Untitled Sermon
Colossians • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 11 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Some people or churches tend to excuse and deplore one list or the other. Paul lists both which of course are not exhaustive.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Therefore goes back to 1-4. See note from MacArthur.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
See MacArthur note on dismemberment. It's not that you should literally chop things off but just like a surgeon who chops off a limb physically to keep the infection from spreading to the whole body we should kill that sin to keep the infection from spreading throughout our soul.
SEXUAL IMMORALITY
SEXUAL IMMORALITY
Sex, Sexuality. Unlike some religious and philosophical systems, the Bible takes a very positive view of human sexuality. According to the OT’s account of creation, it was God himself who made people sexual beings. Being male or female is part of what it means to be created in the image of God (). Above everything else, therefore, sexuality is a precious aspect of what a person is, not merely a description of what he or she does.
In line with this positive approach, the OT sees nothing embarrassing in the bodily differences between the sexes () and nothing shameful in physical expressions of love-making (, ; ). The Song of Songs, in particular, is a most beautiful love poem. Its powerful language should not be so spiritualized that the physical passion it describes is stripped of its delight and candor.
Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Sex, Sexuality. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1931). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Porneia-fornication, sexual immorality sexual sins of a general kind where we get our words for pornography and prostitute.
IMPURITY
IMPURITY
highlights the contamination of character effected by immoral behaviour
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 138). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
LUST
LUST
The word rendered lust could refer to any overmastering passion, but regularly, as here, indicates uncontrolled sexual urges
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, pp. 138–139). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
EVIL DESIRES
EVIL DESIRES
Evil desires (the word ‘evil’ is added because ‘desire’ by itself, which is what the Greek word means, could be used in a neutral sense) is the state which logically precedes lust. It is perhaps important to note, as is clearly implied by , that experiencing sexual temptation is not itself sinful. Sin begins when the idea of illicit gratification, presented to the mind in temptation, is not at once put to death, but is instead fondled and cherished.
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 139). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
GREED
GREED
Behind this stage, in turn, there is greed: another general term, here it refers to unchecked hunger for physical pleasure, which is the breeding-ground for more specific evil desires.
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 139). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
IDOLATRY
IDOLATRY
All such greed places at the centre of one’s attention and devotion that which is not God. In turning from the source of life, those who follow other paths are actually pursuing death (cf. , ; ), as the next verse indicates.
If these vices are not, eventually, to kill the one who practises them, they must themselves be ‘put to death’.
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 139). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
v7-8a "But now...
v7-8a "But now...
a classic Pauline way of indicating the transition from the old life to the new
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 141). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
When a tide of passion or a surge of anger is felt, it must be dealt with as the alien intruder it really is, and turned out of the house as having no right to be there at all, let alone to be giving orders. This is often harder than it sounds, but it must be constantly attempted, in reliance on the grace which continually renews the life of the Christian
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 141). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
ANGER
ANGER
the continuous state of smouldering or seething hatred
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 141). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
RAGE
RAGE
when this state breaks out in actual angry deeds or words
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, pp. 141–142). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
MALICE
MALICE
a word which in the Greek can simply mean ‘evil’, but which here probably has the overtone of ‘evil intended to cause hurt
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 142). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
1: desire to cause pain, injury, or distress to another
2: intent to commit an unlawful act or cause harm without legal justification or excuse
Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
SLANDER
SLANDER
speech which puts malice into practical effect (the Greek is blasphēmia, speech which dishonours God himself—in this instance, by reviling a human being made in his image)
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 142). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
FILTHY LANGUAGE
FILTHY LANGUAGE
words which, either by their foul association or their abusive intent, contaminate both speaker and hearers
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 142). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
1: disgusting to the senses: repulsive
2 a: abhorrent to morality or virtue specifically: designed to incite to lust or depravity
b: containing or being language regarded as taboo in polite usage 〈obscene lyrics〉
c: repulsive by reason of crass disregard of moral or ethical principles 〈an obscene misuse of power〉
d: so excessive as to be offensive
Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
APPLICATION POINT FOR 3:8
APPLICATION POINT FOR 3:8
All such things are to be put away from your lips: one cannot always prevent angry or hateful thoughts from springing into one’s head, but they should be dealt with firmly before they turn into words. It is not ‘healthy’, as is sometimes supposed, to allow such thoughts to find expression. It is certainly healthy to recognize and face up to one’s own anger or frustration, and to search for proper and creative ways of dealing with it. But words do not merely convey information or let off steam. They change situations and relationships, often irrevocably. They can wound as well as heal. Like wild plants blown by the wind, hateful words can scatter their seeds far and wide, giving birth to more anger wherever they land.
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 142). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
LYING TO ONE ANOTHER
LYING TO ONE ANOTHER
Truth is often inconvenient, untidy or embarrassing, and we are constantly tempted to bend it into a less awkward shape.
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 142). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Taken off old self
Taken off old self
But is this ethical appeal realistic? Paul answers with a strong affirmative, undergirding ethics with theology. Though it may not always feel like it, those who have joined the family of Christ have become different people. They have ‘taken off’ the old solidarity, the old humanity, like a shabby set of clothes. ‘Self’ in niv is misleadingly individualistic, since the idea, here as in , is much more than merely individual; it could also imply the false idea that ‘self’ and ‘Christ’ will always be opposed, whereas in truth it is one’s true self, one’s full humanity, that emerges once the shackles of the old humanity are thrown off. This metaphor of ‘taking off’ clothes does not mean simply the making of good resolutions or promises to behave differently. It is the action—itself the reflex, in human experience, of God’s action in grace by the Spirit—of leaving one family, or household, and moving lock, stock and barrel into another, where a different rule of life obtains.
Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, pp. 142–143). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.