WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:04.099 Thank you. Well, it seems fitting that on St. 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:07.099 Patrick's Day we would talk about going to witness 00:00:07.099 --> 00:00:10.259 to our friends and neighbors. You know the story 00:00:10.259 --> 00:00:15.220 of St. Patrick? He lived 1 ,500 years ago. As 00:00:15.220 --> 00:00:18.379 a young man, perhaps eight years of age, he was 00:00:18.379 --> 00:00:23.219 kidnapped and was sold as a slave to a Celtic 00:00:23.219 --> 00:00:25.679 chieftain who took him across the Irish Sea from 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:29.339 England, where he lived, across the Irish Sea 00:00:29.339 --> 00:00:32.310 to Ireland. and he was there as a slave to this 00:00:32.310 --> 00:00:35.990 family for a number of years. As a teenager, 00:00:36.030 --> 00:00:40.189 he was able to escape and went back home to England, 00:00:41.469 --> 00:00:43.969 and it was there that he came to faith in Christ. 00:00:44.770 --> 00:00:47.810 But God burdened his heart for the pagans in 00:00:47.810 --> 00:00:51.789 Ireland, and so he returned to the Celts of Ireland 00:00:51.789 --> 00:00:54.969 and began to preach the gospel of Christ to them, 00:00:55.070 --> 00:00:57.829 ultimately seeing thousands and thousands of 00:00:57.829 --> 00:01:00.840 them professed faith in the Lord and be baptized, 00:01:01.020 --> 00:01:04.620 and churches were established. And so on this 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:08.719 day that we remember St. Patrick, and we celebrate 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:12.400 those of us of Irish ancestry celebrate that, 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:17.120 we celebrate a man who gave us an example, and 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:19.340 I hope that all of us will follow that example 00:01:19.340 --> 00:01:23.760 as we anticipate the crusade this summer. Be 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:27.120 a part of Operation Andrew. God will bless you 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:30.840 for it. And now let's open our Bibles together 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:37.500 please to Colossians chapter 3. We Christians 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:40.560 are not only to know the truth in our minds, 00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:47.980 we are also to show the truth in our lives. There 00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:50.099 were false teachers who had come to the church 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:53.959 in Colossae and confused the saints, making them 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:58.120 think that they needed more than Christ to have 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:00.739 a complete knowledge of God. And so the apostle 00:02:00.739 --> 00:02:04.519 spends the first half of this letter correcting 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:07.859 that misunderstanding. And in the first four 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:12.479 verses of this chapter, he crunches some of the 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:15.680 details of what the Colossians said they believed. 00:02:17.539 --> 00:02:20.659 He says, since you have been raised with Jesus 00:02:20.659 --> 00:02:23.919 Christ, having died with Him, now having been 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:29.750 raised with Him, Seek the things above. And so 00:02:29.750 --> 00:02:33.610 he reminds all of us that salvation is all about 00:02:33.610 --> 00:02:37.169 coming into a personal relationship with Christ. 00:02:38.770 --> 00:02:41.370 And dying with Him, being buried with Him, being 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:45.110 raised again with Him in newness of life. He 00:02:45.110 --> 00:02:51.129 is the source of our life. We believe that. And 00:02:51.129 --> 00:02:53.949 he says that our life is now hidden with God 00:02:53.949 --> 00:02:57.750 in Christ Jesus. Hidden with Christ rather, in 00:02:57.750 --> 00:03:00.849 God. I got it turned around. And so that's the 00:03:00.849 --> 00:03:04.990 security of our lives. That we are hidden with 00:03:04.990 --> 00:03:11.990 Christ in God. We believe that. And he says whenever 00:03:11.990 --> 00:03:16.169 Christ who is our life shall appear, then we 00:03:16.169 --> 00:03:20.050 will appear with Him in glory. That's the destiny 00:03:20.050 --> 00:03:25.759 of our lives. And we believe that. But it's not 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:29.879 enough to just believe it. We need to show that 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:34.439 in our lives. And so he says, since this is true, 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:37.979 since this is what you believe, seek the things 00:03:37.979 --> 00:03:43.060 above. Set your affection on things above, not 00:03:43.060 --> 00:03:51.719 on the earth. You see, what we believe ought 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:56.069 to affect how we behave. And so now the apostle 00:03:56.069 --> 00:03:58.389 is going to take the rest of the book basically 00:03:58.389 --> 00:04:02.469 to talk about what behavior ought to look like 00:04:02.469 --> 00:04:04.990 when people believe what they say they believe 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:10.389 about Christ. A believer is to set his heart 00:04:10.389 --> 00:04:14.770 on things in heaven. And when he does, that will 00:04:14.770 --> 00:04:20.269 change the way that he treats others on earth. 00:04:21.829 --> 00:04:24.290 I'm going to read the text beginning in verse 00:04:24.290 --> 00:04:27.529 5 and as I do that I want you to notice that 00:04:27.529 --> 00:04:30.610 this list of sins that the Apostle says that 00:04:30.610 --> 00:04:35.430 we are not to have in our lives are sins of relationship. 00:04:37.850 --> 00:04:42.490 They have to do with how we treat other people. 