think I am one, but if you tell me what it means, then maybe I can have a think about it. 00:02:04.420 --> 00:02:08.060 Don't know if you identified with any of these, perhaps even a bit of more than one, 00:02:08.219 --> 00:02:11.680 or perhaps you thought of something completely different. 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:19.219 But what Paul is looking at in the passage that we're studying this morning is what is a good Christian. 00:02:19.219 --> 00:02:26.219 Or rather what he's doing is he's taking something that people say, you need this to be a good Christian, 00:02:26.740 --> 00:02:29.259 and he's saying, actually, you've got it wrong. 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:34.840 It's something completely different that you need to be focusing on. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:40.319 I have to admit that this is a difficult passage to understand in detail. 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:43.479 There are lots of different views about what some of the things mean. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:46.139 So I'll explain a little bit about what I think they might mean. 00:02:46.139 --> 00:02:51.779 If you disagree with it, it doesn't really matter, because the broad thrust of the passage is very clear. 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:57.059 Even though detail isn't that obvious, the broad thrust of the passage is quite clear. 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:02.839 And Paul essentially says three things that people in his day were saying, 00:03:02.939 --> 00:03:08.039 you need this to be a good Christian, and he says, you've got it wrong. 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:13.219 So the first thing he says is you need to lose legalism. 00:03:13.659 --> 00:03:17.539 That's in verses 16 and 17 if you've got your Bibles in front of you. 00:03:17.659 --> 00:03:19.219 Lose legalism. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:24.599 So legalism is when someone says, a good Christian must do this. 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:31.819 You're not a good Christian unless you do these things that I believe are very important. 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:37.239 So the people in Colossae that Paul is writing to, the kind of things that were being said to them, 00:03:37.519 --> 00:03:40.039 was you must be careful what you eat and drink. 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:45.519 Only eat and drink certain things because other things a good Christian wouldn't do. 00:03:46.419 --> 00:03:49.759 Or you need to observe all these religious festivals. 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:53.740 New Moon celebrations, Sabbath day, that kind of thing. 00:03:53.740 --> 00:04:00.180 If you don't do these and observe these the way that we say, you're not a good Christian. 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:07.540 You can only be a good Christian if you do what I tell you, and that is legalism. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:11.820 And Paul says, don't have anything to do with it. 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:16.439 If someone says to you, you can't be a good Christian unless you do this, just ignore them. 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:18.420 It's not right. 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:21.340 Now, how might that translate to today? 00:04:21.339 --> 00:04:28.039 Well, there might be some people tell us what to eat or drink and say some kind of spiritual thing. 00:04:28.799 --> 00:04:31.699 And there are all sorts of religious days and festivals. 00:04:32.339 --> 00:04:35.599 And people might say to us, well, this is how you have to behave on a Sunday. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:41.139 This is how you have to celebrate Christmas or Easter or Remembrance Sunday or whatever else. 00:04:41.479 --> 00:04:47.259 And some of the things that Paul says here, perhaps they can translate fairly easily to our culture. 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:50.759 But I think we need to look a bit beyond that. 00:04:51.339 --> 00:04:55.679 And perhaps more likely we'll get things that people would say or perhaps imply to us, 00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:00.719 unless you worship the way that I say, you're not really a good Christian. 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:06.500 Or you need to pray in this particular way if you want to be a good Christian. 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:12.839 Or you need to do these kinds of service for God if you want to be a good Christian. 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:17.379 Or you need to read these books if you want to be a good Christian. 00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:25.439 They're adding things to what the Bible says and saying these are conditions for being a good Christian. 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:30.500 Now you may have noticed Paul doesn't condemn the things that people are talking about. 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:32.480 He doesn't say these are really bad things. 00:05:32.779 --> 00:05:34.060 No one should ever do them. 00:05:34.939 --> 00:05:41.279 What he's condemning is the people who say you must do this if you want to be a good Christian. 