Pauls Epistle to Colossians (8)

Wonderful thing to be able to sing hymns that were written long ago that have been sung and continue to be sung by the people of God all over the world. And of course when we say that they are inspired only to the degree they reflect the truth of the only inspired Word of God.

The Authority of Hymns and the Inspired Word of God

And to the degree they do God uses them as expressions of truth and affirmation of truth. Well before us we have a new paragraph that we want to consider Colossians 1 24 through 29. Just to bring us up to speed context within Colossians 1 in verse 21 the Apostle Paul had declared that Jesus Christ had secured for his people their salvation through his body of flesh through death.

Paul assured these Christians at Colossae that although they had been formerly alienated and hostile in their mind, doing evil deeds, the Lord would nevertheless present them thankfully one day on the day of judgment as wholly blameless and above reproach.

Just consider the difference between those two extremes. All of grace. But then Paul included a condition for these believers in Colossae which is set forth in verse 23 that is he will present you wholly blameless and above reproach if indeed you continue in the faith stable and steadfast not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven and of which I Paul became a minister.

And so we see their future blessing of salvation was contingent upon their persevering faith in Jesus Christ. Verses like this are troublesome to some, they shouldn't be. It certainly is not teaching true Christians can lose their salvation.

It is simply declaring that true Christians persevere in their faith. And so the Apostle set forth the absolute necessity of that. He will present you wholly blameless and above reproach on that day if you continue to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ throughout your life even unto the end.

The fact is there's no promise in the Bible for salvation for the temporary believer. That's the apostate. Rather he who believes unto the saving of the soul. He who overcomes is the one who's promised salvation because that is what true faith is.

True faith is not temporary, true faith is enduring because true faith is of course born of the Holy Spirit and sustained by the power of God. And so faith is an enduring ongoing matter on the part of the Christian.

And so this condition that Paul sets forth here does not put salvation in doubt. It does not mean that our salvation is ultimately due to what we do or what we fail to do. This condition certainly does not mean a true Christian can lose his salvation.

But it is a true condition nevertheless that all true Christians meet by the grace of God. They continue to believe. In fact the Holy Scriptures tell us in many places and in many ways that the Lord will keep his people in faith.

And God does so by his power. They are Christ's. He's given them salvation. They are kept by the power of God. Think about that, the power of God. They created all things, sustains all things. That same power is going to see to it that you continue to believe the gospel unto the end.

Thankfully this is so. Those that are Christ's who have salvation are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed at the last time. Salvation is presented as a future prospect which it is presented frequently in the New Testament on the last day when we're delivered from condemnation.

There's no condemnation now for those that are in Christ Jesus but on the Day of Judgment it'll be declared forthrightly, will be exonerated. And so perseverance and faith and obedience is one of the grand distinguishing marks of a true child of God.

An apostate was never converted, was never born again. John wrote in 1 John 2, 19 and 20 I believe it is, of those apostates that had departed from the Christian faith. They had departed in other ways.

They had embraced a false understanding of who the person of Jesus Christ was. But John wrote that had they been of us they would have no doubt continued with us. But they went out so it might be manifest they were never a part of us.

And all of us know those who maybe at one time seemed to be the greatest of Christians in their understanding of their testimony and whatnot, but for one reason or another allowed lust to overtake them.

They gave themselves over to the world and what formerly seemed to be light became darkness. Any desire and delight in the things of God waned and they've come to the place where they are no longer professing to be believers.

And it's a sad thing. I've been in the ministry now over 40 years and so I encounter people that were good and solid church members professing Christ in the faith 35 years ago who are not working with the Lord today.

And verses like this would have prevented them or served them at difficult times in their life. And so warnings are important and this is a warning that we need to persevere in our faith. Of course the scriptures contain many statements that address this matter.

There are those verses that speak of God's ability to keep his own in faith. I alluded to these last Sunday. I don't list them here except in a footnote. And then there are those verses which speaks of the certainty God keeps his own.

He doesn't lose a one. And yet even though it's God who keeps his people secure so they will persevere, the scriptures also speak of the Christian's responsibility to keep himself in faith to Christ. And of course we would know they do this because of the grace of God puts within them the desire as well as the ability to do so.

And so this is what we have in Colossians 1, 22 -23, He is now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death in order to present you holy, blameless, above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.

And here are a few other verses that speak of this great responsibility. We could cite verses that speak of God's, the certainty of God keeping his own, but here it presses upon you and me, the responsibility.

Paul wrote to Timothy, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Paul is writing to a pastor, Timothy, take heed to yourself and to your doctrine, continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

That was Timothy's responsibility. First Corinthians 15, Paul wrote, moreover brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved.