00:04:45.209 --> 00:04:47.949 Therefore consider the members of your earthly 00:04:47.949 --> 00:04:54.819 body as dead. to immorality, impurity, passion, 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:00.279 evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 00:05:01.459 --> 00:05:03.720 For it is on account of these things that the 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:06.839 wrath of God will come, and in them you also 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:12.160 once walked when you were living in them. But 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:17.560 now you also put them all aside, anger, wrath, 00:05:17.860 --> 00:05:21.339 malice. slander and abusive speech from your 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:27.220 mouth. Do not lie to one another since you laid 00:05:27.220 --> 00:05:30.079 aside the old self with its evil practices and 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.079 have put on the new self who is being renewed 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:36.259 to a true knowledge according to the image of 00:05:36.259 --> 00:05:39.939 the one who created him. A renewal in which there 00:05:39.939 --> 00:05:43.819 is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised 00:05:43.819 --> 00:05:47.519 and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian slave 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:55.860 and free man. But Christ is all and in all. Now 00:05:55.860 --> 00:06:00.139 as you look at this text, there are two decisive 00:06:00.139 --> 00:06:05.720 commands or word pictures that the apostle gives 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:11.139 to us. This morning I want to talk about what 00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:13.899 a heavenly life looks like in street clothes. 00:06:16.790 --> 00:06:20.629 He says we are to set our affection on things 00:06:20.629 --> 00:06:25.269 above. But what does that look like in a mirror? 00:06:27.709 --> 00:06:30.050 What does that look like in everyday life when 00:06:30.050 --> 00:06:34.410 you set your affection on things above? Well, 00:06:34.410 --> 00:06:36.069 Paul is going to write quite a bit about that. 00:06:36.110 --> 00:06:38.350 We're going to begin this morning by seeing two 00:06:38.350 --> 00:06:41.569 decisive commands that are involved in that kind 00:06:41.569 --> 00:06:46.480 of a life. The first one is put to death. That's 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:48.759 the first command. I don't know if you mark your 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:51.680 Bible. I encourage people to do that as a way 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:55.300 of kind of jotting things down and when you underline 00:06:55.300 --> 00:06:57.240 it or you take a note of the margin, it helps 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:01.220 jog the memory. The first decisive command is 00:07:01.220 --> 00:07:05.220 put to death the members of your earthly body. 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:13.019 The second one is put aside in verse 8. Put aside 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:18.459 the lifestyle that was out of your past. When 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:21.100 the apostle says we are to put to death the members 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:23.480 of our earthly body, he is not saying that we're 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:27.560 to put to death our hands and our feet and our 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:31.120 tongues. He is not saying that we're to put to 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:35.339 death the physical members of our body. This 00:07:35.339 --> 00:07:40.259 is picture language. It's an analogy. For example, 00:07:40.810 --> 00:07:44.430 When it says that you as a believer are a member 00:07:44.430 --> 00:07:49.250 of Christ's body, it doesn't literally mean that 00:07:49.250 --> 00:07:55.870 you are a toe or an index finger. What it means 00:07:55.870 --> 00:08:00.870 is that like the members of your body express 00:08:00.870 --> 00:08:08.129 your life, so you as a Christian express Jesus 00:08:08.129 --> 00:08:14.029 in the world. You are an extension of His life 00:08:14.029 --> 00:08:18.709 inside of you. You're a member. And so when he 00:08:18.709 --> 00:08:21.350 says here that we're to put to death the members 00:08:21.350 --> 00:08:25.750 of our bodies that are upon the earth, he is 00:08:25.750 --> 00:08:29.189 saying that we are to put to death those expressions, 00:08:30.670 --> 00:08:35.009 those impulses that come out of our bodies that 00:08:35.009 --> 00:08:39.990 are related to sin. We're to put them to death. 00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:46.940 That is, we are to deprive them of power. We're 00:08:46.940 --> 00:08:52.240 not to allow them to be brought to life. We're 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:56.120 not to allow those sinful impulses that arise 00:08:56.120 --> 00:09:05.860 out of our present state to be realized. We're 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:11.179 to kill them. We're to put them to death. In 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:16.059 Romans 8, I think it's verse 13, he says that 00:09:16.059 --> 00:09:21.240 we are to, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:26.360 of the body. It's the very same thought. It's 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:30.120 those actions, it's those words, those attitudes 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:35.639 that arise out of our current state in which 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:40.970 we still have sin working inside of us. Put to 00:09:40.970 --> 00:09:45.610 death, he says, these expressions of evil desires 00:09:45.610 --> 00:09:50.110 operating in your body. Not only that, he says, 00:09:50.289 --> 00:09:54.850 put aside the lifestyle connected with your past. 00:09:55.350 --> 00:09:58.009 That is, cast them off, just like you would take 00:09:58.009 --> 00:10:01.990 off dirty clothing at the end of a day. You know, 00:10:01.990 --> 00:10:04.549 when you've worked hard and you're gritty and 00:10:04.549 --> 00:10:08.059 you're soiled and you're sweaty. And you can 00:10:08.059 --> 00:10:10.620 hardly wait to get the clothes off and get into 00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:15.700 the shower and get refreshed. He says, strip 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:19.200 off of you. Take off of you. Put off from you. 