Faith and Righteousness, Genesis 15

A lesson from Genesis 15. The title is taken from verse 6, which I believe is a hinge-point in Scripture, showing the truth of the gospel. 

Holy people, not holy days.

Col 2:16-17 (HCSB) Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is the Messiah.

Far too often debate about how to interpret this passage focuses on the phrase “Sabbath day,” rather than seeking to understand the picture painted by the apostle. Countless times, the meaning of what we read in the new testament can be rightly understood by having knowledge of the old testament. So it is which this lesson in Colossians 2:16-17.

The phrase “festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day” must be looked at, not merely the Sabbath day. Paul says “these things,” referring to what was mentioned in verse 16 – food, drink, festivals, new moons, and Sabbath days. The phrase “festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day” shows up in 7 Old Covenant passages, provided below. Please read through them and do not be put off if the words are not in the same order as in Colossians 2 – the picture is the same.

1Chr 23:30-32 (HCSB) They are also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening. Whenever burnt offerings are offered to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed festivals, they are to do so regularly in the LORD’s presence according to the number prescribed for them. They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place, and for their relatives, the sons of Aaron, in the service of the LORD’s temple.”

2 Chr 2:4 (HCSB) Now I am building a temple for the name of Yahweh my God in order to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the rows of the bread of the Presence continuously, and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening, the Sabbaths and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.

2Chr 8:12-13 (HCSB) At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the LORD’s altar he had made in front of the portico. He followed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths.

2Chr 31:2-3 (HCSB) Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites for the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for praise in the gates of the camp of the LORD, each division corresponding to his service among the priests and Levites. The king contributed from his own possessions for the regular morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings of the Sabbaths, of the New Moons, and of the appointed feasts, as written in the law of the LORD.

Neh 10:32-33 (HCSB) We will impose the following commands on ourselves: To give an eighth of an ounce of silver yearly for the service of the house of our God: the bread displayed before the LORD, the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings, the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

Isa 1:13-14 (HCSB) Stop bringing useless offerings. Your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons and Sabbaths, and the calling of solemn assemblies — I cannot stand iniquity with a festival. I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to Me; I am tired of putting up with them.

Ezek 45:16-17 (HCSB) “All the people of the land must take part in this contribution for the prince in Israel. Then the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths — for all the appointed times of the house of Israel — will be the prince’s responsibility. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

Hos 2:10-11 (HCSB) Now I will expose her shame in the sight of her lovers, and no one will rescue her from My hands. I will put an end to all her celebrations: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths — all her festivals.

Recall Colossians 2, not to let anyone judge us on questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath because these are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

We know that “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). So our focus is on what remains. This pattern of days refers to all of the holy days of the Jews, from yearly feasts to the weekly Sabbath, and comes from repeated descriptions of the Mosaic ritual as shown above. How does it make sense to claim the weekly Sabbath is not part of this summary? Only by blindly following a systematic theology wherein the Jewish weekly Sabbath has been re-skinned as the “Christian Sabbath” is this possible – but that does NOT make it biblical!

Scripture reinforces this idea, that days are not “holy” in the Christian faith, but a matter of personal conviction. Rom 14:5-6a (HCSB) “One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind. Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord.”

If you think Sunday is a holy day, observe it for the honor of the Lord. That does not provide a platform to condescend toward those who consider every day to be the same.  As one who is in this latter category, I see the gathering of saints (usually on Sunday) as a holy thing; not the day. Same with the day of the Lord’s resurrection – what took place that day is holy, the day is not.

The Christian faith is not food or drink, holy places or holy days. It is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, which every child of God should recognize, enjoy, and praise God for His continued goodness towards us. Our predilection with calendars should not color over our focus on the One who saves sinners. 

Righteousness, holiness, sanctification.

Righteousness, Holiness, and Sanctification. Gifts of God to us and works of God within us. Be confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

This sermon can be listened to here

What is Your Standard of Righteousness?

From Webster's 1828 Dictionary: Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles.

Is the Decalogue a standard of righteousness?

1. Do not make other gods.

2. Do not make idols.

3. Do not profane the name of YHWH.

4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.

