Colossians 1:15-23
2 Amens
Col. 1:15-27
Welcome- Intro: Reading Psalm 103
Song- call to worship God
Question- Why do people come to church… what are they looking for?
Why do YOU come to this community? What are YOU looking for?
Cool- we’ll have more to say about that in a bit…
We’re in the book of Colossians. It’s kind of our thing as a community to come together at various times for various reasons- we have community dinners together where we just hang out- home groups where we read and discuss various things… and on Sundays, we come together to focus on God. To worship. To read what God has said in Scripture and process- What does this mean for our community, and for us as individuals? We tend to go through whole books of the Bible rather than dealing with topics, and right now, we’re in the NT book of Colossians, which was written in the late 50s or early 60s AD- just a few years after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus- It was written by a man named Paul who had been someone who persecuted Christians- he hated them, went from place to place throwing them in jail, until the resurrected Jesus Himself appeared to him one day, knocked him off his horse and onto his rear, struck him temporarily blind and said, “Now, are you sure you wouldn’t rather serve me than try to persecute me?” And Paul, because he was a smart guy, said “Yes.” And so Paul began to preach the Good News about Jesus, and in an ironic twist, ended up in jail for doing just that. And it was probably from prison that Paul wrote to the church community in Colossians- a community which he had personally never met, which had been planted by his friend Epaphras. So why is Paul writing this letter?
The church at Colossae was a young church- just a few years old. And because they were situated on a trade route, a lot of people came through. And because a lot of people came through, some with an agenda, and because they were a young community, they were at particular risk of getting off track- of having someone come along and teach them a lot of things that simply weren’t true- things about who Jesus was, things about what salvation was and what the life of a Christ follower was supposed to look like.
We’ll see this later in the book, Paul was apparently working from an assumption- On the one hand were some people who had come out of a Jewish background, which many of the early Christians were, since Jesus Himself was Jewish, had Jewish disciples… some of those folks were putting out the odd hypothesis that to become a Christian, you first had to become a Jew. Couple problems with that: 1. If you are a woman, not so much a big deal. If you are a guy, converting to Judaism is QUITE the commitment… involving a small but painful bit of surgery, if you catch my drift. But second and even more importantly, it made the Gospel, the grace of God null and void, and took people back to a works-oriented religion of sin management where God’s favor was gained through doing good things... And Paul rightly wanted to tell these guys- don’t be fooled- don’t let them shackle you. Don’t let their conscience be your conscience. There’s still such a thing as right and wrong, but you are free from all the dietary regulations and requirements to observe this day, and that feast… and you are free to worship God whether you are Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female…
The second thread Paul is going to deal with, because the Colossian community would most likely soon be dealing with it, was not Jewish, but Greek. Colossae, though a part of the Roman empire, was a Greek-speaking town with roots in Greek culture and thought. And that’s exactly where most of the Christ followers in Colossae had come from- a Greek religious/philosophical background of many, many gods, and very dualistic thought of physical bad/spiritual good. And when you mix all of that together with a confusion about who Jesus was, you get a community in a bit of confusion.
And that’s why after starting his letter by telling them how he’s thankful for them, what he admires about them and the way they begun to follow Jesus and how it had changed their lives, Paul launches into a hymn- a poetic ode to the person of Christ. He had said in VS 14…
And now he wants them to remind them of exactly WHO this Jesus is. He says,
VS 15-17
We’re going to be getting a bit theological here, and if you are new to the church thing, seeking God, trying to figure out Jesus, hang in there. This is wild stuff, it honestly raises more questions than it asks, so if you have ‘em, make sure to ask them at some point- but for now, hang on tight…
The word Paul uses here is “eikon.”
What is an “icon”? Christ is the icon of God- the visual representation of God- Do you want to know about God? Look at Jesus. Do you want to know God’s heart, His character, what He’s about? Look at Jesus. But Jesus is more than just a picture, a representation of God…
Because Jesus existed before it all, He’s the one who made it all, He’s over it all, supreme… As the Old Testament called Him- Immanuel- God with us. Jesus is God WITH us, not against us, God FOR us, God moved into our neighborhood, God come to work a job, face temptation, to show us His heart for the poor, the outcast, to seek the lost and alone, and ultimately to die so we could live.