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:44.479 If you don't do it, we won't have nothing to do with you. 00:05:44.899 --> 00:05:49.479 Things here are probably largely hangovers from the Jewish faith, from the Old Testament, 00:05:49.739 --> 00:05:54.219 and the way people are told to worship in the first century based on the Old Testament. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:55.679 It doesn't really matter. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:03.099 Whatever it is, if we have something that says you need Jesus plus something else to be a good Christian, 00:06:03.100 --> 00:06:08.260 then we need to be very, very careful because the Bible doesn't say that. 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:15.379 The Bible says all you need is Jesus and faith in him and you shouldn't add to it. 00:06:16.140 --> 00:06:21.700 Anything you add to it, even if it's a good thing in itself and something that you might feel is worthwhile, 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:23.900 it's not the real thing. 00:06:24.460 --> 00:06:25.360 It's a shadow. 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:30.759 And who wants to be looking all the time at shadows when you could be looking at the real thing, 00:06:31.080 --> 00:06:34.780 when your eyes could be on Jesus and following him? 00:06:35.460 --> 00:06:44.560 So we need to lose legalism, lose telling people this is what you must do if you want to be a good Christian. 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:51.600 Second thing Paul says is end elitism. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:55.240 So that's in verses 18 and 19. 00:06:56.259 --> 00:07:02.259 And this is people who say, if you're a good Christian, you must have had this experience. 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:09.340 You can't be a good Christian unless you have experienced certain things that I've experienced. 00:07:10.100 --> 00:07:14.699 Now it looks as if in this case, what they were talking about is they'd had some kind of visions. 00:07:15.420 --> 00:07:18.600 Perhaps it was the kind of vision that John had in the book of Revelation, 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:25.500 when he's got a glimpse into heaven and he saw the angels and all the heavenly hosts worshipping Jesus. 00:07:26.320 --> 00:07:29.000 That's maybe what the worship of angels means here. 00:07:29.560 --> 00:07:34.960 And these people were saying, I've had this great vision, this great experience in my past, 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:39.879 and I'm a better Christian than you because you haven't had it. 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:43.480 Now Paul also talks about false humility here. 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:49.680 I think this is a bit like when you sometimes get someone who's given an award and they stand up and say, 00:07:49.779 --> 00:07:52.740 this award makes me feel very humble. 00:07:52.899 --> 00:07:54.120 It's very humbling. 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:58.639 And actually what they mean is, I'm very proud of all that I've achieved. 00:07:59.280 --> 00:08:01.660 And that I think is what's being talked about here. 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:05.139 You've got people who've had these experiences and they're saying, 00:08:05.459 --> 00:08:07.600 I'm very humble because this has happened to me. 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:12.759 Actually they're saying, I'm much better than you because this has happened to me. 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:18.819 And Paul says there's no time for that kind of elitism in the Christian church. 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:26.699 We can't be looking at other people and saying, I'm better than you because I've had this happen to me. 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:31.719 Now if you've had a special experience of Jesus or of the Holy Spirit, 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:35.720 I'm not here to play it down or to say it's not relevant. 00:08:36.139 --> 00:08:37.559 But I would say two things. 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:43.759 One is, if you've had a special experience, be thankful for God's grace. 00:08:44.239 --> 00:08:50.459 But don't think it's happened because you are better than other people or that it makes you better than other people. 00:08:50.979 --> 00:08:52.959 Perhaps actually you needed God's grace. 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:55.819 You needed that experience more than others did. 00:08:56.239 --> 00:08:58.839 And that is why God gave it to you. 00:08:59.659 --> 00:09:03.459 The second thing I'd say for all of us, if it was some kind of experience in the past, 00:09:03.459 --> 00:09:06.159 where we've been very aware of God's presence, 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:10.059 whether it's a vision or some kind of special awareness of God's presence, 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:16.199 don't judge it by how intense it was or how spiritual you felt at the time. 00:09:16.839 --> 00:09:20.139 Judge it by the differences made in your life. 00:09:21.139 --> 00:09:23.579 Has it drawn you closer to Jesus? 