After a long day working in your garden under a hot sun, or perhaps working in a hot garage for many hours underneath your car, and then you come into your home, you will likely get out of your dirty clothes, take a shower, and then put on nice, clean clothes. If a street urchin is adopted into a well-to-do family, like we see in the Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, the child doesn’t remain in his ragged clothes. Instead, he is given a closet full of nice clothes. In our Scripture, the Apostle Paul tells the Colossian Christians that they need to take some things off, and put on something else. Let’s take a look at what he is referring to.
As our Scripture reading begins, the Apostle Paul begins with a rather strong exhortation, that we are to put some behaviors to death (vs. 5-9). In many of Paul’s epistles, he has told believers that their old, sinful nature has been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). It is put to death. When the old, sinful behavior starts to crop up in our life, we are not to indulge in those actions any more, but instead Paul says to put them to death. There must be an active, deliberate rejection of these sinful behaviors. Many of these sins listed are not just external acts, but they are also internal attitudes which must also be put to death. Our unsaved, flesh nature cannot be reformed. It must be actively rejected. Sanctification, the act of living the righteous life we have received through the Lord Jesus, is not optional. It is the fruit of genuine salvation.
We also need to take special care with what we say, and eliminate all corruption of speech and emotion (vs. 8-9). Our words are like a bell that has been rung. Once it is rung, it cannot be un-rung, nor can the words which we say later be unsaid. We need to be sure to eliminate all filthy talk, and also be careful to speak truthfully to each other. All of these offensive behaviors are the dirty, filthy, smelly clothes that we are to take off. No one wants to walk around in dirty, stinky clothes!
Now Paul tells us to put on the new man, the new clothing, which is in the image of the Lord Jesus (vs. 10). When a new baby is born into a family, the relatives all look for some resemblance the baby might have to parents or grandparents. We should expect to see some family resemblance between God and those who claim to be His children. This resemblance is not automatic, it is intentional. We must first accept Jesus as Savior, and then actively “take off the dirty clothes” and “put on the new clothes” if we are to become more like Him. If you’ve been invited to an elegant banquet, you want to make sure you look appropriate. Paul proceeds to list the godly behaviors and virtues that the Holy Spirit gives us when we are saved (vs. 12-14), virtues that we are to “put on” as we have “taken off” those sinful or worldly behaviors listed earlier.
One virtue that the apostle specifically mentions is forgiveness (vs. 13). When we genuinely forgive, we give up all claims to punish or exact a penalty for an offense that was done to us. God granted us forgiveness which we did not deserve and could not earn. Unforgiveness is an emotional bondage that consumes the minds with offenses done to us, it distorts our emotions with thoughts of revenge, and it fills our hearts with churning unrest. If we have an unforgiving heart, and we look to God to excuse that, we will hear Him answer for us to look to the cross. There we will discover the price that was paid for our own forgiveness.
The Apostle Paul wraps up this Scripture with a call for God’s peace to rule in our hearts, and for grateful worship (vs. 15-17). God’s peace should be like the umpire of our heart, guiding all of our decisions and relationships. God’s Word is to dwell in us. This is done by spending some time each day reading and studying the Bible. Our worship should include the Scripture, along with singing of hymns and spiritual songs. Our worship services should not be an entertainment event, which is unfortunately the case in many churches today. Many churches have become more like a rock concert than a worship of God! Our worship should be doctrinal, reverent, and rooted in truth.
All of our actions should be done in the Name of Jesus, and because of this, we should be careful with what we do. It is also very important that we are continually giving thanks to God. The cure for many of our problems and even some illnesses is in frequent gratitude and praise to God. Paul saw every activity and every endeavor as something for which we should thank God, and that we should do for His glory.
Let’s put off the old, dirty, filthy clothes of sin in our life, and put on the righteousness and virtues that we have received through our union with the Lord Jesus. As we do that, we renew our mind through His Word, the Bible, and by forgiving and loving others as Jesus did for us, giving Him thanks and reverent worship.
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