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Colossians 3:16
Today we are continuing our series on One Another - or how God commands His church to treat one another.
Today we are looking at Admonish One Another.
Perhaps this week you have admonished someone, and perhaps you have been admonished by someone.
An admonishment is a warning; it is to reprove or exhort someone.
Have you ever noticed that most people do not like being told what to do?
In the society in which we live, the common response when someone is admonished is “you can’t tell me what to do! I’ll do what I want!”
Pride get’s in the way and we tend to reject correction and chose to do what we want to do.
Chaunt’l Wilson was speeding in a yellow sports car in Kansas when she was pulled over about 1:00 am for driving 92 miles per hour in a 75 mph zone.
After being ticketed by the police officer, she got back into her car, pulled away, and immediately accelerated to 142 mph.
The police caught up with her again and immediately arrested her.
We don’t like it, but the truth is we all need admonishment!
Most of us would not be alive today if we did not pay attention to warnings over the years for physical safely.
There are warning labels everywhere to prevent companies being sued.
Warning 1
Warning 2
Warning 3
Admonishments are necessary for growth in the Christian life.
If you are a mature believer, you want to be admonished.
In Colossians 2:1, we find the apostle Paul writing to the church in Colossae - a group of people he had never met in person.
According to Colossians 1:1, Timothy started this church while Paul was at Ephesus for two years.
Paul wrote this epistle to the Colossians during his first imprisonment at Rome.
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he was dealing with false teaching that had crept into the church.
Throughout chapter 3, Paul challenges the church in the following areas:
to seek heavenly values (v1)
to abstain from earthly, sensual lust (v5)
to put off the old man and put on the new man in Christ (v10)
to respect one another (v11)
to forgive and love one another (v13-14)
Finally, in verse 16, Paul challenges the believers to admonish one another.
If they were to stay on track in their Christian growth, they would need one another’s help.
We, too, need to obey God’s instruction to admonish each other.
And in Colossians 3:16, we find three truths that teach us how we can be effective in giving and receiving admonition:
I.
The Message of Admonition
For our admonishment to be effective, we must have the Word of Christ in us.
Verse 16 of our text begins with, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.”
The basis and success of our admonition is dependent on how thoroughly the Word of Christ is dwelling in us.
The indwelling Word is what makes the difference between our admonishment being simple opinion or it being truly biblical and helpful.
A. Is Sure
The “word of Christ” refers to the revelation Christ brought into the world - the Bible.
When the Word of Christ is the basis of our message, our admonishment is effective because God’s Word is sure.
The Bible is true, trustworthy, and infallible.
Because it is from God Himself, we can place our full confidence in it.
My mom had a Bible verse for everything!
She wasn’t as bad as this, but close!
The message of Admonition is sure if we use the Word of God.
Secondly, The message of Admonition...
B. Must Be Settled
The Word of Christ not only needs to be present, but it also is to dwell in us.
The word dwell translates from the Greek word enoikeō which means “to settle down in” or “to be at home in.”
This means that the Bible is not to be a mere passing thought but the constant focus in our lives.
If we are to be a good spouse, parent or boss at work, the Word of God needs to settle down and be a part of us.
It needs to permeate our lives.
As George Müller said,
“The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts.”
But this is not just true for our lives.
Before we can give good advice or admonishment, we need to have God’s wisdom dwelling in us.
God instructs us to meditate on His Word “day and night”
While New Age philosophies focuses on emptying one’s mind or turning it inward to self-realization, biblical meditation focuses one’s mind on God and on His Word.
Biblical meditation is something like ruminating - like a cow or sheep that chews its cud.
This is how we should meditate on God’s Word.
We take a passage we have heard preached or we have read or memorized and think on it, drawing application for our lives.
This allows God’s Word to not only pass through our minds, but to permeate our thinking and beliefs.
For God’s Word to “dwell in us,” We have to study and know it thoroughly.
When we have God’s Word dwelling in us, we are able to admonish one another with wisdom and grace.
In fact, our text verse continues that we are to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.
The word richly translates from the Greek word plousiōs, which means “abundantly” or “extravagantly.”
The Word of God should dwell in us so abundantly that it flows over in our speech and interactions with one another.
How do we let the Bible dwell in us richly?
Four Ways the Bible Will Dwells in Us
1. Hear It
Are you attentive to God’s Word?
Do you listen when it is preached, or do you find yourself distracted?
Do you read it during the week?
Do you give it entrance into your heart?
2. Handle It
Every Christian is a believer priest who is able to read and understand the Bible for himself.
As Christians, we are to be students of God’s Word.
We should study it carefully and learn to apply it faithfully.
3. Hide It
When we memorize Scripture, we have it on hand to use against temptation that comes our way during the day.
We also have it available to occupy our thoughts so that we can meditate on it throughout the day.
4. Hold It
We are to hold forth God’s Word for others to see—like a person holding out a flashlight for the benefit of others in a dark place.
You and I are to be men and women of the Word, and when we are, we will also be men and women of wisdom.
Notice that our text verse says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.”
Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge correctly.
It is to discern what is right and true in all areas of life.
This wisdom only comes by the Spirit’s application of His Word.
When God’s Word dwells in us, it leads us to godly wisdom because we have the mind of Christ.
How are you doing in the message of admonition?
Do your admonishments to others reveal a love for and understanding of God’s Word?
Does the Word dwell in you richly and come out in your interaction with others?
Are you growing in your Bible knowledge so that you are able to apply it to life situations and help someone who is going astray?
We will not have the relationships God intended us to have unless we are allowing God’s Word to dwell within us and help us to lovingly admonish one another.
I.
The Message of Admonition
II.
The Ministry of Admonition
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