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:23.279 Those things connected with your former lifestyle. 00:10:25.779 --> 00:10:29.500 Now why are we to do this? Well he explains in 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:31.679 verse 6 that it's on account of these things 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:35.059 that the wrath of God will come. Literally says 00:10:35.059 --> 00:10:40.230 the wrath of God is coming. We don't hear much 00:10:40.230 --> 00:10:46.950 about the wrath of God these days. God's wrath 00:10:46.950 --> 00:10:53.450 is not God having a temper tantrum. God's wrath 00:10:53.450 --> 00:11:02.289 is the natural expression of His holiness when 00:11:02.289 --> 00:11:09.470 sin presents itself. God's wrath is just as natural 00:11:09.470 --> 00:11:13.309 as lightning is when the charges are set up during 00:11:13.309 --> 00:11:16.990 a storm and lightning flashes and then there's 00:11:16.990 --> 00:11:22.450 thunder. That's the way God's wrath is. God is 00:11:22.450 --> 00:11:27.529 holy and when sin comes into his presence, when 00:11:27.529 --> 00:11:32.490 he's aware of sin, wrath goes forward because 00:11:32.490 --> 00:11:38.220 of who he is. So it's not God's stamping and 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:41.919 having a tantrum of some sort. It's just the 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:46.899 expression of God's holiness against sin. Now 00:11:46.899 --> 00:11:50.659 he says that you and I are to put to death. We're 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:53.419 to take off of ourselves like dirty clothes. 00:11:55.299 --> 00:11:58.820 Those behaviors, those actions, those attitudes 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:03.100 that God's wrath is coming on. And notice he 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:05.440 says that God's wrath is coming. It's not that 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:08.799 it someday is going to come in the distant. We 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:11.460 don't know when. But he's saying God's wrath 00:12:11.460 --> 00:12:16.139 comes on it. The idea in this verb is that God's 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:20.500 wrath is already approaching. God's wrath has 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:23.960 already been declared. God has given the sentence 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:29.639 upon this sin. Even though the sentence may not 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:33.679 yet be carried out. It's like a prisoner who 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:38.740 is declared guilty of murder. And the sentence 00:12:38.740 --> 00:12:43.639 is given. You must pay by your life. You must 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:50.460 be executed. And years go by. The judgment is 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:53.740 already given. The sentence is there. But it's 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:56.879 not been carried out yet. And my friend, that's 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.529 the way it is with God's wrath. In John 3 and 00:13:00.529 --> 00:13:03.230 verse 36 it says, the one who does not believe 00:13:03.230 --> 00:13:12.250 on the Son, the wrath of God abides on him. It 00:13:12.250 --> 00:13:16.269 means that God's wrath has already been declared. 00:13:16.649 --> 00:13:19.509 The sentence has already been given against that 00:13:19.509 --> 00:13:22.470 person even though it will not be carried out 00:13:22.470 --> 00:13:29.279 until his death or Christ returns. As Jesus told 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:31.519 the story of the rich man in Lazarus, he told 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:34.740 about the rich man who lived sumptuously all 00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:39.220 of his life with no thought of God. And during 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:42.059 that whole life, God's wrath was on him. He did 00:13:42.059 --> 00:13:46.120 not know it even. But God's wrath was hanging 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:50.500 over him, around him. And then when he died, 00:13:51.799 --> 00:13:55.340 he was immediately aware of being in flame and 00:13:55.340 --> 00:14:00.350 in torment in hell. and the wrath was carried 00:14:00.350 --> 00:14:04.210 out. If you're outside of Jesus Christ today, 00:14:04.789 --> 00:14:11.570 I warn you that the wrath of God is coming. And 00:14:11.570 --> 00:14:14.309 it's because of that terrifying fact that the 00:14:14.309 --> 00:14:18.289 apostle says that we believers ought to put to 00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:23.029 death those things of our lives that are of this 00:14:23.029 --> 00:14:29.299 earth. The earthly things. connected with the 00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:34.779 sinful impulses in our bodies. We're to take 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:37.159 them off like dirty clothes and pile them up 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:41.559 and be done with them. Because God's wrath is 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:46.779 coming. I think you can see from this that men 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:49.340 invite the wrath of God. God does not delight 00:14:49.340 --> 00:14:56.720 in the death of the wicked. But when we sin, 00:14:57.230 --> 00:15:01.710 We invite the wrath of God to come against us 00:15:01.710 --> 00:15:09.889 and it is and it will be carried out unless we 00:15:09.889 --> 00:15:14.110 find refuge in the cross where God's wrath has 00:15:14.110 --> 00:15:18.269 already fallen and there alone there is safety 00:15:18.269 --> 00:15:22.590 for the sinner who will come to that cross and 00:15:22.590 --> 00:15:26.309 bow and repent and believe on the Savior. who 00:15:26.309 --> 00:15:31.830 died and absorbed that wrath for him. But what 00:15:31.830 --> 00:15:33.789 is it specifically that's to be removed from 00:15:33.789 --> 00:15:37.450 the believer's lifestyle? By the way, let me 00:15:37.450 --> 00:15:39.970 say something because there's confusion about 00:15:39.970 --> 00:15:43.409 this in our culture today. There is the suggestion 00:15:43.409 --> 00:15:46.649 in our culture that all lifestyles are equally 00:15:46.649 --> 00:15:50.850 valid. It's just a matter of what option you 00:15:50.850 --> 00:15:53.750 have or what choice you make as to what lifestyle 00:15:53.750 --> 00:15:57.669 you want to follow. And whatever it is, have 00:15:57.669 --> 00:16:02.490 a wonderful life. That is not biblical. That 00:16:02.490 --> 00:16:07.549 is not biblical. He is going to tell us here 00:16:07.549 --> 00:16:12.850 that there is a lifestyle that brings judgment 00:16:12.850 --> 00:16:17.250 from God. And that's what we're to be done with. 00:16:17.669 --> 00:16:20.149 We're to get rid of that lifestyle as Christians. 00:16:21.269 --> 00:16:23.909 First of all, it involves immorality. Notice 00:16:23.909 --> 00:16:28.159 verse 5. Consider the members of your earthly 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:31.940 body as dead to immorality. The word here is 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:35.419 pornea. And if you listen to that Greek word, 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:37.620 you will hear the beginning of our English word 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:43.559 pornography. The word pornea came from two verbs. 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:48.460 Both of them connected with prostitution. Male 00:16:48.460 --> 00:16:52.799 and female prostitution. Those two verbs came 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:58.799 together and formed this noun. pornea. Pornea 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:02.600 refers in the New Testament to any kind of a 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:06.279 sexual relationship that is apart from God's 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:14.200 order of a husband and wife in marriage. He is 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.559 saying that the expression of sinful desire, 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:24.259 sinful sexual behavior rather outside of that 00:17:24.299 --> 00:17:31.200 which is God's order, is pornea. It's immorality. 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:38.220 God condemns it. We are to put to death immorality 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:42.720 and impurity. The word impurity refers to any 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:47.319 lewdness or unnatural pollution, whether it's 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:52.779 acted out by oneself or with others. Bob Gromacki, 00:17:53.000 --> 00:18:16.839 who is an acknowledged Greek scholar, says, Marked 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:19.599 by perverted fantasies, it is expressed today 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:26.119 through pornographic literature and movies. Impurity, 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:30.880 lewdness. It is a word that is used specifically 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:34.819 in Romans 1 -24 as descriptive of homosexual 00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:38.319 behavior. But it's not just limited to that. 00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:44.980 It's impurity of any form of immorality. We are 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:50.000 to be done with impurity and passion. This word 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.700 refers to erotic love, the drives or lusts that 00:18:54.700 --> 00:19:00.259 dishonor those who indulge them. The word passion 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:04.140 is used in Romans 1 .26 of homosexual behavior. 00:19:04.500 --> 00:19:08.200 It is used in 1st Thessalonians 4 .5 of heterosexual 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:13.880 behavior. It is erotic love that... sees the 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:18.759 only end in this as fulfilling one's own lusts, 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:25.099 and it brings dishonor to those involved. We 00:19:25.099 --> 00:19:31.819 are to put to death passion as well as evil desires. 00:19:31.980 --> 00:19:34.859 Here the word refers to those physical drives 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:39.980 and desires that come from the body. God gives 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:44.369 us some of these. And when God gives them, He 00:19:44.369 --> 00:19:48.210 intends them to be good and for blessing. But 00:19:48.210 --> 00:19:52.630 sin within us seeks to twist those drives for 00:19:52.630 --> 00:19:57.269 evil, to pervert them for wickedness. And that's 00:19:57.269 --> 00:20:00.410 what he's talking about here. It's when the drives 00:20:00.410 --> 00:20:05.410 that we have that are good drives, the appetites 00:20:05.410 --> 00:20:10.349 that we have that God gives us, are twisted by 00:20:10.349 --> 00:20:15.640 sin. He says, put to death those things. And 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:19.640 not only that, but greed. The word greed comes 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:24.440 from a verb that means to have more. One does 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:30.200 not have to be poor to be greedy. It has nothing 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.319 to do with how much one has or how little one 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:40.289 has. It's that drive to say, I want more. It 00:20:40.289 --> 00:20:46.670 is a craving for what one does not have as well 00:20:46.670 --> 00:20:49.789 as a craving for more of what one does have. 00:20:50.650 --> 00:20:56.750 It is an insatiable selfishness. And the Apostle 00:20:56.750 --> 00:21:02.849 says here it is equivalent of idolatry. Idolatry 00:21:02.849 --> 00:21:09.720 is the placing of something before God. An idol 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:13.759 is anything below from which we seek satisfaction. 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:22.420 It may be something that by itself is even allowable. 00:21:23.319 --> 00:21:27.400 But we focus on it. We set our desire on it. 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:31.980 And therefore it becomes to us an idol. And we 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:35.339 seek satisfaction from it rather than from God. 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:43.099 And so he says, we are to put to death that lust 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:50.000 within us that says, I want more. Kill it. And 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.259 not only that, but anger as well. Anger is a 00:21:54.259 --> 00:21:58.640 human emotion and can be expressed righteously. 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:01.759 But here he's talking about the wrong expression 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:05.839 of it. It is here that settled, abiding reaction 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:11.819 that seeks revenge. Anger here is that smoldering 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:17.000 hatred that can be fanned and brought to flame 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:22.000 in our lives. It seeks to punish others who hurt 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:27.339 us or who hurt someone we love. Anger is that 00:22:27.339 --> 00:22:31.509 thing that wants to get even. Some people try 00:22:31.509 --> 00:22:34.990 to divide it by saying, well I don't get angry, 00:22:35.069 --> 00:22:38.470 I just get even. But you see that's what anger 00:22:38.470 --> 00:22:45.970 is. It means I want mine in return. And not only 00:22:45.970 --> 00:22:49.069 are we to put to death anger, but wrath as well. 00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:52.769 Wrath is similar to anger, but it means the outburst. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:56.980 of inward indignation. It's like hot lava that 00:22:56.980 --> 00:22:59.940 is contained and held within and then suddenly 00:22:59.940 --> 00:23:03.599 BAM! Like a volcano it explodes against others. 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:08.359 And once the explosion takes place, it's over. 00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:13.940 That's the word here for wrath. It's a fit of 00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:19.180 rage. Now God has a holy kind of wrath. But He's 00:23:19.180 --> 00:23:24.299 talking here about unholy, sinful wrath. that 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:28.160 blazes quickly and then, after the violence, 00:23:29.660 --> 00:23:34.359 subsides. We're to put it to death. That's a 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:38.460 part of something else. Another life, before 00:23:38.460 --> 00:23:42.259 we knew Christ, He says kill it. Take it off 00:23:42.259 --> 00:23:48.259 like dirty clothing. And with it, malice. Malice 00:23:48.259 --> 00:23:50.940 is that vicious nature that's intent on doing 00:23:50.940 --> 00:23:55.880 harm to others. kill it, he says, and with it 00:23:55.880 --> 00:24:00.359 slander. The word is blasphemia, where we get 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:04.200 our English word blasphemy, which can be against 00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:09.740 God or other people. To blaspheme or to slander 00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:12.700 means to be little so as to cause another to 00:24:12.700 --> 00:24:18.920 fall into disrepute. It means to gossip so as 00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:24.069 to ruin another's reputation. He says that does 00:24:24.069 --> 00:24:28.369 not belong in a Christian lifestyle. He says 00:24:28.369 --> 00:24:32.750 that is what God's wrath is coming on. And not 00:24:32.750 --> 00:24:36.490 only that, but abusive speech. The word literally 00:24:36.490 --> 00:24:40.529 means shameful words. It is an uncontrolled tongue 00:24:40.529 --> 00:24:47.009 that uses base language. It's crude language. 00:24:49.230 --> 00:24:53.380 We live in a world that communicates with this 00:24:53.380 --> 00:24:58.440 kind of language. You junior highers and high 00:24:58.440 --> 00:25:00.440 schoolers hear it on your campus all the time, 00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:07.079 just crude, base language. Not cursing. Not using 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:11.220 God's name in vain, but just crude words. That's 00:25:11.220 --> 00:25:14.960 what he's talking about. And he says that's not 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:17.619 to be a part of our lives. Not filthy language. 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:24.980 Not dirty talk. Put it to death and also lying. 00:25:25.140 --> 00:25:29.420 He says stop lying Whether by life or by lip 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:37.880 stop lying to others Wow The next paragraph is 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:40.900 going to be in more positive words But here he 00:25:40.900 --> 00:25:44.480 goes down this list of 11 sins and he says these 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:49.180 things have to go so when you talk about What 00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:51.920 a heavenly life in street clothes looks like. 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:54.259 Here you see what the clothes ought not to be 00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:57.440 worn. These are the kind of clothes that need 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:00.079 to be taken off and piled up in the corner and 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:07.680 burned. Done with. By the way, this list is not 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:12.119 all inclusive. If you go to Ephesians 4 or Galatians 00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:15.000 5, you will find similar words, but the words 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:18.640 kind of ebb and flow. There are other things 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:22.140 that Paul could list here. This is suggestive. 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:26.480 Now, why are these things to be removed from 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:29.839 a Christian's lifestyle? I want to suggest two 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:33.980 reasons. First, because of what you did. Secondly, 00:26:34.059 --> 00:26:38.279 because of what Christ did. What did you do? 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:42.180 Well, he tells us in verse 9, Do not lie to one 00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:48.970 another since you laid aside. the old self with 00:26:48.970 --> 00:26:53.690 its evil practices, and have put on the new self. 00:26:58.630 --> 00:27:04.369 The Apostle says that when you trusted Jesus 00:27:04.369 --> 00:27:09.490 Christ as your Savior, whether it was as a little 00:27:09.490 --> 00:27:15.230 child, in childlike innocence, or was an adult 00:27:15.230 --> 00:27:19.180 who's been in the gutter, and all the rest. When 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:21.660 you trusted Jesus Christ, something happened, 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:26.599 whether you realized it or not. The old person 00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:30.299 that you were up to that point, you stripped 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:33.920 off completely. Just like a dirty set of clothes. 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:41.880 Who you were. You just took off and you threw 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:44.579 them down. You stripped yourself completely. 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:49.099 And then you picked up this new garment, this 00:27:49.099 --> 00:27:52.440 brand new set of wonderful clean clothing and 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:58.299 you put it on and that's the new you. Now this 00:27:58.299 --> 00:28:00.799 isn't something that you did apart from God. 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:04.859 God in His grace led you to that point of recognizing 00:28:04.859 --> 00:28:08.720 your need of trusting Christ. He's the one who 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:10.940 showed you what the clothing was like you had 00:28:10.940 --> 00:28:14.559 on. He's the one who provided the new clothing, 00:28:16.380 --> 00:28:20.599 but it was an act of your will. God's grace enabling 00:28:20.599 --> 00:28:22.759 you, but it was an act of your will. He says, 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:27.720 you did this. Now he says, you have taken off 00:28:27.720 --> 00:28:30.460 all of that that you were before. This is how 00:28:30.460 --> 00:28:33.400 you once lived, but now it's different. You've 00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:39.859 taken that off, so stop living that way. That 00:28:39.859 --> 00:28:44.539 doesn't reflect who you are now. So put it to 00:28:44.539 --> 00:28:53.859 death. Get it off of you. Throw it away. If any 00:28:53.859 --> 00:28:58.680 man be in Christ, he is a what? A new creation. 00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:03.440 Old things are passed away. All things are become 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:07.519 new. And so he says, if you continue to live 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:13.410 like this, it's a contradiction. to what you 00:29:13.410 --> 00:29:20.450 did when you trusted Christ. But he says there's 00:29:20.450 --> 00:29:22.890 a second reason why these things ought to be 00:29:22.890 --> 00:29:26.009 removed from your lifestyle. There's a second 00:29:26.009 --> 00:29:28.390 reason why you ought to put to death and put 00:29:28.390 --> 00:29:33.990 aside these impulses and actions. It's because 00:29:33.990 --> 00:29:39.569 of what Christ did. Notice verse 10. You put 00:29:39.569 --> 00:29:43.900 on the new self who is being renewed to a true 00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:47.220 knowledge according to the image of the one who 00:29:47.220 --> 00:29:53.519 created him. In the first place, Christ created 00:29:53.519 --> 00:30:00.460 you, the new self. That's what he did. Ephesians 00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:03.680 2 10 says, we are his workmanship, created in 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:07.279 Christ Jesus for good works. Ephesians 4 24, 00:30:07.420 --> 00:30:10.829 put on the new man, which in the likeness of 00:30:10.829 --> 00:30:14.890 God has been created in righteousness and holiness 00:30:14.890 --> 00:30:22.109 of the truth." He says, Jesus Christ created 00:30:22.109 --> 00:30:28.390 you, the new you. And not only that, He's constantly 00:30:28.390 --> 00:30:33.349 renewing you now in a deeper, more intimate knowledge 00:30:33.349 --> 00:30:36.309 so that you're being changed into His image. 00:30:37.589 --> 00:30:42.269 because of what He did put aside all of these 00:30:42.269 --> 00:30:50.609 practices. But not only did He create you as 00:30:50.609 --> 00:30:54.990 the new self, the second thing that Christ did 00:30:54.990 --> 00:31:00.190 is that He indwells you as the new self. Notice 00:31:00.190 --> 00:31:06.349 verse 11 says, this new thing involves no distinction. 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:11.500 between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, 00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:15.960 barbarian and Scythian. Do we have any Scythians 00:31:15.960 --> 00:31:20.640 here this morning? No takers. You know what a 00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:25.579 Scythian is? That is a word that was created 00:31:25.579 --> 00:31:31.440 back in those days for wild people. Now barbarians 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:33.799 were simply those who had not been to school. 