00:09:24.339 --> 00:09:29.379 Has it given you a greater desire to read the Bible and to understand it? 00:09:29.779 --> 00:09:31.459 Has it helped your prayer life? 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.519 Has it made you kinder to others? 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:41.319 Are you less likely to gossip or to be angry or to rubbish other people? 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:44.740 Does it make it more likely that you'll help those in need? 00:09:45.179 --> 00:09:49.819 These are the kind of tests the New Testament would apply to our Christian experience. 00:09:50.319 --> 00:09:56.259 And if we truly know the Lord and have an experience of him, that's what the impact should be. 00:09:56.259 --> 00:10:02.819 It's not so that we can look at ourselves and say, I'm better, I'm more privileged than others. 00:10:03.620 --> 00:10:09.819 It's so that we can be drawn closer to Jesus and become more like him. 00:10:10.299 --> 00:10:12.720 We'll come back to verse 19 in a few minutes, talk about the head. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:19.379 But Paul's saying here, the people who've had these experiences in Colossae and who are effectively boasting about them, 00:10:19.680 --> 00:10:25.060 actually they're so focused on themselves that they've lost contact with Jesus. 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.540 And their faith has become valueless. 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:30.759 We'll come back to that towards the end. 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:34.039 But Paul says, end elitism. 00:10:36.539 --> 00:10:39.580 And then the third thing he says is, acts ascetism. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:48.720 Now we can say ascetism is when we try to stop doing things because we think it makes us more spiritual. 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:53.399 When we don't do things because we think that will make us more spiritual people 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:58.220 and therefore we'll be better Christians, if that's the word that we want to use. 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:00.819 Now let's be clear about this. 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:06.120 Paul's not saying that we shouldn't have disciplines in our Christian life. 00:11:06.699 --> 00:11:10.779 If you read the words of Jesus again and again, 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:15.939 he talks about how we should deny ourselves if we want to be his disciples. 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:20.039 So that's not what Paul's criticizing here. 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:25.199 When I was growing up, as a family, there were some things we didn't do. 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:27.439 We didn't go to football matches. 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:28.579 We didn't go to the cinema. 00:11:29.099 --> 00:11:30.279 We didn't go to the pub. 00:11:30.819 --> 00:11:34.819 Not to think that there's any thought that these things are intrinsically wrong. 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:36.240 They had connotations then. 00:11:36.299 --> 00:11:38.039 They maybe don't quite have so much now. 00:11:38.719 --> 00:11:41.639 But they were things which my parents judged, and I'm sure rightly, 00:11:42.219 --> 00:11:46.039 potentially could distract us from our Christian faith, 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:50.559 could draw us away from the Lord Jesus and serving him. 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:54.240 Now I have to say, I still don't do these things. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:55.379 I choose not to. 00:11:55.439 --> 00:11:59.500 But I'm certainly not going to criticize anyone who does them in moderation. 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:03.219 And I'd also say there are probably lots of things that I do, 00:12:03.419 --> 00:12:07.779 and I'm quite happy to do, that you may think it's better that you don't do. 00:12:07.779 --> 00:12:15.059 But these kind of disciplines can be helpful to us if they give us more opportunity to focus on the Lord Jesus 00:12:15.059 --> 00:12:17.899 and to come closer to him. 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:21.559 They're not what Paul's talking about here. 00:12:22.319 --> 00:12:27.839 Paul is talking about people who would say a good Christian doesn't do this, 00:12:28.379 --> 00:12:34.199 and produce a long list of things that they say Christians shouldn't do this. 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:35.820 Do not handle, he says. 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:36.820 Do not touch. 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:37.800 Do not eat. 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:40.140 All sorts of things that people might say, 00:12:40.300 --> 00:12:43.400 if you want to be a good Christian, you've really got to beat yourself up 00:12:43.400 --> 00:12:46.860 and be very careful that you don't get involved in this and that and the other, 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:50.400 because they are not things that good Christians do. 00:12:51.500 --> 00:12:56.879 And Paul says that kind of instruction, that kind of ascetism and forcing it on others, 00:12:57.160 --> 00:12:58.580 is not productive. 