5. Honor your parents.

6. Do not murder.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Do not steal.

9. Do not lie.

10. Do not covet.

Of the ten commandments, 8 are prohibitions against sin and 2 are commands to do something. The 4th command, as spoken by Moses in Exodus 20:8-11, provides instructions on how to keep it (rest from all work). The 5th command does not, merely giving a reason to obey.

Only God can know if a man worships idols or covets, though man may discern evidence of these sins.

How do these instructions establish righteousness?

Contrast the teachings of Moses found in the Decalogue with those of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 and consider: which truly describes righteousness? Perfect love, described in 1 Cor 13, is an attribute of Christ Jesus, alone among men. And He is our righteousness.

Consider what Jesus revealed as the greatest commandments: Matthew 22:37-39 (HCSB) He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." These two commands reflect a high standard of righteousness, one no mortal man can attain. Might these two words, which are NOT a summation of the Decalogue (see verse 40), be the highest standard given to us?

Unworthy and Trusting, Luke 7:1-10

You can listen to this sermon here.

Jas 4:10 — Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

¹ When He had concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.

Not until He was finished with His sermon (the one we’ve been learning about these past few weeks, describing the kingdom of God and that of the world) did Jesus move on. Everything Jesus did was deliberate; the Lord is not spontaneous or reckless as some have portrayed Him. He came in the fulness of time, as the Father had appointed. And when He was ready, had finished His sermon, He entered Capernaum - the same place where He had healed many people and His fame grew because of it. Luke 4:42 & 43 tell us the crowds were searching for Him. But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.” Having preached throughout Galilee, he came back to Capernaum.

² A centurion’s slave, who was highly valued by him, was sick and about to die. ³ When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and save the life of his slave. ⁴ When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this, ⁵ because he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue.”

The centurion in the Roman army was about what a company commander is in ours. These were men known to be responsible and honorable. This un-named centurion had a household slave who was ill unto death. This was a valuable person and this man who had healed so many in this town a few weeks or months ago was back. He could heal this slave!

This centurion was highly regarded by the local Jewish leaders. When he heard Jesus was in town, he sent the Jewish elders to Him; every translation I looked at uses that word, sent. He issued an order, sent the men and they obeyed. These men were accustomed to giving orders, under the guise of advice, to the Jewish people. This Gentile had built them a synagogue and they went when he sent them. They were familiar with a system of being lords and having the Roman government be lord over them. So they went, and spoke to Jesus on his account.

Note the message they spoke to Jesus about the man who sent them: “He is worthy for You to grant this, ⁵ because he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue.” This is how the world determines a man's worth - what have you done for me lately? Jews had virtually nothing to do with Gentiles. Their law did require the same treatment for Gentiles who joined with Israel as for the Jews themselves. And while our text tells us this Gentile loved the nation and built them a synagogue, we have nothing telling us he joined with them as a covenant member.

When King Cyrus issued the proclamation to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, he was highly favored by the Jews, but not part of their covenant community. When King Artaxerxes issued the orders that facilitated the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem, he was highly favored by the Jews, but not part of their covenant community.

This centurion loved Israel and demonstrated it. In our day, his name would be on building on the campus of a large "church" or on the pew of smaller one, because far too many Christians think the same way these Jewish elders did, honoring men for the kingdom work that God is doing. Our goal should be to be forgotten by all but our family and the Lord and for His name to be exalted by all! The Jewish worldview was based on the idea that wealth and health revealed God's favor. This man had their attention, they felt indebted to him. And to be clear, we are taught that love without evidence thereof is not biblical love, just as faith without works is not saving faith. When love is expressed in tangible ways, we should thank God for what He is doing, thank the person He is working through, but resist the urge to bestow honor on the creature that rightly belongs to the Creator. This was the error of the Jewish elders in our text – they failed to see Jesus for Who he is; and they saw more in the centurion than was there.

But we see that he put more stock in this man Jesus, which the Jewish hated, than he did in the nation of Israel. His slave was ill and he wanted Jesus, not the elders. This is a key point: When life is hard and when life is good, we need Jesus, not our favorite preacher. A faithful preacher will preach Christ and Him crucified, because only Jesus can do poor sinners good. This man wanted Jesus.

