Sermon Tone Analysis

The Goal of Assurance

This past weekend, our group had the sweet privilege to be a part of Grace Immanuel Bible Church’s College & Career Retreat in Vero Beach.

It was just a sweet tim of intense fellowship, intense conviction, and overall edification.

I don’t know if there was something in the camp water or what, but spiritually, it felt like I was getting kicked in the teeth by a grizzly bear.

I had to check my root canal every once in a while to make sure my front tooth didn’t fall out or anything.

All joking aside though, there was one moment during the weekend that’s been on my mind recently.

After one of the small group sessions, a dear brother who was in my group looked a little bit downcast, so I went over to talk with him and see what was up.

We got to talking and, he was feeling pretty discouraged after one of the sessions.

He was uniquely convicted by one of the sessions on living the Christian life by faith rather than feelings, and didn’t know what to do.

I tried to share some encouragement from a few different passages to him, and let him know that its a grace from the Lord to have sin exposed.

But I won’t forget his response: “I know I should be joyful about getting exposed, but right now, I don’t really feel that way at all.

I don’t feel like I really deserve what Christ did for me.”

Sobering words.

And we’ve all experienced that, haven’t we?

I can’t think of one time I would use the word “fun” to describe the experience of having my sin exposed.

It’s ugly!

It’s shameful!

It’s embarrassing!

It’s awkward!

It’s arguably one of the hardest things to ever experience in life!

But, it’s also one of the most fruitful.

But, why is it so hard for us to see it that way?

Simply because we’re prone to forgetting what exactly happened when Jesus saved us from our sins… we’re prone to forgetting what really took place when Jesus saved us from our sins.

When we have a faulty view of the gospel… A faulty view of salvation… we don’t realize how much that can affect our everyday walk with Christ.

We can quickly and easily lose sight of the reason we can even battle our sin at all: the work of Christ at the cross.

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, or saying, “I don’t feel like I really deserve what Christ did for me,” then good.

We should all think that.

Why?

Because that’s the heart of the gospel: we don’t deserve what Christ did for us at all.

In Colossians, Paul wanted the Colossians to understand this reality of life as well.

Lord willing, we can learn something tonight from what Paul has to say in this wonderful passage on the work of Christ at the cross.

In , Paul teaches us 3 things that had to be true if Jesus Christ really saved you: you were dead, you were in debt, you were oppressed.

In , Paul teaches us 3 things that had to be true when Jesus Christ really saved you: you were dead, you were in debt, and you were oppressed.

Context

Our passage comes right off of the heels of .

After exposing the spiritual slave traders in verse 8 and reiterating who Christ is in verses 9-12, Paul follows up those realities by giving more realities about what Christ has done in the lives of the Colossians, similar to what we looked at last semester in .

Paul’s main point here in was to remind the Colossians that the only reason they have eternal life is because Christ made them alive together with Him.

With that in mind, follow along as I read .

You Were Dead ()

The first thing that had to be true when Jesus really saved you is that you were dead… you were dead.

Look at the first part of verse 13: “and you were dead...”

The facts are facts!

There isn’t really much to discuss here.

Simply put, we were flat-lined!

Lifeless!

Dead.

Without a pulse.

In what way? “in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh...”

The first dynamic of this lifelessness was that we were dead in our sins!

Transgression against God leads to death.

That goes for you.

That goes for me.

That goes for all of us.

But here’s our fundamental problem: God and sin don’t go hand in hand.

All who sin are dying and are going to die!

The second dynamic of this lifelessness was that we were dead in the uncircumcision of our flesh.

Last week, we looked at this back in verse 11.

Before we knew Christ, we were unclean!

We weren’t set apart.

In fact, it was quite the opposite.

We were unclean, unworthy, and unable to be anywhere near God’s presence.

And I think it’s crucial that we don’t just gloss over that.

One of the gravest errors we can make in the Christian life is to forget how sinful we really were before the Lord saved us.

Why?

Because exposure of sin is the key to salvation!

Why would we need a Savior if we don’t know what we need saving from?

Why would we pick up our cross if we don’t think we need to?

Why would we battle our sin if we don’t even see it?

Lies like these are like jet fuel for our flesh… It prevents us from growth in humility and produces an exponential growth in pride.

Back to the text.

So far, things are pretty bleak!

Paul’s telling the Colossians, “You weren’t just spiritually lost!

You were spiritually dead in your sins against God and your lack of holiness before Him.” But… But God, who is rich in mercy, did something about it.

Look at verse 13 again:

“He made you alive together with Him...”

This is the crux of the entire passage.

This is the foundation of salvation.

Christ has made you alive with Him!

The verb translated “Made you alive together” is just one word, but it has an abundance of impact on what Paul is saying.

Basically, in salvation, Christ took the dead Colossians and made them alive together with Him!

Beloved, I can’t stress enough how important it is that we don’t graduate from the foundation of our faith.

What is that foundation?

Christ, the precious Cornerstone that Peter makes mention of in .

But don’t miss the next part of verse 13.

Look at the verse again:

“having forgiven us all our transgressions...”

Not just one.

Not just some.

But all.

If you are in Christ, then each and every one of your transgressions has been completely forgiven.

When Paul writes, “having forgiven”, he’s talking about a one-time, once-for-all action!

This forgiveness is final.

When God forgives, it is pardoning… powerful… and permanent.

Paul is telling the Colossians here, “when Christ made you alive, He perfectly and permanently forgave all of your sins, past, present, and future.”

As a believer, why are we so afraid to confess sometimes?

Why are we so embarrassed about confessing sometimes?

Do we really believe that not just some, but all of our sins have been forgiven by Christ at the cross, or not?

How we answer that question will determine whether or not our walk with Christ will be defined by steadfast faith or substantial failure.

You Were In Debt ()

The first thing that had to be true if Christ saved you was that you were dead.