We’ve been discussing the Trinity during our latest theology pub, and we can “disimpact” it further on the forum if you like- but suffice it to say- The early Christians had to come to grips with the fact that the Messiah was more than just “the chosen one.” That when He forgave sin, when He created and healed and brought people back to life, when He claimed to be one with the Father, when He claimed Old Testament names for God he was either right or He was wrong. He was either God, demonic, or a nutjob. And Easter- the Resurrection, tells us exactly which one. The earliest followers of Jesus had to come to grips with the idea that in some real, literal sense, the Jesus who stood before them was also the God who created them. Further…
VS 18
We’ll talk more in depth about this at some point- but who’s in charge of this community? Who runs it?
We try to do as much as we can by community and consensus. We have elders who occasionally have to make certain judgment calls. But all of us operate under the aegis of Jesus. It’s His community. It’s His deal- He died for this community, not me. So He’s the real pastor- I’m just an under-pastor, and under-shepherd. That has a lot of ramifications, but we’ll save that for another time…
Jesus is the beginning of everything, including the resurrection. We have this idea, mostly from the cartoons we used to watch, that heaven and hell, what comes after death, is somehow this place of disembodied spirits- you know, everyone sitting around strumming the harp and so forth. But the good news is that as God rescues and renews creation- there’s a resurrection. A time when God puts the world back together again, and when He puts our disembodied spirits back into our bodies made new, bodies that don’t decay, that don’t die… Deep stuff. And Jesus was the first. The first to experience that resurrection. “So He is first in everything.” And here it is:
VS 19-20
God in all His fullness was present to us in Christ. All that God is- Christ was, Christ displayed, Christ brought to us. And through Jesus, God made possible the rescue and renewal of Creation. Through Jesus, God made it possible for us to be forgiven, made new, in relationship with Him, reconciled to Him. At peace. All through what Jesus did- all through a death, a burial and a resurrection.
Some of you come here looking for CHURCH. You want a worshipful atmosphere and expository sermons… and you even know what “expository” means. You want Bible and teaching and conviction.
And you know what- that’s all great. I hope you find it here. But most of all- I hope you find Jesus- because there are a lot of places with dignified worship and even lots of Bible and not very much Jesus…
Some of you come here looking for COMMUNITY. You don’t know about all the rest of that stuff, but you need connection. People. Relationships. People to walk with you, people to love you. I sincerely hope you find that in this community. But most of all, I hope you find Jesus- because there are a lot of places to find community, with cool people and a hip atmosphere, but not much Jesus…
Some of you come here looking for SPIRITUALITY. You are just searching, and looking for some sense of the divine, some connection to God, to something bigger than yourself. I sincerely hope you find that here. But most of all, do you know what I hope you find. Can you guess?
It’s Jesus.
The Jesus who shows us the heart of God, what God is like… Because He is God Himself, in human flesh, come to rescue and renew creation- come to rescue and renew YOU, through what He accomplished- Jesus on the cross, Jesus’ death, Jesus’ resurrection.
There’s a lot of things I hope you find in this community- acceptance, love, help with whatever has got you down, spirituality, knowledge, all that. But God forgive us if we ever emphasize any of that so much that someone is able to be a part of this community and miss the most important thing of all- Jesus.
Because ultimately, He’s the center, the ground, the reason, and the point of this community.
Let’s take some time to stop- to think, to respond.
Song(s)
Paul had ended his poem, his hymn with this: VS 20
And now he says to the Colossian community,
VS 21
There are so many parts of this passage we could spend whole weeks on, and this is one. So briefly…
Paul knows what he’s talking about when he talks about “enemies of God.” He himself was one. And he tells these people that in some way, they were too- and it was their participation in the evil of this world, the greed, the selfishness, the hate, all of that that put them there. And if their bad actions made them an enemy of God, someone who was working against God as God is working towards healing the damage of selfishness, hate, etc… If their bad actions made them enemies, then logically good actions would make them friends of God, right? Well…
VS 22
The way to maturity, to life, for the people of God is not through the keeping of rules and through good behavior, but through something infinitely deeper- through our understanding and drawing out and applying to our individual lives and our life as a community the meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
When we understand what Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplished, and when we take that accomplishment as personal for us, things begin to change.
