Colossians
NOTES ON COLOSSIANS CHAPTER 4
Continue in Prayer
Continue in Prayer: Pray With Perseverance
A. Continue Defined
1. From: καρτερέω (kar-ter-eh-oh) strength; to be strong, steadfast, firm, to endure, hold out, bear the burden.
a. Used in Heb. 11:27 – he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
b. The term Paul uses is this term with a prefix that intensifies the meaning.
2. προσκαρτερέω (prahs-kar-ter-eh-oh) –
a. Zodhiates: To continue steadfastly; to cleave faithfully.
b. Strong’s: to adhere to, to be an adherent, to be devoted.
c. With persons it means to be loyal to… (Acts 10:7)
d. In the New Testament, 6 out of 10 times it is used, it is in reference to prayer to God and fellowship with the saints.
B. Continuing in Prayer
1. Paul commands the believers in Colossae (and in Salem!) to persevere in prayer.
2. The pattern of the early church – they continued in prayer.
a. Acts 2:42 – they continued steadfastly… in prayer.
b. There was a set time of prayer and the believers gathered together for corporate prayer.
c. This is what saints DO when they are together.
d. The early church continued steadfastly in prayer.
e. We are given a window here in the life of the early church.
f. Several things were important to the life of the early church… all spiritual in nature: the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship of the saints, the Lord’s Table, and prayer.
g. Social activities occurred, no doubt, but that is not listed as part of the life of the early church. They gathered for spiritual things… for prayer.
h. And they gathered together consistently… regularly… faithfully… they continued steadfastly…
i. Acts 3:1 – at the time of prayer Peter and John were there! Even before the church was organized, these church age saints felt the need to gather together for prayer.
j. Acts 4:24 – with one accord, they lifted up their voices to God in prayer. Acts 4:31 – and when they prayed, the place was shaken!
k. Acts 12:5, 12 – the church gathered together for prayer…
l. Acts 21:5 – saints gathered together on the beach and prayed as Paul departed.
m. The epistles give us the commands to continue steadfastly in prayer. Acts gives us the historical account of the early church that DID in fact continue steadfastly in prayer.
n. Prayer was an ongoing and integral part of church life… at least in the New Testament pattern… in spite of the fact that we are seeing prayer meetings and evening worship services closing down all over the country… due to a lack of interest in spiritual things!
o. The early church revolved around teaching and praying.
3. The pattern for the individual believer…
a. Paul addressed the Body of believers at Colossae and told them all (plural) to continue in prayer.
b. Individual believers are also to continue in prayer… in our private prayer closets… our daily devotion time should include prayer.
c. Col.1:3 – Paul and Timothy prayed for the Colossians ALWAYS!
d. Col. 1:9 – we cease not from praying for you!
e. I Thess. 3:9 – Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith.
f. There are MANY verses which speak of the fact that Paul and other apostles followed the example of Christ in prayer: they continued steadfastly in prayer.
C. Prayer in the Context of Colossians 3
1. Col. 3:1 – our heavenly position.
a. We have been risen with Christ and are seated with Him in heaven. (Cf. Eph. 2:5-6)
b. Paul tells us in Col. 3:1 to SEEK those things which are above. Seek things in harmony with the fact that we now dwell in a heavenly sphere…
2. 3:2 – our affections (minds and hearts) ought to be on things above.
a. That will radically change our prayer lives.
b. We might discover that instead of constantly praying about our aches and pains and bills, we will be praying primarily for spiritual concerns.
c. Spiritual concerns are mentioned in Col. 1:9-11.
• Filled with the knowledge of His will… (vs. 9)
• Wisdom and spiritual understanding…
• A worthy walk… (vs. 10)
• Fruitful in good works…
• Increasing in the knowledge of God… to know Him!
• Strengthened with HIS might… not our own. (vs. 11)
• To experience His resurrection power in our lives…
• Patience, longsuffering, with joyfulness!
• These are the sorts of things we are to be praying for…
• Pray for things related to our heavenly sphere in which we are to dwell…
d. Col. 3:3 – our new life is hidden away in heaven with God.
• Col. 3:4 – Christ is our life… and we are to abide in Him… where He is… like a branch abiding in a Vine.
• We are to abide above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father.
• We are to dwell there… in our glorious heavenly position.
e. From that heavenly position, we will see life on earth from an entirely different perspective.
• From earth’s perspective, our biggest concern might be our aching back and the mortgage payment.
• From eternity’s perspective… from heaven’s vantage point, that lower back pain won’t be nearly as an important item to deal with as a bitter attitude that has gone on way too long.
• You can have fellowship with God with lower back pain… but not with a bitter spirit.
• From heaven’s vantage point… heavenly riches will motivate our prayers far more than earthly riches…
• God’s will reigns in that heavenly sphere… not our will… When we abide there, we will pray like the Lord Jesus in whom we abide: Not my will but thine be done!
• When we are abiding in our earthly condition, (that’s all we see… that’s where our affections are)… then we will pray for earthly things. IN our earthly condition we tell the Lord that we need this and that.
• But if we abide in our heavenly position… like a branch abiding in the Vine, we will discover that Christ is all we need. He supplies all we need.
• From that perspective, the CONTENT of our prayer will change dramatically…
3. Dwelling in that heavenly position will not only change the CONTENT of our prayers… it will also change our CONCEPT of prayer.
a. Prayer is a spiritual privilege… not an earthly ritual.
• As a young boy, I remember being taught a different concept of prayer.
• Prayers were WORKS that you had to do… laborious duty… painful exercises…
• At confession, if I was pretty good for the week, I was only given 5 or 6 prayers to say.
• But if I was really bad, I had to say 20-30 prayers!
• Saying prayers was a punishment for being bad…
• It was penance… a form of suffering to help pay for my sins… or so I was told.
• I wonder if there are believers who still have that concept of prayer… that prayer is a religious obligation… something that we HAVE to do whether we like it or not… because God ordered us to.
• That kind of prayer is nothing but the empty babbling of a dead religion… what Jesus referred to as “vain repetition.”
b. For the believer, prayer is the awesome privilege of being allowed to enter into the very presence of the Majesty on High…
• In prayer, we are approaching Almighty God… an infinitely HOLY God…
• This is at the same time, a fearful thing… and a glorious, marvelous privilege…
• It is not a duty but a delight… it is not an obligation that we have to perform, but an inner desire that craves to be satisfied.
• And it isn’t the act of praying that satisfies that thirsty soul… it is GOD HIMSELF who satisfies our hearts…
• It’s the Person, not the process that satisfies the soul.
c. Isa. 6:1-7 – The right concept of prayer is coming into the very presence of God Himself.
• No one can come into the presence of God (in person, in a vision, or in prayer) without being conscious of his sinfulness.
• If we are conscious of who He is… conscious of His holiness… then we will not dare to come to Him in a light and frivolous manner.
• We can talk to one another in a casual manner, but there isn’t anything casual about coming into the presence of the Creator of the universe!
• We are coming to the Divine throne of grace to speak directly the Lord God Almighty.
• Our biggest problem in prayer is forgetting into WHOSE presence we enter through prayer!
• God is not a man. (Num. 23:18)
• Ps. 50:21 – our tendency to think that God is like us… He is one of us… and we can therefore approach Him as if this were so.
• Prayer is not a believer on earth making a long distance call to a God is afar off!
d. Think of prayer as a believer who already dwells in heaven… walking right up to the very throne of our heavenly Father with a formal request… or a word of praise… or thanksgiving…
• This is to occur continually… in seasons and out of season… praying like this without ceasing…
• Continuing in prayer is an ABIDING relationship in which fellowship and communication with God is without ceasing…
PURITY: THE Prerequisite for Prayer
1. Purity…
a. Sin separates the believer from that abiding relationship of communion and fellowship.
b. The entire Old Testament sacrificial system was designed to teach us this important truth.
• There was only ONE door to the tabernacle: one way in: God’s way.
• God was distant and hidden away from the sinner.
• God dwelt in the Holy of Holies where NO man could approach. He was too holy.
• Only the High Priest could enter into God’s presence… and only if the sacrificial blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat…
• Because of sin… sinful men were kept at a distance from God.
• Only when a perfect cleansing occurred (symbolized by the blood of the sacrifice) could ANYONE enter into that Holy of Holies.
• Sin SEPARATED men from God.
c. Isa. 59:1-2 – Sin separates us from God’s face. He WILL not hear.
d. Ps. 66:18 – If we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear our prayers… be they ever so flowery and erudite!
e. For an infinitely holy God to hear our prayers, our hearts have to be perfectly cleansed… 100% pure… nothing less will do. ANY sin separates us from God… whether it is murder or a bad attitude… or resisting His will.
f. 100% pure might sound a little intimidating. Perhaps some are thinking that we will NEVER be able to pray.
g. I John 1:9 – when we confess our sins, He forgives them… He forgives them every sin we confess… and He cleanses us from ALL unrighteousness… even those sins we are unaware of!
h. When a believer has honestly confessed his sins, he IS 100% pure in God’s sight, because God washes 100% of our sins away… covered by the blood…
i. I John 1:7 – and as we walk in the light- abide in Christ, the blood of Christ CONTINUES to cleanse us from ALL sin.
j. When ALL sin is gone, we are 100% pure in God’s sight.
k. God who is infinitely holy accepts us into His presence on that basis… and on that basis only… because the Father acknowledges the VALUE and the POWER of the blood of His Son.
l. Our heavenly Father receives us into His presence on the basis of the blood of Christ. He hears our prayers only when we are cleansed by the blood of Christ… by confessing our sins.
m. Then God delights in hearing our prayers. What father wouldn’t want to hear what is on the heart of his dear child?
2. A pure conscience…
a. From God’s perspective, in order for prayer to occur, it is necessary that our sins be confessed… for sin separates us from Him. He won’t hear us.
b. But from our side, we also need a pure conscience.
c. It is similar to communion in this sense… (Heb. 10:22)
• Let us keep on drawing near… (for there are continual influences to draw us away…)
• The Old Testament priest entered into God’s presence only one day a year and then left.
• The New Testament priest enters into God’s presence and we are to ABIDE there…
d. We are to approach God with a TRUE heart—no hypocrisy… open and transparent… a true heart is broken and contrite…
• A true heart has only ONE Master… and is surrendered to Him…
• A true heart before God is an undivided heart…
e. We are to approach God in a heart of full assurance.
• Full assurance means a heart that is fully confident in his approach to God… not SELF-confidence, but FAITH… confidence in the finished work of Christ which truly cleanses… and enables us to enter into God’s presence. No wavering on that.
f. We are to approach God with a heart sprinkled and thus cleansed and purged from a guilty conscience.
• The Old Testament priests were literally sprinkled externally with blood at their consecration service.
• New Testament priests are sprinkled internally… our hearts…
• This purging cleanses us from the guilt, shame, and burden of sin that would keep us away from a holy God.
• It frees us to enter into His glorious presence… with boldness and confidence!
g. A guilty conscience and doubt will keep us away from approaching a holy God in prayer.
• It is one thing to BE forgiven and to have our sins removed and our hearts cleansed.
• It is another thing to KNOW and BELIEVE that the blood of Christ takes away our sins… and buries them beneath the sea… He remembers them no more.
h. But we also need to know and believe that when we confess our sins, God really does remove them as far as the east is from the west… and that He cleanses us from ALL sin.
i. We are (whether we feel like it or not) 100% pure in God’s sight at that point! That is the ONLY way we can approach a God who is too holy to look upon sin.
j. This truth… and trust/confidence in this truth that FREES the believer from a conscience that would otherwise keep distant from God.
k. In the truly purged conscience, the barrier is removed…
• We have the awesome privilege of entering into an ABIDING relationship to the Living God!
• Nothing between my soul and my Savior!
l. This means that the new man in Christ can do what he naturally longs to do and he can do so unhindered:
• The new man HUNGERS after God… now he can continually FEAST his soul on the Lord.
• He DESIRES communion and fellowship with God…now he can enter in…
• He SEEKS things above… and DELIGHTS in God’s Word… now he can SEEK God’s face in prayer… and ABIDE in His presence.
• He can CONTINUE in that abiding relationship of a heart open to communicate with the Living God: prayer!
• He can pray without ceasing! In season and out of season!
3. A pure heart…
a. II Tim. 2:22 – calling on the Lord out of a pure heart.
b. Those who call upon the Lord with a pure heart is Paul’s way of saying a BELIEVER! That’s the norm.
c. A heart in full devotion… a heart totally surrendered and yielded to the Lord… Nothing between…
d. The heart of this believer is WIDE OPEN to the Lord.
e. A pure heart will NATURALLY call upon the Lord… all day long!
f. The believer who demonstrates a pure heart will naturally LOVE the Lord with ALL his heart.
g. His heart is wide open to the One he loves.
• Think of what that means with respect to praying continually.
• Consider the contrast between the man whose heart is PURE and open before the Lord and the religious man.
» The religious man (forced to pray as a form of penance!) 50 Hail Marys! Torture! Punishment! I had so many other things to do… taking that much time out of my schedule was a pain in the neck… but you’ve got to do it. It’s your duty. You did it… as a burden… a chore.
» The believer whose heart is pure and open to Christ has another mindset altogether.
» Prayer is not a duty but a delight. He LOVES the Lord.
» To the one who is in LOVE with the Lord, time in prayer is different. This one loses track of the time in prayer… 10, 20, 30 minutes go by in no time!
» We have a young couple here about ready to get married.
» Peter: if you had 15 minutes at lunchtime to spend with Caity, would you consider that a pain in the neck? A burden? A chore? Torture? Or, would you be thrilled and consider it a privilege to have that time and wish it were a whole hour?
h. I Pet. 1:22 – The apostle Peter tells us to love one another with a PURE heart fervently.
• How much MORE will a pure heart love the Lord fervently?
• A pure heart before God will call upon the Lord all day long!
• There is nothing between to hinder that abiding relationship of love.
• Prayer is as natural as breathing under those circumstances.
• It isn’t forced. It isn’t something that HAVE to do. It is the normal, natural life of the new man in Christ as he walks in NEWNESS of life.
• Forcing a Spirit filled believer to pray is like forcing a person to breath. If there is LIFE there, it comes naturally!
i. So if praying continually comes naturally to the new man, why the commands?
• Because there are so many hindrances…
• A pure heart can become polluted with other “things.”
• A pure heart can be defiled… a heart dedicated to Christ can be lured away to another master…
• THEN praying becomes a chore—even for the Christian… because his heart is not right. Now we can no longer sing, “Nothing between.”
j. John 15:7 – An abiding relationship to Christ and continuing in prayer go hand in hand.
• The branch that belongs on the Vine doesn’t always ABIDE on the vine. There IS something between the Vine and the branch. (Hence the command of vs. 4.)
• But the branch that DOES abide in the Vine experiences fruit… a spiritually fruitful and prosperous life in Christ.
• Vs. 5 – without that abiding relationship, we can expect NOTHING… because when there is something between us and the Savior, we can DO nothing on our own.
• Vs. 7 – but if we continually abide in Christ, we will be continually praying and continually receiving from the Lord!
• Of course that abiding relationship to the Lord has a remarkable INFLUENCE on our will…
• Thus it has a profound effect on the CONTENT of our prayers.
• In that abiding relationship, our will is submitted to His… and in a sense, His will becomes our will!
• We will be praying from a heavenly perspective… with eternity’s values in mind…
• Our prayer will not be, “Lord stop the pain,” but “Lord teach me THROUGH the pain.” Not just “Lord take away this trial,” but “Lord, teach me of your grace, power, and compassion in the midst of all of this pressure!”
• And “it SHALL be done unto you!”
4. A pure faith…
a. Believing that we CAN come into God’s presence in prayer will cause us to continue in prayer.
b. If we really believed that we had access to the Creator of the universe… One who has all power… and One who answers prayer… we WOULD pray without ceasing!
c. It is unbelief that causes our prayer life to dwindle down to nothing.
• We don’t believe what God’s Word says about prayer.
• We don’t believe God answers prayer.
• We don’t believe that our will counts in prayer.
• We don’t believe that prayer is effectual.
• We don’t believe that God can move mountains… or perhaps He can but He won’t.
• We don’t believe that OUR prayer will be heard.
d. Sometimes people who are desperate will try anything to get them out of their desperate situation. God refuses to be one among many things “tried.” That’s not faith. That’s desperation. That’s seeking to USE God to accomplish OUR will.
e. God refuses to be tried out like some new product on the market, to help cure whatever ails us. He demands to be trusted.
f. Prayer is not the believer telling God what to do. Prayer is bringing our requests to the Lord whom we believe is ABLE to do anything… and RESTING in the sweet will of God… believing that He knows best…
g. Whether the answer is yes or no… we can REST in His love, care, and wisdom—knowing that His ways are perfect.
h. If we really BELIEVED that God’s perfect will for our lives were accomplished in part through prayer, we would pray without ceasing… we would continue in prayer…
i. Even if His will involves trial and tragedy… illness and suffering… loss and failure… faith moves us to pray for His perfect will… and rejoices in the good fruit that comes from it!
5. When things are not right in our hearts, and we begin to back away from the Lord… when backsliding is in its infant stage… the first thing to go is prayer.
a. Long before we enter into gross sin… long before we stop attending church… long before we stand aloof from fellowship with the saints… our prayer life begins to diminish.
b. At first it is gradual and perhaps even imperceptible. We might not even realize what is happening at first.
c. Gradually the delight of prayer turns to duty…
d. The duty turns to drudgery.
e. Soon other things crowd out our time to be alone with the Lord in our prayer closet.
f. Before you know it, a godly habit of praying every day… has turned into “whenever you can fit it in.”
g. Then you notice that your ongoing communication with the Lord throughout the day has ceased! (The countless, silent, praises and thank yous and requests no longer occur.)
h. When that happens, it is the first indication that the heart is no longer pure…
i. Now there IS something between you and your Savior…
j. And that is the time to deal with it… before it develops… and begins to manifest itself in all kinds of other ugly “forms” and shapes… like no longer attending prayer meeting… skipping evening services… avoiding phone calls to other believers… then forsaking the assembling of yourselves altogether… and off into the world we go…
k. But we keep that prayer life fresh with the Lord… and ABIDE in a relationship to Christ wherein our hearts are replenished and refreshed by communion with Him.
l. The old writers used to say, “Pray through it.”
m. If that is happening to you, nip it at the bud before it develops into something much more serious.
n. Get your Bible out and read and pray right THROUGH all those allurements and attraction to other things… read and pray—wrestle with the Lord UNTIL the Lord blesses you… and your love for Christ is revitalized… and prayer becomes a DELIGHT all over again!
o. And what if, after praying and seeking for a long time for a return to a warm sensitive heart, that our heart still FEELS cold and distant from God?
• What if we pray all day? What if we pray for that all week? What about a year?
• Well, the Lord may be testing our heart.
• Keep on praying. Continue in prayer—even if you don’t feel close to God… (BELIEVE that you are!) Even if your heart feels cold… keep on praying. We are not to go by our feelings, but by FAITH… which rest in the facts.
• Keep on abiding in Christ… obeying His Word… worshipping at His feet… fellowshipping with His people… regardless of how we FEEL.
• And in God’s good time… when the time of testing is over… when by CONTINUING in prayer, we have demonstrated a love for the Lord based on faith not feelings, in God’s good time, the WARMTH will return. The relationship will be sweet again. Prayer will once again be a DELIGHT not a duty.
• Don’t stop at Marah (bitterness)… when Elim (oasis) is right around the corner!
• Continue in prayer. Pray right through Marah UNTIL you come upon Elim! Pray in season and out of season. Pray with out ceasing.
• Take your focus off the process (praying) and focus on the Person… the One to whom we pray! The sweetness will return.
IF YOU ARE NOT BORN AGAIN….
God won’t hear your prayers UNTIL you are ready to BELIEVE on Christ and be saved!
Watch in Prayer
Introduction:
1. Last week we looked at the first part of this passage which deals with continuing in prayer: Praying with perseverance.
2. This week we want to look at the second part of the verse: being watchful and thankful in prayer: Praying with alertness and thankfulness.
Pray With Alertness
A. The Term
1. Watch Defined: γρηγορέω (gray-gor-eh-oh)
a. This word is formed from the Greek word “ἐγείρω” (eg-ay-roh) which means to rise up…
• Cf. Matt. 8:25 – the disciple woke Jesus up from His sleep.
• It is also used of raising up the dead.
• This term has all kinds of applications…
b. Strong’s: γρηγορέω (gray-gor-eh-oh)
– to watch; give strict attention to, be cautious, active; to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one.
c. Zodhiates: To watch, to refrain from sleep.
d. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Awake, alert, alive, vigilant.
2. Various Usages
a. The term is used in a literal sense of being awake, aware, alert, vigilant…
b. It is used of a house owner watching for a thief.
c. But most often, its normal usage of being awake and alert in the physical realm is used in a spiritual sense… being awake and alert to the spiritual conflict going on around us.
d. It adds a sense of caution… not just “awake.” It is possible to be awake and yet, not paying attention…
e. It is possible to be awake physically and sound asleep spiritually!
f. It implies not just being awake, but cautiously aware of the spiritual conflict raging about us.
g. This is the sense in which Paul uses the term in Col. 4:2.
3. The Grammar
a. The word “watch” in our English Bibles looks like a command… an imperative. But it is actually a participle that carries the weight of a command.
b. It speaks of action that is simultaneous to the action of the main verb: continuing in prayer.
c. In other words, AS we watch in prayer… at the very same time, we are to be WATCHING… vigilant… alert… awake… and aware of what is going on around us.
d. Prayer is to be accompanied by vigilance, alertness, and awareness of what is going on around us spiritually.
e. And continual prayer means continual vigilance.
B. The Battle
1. We are to be WATCHING… awake… alert… and aware of what is going on around us in the spiritual realm.
a. Our prayers should be in light of the spiritual battle all around us.
b. Remember the context we looked at last week?
• Chapter 3 begins reminding us of our heavenly position… dead to this world and raised up into heavenly places… our new lives hidden away with Christ…
• As we dwell above, we are NOT to be oblivious and disconnected to the world around us.
• We are to be dwelling above, but watching here below!
• From that heavenly perspective… with eternity’s values in mind, we are to awake, aware, and alert to the spiritual battle being raged all around us on earth.
c. Our country is at war with a network of religious fanatics around the globe who seek to kill us and destroy our way of life.
• As a nation, we need to be ALERT to that and vigilant as long as the war is being waged.
• We would be quite foolish to adopt a Pollyanna-like attitude… and to assume that because we don’t see any soldiers over the horizon that we can therefore go about life as if we weren’t at war.
• That would be foolish indeed… suicide… in light of the battle.
d. It is even more foolish to behave that way in the spiritual realm…
• That is exactly why Paul warns us to be WATCHING as we pray!
• Pray in light of the battle that is being waged all around us… even if we can’t see it.
• We are at war in the spiritual realm… and our enemies are relentless… cunning… wise like a fox… and out to destroy us spiritually.
e. I Pet. 5:8 – vigilant = same word as watch… Peter warns us that a roaring lion is about to devour us.
• A lion is about to pounce upon us and destroy our individual walks with God… our families… the local church.
• And yet we have access to GOD Himself through prayer.
• We are surrounded by spiritual wickedness… and a roaring lion that seeks to destroy us… and at the same time, we can bring our requests to the throne of the Omnipotent One.
• And yet, living in the shadow of this roaring lion about to devour us, we find ourselves, like Pollyanna, praying for a nice day for our picnic… and for our sniffles to go away.
• What SHOULD we be praying for in light of the spiritual facts? (Spiritual protection; eyes opened; that we not take one step outside of God’s will; etc.)
f. Praying IN LIGHT OF the battle will affect the content of our prayers.
• An unsaved friend is on his deathbed and we are praying only for his physical recovery. What SHOULD we be praying for? (His soul!)
• Our lives are fleeting away as a vapor, and we are praying for a better paying job, or for our stocks and bonds, rather than praying for ways to be laying up treasures in heaven.
• We are concerned about our physical health and pray for it constantly, and ignore our spiritual health… and forget that we are engaged in a spiritual battle.
• If we were WATCHING… awake and alert to the spiritual conflicts all around us… the content of our prayers will change drastically.
• I appreciate the shift in this area I have noticed lately at prayer meetings!
2. I Tim. 6:12 – We are busy serving and doing in the local church, and forget about the NATURE of the battle in which we are engaged…
a. We are engaged in a battle for the minds and hearts of men…
b. It is a battle over doctrine and truth!
c. We should be praying in light of the battle that is being raged all around us TODAY.
d. We are not fighting the same battle that was being fought in the 1920s when German modernism was being brought into the churches… fundamentalism vs. modernism. (black and white)
e. We are not fighting the same battle that was being fought in the 1960-1980s… fundamentalism vs. neo evangelicalism. Black and white… and then gray.)
f. We are fighting a spiritual battle in the 21st century that seems to parallel the war our country is fighting: an amorphous enemy… that has infiltrated into our midst… with all kinds of doctrinal sleeper cells just waiting to explode… while everyone sits around too polite and correct to say anything about it.
g. What we have today is no longer just black and white… (1920) or even black and white with a little gray in between (1960-1980). Now the paint is splattered all over the place!
3. Acts 20:29-31 – I’m concerned about the battle for the truth.
a. It is necessary to warn about wolves… and to challenge believers to WATCH out for what is happening doctrinally.
b. A shift away from classic dispensationalism to progressive dispensationalism… and ultimately toward Reformed Theology.
c. MacArthur’s Lordship Salvation and Limited Atonement catching on in dispensational circles.
d. Rick Warren’s entertainment mentality is taking over the country… the seeds of which have been around for a long time… the attitude that was tolerated in the days of new evangelicalism has infiltrated and have been deeply embedded even in some formerly sound, fundamental churches.
e. Erosion of the doctrine of separation even in fundamental circles.
f. A drifting away from the great hymns of the faith, rich in doctrine, that have, over the years, proven themselves to be edifying… and towards newer pop and rock songs that are at best sentimental and shallow and at worst in error… and do precious little to edify the saints.
g. And all of these changes are taking place right under our noses.
h. And it isn’t just ancillary doctrines that are up for grabs.
• Now the evangelical world isn’t quite sure what the church is; (social club; entertainment center; country club; a family center; look at what they are turning the churches into…)
• What worship is; (dance; art; rock music; plays; skits; multimedia presentations; a show…?)
• What is the gospel? (is it a commitment? Is it getting healthy and wealthy? Are people lost or unchurched? What is the good news? Jesus died for you? Believe or submit to the rigors of discipleship?)
i. Things are changing incredibly rapidly all around us, and I am going to keep on pounding this pulpit to warn us, remind us, and to keep the battle FRESH in our minds, lest we become dull… insensitive… sluggish…sleepy… too involved in carnal things to even care about spiritual things… and unable to pray effectively because we are not watching.
j. Continue in prayer be continually watching!
4. Jer. 9:1-3 – Jeremiah cried out to the Lord… in a form of prayer… a cry… brokenhearted that the people of Israel were no longer valiant for the truth.
a. Jeremiah was watching: observing the spiritual condition of his nation.
b. He was watching… and he grieved over what he saw.
c. He cried out to the Lord… as one who was valiant for the truth… in the midst of a people who couldn’t care less about the truth or honoring God.
d. We should grieve as did Jeremiah because of the spiritual condition of the churches… many of which are no longer valiant for the truth!
e. We live in a day when churches are valiant for unity… valiant for big numbers… valiant for outward success… valiant for prosperity… but not for the truth.
f. This should be our cry and prayer to the Lord. God help us to be valiant for the truth!
g. That is our PURPOSE for being! We are God’s witnesses to the TRUTH. We are a light to the truth. And by God’s grace, some folks will be attracted to the truth and come to the Savior who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
h. What good does it do to win multitudes to an organization if we are not valiant for the truth?
i. While we are sleeping concerning the battle over the truth, our enemy is busy chipping away at the truth… eroding away at the foundation… a little here and a little there… right under our noses!
j. This is our battle. Pray in light of the battle. Watch and pray.
5. Eph. 5:14-17 – Another layer of the spiritual battle: a battle designed to lure us away to other things.
a. Paul warns believers to wake up… and Christ will give us light… light to walk in this world of darkness.
b. The world has a deadening effect on our spiritual lives.
c. The battle we face TODAY in America is a battle for TIME.
d. Vs. 16 – redeem the time—use it for God’s glory.
e. Today’s average Christian THINKS that he has less time for the things of God…
f. Our attention is being lured to other things…
g. More women are working today – making it hard to get things done in the local church. (Less energy going into God’s program…)
h. Men are working longer hours… sometime two jobs to make ends meet… (Less energy going into God’s program…)
i. Families are more prosperous today and thus have money to go on more vacations… taking off every holiday… every 3 day weekend… on our way to becoming what Paul described as “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.” (Less energy going into God’s program…)
j. There are so MANY forms of entertainment for the youth… that children’s programs at church do not draw like they used to… kids are so busy with tennis lessons, art lessons, music lessons, karate lessons, soccer and baseball games… that they have no time for church activities and ministries.
k. With all of allegedly time saving gadgets, our generation seems to have less time for the things of God.
l. And the local church… God’s program suffers as a result.
m. Our time and energy is being spent elsewhere.
n. Hence the command: wake up! Redeem the time! Buy up opportunities to grow in grace, minister in the local church, and share the gospel!
o. Other things may not be evil or immoral… but from heaven’s perspective, they are not the best use of God’s time.
p. Instead of an expensive trip to Disneyworld, try going on a missions trip!
q. Pray for wisdom and spiritual understanding in the use of our time, energy, resources, and talents.
r. PRAY and watch… pray in light of this battle… oh, how the devil would love for us to squander and waste our time here on earth on things that have no eternal value!
s. Our adversary is seeking to deaden us to spiritual things… cause us to be lulled to sleep in the fog of this world…
t. Let’s PRAY that we as a Body might wake up… and be aware of evil days in which we live… and redeem the time!
6. Eph. 6:18 – this is the noun form of the verb in Col. 4:2.
a. Pray WITH perseverance… (continue in prayer)
• This implies that the tendency is to slack off in prayer…
• It is our nature to grow weary in well doing… especially in prayer.
• It is natural for zeal to wane… especially in prayer.
• Hence, the need for the command… persevere… continue in prayer.
b. Watching thereunto…
• And note that the call for watching and perseverance in prayer comes in the context of a spiritual battle.
• In other words, be AWARE of the spiritual battle!
• Be aware and alert to the fact that we are not fighting against flesh and blood. (Individual false teachers; men; political leaders; social workers.)
• It is a battle against SPIRITUAL wickedness in high places… demonic activity is behind all of the issues we face on earth… and in the local church…
• Doctrines of demons…
• Eph. 6:11 – put on the whole armor of God. The final piece of which is prayer.
c. If we BELIEVE that we are engaged in a spiritual battle… and that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual, THEN we will pray.
• If we believe that God answers prayers…
• If we believe that prayer is effectual…
• If we believe that prayer is God’s will for us…
• If we believe that God incorporates our prayers in carrying out His perfect will…
• If we believe that we have the authority and the privilege of bringing our requests to the very throne of grace… to the Omnipotent One who CARES about our requests… then we will continue in prayer.
d. If we don’t believe these things deep down in our hearts, then we will be convinced that prayer is a royal waste of time… and that our time is much better spent DOING something… MAKING this happen… getting things DONE… seeking to produce fruit on our own.
e. That is exactly what our adversary would LOVE to convince us of… to carry on God’s work in our own strength with the Lord. The devil knows (even if we forget) that without Christ we can do NOTHING.
7. Read: Pilgrims Progress.
C. Watchfulness and Prayer
1. We see the command to be watchful associated with prayer often in both the Old and New Testaments.
2. Neh. 4:9 – “Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them [the enemy] day and night.”
a. The Jews were AWARE of the fact that they were engaged in a battle. Theirs was an earthly battle… but rest assured, there were demons working behind the scenes there too!
b. Neh.4:23 – they didn’t even take off their clothes day or night except for washing… they were so vigilant. They were determined to be always ready for battle.
c. We too need to be constantly OPEN to the Lord and constantly alert and ready for spiritual battle.
3. Matt. 26:38-41 – Christ calls upon the disciples to WATCH with Him.
a. This passage brings together many of the issues related to watching and praying.
b. Vs. 37-38 – Christ invites them to wait and watch with Him.
• Christ was about to enter the Garden for an extended period of prayer.
• Christ’s soul was exceedingly sorrowful and very heavy.
• Christ was about to face the cross and He knew it.
• He was not afraid to die. That He faced bravely and courageously.
• Many martyrs have faced death and did so courageously.
• However, what Christ was very different. He was about to drink the cup of agony and suffering the Father had prepared for Him.
• He was about to BECOME sin… the sins of the world were to be placed upon Him. (II Cor. 5:21) (That never happened to any martyr!)
• God the Father was about to FORSAKE Him… (That never happened to any martyr!)
• This was an unbearable burden… and was the cause for Christ to sweat as it were great drops of blood.
• As the Lord Jesus entered the Garden to wrestle with these thoughts in prayer… He asked the disciples to wait for him and watch… be awake… alert… aware of what He was going through.
c. Vs. 39 – He fell and prayed that if it be possible the cup might pass from Him… but not his will but God’s be done.
d. Vs. 40 – After His prayer, He came to His disciples and found them sleeping.
• Jesus rebuked the apostles for not being able to watch for one hour… they were sleeping.
• What an amazing picture we have here of what is often OUR spiritual condition.
• A battle was being waged… Christ’s deepest and darkest hour before the cross… and the disciples were sleeping!
• They were unaware… oblivious to the battle being waged in the Garden that night…
• And when they SHOULD have been awake… praying… seeking God’s face… they were sleeping…
• The Lord was agonizing… and they were sleeping. Christ rebuked them.
• I wonder what the Lord would think of us today.
» There is a spiritual battle being waged all around us… for the hearts and minds of our young people… for the souls of lost men… for sound doctrine in the churches… for discernment between holy and unholy…
» And we are asleep at the wheel!
» Prayer meetings are closing down all over the country… due to a lack of interest… spiritual lethargy… sleeping when we should be watching in prayer.
» Believers are too busy doing this or that… to spend time with Christ in His Word and in prayer…
» Too busy and too entangled in the affairs of this life… that we have nothing left for the things of God.
» It is possible to be wide-awake and alert to things of this life and at the same time to be sound asleep with respect to the things above.
» Christ rebuked the apostles: “Couldn’t you pray with me for one hour?” Christ was about to DIE for them.
e. Vs. 41 – Jesus commands them to watch and pray.
• Jesus now tells Peter to pray, but not for Him, Christ; Peter was told to pray for himself!
• Peter had just claimed that he would be faithful even unto death. (vs. 33, 35)
• Now Peter couldn’t even stay awake and pray when Christ told him to.
• Peter was setting himself up for a big FALL! (vs. 34)
• The purpose: that ye enter not into temptation.
• Christ knew of the spiritual battle being waged… and the temptation… the testing… and the weakness of the disciples’ flesh.
• Though they may have had a desire to be faithful to Him, Christ knew their weakness… and their utter inability to carry out those desires. Hence, their need for prayer.
• Hence the command: watch and pray! We are weak! Our adversary is strong! How we NEED to seek the Father… and to rest in His strength!
• Instead of bowing in humble prayer, and seeking God’s grace in temptation… Peter boasted of his own strength and loyalty… and then fell asleep. Instead of praying (expressing confidence in God), Peter boasted of his loyalty (self confidence).
• He was asleep spiritually even though physically he was awake!
f. Vs. 43-44 – Jesus returned later and found them asleep again.
• Jesus wanted these men to learn a great lesson about prayer.
• They were weak in the flesh and really NEEDED to seek God in prayer.
• Jesus was the sinless, spotless Son of God. He set the example of One who in a time of great need could not have that need met by other men… the apostles forsook Him.
• Those inner needs could only be met through heart to heart communion with the Father!
• The disciples failed the Lord. Men will fail us too. But our heavenly Father never fails us. He is right there to meet our need… but not to the pompous and arrogant boaster… but the humble servant who comes to Him in childlike prayer.
• For the disciples and us, prayer is an acknowledgement of our weakness and of God’s strength… reliance upon His strength and power. That’s faith. And prayer brings us into heart to heart communion with the Living God.
• This we desperately need!
g. Vs. 45 – Then Jesus told them that He was about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners… the enemy was at hand.
• Satan had entered the heart of Judas to betray Christ.
• Satan was working behind the scenes to bring this treachery to pass… spiritual warfare… spiritual wickedness in high places…
• Christ knew that… and agonized over what was about to occur… and the disciples were sleeping.
Pray With Thanksgiving
1. We are to watch in prayer… to be aware of the conflict all about us…
a. And as we watch, there is much to cause us to fear… to tremble… and to be discouraged.
b. From earth’s perspective, it sure seems like the powers of darkness are winning.
• From earth’s perspective, things look SO discouraging that some might tell us NOT to watch… bury your head in the sand and pretend…
• Watching will just cause us to worry and fear about tomorrow.
c. Yet, we are not told to worry, fear, or fret, but to be thankful…
d. Why should we be thankful in wartime? Because the victory is ours—and we know it!
e. We are to be aware of the spiritual battle… aware of the fact that we are wrestling with spiritual wickedness in high places… satanic power leveled against us… but (as Luther put it) we tremble not for him!
f. We realize that in Christ we are already MORE than conquerors… that all of our foes were defeated on the cross… and be THANKFUL!
g. So even as we watch and pray… even as we see what APPEARS to be the powers of darkness winning the day… we can rejoice and be thankful… for by faith we know that the victory is ours already in Christ!
h. A heavenly perspective will cause us to be THANKFUL when others tremble! A heavenly-minded heart is a thankful heart.
i. Continue in prayer and be watching concerning the battle raging about us—but DON’T get discouraged! Be thankful!
j. From heaven’s vantage point, we can watch and be THANKFUL… knowing that Christ is our Captain… and we are more than conquerors in Him… and that He is coming at any moment! The darker things get—the closer is His return!
2. We can watch and pray with thanksgiving because of our LOVE for the Lord.
a. Even though we live in an age when we are told to EXPECT evil men to wax worse and worse… we are not pessimistic. We are the ultimate optimists: Christ is coming at any moment!
b. Watch for His coming! Pray that we might be faithfully conducting our Father’s business until He comes!
c. Be thankful that He is coming and His reward is with Him!
d. The heart that genuinely loves the Lord will be FILLED with thanksgiving… even when there is no fruit on the vine… for this world is not our final home!
e. What do you suppose a heart that is WIDE OPEN to the Lord and fully yielded and in love with the Lord is going to SAY to the Lord?
• THANK YOU… a million times over!
• Not: gimme this and that…
• But THANK YOU for already having blessed me with ALL spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus!
f. The self centered man who is earthly minded prays and is offended if God doesn’t gratify his desires with an instant answer to prayer…
g. The heavenly minded man is not only CONTENT with God’s answer, but beyond content, thankful!
h. If we are watching… paying attention to spiritual things… thus aware of our heavenly position… then we WILL be grateful!
3. Phil. 4:6 – thankful prayers are answered prayers.
4. Ps. 141:2 – thankful prayers are like incense that ascends up to heaven to God.
a. When ignited, they send forth a fragrance that is well pleasing to the Lord… sweet to His nostrils.
b. But simply putting incense in the spoon doesn’t cause a sweet smell to ascend to heaven. Incense must be IGNITED!
c. It must be on fire… and thus, our hearts need to be on fire for the Lord for our prayers to be meaningful. Dead, lifeless, cold, dry, dusty prayers are useless and ineffective.
d. It is the FERVENT prayer of the righteous man that avails much!
e. The prayer that comes from a heart that is on fire for Christ is a prayer that will be FILLED with thanksgiving!
f. This world is designed to put out our fire… and thus make our prayer ineffective.
g. Watch and pray… pray and watch… and keep your heart with all diligence… don’t let your fire go out.
h. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.
The Price of an Open Door
IN PRISON FOR THE MYSTERY
1. Paul was in prison for preaching the mystery: that Christ died for the whole world and that Jew and Gentile are accepted by God on equal footing in Christ. (Eph. 3:6)
a. Last week we mentioned that there were elements of the gospel message which were NOT a mystery. (Death, burial, and resurrection of Christ).
b. The aspect of the mystery that relates to the gospel is the introduction of gentiles into the mix… as equals in Christ… and that the message is to be proclaimed to EVERY nation.
c. Paul was in prison for preaching the mystery of Christ.
d. He was NOT in prison for preaching that Messiah would die or be raised again. Isaiah preached the same thing!
e. Although it was not fully understood or appreciated by Jews in the Old Testament, it was revealed. Many Jews did believe in resurrection.
f. But there was one element to the mystery of the gospel that the Jews were united in hating.
