Read Colossians 3:18-4:18

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the
Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an
inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the
Lord Christ you are serving.”
(Colossians 3:23-24)

Thoughts… What if you did everything for one week as if you were doing it for Jesus? What do you think would happen? Do you think your life, and the lives of people who interact with you, would be different? Better? Changed for the good?

I want to suggest a seven-day experiment, starting from the moment you read this blog: For one full week, treat everyone you meet as if you were meeting Jesus. Speak to them, work for them, lead them, serve them, think about them just as if they were Jesus himself. Do it no matter how you feel or how they respond to you, and just see what happens.

If you are married, love your husband like you would if your spouse were Jesus. Serve your wife like you would if Jesus were your bride. Parent your children like Jesus were your child. If you are under someone’s authority—a parent, teacher, a policeman who pulls you over, a supervisor who knows less about the job than you do, or the owner of the company—treat them with the kind of respect you would give Jesus is he were in their place. If you are in authority, lead like Jesus would.

And do your work like you were working for the man, because really, Paul says, you are working for “the man.” If it is cooking breakfast and cleaning house, or doing homework and working on some project, or if it is keeping the books and ringing up a customer, do it as if you were doing it for Jesus himself.

Try it—because in fact, it is the Lord Christ you are serving.

What if you did that? What if…?

Prayer… Jesus, in everything I do this week, I will give it my best shot to love more freely, encourage more fully, serve more diligently, and work more excellently. I will do it for you, because it is you I am serving.

One More Thing… “It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, but why he does it.” —A.W. Tozer.

Read Colossians 3:1-17

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts
on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand
of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly
things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with
Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears,
then you also will appear with him in glory.”
(Colossians 3:1-3)

Thoughts… What Paul is proposing here is that if we are to walk in radical response to God’s grace by living a holy, God-honoring life, then the what we’ve go to do is to is fix our hearts—the seat of our emotional life, and our minds—our thinking, feeling, perceiving life, on heavenly things.

In other words, we got to live with an eternal perspective. The more we’re consumed with heaven, the more life on earth will change—for the better. C. S. Lewis put it: like this,

Looking forward to the eternal world is not… a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do… If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the slave trade, all left their mark on earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.

Ephesians 2:6 calls us citizens of heaven. Hebrews 11:13 says we are strangers and exiles on earth. Hebrews 13:14 says we are seeking the city which is to come. Philippians 3:20 says our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. I Peter 2:11 calls us aliens and strangers.

Get the picture? Our focus is to be on the world we’re destined for. We’re not just to think of heaven, we’re to actively pursue it! It’s when we actively pursue heaven that we change the present one. Someone has said that to reach the present world, a Christian has to first leave it.

What Paul says is that we are to set our minds and our hearts on heaven’s value system. The phrase he uses, “set your hearts…set your minds” means to keep on seeking, to be preoccupied with. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 6:33: “Seek before anything else the kingdom of God and it’s righteousness…”

Here’s what happens when we seek heaven’s values for our lives now: We act differently. We behave in ways that please God, not because we have to and not because we are afraid of God’s disfavor, but because it’s just the natural thing a transformed, heaven-focused person does.

One of my favorite writers, Max Anders, illustrate this truth in the following way: Imagine yourself in the late 1800’s. You are prospecting for diamonds in the remote mountains of South Africa…far from civilization. But somehow a courier finds you and tells you that your rich uncle has died in San Francisco and left you a vast fortune. To collect it, however, you must present yourself to his estate attorney in that city.

Now at that moment you discover you are fabulously wealthy…beyond your wildest dreams. You own a mansion in the city, a summer home in the country; fine clothes, concerts, exhibits, powerful connections…all these and more are suddenly, amazingly yours.

There’s only one problem: you’re not in San Francisco to collect it and enjoy it. And you don’t have much money at present. There’s some joy now in the anticipation, in just knowing it’s true. And the courier has brought enough money for you to book passage for your return trip. But it will take three weeks of hard travel just to get to Cape Town, and three months over rough seas to get to New York. And another several weeks of bone-jarring travel across the U. S.

