Making it Personal - Colossians 1:21-23

1:00All of our hope is in Jesus Christ. He is our only option, the only option for sinners. Our only hope is to be rescued by Jesus Christ. And the same was true for the Colossian church. Paul, if you remember, in the letter to the Colossians, Paul is writing to this church that he didn't plan, but he's known about them from the very beginning. So, he had some people that were connected with him that went out and planted this church in Colosse, and he's been hearing reports of how they accepted the gospel and how they responded in faith. And we read just this morning in our scripture reading that Paul has seen that they have been bearing fruit and that their fruit has been spreading, and it's an exciting time for that church.

1:57But Paul is also concerned for them. He desires that they would grow in maturity. He wants them to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and mature in the faith. That's his desire for them because some enemies have crept in. And when we studied this letter last time in December, we saw that the enemies had come in and they're trying to spread a teaching that is against the gospel. They're trying to spread a false teaching that can take the Colossians captive, and Paul doesn't want them to be taken captive.

2:40So I think that's the occasion of this letter. Paul wants to let them know that he loves them, let them know that he's praying for them, but also let them know that he's concerned for them. He's seen these enemies come into the church, and he doesn't want them to be taken captive. So, as After he prays for them, after he gives thanks, he immediately starts to help them grow in knowledge. And look at Colossians chapter 1, verse 15. This is the passage we studied in December where Paul starts to pour out knowledge about who Christ is and what he's done. Colossians 1, verse 15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him.

3:47And he is before all things. And in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. So he's just shared all this information about who Jesus is, that he is first over everything, that he is before everything, and that even now he's holding all things together. And he talks about how. He is Lord over creation, that everything that was made was made through Jesus Christ and was made for Jesus Christ. And he's talked about how he's the Lord of redemption, that it was in Jesus that God, it was Jesus that came down to earth to live as a man and through the blood of his cross make peace with men.

4:56And now, as Paul continues to arm the Colossian church with knowledge, he's going to turn to them and describe them specifically. He's talked about what God has done in their lives. He's talked about who Jesus is and how he's first over everything. And now he's going to turn directly to them and tell them what is true about themselves. That's our passage for this morning. Look at verse 21. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

5:45If, indeed, you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. So he starts out this passage in verse 21 by saying, and you. And that's a strange place to put that. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense in a sentence. And I think what he's doing is he's pausing to say, we were just talking about Christ, but now I'm talking about you. It's like he turns and points at them, and you. And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross, and you, you who are once alienated, he has reconciled. And so, as a loving pastor, as a leader in their life, he is now turning to them and making personal what Christ has done. And so, what does he tell them? What does he want them to know about themselves? What is the truth he's trying to arm them with?

6:53I think he's going to arm them with the truth that's going to help them, an essential weapon to help them overcome this worldly wisdom that has crept into the church, this self-made religion. He wants to offer them a weapon against this. And I think it's vital for us to have this weapon as well. I think we're going to be confronted with the same truths, and we need to see what Paul is saying this morning. And we're going to see three aspects of our reconciliation, three aspects of our reconciliation to God.

7:30The who, the how, and the why. Those are the three aspects. Who, how, and why. Who is reconciled? How were we reconciled? And why were we reconciled? What was the goal? But before we start, let's actually remember what the word reconciliation means, right? It's a longer word. In biblical reconciliation, if you remember, that's the way that God changes us from being his enemy to being his friend. It's the way that we are restored to God in our relationship. We're changed from being his enemy to having a right relationship with him. Just like if you had a close friend and you got in an argument and you were at odds with one another and maybe you didn't talk for a month, but then afterwards, you reconciled. You made peace. You figured out how to get past it. And you restored your relationship. You forgave one another and you're reconciled. This is the same kind of reconciliation. We're brought back in a relationship with God. We're no longer his enemy. Now we're his friend. And this is what we need, right? If we ever want to stand in the presence of God with joy, if we ever want to enjoy him and enjoy heaven, we need to be reconciled, don't we? Because if as sinners, we're his enemy, then we can't stand in his presence and have joy. No, we need to be reconciled. We need to be his friend. We need to be forgiven.

