08 How the Gospel Changes the Way You Treat People (Colossians 3:8-17)

This is the Wednesday in the Word podcast. What the Bible means and how we know. I'm Krisan Marotta. Thank you for joining us. Today is the eighth talk in our series on the book of Colossians. We'll be looking at Colossians chapter 3, verses 8 through 17. If you'd like to follow along with the lecture notes, you can find them at wednesdayintheword.com slash Colossians 8. Again, that link is wednesdayintheword.com slash Colossians 8. I want to start today by looking at one of the parables of Jesus. This is the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Gatherer, which you can find in Luke 18. It's probably a very familiar parable to many of you, and I bring it up today because I believe it captures the main point of our passage. So turn to Luke 18 with me. I'm going to read verses 9 through 14. He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. So contrast the Pharisee and the tax gatherer. These two men go to the temple. It's a public place of worship. They go at the same time and they leave at the same time. And we're told how they're standing in relation to other people. That suggests that the setting for this parable is either the morning or evening worship service, which was to ask for atonement. The Jews of Jesus' day held a morning and an evening service at the temple, and it was to ask for atoning sacrifice. So the service was the sacrifice of a lamb for the sins of the people. It was held at dawn and again at three in the afternoon, and the public came to these services. So during the burning of incense, after the sacrifice was made, there was a time for individuals to offer a prayer out loud. And most likely that's where we find our Pharisee and tax gatherer. So the Pharisee stands off by himself to keep himself clean, and the tax collector stands by himself not to keep himself clean, but because he considers himself unworthy to approach the temple. The Pharisee considers himself justified before God and despises the other people there, and he prays the prayer of the religiously superior. When he prays, it's the prayer of the enlightened, the fortunate, instructing the less enlightened and the less fortunate in the ways of God. After all, from his point of view, now they finally have a little opportunity to see what a truly righteous man, such as himself, looks like, and so he graciously offers them these words of instruction and righteousness. By contrast, the tax collector considers himself completely unworthy. He expresses extreme remorse and he begs for his sins to be covered. You'll remember that tax collectors were Jews who collected the taxes that the Romans levied on the Jews as a vassal state. They were despised because they turned against their fellow Jews, and by nature of their job, they had daily contact with Gentiles, which made them unclean. The tax gatherer is standing apart from the other worshipers, but also from God. The words suggest not just that he's aloof, but that he's far. He doesn't feel worthy to stand with God's people. And the accepted posture for prayer was to stand with the hands crossed over the chest and keep your eyes downcast. So this gesture of face on the ground, beating your chest, that was only used in times of extreme anguish. So what's the essential difference between these two men? One is counting on his ability to keep the law, and the other is counting on the atoning sacrifice. The sacrifice of the lamb has just been made for the sins of the people, but who is justified? Not everyone. The prideful one, the one who's all puffed up with his rule keeping, the Pharisee, goes home as empty as he came. But the tax collector, the man with the broken heart who came in unworthiness, who grieved over his sin, he went home right with God. And that's essentially the warning Paul's been sounding in Colossians 3. He's been saying in this section, don't trust in your law keeping. Trust in the blood of Christ and the hope of the gospel. So let's review where we are in the letter. Paul is writing to the Colossians who have been listening to teachers that are leading them astray. Apparently, the teachers were telling them that if you really wanted to be a believer, now that now that we're Christians and Christ has come, the real way to do that is to keep a set of rituals and practices. And they were claiming they're required to keep these practices to be pleasing to God, and that the essence of spirituality of faith is found in these certain ways of eating and drinking and festivals, Sabbaths and asceticism, and so on. In response, Paul's been mounting a two-prong attack. The first prong is explaining why that teaching is wrong. His argument is that the rules and rituals are a false promise because they only curb our outward behavior, they do nothing to change our sinful heart. The second prong is explaining why the gospel is the right solution, and he urges them to hold fast to it. He's argued that the cross of Christ is the only real solution to guilt and sin because Jesus paid the price for our sin, he justified us and reconciled us with God, and because of that, God can then give us his spirit and begin the process of changing us from the inside out. Paul has called the false teachings the traditions of men. They make a certain kind of sense, they give the appearance