Are you wealthy at that moment? Beyond measure. But you have to endure months of hard living to get to your inheritance. That’s the way it is with the Christian life. We’re on our way to the riches of heaven…but we’ve got to endure some difficulties before we get there. But on the journey, our minds are fixed on the wonderful wealth and the face to face relationship we’ll have when we get there.

And as we endure the arduous journey, should the knowledge of our inheritance affect how we live? You bet. If we’re thinking about the riches at the end of the destination, we’ll begin to live like we are rich now!

Paul is saying that if we fix our hearts and minds on things above, we’re going act differently here.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourself of all such things as these: Anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Verses 5-10)

Notice that Paul says “put to death…” In other word we need to get intentional about ridding our lives of sin. The Puritan preacher Richard Baxter wrote, “Use sin as it will use you. Spare it not, for it will not spare you; it is your murderer…use it, therefore, as a murderer should be used. Kill it before it kills you. And though it brings you to the grave, as it did [Christ], it shall not be able to keep you there.”

Paul gives two sample lists of sins to kill. The lists include some of the most common and troubling sins believers face.

The first list, in verse 5, deals with sexual sins. The second, in verses 8-9, deals with hateful actions. In between the two list, in verses 6-7, Paul gives two reason why we’re to put these sins to death: One, because they anger God and he will punish those who live in them, and two, because they are now inconsistent with who we have become.

Let’s briefly break down these two lists: First of all, sexual immorality takes place because of impurity. Impurity comes from lust, or perverted passion and desire, which in turn, comes from to root sin of greed.

Sexual immorality is translated from the word porneia, and refers to sexual sin. Our English word for pornography comes from this. It refers to any form of illicit sex. Since there seems to be a debate of sorts as to just what actually constitutes adultery in out culture, I think it’s really important get clarity as to what illicit sex is from God’s point of view. The Bible defines adultery as any act of unfaithfulness to your spouse, even the act of lusting after another person. The sin of emotional adultery is just as serious before God as physical adultery. And likewise, the Bible clearly says that two people who are not married who are involved sexually, are committing fornication. And verse 6 tells us that the wrath of God will come upon those who engage in these acts.

Impurity, the second word, goes beyond the act to the evil thoughts and intentions of the mind, which is where the battle for sin is always waged. The third word is lust and the fourth is evil desires. There is no great distinction between these two words-they are specific thoughts and intents of the mind toward sexual sin.

Then Paul mentions the fifth word, greed, last, because it is the evil root from which all the previous sins spring. It is the insatiable desire to have more, to have what is forbidden. And because it places selfish desire above obedience to God, greed amounts to idolatry. When people sin sexually, it is basically doing what they desire, rather than what God desires. And that, in essence, is to worship themselves rather than God, which is idolatry.

Paul says people with a heavenly mindset are going to crucify those sins…they will have no place in the life of an authentic disciple.

Then Paul gives a second list in verse 8-9, which are sins that are not so much personal as social. There is anger, which is a deep, smoldering, resentful bitterness. There is rage, which is a sudden outburst of anger. There is malice, which is the evil intentions one has to bring harm to another…not just physical harm, but verbal and emotional harm. And then there is slander, which refers to insults and dispararing remarks toward another.

Paul mentions two more: Filthy language refers to filthy and abusive speech meant to hurt someone else. Lying is falling into the pattern of Satan himself, who is the father of lies. And lying always hurts, both the one who lies and the one who is lied about.

So Paul says that if you are going to follow Christ, these things have to be put to death. Don’t treat them gently but deal with them harshly. There is no place for them in the life of a true disciple.

But the question is, how do you do that? How do you kill them off?

You can’t put them to death by just trying hard, by living a more disciplined, legalistic life; you can’t do away with them by simply becoming a super-spiritual person; you don’t it by beating your body into submission through asceticism. We’ve all been there, done that, and have fallen back into these very sins.

You do it by developing an eternal perspective. That’s where Paul started this whole teaching: “Set your hearts…set your minds on things above.” And here are three things we can do to help us live with an eternal perspective.

First of all, mark sin in your life for eradication. Resolve to do away with sin in your life. Quit playing around with it! Quit making excuses for it! Quit comparing the degree of your sin with the magnitude of worse sins. Sin—sexual and social sins—will kill you. They dishonor God. They will keep you out of heaven. There is no place for them in your life. Just resolve to do away with them.