9:00So, this is what Paul is going to remind them of in the Colossian church. He's going to remind them of their reconciliation. Let's see what he says. The first aspect of our reconciliation that Paul describes is the who. Who is reconciled? Look at verse 21. And you who once were alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. Alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. That's who is being reconciled. The first word, alienated, that means to be completely separated from. Just like you would alienate somebody from a country or from a group or something like that. Alienated is ostracized, separated, estranged from. So there is no possibility of a relationship there, right? They're completely separate. They're outside. That's what we were. That's what the Colossians were before they knew God.

10:08The second thing that Paul says is hostile in mind. Hostile in mind. He's saying there that we were enemies of God in our thoughts. The way that we thought, the way that our mind thought, was like an enemy. Just like if someone, if you had an enemy and And that person is always thinking wicked thoughts against you, how to trap you, how to gossip about you, how to slander you. Those kind of thoughts. You're thinking the thoughts of an enemy. The next, Paul says that we weren't just thinking evil thoughts, we were putting them into action, right? Alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. So we didn't just stop at thinking evil thoughts about God. We actually put it into action and committed sins against God. We did evil deeds. That was our life, separated from God, doing evil deeds, thinking wicked thoughts against God. It's a dark picture, right?

11:14And that dark picture is a picture of someone who has no right to be reconciled. It's someone who deserves nothing. Just like if you, let's pretend that the president of the United States was going to offer this award to like a thousand people, something like that. And he got to choose who to give that reward to. Well, if he has the sole choice and he loves America, then what he's going to do is look for who's worthy of that prize, right? And there's going to be some people that are very worthy of the prize. Maybe they have served. Our country with distinction and shown that they love our country, shown that they love the president. Or maybe they have worked their whole life so that they can be honest and pay their taxes and be a good citizen. You know, these are worthy people. They would be considered for the prize. But then you have another guy. And this other guy has been kicked out of our country, alienated, because of stuff that he did that was wrong. And not only that, after he's kicked out, he's still constantly thinking like an enemy to our country. He's always thinking evil thoughts, how to take down the president, how to harass our country. And then, past those thoughts, thinking the thoughts of an enemy, he's actually putting them into action anytime he can. He's alienated, so he can't come in our country, but maybe every time he sees a traveler or something like that from America, he harasses him, something like that. And so this man is kicked out of our country for wrong that he's done. He's thinking the thoughts of an enemy, and he's putting them into action. This man would not be considered for this prize, right? It would be absurd to say that this guy was even in the running to receive that prize. It would be insanity. But that's the guy that we were, right, compared to God. That's who we were. It would be absurd to say that we deserved reconciliation. It would be insane to say that.

13:30Before we knew Christ, we weren't just living a decent life that honored him. We were thinking against God. We were acting like his enemy. And yet, in God's grace, this is the very person that God has chosen to step in and reconcile. God has chosen to take wicked sinners just like this and restore them to himself. That's who we were. And that's who the Colossians were before they knew God. They were that rebel, alienated from God, hostile in mind, wicked in deeds. So the next question is: we know who is being reconciled. The next question is: how did that reconciliation happen? How was this accomplished?

14:22And the first statement that he gives, look again at verse 21: you who were alienated, hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death. He is now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death. So the first thing that Paul tells him, tells them, is that Jesus needed to become a man. He was in a body of flesh. That's the first step in our reconciliation. Look over at chapter 2, verse 9.

14:58For in him the whole spirit. Fullness of deity dwells bodily. For in him, the whole fullness of deity, all of his godness, his deity, dwells bodily. Or the verse we studied months ago, look at chapter 1, verse 19. For in him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. And so we've already heard in this letter that in the man Jesus Christ, God was pleased to dwell. The whole fullness of deity was in Jesus Christ the man. And now Paul is saying, when Jesus did that, when he took the form of a man, that was the first step in our reconciliation.

