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Remember Who(se) You Are (Part Five) “Changed by Christ” Colossians 1:18-23 |
February 5, 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum |
While I have freely embraced many of the modern technological advances intended to make our lives easier, I confess that continue to cling to a handful of ancient practices that give me pleasure.
--I still find greater pleasure in reading an actual newspaper than in reading the news online.
--I still find more enjoyment in reading a book than in reading the same story downloaded to my PDA.
--And, while I use online banking to pay some recurring bills, I still pay most of my bills the old fashioned way and actually enjoy the process of balancing my checkbook each month when the bank statement arrives.
I’m not sure what it is about that process that I find so satisfying, but I always look forward to sitting down with that bank statement and working item by item through my check registry and making all the necessary calculations to come up with a balance and then comparing it to the balance on the bank statement.
Most of the time, they line up perfectly the first time through.
But sometimes, I discover that the bank thinks I have less money than I thought I did. That’s always a bit depressing. So I’ll go to work and eventually discover that I forgot to record a check or two.
Occasionally, I discover that the bank thinks I have more money than I thought I did. So I’ll go to work and eventually discover that I forgot to record a deposit! Whoo-hoo! I love it when that happens.
But, whether it happens the first time through…the second time…or even the third, eventually I get to that point at which the bank and I are no longer at odds with one another. I’ve balanced the book. And at that point I do something that has been my practice since I first opened a checking account all those years ago. I draw two lines beneath the last transaction recorded in my checkbook and in the margin next to those lines I write in capital letters this little phrase, “OK TO HERE.” And I find great satisfaction in that little ritual. “OK TO HERE.”
I may get off track in the future. There may come a point later on at which the bank and I are at odds, but right now…at this moment…everything between us is absolutely OK.
Now, in the banking world, the technical term that describes that point of balance is called, “reconciled.” It means that there are no disagreements between the bank’s records and mine. We have resolved our differences. We are “reconciled.” But while I know that’s the proper technical term and there’s plenty of room in my checkbook to write, “reconciled,” for some reason I continue to find great comfort each month in the knowledge that my bank and I are “OK TO HERE.”
Well, I tell you that story because it’s this idea of being “reconciled” that is at the heart of the scripture passage that we are considering, this morning, on this fifth week of our journey through the book of Colossians. But we’re going to be focusing on something far more important than being reconciled with our bank. Our focus, today, is on being reconciled to God. And, folks, whatever degree of satisfaction that there may be in writing, “OK TO HERE,” in your checkbook is nothing compared to the satisfaction of knowing that God has written “OK TO HERE” across your life and He’s done so in letters so large that they stretch all the way to heaven. Folks, it just doesn’t get any better than that.
Let’s take a few moments to read through the text and then we’ll work our way back through it and make some important stops along the way. As we read, now, keep an eye out for that word, “reconcile.” Colossians 1:18-23 says,
(18) And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. (19) For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, (20) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
(21) Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. (22) 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— (23) if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
As we work our way back through the text, now, we’re going to organize our thoughts around three key questions. And our first key question is this—What exactly happens to us when we are reconciled to God?
And, to answer that question, the first thing we need to do is to simply define the word, “reconcile.” The Greek word translated here as, “reconcile,” conveys the general idea of change. And when the Apostle Paul uses this word “reconcile”, and he does so throughout his epistles, he uses it specifically to speak to the radical relational change that moves an individual out of estrangement from God and into friendship with God.
And in verse 21 Paul uses a couple of different words to give us a glimpse of just how radical this change really is.
The first of those words is “alienated.” “Once your were alienated from God…” Obviously, the root word there is “alien” and it primarily conveys the idea of being a foreigner. Living among people with whom you have nothing in common.
So the picture, here, is that prior to being reconciled with God, we really had nothing in common with God. We had different values, different priorities, different passions and different goals. We had nothing in common with God…or His people…and with each passing day we grew further and further apart. We were alienated from God.
--Does that sound like anyone you know?
--Was there ever a time in your life, when it sounded like you?
The second word to note in verse 21 is the word, “enemies.” Once you were “enemies” of God “in your minds because of your evil behavior.” That phrase, “in your minds” is key. It speaks to a persons’ disposition. It basically means that people who live their lives estranged from God are naturally inclined to be hostile toward God and their hostility shows itself in “evil behavior,” that is in behavior that God condemns, prohibits and disapproves.