00:12:58.740 --> 00:13:00.560 It is not a good thing. 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:06.879 It's not good, first of all, because it focuses attention on me and on what I don't do. 00:13:06.939 --> 00:13:08.479 And I'm constantly thinking, what can I do? 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:09.459 What can't I do? 00:13:09.739 --> 00:13:12.739 And it draws our attention away from Jesus. 00:13:12.939 --> 00:13:16.139 Our thought should be on Jesus and all that he has done for us, 00:13:16.199 --> 00:13:23.219 rejoice in him rather than beat ourselves up about things that we may or may not do. 00:13:24.339 --> 00:13:27.159 And Paul says, actually, it's not good for another reason, 00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:33.120 because this kind of attitude actually doesn't help you to do good, 00:13:33.459 --> 00:13:38.120 and it may even lead to you doing the things that you didn't want to do. 00:13:38.459 --> 00:13:39.719 So at the end of the chapter, he says, 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:43.860 they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:48.759 If I'm at home in an evening and I've not got anything very interesting to do, 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:52.340 I am very attracted to the fridge and the biscuit box. 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:55.620 I will sit all evening, think I'm not going to eat anything. 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:58.120 I won't, I won't, I won't, I won't, I will. 00:13:58.820 --> 00:14:01.180 I just, my willpower gradually goes, 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:03.340 because I've not got anything else to think about, 00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:05.560 and I think I'm not going to do this, 00:14:05.820 --> 00:14:08.120 and eventually I give in, and I do. 00:14:08.180 --> 00:14:09.920 And that's what Paul's talking about here. 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:14.339 If you're constantly focusing on things you don't think you should do, 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.819 and people have told you you're not allowed to do, 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:21.899 it becomes much more likely in the end that you'll do them. 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:26.959 If I'm at home in an evening and I'm doing something I'm really interested in, 00:14:27.319 --> 00:14:31.240 hours can pass and I don't think about food at all. 00:14:31.719 --> 00:14:34.559 So I've got something that's taking my attention to something positive, 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:38.740 and I'm not having to think these negative thoughts. 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:41.840 If I can take a sneak peek into chapter 3, 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:44.440 which we'll be looking at at the start of next year, 00:14:44.779 --> 00:14:50.120 that's what Paul says we should do to keep from falling into sin. 00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:56.899 He says, set your heart on things above where Christ is. 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:01.919 Set your mind on things above, not earthly things. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:06.779 So the secret of doing right and of avoiding sin 00:15:06.779 --> 00:15:11.439 is not to spend all our time thinking about it and trying to resist it. 00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:14.959 It's filling our thoughts with the things of the Lord Jesus, 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:19.799 with the Bible, and meditating on all that he has done for us. 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:23.120 And then these other things, they become unattractive, 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:26.419 they become unimportant to us. 00:15:26.419 --> 00:15:29.179 As Paul says in verse 20, 00:15:29.839 --> 00:15:34.279 you've died to these things if your focus is on Jesus. 00:15:34.959 --> 00:15:38.079 So we need to act ascetism. 00:15:39.099 --> 00:15:40.519 Not listen to people who say, 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:43.079 a good Christian doesn't do this and this and this, 00:15:43.299 --> 00:15:45.319 unless of course it's in the Bible that we're not to do it, 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:46.139 and that's a different thing, 00:15:46.199 --> 00:15:48.819 but that's not what Paul's talking about here. 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:53.540 Now you may think there's a bit of an irony in what I've said so far. 00:15:53.640 --> 00:15:57.780 I've been saying, Paul says a good Christian doesn't do these things. 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:00.920 I've precisely been saying, don't do these things. 00:16:02.020 --> 00:16:06.520 Don't get involved in legalism or elitism or ascetism. 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:09.060 So let's end on a more positive note. 00:16:09.540 --> 00:16:12.760 What can we say positively about a good Christian, 00:16:13.260 --> 00:16:16.480 and a good Christian chooses Christ? 