Colossians 3:1-17 New Living Translation… Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Introduction: Sanctification is the ongoing work of God in which the life we have received in Christ increasingly becomes visible in every aspect of our mortal lives. Sanctification progressively shapes us into the likeness of Christ.
Transition: Paul writes Colossians 3 to people who have already been saved, but now they must learn what salvation looks like as it integrates into their everyday lives. Christianity is not merely about getting people into heaven. It is also about getting heaven into people.
Exposition: And if we become captivated by Christ, sooner or later we must become captivated by sanctification, because you cannot continually behold Jesus without eventually being confronted by everything in you that does not look like Jesus. So…
LOOK UP — Remember Who You Are… verses 1–4
Paul says, in effect, “If you have been raised with Christ, start looking in the direction of your new life.”
The Christian life is not merely about trying harder. It is about seeing Christ more clearly. When Christ captivates the mind, He begins transforming the life.
STRIP DOWN — Remove What No Longer Belongs… verses 5–11
Once Paul establishes who we are, he becomes very direct about what must change. He says, “Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.”
Sanctification involves mortification. That is the theological word for putting sin to death. Sanctification means I stop asking only, “What do I want?” and begin asking, “What does Christ want to produce in me?”
Reference Hebrews 12:1 “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”!
SUIT UP — Put On What Looks Like Jesus… verses 12–17
Holiness is not simply the absence of bad behavior. It is the presence of Christlike character.
Every Christian lives beneath the shadow of a cross where Jesus absorbed a debt we could never pay.
Christians can be wounded without becoming defined by the wound.
Love is the outer garment that holds everything together.
Conclusion: Paul brings the entire passage together in one sweeping statement: “Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus.”