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:40.180 They had not had training. But Scythians were 00:31:40.180 --> 00:31:44.500 wild people. Wild people. Some of you have been 00:31:44.500 --> 00:31:49.339 to Betshan in Israel, which is one of the Decapolis 00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:52.079 cities that's being dug out of the earth and 00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:55.039 they're restoring it. It's a marvelous place 00:31:55.039 --> 00:31:57.160 to visit. But Betshan is the Hebrew name for 00:31:57.160 --> 00:32:00.099 that place. It was called in the Roman days, 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:06.289 by a Roman name, Sinthopolis. And that word, 00:32:06.490 --> 00:32:08.210 Synthopolis, comes from this same word. What 00:32:08.210 --> 00:32:10.470 it was called was the City of the Wild Things. 00:32:12.349 --> 00:32:14.769 Synthopolis. It kind of reminded me of my neighborhood 00:32:14.769 --> 00:32:18.049 last night, to tell you the truth. My mailbox 00:32:18.049 --> 00:32:22.069 was on the ground this morning. We had a Synthian 00:32:22.069 --> 00:32:26.569 in our neighborhood last night. You know what 00:32:26.569 --> 00:32:30.609 he's telling us here? Even wild people can get 00:32:30.609 --> 00:32:35.359 saved. There are some people in your life right 00:32:35.359 --> 00:32:37.279 now you look at I mean they're out there and 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:39.319 their friends probably or maybe you're living 00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:42.339 with them I don't know but Somewhere there may 00:32:42.339 --> 00:32:44.680 be a synthion in your life, and you said boy 00:32:44.680 --> 00:32:47.059 I tell you God could never do anything with that 00:32:47.059 --> 00:32:49.640 person Don't you believe it for a minute put 00:32:49.640 --> 00:32:51.779 that one on the top of your operation Andrew 00:32:51.779 --> 00:32:58.240 list and pray for him pray for her And you probably 00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:01.039 know some barbarians and maybe some Greeks and 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:03.710 Jews and so on But the point here is that in 00:33:03.710 --> 00:33:07.190 Jesus Christ, all kinds of people can get saved. 00:33:09.970 --> 00:33:12.769 It doesn't matter about their ethnicity. If you're 00:33:12.769 --> 00:33:14.950 Irish, it really helps because God loves the 00:33:14.950 --> 00:33:19.130 Irish a little more. At least on St. Patrick's 00:33:19.130 --> 00:33:24.269 Day. It doesn't matter about ethnicity. It doesn't 00:33:24.269 --> 00:33:28.250 matter about social standing. Your economic... 00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:31.799 Capability, what you have or don't have, none 00:33:31.799 --> 00:33:38.160 of that matters. There's no distinction. But 00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:41.180 he goes on to say something that's very wonderful. 00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:48.200 He says, but Christ is all and in all. Some of 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:50.599 you know Pastor Mark Jefferson, a dear black 00:33:50.599 --> 00:33:53.359 brother who pastors a church in the north side 00:33:53.359 --> 00:33:59.880 of Minneapolis. Challenging brother, wonderful 00:33:59.880 --> 00:34:04.400 brother. Every summer, Mark goes with some of 00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:07.559 the people in his church and some others to Sturgis, 00:34:07.859 --> 00:34:10.639 South Dakota. Isn't that the right place? Where 00:34:10.639 --> 00:34:16.760 the Scythians meet. Where hundreds of thousands 00:34:16.760 --> 00:34:24.980 of bikers come together. And they set up a tent 00:34:24.980 --> 00:34:28.840 and they offer coffee. And they have cots there. 00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:33.380 And these Scythians stumble into the tent every 00:34:33.380 --> 00:34:36.679 now and then. And they're able to sit them down, 00:34:36.760 --> 00:34:38.539 to give them a cup of coffee, to try to sober 00:34:38.539 --> 00:34:41.940 them up. They offer them a place to sleep. And 00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:45.880 they witness to them. And some of them every 00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:48.820 year come to faith in Christ. I wouldn't, I don't 00:34:48.820 --> 00:34:52.099 think I could do that. I would be scared to death. 00:34:53.300 --> 00:34:55.780 But Mark is part of what's called the Sons of 00:34:55.780 --> 00:34:59.710 Thunder. You think about that in a moment a bikers 00:34:59.710 --> 00:35:03.630 group from Minnesota Christians, and this is 00:35:03.630 --> 00:35:06.730 their ministry one of them You know what when 00:35:06.730 --> 00:35:10.150 those sithians out there those bikers get saved 00:35:10.150 --> 00:35:15.690 Christ is in them He may be buried pretty deep, 00:35:15.690 --> 00:35:25.219 but he's there Christ is in every one of the 00:35:25.219 --> 00:35:28.239 new people he makes. And here's Paul's point. 00:35:29.059 --> 00:35:30.860 I mean, it's just a little prepositional phrase 00:35:30.860 --> 00:35:33.760 here, but here's his point. Why do I need to 00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:36.940 put these kinds of behaviors away and put them 00:35:36.940 --> 00:35:42.300 to death? Because those things describe how I 00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:45.440 treat other people. When I treat another Christian 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:49.099 by lying to them, or committing immorality with 00:35:49.099 --> 00:35:55.170 them, or I am slandering them, I am gossiping 00:35:55.170 --> 00:36:02.030 about them. I am sinning against Christ. Because 00:36:02.030 --> 00:36:10.070 Christ is in them. That's why he says, put to 00:36:10.070 --> 00:36:17.349 death these things. Kill them. When those impulses 00:36:17.349 --> 00:36:20.570 come and you want to do this or that, say no. 00:36:24.300 --> 00:36:27.619 When you have a drive or desire within you or 00:36:27.619 --> 00:36:30.119 you want to say something so bad or there is 00:36:30.119 --> 00:36:32.940 this attitude that just rotten to the core He 00:36:32.940 --> 00:36:37.659 says get that thing off of you Throw it in the 00:36:37.659 --> 00:36:46.380 dirty clothes and burn them get rid of it Because 00:36:46.380 --> 00:36:49.920 if you indulge it you're lying about who you 00:36:49.920 --> 00:36:55.050 are When you trusted Christ You became a new 00:36:55.050 --> 00:37:02.030 man. And Christ created you who you are. And 00:37:02.030 --> 00:37:04.670 Christ lives in you, and He lives in that person. 