And then here's the conditional sentence, or clause, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. There are a lot of people who believe in vain. What is it to believe in vain?

Well it's to believe, you might believe all the right things, believe all the right doctrines, you might be able to stand up and preach Christ, preach the gospel, you believe all the right things, but you believed in vain if, that's temporary, okay, you believed in vain it will be no good to you on the day of judgment if you believed in the past and stopped believing.

No hope for a temporary believer. Or we might add, you believed in vain if it doesn't affect your life, if it's only in word only, you believed in vain, because true saving faith is life-changing faith, isn't it?

And then Hebrews 10, 35 -39 is one of the most strongly worded warnings of exhortation in the New Testament. There are a number of these in Hebrews, but I just picked out this one. Therefore do not cast away your confidence which has great reward, and here the reward is salvation in its full and final form.

And he says, for you have need of endurance, that's perseverance, patience, so that after you've done the will of God you may receive the promise. And here the promise speaks of salvation as God has promised through Christ.

For yet a little while he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith. One of the most quoted verses in the Bible, it's first found in Habakkuk 2 .4, quoted by Paul, I think in Romans 1 .16 or thereabouts, and it's quoted here.

And when Paul quoted it, the just shall live by faith, he was emphasizing the word faith. When the writer of the Hebrews quoted it here, the just shall live by faith, he's emphasizing the word live, the just shall live by faith.

And then he declares, if anyone draws back, that's the apostate, they were being tempted to draw back from Jesus because of persecution. God says, if anyone draws back, my soul, this is God speaking, my soul has no pleasure in him.

And yet he is positive, he actually is quite encouraged and hopeful for these Christians to whom he's writing. We are not of those who draw back to perdition, in other words damnation. Again, that's the temporary believer, but rather of those who believe on to the saving of the soul.

There you have salvation again presented as a future prospect. I think one of the great problems of evangelicalism is they talk about salvation only in terms of their justification. I got saved in January of 1972, I am saved, I got saved.

But oftentimes the Bible presents salvation as a future prospect, that doesn't put it in doubt, it's a certainty. But it's for the believers, it's not for you who did at one time believe, it's not a one-time decision, you know, it's he who believes, ongoing belief, persevering faith, continuing faith.

He who believes has life, not he who once believed. And so the most important matter, when the Lord returns, or when the Lord calls you home in whatever form or way that comes, are you going to be a believer?

That's important, by the grace of God we will be, amen. But we better follow the warnings that set, you know, which is the course that God has for all of His people to follow, and not be like those Israelites who hardened themselves and forfeited after such a long journey the opportunity and privilege of entering that promised land.

Very important, don't take the warnings out of Scripture. But many do, many well-meaning but errant people take the warnings out of Scripture. They would argue these are really not warnings to Christians.

I was reading a study Bible recently that put it forth in this way, this is really a warning to unbelievers. No, it's a warning to all professing believers that we respond in this way. And those who are Christians are moved by God, by the Holy Spirit to respond in faith.

I believe that. And so the Lord keeps His people by the warnings of Scripture, as well as the promises of Scripture. And you know I've commonly recited the metaphor which I think is so apt, and so wonderful, in which the Lord keeps His own on that narrow path leading to glory, to Heaven.

And on either side of that path there's a great danger. There's the danger of despair where the believer becomes helpless. Oh, I can't possibly be saved. He falls into despair to his destruction. On the other hand there's the danger of presumption.

Oh, I'm saved, it doesn't matter how I live, I believe on Jesus, my sins are under His blood. And by presumption they fall off into their loose sinful living to their own destruction. And so God, in order to preserve His people on that narrow path, has set two rows of hedges on each side.

And the row of hedges that God has erected to keep people from falling into despair are the promises of God. And the row of hedges that God has erected to keep His people from falling into presumption are the warnings of Scripture.

And by these two, the warnings of Scripture and the promises of Scripture, God keeps His own on that narrow path to glory. And that was a metaphor I put forth, I forget whether it was Thomas Boston or Thomas Brooks, one of those two, but a very good illustration.

And yet because we are living in an antinomian evangelicalism, they basically take the warnings out of Scripture. That applies to somebody else, doesn't apply to you, because you're under the blood. And they basically have cut down all the warnings of Scripture.

Because they, and they argue many times here in Hebrews, for example, that the Paranetic passages, the warning passages are simply hypothetical, they're not real. But if God was going to deal with this way, this is how it would happen.

No, they're real warnings. And they're warnings to you, they're warnings to me. And we'd better follow them, because this is what true believers do. Amen? Very important. And foundational. This is Christianity ABC.

And yet there's so much error regarding this. Now, Paul had been expressing his prayerful concern for the Colossian Christians that they might grow spiritually, that they might increase in the knowledge of God.

And this knowledge of God included an understanding of who God is, as well as who His Son is, what He's like. As well as knowing, or in a measure, the nature of the work that God was doing through His Son.

All of this is set forth by the Apostle to these Christians. And Paul had declared that ultimately what God was doing, the purpose for creation, the purpose for all things in Christ, is that God through His Son was reconciling the world to Himself.

The entire world, people, everything after the fall of Adam was in rebellion to God, out of sync with God. And through Christ, Jesus Christ is bringing back into willing subjection everything. And one day at the Second Coming, and after the Day of Judgment, the Lord Jesus will present this glorious Kingdom back to His Father.

When the Father gave it to Him nothing was subjected. Through the power of Christ everything will be subjected. And that's what He's doing through history. And that's what He's doing in our lives. And so, we considered this and we saw how this involved this work of God, reconciling His own people, Christians, those who are in Christ, bringing them into relationship with Himself, because God had purposed to present them before Himself one day, holy, blameless, and beyond reproach, reconciled.

Well, we now come to verse 24 and following, which is a new paragraph. And this paragraph continues through the end of the chapter, Colossians 1 24 through 29. And here Paul reveals his own heart desire for their spiritual well-being.

He wrote of his own sufferings that he had endured for their sake. And Paul speaks of his unique calling of God and the message that had been entrusted to him. And because of his sense of calling and the importance of his message, and because of his heart's concern for them, he expressed the nature of his work, proclaiming Jesus Christ.

This is how he would find expression in his life for all of his concerns, preaching Christ. This is at the heart of everything for the Christian and for the church, preaching Jesus Christ. A lot of people say they're Christ-centered, but are they?

And so, let's read the paragraph. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I'm filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body. That's a curious clause, isn't it?

That is the church of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the Word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to saints.

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone, teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

For this I toil, struggling with all His energy, that He powerfully works within me. Break this down by these four divisions. Suffering hardship on behalf of the church, and even though it's one sentence going to verse 27, I split up that sentence.

Ministering the Word of Christ to the church. Third, proclaiming Christ each member of the church. And fourth, laboring earnestly, be empowered to serve the church. And so, let's work through this. Verse 24, suffering hardship on behalf of the church.

Paul declared, now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I'm filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction for the sake of His body that is the church. Well, we see Paul's life was filled with suffering for the cause of Jesus Christ.

Due to the fall of mankind into sin, life in this fallen world is characterized by suffering. Everybody's life is, in one form or another, to one degree to another. And if you aren't, you haven't been, hang on, it's coming.

It was Eliphaz, one of Job's friends, who wrote, yet man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. As certain as the sparks of a campfire ascend into the sky, it's that certain that man will encounter a life of trouble in this world.

It's a certainty. And later, Job would affirm this assessment, man who is born a woman is a few days and full of trouble. That's what life is like in a fallen world. Life is full of suffering. It's the lot of this fallen earthly existence.

We suffer wrongdoing at the hands of others. We suffer shame due to our own wrongdoing. We suffer pain, both emotional and physical. It is our portion to encounter suffering in all its forms. That's what life is like.

That this life is filled with trials and troubles was the concluding observation of the wise man Solomon. For what has man for all his labor and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?

All his days are sorrowful and his work burdensome. Even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. That was Solomon, the observer of the world. And he wrote similar words in Chapter five of the man of a man, generic man, as he came from his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came.

He shall take nothing from his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a severe evil, just exactly as he came socially go. And what profit is he who has labored for the wind all his days?

He also eats in darkness and he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. Again that's life observed by a intelligent wise man who saw a lot of things and experienced a lot of things. But although all people everywhere, whether Christian or not, will experience trouble in this life, trouble comes to different people due to different causes and comes to different people in different degrees.

Trouble falls out differently for those who know the Lord and for those who do not know the Lord. With regard to the people of God the troubles that we experience are redemptive and therapeutic. There are no curses for the Christian in Christ.

He brings good out of everything. Blessing only can come to you if you're in Christ. That's amazing when you think about it. Nothing can harm you ultimately. In fact everything that you think harms you is actually beneficial for you.

You may not see how that is or why that is, but God's wise in the way he deals with and he brings it about, doesn't he? Thank God for his providence. For example, we can read many promises in the scripture, Psalm 84, 9 and following.

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer, give ear, O God of Jacob, Selah. Perhaps a word of rest in the music. O God, behold our shield, look upon the face of your anointed, for a day in your courts is better than a thousand.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun's shield, the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in you. But of those in the world whom the Lord does not favor, those who are outside of a saving covenant relationship with God, their troubles are curses.