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.800 That is what Paul is focusing on here, 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:25.019 and it's not about what we do or what we don't do or what we've experienced. 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:28.620 It's about what we are in the Lord Jesus. 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:31.500 So let's quickly go back through the passage 00:16:31.500 --> 00:16:34.720 and see what Paul has to say to us about that. 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:39.620 So the first thing he says, and it's in verse 17, 00:16:40.220 --> 00:16:44.320 is that the reality is found in Christ. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:51.580 So a good Christian is someone who has found reality in Jesus Christ. 00:16:52.400 --> 00:16:54.740 Now at the beginning of our passage, you may have noticed it, 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:56.340 is the word therefore. 00:16:57.520 --> 00:16:59.280 And so we need to look back and say, 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:01.600 well, what is it that Paul said up till now 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:06.759 that implies what he's about to say in these instructions that he gives us? 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:10.279 Some of us were looking at our home groups this week. 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:17.859 And Paul has been talking about the marvellous things that God has done for us in Jesus. 00:17:18.779 --> 00:17:23.299 When we were dead in our sins, God made us alive in Christ. 00:17:23.859 --> 00:17:25.480 He forgave all our sins. 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:27.099 He cancelled the charge. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:28.579 He nailed it to the cross. 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:31.500 And he had this great victory parade 00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:37.539 as he triumphed over the forces of evil through his death on the cross. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:41.240 Jesus has done all these things for us. 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:45.960 Therefore, let's not get involved in all this nitpicking and pernicious legalism 00:17:45.960 --> 00:17:48.400 and asceticism and all the rest of it. 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:53.700 Let's focus on what we are and what we have in Jesus. 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:56.200 A good Christian, a Christian indeed, 00:17:56.200 --> 00:18:01.160 is someone who has found reality in Christ. 00:18:02.140 --> 00:18:04.039 We're not interested in the shadows. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:07.839 They can have some value, but they're not the key things. 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:10.640 The most important thing in our lives 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:13.519 should be the reality that we found in Jesus. 00:18:14.460 --> 00:18:16.900 Recognising our sin, our failure, 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:20.259 and the fact that he took that on the cross at Calvary. 00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:24.099 And as we trust in him and as we seek to live for him, 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:26.700 then he changes our lives. 00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:28.880 And he gives us forgiveness. 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:30.400 He gives us eternal life. 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:34.400 And he makes all the difference to the way we are. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:41.200 A good Christian is someone who has found reality in Jesus Christ. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:45.300 Second thing Paul says more positively is, 00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:51.160 a good Christian is someone who remains connected to Christ. 00:18:51.620 --> 00:18:55.000 That's verse 19 that we referred to briefly a few minutes ago. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:56.920 Paul says these people, 00:18:56.920 --> 00:18:59.839 these people who are involved in this elitism and thinking they're better than others, 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:03.680 they've lost connection with the head from whom the whole body, 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:06.640 supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, 00:19:07.019 --> 00:19:09.980 grows as God causes it to grow. 00:19:11.140 --> 00:19:13.779 A head without a body is dead. 00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:16.980 It is through our head that we see, 00:19:17.299 --> 00:19:18.019 we hear, 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:18.960 we smell, 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:19.700 we taste, 00:19:19.819 --> 00:19:20.279 we eat, 00:19:20.399 --> 00:19:20.879 we drink, 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:21.579 we breathe, 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:22.240 we think. 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:24.099 And we've not got a head, 00:19:24.379 --> 00:19:28.339 then the rest of the body is just dead flesh. 