of wisdom, they look good, they sound good, it just feels kind of right to show your spirituality and devotion to God by these outward rituals and signs of denial. But he's argued that while those rituals and practices look good on the outside, they really don't solve the essential problem. Because the essential problem is I am a sinner under the wrath of God. I can avoid eating and drinking and certain things like that, I can keep the Sabbath or celebrate certain festivals, but none of that is going to solve the problem of my guilt before a holy God. Not only do these practices not deal with the problem of my guilt, they do nothing to change my sinful nature. They don't make me righteous, they don't wash me clean, they only change my outward behavior. So conversely, Paul argues the gospel solves both those problems. It solves the problem of my sin and guilt because the cross deals with the problem of my guilt by paying the penalty for my sin and reconciling me to God. And then it solves the problem of my behavior and making me clean because now I have God's Spirit at work in me, progressing me toward maturity. In addition to solving those two problems, the gospel also impacts my lifestyle. Belief in the gospel, embracing the teachings of Christ will lead to a different way of living, and he's given us three reasons for that. First, the gospel tells me the ultimate outcome of human existence. Once I understand the gospel, I realize that the goal of this life is to come to faith in Christ and to get to know God. God is in the business of redeeming a people for himself and making them holy. One day Jesus will rule over creation and everything will be subject to him, and at that point all death, sin and futility will be solved. Knowing that puts my life in perspective now. It's like if I'm on a train and that train is headed for a cliff, if I don't know that's the end of the line, I'm going to waste my time on the train. But if I know there's a cliff at the end of the line, then it changes what I do now and how I live on the train. That's the same kind of idea. The gospel tells me there's a cliff coming and I need to solve it. And that big cliff, the big problem we face, is guilt before holy God, and the gospel is the only solution. Second, because I know then the ultimate goal, it changes my perspective on today. I know this world is not the big deal and it's not all I have to work with. As we talked about last week, the gospel gives me the perspective that this world is the lobby. Like I'm in the lobby waiting for the doors to open and the curtain to go up and act one to begin. This life is the lobby. The main event, the main show is the kingdom of heaven. And we're still waiting for that. We're still hoping for it. So if I understand that, then it changes my goals. It changes what I'm counting on. It changes my need to demand my fair share and all my rights. Once I have understood sin, I can look at my selfishness and my lack of love in a different way. That's the stuff I'm leaving behind. That's the stuff God's trying to solve. I know now that sin is my enemy and Christ has defeated that enemy, so the place of sin in my life changes. I learn to walk away from that toward life. So the gospel gives me the right goal, it gives me the right perspective, and third, it has the power to change my life because God is now at work in me through the Holy Spirit. And that brings about lasting change. The Holy Spirit at work is bringing light to my dark heart. He's changing me from the inside out. God is opening my eyes to the truth and changing the way I view the world. And as I progress in that understanding, as the Holy Spirit teaches me, I start to get it, to make it real, to find life, to want to move more and more away from sin and toward God. So it's not an intellectual theory or a philosophy, it's reality. It's the way I see and understand the world. And as I grow in faith and wisdom and understanding, I begin to see it more and more like God sees it. That's the topic of discussion in Colossians, the inadequacy of the heretical teaching and the power of the gospel for their lives today. And in light of that, Paul is urging them to continue to embrace the gospel. He sees the false teaching, the false religion as worldly in that it is focused on the here and now of this world. So the legalistic rituals, the practices, they put too much emphasis on the things of this world, things like food and festivals and Sabbaths, and those things will ultimately disappear. All the rewards of the rituals are in this world. They're all about making me look good now, feel good now, feel obedient now. And this ritual focus lacks the perspective that the hope of our inheritance is before us. The hope of the gospel is yet to come. What we're hoping for is the ultimate washing from sin. And when we recognize that, that's what's coming, I'm foolish to get attached to this world. It this world is going to fail me. It's going to perish. Whether I what I eat and drink, how I eat and drink it, when I eat and drink it, all those rituals, they have no significance. They aren't going to affect my sin. And that's where we're picking up his argument today. So to set the stage, I'd like to go back to 3.5. In Colossians 3.5, he says, put to death therefore what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. As we talked