In fact, everything they consider to be a blessing is actually a curse in disguise, isn't it? Although God is, you know, merciful even to the ungodly and he's kind to the ungodly, but every act of kindness brings greater culpability to the unconverted person.

Their difficulties are punitive. God punishes them for their iniquity. And so we read in Romans 1 18, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who seek unrighteousness.

And so what can be said of God's wrath against rebellious Judah? It can be said to be normative for God's dealings with all those who are estranged from him due to sin. God declared, therefore thus says the Lord, behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them.

The neighbor and his friend shall perish. That's not just true of rebellious Judah, that's true of all that are outside of Christ that are in their sin. And again, although God withholds the manifestation of his judgment for a time due to his mercy, his wrath accrues in degree and in amount until it's finally released upon its enemies.

Wrath being stored up for the day of judgment when it is unleashed. And so all people everywhere suffer. That's what life in a fallen world is like. But people who know the Lord suffer, people who don't know the Lord suffer, but they are to different ends.

God has different purposes, thankfully. And yet there are some kinds of sufferings that are unique to the people of God. Because we know God and represent him in a fallen world, the fallen world reacts to us.

And people of the world will often manifest an unreasonable aversion toward us that may from time to time burst forth upon us. And so all those who live without God and in a manner in violation of God's law will incur great difficulty in this world.

In some ways the people of God can expect to encounter greater hardship than many others experience in this life. Go ask that small minority of surviving Christians in Syria and the Kurdish regions. Our Lord Jesus taught his disciples they would encounter trouble because of their relationship with him.

You know the world hates God, the true God. They love the God of their own making, but they hate the true God. They crucified the Son of God because they hate him. When they understand who he is, what he's really like, and what kind of implications that has, let's get rid of him.

And Jesus said they'll do this to you too if you represent him rightly. If the world hates you, you know it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Remember the word I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they'll keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake because they do not know him who sent me.

And as our world grows darker, our own society grows darker with regard to its distance from God, and ignorance of truth of the Word, we can anticipate things becoming manifestly more difficult in some ways.

Nevertheless, the Lord has promised he'll deliver his people out of all their troubles, bringing them into his Heavenly Kingdom. Paul wrote, the Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and he had a few of them, and bring me safely into his Heavenly Kingdom.

To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. And so we may have that assurance. Not that we'll escape difficulties in this life, we're called to encounter tribulation. In this world you will have tribulation, is what the Lord Jesus said.

But he will deliver us out of them all. And so we're appointed even for suffering. This is what we are appointed to. God has ordained this to take place, and for different purposes. We've gone over these before, but it would serve us well to rehearse them.

We become more able to minister to others by the grace that God gives us when we're in our trials and suffering. I won't read 2 Corinthians 1, that passage, but Paul basically says, hey the reason I suffered and received comfort is so that I would be able to give you comfort when you're suffering through similar things.

And you know, some Christians are suffering through some things, and they're wondering, why God? Why me? What did I do? And that's a legitimate question to ask, by the way. We ought to search ourselves and see if there's something that maybe we're not, isn't in accordance with the will of God.

But sometimes the Lord allows things to come into our lives because he's equipping us for the ministry that one day will come about. Secondly, God takes us through extreme difficulty in order that we would learn to trust him.

We have this unhealthy way of trusting ourselves, don't we? Some of us are pretty independent and strong willed, and we will rely on our own resources, our own wit, our own strength, our own devices. And so the Lord has to put us through trials to, you know, to exhaust those avenues to where we learn to trust him.

And so Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 1 that the Lord takes us through this so that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. And so difficulties are necessary. And then thirdly, God will allow us to encounter evil and difficulty in life in order for us to reassess our values and reprioritize our desires so that they will conform to God's purposes for us.

When a person begins to suffer in different ways, it puts things in perspective, doesn't it? And we become more mindful of it. And other things we put in their proper order and perspective. And so they're very instructive in character building.

I often joke with people when they experience something really traumatic, you know, that was a character builder, wasn't it? And oftentimes they were intended for that. And then fourthly, God allows us to encounter evil in order that we might learn to be strong and steadfast in adversity.

You see, strengthening you, you know, like in boot camp, training you, strengthening you for what you're going to have to face in the future. And the Lord knows what we're going to have to face in the future.

And so the difficulties we are encountering may be preparatory for what we will have to face in the future. And so it's the way of the Lord with His people that they encounter, experience, trial, and trouble in this life, in this world.