It’s the death of Jesus, the payment for our sin, for the evil we participate in, whether great or small, that brings us peace with God. And I love this- in God’s mind- it’s a completed thing- because of Christ, because of His standing in our place for punishment, we can stand in his place for righteousness(VS22b again).
Some of us, I imagine, are trying awfully hard to right before God in all the wrong ways- If I can just be good enough, stop doing those things I hate, start being more “religious.” And God just says- that’s not it. (VS22b again).
Trying hard and futilely to be righteous on your own before God and understanding how the death and resurrection of Christ impacts you are two completely different things. One leads to more guilt and shame self-hatred every time you fall short, every time you screw up- the other leads you to see that as a follower of the One who died for us, the are certain things in my life I can die to, certain things I need to let go of, not (and catch this) so I can be holy and blameless but why, according to this verse?
Because I am holy and blameless. At least in God’s way of looking at things- because I get into this party on Jesus’ invite- it’s His righteousness that does me good, not mine. What I do is see that and out of gratitude, do all I can to be experientially what I am positionally- to live out every day what God already sees in me because I’m a Christ Follower, someone who has taken the sacrifice of Jesus, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and somehow personalized it- moved Jesus from the category of a Savior, the Savior to MY Savior, Our Savior.
So here’s the thing- do you find yourself with a lot of guilt, shame and self-hatred? Then stop trying to earn God’s love. Stop trying to be good enough.
Start trying to rest in the work on your behalf of the One who WAS good enough- the only One who was ever good enough.
And understand that participating in the death and resurrection of Jesus means a constant process of dying to the old and a coming alive to the new-
There are things in our lives which we actively have to die to, to put to death (Paul talks about this more later in this book). There are things in our lives which take on a kill or be killed importance- things which if we don’t deal with them will kill relationships. Things which will keep you isolated and alone. Choices and ways of looking at the world, anger, bitterness, being easily offended, wanting to always stick up for your rights and look out for yourself, selfishness, greed, needing things to go your way… either die to those things- put them to death, or watch them kill community in your life. Watch them ruin friendships or destroy your marriage.
And come alive… come alive to God’s way of looking at the world, come alive to serving others even at great expense to yourself- because that’s what God did. Come alive to a heart for those on the margins, those on the outside, those who are needy and poor, because that’s who Jesus went after, showing us God’s heart. Come alive to new ways of living not because you must, not because if you don’t God’s going to hit you with the Big Judgment stick, not because you should, but because you can. Because if you follow Christ, it’s infinitely deeper than just joining the Jesus fan club. It’s a literal participation with Him in His death and in His resurrection. It’s new life for any who want it, for any willing to live it.
There’s a huge debate among theologians and people who follow Jesus- Can someone who starts off on the road with Jesus, who experiences God’s forgiveness, God’s salvation- can they lose that?
I’m not going to try to answer that today- we’ll save that one for another time, for a time when the passage we go through deals with that as a more central theme- but I will say this- Paul’s words to the Colossians, and to us?
VS 23
Whatever you say about the deeper theological issues, you have to say this- there’s a difference between continuing to believe the truth, continuing to live it, to love it… and drifting away. And Paul says: Don’t. Don’t let go. Don’t get distracted by all the pretty shiny things, by the fine sounding arguments, by the hurts and cares of this world or by anything- keep a firm grip on relationship with Jesus. Live life in the way of Jesus.
And notice- This Good news about Jesus- it goes where? It’s for whom?
It wasn’t confined to one single ethnic group, people who spoke a particular language, had a particular culture- it is for all people, everywhere. And Paul writes to tell them (This is important for later in the book)- regardless of what some may say when they come to you Colossians- you don’t have to be Jewish, to follow the OT Law to be in relationship with God. See, here’s the thing- Jesus came to all creation, to save all creation. Everybody, regardless of ethnicity or background. That means that everyone needs Jesus. Everyone.