2. Acts 22:1-2 – Paul defends himself against accusations by the Jews in the Temple in Jerusalem.
a. The crowd was silent and listened to every word he said.
b. He was given the floor to say whatever he wanted.
• They listened to him as he told of his educational background at the feet of Gamaliel. (vs. 3)
• They listened as he told them of his heavenly vision. (vs. 6)
• They listened as he told them of his healing from blindness (vs. 13)
c. Acts 22:21-22 – But as soon as he mentioned gentiles, they would listen no longer and began to shout for his death!
d. He told this Jewish crowd that God sent him to preach Christ (Messiah) to the Gentiles and that they too could be saved.
• That was more than that bigoted crowd could handle.
• They went into a frenzy! (vs. 23)
• Paul was bound and led off to be beaten,
e. And from there, Paul ended up in a Roman prison.
f. He was in bonds for preaching the mystery.
3. Paul was in prison for preaching the mystery: Jews and Gentiles accepted on equal footing in one body.
PRAYING FOR OPEN DOORS
A. Praying Not for the Prison Doors
1. In Acts 5:18-19a: The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem had the apostles cast into prison for preaching Christ. God sent an angel to open the prison doors that the apostles might escape.
2. In Acts 12:7-10 – Peter was imprisoned for preaching Christ and God sent another angel to open the prison doors that Peter might escape.
3. In Acts 16:19-26 – Paul and Silas were cast into prison at Philippi for preaching Christ. God sent an earthquake to open the prison doors to allow Paul and Silas to escape.
4. As Paul writes the epistle to the Colossians, he writes from yet another prison cell in Rome.
a. He asks the believers to pray for doors to be opened.
b. But he is not thinking of himself or his own comfort and ease.
c. There was a definite precedent set for such a prayer. He COULD have prayed for God to send another angel or an earthquake… but that was not his request.
d. He wasn’t praying for the prison doors to be opened.
B. Prayer For Open Doors for the Gospel
1. Paul is in prison (again!)
a. But his prayer was not for the prison doors to be opened…
b. The request is for doors of opportunity to be opened SO THAT he might preach the mystery of Christ!
2. This was a completely selfless prayer…
a. He prayed not for comfort and ease, but that God would enable him to preach the mystery of Christ.
b. He was not requesting better living conditions; more visitors; or week ends off.
c. It wasn’t for medical attention or health care.
d. He had no thought for himself, but only for the lost… and for the glory of Christ.
e. In this he demonstrated the mind of Christ.
3. This was a fearless prayer.
a. This was a request is for an opportunity to repeat the very activity that that landed him in the slammer in the first place!
b. Not only was he not thinking about his own comfort. He was courageously ready to face even more discomfort!
c. Paul was suffering for preaching the mystery of Christ and as soon as he was given the opportunity, he was ready to do it again… and suffer the consequences for it.
d. Paul was NOT going to change the message.
• With a few minor adjustments to the message, he could make it palatable to the Jews and the Gentiles and thus remove all cause for imprisonment… but he refused to compromise!
• There IS an offence to the cross. Today men make adjustments to the message to make it more palatable to the masses… less offensive… less confrontational… and thus avoid the disdain the world has for the REAL gospel message.
• When the world gives accolades to a preacher of the gospel today—you KNOW he has compromised the message. (Billy Graham – Rome did not give him an honorary degree from a Catholic university because he preached the same message as Martin Luther!)
• Gal. 5:11 – Paul COULD have easily avoided certain issues (circumcision – Law) and thus there would not have been such an offence in preaching Christ… and he would have won the praise of Jews…
• But Paul was fearless. He refused to compromise his message in order to please the masses. He preached the MYSTERY aspect of the gospel: Gentiles are saved by faith WITHOUT having to become proselytes to Judaism!
• Humanly speaking, had he made a tiny adjustment to his message, he could have avoided the beatings and imprisonments.
• However, these so called “small adjustments” to the message were HUGE in God’s sight. They would have changed the gospel of God’s GRACE into a gospel of LAW.
e. Paul feared God, not man.
• Matt. 10:28 – Perhaps the words of the Lord Jesus came to Paul’s mind as he made this prayer request.
• These are words the Lord Jesus gave to His disciples as He sent them out to a hostile environment to preach.
• Matt. 10:16-18 – Men would NOT appreciate or tolerate their message.
• Vs. 22 – they would be hated of all men because they represented Christ…
• Vs. 28 – thus, they were NOT to fear men who could only harm the body. Instead, they were to FEAR GOD… who has power over both body and soul!
• Preaching the gospel in a world that hates Christ requires courage… a fear of God that overcomes any fear of man.
f. Paul was fearless as he preached Christ.
• This does not mean that fear of man never entered his mind!
• I Cor. 2:3 – When Paul preached Christ in city after city… (knowing the danger) he did so TREMBLING.
• He preached Christ sometimes with knees knocking…
• Of course as a human being he was afraid of being beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and tortured for his faith.
• But he never allowed that kind of earthly fear to overpower his fear of God.
• The fear of God enables us to OBEY GOD regardless of our human emotions and feelings.
• Of course a human being would fear what men might to do them on one level (taken hostage by Al Qaeda).
• But a God fearing man will be MOVED to action by his fear of God… not man. GOD is the driving force in his life…
• Paul refused to be CONTROLLED by the fear of man. He was controlled by the fear of God.
• An ignorant man might be fearless of men.
• But Paul was not ignorant. He KNEW the price. He KNEW the cost. He had experienced the suffering involved in preaching Christ…
• That made his courage all the more remarkable!
• It takes supernatural courage to stand up before a hostile crowd and preach a message you KNOW they will hate… and you know YOU will be tortured for preaching… and preach it anyway! That’s the good old-fashioned courage of the Holy Ghost.
• It doesn’t take a lot of courage if you don’t FEEL afraid.
• But when you KNOW the possible results… and you do FEEL afraid… and your knees are knocking… and you preach truth anyway—that’s the strength and courage of the Lord working IN and THROUGH you for His glory.
g. Paul asked prayer for open doors to preach Christ… knowing full well what the consequences might be. He was fearless… he refused to be controlled by the fear of man.
4. This was a Christ centered prayer. (Col. 1:18)
a. This is the prayer of one who though separated from His Risen Savior, is abiding in His love… and focused on things above.
b. Phil. 1:20 – This prayer request comes from the heart of a man who loved the Lord with all his heart and wanted nothing more than to magnify Him and make Him known… whatever the cost.
c. This is the prayer of one whose concern was for Christ… a prayer from one who saw the Risen Christ and was never the same again.
d. He was thrilled by the Person of Christ and was forever motivated to preach Him to others.
e. Christ had preeminence in Paul’s heart. His main desire was to lift up and magnify the Lord Jesus before others… to make Him known…
f. Hence the request: “Lord, give me opportunity again to lift up the Lord Jesus and manifest Him to the whole world!”
5. This was a prayer of faithfulness. (I Cor. 4:1-2)
a. He had been appointed as a preacher of the mystery.
b. He was made a steward of the mysteries of God and it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.
c. Paul had no intention of giving up his commission just because it involved suffering.
d. He had no intention of giving up his ministry or of changing his message in order to avoid prison, whippings, or beatings.
e. He was faithful to the Lord and to the message… and would not retreat… or compromise.
f. If being faithful to his commission meant prison, then so be it! If it meant another beating, then so be it.
g. Paul was NOT going to cease from preaching the message because of personal cost involved.
h. As soon as a door to preach opened, he was going to walk through it… knowing full well that on the other side may be yet another beating… another whipping… another prison.
i. Paul was more concerned about being FAITHFUL than free.
• It’s more important to be faithful than to be comfortable.
• It’s more important to be faithful than to be rich.
• It’s more important to be faithful than to be popular.
• It’s more important to be faithful than to have opportunity to preach to great masses of people.
• It’s more important to be faithful than successful.
• It’s more important to be faithful than to be healthy.
• It’s more important to be faithful than to be alive! “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12:11)
• Paul was faithful… even unto death.
• That is Christlikeness… He was obedient and faithful unto death… even the death of the cross. (Phil. 2:8)
j. Consider the example of John Bunyan – imprisoned in England for preaching Christ.
• John Bunyan was a Non-conformist. (That’s what independent believers were called in those days—like us—he refused to bow to the errors of the Church of England.
• He was imprisoned for preaching the truth.
• In those days, jails were filled with Non-conformists.
• John Bunyan spent twelve years in prison, from 1660–1672. (12 years—his kids would grow up without him!)
• It’s one thing to sit in prison and do without for yourself… but he (and many others!) had to deal with the suffering involved in watching his wife and kids go hungry… become sickly… and unable to help.
• John Bunyan’s oldest daughter was blind… and he wanted SO to be home and do all the things that the home needed…
• And all he had to do was to cease from preaching and they would let him out… but he refused to bow.
• “The parting with my wife and poor children hath oft been to me in prison as the pulling the flesh from my bones… especially my poor blind child, who lay nearer my heart than all I had besides; O the thoughts of the hardships I thought my blind one might go under, would break my heart to pieces.”
• Here was a man for whom faithfulness meant more than freedom…
k. So too, the prayer request of the apostle Paul came from the heart of a man for whom faithfulness meant more than freedom… it meant more than life or anything!
6. This was a prayer of sincerity.
a. Paul was not asking this request to make him sound spiritual.
b. He was trying to impress men with his level of dedication. He MEANT it.
c. He was completely sincere when he asked that God would give him opportunity to preach Christ again.
d. He was READY and WILLING to preach Christ again… whatever the price.
e. Acts 16:27-31 – in fact, at Philippi, Paul had already PROVEN his sincerity.
• God DID open the prison doors and allowed Paul to escape.
• The natural inclination would be to RUN for your life… get away as far and as fast as you can!
• Paul COULD have run away quickly… but instead he lingered.
• As the physical doors of the prison were opened, doors of opportunity to preach Christ also opened… before he ever left the prison compound!
• And he preached Christ to the very man charged with keeping him in jail!
• Paul PROVED the sincerity of this prayer request at Philippi. God knew that he meant it!
• Now, Paul is in jail again, and his request is for more opportunity to preach Christ!
f. The other apostles demonstrated the very same sincerity and willingness to preach Christ… when released from prison.
• Acts 5:17-21a – they were arrested and imprisoned for preaching Christ. Then they were rescued from prison by an angel—who told them to go right back to preaching Christ… and they DID!
• Acts 5:27-29 – they were re-arrested for preaching the same message and again, refused to bow the knee.
• Acts 5:40 – they were beaten… and rejoiced to be counted WORTHY to suffer shame for His name!
• Acts 5:42 – they ceased not from preaching Christ.
• They could ask a prayer request like Paul with sincerity! They proved themselves sincere.
• Door after door was opened to these men… and regardless of the price, they kept on walking right through those open doors… to preach Christ.
GOD’S VIEW ON AN OPEN DOOR
1. Paul wrote Philippians from a prison cell.
a. Most men would consider being locked in jail an extremely closed door.
• Paul had been traveling around the known world preaching Christ. Opportunities abounded in city after city!
• In the midst of a busy schedule… in the midst of a spiritually prosperous ministry… everything suddenly came to a screeching halt… and Paul was chained and imprisoned.
• It sure seemed like the doors of opportunity to preach the mystery of Christ were closed on him!
• But God is not man. His ways are higher than our ways… His way is perfect.
b. What we consider terrible tragedy and trouble in our lives; what appears to us as doors slammed shut… may in fact be doors of opportunity to manifest Christ in ways we never would have imagined… to people we never would have come in contact with…
• That which seems like the worst possible set of circumstances may well be unique opportunities to serve God and be a witness for Him.
• Hospital beds… nursing homes… laid off from your job… department closing down and moving to another building with a longer commute… flood… fire… a disease… an accident… could all be God’s painful but perfect door for us to bring the glorious gospel of Christ to someone we might never have had opportunity to meet otherwise.
c. There is a wise, sovereign, master plan behind all that transpires in our lives.
• God uses absolutely EVERYTHING in our lives as part of His own purpose and plan.
• And behind it all is God’s desire to magnify His Son… to make Him known…
d. So even if Paul was cast into prison and the prison doors close upon him… that did not mean that doors of opportunity to preach Christ were closed shut.
e. Of his imprisonment Paul wrote: “Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.” (II Tim. 2:9)
2. Phil. 1:12-18 – Paul’s view of his imprisonment.
a. We would do well to transpose Paul’s situation over our lives… and make application…
b. Vs.12 – “the things which happened to unto me”
• These things refer to all the recent events in his life: conspiracy against him; the shipwreck; the beatings; and finally his imprisonment.
• Notice that Paul did not dwell on all the bad things he had to deal with. He just said, “the things which happened to me…”
• Paul said these things did not just “happen.”
• Things never just happen in our lives either.
• They were Providentially designed by God… and with a purpose!
• The purpose was for the furtherance of the gospel.
• This is opposite of how things appeared!
• It seemed like these events HINDERED the gospel… yet Paul said they ADVANCED God’s purpose to further the gospel.
• Sometimes events in our lives that seem to hinder us from serving God may be just the opposite!
c. Vs. 13 – in fact, news of Paul’s imprisonment and WHY he was arrested were manifest in ALL the palace—territory the disciples would never have had access to! And in all other places!
• His arrest caused people all over the place to start talking about this new message about Christ!
• The fact that Paul was chained was not a hindrance to the gospel. It furthered the gospel!
d. In fact rather than hinder Paul from preaching Christ, it gave him a captive audience!
• There was a soldier chained to him 24-7! And they kept rotating in six-hour shifts.
• Every six hours a new door opened for Paul to preach Christ!
• Imagine being one of the soldiers chained to Paul. I’m sure they got an earful! I doubt if any soldier was ever chained to Paul for a six hour shift and never heard the gospel! I wonder how many we will meet in heaven?
• The Roman government paid men to listen to Paul preach the mystery of Christ!
e. Not only did the Roman government pay the soldiers to stand by and listen to him preach, but the government also paid court officials to study the charges against him: which was tantamount to having to study the doctrines of the Christian faith—the death and resurrection of Christ!
f. Vs. 14 – Paul’s imprisonment also emboldened other believers to stand up and speak up for Christ fearlessly!
• If God can give him the grace and strength to preach, God can do it for me too!
• Paul’s chain stirred up believers all over the empire to be more zealous in their witnessing.
• We might think that his chain would cause other believers to fear and tremble. It had just the opposite effect.
• His chain was no hindrance to the furtherance of the gospel.
g. His captors may have thought that by imprisoning Paul, they would silence the message he preached.
• That did not happen! In fact, it furthered the gospel!
• The gospel was able to penetrate into places it never would have gone otherwise: the elite Praetorian Guard and Caesar’s household!
h. Paul had a godly view of his chain.
i. He saw it as part of God’s purpose for his life.
• He did not complain or murmur.
• He didn’t resign himself to bitterness and solitude.
• He didn’t even ask prayer for the prison doors to open and for his chains to be removed.
• Rather, he saw his chain as opportunity to serve God in a unique way.
i. We too should see our chains as opportunities to manifest Christ and make Him known—in ways and places that would not otherwise be possible.
• Maybe you feel chained in by a debilitating disease… loss of vision… loss of mobility… loss of strength…
• Perhaps you are chained down with financial problems…
• Maybe someone else is chained up with family responsibilities… aging parents… kids in college… sibling in trouble… wayward child…
• Perhaps some housewives feel chained to their homes… and you never seem to get out of your neighborhood…
• It might be some men feel chained to their jobs… no time to do anything else…
• Rather than griping and complaining about how awful things are—why not see those chains as opportunities to be a witness for Christ and to minister to people no one else may have contact with!
• Chains do NOT MEAN that a purposeful, useful life is over.
• When confined, restricted, and shut in or shut out… do NOT sink passively into despair or self centered discouragement. (poor me!)
• Your life’s work is not over. Chains are but a new phase of God’s purpose for your life.
• Paul’s life’s work was not OVER while he was imprisoned. Not only was he able to witness to soldiers and bring the gospel into places never before reached — but during that time he also wrote Colossians, Philippians, Philemon, and Ephesians… which have blessed the hearts of believers for centuries…
• God turned Satan’s apparent victory against the gospel into defeat.
• Ask God for the grace, wisdom, and clarity of spiritual vision and discernment to exchange the murmuring for a “thank you Lord for this chain! Thank you for this unique opportunity to manifest Christ who lives in me to others.”
• Wherever we find ourselves in life… the things that happened to us didn’t just happen! They were designed for the furtherance of the gospel… that the mystery of gospel might be made known!
• And even if you don’t seem to have many opportunities to preach the gospel—we all have SOME.
• And your faithfulness to Christ in your chain might embolden others to be more vocal in witnessing for Christ.
• Faithfulness to Christ is more important than our freedom. It’s more important than our health. It’s more important than our wealth. It’s more important than family. It’s more important than our career. It’s more important to our comfort. It’s more important than life itself.
• God open our eyes to see and BELIEVE… and to trust in you in the midst of our chains… for your glory.
• Prayer is able to open doors…
» It can open prison doors. It can remove chains.
» It can open doors of opportunity to preach Christ.
» It can open the doors of a sinner’s heart.
» It can open doors of opportunity to serve God.
» Prayer can also enable us to preach and minister while still chained!
» AND, perhaps more importantly, prayer is able to open our eyes to see doors opened of the Lord… where we never saw them before.
» Be not discouraged by chains… the Word of God is not bound… neither is the God of the Word.
Making Known the Mystery of Christ
THE GOSPEL AND THE MYSTERY
A. The Mystery of Christ
1. Paul defined this mystery earlier in the epistle. Let’s review.
2. Mystery defined: The term: μυστήριον (moo-stay-ree-on) – hidden thing, a religious secret, a hidden purpose or counsel.
a. The term does NOT mean something eerie or mysterious… or something hard to understand.
b. It refers to truth which, without divine revelation could NEVER be discovered or known by man.
c. A mystery was a secret hidden away in the mind and heart of God. Hence, it was no secret to God… it was part of His eternal plan. But it was a mystery to everyone else: men and angels!
d. Col. 1:26 – truth which had been hidden from ages and generations, but is now revealed.
• This truth was hidden in the mind and heart of God
• Hidden: apo-krupto (cryptic…)
• Strong’s: to hide; concealing, keeping secret; covered up; not revealed.
• To conceal that it is not made known until revealed.
• The term does not mean that this mystery was revealed in the Old Testament, just hidden… and hard to find… or hard to understand.
• It does not mean that this truth was there in the Scriptures… just hard to discern… and one would have to really dig down deep to discover it in the Old Testament.
• The verses of the New Testament state clearly that it was hidden in the mind of God and NOT revealed in the Old Testament Scripture.
• Paul gives us an INSPIRED definition of mystery:
» Truth which was hidden from ages and from generations! (Col. 1:26)
» Truth which was “not made known to the sons of men.” (Eph. 3:5)
» Even “the mystery which had been hid from ages and from generations…”
» Truth which was kept secret since the world began! (Rom. 16:25)
3. The mystery was hidden, but is now REVEALED.
a. Col. 1:26 – “but is now made manifest to the saints.”
b. Rom. 16:26 – “but now is made manifest and by the scriptures of the prophets…”
c. The mystery is a secret no longer. God has clearly made it known in the Word of God.
d. And God wants ALL MEN to know this marvelous truth!
e. Hence, there is an element of the mystery to be preached to all nations. (Rom. 16:26c)
4. CONTENT OF THE MYSTERY: Basically, the mystery here is previously unrevealed truth about the Church… the Body of Christ…
a. The KEY element to this mystery is the fact that Jews and Gentiles should be fellowheirs, having been united together in one Body… on equal footing…
• Eph. 3:4-6 – Here Paul DEFINES what he means by the mystery revealed to him.
» He defines what “mystery” means. (vs. 5)
» He defines the particulars of this mystery: Jew and Gentile united in one body. (vs. 6)
» This was NOT revealed in the Old Testament. The fact that Gentiles would be saved was revealed.
» But the fact that Jew and Gentile would be united into ONE BODY… the spiritual body of Christ as equals was NEVER revealed in the Old Testament! It was a mystery.
• This was a remarkable truth… the depth of which we cannot fully enter into many centuries later.
» In Paul’s day, Jews and Gentiles were bitter enemies.
» Think of it as Jews and Palestinians getting converted today—and being brothers in Christ!
» Folks from northern and southern Ireland—brothers in Christ!
» Shia and Sunni converted to Christ—and brothers in Christ!
» Rich, poor; red, yellow, black, and white; bond and free—no more earthly distinctions—but all are ONE in Christ…
» This is what the world and the United Nations long for… and dream about, but will never achieve. We HAVE it in Christ!
b. The believer is IN CHRIST.
• It speaks of the believer’s UNION with Christ… in His Body… the church. (Col. 1:18)
• Col. 1:2 – the believers (saints) were IN Christ. That was their position as a Christian.
• Col. 2:10 – we are complete IN Him.
• Eph. 1:4 – This union was known to God before the foundation of the world – for He chose us IN HIM before the foundation of the world!
• Eph. 1:6 – accepted in Him.
• Eph. 1:7 – we have redemption IN Him.
• It speaks of a new relationship to Christ… risen and seated with Him in heavenly places…
• As a branch IN the Vine; a member IN the Body; we are IN Christ… and partake of all He is!
c. Christ in the believer… the hope of glory. (Col. 1:27)
• That is the riches of the glory of this mystery!
• Paul was excited to preach the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles…
• This was thrilling to the apostle Paul—and it SHOULD be thrilling to us too!
• Christ is willing to LIVE IN anyone who will receive Him by faith! He will indwell and enrich the vilest of sinners… IF they will receive Him by faith… repent – change of mind about sin, self, and the Savior.
• That is the RICHES of this mystery! The best part!
• John 14:20 – as Jesus was about to go to His Father, He predicted: “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
5. The gospel message and the mystery:
a. There are some elements of the mystery truth that are for the saints. (Ye in me and I in you).
b. There are also elements of the mystery for the unsaved to hear. The mystery is related to the gospel we preach.
• This element of the mystery is PART OF the gospel presentation.
• The fact that God now receives Gentiles IS what the world needs to hear!
• The fact that Jews and Gentiles are accepted on equal footing in Christ IS what the world needs to hear.
• The fact that in Christ there is no difference between rich, poor, red, yellow, black, and white is a message for the whole world! All are accepted by faith.
• The fact that Christ died for the sins of the whole world IS the message we preach today. Our message is: Jesus died for YOU! The atonement is unlimited!
c. Eph. 2:11-18 – the cross changed everything!
• BOTH Jew and Gentile are reconciled to each other and to God by the cross.
• No more strangers and aliens. That’s good news for the world.
• This is the message Paul preached.
• He preached Christ. He preached His death, burial, and resurrection.
• He also preached the mystery of Christ – that the blood of the cross was shed for the WHOLE world!
6. Rom. 16:25 – The MYSTERY and the gospel we preach today.
a. Paul closes this epistle with a doxology about GOD.
• God is the One who has the power to establish us according to the GOSPEL… which is the preaching about Christ.
• Paul stated that now his gospel preaching is “according to the mystery.”
• The gospel Paul was then preaching was according to the mystery… truths NOT revealed in the Old Testament.
b. I Cor. 15:1-4 – However, the basic FACTS about the gospel were not a mystery. They were revealed in the Old Testament.
• That Christ would die for sin. (Isa. 53:4-6,11) (substitution; His death for sin; our sins laid on Him)
• That Christ would rise from the dead. (Isa. 53:10) He would be made an offering for sin… and THEN He shall prolong His days!
• Psalm 16:10 speaks of His resurrection and Peter even quoted this in Acts 2:24-27.
• Gen. 15:6 – the doctrine of justification by faith was not a mystery. That too was revealed in the Old Testament. Abraham is our New Testament example of justification!
• The fact that Gentiles would be saved was no mystery either. That too was clearly revealed. (Isa. 60:3) The Old Testament predicts many spiritual blessings for gentiles in the future Millennial Kingdom.
• These facts were not a mystery. They were clearly revealed in the Old Testament.
c. But there were NEW elements to the gospel that relate to this mystery… previously unrevealed.
• The fact that Jew and Gentile would be accepted in ONE BODY on equal footing in Christ—that WAS new! That was never revealed in the Old Testament.
• This truth is DISTINCTIVE to this age… the age of the grace of God… the gospel of the grace of God.
d. Rom. 16:26a – The mystery of the gospel is now made manifest. It is no longer a secret.
• God’s will is for this truth to be told all around the world!
• It was revealed to us through the Scriptures… and it is our privilege and responsibility to tell others!
• It is to be made manifest to “all nations.”
• This is in accordance with the commission the Lord gave His apostles just before He ascended into heaven.
• During His earthly ministry, the gospel had to do with the coming earthly kingdom… and the message was restricted to Israel. (Matt. 10:5-7)
» That was a message of national repentance, not individual salvation.
» That message did NOT contain this mystery truth.
» That message did NOT contain the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
» That message was NOT to be preached to all nations. It was restricted to one nation: Israel.
• God has a very different plan for this age. He wants this glorious truth about His Son made known to ALL NATIONS!
• Rom. 16:26c = for the obedience of faith.
» This was why Paul was made an apostle of the Lord in the first place. (Rom. 1:5) – FOR obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.
» Obedience to the faith = obeying the one command: BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ!
» II Thess. 1:8-9 – those who do NOT obey the gospel will be punished with everlasting destruction!
» Becoming obedient to the faith = being saved… (Acts 6:7)
» It refers to obeying the ONE command that God has given all nations: REPENT! Believe and be saved! (Acts 17:30-31).
» God winked at man’s ignorance in Old Testament times. But now, He COMMANDS all men everywhere to respond to the gospel.
» If you are not saved, God wants YOU to obey the gospel by putting your faith in Christ today!
» God has COMMANDED you to be saved! Jesus said you MUST be born again! It is not a suggestion.
» The mystery was revealed in order that this marvelous truth might be made known to ALL nations… SO THAT men from all nations might become obedient to the faith—that they might be gloriously saved!
• Thus, in Rom. 16:26, Paul makes it clear that the gospel ministry he was engaged in included this NEW revelation:
» Jew and Gentile in one Body on equal footing!
» That the cross abolished the Law and thus removed the middle wall of partition that separated Jew and Gentile…
» That Gentiles can be saved and have their hearts purified by faith without the yoke of the Law. (Acts 15:9-10)
» The message is for ALL nations!
» The Risen Savior is the Savior of ALL men…
7. The gospel and the mystery in Eph. 6:19.
a. IN a context similar to that Col. 3, Paul asks the believers to pray for him that he would open his mouth boldly to make known the MYSTERY of the gospel.
b. Paul delighted in preaching the simple facts of the gospel as found in I Cor. 15:1-4 (death, burial, and resurrection).
c. He loved to teach John 3:16!
d. But the gospel doesn’t end there. It just BEGINS there!
e. Preaching the gospel ought to include teaching MANY things about Christ… so that people can make an informed decision.
f. This is why I so appreciate the method New Tribes Missions has recently incorporated in their gospel presentation. They don’t start with an invitation to salvation. They start with Genesis 1:1! And it might take them a year or so of teaching before they ever get the place where they can have an invitation to salvation!
g. It is the American way to press for decisions now… to teach from the Bible for 20 minutes and then expect folks to walk down the aisle… with the last 20 minutes of stories, music, and emotional appeals to get a visible response… so they can put another notch on their belt…
h. It may be the American way, but it isn’t what one finds in the Bible.
i. Paul’s gospel ministry included TEACHING many things about Christ. Many gentiles knew NOTHING about Him!
THE OBLIGATION TO SPEAK
1. Consider the context:
a. Paul exhorted the believers to continue in prayer. (vs. 2)
b. Paul asked them specifically to pray for an OPEN DOOR. (vs. 3)
c. The PURPOSE of the open door was that he might SPEAK the mystery of Christ. (vs. 3)
d. Then he states that he desires to make the mystery of the gospel MANIFEST… (vs. 4)
e. And he states that he OUGHT to speak it.
f. Paul wanted opportunity to speak the mystery of the gospel… he wanted to make it manifest… and he felt OBLIGATED to do so.
2. Vs. 4 – Paul recognized that he OUGHT to speak forth this message.
a. This implies a moral obligation on his part.
b. He expressed this moral obligation often.
c. Eph. 6:20 – he saw himself as an ambassador of Christ and for whom he OUGHT to speak!
d. I Cor. 9:16-17 – obligation as a steward of God.
• Vs. 16 – he could take no glory for preaching the gospel (as if it were up to him). He did so out of NECESSITY! WOE if he didn’t! He believed he would be chastened of the Lord if he didn’t.
• Why? Because he was commissioned of the Lord to preach Christ!
• Vs. 17 – if he preached Christ willingly, he would receive a reward at the judgment seat of Christ. But if he was UNWILLING to do so (with good reason in some places!)… It didn’t matter. A dispensation (stewardship) had been committed to him! He had no choice.
• Titus 1:3 – the gospel ministry was COMMITTED unto him.
• I Tim.1:11 – According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
• Gal. 2:7 – the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me. Paul was a commissioned missionary… evangelist… sent out by God Himself.
• Acts 9:4-6 – Paul saw the risen Christ and Christ gave him his commission. (Cf. vs. 15)
• Rom. 1:14 – “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.” He felt himself to be a DEBTOR to the gentiles… to preach to every creature.
• I Cor. 4:1-2 – “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
e. We can see from this the DEEP sense of responsibility and obligation Paul felt with respect to preaching the mystery of the gospel.
• This obligation was not a burden, but was a high and holy privilege!
• And even in prison Paul was praying for opportunities to preach Christ.
• When Paul saw the Risen Savior, he was never the same again! He was a changed man.
• It motivated and energized him to WANT to preach Christ wherever he was… and whatever the cost.
• His commission of the Lord gave him a deep sense of obligation and moral responsibility to the lost around him.
• This is what he communicates in Col. 4:3-4.
f. We may not all be evangelists or apostles. We have not seen a vision of the risen Savior.
g. BUT… there is a very real sense in which we too ought to share this moral obligation to preach Christ… to preach the mystery of Christ and to make Him manifest!
• We can and we OUGHT to tell others about Christ!
• We have an obligation as one who has experienced the saving grace of God to tell others how they too can experience the saving grace of God.
• II Kings 7:8-9 – You recall the story of the lepers who discovered food… and enjoyed it themselves and began to hoard it… when they began to feel guilty and realized that this news was too good to keep to themselves!
• What a glorious privilege to KNOW Christ.
• What a responsibility to make Him KNOWN.
• Are YOU making Christ known? Do we tell others the good news? Or are we getting good and fat on the meat of God’s Word… and keeping it all to ourselves?
• This day is a day of good tidings. We do not well if we hold our peace.
• Why not take some tracks today and let your neighbor… your co workers… your classmates… your relatives know who Christ is and what He has done!
The Believer’s Witness in the World
Introduction:
1. Paul has been speaking of his heart’s desire to speak the mystery of Christ.
a. Paul had been commissioned of the Lord to preach Christ to the Gentiles… throughout the whole world.
b. He recognized it as a moral obligation to tell others about Christ.
c. He was a steward of the mysteries of God and knew that God would hold him accountable for this stewardship.
d. He was willing to suffer for it. He was in prison for preaching Christ.
2. He wanted the whole world to know Christ as he knew Him.
a. At the time of writing, Paul wasn’t able to walk about the world and preach Christ because he was imprisoned… confined.
b. But he knew that many other believers WERE free to walk about.
c. And he was concerned for their testimony in the world… for that would either open or close doors to preach Christ for them.
d. The next couple of verses speak of Paul’s concern for the believer’s testimony in the world: our walk and words.
Our Walk in the World: Walk in Wisdom
A. The Walk of a Believer
1. Walk – a term used to describe the general course of one’s life; one’s whole manner of life; conduct; behavior; lifestyle.
2. If our message is Christ, our walk ought to be Christlike.
3. Our walk is to be a WITNESS before the world.
4. The exhortation of this passage is that our walk be conducted in WISDOM… spiritually.
B. A Wise Walk – Paul mentions 3 channels for wisdom:
1. Pray for wisdom and spiritual understanding in our walk! (Col. 1:9)
2. Be faithful to the local church – that’s where God’s Word is to be taught in all wisdom for your maturity. (Col. 1:28)
3. Be in the Word that God’s wisdom might sink in (Col. 3:16).
a. In other words, the wisdom needed for a worthy walk comes from three places according to Colossians: praying, reading the Bible, and going to church!
b. Let’s be faithful… the end result is growing in a wise walk!
4. God’s wisdom is not to be stored in the head. It is to be LIVED! (James 3:13, 17)
a. To put wisdom into practical everyday life involves the discernment to evaluate circumstances and situations and make decisions that are wise, sensible, incorporating common sense, spiritual understanding.
b. A wise walk is one in which the believer lives IN the world… yet he remains unspotted by it.
c. He mingles with the lost, yet he remains separated from them morally and spiritually… in his mind and in his heart… his goals, his purposes… He was separate from sinners because He was separated UNTO the Father.
5. Eph. 4:1 – a worthy walk is a walk that consistent with our calling IN Christ…. our heavenly position…
a. Our calling in Christ separates us FROM the world and UNTO Christ.
b. Eph. 1-3 – Paul described our glorious position in Christ.
c. Eph. 4-6 – Paul then turns to speak about our condition… our WALK… how to put our position into practice in everyday life. What could be more practical?
d. Our walk on earth is to be a reflection of our UNION with Christ… our walk is to be governed by our UNION with Christ… empowered by our union with Him… in fact, to live IS Christ!
e. To live is no longer I but Christ. That is the walk of wisdom.
f. Others should see CHRIST in us.
g. Spiritual wisdom and understanding results in a life that manifests Christ’s life through our daily lives… His lowliness, meekness, grace, holiness, etc.
6. Eph. 5:15-16 – a wise walk is a circumspect walk… upright… a good testimony… a godly example of what a Christian ought to be… (shining as lights in the midst of darkness… and yet avoiding fellowship with darkness… vs. 8,11) That’s where wisdom comes in.
7. Perhaps Paul had the words of the Lord Jesus in mind as he sent the disciples out to preach. “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matt. 10:16)
C. A Wise Walk Opens Doors. (in context)
1. A walk of spiritual wisdom is one that is characterized by Christlikeness… a mind saturated with His Word… a heart filled with His love and grace… affections that are truly settled on things above… a heart that is truly satisfied and content with a relationship with our heavenly Father… a life that rejoices in God even if there is no fruit on the vine… a life that is valiant for the truth… a heart that knows God and loves God and it shows.
2. That kind of a life will always open doors of opportunity to tell others about the Savior.
a. I Thess. 4:12 – being honest; hard working; paying your bills on time; generous to others; that’s an important part of out witness.
b. Being a regular guy… not some artificial religious show… holier than thou…
c. Taking care of your property…
d. Well-balanced life—not some crazy wild-eyed zealot always ranting and raving…
e. A balanced and sensible person. That opens doors!
D. A Foolish Walk Closes Doors
1. A walk NOT characterized by spiritual wisdom and Christlikeness.
2. Selfishness: unwilling to sacrifice; too busy in our own affairs to care about the spiritual condition of the lost;
3. Pride: holier than thou.
4. Laziness: A lazy or unreliable worker cannot effectively witness to his boss or co-workers!
5. Contentious spirit: antagonistic; pointing out the errors of their church; mixing religion and politics.
6. Dishonest: if folks in the office know that you are stealing from the company—whatever you say about Christ falls on deaf ears.
7. Imbalance: a gravitation toward that which is a bit kooky, controversial.
8. Offensive: I Cor. 10:31 – do NOT offend Jews or Gentiles!
9. That kind of folly closes doors for us to tell others about Christ.
10. Leviticus 19:14 – Moses warned against putting a stumblingblock before the blind.
a. How cruel and heartless? It’s hard to imagine the malicious intent behind such a thing…
b. These things were written for our learning.
c. We can certainly make application to the spiritual realm.
• The lost are blind spiritually.
• As it was possible for an Israelite to put a stumblingblock in the pathway of a person physically blind, it is also possible for us as believers to put a stumblingblock before a person who is spiritually blind!
• Our lifestyle… our words… our walk CAN be a HINDRANCE to a spiritually blind person coming to Christ!
• “If that’s what a Christian is like—no thank you!”
• When a Christian gets caught stealing… or it is known that he is stealing… or committing adultery… a hypocritical life… it gives the unsaved justification for not coming to Christ… (at least in their minds).
• “Why should I get saved? Those people are a bunch of hypocrites!”
• People say those sorts of things all the time… and if we KNOW this… how malicious is OUR heart… when we indulge ourselves in sinful behavior… knowing that it will be a stumblingblock to those that are spiritually blind…
11. A walk in wisdom will attract some men to Christ. A foolish walk will turn them away!
Our Testimony Before the World: Them that Are Without
A. Them That Are Without
1. This is a New Testament term used several times to describe the person who is lost… unsaved… a non-Christian… an unbeliever…
2. Perhaps the expression came about from some of the metaphors about the church: a flock; a vineyard; a cultivated field; a family.
3. I Cor. 5:12-13 – a distinction between those inside the body of Christ (saved) and those outside the body of Christ (unsaved).
4. Those who are saved are IN the household of God… the family of God. Those who are not saved are OUTSIDE the family of God.
5. And lest this goes to anyone’s head, we are inside the family of God by GRACE and grace alone. It has nothing to do with our worthiness, merit, or works. It is pure grace.
6. I Tim.3:7 – those in leadership positions are to be especially careful to be blameless before those that are without. God wants us to be concerned about our testimony before the lost. A poor testimony will turn people away.
B. The World is Watching
1. Those outside of Christ watch those inside Christ very carefully… and usually quite critically.
a. As saints we should be gracious to one another in dealing with our indiscretions. Love covers a multitude of sins.
b. But don’t expect that from the world. They are watching and will pounce all over the sins and failures of a Christian.
c. That’s why we need to be extra careful about our behavior in the world… because people are watching.
d. People are not only watching, but they are going to base their concept of Christ and the Bible on the basis of what they see in our lives!
e. No wonder we are warned to walk in wisdom!
f. Our PUBLIC life is extremely important.
2. At work: are you lazy? A grump? A complainer? A troublemaker? A gossip? Consistently late? Always trying to get out of doing the work? Do shoddy work? Do you stretch the truth? Cut corners? Work with eye-service? A procrastinator? Unreliable? Finger pointer? Those without Christ are watching to see what effect Christ has in your life… if there is anything to Christianity or not. OR —
3. In the neighborhood: Are you friendly? Helpful? Or are you always complaining? Yelling at the kids? Constantly in a dispute or argument? Do you let your dog loose on your neighbor’s property? Are you a gossip? Do you give your neighbors a hard time? OR —
4. Paul states here that our PUBLIC life is what the world sees… and we need to use great caution and care in our public life…
a. Much of what we do as believers is unseen by the world. (private prayer time; reading the Bible; family devotions; worship at church).
b. Unsaved people in the world judge Christians not by our doctrinal statement, but by our lives.
c. It is not what they hear us say, but what they observe in our lives.
d. The world values and is looking for honesty and integrity… and they are not so interested in whether we are premillennial or not.
5. It is important that our LIVES accurately reflect the message that we preach accurately.
a. We tell folks with our lips that Christ can save you from your sins.
b. Those are good words, but have little impact if we are slugging down a six pack of Bud as we witness… or if our lives reflect that we are still slaves of sin!
c. Illustration: drinking at the bar and witnessing…
C. Our WITNESS in the World (let’s consider some important truths that Pastor Carleton Helgerson loved to remind us of)
1. A witness in court (Num. 35:30)
a. This was one who was an eyewitness to a crime.
b. He testified about what he knows.
c. This person was able to SPEAK forth what he knew…
d. He spoke out of personal knowledge… what he saw or personally experienced.
2. The Heap of Stones (Genesis 31:48).
a. This heap of stones served as a visible sign of the agreement that was made between Jacob and Laban.
b. A mere pile of rocks was a witness – it served as a reminder concerning the covenant that was made between the two men.
c. From that time forth, whenever Jacob and Laban would view the heap, it would cause them to think about the agreement.
3. Acts 14:17 – The rain and fruitful seasons are called a “witness.”
a. They cause us to think about God and His goodness… His faithfulness.