And the tragedy in this picture is compounded when we realize that the reason that God forbids certain behaviors is not because He’s a killjoy, but because He knows that those behaviors are harmful to us. So, we’ve now moved from merely having nothing in common with God to being actively hostile toward God, even to the point of engaging in activities that are harmful to our own best interests.
--Does that sound like anyone you know?
--Was there ever a time in your life, when it sounded like you?
So, let’s go back to our first key question—What exactly happens to us when we are reconciled to God?
Answer? Two radical changes. First, we go through a radical change in position that moves us from being God’s enemy, to being God’s friend.
Secondly, we go through a radical change in mindset that moves us from being inclined to be hostile toward God, to being inclined to be obedient to God.
And that brings us to our second key question, which is, How exactly do these changes happen? And the short answer is—through Christ and only through Christ. Folks, let’s be real clear about this—without Christ, there would be no reconciliation with God. Our estrangement from God would be permanent. But through Christ an invitation has been sent to everyone; an invitation to be reconciled to God. And our text explains what Christ has done to make that possible.
In VERSES 19-23 we read:
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things…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…
This is the gospel…
Focus for a moment on that phrase, “alienated from God.” How did that happen? How did each and every one of us come to be alienated from God? The answer is sin. Willfully disobeying God. And we’ve all done it. No exceptions. And God takes sin very seriously; so seriously that the penalty for sinning against God is death. And that means that sin not only alienates us from God in this life, but sin also alienates us from God forever. If it’s not dealt with. But the Good News of the gospel is that through Christ our sin has been fully and permanently dealt with.
When Christ shed his blood and died on the cross, God accepted His death as payment in full for our sin; and not just some of our sin, but all of our sin. Consequently…
--Because of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we don’t have to be alienated from God anymore.
--Because of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we can be reconciled with God.
And all of the work necessary to bring about this radical change that takes us from being enemies of God to being at peace with God has been done for us by Christ. Our only contribution is to accept it as true.
“Father, this day, I place my trust and my confidence in Christ for the forgiveness of my sins and the healing of my relationship with you.”
That’s it. That’s our contribution to this life-transforming process of reconciliation. And the blessings that come to those who are reconciled to God by placing their trust in Christ are absolutely priceless.
Which brings us to our third and final key question—What are the blessings that come to those who are reconciled with God? I want to identify two from our text.
And the first is this—Eternal life with God. Verse 18 says that Christ, “…is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead…” It’s talking about Jesus’ resurrection. It reminds us that after Christ died on the cross, God raised Him back to life 3 days later and He is still alive and will remain so throughout eternity.
But it’s not just talking about Jesus’ resurrection and eternal life. It’s also talking about the resurrection and eternal life of everyone who places their faith in Christ, the “firstborn from among the dead.” Not the “only born from among the dead.” Not the “last born from among the dead.” But “the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead.” And that means that this reconciliation that Christ has accomplished for us, doesn’t end when we die because after we die, like Christ, we, too, will be resurrected to spend eternity with God in heaven. Our friendship with God will last forever. And, folks, on the grand scheme of things, I’d have to say that that’s not a bad blessing.
But it’s not the only blessing that comes to those who are reconciled with God. In fact, it may not even be the best of our blessings, because those who are reconciled with God are also blessed to live each and every day of their lives right here and right now with the certainty of God’s acceptance.
Verse 22 says that through Christ, God reconciled us, “…to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation…”
And what that means, folks, is that…
--even though each us is far from perfect in our behavior and our attitudes;
--and even though each of us has a lifetime of growing and maturing ahead of us to become the people that God ultimately wants us to be;
--even though all of that is true…Christ’s reconciling work in us was so thorough and so complete that when God looks at us, He already sees the finished product and He’s already rendered His verdict. We are reconciled. God has accepted us as His own. And there is nothing that anyone can say to make Him change His mind. And because He knows us inside and out and top to bottom, there is also nothing that anyone can tell God about us that He doesn’t already know. And, still, we are reconciled.
Friends, if you have been reconciled to God through Christ, don’t ever again doubt God’s acceptance of you because, across your life today and stretching all the way to heaven He has already written in the blood of Christ, “OK TO HERE.”
And if there is anyone here who has not yet been reconciled to God, the Good News of the Gospel is that you can settle that matter right now by trusting Christ to forgive your sins and heal your broken relationship with God. I pray that you will.
© Copyright 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum