Last Sunday, we talked about how when we enter into a relationship with Christ that we are changed. When we’re found in Christ, we’re just different than we were when we weren’t in this relationship. Our motives and our desires, really everything about us is different in that instead of being centered around earthly things, we are to be centered around heavenly things. To use Paul’s words, we are to set our “minds on things that are above, not things that are on earth.” We commonly refer to this change that occurs as rebirth or regeneration or being born again. But basically, again using Paul’s language, it is the taking off of the old self and the putting on of the new. I know that some of you probably feel like I talk about this all the time, but that’s because it is so prevalent in Scripture and especially in the texts that we have looked at over the past several years. When we become Christians, we die to self and live for Christ. By definition, that’s going to change a lot of who we are, and possibly the entirety of who we are. You are either in Christ or you’re not, and Paul, in our text for today, tells us what being in Christ, having put on the new self, ought to look like.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another...” Now, there’s a little more to this list, but I want to stop here for just a second and make some observations. First, Paul’s introducing this by saying “Put on.” This is an imperative verb that’s saying very clearly, “Do this! Do this because you are God’s chosen people.” And that’s the second thing, this use of the phrase “God’s chosen people.” Remember, Paul is battling against a teaching that is promoting some sort of mysticism, teaching that the people there can do something in order to gain some special insight into God’s true nature. As John Calvin famously said, “Every addition to God’s Word is a lie.” This false teaching is promoting the notion that the righteousness of the believer is the key to knowing God and not God’s own righteousness. Paul’s making it very clear that it is because of the fact that God has graciously chosen to reveal Himself to us that we can know anything about Him. So, because God has so lovingly revealed Himself to us and made Himself known to us, we are to respond emphatically by doing certain things, some of which Paul lists for us here.
Paul says that we are to be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Now, we’re not going to look at each of these words individually because of the time that it would take, but we can and do gain a sense of the type of mindset or attitude that we are to have by looking at this list as a whole. We are to care for people. We are to care for them and love them intimately. We are to seek their good above our own. We are to seek the best for those around us not so that we might have a better life or a more comfortable setting, but because we want what is best for them. We love them and so we serve them, but serving doesn’t necessarily mean what you think it means. I know that I’ve said this so many times that some of you might be able to finish this statement, but love doesn’t always mean easy. Just because you love something doesn’t mean that it’s all rainbows and sunshine. I love my wife; I love being married to her. However, marriage is hard. I love my kids, but parenting is hard. Sometimes we have to make difficult decisions. Sometimes our love for our children is shown through encouragement, but other times it’s shown through discipline. Quite honestly, it’s been a little bit of both lately. When we discipline, it doesn’t mean we don’t love them. In fact, it is a sure sign that we do love them. Also, I love being a pastor, but ministry is hard. I don’t like having to talk with someone and tell them how what they’re doing or what they plan on doing is in direct conflict with God’s Word. However, I have to do that; it’s part of my calling. I don’t rebuke or correct because I dislike someone or because I enjoy correcting them, I do it because I love them and I want to see them grow in their faith and their relationship with the Lord. I want to see them not go down some path that follows a false religion, one of those self-made religions that Paul spoke of earlier in this epistle.
Paul continues on in this list, “bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” So, not only are we to love someone, but we are to be understanding and forgiving when they fail as well. That’s difficult for me as I’m sure it is for many of you as well. When someone gets angry with us because we’re trying to show them love and help them and they get upset with us, then we are to be patient and forgive them. This too is a tough pill for us to swallow. I can remember when I was a kid in high school; I was on a youth trip to serve in the slums of Jackson, MS. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Jackson’s statistics, at one point it had the highest murder rate per capita in the U.S. An overwhelming majority of her citizens who didn’t reside in one specific area of the city lived below the poverty line. I’m talking about a truly depressed area. Anyways, we were serving at a local homeless kitchen and one of the men who was there eating started complaining to a friend of mine about how terrible the food was as if we were the ones that cooked it. My friend started getting all upset about it, “Can you believe this guy. We come over here to help him and all he does is complain. It’s things like this that make me not even want to waste my time in coming here.” Now, that’s not a response that is foreign to us is it? And we can all understand exactly why my friend would feel that way. Maybe you’ve felt that way about someone or something in your life. However, can you hear Satan at work in those words? Don’t you think he would like to see nothing more than Christians resisting the call to serve because we don’t feel gratitude? Don’t you think that Satan loves it when we hold a grudge against someone without seeking a resolution to it? Don’t you think that Satan gets joy when we withhold forgiveness from someone who has wronged us? Now, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here. I’m not saying that forgiveness is easy. I’m just saying that we are commanded to strive for forgiving others. We have to forgive others because we too have been forgiven. That’s part of this new life that we have. That’s part of this relationship that we’re engaged in with Jesus Christ. Paul says it emphatically, “so you also MUST forgive.” There’s no conditional aspect of this forgiveness; it’s a requirement.