Second, monitor your thought life. What are the kinds of things you are letting into your mind…what are the kinds of things that are influencing your ability to live with an eternal perspective? Since sin originates in the mind, the battle has to be waged there.

Put everything you allow into your mind — TV, movies, books, magazines, conversation, etc., — to the test of Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

One of the best ways to do this is to begin to journal at the end of each day the kind of things you’ve exposed yourself to. Another way is to become accountable to a small group for these kinds of things. And if you really want to get ruthless with it, go on a media fast.

Finally, meditate on God’s truth. It’s as simple as that. Psalm 1 says blessed is the one who meditates day and night on God’s truth…he’ll be planted in the nourishment of God’s soil.”

Do you want to be a radical Christ-follower, one who lives and breaths grace and puts sin to death in your life? Develop an eternal perspective. Take these three things and just commit to doing them daily.

Romans 12:1 says the same thing another way: “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Now here’s the encouraging thing about this. You may not feel like you are becoming a disciple, you may not feel like you’re being transformed. It doesn’t matter. Just begin to do it, and God will see to it that you are transformed. You just have to keep offering your body as a sacrifice, and over time and with consistency you’ll get there.

Prayer… Jesus, my sins were put to death when you died on the cross for them. Now with your help, I will bury them so they have no more control over my life. Rather that being submitted to their pull and power, I will be controlled by your Spirit. I will set my mind on the things you have in store for me one day in heaven.

One More Thing… “You’ll be bored with heaven if you’re not ecstatic about it now.”

Read Colossians 1:24-29

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with
all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which
so powerfully works in me.”
(Colossians 1:28-29)

Thoughts… “Every mule thinks his pack is heaviest”, an astute person once equipped.

Translation: If you were to ask one hundred different people about their life’s work, you would get ninety-nine would say their work environment was more difficult than most people’s; that their jobs were far more demanding than the average Joe; that their work was certainly more physically, emotionally and mentally taxing than others; and that their boss certainly had to be the toughest boss on the face of the planet.

I want to make a case in this blog that the job of a pastor has to be the most difficult and demanding job there is. Here’s why:

• Not only does the pastor have to be a person of outstanding moral integrity and godliness…
• Not only does the pastor have to have an attractive, talented godly spouse and obedient, respectful children…
• Not only does the pastor have to be an effective marriage and family counselor…
• Not only does the pastor have to be ready to answer wisely and profoundly on just about any subject known to man…
• Not only does the pastor have to be a perceptive financial manager…
• Not only does he have to be frugal with his own finances, yet dress impeccably, drive the latest model executive car but not be ostentatious, live in a respectable home large enough for entertaining the congregation but small enough not to be ostentatious…
• Not only does the pastor have to get up every Sunday and offer words from the very throne of God in an articulate, entertaining, deep, inoffensive and life-changing way…

Not only does the pastor have to pass muster in all those categories, just to name a few, dear ol’ Reverend also has the assignment of presenting each person in the congregation perfect before Christ! Now tell me if that is not the most difficult job in the whole world!

That’s what Paul is saying in Colossians 1:28, “So that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” Do you have an bullet-point like that on your job description?

In all seriousness, the role of a shepherd is extremely demanding and difficult for this very reason: It is the pastor’s assignment to turn irreligious people into fully devoted Christ followers. Since both the pastor and his people have fallen natures; because the shepherd’s sheep resist the growth process and are not always cooperative; because people are just plain old stubborn, selfish and sinful, getting people to that point of perfection before Christ is the greatest challenge in the world.

In this section of Colossians, Paul gives us a glimpse into his own heart as a pastor. As we look at Paul’s passion for his people, we gain a deeper appreciation for the role our own pastor plays in our lives.

In this brief but impassioned paragraph, Paul show seven dimensions of his ministry that can help us understand and appreciate the nature of pastoral ministry:

First of all, Paul talks about the source of the ministry. Back in verse 23, Paul is speaking of the gospel, of which, he says, “I Paul have become a servant.” Then in verse 25 he says I have become a servant [referring to the church] by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in all its fullness.”

In other words, Paul is letting this church know that it wasn’t his choice to become a minister of the gospel, it was God’s call on his life. And since God sovereignly called Paul, and filled him with the spiritual gifts to pastor, Paul had to be obedient to that call.

The word Paul uses to describe his call, or his commission, comes from the Greek word, oikonomia. It means to manage a household as a steward of someone else’s possessions. In Paul’s day, a steward was given complete oversight of the business and financial affairs of a household, giving the owner the freedom to travel and pursue other interests. The steward held a position of great trust and responsibility.

And so does a pastor. He is not building his own kingdom or reputation. He is managing God’s household of faith in a local church. Notice that Paul characterized his leadership as that of a servant…and that should be the attitude of the pastor as well. When it isn’t, you have a pastor who has lost sight of God’s call on his life.

Second, Paul talks about the spirit of the ministry. Verse 24 says, “Now I rejoice…” As difficult and demanding as the ministry may be, it was never intended to be an unbearable burden.

No matter what is going on in the church, whether difficulties from without or challenges from within, those circumstances should never sap the inner joy of the Lord that is to be the strength of a pastoral ministry. Most likely, a pastor who has lost the joy of serving Christ is not in a bad circumstance, but has a bad connection. The joy of ministering for Christ is lost when communion with Christ breaks down.

Paul got discouraged by things that happened in the churches, but he never lost his joy because he maintained an intimate connection with Christ.

Third, Paul talks about the suffering of the ministry. Look at verse 24 again: “I rejoice in what was suffered for you and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body the church.” To emphasize that joy is independent of circumstances, Paul says that he rejoices in his sufferings for their sake.

He’s referring to his imprisonment at the time of this writing. It was characteristic of the early Christians to rejoice in suffering, since they considered it a privilege to suffer for the name of Christ. The Roman apologist Aristedes wrote Christians would even rejoice and give thanks to God if any righteous person among them passed from this world. When a child was born to Christian parents, they would praise God. If the child died in infancy, the parents thanked God even more because the child would be one who had passed through the world without encountering sin. You just couldn’t beat these early Christians down because they found reason to rejoice in everything, even their sufferings.

And Pastor Paul led the way. A effective pastor will be ready to lead the way in suffering if necessary, and teach his congregation how to suffer joyfully as well.

Fourth, Paul talks about the scope of his ministry. Verse 25 says, “I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in all it’s fullness…”

Notice the last phrase: in all its fullness. Paul didn’t pull any punches in his preaching. He didn’t say things just to get big crowds or just to please people. He spoke the truth of God to them, whether that was through encouraging words of instruction of through stinging words of admonishment and correction.

Verse 28 continues, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom…” Proclaim means literally to publicly declare a completed truth; Admonishing means to give encouraging counsel in view of sin and coming punishment; Teaching means imparting positive truth; Wisdom means practical discernment.

That’s the pastor’s responsibility. He’s got to give it to you straight and not shy away from doing so, even when there is the risk of offending some and driving others way. But when the parishioners understand the pastor’s passion, they realize that he does it as a steward of God’s household and for the benefit of the church.

Fifth, Paul talks about the subject of the ministry. V. 26 calls it “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.” What is the mystery? Verse 27: To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

What that means is that the plan of salvation was kept from humanity as well as from spirit beings until Christ’s work on earth was done and the Holy Spirit brought forth the church in Acts 2.

Prior to that, there were glimpses that the Messiah would come to redeem Israel. But no one had a clue that God would actually dwell in his new Temple, the redeemed church, made up now mostly of non-Jews. The birth of the church and their stewardship of the Gospel message was absolutely astounding, earth-shattering news, and it was and is fought tooth and toe-nail by God’s enemies.

The Good News that Christ came to clean us up on the inside and live within us as his dwelling place on earth is the message of the ministry. And when ministers get side-tracked from that, there is the risk losing their primary purpose for being called by God to the ministry in the first place. They are setting aside the very mystery of the glorious richness of Christ in us, the hope of glory. Pastors just can’t let that happen.

Sixth, Paul talks about the sum of the ministry. Look at the last part of verse 28: “So that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” The goal of the ministry is the maturity of the saints. That’s what the word perfect means. It’s being complete, mature, grown up, like Christ in every way.

