← ArchiveColossiansSunday, November 13, 2016DateNovember 13, 2016Speaker—TextColossians 2Passages in this sermonColossians 20:51John 39:07TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, but by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together, and he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent, for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.0:25If you have your Bibles with you this morning, and I hope that you do, please turn to Colossians 2, verse 13.0:51Colossians 2, verse 13. Some of you are turning in your Bible, some of you are scrolling to your Bible, some of you are texting, but however you get there, please turn to Colossians 2, verse 13. We have been looking at God's Word with this series, this thought, this theme in mind, it is all about Jesus Christ.1:14Because every time that we read Colossians, God's Word is pushing us deeper into it is all about Jesus, it is all about Jesus. And as I was early, or up early this morning praying over this very thought, it occurred to me, what would my day look like if truly my full devotion was towards Jesus Christ today? What would my life look like if every ounce of my being was devoted to Jesus Christ?1:44I would imagine your life would look different than it will look today. And I would imagine mine would also. With that, we're going to look at three pictures of salvation this morning. Paul gives us three. One is death. He says, you and I are dead in our trespasses. So we will look at death before Christ. And then he says this, that you have an IOU that you have created.2:13And by the way, you have an IOU that you've created that you can't pay, and you actually had no intention of paying. That's our second picture. And the third is this, that Jesus Christ, because he died on the cross, has given us victory. He has disarmed, he has paraded the powers of the world through the town and said they have no power anymore. Glory be to God. He has disarmed the powers of this world and the powers of our sin.2:42So let's look at that together. I'm reminded of this song, this verse, my sin of the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole. It is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh, my soul. You say, well, you got that from the hymn book. No, they stole it.3:12They plagiarized. But thank God that is right in his word. Let's read verse 13, Colossians 2. Lord, our sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross. Verse 13. You being dead in your trespasses. Now, listen to the language that God's word is using. You being dead in your trespasses. So your sin is not my sin. My sin is not your sin.3:42The reason that you are dead is why. Because of your sin, the reason I am dead is because of my sin. And we live in a world that says you don't have to take responsibility for anything. And God says that's not the way it works. It is my sin. You are dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. But he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.4:06Having wiped out the handwriting of the requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Let's pray. Father, truly, our sin has been nailed to the cross.4:35Lord, as your word has already shown us last week, as we were together, that if we have received the Lord Jesus Christ, we are now commanded to so walk in him. And Lord, the only way that we can receive you is that you have already paid the penalty for the sin that we owe. You nailed it to the cross, making it yours. And Lord, you ripped it up, never to hold against us the condemnation that we have accrued.5:04So Lord, this morning, as we look at salvation in these three pictures that you give us, Father, may we take ownership of our sin. May we take ownership of this death. And Lord, may we live in freedom that is found only in Jesus Christ. And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen and amen. Verse 13, the first thought we see from Scripture is this, the first picture, that I am dead in my sins.5:32And you might say, well, why didn't you say you? Because I want you to say it with me. I am dead in my sins. So one day, when the Lord holds you accountable, you can't say, I didn't know. You can't say it, well, the pastor didn't share that with me. You can't say God's word didn't show that to me. You've already declared with your mouth, whether you believe it in your mind or not, that I am dead in my sins.6:00Don't worry, it gets better. I am dead in my sins. God's word continually sets the stage for our present condition, that we are dead men walking. This is a present state. This is not a future state. And sometimes if we're not careful, young people, I know some of you are looking at me saying, you're one, okay, us.6:24We think death is a long, long way away. And I would challenge you, spend a day with me in the hospitals. Go to the funeral homes of me. I've been at one every week for the last two months, it seems. Death is a present reality. And you say, well, I don't believe you. Well, God's word addresses something even deeper. That this is not just physical death, but death is a present reality in us spiritually because of the sin of Adam that is now passed down to us.6:53So, we are currently dead without Christ. We see in Scripture that we begin dead, not alive. We begin dead, not alive. Now, you say, well, pastor, why would you say that? Because sometimes our natural thinking gets in our spiritual thinking. I had a pastor one time call it the stinking thinking.7:21Sometimes your stinking thinking gets into where we are to be spiritually. This is how it happens. I've been at both the births