about last week, idolatry is the lie that says God is not enough. Ultimately, I think I have to have some other God to protect me, some other God to fulfill me, like beauty, money, success, wealth, materialism, fame, health, whatever. I want that security that comes from all that stuff and the pleasures of this world. But if I've embraced the gospel, then I realize there's something bigger and better than the pleasures and comforts of this world. It's the hope of the gospel. And to pretend that there's not something better is idolatry. Then in 3, 6, and 7, on account of these things, the wrath of God is coming. And these two you once walked when you were living among them. So when they were devoted to their own selfish pleasures and their own preoccupation with self-gratification, that lifestyle put them under the wrath of God. And the wrath of God puts this life in perspective. It tells me what has value and what doesn't. It tells me the place of sin and the value of holiness. I can't just pretend that sin is no big deal anymore. I can't excuse it as well that's just human nature, because the wrath of God is coming and its target is sin. So it's into that context, he says in three eight and nine, but now you must put them all away. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices. So the first list he gave us in three five all dealt with desires. The second list in three eight deals with the way we we relate to each other, particularly in the things we say. So I want life to be a certain way, and then when life isn't that way I blame you and I respond with angry speech, that kind of thing. Most people don't say mean things just for kicks. We enjoy being nice, but you know, you get in my way, mess up my plans, then it's a different story. Then my sinful nature explodes. And those attitudes are rooted in the wrong picture of myself. And the wrong picture is not understanding sin and the depth and nature of it. I think he sums up the list in 3.8 with do not lie in 3-9. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk, those are in many ways are just a form of lying about someone or to someone. The Bible puts a great value on truth. Lying denies truth. If things are one way and I lie and tell you it's not that way because I ha I stand to gain or benefit from that, then it makes my life easier. If I can make you believe what I want you to believe, I can turn the situation to my advantage, and plus you might think better of me when I lie about my sin and cover and excuse it. But the gospel comes along and says, no, there's a different story. It tells me you and I have the same worth, the same dignity. You and I have the same problem of sin, and we have the same solution to that problem. I have no business lying to you or speaking ill to you. The great commandments are love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. And the first list in 3.5 is all about desires and loving the God with all my heart. There's a sense in which the second list, 3.8, is all about loving my neighbor as myself. The truth is my neighbor is just as worthy as I am. The instinct that tells me I'm more important than you or I'm more important than someone else, that's just not true. It's a lie. We have this unique relationship with each other in Christ. We share a common destiny, a common set of beliefs. We have the same Lord and the same Heavenly Father. We have the same ultimate problem and we will find the same solution. If I think of my life from that perspective, then you and I are in this together, and you ought to mean something to me. I have no place lying to you or getting angry with you or slandering or being spiteful or malicious because we have the same problem and we're counting on the same solution. So what's Paul's purpose in this exhortation? What's at stake? Is he teaching us how to reach, you know, some higher level of victorious Christianity? Oh, here's how to go beyond saving faith and appropriate the power of the new man to reach a super spiritual Christian living. I don't think that's what he's saying, and that's not what this letter is all about. This is not a letter about how to be better Christians. It's a letter to folks who are wandering away from the gospel. And his main exhortation is hold fast, don't abandon the faith. As in last week, I don't think he intends to give good advice or the secret to successful relationships in this section. This is his way of confronting them with the issues of the gospel. You say you believe, hear the implications. The gospel tells you what living for Christ is like. It's not these outward feasts and festivals, rather, it's striving for righteousness. It's a change in what you desire. It's a change in how you treat people, a change in the way you speak to others and about others. These are the implications of the real gospel. You can strive for sacrificial eating and drinking and rules and rituals, but if the gospel is true, here's where the real changes should come. They should come in the way you love God and the way you treat others, not in these outward disciplines and behaviors. Now, it is true that outward behavior may change, but it changes as a result of the changes going on inside us. It changes as a result of the Holy Spirit working in us. Outward change does not cause inward change, rather, inward change is what causes the outward change. I don't think Paul's a perfectionist. I don't think he intends to say here that we are going to arrive at perfect obedience in this life if you just figure out this little secret of how to put on the new man and that or something like that. What he is saying is that those teachers are telling you a lie. The law keeping you're embracing has missed the point. The way to find life is through the cross and a knowledge of God. Coming to faith is like moving from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. Now you're steering by a whole new set of stars. And the new set of stars is not feasts and Sabbaths and rules and festivals, it's new desires, new attitudes, and new ways of speaking. We can mistake Paul's teaching here by taking this kind of exhortation into legalism. Remember, you can fall off either side of the horse. You can fall off by thinking, oh, I have to do all this stuff perfectly to be a good Christian and tend toward legalism, or you can fall off on the other side and say, oh, all that behavioral stuff, that's just icing on the cake, that's optional extra stuff because we're saved by grace. But we want to stay on the horse. It's not that you're required to have perfect obedience and perfect attitudes, but at the same time, if there are no changes in your obedience and your attitudes, something's wrong. You can't be indifferent to them. Because if you embrace the gospel, you embrace these kinds of values. The gospel tells you that life is found in loving the Lord your God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself. It is not found in the pleasures of this world. Ethical issues like how I conduct myself sexually, what I desire, how I treat others, how I speak about others and to them, those are more than ethical issues. My choices in response to them reveal what I think to be true. If I embrace the gospel, then my choices ought to follow a certain kind of pattern. Scripture is more than a set of precepts because we've learned that society works better when we act a certain way. It's a set of precepts based on the gospel. As I embrace the gospel, it confronts my worldview, it confronts my values and changes the way I seek to act, what I speak about, what I think about, what I desire. It's more than how to advise. The way I live my life reveals who my father is, what I'm counting on, what I think my ultimate destiny is, where I'm going. The issue at stake is what's true and what do you think about this life? If the gospel's true and life is to be f is all about hope in God, that changes my desires now. That changes my speech and my values. I realize fulfillment is to be found in fearing the Lord, not in these other things I used to pursue. Nine and ten. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of the Creator. What's new about the new man, renewed in knowledge? It's a true knowledge, a new understanding. Remember the emphasis from chapter one. As a believer, I am learning to see life the way God sees it. I have a true understanding of what I mean. What's really important and what isn't, and where fulfillment is to be found. What's new about me? I'm being renewed to a new knowledge. I understand life more and more the way God understands it. I know what's true and what's not because God has revealed it to me. So this old man, new man is a metaphor for the change in our lives in keeping with the truth of the gospel. The impact the gospel has on what we think, how we act, and what we say. Our worldview has changed from ignorant and foolish and rebellious to one that is now seeking God, his values, and his wisdom. And Paul's saying, put on that understanding just like you put on a new set of clothes. Embrace the changes the Holy Spirit is making in you. Think back to his prayer from chapter one. Knowledge of God is the beginning of the transformation. It's by knowing and understanding who God is and what he's about that real lasting change takes place. Personal transformation begins with personal understanding and embracing the truth of the gospel. 311. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave free, but Christ is all and in all. Okay, to understand this verse, we want to keep in mind the overarching flow of the thought of the book here, the context, and ask how's it related to the issue of the letter? The problem in the Colossian Church was this legalistic heresy that was taking over and turning people from the true gospel. Since Paul's given us no indication that he's changed topics, our first assumption as good Bible students is to assume he is addressing the same theme, and 311 is related to this theme. It's not an out-of-the-blue tangent. Paul has been contrasting the outward rituals with the inward reality, a real transformation that happens inside as opposed to an outward ritual you perform. And the outward rituals he's been picking on food, drink, festivals, new moons, sabbaths, they have a very Jewish ring to them. Those are the ways you would describe the Jewish law keeping. So in 311, when he says there's no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, that seems to fit the theme that keeping the Jewish law is part of the Colossian heresy and part of the thing he's warning against. I think he starts the list with the issue that is most central to the discussion at hand, and then he keeps going to emphasize there is no distinction at any level. Any way you want to cut the cloth, it's all the same cloth. When it comes to salvation, when it comes to the gospel, all of us start with the same problem, sin, and all of us need the same solution, grace through the blood of Jesus. The barbarian Scythian is a class distinction, we might say today, highbrow or lowbrow, educated or non-educated. And again, his point is there is no distinction. All of us have the same problem, all of us are going to find the same solution. Now, why does putting on the new man lead to this conclusion that no human distinction matters anymore? Think again about the Pharisee and tax collector. Paul's been making this connection between a kind of self-righteous legalism and a contentious, unforgiving spirit. And he's argued that a preoccupation with the rituals of religion can distract you from the real gospel. Because of my rituals, I could be tempted to think of myself as having arrived. I could be tempted to believe that I am good, that I have done what God has asked me to do, because I'm eating and fasting certain ways and praying with certain regularity and I'm keeping certain festivals and sabbaths and so on. And I can do all of that on the outside and fool myself into thinking I have it all together, just like the Pharisee in the parable. It's very easy to fall into the mindset, I'm okay because I'm doing these rituals properly. And as he's argued, that can be a distraction from the real genuine work of a humble heart and throwing yourself on the mercy of God. But it also promotes a kind of puffed up view of myself and a demotion of everyone else. Again, like the Pharisee. I think I'm doing it right because I've kept all these rules. I mean, you won't catch me eating that stuff or breaking the Sabbath. So what's your problem? It kind of leads to that. The logical next step is I'm doing it right, so I can look down on you because clearly you're not doing it right. And I think part of what Paul's saying here in 311 is there is no height on which you can stand to look down on anyone else. We are all sinners. We are all guilty before a holy God. We are all saved by the blood of Christ. There is no standard by which I can judge my neighbor that does not also condemn me. There's no Jew, Greek, slave free, better, worse believer. We are all saved by the same grace. And finally, that kind of legalistic mindset allows me to hide from my more serious problem. My problem is not that I'm eating the wrong things or fasting at the wrong times. My problem is not that I've been missing certain festivals and Sabbaths and quiet times. My problem is not sleeping through church or doing the wrong devotions. My problem is I am a sinner at the deepest level of my being. And that problem is not touched by outward rituals. My problem is I am under God's wrath, trapped in my sin, cut off from his life, and there is nothing I can do about it left to myself. All the festivals, Sabbaths, rules, and rituals in the world are not going to solve that problem. Only the blood of Christ can do that. If I think the rituals are important, then I've missed the significance of the cross of Christ. If I think the rituals are going to make me acceptable to God or prove to Him how much faith I have or make me grow or something, then I don't need a Savior who dies on the cross in my place because, thank you, I've got my own solution in my rule book. But if like the tax collector, I see myself as a complete moral failure. I see myself as someone who stands condemned before God. Now I know why I need a Savior. I know I need forgiveness. I know I need to be reconciled to God, and only the blood of Christ does that. That understanding of my desperate need for reconciliation with God is the basis for a proper relationship with my neighbor. Because when I see my sin, then I also have to see, I have no right to condemn you. I have no right to look down on you, and I have no right to speak ill of you. You and I are one and the same in terms of salvation. And that's essentially what he goes on to say. Look at three twelve and thirteen. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 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. Okay, let's be careful on this chosen one of God, holy and beloved. This is not, wow, God chose me, I must be pretty great, I must be really deserving and have the gold star, unlike you, you wretch. It's not that. It is not, you know, God must have looked around and said, Wow, she's a good one, pick her. Not what happened. That wouldn't produce the kind of humility and compassion and the attitudes Paul lists in 312. The chosen have been chosen for the mercy of God. We have been chosen to be forgiven, to have our sins overlooked in spite of the fact that we are sinners who stand condemned by the evil we have done. It's amazing even to think that we belong to God and we are his holy and beloved when we are as evil as we are. Thinking about that, that I, sinner that I am, even I have a place in God's kingdom, just like the tax collector, that becomes the foundation for a change in my attitude towards others. Grace, understanding grace is the foundation for kindness, meekness, compassion, patience. I can show those attitudes toward others because I have been forgiven just like you. Now notice he does make it clear when he says, even if