Sermon Tone Analysis
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Intro
We are beginning this morning and setting off in a bit of a new direction now.
It is a good direction, a direction of specific growth.
Who has set out to hike across a long stretch of fresh deep snow?
It is a daunting task to be sure.
Even snow that is only covering the top of your boots can be a chore at times.
As you look forward you, it seems as if you are looking into uncharted territory.
As you stand and look over the the smooth untouched plain there are many different directions to go but only one that will ultimately lead you to where you need to be.
As you set out across the plain it may seem like you are not really getting anywhere until you look back and see the tracks of where you have been.
This is often to same feeling that we get when we begin to move forward in our relationship with Jesus.
Growth in Christ is a process and we often don’t see it until we are looking back.
With that idea in mind.
What does it look like to really begin to move forward in our relationships with Jesus?
For the last couple of weeks we have been looking at the commands that Paul writes about what it is that believers are to put off, to put to death.
These are things that don’t have a place in a life that is focused on Jesus.
A life that is focused on the heavenly things, the things that are above.
There is a shift in focus.
We are to put off the old self and to now put on the new.
We must remember this is a process.
It is also important to remember though that it is a forward moving process.
Through our text today we will see how by intentionally putting on the traits that Paul lists we will grow in Christ.
Putting on.
Paul begins verse 12 saying Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
This part of the conversation is continuing and growing out of verse 9-10 where Paul started the picture for us of the changing of dirty clothes for clean ones.
Put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self.
The idea here with the things that Paul is telling believers to put on, is that we are to wrap ourselves in them.
As if wrapping yourself in a giant blanket, wholly covering yourself.
Put on then what is holy, what is just, what is righteous.
The things that are above.
The clothing imagery that Paul uses here is to urge the community of God’s people in Christ to cultivate virtues that will shape the community when they are put into practice.
The things that believers are to put on all have a purpose.
A significant aspect of the virtues that Paul mentions is that are often attributed with or associated with Jesus.
They are all things that Jesus modeled and taught during His earthly ministry.
Paul speaks of the idea a bit more bluntly in Romans 13 when he says
If we have been saved, born again into the new self, identified now with Christ Himself, it is also necessary to put on the virtues that characterize Jesus.
If Jesus is truly the ruler of your heart, your desire will grow and grow into a desire to be like Him.
There is a greater point in all of this as well.
It is not to be a good person.
It is not to be a good group of people.
It is however for the purpose that the community of Christ would show Him to the world around them.
Putting off bad things, and putting on good, if only done to be a moral person does not get to the point.
God does not call us to morality, God calls us to Jesus.
Morality will not get you to heaven, only Jesus will.
That is why we
And in turn, by intentionally putting on the the things that Paul lists for us here we will as believers grow in Christ.
God’s Chosen People.
The start of this whole process begins with God.
We saw from the end of verse 11 that this new self and Christian community that is formed by individuals putting on their new selves crosses boundaries of religious, ethnic, and social status.
All are welcome to join in this community.
This is shown in also in how Paul refers to the believers in Colosse.
God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.
This is a direct reminder of God’s work in salvation.
This points directly to the fact that it is God who does the work, God who makes the offer of salvation.
It is by His initiative that anyone is saved.
He gives the embrace of unmerited favor, the gift of grace.
This reflects the standard that God set in the Old Testament by choosing Israel as His holy people.
Through the events that led up to the exodus, giving of the law, and entering into the promised land, God was at work creating the nation for Himself.
It was God’s decision to choose them and form them into His people.
The whole reason that they are considered holy is because God chose them to be such.
With the new covenant though there is a change.
Through Jesus, God now forms his new covenant people by choosing, or electing, individuals from both Jew and Gentile, remember verse 11.
All can now be placed into this special group of people referred to as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.
God’s love confers value on the elect, but the idea of election can be misunderstood if we are not mindful that we have been elected for service, not for our personal benefit.
Christians have been chosen in Christ (Eph.
1:4), who is the Chosen One (Luke 9:35; 1 Peter 2:4, 6); and, like Christ, they have been chosen for the benefit of “the world whose welfare they are to serve.”
It is to be a source of encouragement.
As you place your faith in Jesus, know that it is for a purpose.
God has a plan, it is for the benefit of others and ultimately for His glory.
God chooses people and expects them to respond as such.
This is the whole reason that we are able to respond though is because we are chosen by God.
When we intentionally put on traits that fall in line with this calling, we will grow.
God’s holy people.
The next designation of God’s people is that they are considered holy.
I eluded to this in the fact that the Israelites were considered holy because God chose them to be such and this also passes into the new covenant people.
The word holy in Greek has the idea of being dedicated.
In this context, dedicated specifically to God, dedicated to service to Him.
In the Old Testament, this often comes across as having characteristics of moral or ritual purity depending upon the context.
The base idea is to be set apart.
In the new covenant, in reference to God’s people, it shows them to be reserved for God and God’s service.
Being a part of God’s chosen people brings responsibilities.
Relating this idea to other aspects of life, what other examples can you think of as being part of something bringing about responsibilities?
People chosen for public offices have a responsibility to lead well.
People chosen to be a part of a team have a responsibility to the team they are chosen for.
If you work with a group of people, you have a responsibility to get work done to help support one another.
Bringing it in to the realm of the church.
Those who claim to be Christians, and are part of a church have a responsibility to the church and their fellow members.
As those who are chosen by God, they must choose their behavior.
They are to be the living advertisements of what God’s grace does in human lives.
Being referred to has God’s holy ones also brings with it notes of assurance.
It is assurance that in Christ, Christians are now members of God’s chosen people.
Being set apart for His service depends not upon our goodness, but solely up God’s grace.
Being set apart is not based upon our lovableness, but solely upon God’s love.
How easy is it to love a great big teddy bear?
Pretty easy.
How easy is it to love that person who never has anything nice to say about anyone?
Not so much.
God’s love though doesn’t pick and choose.
The basis for Christians being holy though comes from our relationship with Jesus.
1 Pet 2:4, 6, then 5
If you notice verse 5 wrapped in between the two references to God’s chose one, Jesus.
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