15:45That was something that needed to happen. And so the question is, why did that need to happen? Why did he need to take on flesh? Why did he need to become a man? Look again at verse 22. He is now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death. By his death, through death. This is the way that Jesus reconciled us to God. And this is basic, right? This is the very first truth you clung on to as you became a Christian. This is the gospel hope that Christ died to save sinners. That Christ died on the cross so that we could be forgiven, and then he rose again.

16:31We've heard this before, but the Colossians had already heard this too, right? We already saw in chapter 1 that they had heard the gospel, the gospel of truth. They had already responded to the gospel, and it's already bearing fruit in their life. And yet, Paul thinks it's important to tell them again this truth: that Christ died so that we can be reconciled. I think he sees these enemies coming into the church. These enemies who want to add regulations, to add festivals and feasts, the worship of angels, to the gospel. And I think he's saying that's not what needs to happen. Christ, who is preeminent over all things, who everything was created through him, Christ has become a man and has already died for our reconciliation. We don't need to add on to the gospel.

17:35And as Christians, we can never hear this enough, right? Yes, this is the basic truth of Christianity, but we can never just get past it, right? It's the gospel. We sing about it all the time. We sing about it this morning. And can it be, right? And the other songs. All the songs were about that this morning. It's the most blessed truth to us that though we were alienated. From God, God's enemies. Now we have been reconciled to God by his death. This is the weapon he was giving the Colossians, and I think this is the weapon that we need to wield when we think about the world's wisdom of adding on things to try and earn our way to heaven. This is the weapon that David wielded in Psalm 103. It's my favorite psalm. And he says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases. And he goes on to list more benefits from the Lord, and he's talking to his own soul and saying, Bless the Lord. Don't forget what he's done for you. Don't forget that he's separated your sin as far as the east is from the west. Don't forget that he has compassion on you like a loving father.

18:53We must get our souls to bless God for this reconciliation because he's accomplished the impossible. He's taken us from that dark situation and reconciled us to him. The hymn says, Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood, sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Guilty, vile, and helpless, we, spotless Lamb of God was he. Full atonement can it be? Hallelujah. What a savior. The Savior. So we have seen who is being reconciled, alienated, hostile in mind, doing wicked deeds. We've seen how that reconciliation has happened by the death of Jesus Christ.

19:47Now we're going to turn and answer the question: why would Jesus pay this price? This is what Paul goes to next. What was the purpose of our reconciliation? What was the goal? Look at verse 22. He is now reconciled you in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. In order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. That's the goal of us being reconciled to God. That we could be presented before God holy and blameless and above reproach, or holy without blemish, unstained or blameless. That main phrase, to be presented before God, is just to be stood up before God, like you would stand up a trophy or a cup or something like that. You know, I'm standing this up. That's what's going to happen to us. We're going to be placed in God's presence, standing right before Him. Him.

21:03And if this happened right now, if you right now closed your eyes and opened them again and you were in this room all by yourself standing before God, it would be terrifying, right? You would be utterly terrified because God is holy and you are not. And we have examples of this in Scripture, right? Righteous men, men who are far more righteous than we are, are standing before God and they're terrified. We see Isaiah, the prophet, he stands before God and he cries out, woe is me.

21:40I am a man of unclean lips. I'm a dead man. I can't stand before God. John stands before God at the end of a long life of faithfulness, right? A long life of knowing Jesus Christ may be closer than any man. And he stands before God and falls down like a dead man, is what it says. So it's a terrifying thing to be placed in the presence of God. But what Paul is saying here is that it is not going to be like that for the Colossians.

22:15They don't need to be terrified when they're face to face with God. They're not going to fall down like dead men. They don't need to feel that crushing anxiety of standing as sinners. And unholy before a holy God, because when they're standing before God, they're going to be holy and blameless and above reproach. It's an amazing truth, right? And the same is true for us today, Christians. The first word that he uses is holy. That's our normal word for holy.

22:53Sanctified, set apart, totally pure. Just like you would take the dishes or the things that you would involve in sacrifices in the Old Testament, and you would make sure they were spotless and clean and pure and holy, nothing dirty about them. That's the same kind of set apart holiness that we're going to have when we see God face to face. Holy before God. The author of Hebrews says it like this: in Hebrews 10, 10. You can turn there or just listen if you'd like. Hebrews 10, 10. And by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. It's exactly what Paul just said in Colossians, right? We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. But the author of Hebrews goes on, listen to this. Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. And listen to this. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified, those who are being made holy. He has perfected for all time through his sacrifice those who are being made holy. That's us, if we're believers. Perfected for all time and holy, made holy by Christ's sacrifice. But back in our text, in verse 22, Paul doesn't just stop at holy. He also says we're blameless. That word means that we're going to be without blemish. There's not going to be anything that someone can point to, like a scuff or a scratch on us, and say, see there, there's something wrong. No, we're going to be morally perfect. There's not going to be a stain on our character, not a single spot. So we're going to be holy. And if anyone tried to point anything out wrong with us, they're not going to be able to. And then he uses another synonym for blameless, above reproach.

25:13If anyone tried to look at us and make an accusation against us, it's not going to count. It's not even going to make sense. They can't make an accusation against us. That's going to be our status when we stand before a holy God. Jude says it like this, now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. He is able to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. It's the same idea we find in Colossians, right? That God is going to stand us up in front of him in such a way that even he is not going to find something wrong with our character. Even he is not going to be able to point to anything and say, you're condemned, get out of my presence. Instead, we're going to be holy and blameless and above reproach before God. Able to stand with great joy before God himself instead of cowering in fear.

26:27We were wicked in thought, thinking the thoughts of an enemy, doing evil deeds, alienated from God. But now that Christ has paid by his death for our reconciliation, now we look forward to a day when we are before God, holy and blameless and above reproach. That's a big difference, right? But listen to this. There are likely Some of you in this room that this doesn't apply to. All this talk about being holy and blameless and above reproach has got nothing to do with you.

27:13You don't share in this hope. You're still in your evil deeds. You still think the thoughts of an enemy towards God. You're still separated from him. You will stand before him, right? But you won't be spotless. And it won't be pleasant. Because look at what Paul says next, verse 23. If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. He says, if indeed you cling to this gospel, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. And so Paul is giving a caveat to this amazing truth that he's just said. Yes, there are people who are going to change from being God's enemy to being able to stand in front of him perfect, but it's not everyone.

28:27So what is he saying? Statement that makes our stomach drop if we know how holy God is, how powerful He is. What does He mean when He's saying this? Is He saying that there are some Colossians who right now are true believers, but who might by the end of their life give up on the gospel and no longer be reconciled to God? No, I don't think that's what He's saying. I don't think He's trying to frighten the true believers in Colossi. He's not saying that of the people who actually believed, that only a percentage of them would be able to stand before God. That's not what He's saying. Turn over to Colossians 2:16.

29:15And let's look at this heresy that's coming in face to face. Colossians 2, verse 16. Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the head from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations? Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, referring to things that all perish as they are used according to human precepts and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

30:31Paul is saying that there is a fake wisdom that is coming in. There is a worldly philosophy that is coming in to this church. And they are preaching or teaching that they need to add on to that basic gospel. These people would have heard the real gospel, the gospel of truth, but now they're being confronted with another way to choose to add on their own works. And if they choose this other way, this way that includes worshiping angels, these visions that they're seeing, if they choose that way, they're showing that they have not chosen the gospel. They have not chosen the reconciliation that comes from Christ and his sacrifice on the cross. Because look back at Colossians 1:23, or verse. When he says, if indeed you continue in the faith, if indeed you continue in continuity, It's kind of a strange way to say that. It's just a word-for-word translation. And I think the idea of what he's saying is like he's saying, assuming, or provided that.

31:43So you could say, instead, or you could say, you are reconciled, assuming you're a true believer. Or provided that you actually believe in the gospel, you will stand before God perfectly holy. Okay? So he says, if indeed you continue in the faith. And what is the faith? What is the faith? Is he just saying continue believing that God exists? No, what he means when he says the faith is he's talking about Christian truth, the doctrines, the set of beliefs that Christians believe in. That's the faith. And Paul has made it his purpose to present everyone mature in the faith. He's teaching all the churches. He's teaching the Gentiles to make them mature, to help them increase in their knowledge of God. And he gets more specific in verse 23. If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. That's the part of the faith that they need to cling to, especially the hope of the gospel.

32:48This is the gospel that Paul has been a minister of. That's what he says at the end. Of which I, Paul, became a minister. Right before that, he says, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven. Heaven. So, this gospel message that Christ died to save sinners, this is Paul's message that he's spreading throughout the whole earth and that God is spreading throughout the whole earth using Paul, I should say. This gospel that Christ died to save sinners, they need to cling to.

33:22They've got the option now of another set of truths, and they could show that they didn't believe the gospel if they want to chase after this other way. So, let's look back at our text. Paul is not saying that he's worried that a certain percentage of true believers will not be saved in the end, but he's concerned that there's a certain percentage of the people reading this letter that are not true believers. I think that's what's happening. He's concerned that there are some, maybe even in the Colossian church, who have not truly believed the gospel. They're ready to jump after this other strange teaching. They're not holding on to the gospel. And so, he's warning them not to reject the only hope that we have, the only real way of reconciliation through Christ's death, and trade it in to try and earn their own way to heaven. It doesn't even make sense. And so, back to us today in this room, like I said, some of you are in that very position. Right? You have been offered the gospel. You have been offered to trust in Christ's sacrifice instead of trying to earn your own way to heaven. And right now, you're alienated. You're separated from God and you're thinking wicked thoughts and you're doing evil deeds. But Christ has died and offered his body of flesh on the cross in order to provide a way to make us so holy that we can stand in the presence of God with joy instead of terror. Holy and blameless and above reproach, completely spotless, completely pure. And for those of you who are already Christians, Paul has an expectation for you in this verse, verse 23: if indeed you continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. That's the call for Christians as they read this verse. That the word stable is the word lay a foundation. So it's like you're like a foundation. That's how stable you're supposed to be in the gospel. You're supposed to be firm and established, not shaky. And so I think the encouragement for us is to, like we talked about earlier, remember the gospel, cling to it, not let ourselves be torn away from it, but instead. Instead, remember the gospel. Keep telling ourselves the truth that Christ died to save sinners.

36:08We need to unflinchingly cling to the gospel. So, in verse 21, and you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he is now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. That is what has happened to you if you're a believer. A dramatic change. And I just encourage you not to let yourself forget how dramatic that change was: that you were in the dark, totally helpless, separated from God, but now you have this hope, something to meditate on, even this week, to think about how you had no hope but Christ, and he actually reconciled you to himself. So you can stand before God now. Perfect. Let's pray.

37:10Father, we are so thankful for what you've done. We're so grateful that though we were not deserving. Of your grace. So everything in our lives pointed to the fact that we were your enemy, that you still sent Jesus Christ to take on flesh, to die on the cross, and to reconcile us to yourself. So that now we have this hope, this unbelievable hope, that someday we're going to actually see you face to face. And instead of falling down like dead men, we'll actually get to stand there and look at you with great joy.

38:08Something that we don't deserve. I pray, Lord, that you'd help us look forward to that day. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to trust in you and remember that it is only this gospel of reconciliation by which we can be saved. I pray, Lord, that you would increase our faith. In Jesus' name, amen.