of our kids. I didn't do much. I was just there. Ladies, don't get mad at me. My wife's in the nursery. So, if you deliver that, oh, man.7:46You know what? YOLO, right? Okay. I was going to say anyway, whether you're in the nursery or not, that I didn't do much in the hospital room. She would tell you that actually I was stir-crazy in about 30 minutes. I was going to get drinks, and I was walking to the hospital, I was always talking and making friends. That's what we pay the doctors for. They deliver the baby. They let me know when it's done. I mean, I didn't want to cut the cord. I didn't want to help. Like, that's not my job. But what happens when you're born, if you don't realize this, you haven't thought this through,8:18there's this traumatic delivery. And think about this from the perspective of a child, how traumatic that must be. There's screaming. There's yelling. There's gnashing of teeth. There's a push, sometimes hours of pushing. There's a slap. And then, welcome to the world. And that's really how it happens. There's a lot more involved. I know that's not the medical, technical sense. But how foolish would it be for my children to say, look at what I did to be born?8:48But some of us think just because we're alive now that we've always been born. And we think that's the way it happens spiritually. But that's not the way it is spiritually. Actually, God's Word says it's the opposite. That I'm born and I'm alive now, but we must be born again in John chapter 3. So you and I, without Christ, are not alive, we're not born.9:14We are dead and we must be born again. Don't let your natural thinking determine how you think spiritually. Because you didn't have anything to do with your birth. You didn't deliver yourself. You didn't make any of that process happen. And the same is true spiritually. You and I do nothing to bring about our spiritual birth. I did nothing to make grace available to me.9:42I did nothing to receive God's mercy. Actually, the reason Jesus died, that's what was made. I made sin. He died for me. We begin dead, not alive. And when we live as if we are partly to credit for our righteousness, we live ungodly lives. And we wonder sometimes why the world doesn't ask about the hope that is within us.10:11Because if we're not careful, we parade around in our workplaces like a peacock, thinking that we have done something for righteousness sake. We have done nothing. Verse 13, I am dead in my sins and you being dead in your sins. If you and I want to claim anything this morning, claim your sin. Claim your death. Because without understanding my death, I cannot understand my life in Christ.10:40Lord, forgive us because we are dead in our sins. We see this about death naturally, that natural death is a permanent condition. And thus, we see Christ intervene and give life. We see Elijah and Elisha by the power of his spirit resurrecting men and women. But dead men don't come back in our sins.11:09And one of the greatest heartaches at a funeral, and I've been to many, that I've been at funerals where they were young and where they were old. I've been at funerals where a spouse of 60 plus years have lost their dear wife or dear husband. Knowing that they were a believer and the heartache is this, that their relationship will no longer be the same, that their relationship is severed. Because if death is a permanent condition, then spiritual death is an eternal condition.11:36And if this is so true, naturally, that death severs our relationships, and how much more so true is it spiritually? That my spiritual death severs my relationship with God. Listen, this is where the world lies to us. The world says, as long as you pray to something, God will hear. Jesus teaches us how to pray, my Father who is in heaven.12:04If God is your Father, if He is not your Father, you cannot pray to a Father you do not know. But I want to tell you this morning, He is a fatherless to the Father. He is a father to the fatherless. He says, if you do not know me, I have died for you. I am dead in my transgressions. But the Bible says in verse 13, in the uncircumcision of your flesh, but He has made you alive.12:29He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven all trespasses. I am dead in my trespasses, and I thank Scripture for buts. But He has made us alive. The greater my death, the greater the beauty of my salvation and my spiritual life.12:54And there are people here that don't feel like they have been saved from much, because you don't really understand how dead you really were. Think about that. Jesus says, for the person who has been forgiven much, they will love much. Sometimes the reason that our worship is powerless, because we don't think we were really dead. We were just on life support.13:24And Jesus somehow came and resuscitated us. No, God's Word says, I am dead in my trespasses. The reason that He rose from the dead, because we dead people need to see that resurrection is possible. The reason He rose from the dead is to tell us dead people, hey, Bethel, you dead people from St. Clair County? In me, life is eternal, and it is possible. Life is possible.13:53So I say this morning, rejoice, living people in Christ, rejoice. Do not look like death warmed over. Do not look like death warmed over. If I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, why then should I look again like death? Why? If Jesus has rescued me from death, why sometimes do I go to work looking like death? And the world says, what's wrong with you? Sometimes we have pagan friends encouraging the Christians that have joy, or supposedly.14:20Why? Because