Our centurion would benefit by his slave being healed; we have no reason to believe that was his only motive. Slaves in the Roman military would be baggage handlers or camp assistants. During this time, Seneca was beginning to advocate for humane treatment of slaves, believing that well treated slaves would work better than those who were treated badly. Based on what we see in this passage about this centurion, it’s safe to say he was concerned about the welfare of this man who was his slave. And he wanted this man who was well known as a healer to heal him. The elders petitioned Jesus to come, and we see that He did.

⁶ Jesus went with them, and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell Him, “Lord, don’t trouble Yourself, since I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. ⁷ That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to You.

People who rightly see the Lord and His Christ will see themselves more clearly. John fell down as one dead when the Lord Jesus appeared to him on Patmos in a vision. When Peter saw all the fish in the boat and realized Jesus was Lord over creation, he said, "Depart from me for I am a sinful man." The man who sees Christ clearly will be broken over his own sin. If someone doesn’t see his sin for what it is, if the focus is on the sin of others, he has not seen Christ aright.

Whatever this centurion had heard about Jesus, he understood enough to know He was not a mere man, as he was himself. Receiving someone into your house was an act of grace, accepting responsibility for the care and safety of the guest. Consider when a commoner is accepted to enter the house of the king. The greater condescends to protect and care for the lesser; as David did with Mephibosheth. This Gentile recognized he was the lesser; not the greater. He was not worthy of having of having this man who healed people in his house.

He was not worthy of even going to Him! A person does not approach a king with being bidden. To do so is to invite death. We see this in Esther 4:11 “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—⌊the⌋ death ⌊penalty⌋. Only if the king extends the gold scepter will that person live.” Such was reverence common people had for kings. Such was the reverence this centurion had for the King of kings.

Isaiah was a prophet called by God to proclaim His Word to Israel. He saw the veil pulled back a little, got a glimpse of the thrice holy Creator and Judge of all flesh. And he was undone. Those being called by God will be broken when they fall upon that Rock. He will bind every wound of every sheep He brings into His sheepfold. Let us learn from this Gentile centurion - we are unworthy to have the God-man in our presence. We are not worthy to be in His presence. But at His Word, we come to Him and are healed. Let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream. The only fitness He requires is that you feel your need of Him. This He gives you! The centurion knew He needed Jesus, and Jesus came.

But say the word, and my servant will be cured. ⁸ For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

In a song of deliverance, the children of Israel sang out the truth of the power of God's word. Psalm 107:19-20 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them from their distress. He sent His word and healed them; He rescued them from the Pit. Contrary to the nature of gods made by humans, YHWH does not need to touch in order to do. Contrary to those gods which are not Gods, YHWH needs nothing human hands can do. He spoke and everything that is created was created. Say the word, Creator God in human flesh, and my servant will be healed.

This Gentile had more trust in the Messiah from Nazareth than did those who were raised up under and taught the oracles of God. Both the Jews and the centurion had heard the reports of the healing that Jesus performed last time He was in town. The Jewish elders that were friends with the centurion didn't appear to be interested in the Messiah - they wanted to honor their benefactor. But the Gentile had a problem, he wanted something these Jewish elders could not grant him. And his military training served him well in this regard.

Discipline and obedience are keystones of the military, without which it could not function. In our military, lawful orders must be followed; in ancient Rome, ALL orders had to be followed. This centurion knew how to issue and follow orders. He had been taught to trust the chain of command and the system used to get critical messages to where they were needed. With messengers running to and fro, people in the Roman army rarely saw the one giving the orders - they obeyed what was told them without seeing the superior. His entire career was based on orders being given and obeyed, not doubting, only trusting; with the evidence of the signet ring stamped in wax.

We would call this faith. Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The centurion said, "Say the word and my servant will be healed." The substance of things hoped for - not as the world hopes about winning the lottery. Hope in that which cannot fail. Trust is hope put to use. Faith is also the evidence of things not seen. The centurion had heard much evidence, he trusted in this man about whom he had heard much. And he did more than wish for healing; he sought out the Healer and asked Him to say a word.