He continues, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Again, don’t think that love means always condoning and accepting. Instead, understand love as being the driving principle behind everything that you do. Don’t do it for personal gain, self-improvement, or any other reason other than love for someone else and adoration for God. “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another…” You see, both teaching and admonishing, instructing and rebuking, are mentioned here as being acts of love. I know that I’m harping a bit on this notion this morning, but it really is so foundational and fundamental to our understanding and application of the gospel. God loves us; we are to in turn love each other. I’ve read the golden rule. I know the entirety of the Great Commandment. I understand all of this and I know that many, some of you even, will be quick to quote 1 John 4:8 to me, but don’t think for a second that love is only acceptance and encouragement. Love means doing whatever is best for someone. Love means making the tough choices. Love means being the bad guy sometimes. Now, my wife will tell you that far too often I embrace the role of bad guy, but ultimately she will admit that it comes from a place of love and compassion. It’s only when we are exercising biblically faithful love that we will come to this place of doing whatever it takes in order to seek the best for someone we care about. A love that seeks only to encourage isn’t biblical love, it’s worldly love. And unfortunately, that’s as far as some people get in their relationships with other people and even themselves. There’s a difference between biblical love and worldly love. There is, in fact, a lot of differences, but the most glaring and important of which is that one finds it’s definition in God, whereas the other is defined by man. When we love someone in the biblical sense, then there are no lengths to which we won’t go for them. And if we need an example of what this might look like, look no further than the example that is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. God loves us so much that He went to the length of sacrificing His Son on our behalf. And to think, many of us don’t even consider the possibility that God might be calling us to sacrifice anything on behalf of someone else.
Paul even touches on worship briefly when he talks about singing with thankfulness in our hearts. This new life, this new self that comes about during our change, our rebirth, is something that not only affects the way that we live, but it also affects our worship. Even the act of worship is so much sweeter when we are found in Christ than it was before. Even though we’re doing the same things basically, the impact of this change upon our hearts is so amazing that it’s like we’re worshipping for the first time. It’s like it’s an entirely new experience with an entirely new meaning and purpose. This new life that is found in Christ Jesus is so powerful that it literally changes everything. Hopefully not drifting off too far here, I have a good friend who recently grew a beard which he proceeded to shave into a mustache. He sent a few of us a picture of his new facial hair and he just looked odd, and we all gave him a hard time about it. The next morning, I get back from my morning run to find this message, “Well boys, the air smells crisper and my bacon tastes better through my new mustache filter.” Now, that’s a silly example, but I look at our being found in this relationship with Christ in kind of a similar fashion. The world just feels different and we relate to it differently when we are found in Christ. Even if we find ourselves in the same settings or situations, it’s just different with Christ. It’s better with Christ.
Paul closes this notion by saying, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Now, he’ll expand upon this in our text for next Sunday. But for now, he’s wrapping all of this up for us in a nice little package isn’t he? Do you remember the story that I told you last Sunday about my lawyer friend who said that he worked really hard at keeping his work-life separate from his faith-life? Well, in case you don’t, I’ll sum it up by saying that we don’t have different lives in our life, it’s just life. And the purpose, the driving force behind our entire life, all aspects or areas of it, ought to be proclaiming the gospel and seeking first the righteousness of the kingdom of God. Paul’s closing this section about taking off the old and putting on the new by saying that whatever you find yourself doing or wherever you find yourself, work for the kingdom and give thanks to God. For some of us it’s easy. As a pastor, it’s pretty easy for me to work for the kingdom. As a teacher, a business owner, or a stay at home parent, it may seem tougher at first, but there are no shortage of ways in which the gospel can be proclaimed through your life. Setting work aside (since I’ve said that it’s all part of life), think about how you relate to other people in a general sense. Do other people know your faith by how you act and how you treat them? I read a quote this week that said, “I don’t need everyone to hear me say I’m a Christian, but I need everyone to see Christ in me.” Now, I wouldn’t say that I don’t need to proclaim my faith, but I get what the quote is striving for. Is that the way that you live your life? Is your life so devoted to Christ that it radiates from your person? If someone were going to describe you to someone else, how far down the list would they go before anything about your faith comes up? You see, our relationships and our interactions with others are the strongest witness opportunities that we have. When we are found in Christ, everyone around us ought to be able know that by how we live. What do your actions tell? Are you living out your faith for all to see? Or are you hiding your new life in old, grave clothes worn by the dead?
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