we don't have joy. Because I haven't truly acknowledged my death. Until I have acknowledged my death, I can acknowledge that He gives me life. He is the life giver. So say this with me. I was dead. But He made me alive. If you don't believe that yet, I pray that when we close today, that you will surrender your life. If you will receive Him as Lord and Savior, and you can say that I was dead, but He made me alive.14:50The second picture we get of our salvation is this. Not only am I dead in my trespasses, but verse 14, He has wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us. So you see what Paul's doing. He goes, you are dead in your sin, and now it's our debts. It's like the national debt that keeps going up. It's ours. We belong in this together, which was contrary to us.15:20He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. So we ask this about death. How does this death-life transaction take place? Is it automatic? Is it for everyone? Is it only for the church people? No, it's not for the church people. Actually, it's only the alive people that can become the church. We are the bride of Christ because we are made alive from our dead trespasses. So the second thing I want to offer you this morning is, I am dead in my trespasses, but I owe a debt I cannot pay.15:50I owe a debt I cannot pay. So say that with me. I owe a debt I cannot pay. Now, some of you are thinking, you know, the pastor is about to give me some money, and the Lord is about to bless me, and I'm going to pay my house off early. He might. But this is not the debt that God is putting on us today. He says this about our debt. He has wiped out the handwriting of the requirements against us.16:19The word in Greek here is a compound word. The first word is hand. The second word is right. So the question then is, if Jesus has wiped out the IOU, the handwriting, whose hand wrote the IOU? Now, again, we're talking about personal accountability, something that we struggle with, because we all like to point fingers and say, it's your fault. But whose handwriting is the eternal note, the eternal IOU?16:50My IOU is in my hand spiritually. And here's the struggle. I wrote an IOU that I could never pay. And if we're honest, the IOU that I wrote, I never intended to pay. Right? Let's talk honestly here. Because sometimes we think, well, you know what? I'm just going to go to church, and God will take that debt away. We actually grew up as a country, as people who were in debt.17:19As many as two-thirds of the Europeans coming to the colonies sold themselves to come to America as indentured servants. Two-thirds. So they sold themselves to landowners, and they said, I will work for you to pay off my debt if you'll just bring me to the land of the free, the home of the brave. Why is it free? Because I want to worship in freedom. Because you can't force anyone to worship Jesus Christ. Let us worship in freedom, and we will take on that debt.17:49And many of them went to jail in debtor's prison because they could not pay, or they got to the point where they could not work. And there they would stay in jail until what? Until a relative paid the debt. They stayed in jail until the relative paid the debt. This is what Jesus Christ did for us. You and I are in debtor's prison. We are in a spiritual prison that we have every day we accumulate.18:17You've seen that ticker online where our national debt keeps going up and up and up? Think how much more exponential than our spiritual debt is. That if God put a counter at your home that said, Pastor, this is your IOU. Lord, I didn't want to think about that. How devastating that must be. And God says, you are in a prison until you can pay that debt. And here's what Jesus did. Listen to this.18:47Verse 14, he wiped out the handwriting of the requirements that was against us. It's as if Jesus Christ took, get the picture here. He took our IOU and said, don't worry about it. I'm going to wipe it clean. And the deeper we understand our sin, the more thankful that makes us become. The more deeper I understand my sin, the more thankful that makes me become. And he not only wipes out the handwriting of my sin, what does he do?19:14The handwriting is contrary against us, and he has taken it out of the way. It's as if he wiped it clean, he tore it up, and then what did he do for us? He nailed it to the cross. Why would Jesus then nail this to the cross? That's his way of saying, I accept your debt as mine. So that Jesus not only says, this is a debt I'm going to pay.19:41He said, Father, look upon their debt as mine. Father, not only am I going to wash, I'm not only going to wipe pastor's debt clean, Josh's debt clean, but I'm going to tear it up. And that's not enough. I'm going to nail it to the cross. I was dead in my trespasses. I have a debt that I cannot pay. That hymn with the chorus has been working in my soul this week.20:10It goes like this. And then there's a bridge on that song that goes like this. Oh, praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead. Oh, praise the one who paid the debt and raised this life up from the dead.20:39I asked you this morning then, have you been born again? God's word says, without Christ, you are dead in your trespasses. And I'm not saying that as preaching to you. I'm saying that as someone that said, I was dead in my trespasses. And yet he made me alive. Have you been born again? He said, well, how does that work?21:10No one can be born again. That's exactly what Nicodemus said in John 3. And then Jesus gives him this verse. He said, oh, Nicodemus, he said, for God so loved the world that