00:37:05.869 --> 00:37:15.909 So be done with those things. When we go home, 00:37:16.030 --> 00:37:19.349 we often go up Lexington Avenue, and just as 00:37:19.349 --> 00:37:21.710 you get to 694, there's a Perkins restaurant. 00:37:21.880 --> 00:37:24.900 There's one of those beautiful flags out there 00:37:24.900 --> 00:37:28.579 that fly at Perkins restaurants. Sometimes they're 00:37:28.579 --> 00:37:32.659 coming down to church. The flag will be limp, 00:37:33.059 --> 00:37:36.739 or it'll be kind of floating in the breeze. But 00:37:36.739 --> 00:37:38.480 sometimes we're heading back home. It's just 00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:41.500 the opposite. Something's happened in the meantime. 00:37:41.639 --> 00:37:44.380 The two or three hours we're here, and that flag 00:37:44.380 --> 00:37:46.500 will be straight out. And usually it's indicating 00:37:46.500 --> 00:37:48.340 that the wind is blowing from the northwest. 00:37:48.750 --> 00:37:51.190 And I suspect it'll be that way later today if 00:37:51.190 --> 00:37:54.550 the weather report's right. You can tell which 00:37:54.550 --> 00:37:56.710 way the wind is blowing by looking at the flag. 00:37:59.190 --> 00:38:03.429 And my friend, you can tell whether your mind 00:38:03.429 --> 00:38:07.650 is focused on things above or on things on the 00:38:07.650 --> 00:38:10.530 earth by the way the wind is blowing in your 00:38:10.530 --> 00:38:23.860 life. What's the flag in your life saying? If 00:38:23.860 --> 00:38:26.420 your life attitudes, if the decisions that you're 00:38:26.420 --> 00:38:28.840 making or your actions are not reflecting a heavenly 00:38:28.840 --> 00:38:31.639 mindset, there's no better time than today and 00:38:31.639 --> 00:38:34.940 right now to change course. You say, how do you 00:38:34.940 --> 00:38:39.400 do that? Alistair Begg in his fine book entitled 00:38:39.400 --> 00:38:42.739 Made for His Pleasure says, not by a slavish 00:38:42.739 --> 00:38:46.139 observance of external rules. We don't do it 00:38:46.139 --> 00:38:49.460 that way, he says. That's so because we need 00:38:49.460 --> 00:38:53.000 an internal mechanism if we're to put off the 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:56.239 old and put on the new. And that will come about 00:38:56.239 --> 00:38:58.860 only if we have been raised with Christ to newness 00:38:58.860 --> 00:39:02.519 of life. It is our union with Christ that makes 00:39:02.519 --> 00:39:05.739 the new life possible. The power we need is the 00:39:05.739 --> 00:39:08.360 power that comes from the Lord who works in our 00:39:08.360 --> 00:39:12.199 lives to enable us to do His good pleasure. Then 00:39:12.199 --> 00:39:15.880 we are responsible to work out what God by His 00:39:15.880 --> 00:39:19.880 Spirit is working in. He's saying God hasn't 00:39:19.880 --> 00:39:24.460 left us alone to put to death these things. No, 00:39:24.500 --> 00:39:28.579 He's given us the Holy Spirit. We've been united 00:39:28.579 --> 00:39:31.079 with Jesus Christ. We have life from Christ. 00:39:31.179 --> 00:39:35.900 Now He says, you're responsible to follow up. 00:39:36.260 --> 00:39:39.400 You are responsible, He says, to carry through 00:39:39.400 --> 00:39:42.860 and put to death and to put aside these things 00:39:42.860 --> 00:39:48.179 for these reasons. I invite you to bow together 00:39:48.179 --> 00:39:52.659 with me as we close the service. And I just ask 00:39:52.659 --> 00:39:58.320 the question, which way does the Holy Spirit 00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:01.360 say the wind is blowing today? What does the 00:40:01.360 --> 00:40:05.119 flag in your life, your behavior, your attitudes 00:40:05.119 --> 00:40:10.340 indicate? Is the wind blowing from self -centeredness? 00:40:14.260 --> 00:40:17.579 selfish desire, lust? Are you treating others 00:40:17.579 --> 00:40:21.780 in a way that is according to your past lifestyle? 00:40:24.760 --> 00:40:27.239 Then today is the day to stop and see the wind 00:40:27.239 --> 00:40:30.699 that change directions and by the Spirit to say 00:40:30.699 --> 00:40:37.659 no to sin and yes to Christ's Lordship. Will 00:40:37.659 --> 00:40:42.630 you do that? Father, I pray that by the Holy 00:40:42.630 --> 00:40:45.329 Spirit you will enable us to do what we must 00:40:45.329 --> 00:40:51.190 do today. And I pray that we will not only know 00:40:51.190 --> 00:40:56.670 the truth, but show the truth in our lives. Before 00:40:56.670 --> 00:40:59.630 I finish praying, I wonder if there's someone 00:40:59.630 --> 00:41:02.570 here who would say, Pastor, the Holy Spirit has 00:41:02.570 --> 00:41:04.449 touched my heart about this this morning and 00:41:04.449 --> 00:41:06.929 I know the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. 00:41:08.030 --> 00:41:12.260 Well, I see the flag is telling me that I'm not 00:41:12.260 --> 00:41:15.219 living for what I ought to be living. But I need 00:41:15.219 --> 00:41:19.440 to set my mind on things above and not on things 00:41:19.440 --> 00:41:22.760 on the earth. Would you pray for me, Pastor? 00:41:23.800 --> 00:41:26.139 If you just lift your hand and then put it down, 00:41:26.260 --> 00:41:28.239 I'll be glad to do that. God bless you. I'm not 00:41:28.239 --> 00:41:29.739 going to point you out or embarrass you. You 00:41:29.739 --> 00:41:32.760 just want to know. And God knows. Yes, God bless 00:41:32.760 --> 00:41:35.860 you. Thank you for being honest, transparent. 00:41:38.239 --> 00:41:42.059 Anyone else? Oh Father, I thank you for these 00:41:42.059 --> 00:41:44.079 who have lifted their hand and whom the Holy 00:41:44.079 --> 00:41:46.659 Spirit is doing a very special work at this moment. 00:41:47.300 --> 00:41:51.800 I pray that you will bring that to full consummation. 00:41:52.420 --> 00:42:00.039 May they enter into the kinds of behavior, the 00:42:00.039 --> 00:42:03.840 kind of a lifestyle that declares who they are 00:42:03.840 --> 00:42:07.840 in Jesus Christ. That's consistent with what 00:42:07.840 --> 00:42:13.650 they've professed. to believe. And would all 00:42:13.650 --> 00:42:17.230 of you stand with me please and let's sing together. 00:42:37.249 --> 00:42:43.389 Blessed Savior, I surrender.