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:31.940 When the head is in place and is working properly, 00:19:31.940 --> 00:19:37.700 Paul says the whole body grows and is supported together by ligaments and sinews 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:40.180 and everything's got its place. 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:42.320 So in the church, 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:44.960 Christ is the head of the church. 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:52.900 He is the key to life and to growth and to having a good Christian life. 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:59.680 And unless we have that connection to Christ and are focused on him rather than ourselves, 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:01.759 then there is a real danger, 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:02.539 Paul says, 00:20:02.660 --> 00:20:08.000 that we lose our connection from the head and our Christian lives become sterile. 00:20:08.360 --> 00:20:10.560 They effectively become dead. 00:20:11.320 --> 00:20:16.259 A good Christian is someone who remains connected to Christ. 00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:18.220 Lord Jesus uses a slightly different analogy, 00:20:18.340 --> 00:20:18.720 doesn't he, 00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:22.000 in John 15 when he talks about the vine and the branches? 00:20:22.360 --> 00:20:24.220 Very much the same idea though. 00:20:24.560 --> 00:20:26.600 Unless you're connected to the vine, 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:30.159 you have no chance of being fruitful. 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:32.719 Unless we're connected to Christ, 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:37.559 we can't consider that we live a good Christian life. 00:20:39.399 --> 00:20:40.559 And then finally, 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:41.579 Paul says, 00:20:41.659 --> 00:20:44.799 a good Christian is someone who has died with Christ. 00:20:44.899 --> 00:20:45.539 Verse 20, 00:20:45.959 --> 00:20:50.299 since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual force of this world, 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:53.980 why do you act as though you still belonged to the world? 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:57.000 Here's a clue for a Bible study. 00:20:57.619 --> 00:21:03.460 If you ever see anywhere in the New Testament that it talks about dying with Christ or dying to sin, 00:21:03.919 --> 00:21:09.879 look forward a few verses and you'll find somewhere where it says that you're alive in Christ. 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:11.460 So here we've got, 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:12.740 Paul says in verse 20, 00:21:12.820 --> 00:21:13.920 you died with Christ, 00:21:14.140 --> 00:21:17.120 and then we move into chapter 3 and verse 1 says, 00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:21.120 since then you have been raised with Christ. 00:21:22.380 --> 00:21:25.520 The Christian is someone who has died to sin, 00:21:26.020 --> 00:21:28.160 and we symbolize that in baptism, 00:21:28.660 --> 00:21:33.260 when someone goes under the water and comes back up as a witness to the Lord Jesus. 00:21:34.020 --> 00:21:35.540 But a Christian is more than that. 00:21:35.540 --> 00:21:39.540 A Christian is someone who is alive in Jesus Christ. 00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:41.859 We've died with him as he died on the cross, 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:44.500 so we have in the spiritual sense died with him. 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:46.759 And as he was physically raised to life, 00:21:46.859 --> 00:21:50.619 so we have been spiritually raised to life with him. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:52.619 And then as we said earlier, 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:57.440 what we need to do is to keep our minds and our hearts focused on him 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:02.539 and to recognize that the key to a fruitful, 00:22:03.019 --> 00:22:03.859 a joyful, 00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:05.559 a good Christian life, 00:22:05.619 --> 00:22:06.799 if you want to put it that way, 00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:08.859 is our relationship with Jesus 00:22:08.859 --> 00:22:10.980 and remaining close to him 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:15.419 and living for him in everything we do in our lives. 00:22:16.059 --> 00:22:18.019 It doesn't come through legalism. 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:22.039 It doesn't come through elitism or experiences we may have had. 00:22:22.579 --> 00:22:27.359 It doesn't come through ascetism and denying ourselves worldly pleasures. 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:29.879 It comes from knowing Jesus, 00:22:30.439 --> 00:22:31.799 having our faith in him, 00:22:31.939 --> 00:22:34.059 knowing the salvation that comes through him, 00:22:34.500 --> 00:22:38.919 and day by day living for him and seeking to serve him. 00:22:39.639 --> 00:22:42.079 That's what makes a good Christian. 