Jesus isn’t a cultural God. He’s not the God (as some people claim) of white Europeans only, though why anyone would think a movement started by a Jewish Rabbi in the Middle East and propagated first by Jewish and Greek men and women all over the Roman empire would be something just for White Europeans. No- this is for all people, everywhere. God offers this forgiveness, this new life, this chance to turn around and start over to the Dutch, to the Germans, even to the French. He offers it to Native Americans, Italian Americans, African Americans, and undocumented Americans- because Americans need Jesus. And more that just Americans… North Americans need Jesus. South Americans need Jesus. Canadians really need Jesus. Asians need Jesus, and Indians need Jesus and Russians and Slavs, and Turks need Jesus. And while it’s a dicey thing to say these days, I’ll say it- Buddhists and Hindus and Muslims need Jesus. And even more than them, Episcopalians and Lutherans and Baptists… Baptists really need Jesus.
Even people who meet in weird little pub churches really, really need Jesus. All of us, regardless of where we were born, what color our skin might be, what religion we might claim… we need the peace of God, the relationship with God He offers us. We need Jesus.
Paul says: We tell everyone. This life in the way of Jesus, this relationship with God… He offers it to the rich, He offers it to the poor. He offers it to men, to women, to heterosexuals and to homosexuals. To the educated and to the illiterate, to those who know they need Him and to those who are sure they don’t.
He offers it to me, and He offers it to you.
We’re going to stop and respond- if you need to get off in a corner by yourself, do it. If you need to stand up, be in the back, bury your head in your hands- whatever… but here’s the question- Where are you with this Jesus, where are you relationally with the one who died for you, who shows God to us, who makes forgiveness and new life and peace possible. Whether you are just investigating this thing or you’ve been doing “church” for years- that’s my question- where are you with Jesus?
We’ll pause and reflect, we’ll sing as our response to God, and then I’ll come back and ask you all what you think, what questions you have…
Songs-
Response/Wrap Up/Blessing…
Read MoreWelcome- Intro: Reading Psalm 103
Song- call to worship God
Question- Why do people come to church… what are they looking for?
Why do YOU come to this community? What are YOU looking for?
Cool- we’ll have more to say about that in a bit…
We’re in the book of Colossians. It’s kind of our thing as a community to come together at various times for various reasons- we have community dinners together where we just hang out- home groups where we read and discuss various things… and on Sundays, we come together to focus on God. To worship. To read what God has said in Scripture and process- What does this mean for our community, and for us as individuals? We tend to go through whole books of the Bible rather than dealing with topics, and right now, we’re in the NT book of Colossians, which was written in the late 50s or early 60s AD- just a few years after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus- It was written by a man named Paul who had been someone who persecuted Christians- he hated them, went from place to place throwing them in jail, until the resurrected Jesus Himself appeared to him one day, knocked him off his horse and onto his rear, struck him temporarily blind and said, “Now, are you sure you wouldn’t rather serve me than try to persecute me?” And Paul, because he was a smart guy, said “Yes.” And so Paul began to preach the Good News about Jesus, and in an ironic twist, ended up in jail for doing just that. And it was probably from prison that Paul wrote to the church community in Colossians- a community which he had personally never met, which had been planted by his friend Epaphras. So why is Paul writing this letter?
The church at Colossae was a young church- just a few years old. And because they were situated on a trade route, a lot of people came through. And because a lot of people came through, some with an agenda, and because they were a young community, they were at particular risk of getting off track- of having someone come along and teach them a lot of things that simply weren’t true- things about who Jesus was, things about what salvation was and what the life of a Christ follower was supposed to look like.