Hebrews 11:6 (HCSB) Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him. Those whom God calls, come to Him, often without realizing they’ve been called until they see in Scripture that no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). Those who seek God have been drawn by Him, believe on Him; and He rewards them - grants them life eternal and provides the Holy Spirit. Man, in his natural state, has not this saving faith and cannot be pleasing to God. The centurion must have had this kind of faith – see how the Savior responded to him!

⁹ Jesus heard this and was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel!”

It’s fascinating to read how Jesus responds to various people who come to Him in faith. We’ll look at two.

To Nathaniel: Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit! (John 1:47) For a man to have no deceit in his mouth, no guile, is to be without hypocrisy, not doubting about the Lord. This is the man described in Psalm 32:1&2 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. This man does not claim to be without sin; but, like Job, he admits he is sinful and casts himself on holy God. In Job 9:20, after being counseled by his friends, Job declared himself to be righteous, yet condemned by his own mouth, blameless yet perverse in God’s sight. The more mature in Christ we are, the more we will be without deceit, without thinking of self too highly.

To Thomas, Jesus said: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Thomas is a type for us: it’s easy to grow dissatisfied with what God has revealed to us and we want more! This is the same discontent Eve suffered. If you believe in Christ, be content with what He has revealed to us! If there be things you or I think are important truths but they are not found in the Scripture, we need to repent! Our faith in Christ will be evidenced by our lives of obedience to what He has told us, even if it goes against what we've been taught from our youth regarding these things.

The centurion saw himself and the Lord rightly and desired nothing more than healing. No sensationalism, no personal glory, no bragging rights. So many in Israel demanded signs. Not this Gentile. He wanted a word from Jesus. Think about that.

¹⁰ When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Herein we see the difference between the divine and the carnal. When Word of Faith heretics claim to have healed people, there’s a distinct lack of supporting evidence. Was the person in the wheelchair really crippled? None of the highly publicized “healings” claimed by these people has been verified. These charades take place in protected venues where no hostiles are allowed. When the Son of Man went through Capernaum healing all sorts of people with all sorts of ailments, countless saw and all who knew the healed people knew this Man had done something no one else could. When Jesus healed, it was public, in full view of those who wanted to kill him. Recall the man blind from birth. No doubt about his condition or identity or healing. Recall the fear of man his parents were under:

John 9:18-23 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

This fear of man works both ways. In this context, the common folk were in fear of the religious leaders and the religious leaders were believing they were worthy of this fear, which they took as adoration. This is why the Jewish elders took no thought about approaching Jesus on behalf of the centurion – they were the noble religious leaders and this man was a commoner, though well thought of by the common folk. They thought too much of themselves and too little of the God-man.

This is the theme throughout Scripture: There are two kingdoms, two peoples. The kingdom of this world will always try to bring God down so man can see himself as lifted up. The kingdom of God will always lift the Lord Jesus as God so man will see himself as lowly. We are not worthy, apart from His redeeming grace, to draw near to God. We are not worthy, apart from the salvation that is Christ alone for Him to come to our house. But those He predestined, He called. And those He called, He justified; and those He justified, He has glorified. He draws us to be close Him and He makes us His house! It’s a far, far better deal than trying to make ourselves righteous and build a house for Him. For He does not dwell in houses built by human hands as if He had need of anything human hands could do for Him.

Application: Not all who call Jesus Lord are His children. Not all who want healing are citizens of God's kingdom. BUT - no one can truly say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Spirit of God; all who are children of God know Christ as Lord. Every citizen of God's kingdom will be healed, when He returns to make all things new.

Do you see Him as the glorified Son of God, seated at the right hand of God the Father? Are you secure in the knowledge that His blood was shed for you and that you are welcome in the beloved?

Self-love is a sign of the perilous times in which we live. 2 Tim 3:1&2 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy. The list goes on; the point is clear: those who love self are on a pathway to eternal doom. Rather than love self, we are to see ourselves as unworthy servants and love Him Who loved us first.

The citizen of the kingdom of this world lives focused on serving self - do I look good to others, am I well thought of, do I have enough stuff? The citizen of the kingdom of God is focused on being obedient to God as revealed in His Word, bring glory to God in his body (thoughts, speech, actions). Paul summed it up this way: Romans 6:16&22 (HCSB) Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the end is eternal life!

Each one of us who are of Christ's sheepfold will fall into sin from time-to-time; our lives are marked by spiritual warfare. He has given us to one another to teach, reproof, rebuke, weep together, and rejoice together. Christian fellowship is a vital part of our lives as slaves of righteousness.

This is the call we find Paul and Jude alluding to as they refer to themselves as slaves of Christ. Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James: To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ. Slaves can be sent. Slaves are not worthy of the king's honor, slaves see their lord rightly. Our nature is to be a slave to our fleshly desires. If you are called by God, if you are in Christ, His call is to be a slave to righteousness.

We are unworthy of His redeeming grace, yet He is the faithful One in Whom we can trust.

Come, ye weary, heavy laden,

Bruised and broken by the fall

If you tarry 'til you're better

You will never come at all

Not the righteous, not the righteous

Sinners Jesus came to call

Lo! The Incarnate God, ascended

Pleads the merit of His blood

Venture on Him, venture wholly

Let no other trust intrude

None but Jesus, none but Jesus

Can do helpless sinners good

Colossians 1:21-23 Changed by the Gospel

Colossians 1:21-23 (HCSB) Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him — if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. ⌊This gospel⌋ has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.

This epistle is addressed to the saints in Christ at Colossae, faithful brothers (chap 1:2). Paul says to them, ONCE, you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of evil actions. It is a truth that the children of God were chosen unto salvation before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-6; 2 Timothy 1:9-10; Titus 1:1-4; Revelation 17:8). At the same time, we are raised up to new life in Christ IN TIME, at God's timing. The point being, until a person is brought to life spiritually, he is dead in Adam, an enemy of God, full of evil and unwilling and unable to want God or what is good. ONCE, we were alienated and hostile - hostile toward God (Romans 5:10) and others. Alienated is a word pretty much lost in our culture. We aren't supposed to call people aliens, they're undocumented. To be alienated means to be at odds with, unreconciled, lacking peace.

You will hear politicians proclaim that man is naturally good and in need only of the right education, etc. Some will teach that God's elect are not under condemnation, but born as "covenant children" and members of the New Covenant by fleshly heritage. Paul will have none of either of these arguments. He said much the same to the church at Ephesus: Ephesians 2:1-2 (HCSB)  And you were dead in your trespasses and sins  in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. These saints were in the same boat as the ones in Colossae! They HAD walked in disobedience, being dead in sins and trespasses. Paul went on, Ephesians 2:3 (HCSB) We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. Paul changes from YOU to WE, to show that he - an apostle - was no better off than they were. Children of God are BY NATURE children of wrath, like the others - the people of the world that do not love God and will not be reconciled to God. If this was not so, what would be our need of Christ to reconcile us to the Father?

Before we came to faith in Christ, each of us was alienated, hostile, disobedient, fleshly, and children of wrath. This is why no man can tell who the elect are until God effects salvation. Once made new in Christ, the believer has different appetites, is no longer alienated, etc. While we cannot hold to a litmus test, we must hold to the truth that a good tree will bear good fruit.

And this is the next point Paul brings to our attention. Colossians 1:21-22 (HCSB) Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him. Being born again by the Spirit of God happens in time - today is the day of salvation! BUT NOW, He has reconciled us - this is something God has done. Those who think man makes the initial or determinative move in being reconciled to God overlook many passages that show Who does this all important work. Christ reconciles spiritually dead sinners to holy God by His physical body which was broken for us, put to death on our account, so He could present us to the Father as holy, faultless, and blameless.

Compare those attributes to those attached to us before He reconciled us to God. Between our text and Ephesians 1 there are about 11 descriptions of how evil and deserving of God's wrath we were before He bestowed the riches of His grace on us. BUT NOW, having been reconciled, there are three words that describe us: holy, faultless, blameless. We should hang on that first word, for God is holy and without holiness no one will see Him.

A.W. Pink is helpful in our understanding God's holiness:

He only is independently, infinitely, immutably holy. In Scripture He is frequently styled “The Holy One”: He is so because the sum of all moral excellency is found in Him. He is absolute Purity, unsullied even by the shadow of sin.

This perfection, as none other, is solemnly celebrated before the Throne of Heaven, the seraphim crying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts” (Isa 6:3). God Himself singles out this perfection, “Once have I sworn by My holiness” (Psa 89:35). God swears by His “holiness” because that is a fuller expression of Himself than any thing else.

“The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD” (Prov 15:26). It follows, therefore, that He must necessarily punish sin. Sin can no more exist without demanding His punishment than without requiring His hatred of it. God has often forgiven sinners, but He never forgives sin; and the sinner is only forgiven on the ground of Another having borne his punishment: for “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb 9:22). Therefore we are told “The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies” (Nah 1:2).

God's holiness is a characteristic of His person, not merely something He does. There are some who teach that we become holy, as required, by doing the good works He prepared for us. One popular teacher in Baptist circles says our good works are what saves us at what he calls our "final salvation." On the other extreme are Baptists who say NO good works are necessary for one to have assurance of his salvation. But in our text, Paul was led to declare that our Savior presents us before the Father as holy. This makes clear that the holiness without which we will not see God is His holiness! While our good deeds are judged, they are not part of the determination of whether we are saved. Rev 20:11-15 is one depiction of Judgment Day; this passage makes it crystal clear: our works have NOTHING to do with our destiny. The determining factor is whether or not your name is written in the Lamb's book of life, something that was done before the foundation of the world (Rev 17:8). Since our redemption and resulting good works take place in time, and our destiny was determined before the foundation of the world, nothing we could do could influence God's choosing His sheep.

Without a clear picture of God, we cannot have a right view of sin or self. Left to ourselves or distracted from Biblical truth we will see self in a far better light than is warranted; we will see our sin as a light thing; and we will see God as One who winks at our sin. One author observed, "There is a god we want and there is a God Who is. They are not the same God." When we come to grips with Who God is, we will see OUR sin as more grievous than our neighbors, we will long for His holiness. Take comfort that if you are IN Christ, He WILL present you to His Father as holy, faultless, and blameless.

Those last two words supplement holiness with sinlessness and giving no opportunity for God's name to be profaned. Having sin - which includes causing His name to be profaned - renders a verdict no man can withstand. In Christ, being in union with Him, is the essential aspect of our salvation that guarantees, insures, our right standing with God. None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. Trust Him wholly - let no other trust intrude. Good words from an old hymn!

We come now to what causes some to think salvation is conditional upon our performance. What we see as verse 23 is a continuation of verse 22. Paul writes that we HAVE been reconciled, we WILL be presented; IF we continue, grounded and steadfast in the faith and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel.

What do we make of this? Considering how the Scriptures reveal the saving work of God being a certainty (Romans 8:28-30; John 6; Ephesians 2), we must not think in this place Paul speaks of conditions that put our eternal souls at risk. But care must be taken so our preconceived ideas do not lead us astray. The word we see as "if" is from a Greek word that means, if. Paul is not telling us our destiny is in question; he's telling how we can KNOW we are reconciled, to be presented holy, faultless and blameless.

One who has had an experience, claims Christ but does not remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, should not think he is reconciled to God. The Bible is full of these "conditional statements" which are there to prompt us to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith. Hebrews 3:6 (HCSB) But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope. This warning is repeated in verse 14. Romans 8:16-17 (ESV) The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 1 John 2:24 (HCSB) What you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. 2 Peter 1:10 (HCSB) Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. These warnings are not there to make us think we can lose our standing and be damned; they are there so none of us will take for granted what we profess with our lips.

Today in our country, far too many fellowships are full of people who wrote down the date they made their decision for Christ, as they say. But we are never told to look back on our decision for assurance; always and only are we told to look unto Christ and the work He is doing in us today. Our salvation is a "done deal" in that Christ has paid our sin debt. But it is very much a current status - IF we hold onto the confidence of our hope. Since we know it is the Father's good pleasure to give the kingdom to His children, that His Spirit works in us to will and to do what please Him; since we know that Christ Jesus will lose none of the sheep He was sent to redeem, we CAN have confidence in our hope that is in Christ! Rather than worry about the IF statements, let us look unto Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, seeing His Spirit work in us that which is pleasing to Him. Others will see and hear of these things and rejoice that God is faithful to His promises, even on our account. So we do not lose heart, we do not grow weary, we do not get shifted away from the sure hope we have Christ, as announced in the gospel.

The last part of verse 23 ties back to the opening of this letter. Recall from verse 6: the gospel has come to you and is bearing fruit and growing all over the world. Here Paul says this gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven. What does he mean by this? If the gospel had been proclaimed to the entire world and was bearing fruit all over the world back then, why are we still here? Why did Jesus tell us to preach the gospel to all creatures (Mark 16:15) if Paul was going to get that done?

It's mostly like that Paul meant was that, by this time, the gospel had been preached to all the world, as Paul knew it. As we see throughout the Bible men say things that reveal their limited human understanding, it shouldn't be unthinkable that Paul might be saying this, based on what he knew of the world. As far as he knew the world, the gospel had been preached to all of it. Paul quotes Psalm 19:4. Romans 10:17-18 (HCSB) So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. But I ask, “Did they not hear?” Yes, they did: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the inhabited world. The proclamation in Psalms refers to general revelation, as the sun and stars testify to the glory of God. At the writing of Romans, Paul uses that message to describe the world-wide testimony of the apostolic gospel of Jesus Christ. So it makes sense in our text that Paul was speaking about the growth and success and spread of the gospel over the whole known world. Hard for Paul to know the unknown world!

The last words we have from Paul in this section is his oft-mentioned connection with this life-giving gospel: he was a servant thereof. He did not serve his own ambition, but worked and labored to make the name of Christ known everywhere to everyone. This ought to be our ambition as well! It will be if we've been changed by the gospel.

Colossians 1:1-8 The Fruit of the Gospel

You Can Listen to This Sermon Here

Colossians 1:1-8 The Fruit of the Gospel


I. Paul’s identity (verse 1)
II. Paul’s greeting (verse 2)
III. Paul’s thanks to God (verse 3 & 4)
IV. Paul’s confidence in Christ (verses 5 & 6)
V. The Fruit of the gospel (verses 6-8)

Application

We each ought to imitate Paul in these things:

1.      Our identity is in Christ, not of fleshly things. Yes, we love our parents and grandparents and we rejoice when any of our earthly family is reconciled to God. But fleshly genealogies are fables – fleshly and unable to save. The Jews had fallen into the pit of thinking their fleshly relationship to Abraham insured their right standing before God. It is by grace through faith in Christ that we and anyone else is saved. He is our life – we are complete in Him. Let us not add to or subtract from the One Who gave Himself for us.

2.      We should love one another, all who are in the family of God, not thinking we or anyone else is better than another. We must take care not be swayed by those who have money and nice clothes, preferring them over one who has nothing and wears rough clothes. Skin color, social status, rank – none of these have any place in the body of Christ as things that should divide us.

3.      As Paul wrote in another place, we should (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Envy has no place in our midst. When one suffers, we all suffer. When one abounds, we all rejoice. We work together as God has gifted us, for the equipping of the saints – each other. Thankful to God He has called us to Himself and given us to one another.

4.      Just our identity is in the Lord Jesus, so our confidence is to be in Him. It is all too common for Christians to get burdened down with cares of this world and forget the One they are yoked to. Worry and anxiety about earthly things crowd out the joy we to have as God’s children. We should keep our mind fixed on heavenly things, where Christ is seated. He is our strength and strong tower when the storm gales of this age blow.

The fruit of the gospel is what we seek – not fleshly things the world values. When we see Christians concerned about big, fancy buildings, flashy programs, entertainment – all designed to look attractive to the world and bring in unconverted people by the score, we see those who have lost sight of the power of God unto salvation. He will bring every lost sheep back to His sheepfold and He has given us His gospel as the means of serving Him in this redemptive plan.