someone has a complaint against someone else, he's making it clear we're gonna have complaints. He's not saying all you believers are now gonna be perfect, sing pretty songs, and embrace each other in a big group hug and say, wow, aren't we great? No, we're gonna annoy each other at times, we're gonna disappoint each other, we're gonna say foolish things, we're gonna neglect to do kind things, we're going to give each other cause for complaint. And he says, when you have those cause for complaints, when one of you chosen forgiven ones has a complaint against another chosen forgiven one, because you will, because you're still sinners, here's what you need to do: strive to forgive. He's talking about one sinner looking at the faults of another sinner and saying, Yep, that's why we need the blood of Christ. I am the exact same way. I can look at my the faults of my fellow sinner and be compassionate and kind and forgiving, overlooking sins and being gracious because I know I'm a sinner. This is not, you know, oh, love your brothers and sisters because what's not to love? This is love your fellow sinner who stands to gain the same grace and inheritance as you do. And the reason we do that is because we both know the depth of our sin. So, yes, we're gonna fail each other at times, we're gonna irritate each other and offend each other, and despite our best intentions, we're gonna hurt each other. We are still sinners and we have a lot to learn. So when those hurts happen, we have a choice. We can react by saying, Well, I'm okay, what's your problem? Or we can react saying, Yep, this is why we're guilty and need forgiveness. There's a sense in which I should see you as a kind of mirror because it's so much easier to see other people's faults than my own. But because I know the gospel is true, I can see other people's faults as a mirror of my own and be willing to recognize the same thing wrong with that person, which is so easy for me to see in them, is also wrong with me, which I, of course, totally deny. The outrage and injustice I feel at the way someone else has acted, that should tell me there's someone else out there who feels the same outrage and injustice at me and the way I've acted. And when I'm willing to own that, I've embraced the truth of the gospel. 314. And above all these things, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Love is a more general issue than forgiveness. Forgiveness overlooks the offenses of others, and love more generally seeks the best for another in any and all situations. So he doesn't mean love in the romantically inclined sense or even the emotional appreciation I might feel for you, but more generally, be committed to seeking another's good. Think about what the other person wants, think about what how I would want to be treated, and do that regardless of how I feel. And God's love is really the example of this because God's love is an active reaching out to do good for us. It's not warm, fuzzy feelings, it is an active reaching out to do what is best. And that kind of love, that reaching out to do good for another, to seek another's welfare, no matter how I feel about it, that's the love we're called to show other believers. 315, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. This verse is often understood as if there's this emotional feeling of peace and contentment that you should seek to rule your life. But I think he means rule in the sense of arbitrate. I don't think he's talking about feelings at all. Rather, the peace of Christ is the rule, the judge, the arbiter. When I'm faced with a choice, I'm in a situation and I have to decide how to act, what to say, or how to treat someone, the thing that should cast the deciding vote is the peace of Christ. Let your understanding of the gospel, your need for Christ as Savior, and the need of your fellow believer for the same Savior, let that overrule all the other things that might sway your actions. Let that be your guide. Let that rule in you in that sense. Thus I might not strike back or speak with malice or act with vindictiveness, because I understand the peace of Christ. Now the Bible does use the word peace to mean contentment or peace of mind in places, but I think here he is talking about the cessation of hostility, peace as opposed to war. There was a barrier, that barrier is broken down. There was enmity that is gone. That kind of peace, that kind of reconciliation. The peace that Christ brought is not a feeling of contentment, but a state we are in regardless of our feelings. If we're both believers, there may be all kinds of things that divide us, but there is one really big thing that brings us together, and that's the blood of Christ. So he's saying, let that bind to be your guide. Let that sway your actions. And then in 16 and 17, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 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. I think what He's saying here, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, is let the importance of the gospel make a big difference in you. Let that sway you, change the course of your life, change what you think about, impact what you say. Christ is at the center of it all. God's revealing himself through Christ. Let that story, the gospel that you've heard about Jesus, that which he taught, and that which is taught about him, let that