We can expect it. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, for in fact, we told you before, when we were with you, that we would suffer tribulation just as it's happened, you know, 1 Thessalonians 3, 4. And Peter wrote to those who resided in this world as aliens, the elect of God, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.

You see, it's really the strange thing. If it doesn't happen to you, it's not a strange thing. If it does happen to you, this is what we're called to encounter. Suffering is not unusual for the Christian.

Rather, we're called to encounter it in all its forms. But no further what Paul wrote in Colossians 1, 24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. And in my flesh, I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, that is the church.

Paul wrote of doing his part, fulfilling his obligation, fulfilling his responsibility. And the fact is, there's a degree and amount of suffering that the Lord has appointed for His people. And each of us has a share in this.

We're appointed to it. And we have to encounter it and experience it. And we are to do so in a willing manner, responsive manner that pleases the Lord. When I read this and considered the truth of it, I asked myself the question, am I doing my share?

Am I fulfilling my obligation, my responsibility on behalf of the church? And you might ask yourself, have you done your part? Have you been willing to bear your portion of this suffering? How does it come?

Well, it comes from testifying of Christ, doesn't it? Taking a stand for Christ when it's not popular to do so, or when you're going to suffer consequences for doing so. Maybe in the workplace, or school, maybe within the family.

What Paul was talking about specifically was the suffering he had encountered because of having faithfully proclaimed the gospel. And Paul said he was willing to encounter these obstacles and suffer reproach of Christ, even while he wrote this very letter from a prison cell because of his resolve to stand for Christ and proclaim the gospel.

This guy was writing from prison when he wrote this. I've done my share on behalf of the body. And he says, I rejoice in having done so. The early apostles in Acts, they rejoiced after they'd been beaten, that the Lord had counted them worthy to suffer for his name.

And yet, could we say the same, for it's easy to forgo the hardship that faithful disciples experience by simply remaining silent or refusing to take a stand at key times and places. You've been here a while.

You've heard all my stories. I know it. And my wife tells me, you say that all the time. I don't know. I forget. You remember. I forget whether I said it or not. But I remember vividly, vividly, sitting in an English class, the University of California or University of California, California State University in Sacramento, an English class.

The teacher, middle aged lady, she was an existentialist, atheist. But somehow she took a liking to me. And there was a discussion in the class one day, and this was back during the days of the moral majority.

And somebody made a real derogatory remark about Jerry Falwell and how he was a hypocrite. And I just cautioned people, you know, we ought to be careful before we start making accusations against people if we don't know them.

And she picked up on that. And so she drew it out of me. Come on, Lars, what do you mean by that? And so it was this one guy over there that's spouting out. And so we're sitting in this circle. And so this was at the beginning of the class.

And so I said, you know, you've accused Falwell of being a hypocrite. A hypocrite, by definition, is someone who lives differently than what he says he is and how he believes. You must have some insight information about Falwell of his inconsistency or his hypocrisy.

Can you relate that to us? And if you can't, it's wrong for you to accuse him of being a hypocrite. And I mentioned that I had some personal contact with him. And well, for the next hour, I was attacked by everybody in that class.

And the Lord gave me grace, you know, and I believe the Lord let me hold my own as it was incredible, the onslaught. And so the teacher, again, really liked me, liked me more after the class, it would seem.

She really encouraged me in that. It was amazing. But as I'm walking out, I'm following this guy out. And I noticed he had a leather belt with the name Jesus on the belt. And as we walk out, he looks back and whispers to me, I'm a Christian, too.

I was with you all the time. And I thought to myself, you know, where were you, you know, when I 10 minutes ago, you know, when in the heat of battle, we can avoid a lot of difficulty and hardship by remaining silent.

But it's wrong to do so. And you never feel right for having done so. I wish I would have spoken up. I wish I would have said something. We shouldn't be that way. We should not avoid standing for Christ.

We all do. I do, too. It's difficult to speak up for Christ. I understand that. But we need to trust the Lord to help us and give us courage. And I've always found in the past that as I'm, you know, fearful of saying something in front of somebody or a group of people, a secular situation or whatnot, I always ask myself, why am I afraid?

Because I'm concerned about what these people think about me. And then I ask myself the question, do I want to be concerned about what the Lord thinks about me or what these people think about me? And when I put it in those terms, I always I've never failed to speak.

And I've always found that as soon as I begin to speak a word for Christ, that the Holy Spirit empowers me, you know, makes my mind very acute and alert, gives me words, recall the scripture. And it's just an incredible carrying on courage that comes forth.

It's an incredible thing and wonderful thing. And I can remember specific instances I won't go into relating when that happened. One time I found myself preaching to 35 or 40 teenagers in front of a teen group while all the other teens in the church were boldly going out and witnessing.