Keep on Keeping On Christians
Colossians 2:6-15 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
As we continue in Colossians, Paul reminds these new Christians that their foundation is in Christ and Him alone. Because their faith is rooted in Jesus, they have the ability to be strong in the Lord, being of good courage and ever thankful.
Occasionally we think the wickedness of this world is something new, yet Paul warned the Colossians about listening to false teaching. I always encouraged my congregations to read their Bibles daily, developing a close relationship with the Holy Spirit so that they would not only grow in their Christian walk, but that they would immediately recognize any false teaching, even from the pulpit.
The last few verses of this section are a concise view of the gospel
- Christ paid the legal debt for our sins
- They were nailed to the cross while we were still dead in our sins
- The resurrection power of the Holy Spirit brought us into new life through forgiveness, redemption, and restoration.
Today’s churches are not automatically immune to the cultural influence that surrounds them. The Church was never intended to be influenced by the world, but instead we were to become world overcomers.
May we be so immersed in God’s love and in His teaching that we share Jesus with all we meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
- Posted in: Blogs
Seeking Holiness 