4. Many other things in the Bible are called “witnesses.” A heap of stones, a song, rain, an altar, a stone.
5. We tend to think of a witness for God as what we DO… or where we GO.
a. A witness is a witness without GOING anywhere and without SAYING anything.
b. Its value as a witness is NOT contingent upon what it says or does… contrary to the way we usually think.
c. Its very existence is a TESTIMONY that causes men to think about something… draws attention to a fact…
6. The existence of the nation of Israel was a witness for God among the nations. (Isa. 43:10)
a. Israel’s value as a witness is described in terms that might seem unusual to us.
b. The purpose of God putting His witnesses in the world and God’s goal for that witness is that the witness might KNOW GOD.
• Israel was a witness because they KNEW God… not just about Him. They knew HIM!
• They were a witness because they BELIEVED God. They more than just believed He existed. They lived by faith. They trusted in Him and it was to be evident.
• They were a witness because they UNDERSTOOD God. (They had a growing and deepening understanding of who He is—growing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ.)
• The nation of Israel fulfilled their purpose and function in the world simply by knowing the Lord… and trusting in Him.
• If they knew God in a deep, personal way… and believed and trusted in Him, they were able to fulfill their God given purpose of being His witness.
• And they fulfilled that purpose without going anywhere or saying anything.
• They were God’s witness by what they WERE!
• They were LIGHT in the midst of darkness.
• All God wanted of this people—His witnesses—was to walk humbly with God. “What doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8)
c. And when Israel walked uprightly, their very existence pointed men to God… caused men to think about God.
d. Deut. 4:7 – For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
e. Their existence as a nation caused the other nations to think about the Lord… they drew the attention of nations around them to their God.
f. When Israel knew God and TRUSTED in His power, their witness was powerful and undeniable!
g. Example: David facing Goliath; Israel advancing on Jericho; or facing other nations. When they trusted in the Lord, God’s power and glory were manifested to all onlookers.
h. When they trusted in themselves (or the world or hired enemies to help them), their utter failure testified a lie. Their actions testified that God was NOT ABLE to help them! It led the nations to believe that their God was no different than any other god.
i. When a believer today faces the same trials and tragedies in life that unsaved folks face (we all live in the same sin cursed earth)… and face those trials with poise, dignity, faith, and do not fall apart… but trust God and receive strength and encouragement from Him—that is a persuasive witness that the world cannot deny.
j. That kind of a LIFE (a life of one who knows and trusts in God) has much more of an impact as a witness than passing out a thousand tracts cold turkey to total strangers.
k. Yet in churches which seem to gloat of their involvement in evangelism, we hear folks give a testimony that they gave out 1000 tracts… (Lost their reward; it may have little impact.)
l. It’s good to pass out tracts, but you can pass out 10 million tracts and not fulfill your God given purpose as a witness… unless you KNOW GOD… and trust in Him before the world…
m. But the little old lady who knows God and has a deep abiding relationship with Him… is a much better witness for God in the world than the one who distributes thousands of tracts whose life is shallow and shady.
n. There is such an emphasis in the evangelical world today on what we DO for God… and much IS being done in His name.
o. One is led to believe in those circles that one becomes spiritual by what we DO. (Our works neither save nor sanctify!)
p. It is not unlike the contrast between Mary and Martha. Martha was busy doing many things for the Lord. But Mary was busy getting to KNOW Him…
q. Being busy FOR God is no substitute for getting to KNOW Him.
r. God tells us what HIS concept of a witness is: one who knows and trusts Him.
s. This ought to be our EMPHASIS… and in fact, that IS the emphasis in the epistles… where God tells the church what they ought to BE.
t. Paul’s burning desire was to KNOW CHRIST and the power of the resurrection in his life. He wanted to be a good witness for Christ in the world.
u. And because Paul KNEW Christ… he also desired to make Him KNOWN… to manifest His LIFE.
• It is from that deep inner abiding RELATIONSHIP to Christ that real doors of opportunity to preach Christ are opened.
7. Acts 1:8 – Ye shall be WITNESS unto Me.
a. Israel failed as God’s witness in the Old Testament.
b. Christ sent His disciples out into the world—to the uttermost parts of it—to BE HIS WITNESS in the world.
c. Christ sent His disciples out to BE what Israel was intended to BE: God’s witness in the world.
d. The dispensation soon changed… the message was altered for the new age ahead… God’s program changed, Israel was put on the shelf… and the church became God’s witness in the world.
e. But the concept of a WITNESS did not change.
f. We are to BE what God intended Israel to BE… but they failed.
g. We are to BE witnesses by knowing Christ… and growing in a deeper understanding of who He is. (Col. 1:9 – pray to be “FILLED with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding!”)
h. The church is NOT like Israel in the sense that there is not just one church in one location surrounded by Gentiles… but in this age, God’s plan is for churches to be planted in ALL nations… as WITNESSES in MANY geographical locations.
i. A church is faithful to our commission IF we know God… and trust in Him… and have a deep, growing, abiding relationship TO Him.
j. And FROM that relationship should stem ministry FOR God. (Not the other way around!)
k. Notice the careful wording in Acts 1:8: it does not say “ye shall witness for Me unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” It says “ye shall BE witnesses unto Me unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”
l. Again, the emphasis is on what we ARE not what we say or what we do.
m. Doing and speaking FOR God does not make us an effective witness. But KNOWING God, possessing a deep UNDERSTANDING of who God is, and TRUSTING in Him does!
n. The last thing we want to do is to discourage folks from verbally witnessing for Christ.
o. But in all our speaking, let’s not forget what the Bible says… where God’s emphasis is: on what we ARE and who we KNOW. That is our value to God as His witness.
8. I Pet. 3:15 – it is our LIFE that functions as a witness for God.
a. Sanctify the Lord God in your heart: (Col: the preeminence of Christ in our lives)
b. The life that truly has GOD as its center… the one whose goal in life it is to KNOW Christ and to GROW in Christ… who is willing to suffer for Christ… and has a deepening spiritual UNDERSTANDING of Him… and who TRUSTS in Him… that person will draw attention to God.
c. That person is a WITNESS by their life… it is what they ARE… without opening their mouths… without going to a foreign field… that person is an effective witness for God.
• That life is like LIGHT… that shines in the darkness.
• Men will see the light of God in you. Some will HATE the light. But others will be attracted to it.
• As they BEHOLD your life, they will be forced to acknowledge God and give Him glory for your life.
• It is a sweet savor… a fragrant odor of Christ… that causes people to “smell” Him.
• We are living epistles known and read of all men who observe us. Men who have no interest in reading the Bible or studying theology… will watch us.
d. And there will be some living in darkness who will be curious about the light they see in us… attracted by the odor of Christ… curious about our lives… what makes us tick…
• How come your daughter was killed in an accident and you haven’t blamed God?
• How come you suffer so from that awful disease and have not grown bitter against God?
• How come you got laid off and you’re not grumbling about the boss?
• How come your kids are so respectful?
e. They aren’t interested in our theology. But they are interested in our lives! What we ARE… not what we say… or how many religious works we do… but what kind of people we ARE.
f. Peter implies that when that IS the case… when our lives are a witness because we KNOW GOD… others will ask us about it.
g. And notice that the conversation Peter envisions here is one prompted by the unbeliever… and what the believer says is an ANSWER (a defense; a response).
h. The believer’s life… like salt… made the unsaved neighbor thirsty… curious… caused him to think about God…
9. Apart from a godly LIFE where Christ has the preeminence… a life that KNOWS God in a saving way, BELIEVES Him in everyday life, and has a deepening spiritual UNDERSTANDING of who He is… what we say falls on deaf ears… all of our efforts in witness and ministering are but tinkling brass and sounding cymbals.
10. This is precisely Paul’s point in Col. 4:5.
a. A wise walk toward them that are without Christ… is a LIFE… a lifestyle… characterized by spiritual wisdom and understanding.
b. A wise walk before the lost is a life lived in their presence… before their eyes… that manifests that we know God… and that we walk in His ways… and that we trust Him… and have a deep relationship TO Him.
c. That’s a worthy walk… a walk that is aware of our heavenly position IN Christ… a walk that is GROWING in the knowledge of that glorious heavenly position… and a life that draws near to Christ daily in sweet communion within the veil.
d. Paul exhorts us all to walk in WISDOM toward them that are without… toward the lost.
• These words are in perfect harmony with Moses, Isaiah, and Jesus.
• A witness fulfills its function as a witness for God by KNOWING God in a saving way… (a regenerated life) by BELEIVING Him… (a walk of faith)… and by spiritual UNDERSTANDING (a deep abiding relationship to God… a deepening understanding of who He is!)
• Let’s make sure that we ARE a witness before we start witnessing!
• Next week we will look at SPEAKING (vs. 6). Here Paul speaks of the kind of LIFE out of which speaking up for Christ arises…
• So pray for that kind of walk… saturate your mind in the Scriptures that God’s wisdom would sink in and transform your walk… sanctify the Lord God in your heart… that you might attract others to the Savior…
• If we (like Mary—as opposed to Martha) concentrate on knowing Jesus Christ… and growing in our knowledge of Him and deepening in our relationship to Him… then we will be better suited to open our mouths FOR Him.
Redeeming the Time
The Terms Used
A. Two Words for Time
1. (Chrónos) – This word perceives time quantitatively as a period measured by the succession of events and denotes the passing of moments.
a. This speaks of time chronologically.
b. It speaks of moments in succession… the quantity of time.
2. (καιρος),
a. This term speaks not so much about the quantity of time but about the quality of time… or the character of the time… as in a “time of harvest” or a “time of refreshing” or a “time of judgment.”
b. “A strategic point of time.” (an opportune season)
c. Zodhiates: It is not merely as a succession of minutes, which is chrónos, but time as a period of opportunity.
d. There is really no English equivalent to the word kairós.
e. Kairós is the term Paul uses in Col. 4:5: a season; an opportunity; an epoch; an age; a particular KIND of time period…
B. Redeem Defined
1. Defined: ἐξαγοράζω
a. Strong’s: to buy up, to buy up for one’s self, for one’s use.
b. It is from the word agora (market place) (agoraphobia!)
c. As a verb agora means to buy; to purchase in the marketplace.
d. EXagorazo = to buy and take OUT OF the marketplace.
e. It is the term used of Christ redeeming us from the marketplace of sin… and delivering us from bondage to sin.
f. The term emphasizes taking it out of the marketplace; taking it home; using it up.
g. Thus, the term is a bit more intense than agorazo (to buy; to redeem).
2. The concept of redeeming time.
a. The phrase speaks of buying up opportunities that time affords us.
b. It speaks of buying up time with a certain level of intensity.
c. It speaks of redeeming, rescuing, or delivering time from being wasted… rescuing time…
d. It speaks of taking advantage of the seasons of life… of opportunities that various seasons provide…
e. A perfect example of the meaning of these two terms would be found in the growing season for crops.
• There is a time to plant and a time to reap.
• If one does not redeem the time (misses out on the season to plant)… it is too late after the season is past.
• If you wait until August to plant your broccoli, you are too late. The season is over and you missed the planting season for cold crops.
• If you take advantage of the planting season and grow your crops… then there is another season: harvest time.
• If you are busy doing this and that during harvest season… and try to harvest in December, you missed the appointed time. The season’s over and you missed it.
• You only get one planting season and one harvest season per year around here. If you don’t redeem the time… take advantage of the opportunity… then it’s too late.
• To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.
• Those seasons are to be snatched up… redeemed…
• As farmers are to redeem the time by taking advantage of the growing and harvest seasons… so we too are urged to redeem the time… the age in which we live.
• Use it or lose it!
Redeeming the Time: A Wise Walk
1. A Time to Walk in Wisdom Before the World (4:5)
a. Those that are without: the unsaved all around us.
b. They are WATCHING to see how we walk. They know of our profession of faith.
c. They are watching to see what kind of an effect Christ has on our lives. Is there anything to Christianity?
d. They want to know if Christianity really WORKS! Can it transform a life? Can Christ give peace and contentment to the heart, or is it just a religious show?
2. Eph. 5:16 – Here Paul gives us one REASON to use our time wisely: because the days are EVIL!
a. Note the context: (vs. 14-16)
• Wake up! Don’t walk around groggy… don’t sleep walk. Wake up and be alert to opportunities all around you!
• Redeem the time… make the best use of your time.
• It would be foolish to walk about and IGNORE the opportunities to speak forth for Christ…
• It would be foolish to be so sleepy that we don’t SEE the open doors all around us.
• That is our nature: to be sleepy spiritually.
• I John 5:19 – we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness (lies in the arms of the wicked One)—being lulled to sleep spiritually. And we too can be lulled to sleep by our adversary.
• Wake up… be alert to opportunities… it’s hard to see an open door with your eyes closed!
b. Redeem the Time Because the Days are Evil (vs. 16)
• There is a danger in living in the world and mingling with the unsaved.
• We are COMMANDED to go into the world and preach to the lost… but as we do, we are to beware of the dangers.
• The world is alluring… full of corruption and defiling.
• We are to go into the world but to remain unspotted by it.
• When we mingle with the unsaved and become friends, there is always the danger that instead of us winning them, they will win us to their ways…
• Eph. 5:8-16 – be careful how you walk in a world of spiritual darkness.
• We can become conformed to the world in an attempt to win the world to Christ.
• We are not to stay away from people in the world because there is danger involved.
• But we are to tread carefully… to be watchful… vigilant… take heed lest we fall.
• Wake up to the dangers and to the opportunities that are all around us in the world.
• The Ephesians passage seems to emphasize the dangers in the world, while the Colossians passage emphasizes the opportunities in the world.
• Together we have a well rounded picture. Wake up and be aware of both!
• Don’t let the dangers keep you away from the world in a secluded Christian cloister… and don’t allow the opportunities in the world to cause you to become oblivious to the dangers.
• The days are evil… but opportunity to manifest Christ abound! Where sin doth abound, grace doth much MORE abound! While darkness can be dangerous, it is also an opportunity to SHINE forth and to SHOW forth the praises of Him who hath called you…
3. II Cor. 3:2 – as believers, we are known and read of all men.
a. God has placed believers in the world to manifest His Son.
b. We are His representatives, ambassadors, witnesses, and epistles!
c. Wherever a believer is, in time, it becomes known that he IS a believer… and people begin quietly watching.
d. Whether it is at school, in the neighborhood, in the office, at the factory…
e. They might notice you pray before your meal. They might see you reading the Bible at break time. Maybe you gave them a gospel tract… or hear from someone else that you gave them a tract. Perhaps you mentioned going to church… or they notice you didn’t take a drink at the business meeting.
f. A believer walking with God will be noticed sooner or later.
g. Sooner or later there will be a differentiation between light and darkness. And once they know you are a believer… they will watch you and READ you… like a book.
h. They may never open a Bible, but they will read you.
i. That might make us feel a bit intimidated. It is quite a responsibility! Our lives are an open book.
j. But there is another way to look at this. It is also an OPPORTUNITY!
k. It is an opportunity to make Christ known by the way we LIVE!
l. II Cor. 3:3 – A living epistle!
• An epistle of Christ = a book about our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!
• Manifestly declared = this letter is not hidden. It is made manifest to all… the world is watching… and we make Christ manifest to them.
• Ministered by us – Paul and the apostles preached the gospel to the Corinthians and they were saved. Hence, they became living epistles through the work of the apostles… and thus they were associated with the apostles and with Christ.
• Written not with ink but with the Spirit of God – believers are like a letter… instead of men looking at the ink on a page… when they see us… they should see the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
• Not on tables of stone but on the fleshy tables of the heart—this letter is not like the Ten Commandments—etched in stone. It is a living letter… etched in our softened hearts… (Jer. 31:33 – the effects of the spiritual blessings of the New Covenant.)
• Before salvation, sin was etched in our hearts. Now, in our regenerated, new heart—the work of the Holy Spirit is etched… and our lives are transformed.
• A life transformed through regeneration sends forth a message… and that message is known and read of all men.
• As we allow the life of Christ to be manifest through our daily lives, our purpose as a witness—as a living epistle is being accomplished … regardless of the response of men.
• Some will respond to the light… and others will reject the light… but they will be without excuse.
4. Just by LIVING the Christian life under the power of the Holy Spirit, we are fulfilling our purpose for being here as a Christian: to be a living epistle for Christ.
a. The Lord has strategically placed us where He wants us… whether it is on the mission field of New Zealand, the Congo, or whether the Lord has placed you at Raytheon in Tewksbury… or Lawrence General Hospital!
b. As was the case with the Corinthians, every believer is a living epistle… and our lives manifestly declare LIGHT to the world of darkness all about us.
5. Thus, because of what we ARE in Christ… because of the work GOD did in us… we have the opportunity to manifest the indwelling life of Christ to those all around us.
a. We are to REDEEM those opportunities to make Christ known!
b. The fact that men are watching is an opportunity! Take advantage of it!
c. If you work at Raytheon or Lawrence General, your regular shift is a SEASON of opportunity for you to make Christ known…
d. And it is not just by passing out tracts… but by BEING a witness for Christ in that place.
e. By doing a good job; by being on time; by keeping your word; by being kind and gracious; and in a 1000 other ways!
f. BECAUSE people are watching, use that season and take advantage of that to manifest Christ… His love, grace, holiness, purity, kindness, righteousness…
g. Just by living a Spirit filled life… you are functioning as a living epistle, known and read of all men… and fulfilling God’s purpose for your life.
h. And the opportunity to manifest Christ through our lives will usually open doors… and create opportunities to SPEAK to others about the Lord too!
6. We REDEEM those opportunities BY walking in WISDOM.
a. A worthy walk… a wise walk… a Christlike walk will provide ample opportunities to speak to others about Christ.
b. When the door opens… walk through it! Redeem that opportunity!
c. Opportunities WILL arise if we walk in wisdom, with tactfulness, and are sensitive to the lost… being caring and showing the love of Christ.
d. We waste opportunity to manifest Christ by a walk that LACKS wisdom.
e. Men are reading us like an open book… and that is an opportunity for them to read about how Christ can transform a life…
f. But what are they learning about Christ if we are NOT walking in wisdom?
• If they see us being dishonest… lying… stretching the truth… being selfish… uncaring… and disrespectful… obnoxious about our faith… then we are wasting an opportunity to manifest Christ.
• We are manifesting the FLESH through our lives… when we COULD have been manifesting Christlike qualities produced by the Holy Spirit through our yielded members.
7. By walking in wisdom, we can “buy up” (redeem) every SEASON of life. There are various seasons in life.
a. In the season of youth
• As a young person, you have access to other young people that us older folks do NOT have.
• The students in your class… the kids that hang around your street… the kids on your baseball or soccer team… you have a unique opportunity to be a witness before them.
• Walk in wisdom! Don’t give them cause to mock Christianity by foolish behavior. Be an example before them. They are watching.
• Who knows? You might be able to invite them out to a teen event at church… and introduce them to the gospel.
• You have a unique opportunity to walk in wisdom before a group of young people and you have opportunity to lead them to Christ.
• Redeem that season of your life. Tell others about how Christ saved you…
• How many opportunities have you had to give God the glory before them… but you kept silent?
• How many opportunities have you had to invite them to a church function to hear the gospel… but you were silent?
• Time wasted is gone. There is no sense in crying over spilt milk. But you CAN take advantage of opportunities God gives you THIS week!
b. In the season of child rearing
• Some folks here are in the season of life where you are bringing up children.
• Redeem the time! It goes by fast and they grow up fast… and before you know it they’re gone!
• This is the time for bringing them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.
• This is the time to teach them by our words and by our lives what is really important in life.
• This is the time to teach them what God is doing in the world in this age: manifesting His Son through His Body… the Local Church.
• This is the time to point those young ones to Christ… and to bring them up to be WITNESSES in the world… children that walk in wisdom toward them that are without.
• All that means spending time WITH them. This is the season of life to dedicate to your children… the few years while they are with you…
• Your child’s LIFE is more important than a BMW.
• Don’t waste God’s time on things that don’t matter.
• Train them to be witnesses for Christ… in the classroom… on the baseball team… in the neighborhood…
• And, since you are in the season of child training… you also have opportunities to minister to other families going through the same season of life.
• What a fantastic opportunity that is!
• Just having kids in the neighborhood opens doors to witness for Christ!
• You get to meet people… on their teams… at PTA meetings…
• And many of those parents haven’t the foggiest how to bring up children.
• If you do what the Bible says (bring them up in the nurture of the Lord)… that will open doors for you to tell others about Christ.
• They will want to know about your kids… (How come you son did what you told him to without yelling?)
• What an opportunity to tell him about how to teach your son the Bible… and bring him to church… and how he goes to a teen group…
• That season of your life opens doors for you to minister the gospel to others in that same season of life…
• Redeem the time… take advantage of that season of life… and the opportunities it opens up for you to make Christ known!
c. In the season of old age.
• This time of life also opens up doors for witnessing that are not open to younger folks.
• Sometimes older, unsaved folks are not really interested in listening to what some young whippersnapper has to say…
• But they might listen to someone their own age… with years of experience under their belt… who have weathered many storms… and still have a gracious spirit about them.
d. And there will be seasons of infirmity.
• This too opens up doors of opportunity to be a witness before a whole array of people…
• Doctors, nurses, and relatives you otherwise never see.
e. The author of this epistle was going through a unique season of life: as an inmate in prison!
• Paul used that time wisely.
• He made Christ known to all those whose paths crossed his in prison.
• All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household. (Phil. 4:22)
• The prison chains limited his outreach in some ways, but it did not close the door. In fact, it OPENED the doors for the gospel to penetrate into places it never would have otherwise traveled!
• Every season of life brings with it unique opportunities to make Christ known…
• And it is Christ the LORD who is seated upon His throne… sovereignly and providentially placing each member of His Body in a strategic location and surrounded by a unique set of circumstances… to extend His witness to reach those He seeks to draw to Himself.
• Redeem the time… take advantage of those seasons…
f. Each season in life comes and goes… like the time to sow and the time to harvest. And once it’s gone, it’s gone.
g. Buy up the time… and use it for the glory of God.
Illustration: imagine if a wealthy man offered you $1440 to spend every day. You were not allowed to save it, and what you did not spend, you lost. What a waste not to spend it! You could spend on yourself… or to help others… or for missionary work… anything! Well God gives every one of us 1440 minutes every day—to be used to manifest Christ for His glory. Buy up the moments!
Redeeming the Time: A Wise Talk
1. A time to speak the Mystery of Christ (4:3-4)
a. Twice Paul mentions his desire to SPEAK the mystery of Christ.
b. Just LIVING the life is not enough.
c. It is essential. It is vital and indispensable, but it is not enough.
d. Nobody ever got saved merely by WATCHING a Christian, without hearing the gospel message.
e. The message is also vital and indispensable.
2. BOTH (life and message) are ideal.
a. Just living the Christian life before the world—the life alone—cannot save anyone. They need to hear the gospel message too.
b. The message all by itself CAN save… but is usually ignored. The devil sees to it that there are 10,000 messages out there to confuse the average person. Very few people get saved by finding a tract on the ground and reading it all by themselves.
c. An accurate message coming from a life that belies the message often does more damage than good.
d. But when the true gospel message is delivered personally through a life transformed BY that message… where the hearer hears the message and SEES its results in a life… that is a powerful combination.
3. Not only should we buy up opportunities to BE a witness before the world, but we should also buy up opportunities to WITNESS verbally before the lost.
4. In a sense, time IS an opportunity to witness for Christ.
a. II Pet. 3:6-8- God has a plan to bring judgment upon this world one day. What seems like a long time to us is nothing to God. His judgment is coming and it is sure—even if (to men) much TIME intervening makes it seems like it will never come. It WILL come one day.
b. II Pet. 3:9 – the fact that much time has passed since the Lord intervened in history and brought judgment should not be misinterpreted. It does NOT mean He is slack concerning His promise of judgment. Rather, it means that presently He is being longsuffering… because God is not willing that ANY should perish.
c. Thus TIME in this age affords men with opportunities to repent and be saved!
d. II Pet. 3:15 – the longsuffering of God (the postponement of the inevitable judgment) is EQUAL to salvation!
e. This is God’s purpose for this age… TIME is given to men to be saved from the sure judgment.
f. TIME unfolds as an expression of the longsuffering of God.
g. TIME is described as the dispensation of the GRACE of God… a time in which God’s grace is offered to the whole world.
h. II Pet. 3:10 – But this day of grace will end one day. God’s longsuffering will come to an end one day… and the day of the LORD’s judgments will begin.
i. Then it will be too late. The door of opportunity to be saved will end one day…
j. II Thess. 1:7-9 – in that day, in the day of Christ’s second coming there will be no more time for repentance, but those who have rejected His grace will be judged and suffer everlasting destruction and condemnation.
k. Time is salvation for the lost… and that time is fleeting.
l. Time is opportunity for us… redeem it! Buy it up!
A Gracious Witness
CONTEXT: Our Gospel Witness
A. Speaking the Mystery of Christ
1. In Colossians 4:3-4 Paul speaks about his desire for believers to pray for him to have OPPORTUNITY to speak the MYSTERY of Christ.
a. Eph. 6:19 – preaching the mystery of the gospel.
b. This mystery is the previously unrevealed truth that during the present time frame, God is building His Body… the Church…. Jew and Gentile on equal footing in Christ.
c. This church consists of born again people… who are IN Christ positionally (in the body) and Christ is in them (indwelling).
d. Eph. 3:2-3 – Paul explains the dispensation of the grace of God…
• This stewardship was given to Paul, and we LIVE in an age during which the mystery of Christ has been revealed.
• This mystery is NOT to be kept a mystery any more. It has now been REVEALED.
• God wants the whole world to know!
• This is the age in God’s program to make KNOWN the grace of God.
e. The dispensation of the grace of God will END one day…
• And when it ends, it will be followed by a period of unprecedented judgment… the Tribulation Period… the time of Jacob’s trouble.
• Hence, there is the need for us today to let people know that they are on their way to Hell apart from faith in Christ!
• It is a most serious and sobering matter.
• Hence, the command in Col. 4:5 – to REDEEM the time… buy up opportunities we have today to make known what God is doing in the world today!
f. John 9:4-5 – Jesus knew that He had only a limited time on earth during His earthly ministry.
• He saw that time as opportunity to WORK… to preach… to shine forth as light… but He also acknowledged that that time would come to an end…
• He said, “The night is coming when no man can work.”
g. Our time is quite limited too.
• This is the age of grace… a time when God expects His Body… the church… to LIVE out a life manifesting the indwelling Christ…
• And God expects us to SPEAK forth this wonderful mystery too… as we OUGHT to speak!
• Time today from God’s perspective means opportunity to MANIFEST the indwelling Christ in our daily lives…
• AND that will attract some men to the light… and cause them to be curious and ask us a reason of the hope that lies in us.
h. As we walk in wisdom and LIVE the Christian life out in the world—doors will open… and when the door is opened, we OUGHT to speak!
• It is our privilege AND responsibility to manifest Christ in the time God gives us on earth…
• As we stay close to Christ… the indwelling LIFE of Christ our Savior is manifest to those around us…
• God will give us plenty of opportunity to let others know the good news of the mystery of Christ…
• And we OUGHT to speak… a moral obligation.
B. Walking in Wisdom (vs. 5)
1. As we walk in wisdom we function as His WITNESSES before those without Christ…
a. We haven’t all been called to the foreign mission field. But we have all been called into the “fellowship of His dear Son.”
b. And from that life of communion with the Lord doors will open for us to speak forth the glorious message: the gospel of God’s grace!
2. Our task is to draw near to Christ… a life that overflows with HIM… His grace, His holiness, His truth, His compassion for the lost.
a. As we draw near to Him… and LOVE the Lord with all our heart… opportunities will ABOUND to tell others.
b. And when we speak forth the gospel of God’s grace, it will come forth in the power of the Holy Spirit!
c. A wise walk will be a life that redeems the time and takes advantage of opportunities to speak up for Christ…
d. As God’s witnesses upon earth, BOTH are important parts of our testimony before the Lord: our walk and our talk.
e. We OUGHT to speak and tell others about Christ.
f. We also OUGHT to walk in wisdom… wise and sensible.
3. It is in this context that Paul mentions gracious speech in vs. 6.
a. Of course this passage taken by itself can be applied in LOTS of various ways.
b. Gracious speech is always a good ides.
c. But in Colossians 4:6, the context is our testimony in the world as ambassadors for Christ…
• We say that because Paul has been speaking about our walk and our talk with respect to telling others about Christ.
• He mentions “them that are without” (vs. 5)
• He mentions “answering every man.” (vs. 6)
Use Gracious Words
1. In a context of sharing the gospel, Paul says that our words are to be characterized by GRACE.
a. We need to be careful about our walk before the unsaved.
b. We also need to be careful about our talk before them.
c. Our walk should be wise; our talk should be gracious.
2. Grace defined:
a. Zodhiates: unearned and unmerited favor.
b. It is good will or a favor done without expecting anything in return; finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver.
c. Eph. 2:8-9 – it is the BASIS upon which God saves sinners like us!
3. Acts 20:24 – Paul refers to the gospel as the “gospel of the grace of God.”
a. Gospel OF the grace of God: grace in the genitive case
• Genitive describes or defines here…
• The gospel is described as a “grace kind of good news.”
• The gospel we preach is characterized by the grace of God.
• Grace is seen here as the distinguishing feature of the gospel.
b. The gospel MESSAGE is a message ABOUT God’s grace.
• It is not the gospel of the judgment of God.
• It is not the gospel of the wrath of God.
• It is the gospel of the GRACE of God.
• It is a message of good news for guilty sinners: GRACE is available through faith!
• The gospel highlights the marvelous grace of God.
c. Of course the gospel of God’s grace INCLUDES and will never OMIT the fact of sin and condemnation.
• Unbelievers NEED to hear that…
• It is an integral part of the message.
• If men are unaware of what God thinks of sin and what condemnation lies ahead, they see no need to get saved. Saved from what?
• But the fact that men are sinners on their way to Hell is NOT good news.
• It is a necessary precursor to the good news.
• The good news is that God’s grace is sufficient to deal with our all of our sin and deliver us from eternal condemnation! That’s good news indeed!
d. The gospel of God’s grace is good news to guilty sinners (like us) who are worthy of eternal judgment… but to whom God offers grace, mercy, forgiveness, and eternal life as a gift through faith.
4. Romans 1:16-17 – The gospel reveals the JUSTICE of God.
a. Some might object: the gospel isn’t just about God’s grace. It’s also about His justice!
b. Certainly Paul says that in this passage.
c. The gospel REVEALS God’s justice… in that justice demands that the soul that sinneth, it shall die!
d. The gospel of God’s grace never VIOLATES God’s justice. God is BOTH just and gracious… and so is the gospel message.
e. God’s justice demanded that sin be paid for in full… and Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world.
f. God’s justice was meted out on His Beloved Son. Christ died FOR us… in our place… as our Sin Substitute…
g. Rom. 8:32 – God spared not His Son! The full penalty for sin that divine justice demanded fell upon Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus paid it all!
h. The fact that God spared not His Son reveals the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God in the gospel message.
i. But that does not change the character of the gospel as that of GRACE.
j. The gospel of God’s grace is good news for sinners like us.
• The infinite weight of God’s wrath fell upon the Lord Jesus on the cross… and He BORE it for us. That is good news of grace.
• God’s justice was eternally satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. (He is the propitiation for our sins and for the sins of the whole world.)
• While God’s justice was meted out on His Son, God’s grace is extended to us!
• While God’s wrath fell upon His Son, God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness is extended to us.
k. So while the gospel REVEALS righteousness… it is CHARACTERIZED by grace.
• Justice and divine wrath upon Christ… (revealed)
• Infinite grace extended to sinners…
• This was unthinkable agony for Christ… but it is good news for us… from our perspective.
• The gospel is all about God’s grace to sinners like you and like me.
5. Everything about the gospel is gracious!
a. Our salvation is on the basis of God’s grace.
b. We are the recipients of God’s grace.
c. The gospel magnifies God’s grace.
d. Once saved we become trophies of God’s grace.
e. The message is characterized by God’s grace to sinners.
f. We are to preach the gospel of God’s grace.
g. With this as a backdrop, let’s consider the exhortation in Col. 4:6.
6. God has chosen to communicate the message of His grace through individuals who have been transformed by His grace!
a. I Cor. 15:9-10 – Paul, the least of the apostles!
• He persecuted Christians and had them killed.
• He watched approvingly as Stephen was stoned.
• Then one day he was introduced to Jesus Christ… who was full of grace and truth… and was saved by grace… and transformed by grace.
• He acknowledges here it that it was because of God’s grace that he is what he is… an apostle and a preacher.
• He acknowledges it was God’s grace that was bestowed upon him… he deserved God’s wrath!
• He also acknowledges that whatever labor he is engaged in, it is God’s grace working in and through him AS he preached the gospel.
b. God has not appointed angels to preach the gospel of grace.
• Angels have not experienced the grace of God as we have!
• Angels know of God’s other attributes… (love; holiness; etc.) but have never been redeemed or experienced His grace.
• They are not as fit to communicate this truth as we are.
• God has appointed US… sinners saved by grace… to communicate this marvelous message to others sinners.
c. When Paul met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus and experienced His grace, that grace gripped his heart in such a way that he was never the same again!
• He went about the world preaching that grace to others!
• He wanted the whole world to know that God is extending grace to them too! (Hence, Col. 4!)
• Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them that the Word of God should dwell in their hearts and that they should minister and sing with GRACE in the heart. (Col.3:16)
• The author of Hebrews states that our hearts should be established in grace.
• Grace ought to be IN the heart of one who has been saved by grace.
7. Col. 4:6 – The gospel of God’s grace is to be communicated by one whose heart has been transformed by grace, and that glorious message is to be embedded in words of grace.
a. It is to be communicated in a gracious spirit.
b. As God’s witnesses… as the ambassadors for Christ… we REPRESENT the message we communicate!
c. The message that “God’s grace can save you and transform your life” is to be communicated by a life that has been transformed by that very same grace!
d. If our hearts have been truly transformed by grace, then our speech will be gracious in communicating that message.
e. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
f. If God’s grace isn’t gripping our hearts… then the words we say might be accurate, but the message communicated by our lives might belie the words we speak…
8. It is possible to speak forth accurate information about the gospel, but to do so without one ounce of grace!
a. In Eph. 4:15, Paul tells us to speak the truth in LOVE.
b. In Col. 4:6, he tells us to preach the gospel in GRACE.
c. The fact that we need to be exhorted to do so indicates that we don’t always do it!
d. Sometimes we speak truth and lack love.
e. Sometimes we preach the gospel and do so without gracious words or a gracious spirit.
f. And that undermines the message we are trying to communicate!
g. If we come across to the person with a pompous, arrogant, holier than thou attitude, why should he respond to the message? (If that’s what the gospel produces, no thanks!)
h. In preaching the gospel, be careful with your pronouns.
• It might be accurate to say, “You’re a sinner.” But it’s more gracious to say, “We are all sinners.”
• It might be accurate to say, “Apart from Christ, you are going to hell.” But it’s more gracious to say, “Apart from Christ, we are all going to hell!”
i. We ought to put ourselves on the same level as they are… (not condescendingly) because we are no better!
• It might be accurate to refer to yourself as a saint and to them as a sinner… but it’s not very gracious. You are going to come across as arrogant…
• They are much more likely to hear what we have to say if we put ourselves on the same ground as they are… one sinner saved by grace talking to another sinner!
• One man put presenting the gospel this way: one hungry beggar telling another hungry beggar where the bread is!
• We are not just communicating the message of God’s grace with words, we are communicating a message in the WAY we present the truth.
9. Speaking the gospel of God’s grace is to be conducted in the power of the Holy Spirit… manifesting the LIFE of Christ.
a. When the Spirit is in control, our hearts WILL be filled with grace…
b. The character of the indwelling Christ Himself will be manifested through us. (His love for the sinner… His holiness… His truth… His compassion.)
c. A parrot can say words. But a parrot can’t communicate genuine compassion… an interest in the sinner’s life… a concern for his eternal destiny… a love for him…
d. That’s why God didn’t chose to send the gospel out by parrots or by angels… but by Spirit filled believers in whom Christ lives… sinners saved by grace.
e. Therefore we can speak forth the truth of the gospel, and do so with a genuine heart for the sinner!
f. We are to communicate the gospel with our whole being… intellect, emotion, and will… not just cold hard facts.
g. Christ’s love and compassion for him manifested through YOU… through your gracious words… your compassion… your concern… for Christ lives in us!
h. It adds more than just a personal touch. It adds a DIVINE touch!
i. II Cor. 5:20 – we are ambassadors for Christ…
• And when we speak as His ambassador, GOD is beseeching the sinner to be saved through us!
• It is God working in us to reach them!
• And when God speaks to a sinner, it is with compassion… concern… love… urgency… not willing that any should perish… a heart to see him saved!
• We are to be that yielded vessel… through which God speaks to the hearts of sinners… convicting them of sin… and convincing them to believe on Christ.
• God seeks to work through clean, yielded, compassionate, warm, living vessels… Christlike vessels…
j. Hence, our words are to be Christlike when presenting the gospel.
k. Luke 4:20-22 – When Jesus preached in the synagogue in Nazareth, the people wondered at “the gracious words” which proceeded out of His mouth.
Season with Salt
1. Seasoned defined: To prepare, arrange, with respect to food; to season, make savory.
2. Our speech (lit = logos = words) are to be seasoned… prepared… arranged properly.
a. In other words, we are to be careful about the words we choose…
b. When a woman prepares a savory meal for a guest, she puts a lot of work into making it taste right… adding just the seasoning… in just the right amount. She is also careful about the presentation… fixing up the table… making sure the dishes and silverware are shiny clean…
c. We should put the same effort into presenting the gospel.
d. We should carefully ARRANGE our words… and season the things we say… to make it as palatable as possible to the hearer.
e. One man put it this way: We are to be a witness, not a judge or a prosecuting attorney. We are to be witnesses of His grace… speaking forth the gospel of God’s grace in the dispensation of the grace of God… as living examples of His grace. Our witness is the whole package!
3. Speaking the gospel with words that have been SEASONED does NOT mean that we water down the message… or alter the message in any way.
a. Col. 4:6 is not talking about the message, but the MANNER in which it is communicated.
b. There is an offence to the gospel message… and there is no way to present the gospel and avoid that offence.
c. The message of the cross IS offensive to proud sinners.
d. Although the message itself is offensive, WE should not be offensive in the way we present the truth!
e. If people are offended, let them be offended by the message, not the messenger.
f. A host may prepare a meal of chicken and broccoli. Some people don’t like that and no matter how much effort you put into the preparation, they won’t eat it.
g. If they choose not to eat it because they don’t like chicken and broccoli, that’s their problem. You did your best.
h. But if they don’t eat it because they saw you chopping the chicken on a filthy countertop, and you left the broccoli worms on, and you presented the meal on dishes left unwashed since the last meal… that’s your fault!
i. When we present the gospel, some people will be offended by the message of the cross.
j. When we present the gospel and WE are offensive in the manner in which we present it, that’s our fault!
4. Have you ever heard the gospel being presented in an offensive manner?
a. I have heard preachers screaming their fool heads off!
b. I have heard Christians present the gospel in an obnoxious way… pushy… crass…
c. You can tell a person truth… but MAKE it offensive by the way you present it!
d. “You’re a filthy sinner and you’re going to burn in hell forever!” may be true, but it is a terrible way to present the gospel.
e. It lacks compassion… the love of Christ… concern… kindness…
f. There should be a lump in our throats as we present the gospel to an unsaved person.
g. It is not the kind of message to be presented in a light and frivolous manner either. This is serious business.
h. Treat him like a friend… someone you genuinely care about…
i. Instead of saying, “You’re a filthy sinner and you’re going to burn in hell forever!”… season those words with salt… be GRACIOUS in your message.
j. Don’t forget, it is the gospel of God’s GRACE we are sent to share.
k. Why not say, “God sees you and me and all of us in the same boat. We have ALL sinned and come short of the glory of God… but God in His rich mercy sent His Son to die for a sinner like me… and like you. God loves the world and isn’t willing that ANYONE should perish in hell… so He sent His Son to die for us and pay the penalty of our sin.”
l. You are saying the same truths… nothing is omitted or watered down… but they are presented in a gracious manner… well arranged words and thoughts… truth seasoned with salt.
m. The message of the cross has its built in offence. But that can be seasoned by a gracious spirit… putting yourself in the place of a sinner… showing concern and compassion…
• Paul says in Col. 4:6 that our words are to be “IN” grace…
• IN grace indicates not the CONTENT of the message but the MANNER of delivery.
• We can tell a sinner that he is on his way to the Lake of Fire in a harsh, demeaning, arrogant, self righteous, and cruel manner…
• OR we can deliver the very same truth IN grace… in a gracious manner.
• The message is the same. The presentation is quite different.
• Paul tells us that we are to deliver the mystery of the gospel of God’s grace ALWAYS in a gracious manner… IN grace… ALWAYS.
n. In a sense, we are like a doctor telling the patient his diagnosis and potential treatment.