take its place among you in a big way, complete, rich, abundantly. So teach and admonish each other with that story. And how do we do that? With wisdom, what we do needs to be grounded in the Word of Christ. When we ourselves come to understand what's true and important, we should explain it to each other, remind each other of it, exhort each other on the basis of that truth, talk to each other about it, teach each other about it, remind each other what's true. That's the idea. It ought not to be this abstract theological problem that we once solved and now we can just put it on the shelf. It needs to change us and make a difference in us. So teach and admonish with all wisdom and then teach and admonish with psalms and hymns and sing with gratitude in your hearts. I don't think he's laying out rules for worship here, like, oh, you're gonna have one psalm, one hymn, or something like that. Rather, he's saying the gospel should take center stage in our lives, in our talking, our teaching, and our singing. Singing is pleasure. We enjoy it, it's natural. Let your singing be about this. Even the things you do together for enjoyment and fun and fellowship, let it be about this story. Essentially, he's saying, let the word of Christ be everywhere in everything you're doing. It's not a matter for Sunday mornings that you put on the shelf the rest of the week. This is the story. It's the story that gives meaning to your life. It's the thing that determines your destiny. It is the belief that tells you what's important, what's not important. Let that story be everywhere. This story about Jesus, what he did, what he taught, what his death on the cross means, let that dwell among you richly and abundantly. Okay, so just to wrap this up, let's talk a little bit about how we can apply this. I'm going to give you a practical way, a theological way, and then a personal way. The practical application is never take pride in your moral standing. I I is I know it's easy to say, hard to do, but think about it, who are today's Pharisees? I mean, it is really easy to get complacent. It is so easy to start thinking, well, I'm doing okay. I'm not a drug addict, I don't beat my kids, I tithe, I attend church, I pray, I evangelize people, I meet on airplanes. I mean, look, I'm doing okay. And it's easy to fool myself into thinking, I'm doing okay because I'm gradually lowering the standard of what okay is and making it more and more reachable. But remember, the only lasting solution to my problem with sin is the cross. It is not going to be found in my efforts. So the practical application is beware of pride in your moral standing. The theological application is we're justified now, but we're not holy yet. What has changed about us is our standing before God. What is new about us as new men is not our ability to be perfect. That's part of the hope before us. In this life we're still gonna sin, but what's changed about us is our status before God. We are reconciled and forgiven. The process of changing our sin has begun, but is not going to be complete this side of heaven. So any formula that gives you some kind of victorious Christian life or any theology which says you can choose not to sin with the right five-step plan, that's just wrong. God has not seen fit to release us completely from the presence of sin yet. That is a promise of the age to come. So we are justified, we are not holy. And then personally, I think the the comfort this ought to give us is that even our darkest hours are in God's control. And think about the cross. The cross was from God's hand. Can you imagine what it must have been like for the disciples to see the crucifixion without knowing the resurrection was coming? I mean, we look back in hindsight, but for them it must have been a devastating test of faith. So I don't know what trials you're facing, but the encouragement is the same. Let the gospel seep into those trials. You have a heavenly father who loves you. You have a heavenly father who's willing to put his side his judgment and accept the payment of the cross. He delights in showing grace and mercy. He's promised he will make it all right in the end. He will wipe away every tear and right every wrong. Trust him. Set your mind on that. When life looks bleak, out of control, or helpless, or if it looks like God abandon has abandoned you, trust him. Put on the gospel. Let that word richly dwell within you. Now I'm not trying to make light of trials or sufferings. Christians are called to face some really tragic situations. And I don't mean to minimize the pain involved. And it life is hard, but I think the encouragement is even in those dark times, look to the light of the gospel. Remember that no matter how hard it is, and it is hard, the hope of the gospel will not disappoint you in the end. Let's pray. Father, we just thank you for what you've done. It's amazing to think about you coming down from heaven to become a man and die in our place on the cross. And we just pray that as Paul has written, that you would make that story dwell richly in us, that it would become real and ever present, that it would be the guiding principle of our lives, that it would be the thing we think about when we get up, as we go through our day, and as we go to bed, so that we become people who have truly set our minds on the things about Jesus' name.