That’s why there will always be the need for pastors. Although we strive for that lofty goal, no one on earth has arrived there yet. One day, every true believer will attain it—but not in this life. That’s why we keep having church, keep having Bible studies, keep on moving to the next dimension in our spiritual formation, keep having pastors train and equip us.

And seventh, Paul talks about the strength of the ministry. It would be an absolutely impossible and discouraging task were it not for verse 29: “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.”

The word labor means to work to the point of exhaustion. Striving refers to competing in an athletic event. We get our English word agony from it. The verse speaks of the pastor putting forth all his energies, efforts and focus—his maximum exertion—on maturing the saints. When he does, his toil won’t be in vain; God will supply the pastor with Divine power to get the job done.

That is a quick look at the work of a pastor—his purpose and his passion. So what does that have to do with you?

For one thing, anything Paul says about the pastor’s call is true of God’s call on your life. You may not be called to vocational, full-time ministry, but as a member of Christ’s body you have a call and an anointing on your life. You are spiritually gifted and there is a place of service just right for you in the church.

You too have been called to present this mystery—Christ in you the hope of glory—to the world in which you live. You should be no less passionate about God’s call on you life than your pastor. You too, are a steward of God’s grace.

So let me call you to an increased level of passion for the work of God and for his people.

For another thing, you need to keep in mind that the pastor’s role isn’t to make you more comfortable, but but to make you more Christ-like. That’s why words like admonish and agonize, struggle and suffer and servanthood and maximum effort are used when talking about the pastor’s efforts.

So let me encourage you to encourage your pastor to tell it to you like it is. Give your shepherd permission to give it to you straight, without pulling any punches. And when he or she does, take it like a maturing saint, not a sniveling martyr. Remember, it is not easy for the pastor to fulfill that tough side of the ministry.

So let your pastor know that you’re behind him and expect him to push you when he needs to.

Then the pastor’s passion ought to be of interest to you because their work concerns your life. The pastor is not just doing it for the fun of it. No, the pastor’s passion is seeing Christ fully formed in you, seeing you fully mature in Christ. So what you shepherd is doing in ministry touches the very core of your spiritual life.

Finally, because of the important role the pastor is so vital, make their job as easy for them as you can by joyfully entering into a partnership with them. Make it a joint venture, where you fully cooperate with God and pastor in the process of your spiritual formation. Don’t worry that they’ll have too much time on his hands if you make it too easy for them. Believe me, there will be plenty of other saints who seem to have a ministry of making the pastor’s life tough.

The story is told of two guys riding their bicycle built for two up a steep hill. And when they finally made it to the top, the guy in front said, “Whew! That was the toughest climb…the steepest hill I’ve ever rode up. Didn’t know if we would ever make it up.”

And the second guy said, “Yeah…and if it weren’t for me keeping my breaks on the whole way, we would have easily slid back down.”

Don’t put on the brakes on while your pastor is peddling you to be presented perfect before Christ.

Prayer… Father, thank you for every spiritual leader who has contributed to my spiritual formation. Bless them abundantly. Let them know that their efforts have not been wasted. Allow them to experience the joy of knowing this sheep is well own his way to being presented perfect before Christ.

One More Thing… “The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.” —John Stott

Read Colossians 1:21-2:7

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your
minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled
you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you
holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”
(Colossians 1:21-22)

Thoughts… My arch-enemy in the second grade was a kid named Delmer. He was the biggest, meanest, scariest guy in our class…a real bully. And I had the brains to get into a fight with him one day.

Actually, it wasn’t much of a fight. He claimed I stole his big red rubber ball at recess; I had just “innocently” picked it up when it came rolling my way. He accused me of of being a ball theif and I defended my second-grade honor. Punches were exchanged: he hit me in the stomach and I hit him in the stomach, the bell rang, recess was over, and so was the fight—if you want to call it one. Or so I thought…

After school that day Delmer and two of his no-good lackeys confronted me on my way home. Words were exchanged, as were a few more ineffective punches to the mid-section, and we went our separate ways. Then I made the critical error of picking up a rock and heaving it, accompanied by some choice words, at Delmer and his buddies as they were walking away. That caused a barrage of rocks to come back my way.

One of those rocks, about the size of a baseball, caught me right on the chin, which caused a great deal of pain and discomfort, along with some blood. I ran home, told my mom the whole story (from my point of view of course), who then took me right back to school and into the headmaster’s office where I again gave my account of the story.

The next day at school, Delmer and his buddies were summarily marched into the office where the board of education was swiftly and forcefully applied to the seat of knowledge. To add insult to Delmer’s injury, my older brother caught up with him not long after and threw him into an irrigation ditch, finishing what I and the principle didn’t. Delmer never bothered me again.

That encounter way back in the second grade left me with a scar that is still visible to me today. I see it every time I look into the mirror to shave. It is a constant reminder of the fact that I offended someone, that I didn’t handle conflict very well. And it led to severe pain in my life. It is a constant reminder of an unpleasant experience.

Each of us has scars—unpleasant reminders of painful times in our lives. But the biggest, ugliest scar in our lives, whether visible or not, is the scar that sin has left. Sin always leaves scars. Sometimes they’re physical, sometimes they’re emotional, but always they’re spiritual—ugly scars that remind us of our past failures and the consequences that resulted.

I want to suggest a new way of looking at your scars, whether they’re visible or invisible: Those sin-scars can become positive reminder of the wonderful work of reconciliation that has taken place in our lives. I would even go so far as to challenge you, if you have a physical scar, a visible reminder of past pain, to now use that as a constant reminder, not of the failure of your sin, but of the victory in Christ that has come out of your past failure. Every time you look at that scar or you feel remorse or you cry over an injury, remember that God has brought victory out of sin.

In yesterday’s blog, I suggested that we need to live with a big God mentality. One of the areas that is hardest for us to adopt this big God mentality is in the area of personal sin. When we live under fear and guilt and condemnatione, we are acting like our sin is the one area where God just isn’t big enough.

Paul is reminding us that because of a great Scriptural truth called reconciliation we don’t have to live under that awful load. When you grasp the doctrine of reconciliation, you can begin to live with a big God mentality in the area of personal sin. Colossians 1:20-23 says,

“…And God, through Jesus, reconciled all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight and without blemish and free from accusation–if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

The key idea here is reconciliation. This is one of five key Divine actions that took place at the cross in order to secure your salvation. It would be good for you to understand these five:

Justification: The sinner stands before God guilty and condemned, but is declared righteous. Romans 8:33 says “Who can bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.” Christ has made us just as if we had never sinned as we stand before God.

Redemption: The sinner stands before God as a slave, but is granted freedom. Romans 6:18 & 22 says “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness… But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Your freedom was paid for in Christ’s blood.

Forgiveness: The sinner stands before God as a debtor, but the debt is paid and forgotten. Ephesians 1:7 says “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…” Your sin-debt has been paid in full. It was charged to Christ’s account.

Adoption: The sinner stands before God as a stranger, but is made a son. Ephesians 1:5 says “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and his will…” You were once an outcast but now you are a treasured child.

Reconciliation: The sinner stands before God as an enemy, but becomes a friend. II Corinthians 5:17-20 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” Your enemy has now become your best friend.

In my opening story, one of Delmer’s buddies was a guy named Jay. Jay received the principle’s paddle along with Delmer for hitting me with the rock. Actually, Jay was the guy who threw the rock that did the damage. But somehow, for some reason, Jay and I were reconciled through that encounter. And Jay and I were not just reconciled, we became closest friends through our growing up years. We were inseparable all the way through childhood.

We who were once enemies now stood as friends. That’s a picture of reconciliation. That’s what happened when Jesus died for you. He has the scars to prove it. And so do you. His scars were for your sins. Your sin-scars can become a reminder of what he did for you.

Next time you look at that scar (or feel it in your mind), rather than remembering the pain and disappointment it brought, think of the reconciliation that has occurred between God and you.

Prayer… Lord Jesus, thank you for bearing my sin in your body on the tree. I sometimes fall back into feelings of guilt for things I have done, but today, I choose to look at those things as a reminder that I have been reconciled to God and have been brought near to him. All that is due to you, and I gratefully praise you for that.

One More Thing… “Most Christians are being crucified on a cross between two thieves: Yesterday’s regret and tomorrow’s worries.” —Warren Wiersbe

Don’t re-die for that which Christ already died!