• It’s a painful message the doctor has to communicate…
• It’s a message nobody wants to hear…
• But a little bedside manner can make it much easier to digest.
o. Paul admonishes us as we attempt to tell others about Christ, to exhibit a little bedside manner!
p. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt.
How to Answer Every Man
How to Answer
A. Context
1. As noted last week, verse 6 can have LOTS of different applications.
a. Gracious speech is always a good idea… in any setting.
b. Knowing how to give good answers is also beneficial in lots of different settings.
c. However, this passage is found in a specific context in Col. 4.
d. We want to look at the verse from that perspective.
2. Paul was asking for prayer that God would open opportunities for him to speak the mystery of Christ… the mystery of the gospel of God’s grace. (vs. 3)
3. He saw that as a moral obligation: I OUGHT to speak. (vs. 4)
4. Then Paul mentioned the need for a witness to walk worthy of his high calling… to walk in wisdom before the unsaved. (vs. 5)
5. He also challenged us to buy up all the opportunities we can to preach the gospel. (vs. 5)
6. Last week we looked at HOW to communicate the mystery of the gospel: in an atmosphere of grace… IN grace… with gracious words coming from a gracious spirit…
7. There is one other thought (an important thought!) that Paul included in verse six: that we should know HOW to answer every man.
8. This too needs to be understood in its context.
a. How to answer those who question your walk in wisdom.
• Our walk ought to both POINT to Christ and MANIFEST His life to those around us.
• This will cause some men to become curious as to what makes you tick.
• They may even ask you outright.
• Paul says that we should know HOW to answer them!
b. How to answer your gracious presentation of the gospel.
• Wisdom and grace go hand in hand. It is wise to be gracious!
• Ecc. 10:12 – The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious.
c. If our walk and our talk are what they ought to be (full of wisdom and grace), then God WILL open doors to speak.
• A foolish, obnoxious, crass, and offensive walk and talk disgrace the Lord… and close doors.
• But a wise walk and gracious words will open doors. It will create curiosity.
9. I Pet 3:15 – that kind of a walk and talk is part of a life where Christ has been SANCTIFIED…
a. And that kind of life OPENS DOORS.
b. People will naturally be curious and will want to know more.
c. And when they DO, we should be READY to give an answer. (?p?????a – a verbal defense; a reasoned argument.)
d. Peter and Paul agree: as Christians we need to know HOW to answer men who have honest, legitimate questions about our faith.
• And oh how we need both wisdom and grace in handling the precious gospel message…
• This is especially so since a man’s eternal destiny hangs in the balance.
10. Prerequisites to a proper ANSWER
a. I Pet. 3:15 – sanctify the Lord God in your heart… and reply with meekness and godly fear.
b. Col. 4:5 – walk in wisdom.
c. Col. 4:6 – let your words and your approach be IN grace.
d. So far what they’ve told us about how to answer says nothing about the CONTENT of our answer… but more concerning our own personal heart attitude: Christ centered; wisdom; grace; meekness; godly fear; etc.
e. This is HOW we ought to answer… as a vessel in God’s hands… yielded and surrendered to Him… emptied of self… and filled with the Spirit… filled with the Christlike character the Holy Spirit produces in us…
f. That’s how to answer every man!
g. That’s the platform from which we are to speak.
Every Man
1. “Every man” is not a synonym for “everyone” or “all mankind.”
a. Paul is not saying that there should be one blanket answer for all of humanity.
b. He is not saying that there is one generic answer that we should learn and give to everyone.
2. “Every man” = heni ekastw = “each and every one.”
a. It was translated variously as “each one,” “each person,” etc.
b. The difference is between the generic “everybody” and the specific “each individual.”
c. The implication seems to be that there are different people will have different questions… different concerns… different issues… which will require different answers on our part.
d. We should know how to answer each INDIVIDUAL.
3. We noted last week that God did not assign the ministry of evangelizing to parrots. But if there was but one pat answer we are to give to every human being, then maybe a parrot would suffice!
a. We noted previously that God has chosen human beings—sinners saved by grace—fallen, sinful creatures who have experienced the grace of God personally to tell others about that amazing grace.
b. God has placed each one of us as Christians in a unique circle of influence.
c. We all come in contact with people—but we all come in contact with a different SET of individuals.
d. And in that circle we get to KNOW these folks.
• We get to know somewhat of their backgrounds, their interests, their family life, their hobbies, their problems.
• Over time, a relationship with them has developed, and you get to really know them… so that you can read them.
e. And they get to know you… and trust you… a friendship develops. You can tell when they feel comfortable and are ready to open up and discuss spiritual things. You learn to know when to speak up and when to shut up.
f. Every person is different.
• And wisdom demands of us that we learn HOW to answer each individual person… in a way that is suitable to them… in a manner they can grasp, be interested in, in a way that captures their attention.
• This knowledge comes from KNOWING the person!
g. If someone asks you about your faith or about Christ, approach your answer from an angle that is sensible in light of the individual who asked.
4. Examples:
a. Matt. 19:23-24 – Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.? ?And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
• This is a great Bible verse in speaking to an individual about their need for salvation. Jesus spoke these words to the rich young ruler.
• It can be used effectively in presenting the gospel.
• However, if you were addressing a crowd of poor farmers in Zambia, that’s probably not the best way to answer their questions about heaven.
b. The gospel message is presented in the NT from various angles. (legal = justification; birth/life = regeneration; purchase = redemption; etc.)
• If you were speaking to a young couple who just had a new baby… speak of regeneration!
• If you were speaking to a lawyer—speak of justification.
• If you were speaking to a financial planner—speak of redemption.
• Wisdom dictates that we communicate to people in an appropriate manner. Speak their language!
• Expositors says: “They must strive to cultivate the gift of pleasant and wise conversation, so that they may be able to speak appropriately to each individual (with his peculiar needs) with whom they come in contact.’
5. Every man = every individual.
a. Everybody is different… and each one is to be approached in light of that fact. Be aware of the person.
b. Take note of their age (are they 6 or 60?)
c. Male, female? Rich, poor? Any cultural differences.
Different Answers for Different People
A. Acts 13:14-25 – Paul preaches at a Jewish Synagogue in Pisidian Antioch
1. Vs. 14 – the setting = Paul enters the synagogue in Antioch Pisidia on the Sabbath day.
a. This is NOT the same Antioch as the church that sent Paul out (vs. 1). The sending church was in Syrian Antioch. Now Paul is preaching in Pisidian Antioch in Galatia. (Turkey)
b. There Paul spoke in a Jewish synagogue. Thus, this is a Jewish audience.
c. Paul knew how to speak to a Jewish audience: He wrote, “Unto the Jews I became as a Jew!”
d. Thus, in a gracious spirit, Paul submitted to the custom of the day in the Jewish synagogue.
2. vs. 15-16 – The custom was to read the law and prophets.
a. After the reading, Paul was given an opportunity to speak (as he ought to speak!)
b. Paul knew the protocol there… and submitted to it.
c. He entered the synagogue and sat down and waited for the appropriate time to speak.
d. HE was very courteous and respectful to all.
e. When invited, he stood up to speak. The door was wide open for him to make known the mystery of the gospel.
f. And Paul knew HOW to address this audience.
3. Vs. 17-22 – Paul reviews the history of Israel to this audience.
a. What he said was right in harmony with the Jewish scriptures… and they all recognized his words as such.
4. Vs. 23- He used THEIR HISTORY to introduce them to Jesus Christ!
a. He linked the coming of Christ to the expectation of THEIR prophets… pointed to Christ as THEIR hope… a fulfillment of promises God made to THEM!
b. He identifies Jesus as a Savior UNTO Israel!
c. Vs. 24-26 – He lets them know that God cares for THEM and sent this word of salvation to THEM… to the stock of Abraham… and God-fearing gentiles—proselytes to the Judaism.
d. Vs. 27-29 – He explains how the Jewish leaders, way back in Jerusalem, did not recognize Him as the Christ and had Him crucified… as it was written in THEIR prophets!
e. Vs. 30-31- He then tells them that God raised Him from the dead and that there were many eyewitnesses of His resurrection. (He knew that Jews seek signs…)
f. Vs. 32- Then Paul declares the good news—the gospel—that the death and resurrection of Christ identify Him to the Jews as their Messiah!
• To prove his point, he quotes from Psalm 2, Isaiah 55, and Psalm 16… all of which would be familiar passages to this Jewish audience.
g. Vs. 38-39 – Then Paul boldly declares that they can receive forgiveness of sins by FAITH in Christ Jesus… and that they could never be justified through the Mosaic Law!
h. Vs. 40-41 – And he closes with a warning by quoting another Prophet, Habakkuk.
i. Vs. 42-44 – Many of the people wanted to learn more and asked him to come back.
j. Paul and Barnabas persuaded the people to continue in the grace of God… (as opposed to their age old attempt to be justified by the Law of Moses).
5. HOW did Paul preach to this PARTICULAR group of men?
a. He preached a sermon saturated in Old Testament scripture!
b. He brought them through Exodus, the dividing of the land, the period of the Judges, Samuel and the prophets, then the kings, culminating with the Davidic Covenant…
c. He quoted Psalm 2, 16; Isa. 55; Hab. 1:5.
d. The people he addressed were well versed in the Old Testament Scripture, so Paul took advantage of that.
e. He proved from THEIR own Scriptures how Jesus Christ was the One who fulfilled what the Prophets predicted… in His death, burial, and resurrection.
f. Acts 17:1-3 – Paul’s MANNER was to go to the synagogues and REASON (dialogomai – intelligent conversion; back and forth) with them out their Scriptures… proving that Jesus is the Christ.
g. Paul had developed a unique MANNER of presenting the gospel of Christ to the Jews.
h. It was appropriate for a Jewish audience.
i. Unto the Jews he became as a Jew… spoke their language… addressed them at a level that made sense to Jews.
B. Acts 17:22 – Paul preaches Christ to a GENTILE audience in Greece.
1. He uses an entirely DIFFERENT approach. (same gospel; different approach). This is a Greek audience. Notice the difference in Paul’s approach.
2. vs. 22 – he says that they are too superstitious
a. The English translation sounds like he was rebuking them for their stupidity… their folly… (It sounds quite insulting in English… not very gracious…)
b. Don’t make fun of a person’s faith or church…
c. That kind of language would have slammed the door shut on him!
d. The English words “too superstitious” has also been translated as “fearful of the gods” or “given to the worship of the gods”… “very religious”… “very devout.”
e. Paul said something like, “I see you folks are very religious.” It was NOT an insult.
3. Vs. 23 – Note that he did not assume they know who God is. They do NOT.
a. He used one of their altars to an unknown God as a platform to introduce them to the true and living God.
b. They acknowledged that there was a God they did not know. Paul took advantage of that fact.
c. “HIM I declare unto you.”
4. Vs. 24 – Paul doesn’t start with the law and prophets. He takes this group of men all the way back to the beginning and introduces God as the One who Created heaven and earth.
5. Vs. 25 – He lets them know that God is not worshipped through dead idols. He is the LIVING God—the GIVER of life.
6. Vs. 26 – He states that the living God is Creator of heaven and earth. He is the One who made ALL nations.
a. Note that he says God made of ONE BLOOD all nations.
b. Thus, he eradicates any sense of racism or bigotry that might exist between the Jew and the Greek.
c. God made only ONE race—the human race—which happens to come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors!
d. Every nation is made from the same human stock.
e. The Greeks had a tendency to be proud over their knowledge of philosophy; the Jews had a tendency to be proud of their knowledge of God.
f. Paul was trying to avoid an unnecessary clash here by letting them know that the Jews and the Greeks were all created by the same God… and made from the same stock.
g. Whatever hatred or bigotry might exist between their two nations, Paul wanted them to know that the message he was going to preach was unrelated to politics or earthly prejudices.
h. Thus, he wants them to know up front that the God of Israel wants to be THEIR God too!
i. He made ALL nations—Israel and Greece too. Paul is careful not to come across to these folks as a proud Jew.
7. Vs. 27 – Paul lets these Greeks know that the God he preaches… the Creator wants ALL of His creatures to seek after Him. He’s never been very far away!
8. Vs. 28 – Paul quotes one of their poets.
a. This was apparently quoted from Epimenides, a poet from the island of Crete. (Others attribute this quote to two Greek poets: Aretus and Cleanthes).
b. Note that Paul did not quote Scripture. These Greeks were not familiar with Jewish Scripture. It would be meaningless to them.
c. Hence, he quoted from one of their own poets—someone they were familiar with…
d. Why quote a pagan poet? Because what this man said was TRUE. His writings were not inspired, but this sentence was true… and served Paul’s purpose.
e. Paul knew that this would get their attention… something they could relate to… and showed respect to them…
f. Paul noted that we are ALL God’s offspring (meaning creatures). It does NOT mean we are all sons of God… or part of His family of redeemed ones.
9. Vs. 29 – Paul REASONED from that fact (living creatures came from their Creator) that God Himself must be LIVING and should not be worshipped with idols of gold, silver, or stone… dead articles… created by man.
10. Vs. 30 – He states that God had winked at this ignorance in ages past, but NOW (since Christ came—the final and ultimate revelation of who God is) God COMMANDS all men everywhere to repent.
a. Repent = a change of mind
b. Vs. 31 – Judgment day is coming
c. The resurrection of Christ is God’s assurance of the reality of the message.
11. Vs. 32-34 – there were various responses to his preaching.
a. But what a CONTRAST between the way Paul answered the Jews in the synagogue… and the way he addressed these Gentiles in Greece!
b. To the Greeks he never mentioned the Law of Moses or the Scriptures. To those without the law he became as without law.
c. Paul knew HOW to answer every man… different individuals… different backgrounds… and thus a different approach.
d. But it was always the same message: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ… and a call to faith/repentance.
C. Nicodemus (John 3)
1. Nicodemus was a well to do religious leader. He was educated in the Scriptures. Jesus approached him at his level.
2. vs. 3 – Jesus uses a term (born again) never mentioned in the Old Testament, but a CONCEPT this religious leader should have known!
3. vs. 10 – Jesus EXPECTED this teacher of the Scriptures to KNOW what the Old Testament said.
4. Vs. 7 – Note also, that Jesus told this religious leader (as religious as he was!) that he NEEDED to be born again. Religion cannot save. The law cannot save. But Christ can!
5. Vs. 14-15 – Jesus points him to an example from the Old Testament to define what faith is: LOOK and live!
D. The Woman at the Well (John 4)
1. This was a Samaritan woman who would normally be ignored by a Jew… but Jesus broke through that cultural barrier to meet this woman. (Vs. 4 – He must needs go through Samaria!)
2. The woman is shocked (vs. 9).
3. Vs. 10 – Jesus uses an ordinary aspect of everyday life to introduce spiritual truth.
a. She was seeking for water…
b. Jesus asked her for a drink…
c. Then He begins to speak about LIVING WATER.
d. He gained her interest with that. Drawing water was a chore she had to do every single day.
4. Vs. 13-14 – He used water to teach her a spiritual lesson.
a. He introduced her to Himself as the Living Water…
b. He spoke to her as a woman who was THIRSTY…
c. Her life was miserable and the Lord knew it… she LONGED for something better… something that was satisfying…
d. But her life was dry and dreary… and she had nothing that could satisfy the thirst of her soul.
5. Vs. 16 – she is told to go get her husband. (Jesus knew her situation.)
6. Vs. 17 – Jesus’ reply let her know that He knew her heart!
a. He knew all.
b. She recognized Him as a Prophet… not realizing He was God in human flesh!
c. Jesus spoke to her with great grace and kindness.
d. Jesus very tenderly pointed out her need of a Savior. Her life was miserable… unfulfilling… she was being USED by men… and cast out like an old rag…
e. His treatment of her was like the story of Christ dealing with the woman caught in adultery in John 8.
f. What a contrast to the way Jesus spoke to the Sadducees & Pharisees (ye snakes; vipers! Hypocrites! Whited sepulchers!)
g. Yes, Jesus knew HOW to answer every man… and He spoke to different men differently.
h. Jesus knew the hearts of the hypocritical religious leaders and rebuked them for their hypocrisy.
• He also knew the broken heart of this woman and how she LONGED for something better…
7. Christ offered Himself to this woman as an eternal Source of TRUE satisfaction… that for which her soul longed… He offered to her.
a. All she had to do was take a DRINK of the water
b. Drinking = an illustration of faith. How simple!
8. Vs. 20-24 – He pointed out the error of the Samaritan religion… but in answer to her question.
E. Different People Require Different Approaches
1. Oh how we need that kind of wisdom and discernment… and grace.
a. Jesus and Paul spoke differently and used different approaches to different people…
b. They considered their background… their education… their circumstances in life… their culture… their interests…
c. To the Jew he became as a Jew… to a Samaritan he became as a Samaritan…
d. What a contrast between Jesus’ gospel approach between Nicodemus and the woman at the well… the Sadducees and Pharisees vs. the woman taken in adultery… Bartimaeus… the rich young ruler!
e. And Paul used quite an array of approaches with the gospel… from Mars Hill… to the synagogues… to the Corinthians… he spoke before kings…
2. The business of bringing the glorious gospel of God’s grace is a supernatural work.
a. No wonder Paul PRAYED for wisdom!
b. Eph. 6:19 – he prayed that “utterance” may be given to him… (Lord, help me utter the right words!)
c. He wanted more than boldness… for boldness can be cold hearted and crass.
d. Boldness is needed… but so is wisdom… tactfulness… and grace… words seasoned with salt… KNOWING HOW to answer every man.
3. There is only ONE gospel message, but it can be presented to folks in LOTS of different ways.
a. Justification, redemption, reconciliation, salvation, regeneration, etc.
b. We have examples of the gospel being presented to Jewish men, pagan, religious, atheists, moral, immoral… to men, to women, to children…
c. Be wise and discerning.
4. But most importantly, DO IT!
a. Tell others about Christ!
b. Knowing HOW to answer every man does not mean we should not speak until we have all the answers.
c. It means we should pray for wisdom in speaking… and then speak up for Christ!
d. People don’t get saved unless they hear the gospel…and God has chosen US to bring the message to them.
5. Rom. 1:16 – And don’t be OVERLY concerned about the methodology.
a. The power is in the gospel itself… not in our puny presentation!
b. Do your best… and even if we fumble through it… God can use it to save souls… and glorify His holy name.
c. Present the gospel in wisdom, with tactfulness, accuracy, and grace… and leave the outcome with the Lord.
d. Present the gospel and trust in GOD to use His Word. Don’t trust in our own presentation.
e. Salvation is of the Lord, not us. Increase is of the Lord.
f. God is STILL adding to His church daily such as should be saved.
g. So try it this week! We are going to give each of us a tract to help us bring the message to those around us.
Tychicus
Introduction:
1. We now come to the concluding section of the book of Colossians.
2. In this section, after concluding the body of the letter, Paul sends salutations and short personal messages from various servants of the Lord to the believers in Colossae.
3. The first servant of the Lord mentioned is Tychicus… a name which means “fortunate.”
His Personal Character
A. The Beloved Brother
1. Tychicus was beloved of God.
a. This is one of the designations of a believer: he is beloved of God.
b. Rom. 1:7 – “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.”
c. God loves all of us. His love for us is everlasting.
d. This is our position as a believer: beloved! That is something to meditate upon… there is a depth is this statement that will take us all a lifetime and then some to fathom.
e. But God even loves those who are quite unlovable…
• He loves the whole world… that’s why He sent His Son to die for the world.
• God has an agape love for the world…
• But God does not have phileo love for the world. That is the family love and warm affection that He reserves just for His own people… those born into His family through the new birth.
• God has agape and phileo love for us.
• It is a wonderful thought to be doubly loved of the Lord!
2. However, it appears that Paul uses the term beloved here to refer to the fact that Tychicus is “beloved of Paul and the other believers.”
a. To be beloved of God is wonderful, but since His love is given graciously—it has nothing to do with us or with our behavior.
b. To be beloved of the brethren—that requires some effort… humility… selflessness… willingness to be defrauded… turn the other cheek…
c. God loves us all to the degree of infinity… but not every brother is so beloved by the rest of the Christian brotherhood.
d. We should demonstrate agape love equally to all believers, but we don’t.
e. Col. 2:2 – pray with Paul that our hearts might be knit together in love!
f. Col. 3:14 – Paul calls this the “bond of perfectness.”
g. To be a BELOVED brother is a tie stronger than any earthly tie. It speaks of the brotherhood of Christians in the family of God… and the affection that is part of it all.
h. However, sometimes the warmth and affection we should have towards each other is hampered by our own behavior.
i. Sometimes we make it HARD for others to love us…
j. Sometimes we are proud, selfish, gossip, we backbite, we harbor bitterness, we have chips on our shoulders, we have unforgiving spirits… sometimes we are cranky, irritable, grouchy, mean…
k. Yes, you and I are sometimes hard to love!
l. By our behavior and our attitudes, we do not always endear ourselves to the rest of the Christian brotherhood.
3. Tychicus DID endear himself to Paul and to the other believers.
a. He is called THE beloved brother.
b. A nearly identical verse appears in Eph. 6:21 and Tychicus is also called there “THE” beloved brother.
c. In both passages it is translated “a beloved brother”… just because it is an unusual expression.
d. The definite article appears for a purpose: to mark him out as THE one who was especially beloved by Paul and the brethren.
e. He’s the one… he’s the one all the brethren love.
f. That’s quite a statement!
g. The apostle John is known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” (John 20:2 – phileo love)
h. Tychicus is known as the brother “all the believers loved.”
4. He especially endeared himself to Paul.
a. He was beloved of Paul.
b. He ministered to Paul in prison…
c. He made great personal sacrifice in order to minister to Paul.
d. What a blessing from God! God gave Paul a friend who stuck by his side… when Paul’s life came to a screeching halt when he was imprisoned.
e. Many abandoned Paul… but not Tychicus. No wonder he was beloved.
f. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
B. Faithful Minister
1. He was PAUL’S servant… (diakonos) minister.
a. He ministered to Paul’s personal needs while he was in prison.
b. God took care of Paul while in prison. And God used Tychicus to accomplish that.
c. Christ dwelt in Tychicus… and Christ’s love for His Body was manifested TO members of His body THROUGH members of His Body.
d. Tychicus was a channel God could use to minister to His servant Paul.
e. Hence, Tychicus was like a personal servant for Paul during those many months of his first imprisonment.
f. He came there to provide fellowship for Paul.
g. He came, no doubt, for some other mundane ministries: bring him fruit… parchments to read… inform him as to what was happening in the Roman Empire… perhaps to bring him some warm clothing… perhaps doing his best to clean his wounds—prevent serious infections… and restore his health…
h. This kind of brother we would ALL like to have.
i. Perhaps more to the point: this kind of brother we should all seek to BE!
j. “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly.” (Prov. 18:24)
k. To be a beloved brother and faithful minister to the brethren does not require a high IQ… it does not cost a lot of money… it doesn’t require many special skills… you don’t need a degree from Bible college to minister like this.
l. It simply requires a HEART for God and God’s people!
m. It requires a heart surrendered to the Lord and willing to be a vessel… a conduit of God’s love and compassion… and to simply be available to be used of the Lord to accomplish His will.
n. Tychicus was that kind of a servant… of the Lord and to Paul directly.
o. He was FAITHFUL in his ministries to Paul.
p. His selfless, ceaseless ministry to Paul endeared him to Paul and to the other believers.
q. Paul was a special servant of the Lord and he too NEEDED to be ministered UNTO.
r. Paul is the name we all know… he is the great apostle. Anybody that knows anything about church history knows of the ministry of the apostle Paul.
s. But his ministry was supported… and encouraged… perhaps thereby enabled to continue… because of men like Tychicus who were faithfully serving in the background unseen and unknown by most men, but certainly NOT unnoticed by God.
t. And faithful servants like him working in the background are just as vital to the work of God as the famous ones like Paul or John.
u. There is greatness in humble service.
• Tychicus was just a delivery boy—but how important was that delivery!
• “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matt. 23:11)
• That’s God’s definition of greatness! Doing small things for the Lord is greatness in His sight.
• God doesn’t need any big shots. But He delights in using nobodies like you and me…
• Tychicus delivered the highest and loftiest theological thought ever written (Ephesians and Colossians). But no one ever would have read it without the faithful ministry of Tychicus.
• He wasn’t a writer; he wasn’t a theologian; he wasn’t an apostle; he didn’t establish churches; he was a servant—and the churches of Jesus Christ are much richer because of this faithful, humble delivery boy!
• Do not despise small things.
• For the local church to function as God designed, it requires lots of unseen service going on in the background.
• There are ministries that we all SEE (pastor; Sunday school teacher; choir; etc.)
• But there are lots of other ministries that take place and are NECESSARY for the Body to function!
• Some folks take time to come and clean the church…
• Somebody has to take out the garbage… wash the floors… mow the lawn… even do windows!
• Someone is watching the young ones in nursery that you may not notice…
• We have folks who meet together for prayer at their homes… to pass out tracts… to make hospital and nursing home visits… that no one knows about…
• Someone has to write the checks and pay the bills…
• And nowadays… maintaining the web site… recording and making CDs… printing literature…
• This God’s design… (I Cor. 12:22 – even the so called “feeble” ministries are necessary.)
• It’s the folks who faithfully serve in the background that enables this body to continue… that enables the word of God to be preached… who undergird the entire church…
• These are men and women with a spirit like Tychicus… willing to serve in the background for the glory of Christ… and may their tribe increase!
• Perhaps some of you folks have been attending Salem Bible Church for some time now and do not yet have a ministry… there are LOTS of ways to serve Christ through His Body.
• If the Lord so leads, speak to one of the elders or deacons—or ask anyone—we will find a place of service for you!
2. His Faithful Ministry FOR Paul
a. Eph. 6:21 – Tychicus with Paul in Rome during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment.
• From there, Paul sent him out on dangerous journeys to deliver important letters to the churches: like Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon.
• To get from Rome to Colossae:
» He would have to travel across Italy… and then cross the Adriatic Sea.
» Then he would have to travel across Greece, and take a ship across the Aegean Sea to get to Asia Minor.
» Then he still had another 100 mile trip on foot to get to Colossae.
• Paul could count on Tychicus. He was FAITHFUL.
» He entrusted 3 books of the New Testament with this man!
» Imagine the consequences if he was NOT faithful? The churches never would have had the books of Ephesians, Colossians, or Philemon!
» What good would it have been for Paul to write these wonderful letters if Tychicus did not deliver them?
» With such an important package, Paul sought a man who was FAITHFUL… someone he could rely on…
» I doubt if the importance of this delivery was fully appreciated by Tychicus as he delivered these letters. When he left Paul and headed off on his journey, it is doubtful if he realized that the pieces of parchment in his pouch would outlast the Roman Empire—be translated into hundreds of languages… and distributed around the world for many centuries to come!
» He saw himself as a delivery boy for Paul… and he wanted to be faithful in what he thought was a LITTLE task.
» Oh how important it is to be FAITHFUL… this is one of the greatest qualities a believer can have!
» Oh that we had more faithful servants in the little details of the Lord’s work!
» There are consequences when WE are not faithful too. On a much lesser scale… but serious consequences nonetheless.
• Suppose a Sunday school teacher doesn’t show up… or the clean up crew… or no one to work in the nursery…
• It has happened… and it can be disturbing…
b. Acts 20:4 – With Paul on His 3rd Missionary Journey.
• Tychicus was from Asia Minor.
• He went with Paul to bring the love offering from the gentiles to the poor saints in Jerusalem… who were suffering because of the famine.
• Tychicus, a gentile, went with Paul as a representative of the gentile churches.
• It was no luxury vacation trip either.
• Travel was difficult and dangerous in those days.
• He had to leave his job, family, and local church for months to accompany Paul.
• And Paul had mentioned several times that bonds and afflictions were waiting for him there. (Acts 20:22-24)
• Knowing all that, Tychicus willingly followed Paul to minister for him.
c. Titus 3:12 – Paul has been released from prison at this point in time.
• Tychicus is still on hand to help the apostle.
• Paul planned to send him to Crete to fill in for Titus
d. Sent By Paul to Ephesus (II Tim. 4:12)
• This is near the end of Paul’s life…
• This was Paul’s last imprisonment in Rome… and Paul is STILL sending Tychicus around on missions for him.
• To stick by the side of a prisoner—as Tychicus did with Paul—was dangerous in itself.
• He was a faithful servant—faithful to the very end for Paul… IN Christ.
C. Fellowservant in the Lord
1. He was a servant TO Paul.
a. He did errands for Paul… he served him by trying to meet his needs in prison… he delivered messages for Paul…
b. He was in a sense at Paul’s service. He submitted to Paul’s authority as an apostle… and worked under him as a servant for Paul.
2. But IN the Lord, he was a fellowservant TO GOD along with Paul.
a. Tychicus was a FELLOW servant WITH Paul for Christ.
b. They worked together … they were BOTH servants for Christ… the great apostle and the lesser known minister. They were equals IN Christ.
c. They were fellow slaves serving the same Master: Christ.
3. Working with Paul as a co-worker with a political prisoner was risky business. There were a lot of people who hated Paul… he was seen as a troublemaker by the Jews… and by the Romans… to them he turned the world upside down…
4. I Cor. 3:9 – as great an apostle as Paul was, he could NOT serve the Lord alone. He never could have accomplished what he did for Christ were it not for many other (often unnamed) servants working behind the scenes… aiding him… helping him… we are laborers together.
5. We are all familiar with the horrible sufferings of Paul associated with his travels. (II Cor. 11: 23-27)
a. Paul is known, respected, and admired for all that he suffered… and he suffered much.
b. But what about Tychicus? He chose to FOLLOW that man and function as his servant. No doubt Tychicus also suffered some of those things…
c. Tychicus doesn’t get the credit or glory… nor did he want it. He chose to serve Paul—knowing fully the potential dangers—and did so willingly… joyfully… selflessly… for the glory of Christ.
d. He was a faithful servant IN the Lord.
6. Tychicus was BOTH faithful and beloved.
a. That is a great balance.
b. Some men are faithful to the Lord… and stand for righteousness and truth… and yet are so stern and critical that they are not beloved of God’s people.
c. Others may be warm and affectionate and beloved… but are so at the expense of being faithful to the truth.
d. Tychicus was BOTH—well-balanced… faithful and beloved!
His Present Mission
A. Sent to Declare Paul’s State (Col. 4:7; Eph. 6:21)
1. Paul did not share his personal estate with the Colossians through this letter.
2. He sent Tychicus (and Onesimus) to do this for him… personally.
3. “All my state” = “All the things according to me.”
a. His concern for the Colossians—a desire to hear how they were doing.
b. His desire to see them grow spiritually
c. His desire to see them seeking things above… and that the Word would dwell in them richly in all wisdom…
d. His concern that they would be good witnesses for Christ in their city…
e. His present imprisonment… his needs… his burdens…
4. Unfortunately for us, Paul did not RECORD his estate for us to read in this letter.
a. He evidently TOLD Tychicus orally how he was doing… and asked him to communicate it to the Colossians.
b. Paul knew his writings were inspired… and that their audience would be wider than just the one church at Colossae. (Actually, these letters were originally to be read in various other churches in the region – 4:16).
c. Perhaps he had told Tychicus some personal information that he did not feel would be necessary to include the letter itself for all generations to read… though the Colossians themselves might be interested in.
5. Paul’s purpose in this was not to elicit sympathy or to use his sufferings as a fund raising ploy (as some do today!).
a. Paul simply wanted the believers to be praying for him… intelligently.
b. And to pray intelligently for someone—we need to know about them…
c. That’s why our church prayer meetings are so important. We really get to KNOW the needs of one another there… to support one another in prayer.
B. To Know Their Estate (vs. 8)
1. Paul, even while in prison, sought to edify the churches.
a. The condition of the churches was a constant burden on his heart. He bore it daily. (II Cor. 11:28)
b. Though his body was confined to prison, yet his heart went out to believers far and wide.
c. Paul is in jail for the gospel… and yet he continues to be engaged in promoting the spread of the gospel and the edification of the churches.
2. Paul longed to know how the Colossians were doing.
a. He agonized over their spiritual condition.
b. Col. 2:1 – he had a great conflict over them.
c. Col. 2:8 – He was concerned about the influence of pre-Gnostic cult that had infiltrated the city with their philosophy and vain deceit.
d. He was concerned that they might be taken in by the Jewish ritualism…
e. He had LOTS of concerns for them… (How many believers had defected with the false teachers? Was this affecting other churches? How widespread was this infection in the Body? Did it affect the morale of the believers? Were they discouraged?)
f. He wanted to pray for them too… and perhaps to keep in touch with them through letters… to help them grow in Christ.
C. To Comfort Their Hearts
1. They were experiencing great trials. Thus, Paul wanted to minister to them.
a. The false teachers stole away disciples after themselves.
b. This would have caused friction in the assemblies.
c. There would be families divided… some would be loyal to Christ and some to traitors…
d. There would be hurt feelings over discipline issues that had to be carried out… people polarizing and taking sides…
e. Paul wanted to send Tychicus to comfort the hearts of the believers… to wait out the storm and rest in the Lord to bring peace to the churches…
f. “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love.”
2. Here is a great secret for living the Christian life and dealing with our daily struggles and trials.
a. Reckon SELF to be dead and buried. (The old man doted over himself… and HIS circumstances… over HIS finances… over HIS health issues… over HIS trials… over HIS troubles.
b. Reckon that old man to be DEAD.
c. And thereby we free the new man in Christ to function… the one who thinks on things above…
d. The new man who has a new mind—the mind of Christ: ?Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” (Phil.2:4).
e. This is the mind Paul demonstrated while in prison.
f. Paul did not dote over his own personal troubles or trials.
g. He sought things above. And from HEAVEN’S perspective—he saw the condition of the churches as being far more important… than his own circumstances.
h. Oh for a heart like that… for that kind of heavenly perspective!
i. With that heavenly mindset, we will be “looking on the things of others” to minister to THEM…
j. Aren’t we often just the opposite?
• We have trials and struggles and sit around complaining because no one is paying any attention to me, myself, and mine?
• We hold our pity parties… and look down on others as being negligent of their duties to me, myself, and mine!
• We begin to grumble about others: they have no love… they don’t really care about me…
• The mind of Christ doesn’t grumble about others. It ministers to others!
• That’s the mind Paul demonstrated. In prison—and suffering—he sought to comfort OTHERS in their sorrow and suffering.
• This ought to be the NORM for believers… Christ working in us both to DO and to will of HIS good pleasure… caring for His Body… dead to self.
• Ministering to others in the midst of his own suffering brought JOY to Paul in prison. He wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!”
3. They were also troubled by Paul’s imprisonment… (Cf. Eph. 3:13)
a. When one member suffers the whole body suffers.
b. Knowing that Paul was in prison for preaching Christ must have caused them sorrow and grief for him…
c. Perhaps they were also wondering if they were next!
d. Thus, Paul sent Tychicus to comfort them in all their anxieties and concerns… to teach them to learn to REST in the Lord… to SEEK things above… to let the Word of Christ dwell richly in your hearts… and to REJOICE in his sufferings for you! (Col. 1:24) Don’t worry—rejoice!
4. What Paul did here was quite magnanimous, selfless, and gracious.
a. He was in prison and had few friends like Tychicus… few people to minister to his needs.
b. However, Paul saw fit to put the needs of the churches at Ephesus and Colossae above his own needs.
c. 8:1 – Whom I have sent!
d. Paul sent the few faithful servants he had away on a long journey to minister to the believers in other cities…
e. That meant they would no longer be in Rome to minister to his needs…
f. This was a sacrifice for Paul… but he was dead remember… dead to self and alive unto God.
g. He wasn’t thinking of his own welfare, but the welfare of others. Paul denied himself to serve others… even in prison.
h. A lesser man might have reasoned that he had “too many problems of his own to worry about others… much less sacrifice for them. They should be coming to MY aid, not I theirs!”
i. Not so with Paul. He did not reason like the world. Christ dwelt in him and he manifested the life of Christ… even in sending his friend to minister to others.
j. And it was probably hard for Tychicus to leave him… but he obeyed and went.
k. God’s ways are not our ways… thankfully! God’s ways are perfect.
5. Tychicus was a delivery boy for Paul… a servant… not a name history well remembers.
a. But don’t despise small things. They are just as vital to the whole as the big things.
b. In the Revolutionary war, there was a shot heard round the world. But who knows the name of the man who made that shot?
c. Do you know the name of Charles Lingbergh’s mechanic?
d. Heb. 6:10 – the world will soon forget me and you. But the Lord will NEVER forget the works we have done in His name!
e. God never forgot Tychicus.
f. His short life came and went… and so will ours. Tychicus left this earth on God’s honor roll… a beloved brother engaged in faithful service.
g. May that be true of each of us here!
Onesimus, the Runaway Slave
Who He Was
A. A Colossian
1. He was one of you. (4:9)
2. He lived and worked in the city of Colossae.
3. We don’t have all the details of his life… but we do have some remarkable glimpses of this man’s life… and what we know of him is instructive to us still!
B. A Slave of Philemon
1. The book of Philemon was written about this man’s story… and identifies Onesimus as a slave owned by Philemon.
2. As a slave, he was an insignificant nobody.
a. He was nobody special in the eyes of men. He wasn’t royalty. He wasn’t a wealthy land owner.
b. He was a slave… which meant he was just a common worker. (Sort of like you and me!)
3. Slavery in the first century was pretty much an accepted part of society.
a. As much as two thirds of the Roman Empire were slaves (before the first century it was as high as 90%).
b. One Roman General brought back 50,000 conquered soldiers and sold them on the slave-block in Rome.
c. The whole economic system revolved around slavery.
d. It was NOT like the system of slavery in our country which was far crueler than the Roman system… though neither one was desirable.
e. It was not based on race, but more on nationality. Most slaves were either BORN into slavery or they became slaves when their nation was defeated by another nation.
f. Every economic system has its unsavory side… and in the Roman system it was slavery.
4. Onesimus was a slave owned by a wealthy Christian named Philemon who lived in the city of Colossae.
a. The book of Philemon is a letter written by Paul to his friend, Philemon.
b. Philemon was a member of the church at Colossae.
c. Paul knew him by name… Paul knew him by name. They were friends.
d. He was a fellowlaborer with Paul. (Philem. 1)
e. He was dearly loved by Paul. (Philem. 1)
f. Paul knew Philemon to be a man of faith and one who loved the believers. (Philemon 5)
g. Paul considered himself a partner with Philemon (vs. 17)
h. It is likely that Paul led Philemon to the Lord (Philemon 19)
• Philemon “owed Paul his own self.” (life)
• Paul had not been to Colossae, but he did minister for 3 years in nearby Ephesus… and all Asia Minor heard the Word through his ministry.
• There was some other great debt of gratitude that Philemon owed Paul. Some believed Paul saved his life. It is more likely he led him to Christ.
i. Paul expected to come and visit his friend Philemon in the near future. (Philemon 22)
5. Philemon, a friend of the apostle Paul, one who was saved through his ministry, a faithful member of the church in Colossae and fellow-laborer with Paul — had a slave named Onesimus.
a. This is the Onesimus mentioned in Col. 4:9.
b. What a fantastic testimony this man has!
What He Did
A. He Ran Away
1. Philemon 15-16a – Onesimus the slave ran away from his master, Philemon.
2. In those days, the slave-owner normally considered their slave a tool—a piece of property.
3. If the slave ran away, the owner had every right to hunt him down and kill him.
4. Story of Caesar Augustus’ friend, Vedius Pollio – congo ells in tank for disobedient slaves. One tossed in for breaking a crystal cup.
5. A runaway slave expected, if apprehended, to be tortured and die a very painful death.
B. He “Wronged” His Master
1. Philemon 18 – Paul implies that Onesimus stole something of value from his master when he ran away… a common practice of runaway slaves.
2. Onesimus “wronged” Philemon when he left.
a. Wronged = to act unjustly, do wrong, hurt, do damage.
b. Perhaps he vandalized and damaged his property before he left… in one last expression of his hatred for his master… out of frustration.
c. It is more likely that he stole valuable property as he ran away… to be sold for money to pay for his long trip.
3. Paul also implies that he “owes” Philemon… money.
a. He may have stolen money from his master.
b. Or perhaps Paul meant that he stole his master’s time when he should have been working for him.
c. There were various KINDS of slaves. (Indentured servants; some were servants to pay off a debt; etc.)
d. It is possible that Onesimus owed someone a large sum of money and had sold himself into slavery in order to pay off the debt… but decided to RUN before his time was up.
