Sermon Tone Analysis

*Text*: Colossians 1:20-23

*Title*: Reconciled to God through Christ

*Theme of the book of Colossians: *Jesus Christ:  The preeminent and all-sufficient Savior* \\ Theme of Text:  *Since Christ has reconciled all things to himself, believers should continue in their faith of Jesus Christ.

*Proposition: *Those who are truly reconciled will continue in the faith.

Colossians 1:21-23 \\ 21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, /engaged /in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

*Introduction*

 

/Illustration: /Have you ever had to reconcile a relationship with another person?

I have had many occasions where I needed to reconcile a situation or relationship with a friend or family member.

Many times I have needed to reconcile my relationship with my wife.

I’m going to tell you a true story of a person that needed to reconcile his relationship with his wife.

/ /

/Bride Had 13 Bullets In Her/

Kfar Sava, Israel, (UPI)—Zadok Nager, 35, and France Peretz, 28, proving that love conquers all, even the 13 submachine gun bullets he shot into her, were married for the second time.

The couple, who had already divorced each other once, were courting again when Nager suspected his ex-wife of being unfaithful and shot her.

After recovering from the shooting, Miss Peretz visited Nager in jail, pending his trial for attempted murder.

Nager told a district court judge in Tel Aviv, “She forgives me and we love each other.”

Guarded by two plain-clothes policemen, the two were wedded.

Then Nager was escorted back to his cell.

(Paul Lee Tan, /Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations/)

 

*Meaning of Reconciliation: *

 

This text presents one of the most blessed concepts in salvation: reconciliation.

So what is reconciliation?

It is a restoration of friendly relationships and of peace where there had previously been hostility and alienation.

Ordinarily, it also includes the removal of the offense that caused the disruption of peace and harmony.

This was especially so in the relation of God with humanity, when Christ removed the enmity existing between God and mankind by his sacrifice.

It implies that the parties being reconciled were formerly hostile to one another.

The Bible tells us bluntly that sinners are ‘enemies’ of God (Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21; James 4:4).

(New Bible Dictionary)

 

As in Greek marriage records “ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι” is a technical term for the separation of married couples, so “καταλλάσσεσθαι” is used for their “reconciliation.”

(1 Corinthians 7:11; TDNT) This should help us understand that reconciliation is mending a broken relationship.

Every person is born a sinner; therefore, every person is the enemy of God.

God is holy; therefore, God cannot have sin or sinners in his presence.

In fact, God’s holiness requires him to punish all sin.

The only hope for the sinner is some sort of reconciliation with God.

Through Christ, every person can have reconciliation.

This reconciliation beautifully turns an enemy of God into a friend of God.

 

Paul only uses the word for reconciliation a few times in his thirteen epistles; in fact, he only uses this specific word for reconciliation (ἀποκαταλλάσσω) in Colossians and Ephesians.

This word in Colossians 1:22 specifically talks about being reconciled to Christ.

It is an even stronger word for reconciliation in the Greek.

Paul was using this word as a direct attack against the false teachers of Colossae.

The false teachers said that there is no possibility of being reconciled with God, but Paul counters their teaching by saying that because of Christ, man can have reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:17–21: In that powerful text we can discern five truths about reconciliation.

-First, reconciliation transforms men: “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (v.

17).

-Second, it appeases God’s wrath: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (v.

21).

-Third, it comes through Christ: “All these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ” (v.

18).

-Fourth, it is available to all who believe: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (v.

19).

-Finally, every believer has been given the ministry of proclaiming the message of reconciliation: God “gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (v.

18), and “He has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (v.

19).

(John MacArthur, /Colossians/)

 

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, /he is/ a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

18 Now all /these /things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21 He made Him who knew no sin /to be /sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The most important passages in the New Testament concerning reconciliation are the following: Rom 5:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Eph 2:11-22; Colossians 1:19-23.

We will be studying Colossians 1:21-23.

This passage will tell us about the need for reconciliation, the nature of reconciliation, the purpose of reconciliation, and the evidence of reconciliation.

Those who are truly reconciled will continue in the faith.

*I.

**The Need for Reconciliation  v.

21*

In verse 21, the “you” is specifically talking about the Colossians, but it also applies to all believers.

Paul describes the desperate, wicked condition of every person without God.

(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

 

Ephesians 2:1-2 1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

* *

*a.

**Separated from God*

/Illustration: /I want to announce to everyone that Hannah and I are aliens.

We are not from Taiwan.

We were not born in Taiwan, we were not raised in Taiwan, and therefore, we are not Taiwanese.

We are foreigners to your country.

In this verse, Paul says that the Colossians were foreigners to Christ.

* *

Before Christ’s reconciliation was applied to the believer, they were totally separated from God.

This is indicating that they were forcibly and persistently out of harmony with God.

The word here is alienated or alien.

It comes from the Greek word that meant “foreign, separated, or strange.”

Paul is saying that the Colossians were once aliens or strangers to God.

The Colossians were once continuously and persistently out of harmony with God.

They did not serve God because they were enslaved in idolatry and sin.

This alienation means that they were completely different than and separated from God.

Every unbeliever is an alien to God since God cannot accept his or her sin.

This was because of their mindset against God.

Ephesians 4:18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;

 

*b.

**Hostile to God*

A person that has not been reconciled by Christ is also hostile to God.

They are enemies and the opponents to God.

In their minds, they are at enmity with God.

The word here for enemies can mean hateful.

Every unbeliever is not only a stranger to God, but they are also the enemy of God since they hate God.

It is not that God hates them, but that the sinner hates God.

In their heart and mind, the unbeliever is against God.

Paul is saying that before reconciliation, the Colossians, and any believer for that matter, is an enemy of God because of their hateful mindset.

*c.

**Active in Evil Deeds*

A stranger to God that has a hateful mindset against God will also engage in behavior against God.

Godlessness naturally leads to evil, immoral, sinful actions.

Without Christ’s reconciliation, a person is constantly doing things that are contrary to God.

This phrase indicates that a person not reconciled by Christ is actively engaged in wicked deeds that will lead to their physical and spiritual destruction.

This is not just case of a few Colossians, but of all the Colossians.

This is also the case of every person before they are reconciled with Christ.

Each one of us that have accepted Christ as our savior were once the enemies of God that did wicked deeds against God.

This is the case for every person that has every lived except Christ Jesus.