We’ll see this later in the book, Paul was apparently working from an assumption- On the one hand were some people who had come out of a Jewish background, which many of the early Christians were, since Jesus Himself was Jewish, had Jewish disciples… some of those folks were putting out the odd hypothesis that to become a Christian, you first had to become a Jew. Couple problems with that: 1. If you are a woman, not so much a big deal. If you are a guy, converting to Judaism is QUITE the commitment… involving a small but painful bit of surgery, if you catch my drift. But second and even more importantly, it made the Gospel, the grace of God null and void, and took people back to a works-oriented religion of sin management where God’s favor was gained through doing good things... And Paul rightly wanted to tell these guys- don’t be fooled- don’t let them shackle you. Don’t let their conscience be your conscience. There’s still such a thing as right and wrong, but you are free from all the dietary regulations and requirements to observe this day, and that feast… and you are free to worship God whether you are Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female…
The second thread Paul is going to deal with, because the Colossian community would most likely soon be dealing with it, was not Jewish, but Greek. Colossae, though a part of the Roman empire, was a Greek-speaking town with roots in Greek culture and thought. And that’s exactly where most of the Christ followers in Colossae had come from- a Greek religious/philosophical background of many, many gods, and very dualistic thought of physical bad/spiritual good. And when you mix all of that together with a confusion about who Jesus was, you get a community in a bit of confusion.
And that’s why after starting his letter by telling them how he’s thankful for them, what he admires about them and the way they begun to follow Jesus and how it had changed their lives, Paul launches into a hymn- a poetic ode to the person of Christ. He had said in VS 14…
And now he wants them to remind them of exactly WHO this Jesus is. He says,
VS 15-17
We’re going to be getting a bit theological here, and if you are new to the church thing, seeking God, trying to figure out Jesus, hang in there. This is wild stuff, it honestly raises more questions than it asks, so if you have ‘em, make sure to ask them at some point- but for now, hang on tight…
The word Paul uses here is “eikon.”
What is an “icon”? Christ is the icon of God- the visual representation of God- Do you want to know about God? Look at Jesus. Do you want to know God’s heart, His character, what He’s about? Look at Jesus. But Jesus is more than just a picture, a representation of God…
Because Jesus existed before it all, He’s the one who made it all, He’s over it all, supreme… As the Old Testament called Him- Immanuel- God with us. Jesus is God WITH us, not against us, God FOR us, God moved into our neighborhood, God come to work a job, face temptation, to show us His heart for the poor, the outcast, to seek the lost and alone, and ultimately to die so we could live.
We’ve been discussing the Trinity during our latest theology pub, and we can “disimpact” it further on the forum if you like- but suffice it to say- The early Christians had to come to grips with the fact that the Messiah was more than just “the chosen one.” That when He forgave sin, when He created and healed and brought people back to life, when He claimed to be one with the Father, when He claimed Old Testament names for God he was either right or He was wrong. He was either God, demonic, or a nutjob. And Easter- the Resurrection, tells us exactly which one. The earliest followers of Jesus had to come to grips with the idea that in some real, literal sense, the Jesus who stood before them was also the God who created them. Further…
VS 18
We’ll talk more in depth about this at some point- but who’s in charge of this community? Who runs it?
We try to do as much as we can by community and consensus. We have elders who occasionally have to make certain judgment calls. But all of us operate under the aegis of Jesus. It’s His community. It’s His deal- He died for this community, not me. So He’s the real pastor- I’m just an under-pastor, and under-shepherd. That has a lot of ramifications, but we’ll save that for another time…
Jesus is the beginning of everything, including the resurrection. We have this idea, mostly from the cartoons we used to watch, that heaven and hell, what comes after death, is somehow this place of disembodied spirits- you know, everyone sitting around strumming the harp and so forth. But the good news is that as God rescues and renews creation- there’s a resurrection. A time when God puts the world back together again, and when He puts our disembodied spirits back into our bodies made new, bodies that don’t decay, that don’t die… Deep stuff. And Jesus was the first. The first to experience that resurrection. “So He is first in everything.” And here it is:
VS 19-20
God in all His fullness was present to us in Christ. All that God is- Christ was, Christ displayed, Christ brought to us. And through Jesus, God made possible the rescue and renewal of Creation. Through Jesus, God made it possible for us to be forgiven, made new, in relationship with Him, reconciled to Him. At peace. All through what Jesus did- all through a death, a burial and a resurrection.