4. The exact details are not filled in for us… but clearly he had wronged Philemon in some way… and was in debt to him.
C. He Escaped to Rome
1. Philemon ran away from his master in Colossae, in Asia Minor.
2. He ended up in Rome.
3. It is likely that he ended up in a Roman prison… where he met up the apostle Paul… who was also imprisoned in Rome at the time.
a. Paul was imprisoned for being a Christian and preaching Christ.
b. Onesimus was likely in prison for breaking the law… perhaps stealing money or food just to keep alive in the strange city.
c. We know he met Paul in prison. It is possible that Onesimus was working there… it is more likely that this runaway thief was arrested and imprisoned for larceny.
d. One way or another – this was the Lord’s doing. His path crossed that of the apostle Paul – missionary to the gentiles!
Whom He Became
A. A Brother
1. Philemon 10 –?“I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds.”
a. This expression indicates that Onesimus was led to saving faith in Christ through Paul.
b. He was “begotten” – a term meaning “born.” He was born again while in prison…
2. Somehow, someway, while in prison, the paths of Paul and Onesimus providentially crossed…
a. It is not hard to imagine how this runaway slave—a thief—ended up in prison in Rome. (Thieves often end up in jail!)
b. What a marvelous story of divine Providence in the circumstances!
• Of all the cities to run to, Onesimus ran to Rome… perhaps thinking he could disappear in this massive city of perhaps 4 million people.
• Of all the prisons in Rome, he ended up right in jail where the apostle Paul was.
• And Paul just happened to be a friend of Philemon, the master from whom he ran away back in Colossae!
c. At first Onesimus (probably quite superstitious—as were most men of his day) thought this was a bad omen!
• He may have been a little afraid of Paul at first. (You know my master? Did the gods arrange this meeting? Are you going to turn me in? Am I doomed?)
• Think of the timing, the logistics, statistical likelihood of this meeting occurring… but nothing is too hard for the Lord. He is Lord of ALL!
• God put His hand on Onesimus. God was drawing this man to Himself…
• Thus the Lord arranged things such that Onesimus came in contact with the gospel of God’s grace.
• That’s what God does in OUR lives as well…
B. A Faithful and Beloved Brother
1. Onesimus proved himself to be a faithful brother to Paul.
2. Evidently, after he was saved, Onesimus stayed in Rome a while and ministered to Paul’s needs… along with Tychicus.
3. But when Paul was ready to send Tychicus back to Ephesus and Colossae, he decided to send Onesimus too.
4. They both realized that as a slave, he needed to be returned to his legal master… to make restitution.
5. Paul led Onesimus to Christ and had seen real evidence of a changed life…
a. He trusted Onesimus. He was a FAITHFUL brother and proved himself to be faithful and reliable… honest.
b. This was quite a change for a thief! Now he was honest… and Paul entrusted him with this great mission.
C. A Servant of Paul
1. Paul sent this man on an extremely important mission along with Tychicus: to deliver three inspired New Testament epistles! (Col. 4:8-9)
a. Interestingly, one of the other letters Onesimus delivered for Paul contained the following words: Eph. 4:22-24; 28
b. Onesimus stole, but Paul trusted that he had put off that old man and was a new creature — one who stole no more!
c. He proved himself to be faithful… a reliable servant for God and Paul.
d. Some time must have elapsed between his conversion and when Paul sent him on this mission of delivering inspired epistles.
e. Paul also sent Onesimus with Tychicus to let the Colossians and others know how Paul was doing… and to deliver the epistles.
2. Onesimus was saved… and right away, he began serving the Lord.
a. His past did not hold him back from serving Christ.
b. He was no longer that old man he used to be… old things had passed away.
c. He had a new life now… and that new life was yielded to the Lord and used of God.
d. He had been a servant of men. Now He was a servant of God.
3. Notice Paul’s attitude toward this man.
a. Onesimus had been a lowly slave… an unprofitable slave…
• He wronged his master. He was a troublemaker.
• He was a thief…
• He was a fugitive from the law…
• And in Rome he was an illegal alien and quite likely a criminal there too.
b. BUT—he got saved! He was gloriously saved! That changed everything!
• He was no longer the kind of man he used to be.
• His sins were forgiven… nailed to the cross…
• He was now a son of God…
• But Paul did not hold his past life against him.
• That’s what he WAS… but no longer.
• NOW he is a believer… a Christian… a faithful and beloved brother in the Lord!
c. Col.4:9 – “who is one of YOU.” And how did Paul describe the “you”… the Colossians?
• Col. 1:2 – saints and faithful brethren in Christ
• 1:13 – delivered form the power of darkness…
• 1:14 – redeemed through the blood of Christ and forgiven!
• 1:21-22 – he had been an enemy and alienated by wicked works, but now is reconciled and will be presented before God holy and unblamable and unreprovable!
• Risen with Christ and seated in heavenly places!
• He is one of YOU! He now posses the exact same POSITION in Christ as YOU!
• Don’t you dare look down on him for his criminal past… a runaway slave… a thief… a convicted criminal. He is now one of YOU!
d. Now he was profitable to both Paul and Philemon.
e. Now he was a new creature in Christ. Old things had passed away. (II Cor. 5:17)
f. Consider the Corinthians (I Cor. 6:9-11)
g. God does not hold a person’s past life against him when he becomes a Christian… and neither should we!
h. Rom. 3:22-23 – From God’s perspective there is no difference in sinners.
• Whether you were a thief and drunk — or you were saved at the ripe old age of six in Sunday school… there is no difference between sinners from God’s perspective.
• ALL come infinitely short of His glory!
• ALL need to be saved… and nothing less than the blood of Christ will suffice to save anyone (Al Capone or Shirley Temple!)
• And God saves ALL who come to Him in faith.
• And God makes all who come NEW creatures in Christ!
4. A Servant of Philemon Once Again
a. Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon to be his slave… (Col. 4:8-9 – whom I have sent…
• Philem.11 – Now Onesimus would be PROFITABLE to his master once again… as a working slave… and as a brother in Christ.
• After getting a taste of freedom in his journey to Rome, it would have been a hard pill to swallow to return to his life as a slave… but he did the right thing.
• He went back to willingly serve as a slave to Philemon.
• But going back to a life of slavery didn’t matter so much to him now. He was SAVED!
» He had an entirely different perspective on life now!
» He realized that in Christ he was FREE!
» I Cor. 7:22 – For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman.
» Onesimus was so thrilled about his new POSITION in Christ that his earthly CONDITION paled in contrast! (We should learn this lesson ourselves!)
» It didn’t matter so much if he was poor on earth, he was rich in Christ.
» It didn’t matter so much if he was a slave on earth; in Christ there was neither bond nor free.
» It didn’t matter so much if his earthly master mistreated him. He had a Master in heaven who loved him and died for him… and was interceding in heaven for him… and was coming again for him!
» None of those earthly things had the same impact on him any more. He was SAVED and thankful!
» The Christian today can also experience this joy. No miserable earthly condition can rob us of our JOY in the Lord… IF we dwell upon our glorious position in Christ! Saved! Saved! Saved!
b. Christ CHANGED this man!
• He never would have returned to his master apart from becoming a Christian.
• But when Onesimus got saved, his life CHANGED.
• That’s what OUGHT to happen when a person gets saved. They become a NEW creature.
• Old things OUGHT to pass away.
• Too often we see folks today who claim they have received Christ and their lives are no different than they were before. There is no evidence of life… no fruit of salvation…
• In the BIBLE, when people got saved, EVERYTHING changed!
• I love to see it when someone gets SAVED SAVED SAVED! And there is no question about it! That is tremendous!
• And years go by and they are STILL in love with the Lord! Still serving Him!
c. Consider Paul… when he got saved, his life turned around completely!
• I Tim. 1:12-16a – Paul’s conversion was a PATTERN of what salvation ought to be!
• Onesimus is another wonderful example of a transformed life—a new life in Christ.
• Has YOUR life changed since you came to Christ?
• Is it obvious and evident that you are a Christian?
d. Onesimus was sent back to his master according to the flesh.
• Now that he was saved, he realized what he had done to Philemon.
• He wronged him and stole from him.
• He returns now to make things right.
• God forgives our sins… but sometimes there are earthly consequences to our sins that need to be resolved according to the laws on earth.
• He stole and needed to make restitution.
• If a fugitive from the law gets saved, he needs to turn himself in… and this is what Onesimus did.
• He was owned by Philemon and as a Christian realized he had to return to his master and take whatever punishment was coming.
• When a person comes to Christ, he is forgiven all his sins.
• However, he may have to make things right with men… he may have some apologies to make… some debts to pay to men.
e. Slavery was ingrained in Roman society.
• The Bible does not directly deal with social issues, but with moral and spiritual truths.
• However, there is a hint in this story that Paul EXPECTED Philemon to not only receive Onesimus but to release him from slavery too!
• Philemon 16 – “receive him not now as a servant (slave) but above a servant, a brother beloved.”
• Philemon 21 – Paul had confidence that Philemon would obey the exhortation to receive him back… and Paul was confident he would do MORE than Paul exhorted!” (release from slavery?)
5. AN ILLUSTRATION OF SALVATION.
Three Characters:
a. Onesimus: a sinner (us)
b. Philemon: a master in a faraway land (Father)
c. Paul: an advocate for the guilty (Christ)
1. Onesimus the sinner:
a. He was a thief… a lawbreaker… a runaway from his master.
• We too are sinners… lawbreakers… wronged his master… a lost sheep…
• He stole from his master and owed a debt he could not repay.
• All have sinned…
• We too are lawbreakers… aliens from God
b. Onesimus had a debt he could never pay.
• Philemon 17-18 – “IF” – first class condition – assumed true
c. Onesimus awaited death if captured. His master had that right legally.
• We too stand condemned before our Master in heaven.
• We too will perish on our own.
• If you are not saved, the wrath of God abides upon you now… and eternal condemnation… (John 3:36)
2. Providence:
a. God’s sovereign providence saw to it that during his wanderings, Onesimus came in contact with the gospel of grace.
b. God arranged all the circumstances to bring this about.
c. God drew Onesimus to the message and Onesimus believed and was saved!
d. It is no accident that you are here today hearing God’s Word. Providence has arranged it all!
3. He repents and returns to his master.
a. Upon believing he was sent back to his master.
b. He went WILLINGLY! (Paul could not FORCE him…)
4. He has an advocate before his master.
a. Paul urges Philemon to receive Onesimus (Philemon 12)
b. Paul pleads his case before Philemon in the letter.
c. Paul is on the side of Onesimus (of God be for us…)
d. Christ is our advocate in heaven. He intercedes on our behalf. (Heb. 7:25)
e. I John 2:1-2 – Christ is our advocate with respect to our sins.
5. Imputation:
a. Paul agreed to pay the debt of Onesimus (Philemon 17-18)
b. Onesimus thus stood debt FREE!
c. On that basis, Philemon could receive him back.
d. He was to be received AS Paul. (Philemon 12, 17)
• Paul was a close friend of Philemon.
• To receive Onesimus back as Paul was quite a statement!
• We are received by God AS Christ Himself!
• Eph. 1:6 – we are accepted IN the Beloved!
• Because we are robed in HIS righteousness. (Rom. 3:22)
• Isa. 53:6 – our sins were laid on Him. (imputed)
• He became sin for us! (II Cor. 5:21)
• His righteousness is put on our account! (Rom. 3:22)
• This is truly amazing grace!
6. Martin Luther said, “All of us are Onesimuses!”
a. What he meant by that was that Onesimus is a perfect illustration of every sinner who gets saved.
b. He was a slave who became a brother in Christ. He was a slave who was set free in Christ.
c. That’s what the gospel does to men today too… “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
d. Isn’t it great to be saved? Set free? Knowing that your sins are forgiven? Knowing that there is a place reserved in heaven for you? You CAN know all this if you trust in Christ as Onesimus did… and countless other Onesimuses have done over the centuries!
e. Martin Luther was right. “All of us (who are born again) are Onesimuses!”
• This pictures the fact that the Father receives us AS He receives His own Son… because we are IN Christ and robed in His righteousness! The Father sees us sinners AS He sees His own Beloved Son! We are “accepted IN the Beloved!” What grace!
• What Paul did for Onesimus, Christ has done for us!
• Yes, as Christians, we are all Onesimuses!
• When a man, woman, or child puts their faith in Christ today, God takes all of our sins… the debt of sin we could never pay on our own… and puts it ALL on Christ’s account. He became SIN for us. All our sins were laid on Him… and He paid the debt of sin in full.
GOSPEL:
· The work has already been DONE. There is nothing left for us to do… but to BELIEVE it… receive it by faith.
· You and I are like that runaway slave… law breakers… guilty… and worthy of death.
· We have a debt of sin we owe to God that we could never repay… if we lived 100 lives.
· Jesus Christ offers to be YOUR advocate…
· He paid the penalty of YOUR sins in full…
· All we like sheep have gone astray—and the Lord hath laid on HIM the iniquity of us all.
· And like Onesimus, in the midst of our wandering, God in His grace and providence brings us into contact with the glorious gospel of God’s grace… that we might be SAVED!
· But unless we REPENT… change our mind… turn to God in genuine, humble, childlike faith… we will perish.
· But IF we come to God in faith, He will receive us… AS He receives his own Son, Jesus Christ!
· Christ has agreed to pay the penalty of our sins… and set us FREE from bondage to sin…
· He offers us as a GIFT of grace eternal life…
· And all this can be YOURS… by faith.
· Come unto Me all ye that labor and I will give you REST.
· All that come to Me I will in no wise cast out.
· God doesn’t see any difference in sinners… ALL are infinitely short of His glory…
· But that gap has been bridged by Jesus Christ…
· God has done everything He could to provide salvation for YOU and for me.
· Now it is up to us… to RESPOND in faith… to come to Christ by receiving Him through faith.
· Won’t you come to Him today and be saved?
· To reject God’s offer of grace is to be condemned to eternity in the lake of fire.
Marcus and Demas
MARCUS: He Followed, Fled, and Returned
A. Review of John Mark
1. He was a Jew (of the circumcision – vs. 11)
2. He was from Jerusalem.
a. John was his Jewish name.
b. Marcus was his Roman or Latin name.
c. Sometimes he is called John (Acts 13:5) and sometimes he is called Mark (Acts 15:37; II Tim. 4).
3. His mother Mary opened her home for prayer meetings (Acts 12:12).
a. The church in Jerusalem became very large overnight and the church met in various homes on occasion.
b. We know nothing of his father. He may have been dead or an unbeliever.
c. If he was saved and alive, one would think Luke would referred to it as HIS house, not Mary’s.
d. Mary did her best to bring up her young son John Mark in the things of God—and to encourage him to believe on Christ and be saved.
e. She held prayer meetings in her home and made sure her son John Mark attended.
4. I Peter 5:13 implies that Peter led John Mark to faith in Christ.
a. It was at Mary’s house where the prayer meeting was held as they prayed for Peter to be released from prison—and he WAS released.
b. It is quite possible that at that occasion Peter led Mary’s son John Mark to faith in Christ.
c. He certainly had good reason to believe God after that prayer meeting!
d. Perhaps Mary—a believer in Christ—MADE her son come to prayer meeting. As an unsaved young man, it might have seemed quite boring to him… not much interest in praying.
e. However, over time God gave this young man a stupendous, undeniable example of answered prayer!
f. When Peter came into his home that night—I’m sure he gave one inspiring testimony as to what God had done for him.
• John Mark MUST have been impressed with Peter’s faith and courage.
• Peter believed the gospel so deeply that he was willing to suffer and be beaten and imprisoned in order to preach Christ. That’s impressive.
• And his testimony of how God released him must have made an indelible impression on John Mark’s mind and heart.
g. That may well have been the night Peter led John Mark to Christ… for Peter calls Marcus his “son” in the faith.
h. It IS a good idea for parents to bring their children to prayer meeting—even if they do think it’s a bit boring. Even if they would rather stay home and play Nintendo.
i. It may be just the thing God uses to lead them to saving faith Christ.
j. Don’t let the kids rule the roost. It’s up to Christian parents to set the tone and the example.
k. I know prayer meeting is on a school night. But I’m convinced (through years of observation) that kids who come to prayer meeting faithfully still do well in school.
l. And even if they stay up an extra 45 minutes on prayer meeting night—the Lord is able to give them that extra oomph they need for Thursday morning.
m. God honors those who honor Him.
n. Some wonderful spiritual testimonies and times of rejoicing and fellowship occur during prayer meeting that are priceless…
o. That’s not to mention the nearly 400 lessons on Proverbs they could be getting as well… divine wisdom recorded for the young and inexperienced to gain discernment, understanding, and insight.
p. Prayer meeting was good for John Mark. It would be good for your family too!
5. Acts 13:1-3 – Later John Mark went with the apostle Paul on his first missionary journey. (vs. 5 – John = John Mark)
a. John Mark went along with Paul and Barnabas on this journey.
b. Remember, John Mark was the nephew of Barnabas—which probably influenced the decision to take him along.
c. He went as their “minister” = A subordinate, servant, attendant, associate in any work.
d. Evidently, John Mark was given duties to perform for the seasoned preachers, Paul and Barnabas. He may well have been responsible for supplies, food, setting up tents, etc.
e. It must have been rigorous work too… travel was not easy in those days. They did not traverse the country in an air conditioned Winnebago.
f. It involved a lot of walking; hiking; carrying heavy loads; in the elements; hot; sweaty; dirty; hungry; thirsty; etc.
g. There was much opposition everywhere they went. The gospel is a hated message. The Savior we proclaim was hated and crucified.
h. John Mark experienced much of this opposition as he traveled with Paul and Barnabas.
6. Acts 13:13 – Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark came to Perga in Pamphilia…
a. At that point in the missionary journey, John Mark QUIT.
b. We are not told WHY… we are just told that he returned home to Jerusalem.
c. He didn’t want to travel with the missionaries any more.
d. This happens often among missionaries.
• Becoming a missionary sounds exciting!
• Traveling to exotic locations around the globe…
• Grandiose ambitions of establishing a flourishing church in a foreign land…
• Young people read missionary stories of missionaries who led thousands to Christ… whole tribes who come to faith in Christ…
• It can sound quite attractive… idealistic… fascinating… thrilling…
• And folks who go on a two week missionary trip might experience a bit of that thrill… (seeing dozens of cute little Indian kids or Zambian children run up to you… ministering in their midst…) Even sleeping on the floor in a grass hut is different and exciting.
• But we get to come home after a couple of weeks.
• But real missionaries—those called of God—stay there… for the rest of their lives.
• If you have NOT been called to serve as a missionary, the novelty wears off in a hurry.
• Living in difficult, hot, dirty locations with lousy food… riddled with disease… unsanitary conditions… and no relief in sight—that can get to you after a while.
• Many mission boards have to deal with missionaries who return home after their first term…
• Some went because of an emotional appeal or a guilt trip imposed by a well meaning but misguided pastor or a visiting missionary.
• Missionaries come home because they didn’t really count the cost before they left… or God never called them to leave in the first place.
• They return home discouraged, defeated, dejected, and feeling like a traitor.
e. We don’t know the REASONS why John Mark returned home… all we know is the FACT that he left on a long missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas… and mid stream left the team and went home. He quit.
• It could have been more difficult than he expected.
• It could have been that he discovered he just wasn’t cut-out for that kind of lifestyle.
• Perhaps he discovered that it was more dangerous than he had expected.
• It could have been he was too immature as a believer to handle the trials and opposition along the way.
• It could have been that he left on impulse and emotion… rather than the leading of the Holy Spirit.
• Cf. Acts 13:3 – the Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas.
• Vs. 5 says nothing about the Holy Spirit calling John Mark.
f. We just don’t know exactly WHY he left.
• But when he came to Perga, he went home.
• And that meant that all the work he HAD been doing for Paul and Barnabas would no longer get done.
• That meant a great imposition on Paul and Barnabas.
• They would have to take care of all those chores and duties.
• That meant that the work itself would be slower… hindered… stalled… perhaps some projects would never get finished as a result.
• Paul was a man who was DRIVEN by his work… and the fact that Mark quit in the midst of the work was a hard pill for him to swallow.
• He saw it from a very different perspective than Uncle Barnabas did.
B. The Rift
1. Acts 15:36 – Paul and Barnabas plan the second missionary journey.
a. Evidently, John Mark had had a change of heart in between these two missionary journeys.
b. He wanted to return to the work of the Lord and minister unto Paul and Barnabas as he did before.
c. No doubt he apologized for any inconvenience he was to them before… and tried to convince them that things would be different now. He had matured. He had grown in the Lord. He was dedicated to the work now. He would not depart any more.
2. Vs. 37 – Barnabas determined to take John Mark with them on the journey (his nephew).
a. Barnabas was “determined” to do so. [determine: resolve, determine, purpose after deliberation] Barnabas had his mind made up to take his nephew.
b. The name “Barnabas” means son of consolation.
c. He was true to his name. He was a comforter; an encourager; one who tried to lift the spirits of others.
d. His nephew had failed on the first missionary journey but now he wanted to return to the work.
e. Uncle Barnabas—the consoler—the comforter—wanted to encourage his nephew to do just that: get back to the work.
f. Barnabas was DETERMINED to take him back and give him a second chance.
3. Acts 15:38 – Paul thought it not good to take John Mark.
a. The REASON: Mark departed from them on the last trip.
• ἀφίστημι – withdraw, remove oneself, forsake, desert, retire, cease from something.
• This is a stronger term than is used in Acts 13:13 – ? ἀποχωρέω – to go from; to depart;
”John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.”
• ἀφίστημι – Used in Heb.3:12 – lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief… in departing from the living God.
• It is also used in I Tim.4:1 – in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits.
b. The term does not mean that Paul felt that John Mark was an unbelieving apostate who departed from the faith and denied Christ.
• But it IS a stronger term.
• Evidently the apostle Paul saw Mark’s departure as much more serious a matter than Uncle Barnabas did.
• Perhaps Paul had in mind the words of the Lord Jesus in giving qualifications for disciples: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
• “He went not with them to the work.” (15:38c)
• There was work to do and Mark left. He left the work for the others to do while he departed to his comfortable home in Jerusalem.
• Paul saw John Mark as derelict in his duties.
• As far as Paul was concerned he abandoned the work of the Lord.
• Paul saw John Mark as a soldier who in the middle of a campaign went AWOL—a deserter.
• Paul saw the work of the Lord as too serious to take a chance on this young man again.
4. Here we see a serious rift among the missionaries.
a. Barnabas was DETERMINED to take John Mark.
b. Paul saw him as a deserter and refused to have him come.
c. The contention was SHARP between Paul and Barnabas over this issue.
• Contention: stirring up of anger, sharp contention, angry dispute.
• Paul and Barnabas split company over this matter.
d. Who was right and who was wrong in this matter? Paul or Barnabas?
• I don’t think either of them was right or wrong.
• They just looked at the matter from a different angle.
• Barnabas had a good point: If the young man repented and wanted to serve the Lord again, it is good to give him a second chance… encourage him in the things of the Lord. (Gal. 6:12 – restore such an one in the spirit of meekness!)
• Paul also had a good point: if he failed once, he could fail again. He probably wasn’t the very best candidate for the job. Paul thought it risky to take along a proven failure. Be wise as a serpent!
• Barnabas looked at it from a “people perspective” and Paul looked at it from the perspective of the work of God and the souls of men being at stake.
• This is a good reminder to us all: good men with good intentions often DIFFER… and sometimes sharply!
• And their difference—right or wrong—wasn’t the end of the world. God USED it.
• Instead of ONE missionary team, it resulted in TWO missionary teams.
• God can bring good even out of nasty disputes and separation!
• Paul went on to preach Christ with Silas and Barnabas went on to preach Christ with John Mark… and more people came to know the Lord!
• God can STILL bring good out of disputes and arguments among believers today. He is still God!
C. The Restoration
1. John Mark’s life ought to be an encouragement to us all.
a. He failed (like we do).
b. But he repented and returned to the work of the Lord and God used him greatly!
2. Even when he determined to return to the work of the Lord, he was hindered by Paul.
a. That must have been a great discouragement to him… what a blow that must have been!
b. But he didn’t let that get him down either.
3. John Mark returned to the work and PROVED himself to be a faithful servant of God.
a. Over time even Paul saw the value of this young man in the work of God.
b. Later Paul commends Mark in Philemon 24 – his fellow laborer.
4. An in Col. 4:10, Paul commands the Colossian believers to RECEIVE John Mark!
a. Don’t be afraid to receive him—as Paul had been.
b. It is likely that the rift between Paul and Barnabas was well known in Christian circles… and in Colossae.
c. Paul wanted everyone to know that reconciliation had occurred… and that Paul felt John Mark was now worthy of being received.
5. As a young man, John Mark fell and failed… but he later grew up and matured and became a useful servant of the Lord.
6. Have you fallen and failed?
a. Learn a lesson from John Mark.
b. If you have fallen—get back up and get back to the work of the Lord.
c. Don’t sit around licking your wounds and feeling sorry for yourself. You’re wasting God’s time! Redeem the time!
d. God is in the business of restoring souls and servants.
e. Prov. 24:16 – Righteous men fall… maybe even seven times! But they keep on getting up again.
f. Psa. 37:23-24 – a good man may fall, but will NOT be utterly cast down. The Lord will hold him up.
g. When we try to get back up there will be some (who with good intentions) try to console and encourage us like Barnabas.
h. There may be others (with good intentions) who may be a bit skeptical as to whether we are ready to return to the work.
i. Be like John Mark. He returned to serve where he could… where he was received… and PROVED himself faithful… and God honored him for that.
j. And even Paul—the one who was skeptical at first—later on had to acknowledge the wonderful work that God did in his heart.
k. Even Paul learned to see him as a valuable servant of the Lord…
l. “Take Mark and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (II Tim. 4:11).
m. The disappointment, distrust, hurt, and resentment over Mark’s departure was completely restored and the wound was healed. Relationships CAN be healed!!!
n. Men, women, and children who fail can repent and return to the Lord and be used of the Lord again.
• God wasn’t finished with Abram when he went down to Egypt.
• God wasn’t done with Moses when he smashed the tablets in anger.
• God wasn’t finished with David when he committed adultery.
• God wasn’t done with Peter when he spoke out of turn… again and again…
• Virtually every hero of the faith also has mentioned in the Scriptures some of their failures too.
• God doesn’t cast them away because they failed… nor does he cast us away when we fall.
• The good Shepherd RESTORES our souls and leads us to green pastures… that we might be strengthened and return to the work he has called us to do!
o. God sure had a great work for John Mark to do.
• He is the man who later was used of the Lord to write the gospel of Mark.
DEMAS: He Followed and Fled (Col. 4:14)
1. Demas is mentioned here as one of Paul’s friends and a faithful servant of God.
2. In one of the letters Tychicus was delivering to Paul’s friend Philemon he mentions Demas again—(vs. 24 – as one of Paul’s fellow laborers.)
3. We don’t know for how long and in how many different places Demas served the Lord with Paul… but we do know that he was a trusted friend of Paul at this time.
a. And Paul was a diligent and careful planner.
b. When he chose men to serve with him—he was a bit picky.
c. He didn’t want just anyone… he wanted men who were faithful… dedicated… godly… who loved the Lord and put Christ first.
d. No doubt he interviewed and grilled men on doctrine before they were accepted to serve with him.
e. Demas no doubt went through an extensive screening process before Paul would take him on as a fellow laborer.
f. And evidently, at that time, he was approved and passed the test! Paul was impressed and pleased with Demas early on.
4. We have one more mention of this man Demas in Paul’s final epistle. (II Tim. 4:10)
a. What a different picture we have of Demas in this verse!
b. Years later, Demas did something similar to what John Mark did. He departed from the work of the Lord.
c. He departed because he loved the present world system.
d. Not all who start well, end well.
e. It must have broken Paul’s heart to have to write these words about his friend and former fellow worker, Demas.
f. Evidently Demas had a colossal internal, spiritual struggle taking place.
• On the one hand, he saw Paul and other believers suffering in a dingy prison for their faith in Christ… perhaps facing a death sentence.
• On the other hand, there in the bustling city of Rome, the capital of the world, he saw the lights that dazzle… the tempting sounds he heard… there was the glitter of fashion… the gorgeous gardens and the magnificent halls and palaces of the Caesars.
• In Rome, he had access to the plays, the music halls, the night life, the women, the carnivals and the countless distractions and festivities of that outstanding city.
• Over time, it got to him. He caved in to the pressure and the allurements of the world.
g. II Tim. 4:10 – World: aiwn – the age – the spirit of the age – the philosophy of the world: you only go around once—grab for all the gusto you can! Live it up! Live for today!
h. Demas didn’t want to live the crucified life any more. He wanted to live it up.
i. He became enamored by the world and the things of the world: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life! (I John 2:15-16)
j. Many a believer who started off well has been HOOKED by the same enticements of the world’s pleasure that hooked Demas.
k. As a result, Demas FORSOOK Paul…
• This is the same word as used in Heb.10:25 – forsake not the assembling of yourselves together.
• He left Paul and the work of the Lord just like John Mark did… though for a different reason.
• This must have been extremely painful to the apostle.
• It is always painful when folks we come to know and love in the Lord DEPART… and return to the world.
• Unfortunately, in the Lord’s work, it happens all the time.
• And in our age, we should expect it more and more.
• Cf. II Tim.3:1, 2, 4 – lovers of themselves (vs. 2), traitors to the cause of Christ (vs. 4a)… lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God (vs. 4).
• Note that Paul does not say they have NO love for God. They love God—but they love the world and its pleasures more.
• That is a debilitating BLIGHT upon the church of Jesus Christ in our age.
• The work of God SUFFERS as a result.
• It’s hard to find qualified folks to serve in the local church and COMMIT to being a Sunday school teacher, choir member, or any other ministry… much less a missionary… when they are MORE committed to personal pleasure.
• Demas looked at where Paul’s faithfulness landed him (in a dingy prison cell)… and then he looked at all the pleasures available in Rome—and chose to place his love on the world rather than on Christ and His ministry.
• He made his choice.
• In the earthly here and now—it seemed reasonable.
• At the Bema Seat of Christ he will see how foolish his worldly decisions were in light of eternity… what a waste of God’s time to pursue the trinkets and pleasures of the world that last but a moment… and loss of rewards forever.
• Paul knew the eternal consequences of the poor choices Demas made and it broke his heart.
• For the believer, it is suffering in this life… sacrifice in this life… the crucified life now… and the crown in glory!
• “So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, till my (earthly) trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown!”
• Demas was unwilling to lay down the trophies of this life. He was unwilling to pick up a cross to follow Christ. He had his fun in this life. He will miss out on his crown forever and ever.
• Oh, he’ll make it to heaven… but with precious little fruit… no crown to cast at the feet of the Lord Jesus in worship… no “Well done thou good and faithful servant!”
l. With no more information than that, one might wonder about whether Demas was a believer at all.
• Was he like Judas? A false disciple who pretended to walk the walk for a while and then quit because he was not a genuine believer?
• Was he like the folks John describes in I John 2:19?
• Was he like the seed that landed on rocky soil… sprout up… and then dried up.
• Did he depart from Paul and the Lord because he was never truly born again?
• The only information we have is that he followed for a while and departed.
• That’s exactly what we are told of John Mark too.
• I’m inclined to believe that he was a true believer… but a carnal, worldly believer who lived for himself rather than for the Lord.
5. But we don’t have the final chapter on Demas.
a. With the scant information we have, it’s impossible to know for sure where he stood with the Lord. (True believer or imposter)
b. There are lots of men and women like Demas—who started out well… and then departed.
c. Where they stand with the Lord we may never know. Only the Lord knows that.
d. Because we don’t know about so many folks “Demas” like followers today, we should believe the best and keep on praying for them!
6. God may have had a wonderful final chapter for the life of Demas too…
a. If all we knew about John Mark was the information up to Acts 13, we might wonder the same thing about him.
b. God gave us more info about John… but not about Demas.
c. Perhaps Demas too repented…
• Maybe he got sick of the empty chaff the world had to offer… and returned to fellowship with His heavenly Father like the prodigal son!
d. We just don’t know.
e. We have to leave Demas in the hands of the Lord. He knows all things… He doeth all things well. He never makes a mistake… never misjudges a heart.
f. There are lots of men and women who started off like John Mark and like Demas. They started off well… and then they returned to the world.
g. We ought to PRAY for folks like Demas.
h. We also ought to help encourage and restore folks like John Mark.
i. Maybe you ARE a John-Mark or a Demas and have departed from the Lord.
• There is no time like the present to repent of your sin—see the error of your ways—the wasted years away from Christ –
• Return to fellowship with Christ and His Body, the local church and bear fruit once again!
• Just like the father in the story of the prodigal son, your Heavenly Father is waiting for you to return… to receive you with open arms upon repentance.
• What are you waiting for?
• So you’ve wasted time on worldly pleasures and pursuits.
• Use what time you have left for the service of Christ… if you’ve forsaken the assembling of yourselves in the local church—be like John Mark.
• God may have a wonderful ministry for you as He had for John Mark!
j. God is still in the business of restoring souls… and drawing wanderers back to Himself… and transforming them into useful servants for His glory!
Epaphras:
A Man with a Heart for God’s People and God’s Work
Epaphras: A Servant of God
1. He was “of you.” He was FROM Colossae. That was his home church.
2. He was the one used of the Lord to found the church in Colossae. (1:7)
a. The Colossians “learned” the gospel from Epaphras. (cf. vs. 6) (learned = discipled)
b. Some believe that he also founded the other churches in that region: Laodicea and Heiropolis. (4:13) (They were all only about 10 miles or so apart—tri-city region)
3. A SERVANT of Christ.
a. Servant: Strong’s – doulos: a servant; slave;
b. Zodhiates: one who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will being altogether consumed in the will of the other.
c. Greek-English Lexicon: one who is a slave in the sense of becoming the property of an owner.
d. It was a bond slave—but used here of voluntary slavery to Christ in His service. It speaks of loyalty and dedication to Christ as LORD.
e. This is what EVERY Christian ought to be: a bond slave of Christ.
f. In 1:7 he is also called a faithful minister (diakonos).
4. In Col. 1:7 Paul refers to him as a dear “fellowservant.”
a. Fellowservant: sundoulos
b. Paul sees himself and Epaphras as fellow servants of Jesus Christ… both bond slaves of the Lord… both enrolled in His service.
c. Not only are all believers bond slaves of Christ, we are to consider ourselves FELLOW bond slaves.
• We are serving the Lord TOGETHER… not working against each other.
• There is ONE Master, and we are all to be carrying out His will and doing His service.
d. And in this verse he speaks of him as a “dear” fellowservant.
• Dear = ἀγαπητός—He was a beloved one—both of the Lord and of the people of God.
Epaphras: A Prayer Warrior
A. HOW He Prayed
1. Continually
a. This was his lifestyle.
b. He didn’t pray only when he was with other believers who were praying. He prayed on his own—always.
c. Col. 4:2 – he obeyed this command… willingly… naturally.
2. Fervently – ἀγωνιζόμενος
a. This is one Greek word translated “labored fervently.”
b. To contend for a prize, struggle.
c. To strive to do something with great intensity and effort.
d. I Cor. 9:25 – And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.
• It was a term used to describe the effort that went into athletic competitions.
• This is the kind of effort and enthusiasm that ought to be exerted in our prayer life!
• Think of the “fervency” that was in the air when the Patriots won the Super Bowl…
• Imagine if believers were as fervent in prayer?
• It is the fervent prayer that is effectual!
e. I Tim. 6:12 – Fight the good fight of faith. (2 times – verb and noun). This kind of fervency is to be exerted in our daily struggle for the faith… and to remain faithful to the faith.
f. Col. 1:29 – Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
• Notice that in the believer who is yielded to Christ, and IN and THROUGH whom God is working… there is still an internal struggle occurring… agonizomai!
• But the struggle is not of the believer struggling to accomplish the work… but rather of the believer struggling to TRUST God to work through him…
• It is a fight of the FAITH… for the flesh loves to try to take the reigns and do it all by ourselves… and leave God out. Our tendency is to trust self.
• It is a battle to remain resting and trusting in God alone to work through us—and that battle exists in our prayer lives as well…
• It is a battle to BELIEVE that God hears and responds to our prayers…
• It is an internal battle of the emotions, pouring our hearts out to God to work to accomplish His will…
g. Luke 22:44 – the very best illustration of this concept as relating to prayer is found in the Lord’s prayer in Gethsemane.
• “He being in agony (noun form)… prayed earnestly.” (lit = intensely).
• He sweat as it were, great drops of blood.
• This prayer was not a light little ditty… but it came from deep within His heart and soul…
h. Epaphras “agonized” in prayer…
i. Present participle –constantly: ongoing wrestling in prayer
3. Specifically (for you)
a. Epaphras was one OF them. He was from that city.
b. Of course, he would know many of those saints by name.
c. He would be familiar with the circumstances of their lives.
d. He would know some of the conflicts and battles they faced.
e. He didn’t just pray for believers everywhere around the world in a broad, vague, fuzzy, generic sense.
f. He prayed especially for those he KNEW in his home town… and those he loved.
g. He prayed specifically for them.
h. That’s why we mention specific prayer requests from a few of the missionaries that we know. We print up specific prayer lists… with names of real people… and the struggles they are facing.
i. USE those prayer lists and pray specifically!
j. How can you praise God for answered prayer if your prayer is “God bless the missionaries?”
4. For Spiritual Things
a. He prayed that the believers would stand fast in the will of God.
b. NOT: for a new job; better pay; sore backs and knees; new tent; increase in the flock.
c. Our prayer requests often focus on the earthly. His prayer request was for the heavenly—spiritual things.
d. When we seek those things which are above as we are commanded, we will be praying for things above too!
e. It certainly is not wrong to pray for earthly things (like food; shelter; health, and other earthly needs).
f. But with this caveat:
• That should not be the bulk of our prayers… we should not concentrate on those things.
• And when we DO pray for earthly things, it should be for a spiritual purpose: that God may be glorified in some way through the provision or answer.
» Ex: don’t just pray for good health—but pray for God to restore our bodies that we might be strong enough to serve Him…
» Ex: don’t just pray for a job—but for a job that you might be a witness for Christ in the exact place He would have for you!
Epaphras: A Man with a Heart for the People of God
1. Standing perfect and complete in all the will of God!
a. What an amazing prayer request!
b. He wanted the people of God to know the will of God and to walk in it!
c. He wanted the spiritual BEST for God’s people in Colossae.
2. He wanted God’s people to STAND. STABILITY!
a. Stand: to stand fast; made to stand; established; set in place.
b. Passive = made to stand. God does this. It is HE who holds us up and enables us to stand. Epaphras knew that… and prayed for it.
c. He wasn’t praying for the believers stand in their own strength… but that they would be MADE to stand.
d. Oh how we need to be praying for one another that we too might be made to STAND… especially in this evil day.
e. Eph. 6:12-14 – stand is a command… but it can only be done when we are protected by Gods’ armor… and we are are thus strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might… not ours. (vs. 10)
f. We live in soft days… wherein Christians in our land think it not even necessary to take a stand on anything… The tendency is to rather than taking a stand, to lie down… in complacency.
g. We seem to have such a spineless, wishy-washy brand of Christianity today. We NEED godly saints to take their STAND… Let’s pray for that.
h. Epaphras prayed for the believers in Colossae that God would make them to STAND… for they were under attack by an early form of Gnosticism…
i. What a great prayer for us to pray for one another! That we be not babes, tossed to and fro…
3. He wanted God’s people to stand in ALL the will of God… not just part of it.
a. All false teachers have “some” of the will of God intertwined in their false systems.
b. But having a “little” bit of the will and knowledge of God can be exceedingly dangerous… and deceptive.
c. ALL is an important term used in Colossians. It appears over 30 times.
• Col. 1:16-17 – for by Him were ALL things created and ALL things consist.
• Col. 1:18 – that in ALL things Christ should have the preeminence. Religious men might give Him preeminence in a few things…
• 2:9 – in Him dwells ALL the fullness of the Godhead. Some cults say that Christ had “some” trace of divinity… a little spark of divinity.
• 2:10 – He is the head of ALL principalities and powers… not just a few.
• ALL is an important word theologically. Less than ALL can be disastrous and heretical. (Whether it relates to the Person of Christ, His finished work, or the knowledge of ALL of His will).
d. Epaphras prayed that the saints in Colossae would stand in ALL the will of God.
• Literally = in everything willed by God.
• Most of God’s will is revealed in His Word. ALL: Every jot and tittle in God’s Word is important.
• God’s expect obedience and compliance in ALL of it.
• False teachers are learned in promoting MUCH of God’s will. They can be moral… good citizens… good family people… but there are always SOME areas where they go astray from God’s will.
• The prayer was for believers to be standing in ALL the will of God… that every portion of God’s will for their lives would be realized. (God’s will for your witness at work; your family; your reaction to trials; your service in the local church; fruit bearing; learning His Word; knowing Christ and growing in Him…)
• There is a LOT to God’s will… and Epaphras wanted the believers in Colossae to be standing in EVERY BIT of it… nothing lacking.
• He prayed that they would stand fast in EVERYTHING willed by God for their lives.
• Paul’s prayers for the people were that they would be FILLED with the knowledge of His will… (1:9)
• This kind of praying puts God and His will at the center of everything.
4. Perfect: MATURITY!
a. Epaphras wanted the Colossians to stand PERFECT.
b. This does not mean he was expecting them to be sinlessly perfect.
c. Τέλειος – of full age; mature; brought to its end; finished.
• Perfect in the sense of not lacking any moral quality; mature in behavior.
• Of persons, meaning full–grown in mind and understanding (1 Cor. 14:20);
• Heb. 5:14 – But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age… as opposed to babes… immature ones.
d. The prayer of Epaphras was for the saints at Colossae to stand before God as full grown, spiritually mature adults… with a mature understanding of His will and His ways.
e. Eph. 4:13-14 – this was the heart desire of Paul for the Ephesians as well. (Notice the context of spiritual attack by error in both places.)
5. Complete: ASSURANCE!
a. Defined: (textual variation) (long Greek Word with 16 letters, and in some manuscripts one word has three extra letters giving it addition meaning – from filled to the full to fully persuaded.)
• Wuest: “to bear or bring to the full, to carry through to the end, to make full, to persuade, fully convince.”
• Lightfoot translates, “fully persuaded.”
• Vincent translates it, “fully assured.”
b. Cf. Rom. 14:5 – Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
c. Cf. Rom. 4:21 – And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
d. The prayer was not for believers to objectively possess the will of God (as raw data)… but rather than we would be subjectively PERSUADED by the will of God.
e. This implies a pure conscience—persuaded that we are standing in God’s will… persuaded from the Holy Spirit using the Scripture so that we know God’s will… persuaded that we are doing God’s will… persuaded that we are living God’s will… THAT brings a pure conscience. Anything less will cause the conscience to convict us…
f. It implies MORE than just possessing facts; it implies full persuasion… confidence… assurance… faith… trust…
g. This too is an expression of spiritual maturity… assurance! (Babes are tossed to and fro… they are uncertain; vacillate.)
h. Uncertainty lays a person open for enticement into error. Maturity brings a settled assurance. It is a knowledge of God’s will as recorded in His Word that brings that assurance to the heart.
i. This was also Paul’s prayer for the Colossians in 2:2 – the “full assurance of understanding.” (same term)
j. Perfect, passive, participle-
• The perfect tense strengthens this thought.
• The prayer is that we might come to the place of full assurance of God’s will and STAND there—remain settled in it!
• The passive indicates that it is the Lord who brings a believer to that place in their life of faith and it is the Lord who establishes us in that kind assurance!
• So if it is the Lord’s work in us—then PRAY for it!
• Pray for a full understanding of the will of God for your life… and that you will be SETTLED, established, and RESTING in it! (Not wandering, drifting, vacillating, but assured and stable!)
6. Epaphras had a heart for God’s people.
a. He knew how to pray for them and what to pray for.
b. He knew what they really needed… to know God’s will… to stand fast in it… and assured by it… and resting in it!
c. What a great way to pray for one another today too!
Epaphras: A Man Zealous for the Work of God
1. Zealous:
a. There are two words that appear here in the Greek in various texts. Some texts have one; some have both terms.
b. ζῆλος – to be hot, fervent; fervour of spirit.
• This is the term used in John 2:17 – “the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.”
c. πόνος – It is labor which demands the whole strength of man; pain, hard work to the point of tormenting agony
2. Paul speaks here of the hard work and/or zeal that Epaphras poured into those folks as he ministered in their midst.
a. He was zealous for the house of God in Colossae!
b. He labored with the labor which demands the whole strength of man.
c. Paul saw in Epaphras a man for whom the work of the Lord was his life… he poured his heart and soul into it.
d. He was zealous that the local churches in his home region flourished and bore fruit—real fruit of the Spirit.
e. He was zealous—jealous—for the purity of the work of God in that region of the world.
• I don’t really think I could convey to someone who is not in the ministry of the zeal Paul saw in the heart of Epaphras toward the work of God in Colossae…
• I think only a pastor could really understand what he means.
f. Paul was just as zealous for the churches he had helped establish.
• II Cor. 11:2-3 – Paul was “jealous” (same word as zealous in Col. 4:13) for the church at Corinth.
• He had a holy zeal for their purity –
• The closest way to describe this zeal is the holy jealousy a father would have for his daughter’s purity… that he may present her as a chaste virgin to her husband.
• Paul had that kind of holy zeal for the believers in Corinth… that he might present them prepared to stand before the Bema seat… and receive a well done!
• Read I & II Cor. Paul agonized over the spiritual condition of the believers there. He was zealous and jealous for them… that they would walk with God and not be destroyed by the adversary.
• He agonized over the spiritual decline he saw in some… in their lax attitude towards spiritual things… their complacency… their carnality and worldliness.
• Paul had a pastor’s heart.
• Epaphras had the same kind of zeal toward the church that he evidently had established in Colossae… as did Paul (Col. 2:4). They were jealous over the purity of that assembly of believers.
• Any pastor would have that kind of heart toward his ministry… toward the flock of God over which God has made him overseer.
• He was zealous—jealous for it… and wanted only that which would be BEST for them in light of eternity.
3. His zeal extended beyond Colossae to neighboring cities where churches had been established.
a. He was also zealous for the churches established in Laodicea and Hierapolis too.
b. He had labored much in that region…
• II Cor. 12:15 – Like Paul he spent and was spent on the work of God there.
• Phil. 2:17 – Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
• The more you PUT INTO the work of God… into a local church… the more zealous you will be for that work… the more jealously you will want to protect it.
c. Folks that are totally involved in the work of God and are zealous for it… experience certain things other believers who are only casually involved in the work never experience.
• The heart wrenching agony when things go wrong… the weeping over believers who like Demas turn away… the broken heart associated with young ones we have watched grow up choose not to walk with God… (Other folks might say in passing, what a pity!)
• The heavenly joy and peace that passes understanding through God’s hand of blessing… the real thrill of answered prayer… the delight in seeing people get saved… and believers returning to the Lord… and the pure spiritual pleasure of seeing God WORK in our midst… the thrill of seeing God build up His Body… (Other folks who have not poured their hearts and souls into the work might say, “Isn’t that nice.”)
4. Paul bears him record [is a continual witness to this fact] (present tense) that he (continually has) a zeal for you!
a. Epaphras was with Paul in Rome.
b. Philemon 23 – Paul refers to him as his “fellow prisoner.”
c. If they were confined together, Paul would certainly get to know this man well… to know his heart for God’s people… his heart to pray… his heart for the churches of Christ in home region…
d. Prison (confinement of any sort) could not preclude him from serving Christ and ministering to the Body of Christ! He was a prayer warrior for those saints.
e. Epaphras perhaps did more to minister to the spiritual well being of the folks in the Lycas Valley than many of the believers in Colossae who were FREE—but who did not have the same quality of HEART for the work of God!
f. Evidently Paul and Epaphras shared the same heart for the work of God.
g. Paul carried upon him the “burden of all the churches.”
h. So did Epaphras—at least for the region he was from.
i. The churches in that Lycas Valley were near and dear to his heart… as I hope the faithful Bible believing churches in the Merrimack Valley are to us!
j. He rejoiced with those who did rejoice and wept with those who wept.
k. Epaphras had a heart for the work of God.
5. God’s work in this age is the LOCAL church.
a. This is what God is doing in this age.
b. No wonder the local church is under such an attack by our adversary the devil.
c. In some areas of the globe his strategy is to persecute the church from without… (China; Muslim countries).
d. In this country his tactic seems to be to corrupt the church from within… watering down its message… blurring the lines of distinction between the church and the world… making it soft… carnal… worldly… businesslike… apathetic… irreverent… spiritually careless… and lacking spiritual understanding and discernment to even recognize the corruption.
e. May WE have a heart for God’s work—the local church—like Paul and Epaphras: willing to be faithful servants… dear fellowservants… prayer warriors… seeking things above… desiring each believer to grow in Christlikeness… and to stand fast in all the will of God… and to see God’s work GROW God’s way…
Fellow-Workers unto the Kingdom
Introduction:
This is the final section of the epistle. Paul writes a letter to the church at Colossae, and three of his fellow workers (Aristarchus, Marcus, and Justus) also send along their greetings and salutations to the Colossians.
PAUL’S THREE FRIENDS
A. Aristarchus
1. He was Paul’s “fellow prisoner.”
a. The most natural way to take this expression is that he too was imprisoned in Rome as Paul was.
b. And it is to be assumed for the same reason: for preaching Christ. (Not as Tychicus—the thief!)
c. Aristarchus was a faithful disciple of Christ.
d. The term indicates a man who is willing to SUFFER in the ministry of Christ.
e. Matt. 16:24-25 – the cost of following Christ.
• This is NOT the plan of salvation.
• We are saved by faith and faith alone.
• But once saved, God expects us to follow Christ.
• And following Christ… in a world that hated Him and crucified Him… means suffering for the followers—to one degree or another.
• Jesus says that those following Him ought to be willing to suffer to the ultimate—a cross—a form of cruel death.
• This does not mean that everyone who follows Christ will suffer martyrdom, but it does mean that everyone who follows Christ will suffer.
• There was recently a man in Afghanistan who professed faith in Christ and was about to be tried in a Muslim court… and executed for his faith… that’s persecution!
• There is a COST to following Christ.
• Aristarchus was willing to pay the price. He ended up in jail as Paul did.
f. I Tim. 3:12 – Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
• It is possible (it happens all the time) to be a carnal believer… and to avoid suffering for Christ’s sake.
• The world hates godly believers… because the lifestyle of a godly believer shines light on their darkness and they hate that.
• But the world doesn’t hate the believer who lives like they do… (let’s eat, drink, and be merry! Let’s live for today! Live it up—you only go around once!)
• But ALL those who walk in the Spirit and live godly lives shall suffer persecution… for their faith.
• Godly believers are suffering and paying a huge price in many countries around the world today: China; Muslim countries…
g. In America, we don’t suffer that much for our faith in Christ.
• Persecution seems to come in waves and in various locations throughout the history of the church.
• Paul tells us to PRAY for those in leadership positions so that we might not have to face severe persecution. (That we might lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.)
• God has blessed us in this nation. Keep on praying for it may not last forever.
• But even in times of relative ease, there is always SOME form of persecution that occurs.
• I Tim. 3:12 is always true—everywhere. ALL who live godly shall suffer persecution to one degree or another.
• In this land, it is more often subtle… laughter… mocking… by passed for a promotion… considered odd… rejected by family…
• It is a far cry from being chased out of your country… or burned at the stake… or imprisoned.
• But it IS a form of persecution… and expression of the world’s hatred for our Savior, Jesus Christ. They can’t get at Him so they get at His followers.
h. A true follower of Christ ought to be WILLING to suffer for His name’s sake.
• The degree to which we are called to suffer varies wildly from believer to believer.
• For a believer who decides to get baptized the consequences might vary from being executed… to losing one’s job… to being ridiculed by old friends.
• But we ALL should have a heart WILLING to suffer.
• Godly believers are willing to pay the price… and there WILL be a price to pay: one degree or another.
• Believers who are not as godly can avoid the suffering… through compromise and worldly living.
• To some who have professed faith in Christ getting up an hour early for Sunday school is too much to suffer!
• Forget about SUFFERING for their faith—some folks are unwilling to be put out at all in the service of Christ.
• They will come to church and serve Christ IF it is convenient… if it does not upset their busy schedule of fun things to do…
• They will help serve in the local church as long as it doesn’t mean any inconvenience in their lives… as long as they don’t have to sacrifice any of the things THEY want to do…
• For them coming to the evening service is a nuisance… a hassle…
• Signing up to help clean the church—that’s out of the question! If I’m going to clean up anywhere, it will be at MY house!
• The TRUE Christian life is a crucified life… a life of death to self… and alive unto God… a life not lived for self, but for the Lord and in the Lord’s service… as the Lord leads… regardless of the price—even if it means jail!
• Aristarchus was willing to pay the price in following Christ. He was a fellow PRISONER with Paul.
i. Serving Christ in our land does not involve overt persecution… but it DOES involve the crucified life… a life of self sacrifice.
• And if disciples of Christ are expected to be willing to pick up a cross… surely it is not too much for believers to be expected to be inconvenienced for Christ… to put themselves out a bit in serving Him… in going the extra mile…
• There is a soft and effeminate Christianity today that seems unwilling to suffer at all… and one must wonder whether it is true Christianity at all…
2. He salutes the Colossian believers.
a. He was not going with Onesimus and Tychicus, but stayed behind.
b. He stayed with Paul in Rome… perhaps not by choice (prisoner!)
3. He was one of the men who traveled with Paul on his missionary journey.
a. Acts 19:29 – He was from the region of Macedonia… and the city of Thessalonica.
b. He was seized along with Paul during the riot in Ephesus (caused by the idol makers unhappy with Paul’s message.
c. There Paul and Aristarchus could have been beaten to death… until the town clerk brought order to the crowd.
d. Acts 20:1 – From Ephesus, Paul left for Macedonia… and Aristarchus accompanied him there.
e. Acts 20:4 – Then when Paul went from Macedonia ultimately back to Jerusalem, Aristarchus was with him. They brought the love gift from the gentiles to the poor saints in Jerusalem.
f. It is likely that Aristarchus was there with Paul during his incarceration at Caesarea.
g. Acts 27:2 – he went on the infamous ship ride with Paul to Rome… which became a shipwreck.
4. Philemon 24 – Aristarchus is called Paul’s fellow laborer.
a. He was a worker… a laborer… a servant.
b. He was involved in the WORK of the ministry.
c. Eph. 4:11-12 – the ministry involves WORK.
d. Are you involved? HOW are you involved in the work of the ministry? What is your ministry?
e. If you are born again, God has gifted and equipped you to serve and function in the local church.
f. To have a gift and not use it for God’s glory in the local church leaves the church without a God-given, God-designed function. (Like a body without a knee or without a finger.)
g. And to have a gift designed to function in the Body and not use it also deprives YOU of fulfilling your God given purpose… and thus, it leaves you unfulfilled!
h. The Body needs YOUR service… and YOU need the Body’s ministry too.
i. Be like Aristarchus: a fellow worker! Join in and get busy serving the Lord in the local church.
5. Aristarchus was with Paul during some of his most difficult times!
a. The riot in Ephesus…
b. The shipwreck off Cyprus…
c. Imprisonment in Rome…
d. He was no fair weather friend… but loyal… through thick and thin.
e. Very often in life, going through such trials and storms together STRENGTHENS the bond between people.
f. On a human level—those who experience a hurricane together… or a flood…
g. In the spiritual realm… those who go on a missions trip together… those who go through stormy times together in a local church and stick it out to the end…
h. There is a sense of bonding and camaraderie that develops.
i. I’m sure that the difficult times Paul and Aristarchus experienced together caused them to be knit together in the Lord.
j. After so many years of serving the Lord together—a deep sense of true FELLOWSHIP arises.
k. This is God’s intent for our service in the local church too. This sense of true fellowship is DEEPENED and enriched by time and experiences.
l. There is naturally a much deeper sense of a bond of fellowship among those who have been serving together in a local church for 20 years as opposed to those who have been attending and serving for one year.
m. One of Paul’s desires for the believers in Colossae was that they would (over time and through various experiences) be KNIT together in love. (Col. 2:2)
n. That’s a good reason to be faithful in serving in the local church… it is a bonding together that does not occur with folks who are constantly hopping from one church to another.
o. Paul and Aristarchus had been through the waters and the fires together… and had many memories of God’s deliverances and faithfulness.
B. Marcus
1. Marcus is also called Mark… the author of the gospel.
2. Acts 12:12 –
a. He is sometimes referred to as John Mark.
• John was his Jewish name…
• Mark (Marcus) was his Roman name.
• This was a common practice for Jews in those days.
b. His mother Mary opened up her home for the believers to hold prayer meetings. (Prayer for Peter to be released!)
2. Col. 4:10 –
a. John Mark was a cousin of Barnabus.
b. Acts 13:1-3, 5 – This Barnabus was the man who was called of the Lord to go with Paul on the world’s first missionary journey.
c. When Paul and Barnabus went on their first missionary journey, they took John Mark with them. (We will look at that story at another time). (Cf. Acts 12:25)
d. John Mark accompanied Barnabus.
4. I Peter 5:13 – some believe that Peter led Marcus to the Lord.
5. Philemon 24 – he (along with Aristarchus) is called a fellow laborer.
C. Justus
1. Jesus is a common Jewish name. It is actually Joshua.
2. This Jesus (Joshua) was also called Justus.
a. Joshua was his Jewish name.
b. Justus was his Roman name.
c. Justus was Latin meaning “just” or “righteous.”
d. He would have been called Joshua the Just.
3. We know almost nothing about him except for this passage.
a. We know all about the good deeds of Paul.
b. We know almost nothing about the good deeds of Justus.
c. However, God does… and that’s what counts.
d. This is the way it is with MANY of our fellow believers.
• Some men their deeds and ministries are seen and known.
• Others, their deeds and ministries are not seen or known… except to the Lord.
• Many believers minister for the Lord behind the scenes… quietly going about their ministry… not blowing the trumpet before them to be seen of men.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THEM
A. Jewish – by birth or as a proselyte
1. vs. 11 – “who are of the circumcision.”
a. This means that all three of these men were either Jewish (Hebrews) by birth OR they were Gentile proselytes to Judaism… who then became Christians.
B. Fellow workers with Paul
1. These only are my fellow workers.
a. “Only” – This does not mean that there WERE no other fellow workers.
• It means that all the rest of them were gentiles. These men were the only fellow workers of the “circumcision.”
• While in Rome, there were only a few Hebrew Christians who helped Paul during his imprisonment.
• Most of Paul’s fellow countrymen rejected his Christian message. Many Jews openly opposed the spread of the gospel.
• Even many Hebrew Christians had a hard time accepting Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles… and did not offer him the kind of help that perhaps they should have.
• Some legalistic, Hebrew believers in Christ had a hard time accepting the uncircumcised gentiles, and they continually attempted to put these gentile converts under the Law…
• Thus they gave Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, a cold shoulder… sometimes preaching Christ out of contention.
• But there were three notable men from the circumcision—Jews who had become Christians—who truly understood GRACE… and thus they had wonderful fellowship with Paul and served the Lord together with him.
b. Fellow workers – that was Paul’s term for the believers. WORKERS!
• Every believer should be a WORKER… working in the Lord’s work.
• Of course it is God who works IN us. He does the work and He gets the glory.
• However, we as believers need to be YIELDED and willing for Him to work through us.
• God does the work… but so do WE. God uses our hands… our feet… our mouths… our skills… our talents…
• But we need to be ready and available for the Lord to use us.
• Are you available to be used of the Lord in any way He sees fit?
• What ministries ARE you involved with in the local church?
c. Let’s look at how often this theme appears in the New Testament:
• Acts 9:36 – Dorcas was FULL of good works.
• Acts 13:2 – Paul and Barnabus were called to a work for God.
• Rom. 16:12 – Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord.
• Rom. 16:21 – Timothy was his workfellow.
• I Cor. 3:9 – For we are labourers together with God.
• I Cor. 15:10 – but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
• I Cor. 15:58 – always abounding in the work of the Lord.
• I Cor. 16:10 – he worketh the work of the Lord.
• II Cor. 5:9 – Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
• II Cor. 6:1 – we are workers together with Him.
• Eph. 4:12 – for the work of the ministry.
• Phil. 2:16 – I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
• Phil. 2:25 – Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour.
• Phil. 4:3 – help those women which laboured with me in the gospel.
• Col. 1:10 – being fruitful in every good work.
• Col. 1:29 – Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
• I Thess. 1:3 – Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love.
• I Tim. 5:17 –Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
• II Tim.2:15 – Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.
• II Tim. 3:17 – That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
• Titus 3:14 – learn to maintain good works for necessary uses.
• Heb. 6:10 – God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love.
• Ecc. 12:12 – much study is a weariness of the flesh.
d. The work of the Lord is WORK.
• It involves a LOT of work… ongoing chores… responsibilities… no end to the WORK.
• The work of the ministry involves much LABOR.
• For the work of the ministry to continue it requires many LABORERS.
• And whether it is in the mission field or in the local church, laborers seem to be scarce.
• Everybody wants the work to be done…
• Story: Three men named: everybody, somebody, and nobody. When it was time to clean the church, everybody thought that somebody would do it. But when it came right down to it, nobody ended up doing it!
• Paul was called to teach and preach the word.
» But for him to do this important job, it required LOTS of other people laboring behind the scenes.
» There was much work to be done… arrangements to be made… food… transportation… clothing… ordinary chores that were necessary for the work to continue.
» Aristarchus, Justus, and Mark were such men. They LABORED in the work of the Lord.
» For Salem Bible Church to function, it requires LOTS of men, women, and children laboring behind the scenes.
» To keep a church functioning requires MANY laborers.
» And in many churches, 10% of the people end up doing 90% of the work.
» The ratio here is a bit better than that… but it is still unbalanced.
» If that is the case, that means that 90% of the people are taking advantage of the labors of others and are NOT doing their share of the work.
» Ex: cleaning up the church. If a small number of folks offer to help, they end up doing it every couple of months. If every able bodied person offered to help… each person would only have to clean up once a year or so!
» I don’t understand why every able bodied person does NOT offer to help. Is it not your gift? Are you not led? My guess is that if we were truly yielded and available… the Lord would “lead” many more of us to serve… and that we might discover that we have the gift of helps after all!
» That is NOT the way it ought to be. The work load in the local church ought to be SHARED…
» We should ALL be laborers TOGETHER… co-workers
» The work of the Lord involves teaching Sunday school and singing in the choir—but also mowing the lawn, fixing a leaky sink, scrubbing toilets, vacuuming the rugs, changing diapers, making tapes and CDs, visiting, passing out tracts, setting up tables, going to the dump…
» It’s not very glamorous… but it is necessary for the work of the Lord to continue.
» Let’s pray that God would stir up folks HERE to become more INVOLVED in the work of the Lord… awaken us from our sleep and lethargy… and see the need to roll up their sleeves and DO the work of the ministry.
» The RIGHT % is to have 100% of the believers here involved in the work of the ministry.
» The right kind of response to a message like this is, “Hey, what can I do to help? Here am I send me!”
» If you are NOT involved and would like to be—we would love to get you connected to a ministry where you could contribute to the work of the Lord in this place!
C. Comforters to Paul
1. They comforted Paul by being an encouragement to him during his Roman imprisonment. (Those in prison need encouragement!)
2. Comfort = paregoria (not the most usual term for comfort)
a. Solace, relief, alleviation, consolation.
b. I Thess. 4:18 – the best way to bring REAL comfort to a brother… real SPIRITUAL comfort is through the Word of God.
c. Rom. 15:4 – For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
d. We need to be reminded of what the Bible says when we are down and discouraged… reminded of things we already know.
e. Were it not for these men who comforted Paul, who knows whether he would have been able to say, “I have finished my course; I have kept the faith.”
f. You and I can have a REAL spiritual impact in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
g. And you don’t need to be a professional counselor with a degree in psychology. In fact, a simple believer who knows God’s word is what is really needed. That believer can share the word and bring true and lasting comfort… life changing words… words of life!
h. Maybe you know a believer who is discouraged and could use some paregoric.
i. We have the Word—the Balm of Gilead. Use it to encourage others… spread that balm generously.
j. One little word of encouragement can change the whole direction of a person’s life…
k. It can cause a discouraged person who is about to throw in the towel and do something really foolish… to turn around… trust in the Lord again… regain HIS strength… and continue… and finish his course.
3. Fellow workers have a responsibility to COMFORT one another…
a. This too is part of the work of the Lord.
b. If the work is to continue… the workers need to be cared for… encouraged… comforted… exhorted… challenged… admonished…
c. Paul wasn’t afraid to let people know that he needed to be comforted… relieved… encouraged.
d. Being incarcerated can be VERY discouraging.
e. These men brought a bit of relief to Paul during his stay in prison… as paregoric brings relief to a baby teething.
f. II Cor. 1:4 – the ability to comfort others is usually learned the hard way… through difficult experiences through which we are comforted of God!
g. We ought to bear one another’s burdens… and thus lighten their load.
h. The greater our personal RELATIONSHIP to God, the better equipped we are to be a comfort to those who need to be comforted.
i. Paul’s friends had a close personal relationship to the Lord… and thus were able to be a paregoric balm to the apostle in prison.
FELLOW WORKERS UNTO THE KINGDOM
1. UNTO the Kingdom.
a. Unto: moving in the direction of… toward…
b. This speaks of a future Kingdom—the kingdom to be established by Christ when He returns.
c. Rapture; Tribulation Period; then the Second Coming and the establishment of the long awaited Messianic Kingdom.
d. Note that these are not his workers IN the kingdom but UNTO the Kingdom.
e. Despite what our Reformed brothers say, the kingdom has not begun! The King has not arrived.
f. We are not IN the Kingdom presently, except positionally. We have been translated into the kingdom of His dear Son… just as we are seated in the heavenly positionally…
g. Conditionally—we are on earth.
h. Nor are we advancing the Kingdom. We are certainly not establishing the kingdom by preaching the gospel.
i. There can be no kingdom until the King arrives!
2. John Calvin is typical of Reformed theology when he blends together the kingdom with the church dispensation.
a. His interpretation of Col. 4:11 – He says that Paul “calls the gospel the kingdom of God, for it is the scepter by which God reigns over us.”
b. They say that there will be no literal earthly Kingdom established by Christ—that the church is presently the Kingdom.
c. They teach that all promises to Israel of a future Kingdom have been cancelled—and spiritually fulfilled in the church instead.
d. The gospel is NOT the kingdom. The church is not the Kingdom.
e. The Kingdom is that future Messianic Reign of Christ established at His Second Coming in power and great glory… as ALL the prophets predicted.
f. We are not “picking on” the Reformers. They were extremely brave and courageous godly men who were used of the Lord in a mighty way.
• Reformers like Calvin and Luther saw truth in the Scriptures that had been hidden by Rome for many centuries.
• The truth they saw was essential: salvation is by grace through faith and NOT by works!
• They fought for that truth and suffered to proclaim it.
• We rejoice in their work and are the beneficiaries of it.
• However, when they left Rome, they took some of Rome with them.
• The issue of their day was soteriology… and they advanced that truth.
• However, ecclesiology was not the issue of the day… and they “unwittingly” took Rome’s view of the church—the Amillennial view—that the promises of a literal Kingdom made to Israel are being presently fulfilled in the church spiritually. The church IS the Kingdom.
• It wasn’t for another 300 years before the truth in this area was dusted off and brought to light by Darby and others…
• He saw clearly from a study of the Scriptures that the church is a unique dispensation of God… separate in every way from Israel, her law, and her promises.
• He saw clearly the difference between Israel, the church, and the future Messianic kingdom—as different programs of God.
3. The dispensationalist takes God’s Word at face value.
a. The kingdom means the kingdom as described in countless other places in the Scriptures.
b. The Kingdom is FUTURE.
• We have an inheritance coming in that future kingdom.
• II Tim. 4:1 – the kingdom is linked to Christ’s appearing—the Second Coming.
• II Tim. 4:18 – Paul was not IN the kingdom during the church age. But he did expect that the Lord would preserve him UNTO that kingdom… characterized as heaven on earth.
• II Tim. 2:12 – a wonderful promise to believers who endure suffering in this life: if we suffer with Christ in this life… we shall reign with Him in His future Kingdom! Awesome!
• Our reward in that future kingdom is based upon our faithfulness in THIS life. This life counts!
• II Peter 1:11 – all true believers of this age will have an entrance into that glorious future Kingdom. But those who were DILIGENT in their walk will be rewarded with an ABUNDANT entrance! (abundant = rich)
4. Thus, Paul’s point in Col.4:11 is that Aristarchus, Marcus, and Justus were faithful fellow workers UNTO that glorious future Kingdom.
a. They will receive an ABUNDANT entrance into the kingdom… rewarded richly for their willingness to suffer and endure in this life…
b. And they will be richly rewarded for their many labors in this life… though often unnoticed by men.
c. This life is a time of working for Christ… serving Him and often suffering for it.
d. Those who faithfully endure and suffer in this life will not go unrewarded. They will be ABUNDANTLY rewarded.
e. This was true for Paul’s three friends. It is equally true for us!
f. Rom. 8:18-19 – the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us.
g. The coming of Christ to establish His glorious Millennial Kingdom is a time of REVELATION… where the sons of God (hidden away in God now; unnoticed by the world) will be manifested for who we really are: SONS of the Living God! Awesome!
A Glimpse into the Early Church
Introduction:
1. Paul had written several letters to be delivered by Tychicus and Onesimus. (4:7-9) [including 3 inspired: Ephesians; Colossians; Philemon]
2. In these verses Paul sends some final greetings to believers in the Lycas Valley region… a tri-city area including the cites of Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. (4:13) There were churches established in each of these cities.
3. In vs.15-16 and following, Paul sends special greetings to the believers in the city of Laodicea. And he tells the church at Laodicea to read the Colossian epistle, and likewise for the Colossians to read the letter Paul sent to Laodicea.
4. Application to our daily lives does not instantly jump out at us as we read this passage, but we know that ALL Scripture is for our learning and ALL Scripture is profitable in its own way.
5. This passage DOES give us an interesting little window from which to get a glimpse of life in the early church. That glimpse is priceless!
a. What was the early church like?
b. Does it differ from what we see today in Christendom? If so how does it differ?
c. Does Salem Bible Church differ from the pattern for the local church we see in the epistles addressed to the churches?
d. Have the churches advanced spiritually since those early days?
e. Are the churches improving and getting BETTER or are they DETERIORATING?
f. This passage and others give us a snap shot of the church in the first century.
g. Some folks might be bored silly with this passage, but I find looking at old snap shots fascinating and illuminating!
ONE Church Per City
A. One Church Per City
1. Col.4:16 – “THE church of the Laodiceans.”
a. There was but ONE church in the city of Laodicea.
b. There were not several churches. There was certainly not a church on every corner.
c. There was ONE church in that city.
2. This was the case throughout the entire known world in the days of the apostles.
a. Rom. 16:1 – THE church in Cenchrea
b. I Cor. 1:2 – THE church at Corinth
c. I Thess. 1:1 – THE church of the Thessalonians
d. Rev. 2:1 – THE church at Ephesus (This is about 40 years after Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus—they did NOT start another church in town!)
e. Rev.2:8 – The church in Smyrna
f. Rev. 12 – The church in Pergamos
g. Rev. 2:18 – THE church in Thyatira
h. Rev. 3:1 – THE church Sardis
i. Rev. 3:7 – THE church in Philadelphia
3. Some of these were large cities… yet there was ONE church per city.
a. There was ONE church in Rome. Some have estimated the population of Rome around the first century to be nearly 4 million people! Yet, there were NOT two churches in Rome.
b. There was ONE church in Jerusalem… the starting point of it all.
• On the day before Pentecost, there was NO church there.
• Then suddenly, God sent the Holy Spirit and there was a church in Jerusalem… a very large church.
• Acts 2:41 – Peter preached a sermon and 3000 souls were added to the church!
• Acts 4:4 – the number is now 5000 men (not including women and children?)
• Acts 15:4 – Paul and Barnabus came to Jerusalem with an important question and were received of THE church.
• THE church in Jerusalem had ONE group of men leading the church—the apostles and the elders.
4. As uncomfortable as that might make us feel—one cannot dispute the facts: the New Testament pattern was one church per city.
a. It is probably impossible to tell for sure at what point in history TWO churches appeared in one city.
b. What we DO know is that we never see that in the Biblical pattern of a New Testament church.
c. Folks today might oppose this concept of the church from all different angles: financial; logistics; practicality; transportation; tradition; culture; level of difficulty; etc.
d. But there is one angle one from which one CANNOT argue this point: from the perspective of Scripture.
e. It worked for a very large church in the first century. There is no reason it couldn’t work today.
B. The One Church In Each City Often Met at Various Locations
1. At first the church met in the Temple in Jerusalem.
a. Acts 2:46 – they met in the Temple… and were considered a sect of Judaism.
b. Acts 3:1 – they held prayer meetings there…
c. Acts 8:1 – But eventually, the Hebrew believers in Christ were chased OUT of Jerusalem… and they were forbidden from meeting in the Temple.
2. As churches were planted in Judea and unto the uttermost parts of the earth, believers met in homes.
a. Col.4:15 – an assembly of believers met in the home of Nymphas.
• It is uncertain which city this church was in.
b. I Cor. 16:19 – an assembly met in the home of Aquila and Priscilla (Mentioned again in Rom. 16:5.)
c. Acts 12:12 – believers in Jerusalem met in the home of Mary—mother of John Mark—for prayer. (Or at least the believers in her part of the city).
3. They had no special BUILDING called a church building.
a. Quote from Lightfoot: “There is no clear example of a separate building set apart for Christian worship within the limits of the Roman Empire before the third century, though apartments in private houses might be specially devoted to this purpose.”
b. The early church existed and functioned WITHOUT a specially designated building.
c. Churches exist today without buildings too.
d. We have grown so accustomed to church buildings that in our vernacular, we often confuse the words “church” and “building” and use them almost interchangeably.
e. It is certainly not wrong to have a church building… but we don’t see such a thing in the original pattern in the New Testament.
4. This was the case because for MANY of those early centuries the churches had to HIDE… because of persecution.
a. Thus, erecting a building dedicated to Christian worship was impossible. It would have been burned down.
b. Therefore, they met in homes… and sometimes secretly for fear of the Jews or of the Roman authorities.
5. Obviously for logistical reasons—and reasons of transportation—in a very large city, the church would meet in various places and in private homes…
a. There were likely strategically located throughout the city.
b. We KNOW they held prayer meetings in separate homes (Mary in Jerusalem).
c. Baptisms would have been held in a river or other body of water.
d. Perhaps they had a regular schedule of Bible studies throughout the week in various locations at various times.
e. Acts 2:46 – Early on, before the persecution in Jerusalem, the Christians met in the Temple.
• But note that they met EVERY day!
• They must have had a schedule for their meetings… they probably did NOT have all 5000 of them meet every day.
• We just don’t know HOW it was all organized in those days.
• Note also that they went from house to house. (vs. 46)
• This was not MANY churches in Jerusalem—but ONE church that met in many locations.
• I Cor. 11:20 – “When ye come together therefore into ONE place…”
» This implies that the church in Corinth met separately at times for certain meetings.
» But for other meetings, they call came together in ONE place.
f. Thus, we see ONE church per city that met in various places for various functions.
• But the fact that they met in various locations occasionally did not mean that they were separate churches.
• They also met IN ONE PLACE on other occasions = for the Lord’s Table.
• They also had (as in Jerusalem) ONE set of men over them as leaders. Each location was not a separate church…
• Perhaps there were elders appointed to oversee each various meeting… and all under one central leadership.
C. Think of the Advantages of This Concept of the Local Church
1. It made finding a church simple! (If you find a Christian church—it was a good one!)
2. Church discipline – (If Tom is disciplined in church, there was no other church in the area to run to. Either he made things right with God and with his brethren in the local church—or he didn’t… and had no church and no fellowship.)
3. Evangelism (Believers worked together—planting, sowing, and reaping; instead of competing—and using the MacDonald’s approach to church planting!)
4. The “business” methodology used today would not have begun—there would be no competition between groups… no need to lower standards in order to attract people… no need to stoop to becoming people pleasers… and becoming man-centered. Instead, they could concentrate on pleasing Christ… being Christ centered!
5. Rom. 15:20 – Paul made his evangelistic method quite clear!
a. The principle is that you don’t build where someone else is already building.
b. That was the pattern for church planting we see in the New Testament.
c. However, that pattern was based on another New Testament principle that no longer exists in our day and age: the churches were all the same!
6. Resolving interpersonal issues (Believers were thus forced to reconcile with their brethren. There was no such thing as making trouble in one church and running to another.)
7. Clear line between truth and error (any “other” church was the wrong one!)
8. The local church would have ALL the members God intended for it to function properly.
a. Since there was one church per city—all the born again people of that city whom God intended to function together WOULD function together—instead of being divided up into 17 different denominational churches.
b. There were no church hoppers… no sermon sippers in those days.
c. There was no option but to stay put where God planted them.
9. Strength in unity (ALL the churches in the first century stood with one another and supported one another—instead of competing and throwing rocks). There truly was strength in unity in those days, because they were united around the truth!
The Churches Were All the Same
1. Paul wrote a letter to the Colossians, but he intended to be read by the OTHER churches as well… and thus the same doctrines.
a. This was also true of his letter to the Laodiceans.
b. It is likely that the epistle to the Ephesians was also circulated in that tri-city region.
c. Cf. I Thess. 5:27 – “I charge thee that this epistle be read by all the holy brethren…”
2. There is a little debate over the letter to the Laodiceans.
a. Fact # 1: we do NOT have a copy of it.
b. Fact # 2: We don’t know for sure who wrote it.
• It is possible that it was a letter written by Paul TO the Laodiceans.
• It is possible that someone ELSE wrote that letter and gave it to Paul to deliver for him… since Paul was sending Tychicus and Onesimus there to deliver letters.
• Some believe that the letter to the Laodiceans is the epistle to the Ephesians—since the early manuscript of Ephesians does not contain the word “Ephesians.”
• It is possible that it was a letter FROM the Laodiceans to Paul—and Paul wanted the Colossian believers to read it… so he sent it back to the region.
• We just don’t know with certainty.
c. Fact # 3: If Paul DID write this epistle, that fact does NOT mean that our Bibles are missing an inspired book.
• There were 13 epistles written by Paul in the New Testament.
• Naturally he wrote MORE than just 13 letters in his whole ministry which spanned many years.
• Not everything Paul wrote was intended by God to be preserved as Scripture.
• Our Bibles are NOT missing a book. We have all God wanted us to have.
3. The important thing to note here is that EVERY church was given the SAME teaching by the apostles.
a. The doctrines Paul recorded in Colossae for the Colossians was also the SAME doctrine he wanted believers in the other churches to read and learn.
b. I Cor. 4:17 – Paul taught the SAME THING in every church. He never worried once about certain doctrines not to mention here or there.
• Doctrines were not broken up into major doctrines and minor doctrines.
• They had no such cry, “United on the major doctrines; liberty on the minor doctrines.”
• That was unthinkable in the early church. They all believed and taught the very same thing.
c. II Tim. 2:2 – the SAME teachings commit to faithful men…
• There was no such thing in the first century—in the apostolic days—as a Christian church having doctrines that were NOT the same as all the other Christian churches.
• When that DID occur in Acts 15, and Paul heard about it (some born again believers were trying to put the Gentiles under Jewish law)… Paul FLEW down to Jerusalem and put his foot down. It was NOT tolerated.
• Believers were to believe the SAME truths everywhere.
d. Rom. 16:17 – If anyone began to teach doctrines CONTRARY to what the churches had been taught by the apostles, those teachers were to be rejected and avoided!
e. I Tim. 6:3-5 – believers were to withdraw themselves from anyone teaching contrary doctrines.
• There was ONE teaching that was the SAME in every church.
• And Christians were to have nothing to do with anyone who taught otherwise.
f. I Cor. 1:10-13 – Division in the early churches was not tolerated!
• The churches were expected to speak the SAME thing.
• They were expected to be perfectly joined together in ONE mind and have the SAME judgment.
• If division arose, the apostles quickly put out that fire…
• The apostles saw any variation from the truth as a dangerous leaven that would potentially leaven the whole lump. Thus, any variations from the truth were to be purged out… to keep the lump holy and pure.
• This is the picture we see of the early church.
g. What a clear testimony to the lost—ONE voice—all speaking the same thing about who Christ is and what we must do to be saved—and no question about which church has the truth!
• One seminary listed 9000 various Christian denominations in their database worldwide.
• How confusing for folks hearing about Christ and Christianity today. With 9000 varieties—all saying different things—no wonder people are confused.
• God is not the author of confusion. God did not divide His Body.
• This is the work of our adversary the devil.