he gave, not just any of his sons, he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him, and I'm a whoever, will not perish. What does perish mean? Will not die. Is that future? No, they will not be dying currently, but have everlasting life.21:39Paul in Colossians 2 says it this way. Have you received Jesus Christ? Because he died for you. He died because I was dead in my trespasses. He died because I have a debt I cannot pay. If you are on the other side, if you are living in life in Jesus Christ, then are you trying to pay off your debt when it's been paid? Sometimes church people get that way, don't we?22:10We say, you know what, Lord, I'm just going to work for you. I'm going to work hard. And we do it out of a good heart, but then it morphs into something as if we're trying to pay the debt that we have no business trying to pay. We say this morning that I have a debt I cannot pay, and then tomorrow we're going to say, I'm going to pay that debt that I cannot pay. And Jesus says, hold on now. I paid that for you. He says, Pastor, I wiped that debt away. He said, so we're trying to take it back.22:40He said, not only did I wipe it away, I tore it up. And then we were still trying to take it away from Christ. He said, not only have I torn it up, I nailed it to the cross. Jesus said, if you want to take that debt back, look at the scars, look at the nails. So may we not be people of pretension that say, world, I know Jesus died for me, but I'm going to work for my righteousness. We must be people who constantly say, it is by grace I have been saved.23:07It is not of works. Really, it's because of my works that he had to die. It's my works of iniquity, my trespasses. I was dead in my sin. I owed a debt I could not pay. But, but look at the victory we have in Christ, verse 15. Having disarmed principalities and powers. Now, some of you need to hear that this morning.23:35Jesus has disarmed powers and principalities. And not only has he disarmed those things in our life, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Triumphing over them in it. Now, here's our caution. In Poland, in Krasow right now, you can go and there's a church that sounds a bugle every day for the last 700 years. The church is called St. Mary's Church.24:05And this bugle commemorates a time where a heroic trumpeter sounded the alarm when the Tartars were invading that country. And if you go to the town, they tell me I've not been myself. They have several bugle calls, but the last bugle called is muffled. Because the bugler, when he was sounding the alarm, got shot by an arrow and never finished his call. And so the bugle sounds to remind them, watch out for deadly arrows.24:34Watch out for deadly arrows. You say, well, why do you give us that story? Here is our deadly arrow. If Christ has released you from spiritual prison, never go back. If Christ has disarmed principalities. What is disarmament?25:04He has taken the power away. God's word tells us, do not listen to things that claim title over your life or try to win possession. Do not give them power. Do not give them power because he has already made a public spectacle of them. Do not let anything take title of your life when Christ has that title. So if you are quick to find salvation in the election Sunday night, Tuesday night, feels like it's25:31been going on for years. Sorry. Tuesday night. If you think that election has a title in your life of salvation, you are sadly mistaken. And you have put your hope in a false hope. On Tuesday night, if your world was devastated and you said, Lord, we have lost, I have no hope. Your hope was in the wrong place to begin with.25:59You have given your title to something that has no business. You've given your title to someone that Jesus Christ has paraded through town as having no power. So what do we do then? We pray for our leaders as God's word commands. That we honor them because God has put them in our lives. And you say, well, pastor, I don't agree with that. I don't like our leaders. I didn't ask you if you agreed with them. I said, pray for them. That is what God's word commands us to do.26:28And if they hang us, if they burn us at the stake, if they behead us, it is nothing new. The world has been trying to kill the light of Jesus Christ for thousands of years. And they haven't succeeded yet. And if I die, the world will not succeed. But God's light will continue to pour forth. He has disarmed powers in our life. Never go back to spiritual prison.26:56The world disarmament means that Jesus Christ has stripped the clothes off of someone. Disarmament means that he has stripped the clothes off. And I know somewhere where some of your minds are going. Saying that doesn't seem right. That seems rude. Why would Jesus do that? Think about behind the scenes of Golgotha. When Jesus Christ is suffering for you and I. And they put on a nice robe.27:25Maybe one that you would find at a fancy hotel with the slippers. But this robe was not one of the white ones that you find in the hotel. This robe was a robe of royalty. And they put the robe on him. And they put a crown. Not just a crown of jewels. But a crown of thorns. And they put it on his head. And they said, King, prophesy for us now.27:53And then after they had robed him and put a crown on him, they stripped him of that. As if to say, you call yourself the king of the Jews. But we strip you of your power right now. And little did they know. That when the world stripped Jesus Christ. That God was stripping them of their power at the same time. That's what he does.28:23That when we say, Lord, I have debts. I have