Some of you come here looking for CHURCH. You want a worshipful atmosphere and expository sermons… and you even know what “expository” means. You want Bible and teaching and conviction.
And you know what- that’s all great. I hope you find it here. But most of all- I hope you find Jesus- because there are a lot of places with dignified worship and even lots of Bible and not very much Jesus…
Some of you come here looking for COMMUNITY. You don’t know about all the rest of that stuff, but you need connection. People. Relationships. People to walk with you, people to love you. I sincerely hope you find that in this community. But most of all, I hope you find Jesus- because there are a lot of places to find community, with cool people and a hip atmosphere, but not much Jesus…
Some of you come here looking for SPIRITUALITY. You are just searching, and looking for some sense of the divine, some connection to God, to something bigger than yourself. I sincerely hope you find that here. But most of all, do you know what I hope you find. Can you guess?
It’s Jesus.
The Jesus who shows us the heart of God, what God is like… Because He is God Himself, in human flesh, come to rescue and renew creation- come to rescue and renew YOU, through what He accomplished- Jesus on the cross, Jesus’ death, Jesus’ resurrection.
There’s a lot of things I hope you find in this community- acceptance, love, help with whatever has got you down, spirituality, knowledge, all that. But God forgive us if we ever emphasize any of that so much that someone is able to be a part of this community and miss the most important thing of all- Jesus.
Because ultimately, He’s the center, the ground, the reason, and the point of this community.
Let’s take some time to stop- to think, to respond.
Song(s)
Paul had ended his poem, his hymn with this: VS 20
And now he says to the Colossian community,
VS 21
There are so many parts of this passage we could spend whole weeks on, and this is one. So briefly…
Paul knows what he’s talking about when he talks about “enemies of God.” He himself was one. And he tells these people that in some way, they were too- and it was their participation in the evil of this world, the greed, the selfishness, the hate, all of that that put them there. And if their bad actions made them an enemy of God, someone who was working against God as God is working towards healing the damage of selfishness, hate, etc… If their bad actions made them enemies, then logically good actions would make them friends of God, right? Well…
VS 22
The way to maturity, to life, for the people of God is not through the keeping of rules and through good behavior, but through something infinitely deeper- through our understanding and drawing out and applying to our individual lives and our life as a community the meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
When we understand what Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplished, and when we take that accomplishment as personal for us, things begin to change.
It’s the death of Jesus, the payment for our sin, for the evil we participate in, whether great or small, that brings us peace with God. And I love this- in God’s mind- it’s a completed thing- because of Christ, because of His standing in our place for punishment, we can stand in his place for righteousness(VS22b again).
Some of us, I imagine, are trying awfully hard to right before God in all the wrong ways- If I can just be good enough, stop doing those things I hate, start being more “religious.” And God just says- that’s not it. (VS22b again).
Trying hard and futilely to be righteous on your own before God and understanding how the death and resurrection of Christ impacts you are two completely different things. One leads to more guilt and shame self-hatred every time you fall short, every time you screw up- the other leads you to see that as a follower of the One who died for us, the are certain things in my life I can die to, certain things I need to let go of, not (and catch this) so I can be holy and blameless but why, according to this verse?
Because I am holy and blameless. At least in God’s way of looking at things- because I get into this party on Jesus’ invite- it’s His righteousness that does me good, not mine. What I do is see that and out of gratitude, do all I can to be experientially what I am positionally- to live out every day what God already sees in me because I’m a Christ Follower, someone who has taken the sacrifice of Jesus, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and somehow personalized it- moved Jesus from the category of a Savior, the Savior to MY Savior, Our Savior.
So here’s the thing- do you find yourself with a lot of guilt, shame and self-hatred? Then stop trying to earn God’s love. Stop trying to be good enough.
Start trying to rest in the work on your behalf of the One who WAS good enough- the only One who was ever good enough.
And understand that participating in the death and resurrection of Jesus means a constant process of dying to the old and a coming alive to the new-
There are things in our lives which we actively have to die to, to put to death (Paul talks about this more later in this book). There are things in our lives which take on a kill or be killed importance- things which if we don’t deal with them will kill relationships. Things which will keep you isolated and alone. Choices and ways of looking at the world, anger, bitterness, being easily offended, wanting to always stick up for your rights and look out for yourself, selfishness, greed, needing things to go your way… either die to those things- put them to death, or watch them kill community in your life. Watch them ruin friendships or destroy your marriage.
And come alive… come alive to God’s way of looking at the world, come alive to serving others even at great expense to yourself- because that’s what God did. Come alive to a heart for those on the margins, those on the outside, those who are needy and poor, because that’s who Jesus went after, showing us God’s heart. Come alive to new ways of living not because you must, not because if you don’t God’s going to hit you with the Big Judgment stick, not because you should, but because you can. Because if you follow Christ, it’s infinitely deeper than just joining the Jesus fan club. It’s a literal participation with Him in His death and in His resurrection. It’s new life for any who want it, for any willing to live it.
There’s a huge debate among theologians and people who follow Jesus- Can someone who starts off on the road with Jesus, who experiences God’s forgiveness, God’s salvation- can they lose that?
I’m not going to try to answer that today- we’ll save that one for another time, for a time when the passage we go through deals with that as a more central theme- but I will say this- Paul’s words to the Colossians, and to us?
VS 23
Whatever you say about the deeper theological issues, you have to say this- there’s a difference between continuing to believe the truth, continuing to live it, to love it… and drifting away. And Paul says: Don’t. Don’t let go. Don’t get distracted by all the pretty shiny things, by the fine sounding arguments, by the hurts and cares of this world or by anything- keep a firm grip on relationship with Jesus. Live life in the way of Jesus.
And notice- This Good news about Jesus- it goes where? It’s for whom?
It wasn’t confined to one single ethnic group, people who spoke a particular language, had a particular culture- it is for all people, everywhere. And Paul writes to tell them (This is important for later in the book)- regardless of what some may say when they come to you Colossians- you don’t have to be Jewish, to follow the OT Law to be in relationship with God. See, here’s the thing- Jesus came to all creation, to save all creation. Everybody, regardless of ethnicity or background. That means that everyone needs Jesus. Everyone.
Jesus isn’t a cultural God. He’s not the God (as some people claim) of white Europeans only, though why anyone would think a movement started by a Jewish Rabbi in the Middle East and propagated first by Jewish and Greek men and women all over the Roman empire would be something just for White Europeans. No- this is for all people, everywhere. God offers this forgiveness, this new life, this chance to turn around and start over to the Dutch, to the Germans, even to the French. He offers it to Native Americans, Italian Americans, African Americans, and undocumented Americans- because Americans need Jesus. And more that just Americans… North Americans need Jesus. South Americans need Jesus. Canadians really need Jesus. Asians need Jesus, and Indians need Jesus and Russians and Slavs, and Turks need Jesus. And while it’s a dicey thing to say these days, I’ll say it- Buddhists and Hindus and Muslims need Jesus. And even more than them, Episcopalians and Lutherans and Baptists… Baptists really need Jesus.
Even people who meet in weird little pub churches really, really need Jesus. All of us, regardless of where we were born, what color our skin might be, what religion we might claim… we need the peace of God, the relationship with God He offers us. We need Jesus.
Paul says: We tell everyone. This life in the way of Jesus, this relationship with God… He offers it to the rich, He offers it to the poor. He offers it to men, to women, to heterosexuals and to homosexuals. To the educated and to the illiterate, to those who know they need Him and to those who are sure they don’t.
He offers it to me, and He offers it to you.
We’re going to stop and respond- if you need to get off in a corner by yourself, do it. If you need to stand up, be in the back, bury your head in your hands- whatever… but here’s the question- Where are you with this Jesus, where are you relationally with the one who died for you, who shows God to us, who makes forgiveness and new life and peace possible. Whether you are just investigating this thing or you’ve been doing “church” for years- that’s my question- where are you with Jesus?
We’ll pause and reflect, we’ll sing as our response to God, and then I’ll come back and ask you all what you think, what questions you have…
Songs-
Response/Wrap Up/Blessing…
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