4. Note the perfect UNITY among ALL the churches in the 1st century.
a. There were three churches in the Lycas Valley.
b. They all believed exactly the same thing.
c. They all read the same literature.
d. They all got along with each other.
e. The Body of Christ that God created was perfectly united together—it truly was a BODY!
f. Each independent local church was a manifestation of that same body in different locations.
g. And while the language, the foods, the style of clothing would be different from city to city… the DOCTRINES and the PRACTICE and WORSHIP were exactly the same!
h. I Cor. 7:13-17 – Paul explains to a Christian woman what to do in various situations relating to marriage: if her unsaved husband wants to stay or leave her.
• Note in vs.17 — Paul ordained all of these practices in “all churches.”
• There was no such thing as churches with different marriage practices.
• The SAME practices were ordained in every church.
i. Their unity was NOT a phony organizational unity that ignores truth. Their unity existed because they were united AROUND the truth!
j. They truly were ONE in hope and doctrine… one in charity!
k. The liberals and even the Neo evangelicals have been saying for years that “doctrine divides.” I think of some of them even think that that is a Bible verse!
l. In reality, in the early church, doctrine UNITED the early churches! That was their basis and foundation for unity! And they did not tolerate any departure from the truth.
5. There is STILL perfect unity in the spiritual Body of Christ… the church universal.
a. Eph. 6:4 – ONE body, ONE Spirit, ONE calling, ONE faith, ONE baptism! Perfect oneness in Christ.
b. That unity is not something that we MAKE via an ecumenical compromising spirit… the unity is already there.
c. Col. 3:11 – In Christ there are NO divisions but perfect unity. These are all man made distinctions.
d. John 17:20-21 – In His High Priestly prayer, Christ prayed “they all may be ONE” who “shall believe on me” through the word of the apostles.
e. The UNITY that God built into His church… the Body of Christ… was MANIFESTED on earth in the local churches in the first century… under the leadership of the apostles.
f. That unity existed because the apostles did not tolerate any division—doctrinal or otherwise.
• Problems certainly did arise—often. But they DEALT with them.
• They practiced church discipline and separation to purge out the leaven and corruption to maintain the PURITY of the early church.
• As a result, the purity of the early church was maintained.
» Every local church believed and taught the same things.
» They all practiced the same things.
» There was perfect unity among the churches in the New Testament.
» We read of individuals within one local church having friction with other individuals—but not between churches.
» There was perfect unity as God designed.
» The universal church IS one… united.
• In the first century, the individual local churches actually reflected that unity and oneness. How refreshing!
6. But we sure do NOT see that kind of unity among the local churches today!
a. Two completely different pictures emerge.
• Open your Bible and you see a clear picture of what the church was designed by God to BE—God’s pattern for the New Testament church.
• Then open your window and look outside and what do we see among the churches in Christendom? Nothing that even vaguely resembles it!
b. What DO we see in Christendom today?
• One church per city? (Or do we not see men building on another man’s foundation?—The McDonalds—Burger King approach to church planting.)
• All churches teaching the same thing? (Or do we not see virtually every doctrine in the Bible twisted beyond recognition by one group or another?)
• All churches practicing the same thing? (Or do we see churches filled with their own traditions and practices that have become firmly entrenched and viewed as sacred and unchangeable?)
• All churches working together in perfect unity under the Headship of Christ? (Or do we see 9000 various Christian denominations worldwide?)
c. The degree to which individual local churches reflect the unity of the Universal church has gradually and consistently diminished from the first century until now.
d. The Plague of Denominationalism:
• My oh my how we have departed from the original NT pattern for the church.
e. When we look out our windows, we do NOT see a church that has grown, matured, progressed, advanced spiritually, and has become more Christlike and purer in doctrine and practice… filled with the evangelistic fire and zeal of the early church.
f. On the contrary, we see 2000 years of corruption and distortion taking its toll.
g. Don’t ever look at the early church as undeveloped, unsophisticated, crude, and primitive. Rather, we should see it is pristine, pure, unadulterated, uncorrupted… straight from the Creator’s hand…
h. But that’s not the way it is any more… we are now slouching closer and closer to the harlot form of religious system described by John.
i. Humpty Dumpty has fallen—and we are now dealing with an egg that’s been scrambled for generations… and we will NEVER be able to be put together again.
j. We’re dreaming if we think that Christendom will ever go back to the original pattern of the New Testament.
k. Don’t think for one second that all the denominations are suddenly going to realize where they went wrong, fold up shop, and all the true believers return one united church in town where the TRUTH is taught and practiced in purity.
l. Every one of us sitting here today was born into a Christendom that has been under a gradual process of deterioration for 2000 years.
m. What we see around us in Christendom is looking less and less like God’s original pattern revealed in the New Testament.
n. In Acts and in the epistles we see God’s ideal for the churches.
o. But we are also warned about WHERE the churches are headed spiritually.
p. II Tim.3:1 – we live in PERILOUS times spiritually.
• Vs. 2 – lovers of their own selves (self esteem craze)
• Vs. 4 – lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God
• Vs. 5 – they have an outward FORM of godliness—but are empty, hollow, and powerless within.
• Don’t expect things to get better and better until Christ comes.
• Expect evil men to wax worse and worse!
q. Rev. 17:5-6 – the Lord will return one day soon to take the true believers home to be with Him!
• But the church “organizations” that men devised will merge into one fully corrupt unity… called the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
• Notice that this religious system FLOURISHES in the world—she is decked with gold and silver… and riding pretty on the beast.
• We should expect to see more and more success to that which is apostate… but there is no such promise or prediction concerning the true bride of Christ.
• Christendom’s super churches may flourish and prosper in these last days… and it shouldn’t be a surprise… and those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
7. But we are NOT to be discouraged by these facts.
a. God is still on the throne. I’m encouraged by that fact.
b. His plan for this age is coming to pass… and as scrambled as the spiritual scene appears from our perspective, God is still in perfect control.
c. This age will end as all previous dispensations ended: in failure!
d. And the darker things get spiritually—the CLOSER we are to the return of Christ. It is darkest just before the dawning of a new day!
e. Where sin doth abound, grace doth much MORE abound!
f. The church has a most glorious and blessed hope in the coming of the Lord Jesus (Titus 2:13).
g. As we see the spiritual corruption more and more take over in the churches, it ought to cause us to want to dig our heels in even deeper… and to be watchful and strengthen the things that remain… (Rev. 3:2)
h. And we shouldn’t develop an Elijah complex as if we were the only ones. God has reserved a godly remnant for His name’s sake all over the country and the world.
i. And while we will never be able to return to New Testament times spiritually (because the spiritual environment has changed so much around us)… yet we CAN and MUST do what we can to follow the New Testament pattern of a local church as best we can in the environment in which we live.
j. Acts 2:42 – And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
• How simple—pure—and refreshing!
• No lollapalooza meetings… just ordinary believers gathering to worship… and leaving from their worship to manifest Christ and to tell those who know not Him the gospel of the grace of God.
• I feel pressure from one direction or another every day… to change… to get with it… go with the flow… add something a little more fun and attractive to the church… to get rid of the old hymns of the faith and replace them with the cheap and tawdry pop culture music so popular today… to use a methodology that seems more successful…
• Of course some change can be good—IF the end result is an increase in holiness and reverence… and increase in the knowledge of Christ…
• By God’s grace we intend to continue following the pattern of the New Testament as best we can… in the environment in which we live. The air is polluted but we have to breathe. One cannot possibly avoid being affected by what’s going on around us.
• BUT — we don’t have to bow the knee to it all. By God’s grace we intend to magnify Christ… preach the whole counsel of God… function together as a living organism—not an organization of men… and to go from this place spreading the Word… the good news of the gospel of God’s grace… and working together with churches of LIKE precious faith… who have the same goals and purposes.
• This is becoming increasingly difficult in the age in which we live. PRAY for the leaders here. Pray that God would preserve us and the other churches in our little valley as a godly remnant of those who truly seek to bring glory to God.
The Epistle to Laodicea
The Epistle Sent to the Church at Laodicea in 60 AD
A. The Epistle (4:16)
1. Who Wrote it:
a. Some believe that the letter to the Laodiceans is the epistle to the Ephesians—since the early manuscripts of Ephesians does not contain the word “Ephesians.”
b. It is possible that it was a letter FROM the Laodiceans to Paul—and Paul wanted the Colossian believers to read it… so he sent it back to the region.
c. It is possible that an unknown person wrote that letter and gave it to Paul to deliver for him… since Paul was sending Tychicus and Onesimus there to deliver letters.
d. The most likely explanation is that it was a letter written by Paul TO the Laodiceans.
2. What It Said:
a. There is no possible way to know.
b. It has never been found and there is no point in speculating.
c. We don’t need to know. God did not intend to have it preserved in His Word…
d. But wouldn’t it be fascinating to know?
B. Greetings Sent to the Church at Laodicea
1. Paul sends greetings—not warnings or rebukes.
2. There is no indication that anything is wrong at the church.
3. Col. 2:1 – the only possible hint of concern for Laodicea is found here.
a. Paul agonized in his ministry of prayer for both the church at Colossae and at Laodicea.
b. In Colossae his concern was for the Gnostic like cult that sought to lure believers back to an odd mixture of Jewish and pagan tradition… and earthly laws… seeking to cause them to no longer seek things above.
c. But we are not told what his concern was for Laodicea.
d. It MAY have been a concern for the same thing—since Laodicea was only 10 miles from Colossae.
4. At the end of this letter, Paul simply sends friendly greetings to a sister church.
5. The DATE of Colossians is about 60-62 AD. In that year—all seemed well at Laodicea.
6. Paul and his co-workers friendly greetings to saints in the city of Laodicea. All seemed well in 60 AD.
7. About 30 years AFTER the letter to the Colossians was written and sent… along with the letter to the Laodiceans… a second epistle was sent to Laodicea.
a. We HAVE the content of that letter recorded in Rev. 3.
b. A lot can happen to a church in 30 years. Laodicea is a good case study to demonstrate that fact.
The Epistle Sent to the Church at Laodicea in 95 AD
A. One of Seven Epistles to Asia Minor
1. Rev. 2:10-11 – John hears the voice of Christ telling him to write 7 letters and to send them to the 7 churches in Asia Minor. (One of which is Laodicea).
2. Rev. 2:12-16 – Christ appears in His glorified state… standing in the midst of the candlesticks, representing the 7 churches… observing… and taking notes.
3. 2:17 – this is not the Jesus of the gospels… but the risen, glorified, Son of God! John falls before Him as dead.
4. Thus, we have a glimpse here of the heavenly ministry of Christ—the Head of the Body.
a. His presence is in the midst of the church… His Body.
b. He is carefully observing all that goes on in the churches.
c. He is pleased with some of what He sees.
d. He is disgusted with other things He sees.
5. The letters are hand written by John, but the letters are FROM the Son of God. Christ is the Author… John acts as secretary.
6. The letters are addressed to the churches but primarily to the pastor of each church: the ANGEL.
a. Angel: messenger
• Used most often of spirit beings, but not always.
• Sometimes it is used of human beings.
• Used of John the Baptist (Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2)
• Used of John’s servants (Luke 7:24)
• The context has to determine what KIND of messenger.
b. If it is an angel, it cannot be a good angel, for Christ rebukes them. (Rev. 2:4)
• The rebuke is to the angel [thee = singular]
• It is not to “you” plural—the whole congregation.
• However, the attitude of the pastor is likely reflected in the rest of the congregation.
• For what the Lord says to the angel… the Spirit wants all the congregations to know as well (vs. 7)
• And the congregations are expected to take heed to what is said in the letters addressed to the other cities in the region as well.
c. Cannot be an evil angel or demon—for the Lord would hardly put a demon in charge of a local church.
d. It must be a human messenger—a man whose responsibility it is to bring God’s message to the church over which he has been called to shepherd… (pastor)
e. The angel of each church is held responsible and accountable for what goes on in that church under his leadership.
f. The Lord has words of praise, exhortation, and rebuke for each of the churches…
g. But for the church at Laodicea, there is nothing but rebuke. The Lord is disgusted with what is going on in that place.
h. Drastic and deadly changes occurred in that church from the time Paul sent his friendly greetings in approx. 60 AD to the time Revelation was written in about 95 AD.
B. The Epistle to Laodicea (Rev. 2:14-20)
1. Once again we are told that this epistle is FROM Christ.
a. He is the sovereign Amen behind all that occurs.
b. He is the faithful and true witness of truth. He IS the Truth!
c. He is the beginning of the creation of God.
• ???? – this term has two basic functions.
» When referring to TIME, it means the beginning.
» When referring to AUTHORITY, it means ruler.
• Actually, both concepts are similar in Greek, though not so apparent in English.
» The beginning point in time…
» The beginning of the line of time…
» The beginning of ANY line…
» The # 1 position in that line…
» The HEAD of the line…
» The RULER in that line…
» Similar concepts—all described by this term.
• Christ is called “the beginning” of creation because He is the CAUSE of the creation.
• Consider Col. 1:16-17 – “For by Him were all things created… and He is BEFORE all things…”
• He is before all things in both time and rank.
• He is the ???? – He preceded creation… and ranks ABOVE all creation… He rules OVER creation…
• He is the beginning of creation because creation BEGAN with Him!
• He rules over it; and by Him all things consist.
d. Christ identifies Himself to the Laodiceans as the Supreme Authority and Ruler over the ENTIRE created universe.
e. He is the One before whom John fell as a dead man!
f. They should LISTEN to Him!
2. Christ is nauseated with the Church at Laodicea (2:15-16)
a. He knows their works.
• He knows OUR works too.
• He knows the works of us as an assembly of believers.
• He knows the works of each one of us individually.
• Christ is STILL observing His body and taking notes.
• What would He observe here? In Your life?
• What kind of works would He see in us?
• Would He be pleased or disgusted with the works He observes in us?
• Remember, His eyes are a flame of fire… piercing deep into our hearts. He does not judge our works superficially (what we did; how many works; etc.)
• He judges what SORT of work we do… our motives… intentions… and the SOURCE of our works—flesh or Spirit…
• This ought to be extremely sobering to each one of us.
• What ARE we doing for the Lord? What SORT of service are we performing? Are we doing our best? Are we using the talents and spiritual gifts God has given us for His glory? Do we seek to excel to the edifying of the church? Are we reaching out to the lost? Are our works consistent… are we faithful? Can we be counted upon?
b. They were NEITHER hot nor cold.
• Jesus would PREFER that they be one or the other.
• Most see this statement to mean that Jesus wishes they were either hot (on fire in love for Him) or cold (antagonistic against Him)… anything but lukewarm — namely, neutral.
• That is certainly a possibility, but it is hard for me to understand WHY Jesus would rather have people cold towards Him.
• There is another possibility however, that seems to make more sense in light of the context.
» Context: Christ is rebuking them because they are so gone spiritually that they are UNAWARE of their spiritual condition.
» They thought they were doing well… rich and in need of nothing… but they did not realize the reality: they were actually poor, blind, naked spiritually!
» The issue is a lack of awareness of their true condition.
• Jesus wishes that they were AWARE of their condition.
» When a person is cold—he KNOWS it. He is very much aware of the climate around him… and he does something about it.
» When a person is hot—he KNOWS it. He is very much aware of the climate around him… and he does something about it.
» But when a person is lukewarm… he pays no attention to the climate around him. He is caught up in other things and is oblivious.
» That seems to be the point of Jesus in this text: The Laodiceans were oblivious to their true spiritual climate… and thus paid no attention to it…
» And were thus caught up in other things… giving no thought to the spiritual atmosphere.
• Jesus laments their total lack of awareness of the spiritual climate in the church… and He wishes they were aware…
• He wishes they were either hot or cold so that they would DO something about the climate… make some changes!
3. They were in danger of being vomited out of His mouth! (vs. 16)
a. This does NOT mean that they would lose their salvation.
b. Rather, it means that they were in danger of making their Savior SICK… and a loss of fellowship and rewards.
c. As a congregation, Christ was ready to reject it. (I will = mello = I am about to, ready to… unless…)
d. This is similar to what He told the church at Ephesus: that unless they repented, He would remove their candlestick.
e. A church is only a church if it is connected to Christ its Head. If the Head rejects the Body, that assembly is but a Christless, religious club.
4. Their TRUE spiritual condition:
a. Wretched – used only 2 times, here and in Rom. 7:24 – O wretched man that I am! (A believer who was defeated, powerless, and unable to walk in newness of life!)
b. Miserable –Used on 2 times –I Cor. 15:19 –“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable!”
c. Poor – figurative of their true spiritual condition…
d. Blind – they could not see the danger they were in!
e. Naked – They wore the finest clothing… but were naked spiritually…
5. Exhortations
a. Buy of Me gold tried in the fire that ye may be rich.
• These folks WERE rich in earthly treasures.
• But they were poor spiritually…
• They had lots of money… and earthly gold… but all their money and earthly gold was perishing. They had nothing lasting.
• Jesus tells them that there is a BETTER kind of gold—one that will last through the fire.
• I Cor. 3:12-15 – Paul speaks of the judgment of our works by fire.
» Works of the flesh: wood; hay; stubble; all is burned and there is a LOSS of reward.
» Works of the Spirit: gold, silver, precious stones; purified by the fire—for which there is an eternal reward… a crown…
» Some true believers will come before the Bema seat of Christ and have ALL their works burnt up… as worthless…
» They will be saved so as by fire… (vs. 15) but will LOSE out on eternal rewards in heaven.
» They had much gold on earth = they will have precious little in heaven.
» They HAD their reward in this life… the momentary, earthly, and temporal.
» They chose to heap up treasures on earth… like the Laodiceans.
» Thus, they make it into heaven, but they forsook their eternal rewards…
» And they are losers for being so short sighted spiritually… for there is no going back to regain rewards lost in this life.
» Instead of living with eternal values in mind and living for Christ, they lived for the here and now… for me, myself, and I…
» Saved—so as by fire… by the skin of their teeth… with little to show for it…
» This was the true spiritual condition of the Laodiceans—and of many believers today!
» Hence, Jesus WARNS them to BUY gold from Him.
· He uses language these merchants could relate to: BUY something from me!
· Buying involves and exchange of one thing for another.
· Buy – in the sense of Phil. 3:7 – But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.”
· There are works of the Spirit… heaping up treasures in heaven… using our time and talents and spiritual gifts for Christ instead of self.
· Those kinds of Spirit filled works will go through the fires of the Judgment seat and not only survive—but will be purified and rewarded!
· Selfless submission to Christ and sacrificial service done in His name will be rewarded in heaven with crowns… eternal rewards for the glory of God.
» Notice that Jesus exhorts them to BUY this gold from Him!
· Receiving this true gold from heaven… heavenly rewards… involves a sacrifice of the things the flesh loves: our earthly gold…
· That which we consider precious and valuable on earth… is often the PRICE for true heavenly treasures.
· There IS a price to pay for eternal rewards… sacrificing SELF on the altar… picking up a cross to follow Christ… a willingness to suffer in this life…
» Jesus presents them with a clear choice: He challenges them to EXCHANGE their earthly gold for eternal gold!
» And there is a price to pay: but one day we will exchange our earthly cross for a heavenly crown!
» The HEARTS of the Laodicean believers were in the wrong place.
· They treasured their earthly trophies.
· Paul had earlier written to these folks and told them to read the epistle he wrote to the Colossians: “Set your affection on things above, not on things of the earth!”
· Evidently, they did not take heed.
· Consider the words of the Old Rugged Cross: Cherish the old rugged cross TIL my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown.
· This is quite similar to the exhortation of Christ to the Laodiceans.
b. BUY of Me white raiment.
• The second exhortation was in light of their true spiritual condition.
• In the earthly realm, they were rich and were well dressed… fancy clothes… gold jewelry… all the best for themselves.
• Jesus said, “I know thy works.”
• The GOOD works of believers are sometimes referred to as white raiment… good works for which they would be rewarded in heaven. (Revelation 19:8)
• These wealthy believers had fancy clothes on earth, but in reality, they were NAKED spiritually!
• They looked GREAT from earth’s perspective… well dressed.
• But from Christ’s perspective, they were BLIND and did not see that they were actually NAKED spiritually!
• They did NOT have good deeds for which HE could reward them.
• Hence, Christ encourages them to BUY some white raiment from Him… an exchange of the earthly for the heavenly… a sacrifice of the earthly for the heavenly…
• Perhaps these wealthy folks were philanthropists! Perhaps they started foundations (in their names) for the poor.
• But philanthropy is the love of MAN. It is possible to be a philanthropist (a lover of men) and a hater of God… leaving God out.
• In fact, it is possible to “bestow all my goods to feed the poor”… and to have no love… and it profits NOTHING spiritually! (many bestow their goods to the poor to make themselves feel good… to make themselves look good… etc. It is actually SELFISH!)
• Love is sacrificing SELF for the good of others.
• One is earthly and of no profit spiritually; the other is Christ centered and profitable now and in eternity!
• Christ encourages these rich folks to be rich towards HIM!
• Christ suggests that this spiritually NAKED condition was SHAMEFUL before the Lord.
c. Buy of Him some eye salve.
• Because they were BLIND… and unable to SEE their true spiritual condition.
• This was their real problem: blindness.
• They thought they were rich. They could not SEE through the eyes of faith to see that they were really poor spiritually!
• They thought they were dressed to the hilt… but could not see that they were really naked spiritually.
• They could not SEE their true spiritual condition as God saw it. They were truly blind.
• They needed an “eye salve” to correct their vision.
• God wanted them to see SPIRITUAL things: “that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, ye may know what is the hope of your calling…” (Eph. 1:17-18)
• II Peter 1:5–9 – as soon as believers stop growing… stop hungering and thirsting… stop progressing from glory to glory… we go backwards… become blind and forgetful.
» There is no settling down and relaxing spiritually.
» There is no rocking chair for the Christian… no plateau we can arrive at and sit on our laurels.
» If Christ is our goal… then we are to be constantly STRIVING to go on to perfection… pressing toward the mark.
» Once we settle for where we are spiritually… we have begun the process of backsliding… regression… and blindness set in.
» It is a most DANGEROUS condition!
6. God was ready to CHASTEN them. (Rev. 2:19)
a. The church of Laodicea was an assembly of BELIEVERS.
b. They were born again… but extremely worldly and self centered.
c. This nauseated the Lord. He was ready to vomit them out.
d. He was ready to CHASTEN them.
e. The Lord LOVED them… they were His sons… but they were not loving the Lord. They were loving themselves.
f. God only chastens those who are truly His sons.
g. Whom the Lord loveth—He chasteneth. (Heb.12:6 – and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.)
h. Chastening is an expression of God’s love for a wayward son.
i. Heb. 12:10-11 – God chastens us—disciplines us SO THAT we would respond to the discipline and partake of His holiness… and bear good fruit.
j. But if there is NO response to His chastening, God may even take the LIFE of a believer.
k. As John wrote, “There is a sin unto death.”
l. The church in Laodicea was getting close to that place.
m. Hence Christ exhorts them to REPENT! Change your mind… and demonstrate that change of mind with a change of lifestyle!
7. WHAT A CHANGE in just 30-35 years!
a. When the first letter to Laodicea was sent (60-62 AD), there was no hint of any problem.
b. From a solid church… to a very worldly, materialistic, pleasure loving, self-centered, fleshly church! In one generation!
c. Also note: Col. 4:14 – Paul’s co-worker, Demas! He too started off well. But later, by the end of Paul’s life we read, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.” He too had become a castaway… disqualified for God’s service… and he lost his rewards.
d. God’s can’t and won’t use worldly people in His service.
e. Not long after the fall of Demas, the whole church of Laodicea was in the same danger.
f. Not all who start off well, finish well. Many fall away and become spiritual casualties in the good fight of faith.
g. Some fall away because they were never saved in the first place.
h. Others fall away because—as true believers—they made poor choices… and chose to live for themselves rather than for Christ.
i. AND there are consequences of that kind of lifestyle for a believer:
• Castaway… disqualified for service…
• Loss of rewards…
• Chastening hand of God…
• Taking one’s life…
j. This is the dangerous crossroad at which the church at Laodicea found themselves.
8. A PROMISE: The picture of Christ knocking on their door… (Rev. 2:20)
a. What a sad and poignant picture indeed!
• I “stand” – perfect tense (I have taken my stand)
• “Knock” – present tense… (He is patient)
• This is the TRUE picture of what was going on at the church in Laodicea.
• Inside was an established assembly of believers (a 30 year old church)… believers who were wealthy in the things of earth… whose focus was on themselves… a blind assembly who could not SEE their true condition… they were unaware of the spiritual climate all around them… they thought they had need of nothing. (self sufficiency!)
• Perhaps they had established very successful programs… meeting the needs of all the people… keeping everybody happy… and thus growing in numbers.
• Things SEEMED to be going so well when judged by sight… not unlike some of the wealthy and popular super churches of our generation.
• In fact they were desperately needy people: wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.
b. But most sad of all—the Lord had been left out of all their religious activities.
• Inside their place of worship they sat smugly enjoying earthly things… enjoying their well established programs… their dinners and festivities… content with the large number of people their earthly programs had attracted…
• But their successes were NOT the fruit of abiding in the Risen Christ. Their successes were earthly… the work of the flesh.
• On the outside of their place of worship was the Lord Jesus… knocking… seeking to enter…
• Interestingly, the name Laodicea means “the people rule or the rights of the people” (Laos – people; dikao – rule; judge; rights;)
• Whatever was going on inside—as successful as it appeared to be… it was NOT the fruit of the Spirit… and was thus, wood, hay, and stubble.
• It was impressive in the sight of men—but worthless in the sight of God.
c. And this was a dangerous situation spiritually:
• It was a dangerous situation because Jesus was left OUT of their fellowship… left OUT of the affairs of the church (imagine a body trying to function without its head—absurd!).
• And not only so, but Christ was about to spew them out of His mouth… they were about to become castaways… branches apart from the Vine… chastening of their Father… even unto the loss of life.
d. God’s GRACE: If any man hear my voice… evidently, they were not only blind, but most were deaf too… not listening to Christ.
• Christ promised that He would come in and SUP with any individual who would hear and open the door.
• This is not a message of salvation, but of fellowship and communion.
• Christ the Vine sought these broken branches to return to Him… to abide in Him once again…
• They were acting independently of Him.
• He was willing to receive ANY ONE of them back into the place of fellowship and communion… IF they would open the door.
• Is it possible that they could become SO blinded and SO deaf to God’s voice that they were no longer ABLE to see or hear? SO insensitive that they no longer listened? Impossible to be renewed again unto repentance? That was a real danger.
e. Christ is seen here taking a settled stand at this door. He is continually knocking… knocking without ceasing… with urgency.
• He is patiently waiting for the believer to repent of his selfishness and listen to His voice and let Him in.
• Even after all the terrible way they treated Him, He is willing to receive them back into His fellowship…
• BUT—the choice is theirs. They have to listen and open that door.
• Perhaps there are some here today who fit this picture: SELF has been reigning in your life… you have been a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God… heaping up earthly treasures and have had precious little time for Christ… no real, faithful service for Him… just a token moment for Him now and then… when convenient.
• It is time to REPENT… open the door and let Him in… into the CENTER of your life as LORD.
• The picture described is one of the Lord’s patience… but His patience won’t go on forever.
• If we DON’T respond, we may find ourselves in a very undesirable position: vomited out… a castaway… chastened… even unto death.
• God means business with His children. Don’t trifle with Him…
Archippus
WHO HE IS
1. This man is mentioned twice in the New Testament: Col. 4:17 and Philemon 1:2.
2. Philemon 1:1-2 – Philemon was another book written by Paul at the same time as Colossians and delivered at the same time by Tychicus.
a. Philemon was a wealthy Christian man from Colossae.
• Paul writes to this man, who was a slave owner, to receive back as a brother in Christ a runaway slave named Onesimus.
• As a side note, Paul mentions here that the church in Colossae met in his house… or a portion of the church.
b. The most natural reading of verses 1-2 would lead one to believe that Paul is addressing a “household.”
• Philemon… (head of the household)
• Apphia… (presumably his wife)
• Archippus… (Presumably his son)
• And the church that meets in his house…
c. It SOUNDS like Archippus might be the son of Philemon and Apphia… but not certain.
d. It SOUNDS like Paul is writing to a FAMILY… who own a large home… where the assembly meets.
e. Archippus is also called a fellowsoldier with Paul.
3. We just have a few interesting tid bits of information…
a. It is possible to assemble these pieces in various ways… so we CANNOT say with absolute certainty (1) exactly what his ministry was; (2) where he ministered; (3) what his relation to Philemon was.
4. Possibility:
a. He was the son of Philemon and Apphia;
b. He was also functioning as the pastor of the church that met in their home.
c. He may have been the pastor to replace Epaphras—who had been the minister at Colossae… (Col.1:7-8)
d. But at the time of this writing, is in Rome with Paul.
e. Epaphras is sending greeting TO Colossae along with Paul (Col. 4:12).
f. Perhaps Epaphras was imprisoned with Paul and Archippus took his place as minister to the church… either temporarily or permanently.
g. Others think he was the pastor/overseer at the church of Laodicea.
MINISTRY RECEIVED IN THE LORD
1. Archippus received a ministry from the Lord.
2. Ministry defined: διακονίαn
a. This is the Greek word from which we get our English word “deacon.”
b. However, the term does not always refer to the official office of a deacon in a local church.
e. Consider its broader usage in the following:
• I Tim.1:12 – “putting me into the ministry”
• II Tim.4:11 – Mark is profitable to me for the ministry.
• Romans 11:13 – used to describe Paul’s apostolic office.
• Acts 12:25 – Saul and Barnabus fulfilled their ministry
• Acts 20:24 – Paul’s ministry of preaching the gospel
• I Cor.12:5 – differences of administrations (diakonia)
• Eph.4:12 – for the work of the ministry…
3. It seems quite likely that the term “ministry” used of Archippus was used in this broad sense… not the narrower sense of the office of a church deacon.
a. II Tim. 4:5 – make full proof of thy ministry.
• This passage is the MOST similar to that of Col. 4:17… in wording and meaning. (fulfilling your ministry)
• Here the ministry of Timothy was that of a pastor… in Ephesus.
b. For that reason, many believe that Archippus was functioning as pastor/overseer of the church that met in the home of Philemon… in the absence of Ephaphras.
4. His ministry was IN the Lord.
a. The ministry Archippus received was IN the Lord.
b. Paul relates his ministry to his POSITION in Christ.
c. IN Christ speaks of:
• The believer’s Spirit baptism into the Body of Christ.
• The believer’s union with Christ in his death and resurrection…
• The believer is sanctified in Christ Jesus (I Cor. 1:2)
• The believer’s position with Christ in the heavenlies
• The heavenly sphere in which the believer in Christ lives and breathes… our LIFE is there. (Col. 3:3)
• It is that sphere where the law of the Spirit of LIFE is operative in the believer… (Rom. 8:2)
• It is the sphere of victory—where the Holy Spirit always causes us to triumph IN Christ (II Cor. 2:14)
• Any man in Christ is a new creature. (II Cor. 5:17)
• In Christ no earthly distinctions exist: neither Jew nor Gentile; bond nor free; male or female; all one.
• The believer possesses all spiritual blessings in Christ. (Eph. 1:3)
• The believer’s high calling of God is in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14)
• The believer’s position IN the Lord (in Christ) is not a minor issue.
d. Our position IN CHRIST (and our ministry in Christ) stands in contrast to our former position IN ADAM.
• In Adam speaks of the natural, earthly realm.
• And yes, it is possible to conduct ministry in that realm!
• It is possible to attempt to conduct ministry from within that sphere… from the earthly… worldly… natural realm.
• The difference is between one who is absorbed with his position in the Lord… in Christ… and conducting the Lord’s work from that perspective (heavenly, holy, spiritual, Spirit filled, power of the resurrection)… — OR — conducting the Lord’s work from the natural realm… as those in Adam… who do not understand spiritual things… and are left with ONLY the natural… the earthly…
• The Lord’s work can become quite successful and prosper when conducted from the natural realm… when judged from the earthly perspective.
• One is thus forced to use business practices to promote God’s work… and those practices WORK… though they may be entirely barren of the Spirit of LIFE in Christ Jesus… devoid of the power of the resurrection… and FULL of wisdom, works, and the will of the flesh.
• The flesh can do a LOT on its own—but it can do NOTHING of any eternal value.
e. The ministry Archippus received was IN the Lord.
• The ministry of Archippus did not consist of what he did for God in the natural realm… using his natural talents… but what GOD did in and through him…
• The end product of ministry in the Lord does not magnify the genius of man’s skill and efforts… but it magnifies Christ…
• I Cor. 12:18 – Ministry in the Lord especially related to the fact that he was in Christ’s Body… a member of that Body… and equipped by GOD to function in that Body.
»It is a supernatural work of Christ the Head manifesting His life, power, wisdom, grace, and will through Spirit filled members of His Body.
»The moment a person is saved in this age, he is immediately baptized by the Spirit INTO the Body of Christ. (I Cor. 12:13)
»Right from birth, (the new birth) the believer is placed into the Body as it hath pleased Him. A hand is made by God to be a hand… a foot a foot… an ear an ear… an elbow an elbow… etc.
»The spiritual gift or capacity to function in the Body is part of the new birth.
»Of course that gift needs to be developed, grow, mature, be instructed and improved upon…
»That comes through time, spiritual growth, practice, use, study, etc…
»It is part of the new creation in Christ. (II Cor. 5:17)
f. The ministry Archippus had was IN the Lord…
• From the moment of his new birth, God had His hand on this man… to function in the Body as a pastor/elder/shepherd.
• Of course he had to grow, learn, and mature in order to FUNCTION… but God created him for that purpose in the Lord… in the Body.
• It was his calling… it was God’s design for his life… it was God’s work in him…
g. Eph. 2:10 – we are created IN CHRIST unto good works which God had ordained that we should walk in them.
• God called Archippus to salvation… and he called him to function in the Body… with a specific ministry…
• God had a ministry for Archippus… and God had good works all planned out for him to walk in.
• And as long as Archippus was yielded to the Holy Spirit… the law of the Spirit of LIFE in Christ Jesus would be operative in and through him… filled with the Spirit… and he WOULD walk in those God ordained works… and thus fulfill his ministry…
h. And by the way—the same principle holds true for every one of us in Christ.
• There are DIFFERENCES of administrations (diakonia)… but the same Spirit operating in us in the Body of Christ.
• As we yield to the Holy Spirit… the Spirit will manifest the LIFE of Christ in us and through us…
• We will be functioning in the Body as God designed… so that Christ, the Head, might accomplish HIS will in and through us.
• The key is to be yielded to the Spirit… abiding in Christ in communion with Him… surrendered to God… like putty in His hand… available… clean…
• When that is the case, EVERY member will FUNCTION as God created him to function in the Body.
• Every member will thus fulfill his own unique, God given ministry… and as a result, Christ will be manifested clearly through the Body… unto the glory of God.
5. Ministry IN the Lord—(especially a pastor) is not like any job in the world.
a. It is by God’s appointment… God’s design… God’s choice…
• Ministry is not something WE choose on our own… or get a degree and become…
• A degree from Bible college is no substitute for the call of God. 10 degrees won’t equip a man for service if he hasn’t been called of the Lord.
• He may be talented, intelligent, skillful in all kinds of techniques, but spiritually he will produce nothing but wood, hay, and stubble.
b. Ministry in the Lord is not a career but a calling.
• God does not always call those whom we deem to be most likely from man’s perspective.
• God called fishermen, a Pharisee, a shepherd, tax collectors, and a herdsman… to serve Him in various ministries.
• Their backgrounds and training differed, but they shared one thing in common: God called them to their ministry.
c. For the Christian, ministry is received as part of the new creation… upon entrance into the Body as a member… with a God given, supernatural capacity to function in the Body of Christ.
• That capacity is given by God, directed by God, empowered by God, to draw attention to God.
• It was received as a grace gift… not something we can glory in.
• We RECEIVED it. We didn’t earn it or buy it.
• Salvation was designed by God in such a way that it does not give the flesh or SELF one ounce of glory…
• Ministry was also designed by God in such a way that it gives NO opportunity for self to glory.
d. I Cor. 4:7 – “and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”
e. Archippus received a ministry in the Lord. He had received a special grace gift… a capacity to serve God… and Paul writes to challenge him to TAKE HEED to that ministry.
TAKE HEED
1. Take heed = Blepo – take heed to; look out for danger; see to; watch carefully; pay attention to.
a. Often used as a “warning.” (Mark 13:5, 9, 23, 33)
2. Archippus—like every one of us—had received a grace gift—a capacity to serve in a ministry for the Lord.
a. But possessing a ministry or a grace gift—does not mean that God is pleased with what we DO with that ministry.
b. Such a gift is a valuable, precious tool to be used for God’s glory. Every gift is necessary and valuable to the Body.
c. Which gift we receive is up to God. What we DO with the gift we receive is up to us.
d. God GAVE Archippus a gift to function as a leader in the church—AND he is encouraged here to be CAREFUL about what he does with that gift!
e. Be careful with it! Take heed! Be watchful! Be mindful of the gift… don’t forget to use it… to develop it… and function as God intended!
3. Archippus is told to TAKE HEED to his ministry…
a. It may indicate that Paul felt there was a problem along those lines…
b. OR (which seems more likely) it may simply be a friendly reminder and warning that ANY minister needs from time to time.
4. This same type of warning was given to others as well.
a. II Tim. 1:6 – Paul sent to Timothy to stir him up concerning his ministry—perhaps because Timothy was prone to fear.
b. Paul may have seen Archippus to be in need of “stirring up” too—perhaps because he was prone to laziness… or being drawn away from his real ministry.
c. Acts 20:28 – leaders in ministry at Ephesus were warned to TAKE HEED to themselves first of all… and secondly to their ministry to the flock. FEED the flock!
d. II Tim. 4:1-5 – Take heed by preaching the word! (an exhortation from Paul)
e. I Tim. 4:16 – take heed to yourself and to the DOCTRINE… and save yourself and those who hear you!
5. Regardless of our gift and capacity to function in the Body, we ALL need this kind of challenge from time to time.
a. We all tend to grow weary in well doing.
b. We all tend to get lazy in the work of the Lord and need this reminder: be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…
c. We all tend to get discouraged in the work of the Lord when things don’t go the way we had hoped.
d. We all tend to lose our zeal and enthusiasm over time and need to be stirred up—like embers cooling off and becoming covered with ashes… lukewarm!
e. In ministering to others, we all need to be reminded to take heed to ourselves!
f. And others might become so busy in taking heed to themselves that they need to be challenged to minister to others.
g. Perhaps some folks here today have slacked off in your service for the Lord… perhaps God has given you a gift and you have been hiding it under a bushel…
h. The result is that the body is losing out on that needed function… and you are losing out in the spiritual exercise and the reward you could have had!
i. We all HAVE a gift and thus a capacity to function in one ministry or another. Take heed to your ministry!
FULFILL
1. Defined:
a. Strong’s: Fill full… complete… full to the brim; make complete in every particular; to be permeated; carry into effect, bring to realization…
b. John 12:3 – when Mary took costly perfume and anointed the feet of Jesus the smell “filled” the house…
c. Related to the word for riches: supply abundantly with something, impart richly…
d. Acts 12:25 – Paul and Barnabus fulfilled their ministry.
e. Col. 2:10 – we are complete in Him.
2. Eph. 1:23 – used 2 times… the body of Christ is FULL of Christ… because He fills it with Himself….
a. He fills it with His life, love, grace, compassion, righteousness, holiness, the fruit of the Holy Spirit… Christlike character
b. He fills the Body, the church, AS WE yield to the Holy Spirit… and abide in Him.
c. As we do, EVERY function and God anointed ministry of the Body will be fulfilled.
d. God will accomplish His perfect will in the Body by FILLING each one of us… that we might FULFILL our God given ministry… and thus the Body is full of the fullness of Him who fills it! It is full of Christ!
e. Eph. 3:19 – We can only fulfill our ministry for Christ as we are filled with the fullness of God… God’s life and power operating in us to manifest the indwelling life of Christ.
f. That’s what men should see in the local church: Christ and Him alone!
g. When a visitor walks into a local church—a local manifestation of Christ—they be “convinced of all, he is judged of all: 25And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.” (I Cor. 14:24-25)
h. If we were all faithful in fulfilling our ministries in the local church… this WOULD occur… to the glory of God.
i. Hence, Paul challenged Archippus to FULFILL his ministry in the Lord… and that becomes a challenge to us all.
j. Nothing is more obnoxious than a minister that preaches himself… talks about himself… and thus fills the body with himself!
k. We are to preach CHRIST and HIM crucified—not ourselves!
l. The ministry, the message, the methodology, the manner, the emphasis is all on Christ… He is all in all.
m. Only THEN will God’s purpose for the ministry for the Body be fulfilled.
3. Archippus was challenged to fill his ministry full… pour his life into it.
a. Cf. — II Tim. 4:5, “make full proof of thy ministry.” “Give all diligence to follow it out fully.”
b. It would imply the need to be faithful… persevere in your ministry…
c. Not all ministers… not all pastor/teachers fulfill their duty as a minister.
d. Some are busy fulfilling duties their denomination requires… or trying to fulfill the expectations of the people… or to fulfill duties they have assumed or imagined to be part of the ministry… (soup kitchens; politics; social agencies; medical services; games, camps, clubs, etc…)
e. It is possible to be BUSY in trying to fulfill all these alleged duties… and at the same time to be negligent in carrying out one’s duties and responsibilities as recorded in the BIBLE!
f. ILLUSTRATION: Course in church administration… (Business Management 101)
g. We need to let the BIBLE define what ministry is.
h. Our ministry is not what we do for God, but what HE does through us. Our job is to be ready, available, willing, yielded, surrendered, a clean vessel He can use when, where, and how He sees fit…
4. The body does not lack for spiritual gifts… even Corinth was a gifted church! (I Cor. 1:7).
a. God has equipped each Body with all the gifts it needs to function.
b. The problem is not a lack of gifts, but a lack of AVAILABLE gifts.
· Some gifted members are living in sin.
· Some gifted members are too busy with the affairs of this life.
· Some gifted members are not faithful… not reliable.
· Some gifted members are not available…
· Some gifted members think it beneath them to be a servant (pride).
· Some gifted members think it above them to serve (false humility).
· Some gifted members are just stubborn… and self willed. NO!
· Some gifted members start off using their gifts and ministering to the edification of the body… but over time fizzle out and stop.
c. Fulfill: Present active subjunctive of plêroô, “that thou keep on filling it full.”
• It is a life-time job. It is NEVER finished.
• When God gave you a gift, He intends for you to use it until He takes you home!
• Jesus said, “I have finished the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4)
• Paul said, “I have finished my course; I have kept the faith.”
• That should be our goal too.
• The ministry is a stewardship for which the minister will be held responsible and called into account…
• So, TAKE HEED to your ministry!
SAY TO ARCHIPPUS
1. Paul was exhorting this minister to be faithful.
a. But note that he uses a very indirect approach.
b. He tells the Colossians (recipients of the letter) to deliver this message to Archippus.
c. He wanted the believers in the assembly to challenge and encourage their minister to keep on ministering.
2. Archippus was evidently a minister and had authority in the local church.
a. However, that did not give him the right to do as he pleased.
b. He was still UNDER the authority of God’s Word. Paul reminds him of his God given responsibilities.
c. Ministers are to be held accountable to the ministry. (qualifications)
d. Members of the body should exhort one another DAILY to be faithful… including the leaders.
· In doing so, each member is thus doubly reminded to fulfill our OWN ministries in the local church!
· Mote and the beam…
e. This was probably a great encouragement to this man: to receive a word of exhortation from Spirit filled members of the body… who had received this message from the apostle Paul himself!
f. One word can mean a lot to a person ministering for Christ.
• A fearful Timothy can be emboldened…
• A discouraged Archippus can be challenged…
Let’s all learn from this passage:
· Take heed to our OWN ministries…
· Encourage others in their ministries…
· Be sure that our heavenly position in Christ is the basis for our ministry down here on earth…
· Abiding in our Risen, glorified Savior… and experiencing HIS resurrection power operating in and through us as we minister in the local church—that we be strong in the LORD and in the power of HIS might…
· Ministering in Christ… not in Adam… with Adam’s earthly perspective—natural talents and human wisdom…
· But be filled with the fullness of God and thus fulfill your ministry… and cause this body to be full of Him…
· And to manifest Christ as we ought…
· And let’s exhort one another daily lest any of us become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin!
· Oh yes, WE need to take heed to our ministries!
IF YOU ARE NOT BORN AGAIN…
· Apart from the new birth, any service you do for God is considered “dead works.” None will save.
· (Have not we done many wonderful works?)
· BELIEVE and be saved today!
Remember My Bonds
PAUL’S FINAL SALUTATION
1. Paul signs this epistle with his own hand.
a. Paul salutes the congregation in his own handwriting at the beginning and end of the letter. (1:1-2; 4:18)
b. He usually had a scribe write the body of the letter…
c. But he always signed it himself.
d. Kenneth Wuest suggests that Paul followed this practice because of an oriental eye disease he contacted on his first missionary journey in the lowlands of Pamphilia, where the disease was prevalent. (I have never been able to verify this information…)
e. Gal. 4:13-14 – Paul preached the gospel with a physical infirmity in Galatia. The Galatian believers were so grateful that they would have plucked out their own eyes for Paul if they could… This indicates a possible eye disease.
f. Gal. 6:11 – he mentions that he wrote a large letter. The epistle was not large, although he may have used large capital letters in writing it… due to an eye disease.
g. Paul often used an amanuensis—a scribe—to record what he dictated to them.
h. Romans 16:22 – I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.” (There is no doubt that PAUL wrote Romans – see 1:1)
i. Paul wrote the final words in his own handwriting… including his signature ending, “Grace to you.” (Rom. 16:24)
2. II Thess. 3:17-18 – this was the “token” in every epistle.
a. Token: sign, a sign that indicated something; a mark; a designation…
b. It was the apostle’s “signature” that served as a designating mark on ALL of his epistles. This token or designation was necessary because there were phony epistles being circulated in Paul’s name… and Paul wanted to separate the true from the false epistles.
c. II Thess. 2:2 – That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us.
d. However, it is likely that the final greeting, “Grace be with you” was what Paul meant here — as his signature trademark in all his epistles.
REMEMBER MY BONDS
A. The Request to Remember
1. Remember my BONDS.
a. Bonds: chains or fetters that bound Paul to his prison guard… that he was forced to wear day and night.
b. Paul’s secretary was finished recording what Paul dictated to him—the bulk of the letter. Picture the scene.
c. Now Paul reaches his arm to take the pen and scroll from his secretary… and he again hears the awful sound of the clanging of his chains. Paul is once more reminded of his “bonds.”
d. He writes: Remember my bonds.
e. His readers wouldn’t hear their clang. They wouldn’t have slept with hands bound. They would be sleeping in the comfort of their home… and it would be easy to FORGET Paul’s condition… hence, he asks them to remember his chains…
f. Consider the simplicity and brevity of this final exhortation.
2. Paul’s bonds are mentioned OFTEN in the New Testament.
a. Often in Acts, Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, II Timothy, etc.
b. If you were chained day and night in shackles—it would be hard NOT to think of those chains. Paul was human.
3. BUT—there is not one ounce of whining in his statements.
a. There is not a hint of frustration, resentment, or anger at the Lord for allowing his imprisonment.
b. He gives no tear jerking sob story…
c. Paul isn’t asking for their pity.
d. There is no long list of his awful deprivations… illnesses or wounds…
e. He’s not trying to put them on a guilt trip for never having visited him… (I have not seen your face in the flesh—he never went to Colossae and they had never came to him.)
f. He is not complaining about his lot in life.
4. In fact, he had learned (the hard way) HOW to be content… through experiencing difficulties through Christ and the power of the resurrected life! (Phil. 4:11-13)
5. No, Paul isn’t complaining about his lot in life. He simply and briefly asks that they would “remember his bonds.” It’s not a complaint, but a simple prayer request.
6. Far from complaining, Paul actually USES his earthly condition (unfavorable as it was) for at least four good purposes:
a. To draw closer to Christ personally…
b. To goad other believers to be faithful in their service for Christ…
c. To further the gospel message…
d. For the glory of God…
• Imagine if we ALL saw our trials, restrictions, and limitations from that vantage point… as opportunities for good!
• God can bring good out of any tragedy or calamity.
B. The CAUSE of His Bonds
1. Preaching the Mystery of the Gospel (Col. 4:3)
a. He preached Christ and ended up in jail.
b. Thus, his bonds became a daily reminder to all the believers of his love for the lost… his desire to see men saved… his belief that the salvation of souls was WORTH suffering for… it was worth being beaten and imprisoned…
c. Philemon 13 – “the bonds of the gospel.”
d. Eph. 3:1 – he was a prisoner for you Gentiles—because he sought to bring the gospel to the Gentile world.
e. Acts 22:21–22 – Paul was preaching in the Temple in Jerusalem, and the Jews listened to every word. But as soon as he mentioned gentiles, they would listen no longer and began to shout for his death!
f. From there, he ended up in prison in Rome.
g. He was in prison FOR the Gentiles… for the Ephesians… and FOR the Colossians… and also FOR us!
2. Godly in Christ Jesus
a. II Tim. 3:12 – “Yea, and ALL that WILL live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL suffer persecution.”
b. Paul lived godly and DID suffer persecution for it.
c. He was in jail because he loved the Lord—the love of Christ constrained him… and yielded his life to Christ and to the will of God—which for him meant preaching Christ to the Gentiles.
d. He was in prison because his heart was yielded to God… and he walked in obedience to the will of God… and made known the gospel.
e. His chains evidenced the godly desire of his heart to see men saved… and brought into the Body of Christ…
f. His bonds also served as a reminder to the believers of the first century of his love for the lost…
g. And more importantly, this was an outward expression of Christ IN Paul… the love of Christ working through him… Christ loved the lost and sought to win them…
h. When a believer yields his members to God—it is really the Risen CHRIST seeking the lost through us.
i. It was the love and life of the indwelling Christ being manifested through a yielded member of His Body.
j. I Tim. 3:15-16 – Paul taught us about the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in human flesh… this was true in the incarnation of our Lord—but it was also true in the church of the LIVING God… the spiritual body of Christ.
k. That’s what true godliness is: God manifested through US—members of the Body of Christ.
l. Paul lived godly and was persecuted for it. THAT was the cause of his bonds.
3. A Willingness to Suffer for Righteousness Sake
a. Paul’s chains loudly testified of that truth day in and day out… like the unceasing testimony of creation which without a word testifies of their Creator. Everyone in the Roman palace heard the testimony of Paul’s chains… and got the message—though the chains never said a word. (Making known the mystery of Christ is worth suffering for! The salvation of souls is worth suffering for!)
4. The Hatred of the World for Christ
a. John 15:18-21 – The world hates Christ and His followers.
b. The world system is an arrangement of ideas, belief systems, religious thought, philosophies, traditions of men—a whole world view that excludes God… and has Satan as its unseen head… the god of this world.
c. In the first century, that world system demonstrated its hatred towards Christ: “Let Him be crucified!” He was spit upon beaten, whipped, and ultimately nailed to a tree.
d. That is the attitude of the world to our Savior… both then and today.
e. But after His death, Christ arose from the grave and ascended into heaven—out of the reach of the world that hates Him.
f. Today the world cannot touch the Risen Savior who is at the right hand of His Father in heaven, the world CAN express their hatred for Him by their treatment of His Body… the church of the Living God.
g. Paul was in prison because he was a follower of Christ… one who preached Christ… KNOWING full well that following Christ could mean a cross—or a chain… and he was willing suffered the wrath of a hateful world.
C. Victory Over Bonds
1. But the expressed fury and WRATH of the world Paul was enduring was NOT a sign that the world was the victor.
a. The world and its god, Satan, thought that the cross meant victory for them. In fact, it spelled out their doom, for Christ rose from the dead and triumphed over them in it!
b. Gal. 6:14 – The cross did not mean defeat for Christ… nor does a cross or a chain mean defeat for the believer in Christ.
c. The World System that persecutes and incarcerates believers is a defeated foe.
d. The believer is more than a conqueror in Christ.
e. For the believer, the cross is OUR way of victory over the world system too… for there we were united with Christ in His death.
f. We DIED with Christ to the world and hence, the world—which had formerly enslaved us, has no more authority over us!
g. And the world was crucified to us!
h. Not the cross—or any other form of persecution the world uses to lash out at the church will never result in victory for the world. They are already a defeated foe… and by faith we can experience their defeat and our victory!
i. In fact, their persecution tends to strengthen the church. The blood of the martyrs is the SEED of the church!
j. The gates of hell shall NOT prevail against the church.
k. Paul’s imprisonment was actually a great VICTORY for the cause of Christ.
l. The book we have been studying for the last 3 years… the book that God has used to strengthen us… and believers for the last 2000 years… was written by Paul from prison!
m. II Tim. 2:9 – “Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.”
n. They could chain Paul’s body—but not his mind, heart, or conscience… and CERTAINLY not God’s Word.
2. Not only did Paul’s fetters NOT hinder the gospel. In fact, it helped SPREAD the Gospel!
a. Phil. 1:13 – through Paul’s “bonds,” the gospel made its way into the Roman palaces and to the Roman guards.
b. Col. 4:3-4 – Paul asked for prayer for him to be able to spread the gospel from is prison cell!
3. Paul’s position IN CHRIST also delivered a death blow to those who held him in bondage with fetters.
a. They could chain his arms and legs… but Paul’s real life was lived FROM a place where no chain could go.
b. He was raised up with Christ… and there are no bonds in Christ! (Neither male nor female, bond nor free…)
D. Good That Comes from Bonds
1. Learning to remember the plight of others.
a. This takes our mind off self and seeks the welfare of others.
b. Learning the Need for Empathy (Heb.13:3)
• We are members of the same Body in Christ.
• In a sense, we ARE bound with the believers in China who are bound… or those who are taken as hostages in Indonesia or South America.
• If the hand is in captivity—then the whole body suffers with it.
• We belong to the same Body—the universal Body of Christ.
• I Cor.12:26 – When one member suffers, the whole body suffers… especially in the local church…
• Showing this kind of empathy is greatly appreciated by those who are “bound.”
• II Tim.1:15-18 – Paul was so grateful for Onesiphorus who often refreshed him while he was in prison.
• Paul never forgot that ministry… and it IS a ministry to those who are “bound.”
c. Learning to practice and live this principle is a MOST valuable asset for the Body of Christ.
d. If we can learn to better function as a Body through the suffering of one member, the Body is much stronger as a result.
e. Thus, the enemy’s attempt to harm the Body (by binding a member) actually resulted in strengthening the Body.
f. Sometimes trials, calamities, and tragedies from the human perspective can be the very best thing for us spiritually!
g. Much GOOD came from Paul’s imprisonment.
h. This principle can be applied to many forms of suffering other than just imprisonment. (Shut ins; those afflicted with disease; those restricted or limited through the loss of a limb, eye sight, no longer ambulatory, etc.)
i. As being “bound with them.” That makes it very personal… and brings the body together.
2. Learning the need for prayer for one another
a. In a sense, this was a request for prayer.
b. Paul wanted the believers to remember him… especially before the throne of grace.
c. Paul was not asking for supplies… or money… or for political maneuvering to get him out of prison… or for the believers to take up arms to oppose the government for wrongly incarcerating him.
d. Paul simply says, “Remember my bonds.” Pray for me.
e. Paul TOLD them what kinds of things to pray for: Col. 1:9-11.
3. Added Weight to His Exhortations.
a. Philemon 8-9 –
• As an apostle, Paul could have COMMANDED Philemon to receive Onesimus… based on the weight of absolute, apostolic authority.
• Paul chooses instead to rely on the MORAL weight of the fact that he is the “aged” (elder statesman for Christ)… and a “prisoner of Christ.”
• There was a moral weight that accompanied his words as a prisoner for Christ.
b. Eph. 4:1 – he exhorts them “as a prisoner of the Lord” to walk worthy…
• That is a powerful exhortation.
• There is moral weight behind that.
c. It comes from one who walked worthily—and SUFFERED for his worthy walk!
d. Lightfoot: “He who is suffering on behalf of Christ has a right to speak on behalf of Christ”.
e. Paul was not writing from some lofty, ivory tower… or from a well respected theological think tank.
f. Rather, he was writing from a prison cell… He did not just read and theorize about suffering for righteousness sake. He lived it. He endured it.
g. His bonds added weight, respect, depth, and urgency to his exhortations… because he truly understood the VALUE of such a walk… and was willing to pay the PRICE for a worthy walk.
4. This weight bolsters our faith too.
a. Paul CLAIMED to have seen the risen Savior.
b. Paul CLAIMED to have received the revelation of the church directly through this Risen Savior.
c. If it were NOT true, it hardly seems likely that this man would allow himself to suffer in prison for that which he knew was a lie!
d. He could have easily have gotten OUT of prison at any moment by recanting… but he didn’t.
e. He chose to remain in jail and suffer the loss of all things for the TRUTH.
f. He KNEW it was true and was willing to suffer to the point of death for it!
g. That strengthens MY faith. It convinces me that this man did indeed see the Risen Savior on the road to Damascus… and did indeed receive revelation of the mystery of Christ from Him.
5. Learning the fellowship of His sufferings. (Phil. 3:10)
Philippians was another epistle written from prison.
In this passage Paul tells us another benefit that was his because of his suffering in jail… a benefit to his bonds.
The benefit is threefold:
• That I may know Him (deeper and deeper)… (vs. 8 – there is an excellency to the knowledge of Christ… excellency – ?pe???? – over and above; supreme; superior; higher) Paul wanted more of that… a higher, experiential knowledge of Christ… (not data)
• That I may know experientially the power of the resurrection… operating in him daily… the power of a resurrected life
» Paul wanted the same power that raised Jesus from the dead to be experienced by him in his earthly life…
» He wanted the Spirit of LIFE in Christ Jesus to so control him that he would experience victory over sin; power to walk in newness of life…
» He had been raised up with Christ spiritually… and he wanted his heavenly position to have an effect on his earthly life.
» Romans 8:11 – “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
» He wanted the Holy Spirit to take his mortal flesh and make it ALIVE—filled with the power of the resurrection… walking in NEWNESS of life…
» He didn’t want theory and speculation… but spiritual reality in his day to day life.
» He wanted the Holy Spirit to be operative in his body… to overcome sin and to produce fruit—Christlike character in him. (requires resurrection power)
• The fellowship of His sufferings… (fellowship = communion; sharing together) — not Christ’s sufferings on the cross but His suffering for righteousness sake.
» Paul shared in that… and it was to his great spiritual benefit!
» It is the sweetest kind of communion with Christ…
But those benefits were Paul’s ONLY as a result of “being made conformable to His death.”
• We are made conformable unto His death, as we RECKON ourselves to be dead with Christ…
• As the believer is willing put self on the cross by faith… thus identifying with the Lord Jesus in His death… and as a result, that union with Christ will CONFORM us… shape us… make us more like the Savior… who also willingly went to the cross.
• Depth in our relationship to Christ comes through suffering… or through being WILLING to suffer for righteousness sake.
• It is only as the CROSS changes us… as we identify with Christ in His suffering for righteousness sake… that we will ever experience this kind of DEPTH in the knowledge of Christ… a higher experiential knowledge… and the depth to our fellowship with the Risen Savior…
• AS we fellowship with Him in His sufferings… and apply the cross—His death to our lives… we are made more like Him.
• It is only then that we experience the kind of selflessness He demonstrated when He left glory for others…
• It is only then that we experience the same kind of sacrificial life, Christ demonstrated when He said, “Not my will but Thine be done”… when He died that others might live… when He was obedient—even to the death of the cross.
• This is to know Christ experientially… not just facts about Him learned in Sunday school.
• Paul could not share in Christ’s death on the cross—but he COULD share in His suffering for righteousness sake… and he did.
• In doing so, he was made conformable to Christ’s death—not His death as a sacrifice for sin… but in Christ’s death to self… exhibited in the incarnation… the selfless, sacrificial life—emptied Himself—a life poured out in the service of God for others… a life of love… and good works… an abundant life.
• There is a price to pay for a deeper relationship to the Lord…
• Whether we are called to suffer persecution or not is irrelevant. What matters is our heart—that we are WILLING to reckon SELF to be dead…
• That and that alone will deepen our relationship to Christ.
• Apart from being identified with Christ in His death, we will never experience the POWER of His resurrection in our lives… you don’t get resurrection power apart from death.
• YES—there was GREAT VALUE in Paul’s imprisonment. Remember his bonds!
Grace Be With You
Introduction:
1. 1:2 – He opened the epistle with this prayer/wish.
2. 4:18 – He closes the epistle with this prayer/wish.
3. It is SO important to Paul that EVERY epistle he wrote included this greeting.
4. And it should NOT be considered a meaningless cliché.
5. It was at the very heart of Paul’s ministry.
6. AND—there were issues at the church in Colossae that gave this formal greeting special meaning.
The Concept of Grace
A. Defined
1. Good will or favor towards someone; free, unmerited favor…
2. Zodhiates:
a. A favor done without expectation of return.
b. Divine grace: the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to men finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver.
3. Chafer: Lists seven fundamental facts about grace: (2 follow)
a. Grace is not withheld because of demerit
• Grace is not withheld because you used to be a drunkard or a prostitute; grace finds its greatest triumph in human weakness and helplessness.
• Grace is not restricted because of one’s past.
• But grace demands that we recognize that we have no merit of our own!
• Therefore ANYBODY—no matter where they’ve been or what they’ve done can be the recipient of God’s amazing grace.
• God does not refuse to bestow His favor on individuals because of their lack of merit. Actually, that makes them a perfect candidate for His unmerited favor!
b. Grace cannot incur a debt
• When God saves us by grace, we owe Him NOTHING in return. (Morally but not legally).
• Grace is unrecompensed favor—unrecompensable favor! Either before or after the fact.
• It is here that Christians often fail to grasp the true nature of the grace of God.
• When He saves us by grace, we do not OWE Him anything in return.
• We are not indebted to pay Him back. How COULD we pay Him back? What could we ever offer Him?
• That view of grace diminishes the work of the cross… as if they payment was not made in FULL… the cross was not sufficient and something more needs to be added.
• And this reverts us back to a works system. It becomes paying for salvation… after the fact.
• We often hear, “He died for me. I owe Him so much. I think I ought to give my life to him in full time service in return.” (Not the best motive!)
• If we have to pay Him back, it’s not a gift.
• And if that is our mindset, we lose the proper motive for Christian service… it becomes legalistic. (I’m serving Him because I owe Him—rather than I’m serving Him because I love Him.)
• We are not to serve God in an attempt to “pay Him back.”
• Salvation was FREELY given to us. Service is to be freely given to Him out of love… a manifestation of the indwelling life of Christ at work in us… a natural expression of new life.
• The RIGHT motive for service is the principle of indwelling LIFE and LOVE of Christ that constrains us.
• We ought to give our lives in service to Him—but not in an attempt to pay Him back for what He did for us. A higher motive is because we LOVE Him… and because it is the natural response of His indwelling LIFE.
B. Grace Stands in Contrast to Law/Works
1. In the Bible we see two distinct systems
a. Law/works/flesh…
b. Grace/faith/Spirit…
2. Law and grace stand in every way as polar opposites.
a. They cannot be mingled. (oil and water)
b. They cannot even work side by side.
c. It must always be one or the other.
d. Chafer: “The pernicious practice of attempting to merge the legal system with the teachings of grace results in a forceless law and a defeated grace.”
3. Rom. 4:4 – Justification is either by grace (freely given—no debt incurred) or by works (incurring a debt/payment).
a. There can be no compromise on this point.
b. If work is involved, then salvation is not reckoned of grace.
c. If we are working for our salvation, then any reward given (under those conditions) is not of grace… it is not coming from the benevolence of God… it is not unmerited favor.
d. Rather, our works would make God indebted to us! (I did this for you, now you OWE me!)
e. If one could work for his salvation, that work would make God indebted to the hard working sinner.
f. AND whatever reward he earns, is definitely NOT of grace!
4. Rom. 11:6 – Here, Paul states that God’s choice to save is by grace.
a. Any mingling of grace and works destroys them both.
b. Adding the tiniest “work” to grace completely destroys the concept of grace.
• Even if you charge a penny for a million dollar ring—it is NOT free. It is not a gift.
• A payment of ANY sort negates the concept of grace.
• It is not a free gift if we have to work for it.
c. Adding the tiniest element of grace to works destroys the concept of work.
• Grace means freely given.
• If salvation is freely given, then that eliminates any requirement to work to obtain it.
d. Clearly, it is one or the other. These concepts cannot be mingled. They are mutually exclusive.
5. Gal. 2:21 – “frustrating” the grace of God.
a. Frustrate: to reject; render invalid; refuse to recognize the validity of something.
b. To teach or believe that righteousness comes through the law is equal to frustrating the grace of God… rendering grace invalid…
c. It is tantamount to rejecting the grace/faith system in favor of the law/works system.
d. One system frustrates or renders the other invalid.
6. Gal. 3:12 – The law is not of faith.
a. Either I am working under the law to finish the work myself, OR I am believing that the work is finished and thus resting in the finished work of Another.
b. You can’t be resting and working at the same time. The two concepts are opposites.
c. The law is NOT of faith. Faith is not of the law.
7. Law and grace and two are entirely different systems.
a. John 1:17 – the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
b. Law was the rule of life during the Old Testament dispensation.
c. Grace is the rule of life during the church age.
d. Just as Israel and the church are to be kept distinct, so too we must keep distinct the huge differences between law and grace.
Grace: God’s Means of SALVATION
A. Salvation by Grace Through Faith
1. Gal. 2:16 – what could be clearer? (3 times each!)
2. Eph. 2:8-9 – maybe this verse is clearer.
3. Rom. 3:24 – being justified freely by His grace.
B. Paul Reminded the Colossians of the Gospel of God’s Grace That Saved Them
1. Col. 1:5-6 – and knew the grace of God in truth.
a. Vs. 5 – They heard the word of truth of the gospel—the saving message of Christ.
b. Vs. 6 – When they got saved, they came to know the grace of God in truth… true grace.
c. “Knew” = epignosko = a full knowledge of the true grace of God.
d. It is impossible to be saved without understanding of the true grace of God… (our unworthiness; our spiritual poverty; spiritually destitute and able only to cry out for His benevolence—grace… or we perish).
e. The Colossians heard of the gospel of the grace of God, came to a full knowledge of grace, and trusted in the God of grace.
f. This true grace stands in stark contrast to the law… to works… and to religious effort.
g. Paul calls it the gospel of the grace of God. The gospel is all about God’s grace.
h. One cannot be saved without understanding the gospel… and the gospel is all about God’s grace.
2. As Paul closes his epistle, he reminds them of the grace of God that saved them.
a. It doesn’t matter how long we have been saved, we should still marvel at the grace of God…
b. We were saved by grace and will forever be trophies of His grace. (Eph.2:7) (Not: trophies of our works or effort.)
C. Changing the Gospel of God’s Grace is Heresy
1. Acts 15:1 – Salvation by faith PLUS works.
a. Early in the history of the church this principle was tested.
b. The Judaizers were teaching salvation by faith PLUS they said you had to be circumcised.
c. This was salvation by faith plus works… adding the human requirement of circumcision.
d. It seemed quite innocuous. How could this be harmful?
• They believed in Jesus just like the Christians did!
• They believed that Jesus was God; that He died for the sins of the world; that He rose again…
• They believed it all.
e. They believed PLUS they obeyed certain requirements of the law. How could that be harmful?
f. Isn’t it BETTER to have faith and a little something extra?
2. Faith PLUS anything as a requirement for salvation is not better. It is far worse!
a. Adding even the tiniest “work” to grace completely destroys the concept of grace.
b. Adding works frustrates grace… makes it invalid.
c. It makes our salvation ultimately rest upon OUR works.
d. Grace is no more grace… faith is no more faith.
e. Faith PLUS anything else as requirement for salvation is in reality: unbelief.
f. It is like saying I do NOT believe that what Jesus accomplished on the cross was sufficient.
g. It believes the FACTS of the gospel (Satan too!)… but it does NOT believe that the work of Christ was enough… something MORE needs to be done.
h. The one who TRULY believes that the work of Christ was sufficient is able to TRUST in that work… REST in that work… and CEASE from his own works—by RESTING in the finished work of Another.
i. By ADDING any requirement to salvation—as tiny as it may be—it a declaration that you do NOT believe that the work was finished: there’s something more to be done.
3. Paul was outraged when he heard that something was being added to the doctrine of salvation by grace.
a. Acts 15:2 – Paul and Barnabus had a big argument with these folks.
b. They then went to the mother church in Jerusalem to settle this issue once and for all.
c. Acts 15:11 – The conclusion: both Jews and Gentiles are saved through the GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ… the unmerited favor of God.
d. The apostles saw this teaching as heretical and settled the issue for all future generations of the church.
e. We are justified freely through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ—totally apart from the works of the law.
f. We are saved by faith plus NOTHING. Adding anything to faith undermines the very nature of grace… results in a false gospel of works that DOES not save.
Grace: God’s Means of Sanctification
A. Sanctification by Grace Through Faith
1. Rom. 6:14-15 – ye are not under the law but under grace.
2. UNDER –
a. It is used figuratively of what is under the power or authority of any person or thing.
b. Luke 7:8 – under the authority of another… a Roman soldier under the authority of his superiors.
c. Under the law (Rom. 6:14, 15) = under the authority of the law as a rule of life.
d. Under grace (Rom. 6:14-15) = under the authority of grace as a rule of life.
3. In this age, the believer is either UNDER law or grace.
a. It cannot be a mixture of both… one or the other.
b. These two systems do not mix when it comes to justification… nor do they mix when it comes to sanctification.
c. The entire evangelical world is in AGREEMENT that justification is by grace through faith—or they are not saved.
d. The evangelical world is DIVIDED when it comes to sanctification.
• One portion of the evangelical world (knowingly or ignorantly) puts the believer UNDER the law as a means of sanctification.
• The other portion (us!) sees the believer as UNDER grace as a rule of life—and not under law at all as a rule of life.
e. This issue was addressed in Colossians and was settled 2000 years ago… (for those who took heed to this truth).
f. And this error does not divide neatly along dispensation vs. Reformed lines. This error appears frequently on BOTH sides.
• Many dispensationalists put believers under the law as a rule of life.
» But when they do, it is out of ignorance—for it is contrary to dispensational theology.
» It is out of ignorance of God’s plan of sanctification found in Rom. 6-8—based on our position in the Risen Savior.
» With good intentions, but equally wrong they do so.
» It results in a defeated Christian life.
• Reformed theology also puts believers under law as a rule of life.
» But with this system, it is not out of ignorance—it is PART and parcel OF their system of theology.
» It goes back to their refusal to distinguish between Israel and the church.
» It is not surprising that there is also confusion between law and grace.
• But the Bible teaches that the law is defunct, obsolete, finished, fulfilled, no longer in effect. (us!)
» We teach that the believer is NOT under the law—nor is he under ANY aspect of the law!
» Even the ten commandments are not our rule of life. The law is a unit. Either we are under that unit or not.
» We teach that the believer is not under the law period!
» Reformer Theologians look at his as lawless.
» To them, there are only two alternatives: either the believer submits to the law or he is lawless.
» We see it differently. The options in the Bible are: (1) under law or (2) under grace.
» GRACE to you!
4. How can it be that the believer is not under law?
a. It is BECAUSE of the truths that Paul has emphasized in Colossians!
b. We died with Christ – to the Law!
• That is at the center of it all!
• Those who ignore or overlook the importance of positional truth—open themselves up to legalism by default… ignorance.
• Every evangelical is in agreement that Christ died for us.
• But this vital truth is often rejected or ignored: that we died with Him!
• This truth is absolutely essential for living UNDER grace!
• One can be saved without understanding this truth…
• But sanctification is built upon it!
c. Col. 2:20-23 – we died with Christ which DELIVERS us from earthly legalism. That system does NOT satisfy the desires of the flesh! In fact, it puffs up the flesh! It is legalism, flesh, works, and as a system it stands OPPOSED to the system of grace…
d. Gal. 2:19-20 – we were crucified with Christ—and in this context Paul means crucified to the LAW.
e. Thus, the Law has no more authority over us. It required death to the sinner—and we died with Christ to the Law.
f. The law has nothing more to say to the believer. The law has no power over a dead man.
g. The law has been fulfilled and its penalty paid. Co-crucifixion ended our relationship to the law.
5. Being UNDER GRACE is NOT lawlessness.
a. Rom. 7:4, 6 – ye are dead to the law (to bring us into a HIGHER relationship!)
• Who wouldn’t want to exchange for a rule of life tablets of stone for the Resurrected Savior!?
• How can anyone think that the Law could have a greater effect on our heart… on our inner life… on our walk than the glorious PERSON of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
• The law came through Moses. Grace and truth come through Christ… He is INFINITELY superior!
• We love Moses and honor him. But we WORSHIP the Lord Jesus. He is an infinitely superior Mediator.
• Communion and fellowship with HIM will transform us from glory to glory.
• Attempting to produce fruit through the works of the law results in frustration and defeat…
• Don’t let anyone convince you with fancy arguments that to believe that we are NOT under the law means we are lawless. It does not.
• It means we are under grace—a new and HIGHER relationship to the Risen Savior!
• When Paul says, “Grace be unto you,” he wants the Colossians to remember this wonderful truth—cling to it—and don’t ever depart from it!
b. Col. 3:3-4 – being dead with Christ ENDS our relationship to earthly legalism and brings us into the heavenly realm.
• As a system, grace is higher than the law as heaven is above the earth!
• Its standards are higher. The law that came by Moses said “thou shalt not kill.” Grace says “Thou shalt not be angry at a brother without cause.”
• The law was given to Israel—God’s earthly people… It was a set of laws for a nation.
• Grace as a rule of life is given to the Church—the spiritual body of Christ… God’s heavenly people.
6. And living under grace also provides the believer with SUPERNATURAL enablements.
a. In the Bible we see two distinct systems
• Law/works/flesh…
• Grace/faith/Spirit…
b. Life under the law is associated with flesh.
• The law demanded holiness—but provided no divine enablement to accomplish it.
» In other words, the law was designed to demonstrate to all those under law how pitifully hopeless they were on their own to produce the righteousness the law required!
» In essence, the Law could not save or sanctify.
» The law condemned and shut every mouth.
• Those who attempted to produce righteousness under the law were left to themselves to do so.
• They were left to the only resource man has: the flesh… and thus it was doomed to failure.
• It was never INTENDED to last forever. (Gal. & Heb.)
• Rom. 8:3 – “for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh…” The law was WEAK because of human flesh.
• Its standard was perfect holiness… but the flesh was unable to attain unto that standard.
• Rather than conquer the flesh, the law only stirred it up!
c. Life under grace is associated with the Holy Spirit.
• Life under grace as a rule of life brings us into a gracious relationship to the RISEN Savior.
• Grace raises us up into a heavenly position IN Christ.
• And from that heavenly position, united to the resurrected Savior, we have the power of the resurrection available to us… and we are thus equipped to walk in newness of life.
• Rom. 8:3-4 – Life under grace provides the believer with the power of the Holy Spirit!
» Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God produces the righteousness of law in the yielded believer.
» Note that it is not produced BY the yielded believer, but IN him… BY divine power made available through life under grace.
» That which the legalist TRIES to do and fails—the non legalist—the believer under grace accomplishes!
» He accomplishes it by grace through faith… no longer trusting in his own flesh to produce something good.
» This believer instead BELIEVES what God says: in my flesh dwells NO good thing… and he instead CLINGS to Christ… RESTS in Him… ABIDES in Him… and thus His power is made available to us.
• Rom. 7:4-5 – The end result of that relationship is good fruit which equals the righteousness of the law fulfilled in us.
» The legalist (who puts himself under the moral law of God) CANNOT fulfill the righteousness of the law.
» The Spirit filled believer under grace (who is called lawless) DOES have the righteousness of the law fulfilled in him… apart FROM the law!
» When a believer is filled with the Spirit and with the fruit of the Spirit—against such there IS no law!
» So please don’t call us lawless or antinomian.
• The power of the resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit are associated with life under grace.
» Rom. 6:14 – Sin shall not have dominion over this believer.
» Why? Because he is NOT under law. (Read that again!)
» Life under grace is the ONLY way to experience deliverance from the dominion of sin (nature).
Grace in the Epistle to the Colossians
A. Paul Fought For this Truth
1. Acts 15:10 – The apostolic convention in Jerusalem concluded that the law was NOT to be added as a requirement to salvation.
a. But they also concluded that the law was not to be put on the DISCIPLES either… it was not for the believer.
b. To require the deeds of the law was to “tempt” the Lord and to put a YOKE upon men that was unbearable.
c. They concluded that the law was not part of the gospel—God’s plan for justification… NOR was it part of God’s plan for sanctification… for the daily life of the believer.
2. Legalism was one of the issues Paul addressed in this epistle. (Col. 2:16-17, 20-23)
a. The legalists were attempting to put the believers in Colossae under a different kind of “chain of bondage.”
b. This was one of the reasons Paul wrote the book.
c. It was a strange mixture of Gnostic like legalism combined with Jewish traditionalism.
d. Col. 2:8 – It resulted in a bondage of the soul… bondage of life… bondage to the traditions, philosophies, and rituals of men.
e. Legalism IN ANY FORM always takes us down from heaven and our relationship of abiding with the Risen Christ… to earth to the teachings and traditions of men. (From a place of power to a place of utter weakness—left to our flesh).
f. Though chained in prison, Paul was much freer than the cultists who had infiltrated the region.
g. Paul knew this marvelous truth. And the truth shall set you free. He was free in mind, heart, and conscience…
h. A proper understanding of and appreciation for grace found in Christ was the answer to every one of the issues raised by the false teachers.
3. The book of Colossians had a lot to say about fullness…
a. In Christ is all the fullness of the Godhead. It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.
b. We are complete (fulfilled) in Him.
c. We are to fulfill our ministries in the Body… our ministries are to be full to the brim—because we are full to the brim with Christ…
d. John 1:14, 16 – Christ was FULL of grace and truth… and from that fullness we have all received.
e. Of His fullness have we all received the grace of God… found in the Person of Jesus Christ… and we receive grace heaped upon grace… like wave after wave of God’s grace wafting upon the shore… endlessly…
f. There is fullness of grace to be experienced in our relationship to Christ… an unending supply… because of our Union with Christ…
g. Paul received this revelation directly from Christ… and was experiencing this truth in prison.
• He had opened his mind and heart to Christ…
• The wider he opened his heart to Christ, the more filled with the fullness of Christ he became… the more Christ like he became…
• And the more the life of Christ was manifested in him, the more joy and freedom Paul experienced.
• What a strange thing. A man chained in prison was writing to an assembly of believers to teach them how to experience the fullness and freedom to be found IN Christ…
• This was necessary for the Colossians were in danger of being duped into bondage of their souls… a far worse kind of bondage than Paul’s imprisonment.
• Paul writes to let them know of the freedom they already possess in Christ… whether they are at home or in jail!
• And they can experience it by faith.
• Their real lives were hidden away with Christ in heaven… where the enemy could not touch them! No power on earth can harm us there.
• Our enemies can afflict and bind our bodies—but never our inner man… our minds and hearts and consciences!
• Paul knew about freedom because he knew about the grace of God that set him free.
h. What a fitting way for Paul to end his letter to the Colossians—a reminder of the infinite, marvelous, amazing grace of God.
B. Grace As His Final Word to the Colossians
1. When Paul closed his letter to Colossae with the words, “Grace be with you,” it was not just a meaningless cliché.
a. To Paul, it was the ESSENCE of our Christian faith!
b. We are justified by grace through faith and we are sanctified by grace through faith.
c. We have an endless reservoir of grace to be found in the Person of our Risen Savior…
• We can come to the throne of grace in time of need… and will find that His grace is sufficient for whatever we face in life on earth.
• It was amazing grace that saved a wretch like me!
• It was grace that taught my heart to fear.
• It was grace my fears relieved.
• It was grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home!
d. There is POWER in a life lived under grace.
e. There is FRUSTRATION and DEFEAT in a life lived under law.
2. Don’t ever change God’s plan. Don’t ever add to it. Don’t ever alter God’s plan. God’s grace is sufficient.
a. We need nothing more than what we have through God’s grace.
b. We are complete in Christ… beware of any religious system that offers you “something more”—something other than the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
c. Christ is our all in all. In Him we have all we need.
d. We don’t grow by addition (getting something more), but rather through appropriation of what we already have in Him… and we are complete in Him.
e. God’s grace has provided us with salvation, sanctification, and an abundant life.
f. The apostle Paul experienced the fullness of God’s grace… and he was never the same afterwards.
• It compelled him to preach the glorious gospel of God’s grace the rest of his life.
• It so gripped his heart he was willing to suffer in order to make this marvelous grace known.
• He fought to defend it and protect it.
• He hammered away at the false teachers who continually attempted to pervert it.
• He traveled the known world establishing churches based on the solid foundation of the gospel of God’s grace.
• He instructed believers how to live the Christian life… how to experience victory over sin… by grace through faith…
g. And when this grace really grips our hearts and minds… it will compel us to share it with all those around us… to share the glorious gospel of the grace of God… so that they too might come to know the grace of God in truth…