a spiritual debt I can't pay. He said, I've taken that away. I've stripped that power away from you. Don't go back to prison. He said, I closed that door. We said, but Lord, I feel dead. I'm dead in my sin. He said, but I have made you alive if you receive my son. And then he says, but why are you letting things claim title in your life?28:49Why do you call yourself a Republican first and not a Christian? Why do you call yourself a Democrat first or a libertarian? And a Christian comes somewhere down the line. Church, why do we go to Facebook and act a fool? And we give power to other things than Jesus Christ. Why do we worship at the foot of football or basketball or hockey for some of you or lacrosse or ultimate Frisbee or finances or jobs or titles that we get?29:20Why, when Christ has stripped the power of these things, do we let them have influence again? In the ancient world, when the king had defeated his enemies, he would parade through town in a several day event.29:45First would come the king. After the king would come the prisoners of war. And the whole city or village would come out to see the victory parade. And after the prisoners would come the deposed king, the defeated king. As if the king that had won is saying, look, I've defeated these people.30:13Don't trust them. Don't follow them. Don't give them power anymore. Because the true king is in town. That is what Jesus Christ has given us. And we get such beautiful pictures of his grace this morning. He said, you church people, you're dead. And so, pastor, I can't believe you said that. You offend me. I'm not so bad. Yes, you are. You are. You're so bad that you're spiritually dead.30:43But our Savior offers us eternal life. We have accumulated a debt in my handwriting that I cannot pay. And he wiped that debt away. He ripped it up and he nailed it to the cross. So I ask you this morning, if you have never received Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior, are you willing to do that today? Because he died for you.31:13He said, I don't believe. He died when you don't believe. He said, well, pastor, you don't understand what I've done. I don't. I know what I've done. I know the darkness of my heart. But have you received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Because I don't want to pretend for a second that this church is going to save you. And I don't want to pretend for a second that this pastor can offer you salvation or grace. I can't. Or whatever you find grace and merit in, it is only found in Jesus Christ.31:39And he died for you because you were dead. And he died so that we dead people might know that we can live again. And I have hope knowing that he is my salvation. Have you received him? You say, pastor, what does it look like? What does it take? One, admit your sin. He said, you are dead in your trespasses. If you are not willing to admit your sin, you can't be saved.32:07Because you can't repent for something you're not accountable for. Take ownership of your sin because it's yours. And then say, Lord, I know I can't pray to you yet, but I will. Father, hear my prayer. Lord, I need salvation that is only found in your son because I am dead and I want to be alive. And if you need to do that today, do not miss a chance to be alive in Jesus Christ. Maybe you're here and you say, well, pastor, I've done that a long time ago.32:38I got saved in a tent revival in the 1910s down by the river. You say, pastor, it's been a long time of my salvation. I would say this, your salvation should never grow old. Every day I'm saved is a day I'm more thankful. Think about that. Every day I live is another day I realize my sin. Every day I realize my sin is another day I realize I've died.33:06Another day that I have debt, I realize my debt. And that's another day I can say, Lord, why am I worrying about this? You paid it. And maybe you're a believer here today and you need to have a victory parade. Because Christ has taken your chains and he has paraded those across town. And he said, look, I've shut that prison. And you've been working to pay off a debt you have no business working for anymore. Maybe you need to come to the altar and just spend some time in private and saying, Lord,33:34I'm tired of keeping my salvation secret. Lord, I'm tired of keeping my victory secret. Because this is what we know about salvation. The parade that Jesus offers us is not in private. Look at verse 15 and 16 again. He has made what type of spectacle of our powers? He has made a public spectacle. Maybe you just need to come to the altar and say, Lord, I just want to thank you.34:02And you're scared of coming to the altar because you think people are going to think about you. They might. The Holy Spirit will deal with them. That's not your job. And I found that the Holy Spirit won't leave me alone when I'm in error. Let him have it. Maybe you need to come to the altar and say, Lord, I'm tired of those chains. And Lord, you have made a public spectacle. So I'm going to give you public thanks today. We're going to have a time of invitation.34:31I ask you, I urge you to respond. Maybe you're here and you've never been baptized. A public display of your faith. In three weeks, we're going to have a celebration service. And I would love to counsel you and help you display your faith. Display his victory in public in your life. Do not miss a chance to say, Lord, you have broken my debt. You have given me life. And Lord, I will never be the same. Let's pray.← Previous in ColossiansSunday, November 6, 2016Next in Colossians →Sunday, November 27, 2016More sermons on Colossians →