00:22:42.219 --> 00:22:43.859 Someone who has reality in Jesus, 00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:46.319 someone who remains connected to him 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:49.399 and recognizes him as our head and seeks to obey him, 00:22:49.879 --> 00:22:51.699 someone who has died with Christ 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:55.420 so that the things of this weather would distract us from him 00:22:55.420 --> 00:22:57.080 become less and less important 00:22:57.080 --> 00:23:02.980 as we recognize the reality of the new life that we have in him. 00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:05.600 Let me finish with a quotation. 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:08.840 It's quite a surprising quotation that I found on the BBC. 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:11.259 Now, unfortunately, it's not on their website just now, 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:13.559 but it was on their website a few years ago. 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:15.940 It's now part of the archive. 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:17.680 And this is what it says. 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:22.440 Being a Christian is not about keeping rules and regulations, 00:23:23.180 --> 00:23:26.620 performing rituals, or even going to church. 00:23:27.360 --> 00:23:32.400 It's about a friendship, a friendship with Jesus. 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:37.440 And that very much sums up what I've been trying to get across this morning. 00:23:38.360 --> 00:23:40.660 We as a church, if we're following Jesus, 00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:43.080 can't be just about rules and regulations. 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:43.900 You must do this. 00:23:44.140 --> 00:23:45.420 You mustn't do that. 00:23:45.420 --> 00:23:49.640 We need to be about focusing on Jesus 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:52.220 and building relationships with him 00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:55.460 and knowing him as our friend and as our Lord 00:23:55.460 --> 00:23:59.060 and seeking to bring others to know him as well. 00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:02.480 We as individuals, if we want to be a Christian, 00:24:02.860 --> 00:24:03.779 far less a good Christian, 00:24:03.860 --> 00:24:07.480 it is only found through that relationship with Jesus. 00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:10.019 By recognizing by ourselves, 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:12.720 we could try all we want for our whole lives 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:15.019 and we won't be able to do enough 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:18.339 to make up for all the sins that we have committed. 00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:22.860 We can never start to pay for all the wrong that we've done. 00:24:23.360 --> 00:24:25.640 But Jesus has done it all. 00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:27.079 We sang that, didn't we, in the song 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:28.960 before I got up to speak. 00:24:29.100 --> 00:24:31.240 Jesus pays it all. 00:24:31.980 --> 00:24:33.400 And let's focus on him 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:37.180 and have our lives and our eyes fixed on him. 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:39.299 Do away with rules and regulations 00:24:39.299 --> 00:24:42.799 and just concentrate on our relationship, 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:44.340 our friendship with Jesus 00:24:44.340 --> 00:24:47.660 and our allegiance to him as our Lord. 00:24:48.120 --> 00:24:48.900 Let's pray together. 00:24:52.500 --> 00:24:55.900 Our Father, we thank you for these words of Paul. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:57.740 Thank you that he was able to take 00:24:57.740 --> 00:24:59.480 what appeared to be a really big issue 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:01.080 for the church at Colossae 00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:03.539 and was able to demonstrate 00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:06.879 how the things that people were trying to impose on them 00:25:06.879 --> 00:25:08.819 were worthless and meaningless 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:11.699 and actually would distract them 00:25:11.699 --> 00:25:13.119 from what is important. 00:25:13.720 --> 00:25:16.579 We pray to help us to focus our minds, 00:25:16.740 --> 00:25:19.480 our thoughts, our hearts on Jesus 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:22.819 to make sure that we know him as our Savior 00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:26.159 and then day by day to walk with him 00:25:26.159 --> 00:25:29.019 as our Lord and as our friend. 00:25:29.019 --> 00:25:30.819 We thank you for your presence 00:25:30.819 --> 00:25:32.379 as we've worshipped this morning, 00:25:33.019 --> 00:25:34.980 as we've learned from your word. 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:36.859 And we commit ourselves to you now 00:25:36.859 --> 00:25:38.519 and pray for your continued blessing on us 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:39.579 in the remainder of the day. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:41.680 We give our thanks in Jesus' name. 00:25:42.420 --> 00:25:42.639 Amen.