[Transcript represents full sermon's text]

       Colossians 3, starting in verse 5: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (ESV).

       Paul’s focus begins today with us, us as Christians. In fact, that’s going to be his entire focus for us today. Paul is going to zoom in on individual character, and how we are supposed to act, as Christians. We start first with the behaviors that are not supposed to be part of our characters. Sometimes these things are those of which a person actually wants to deal with, to remove from their lives. If they are the bigger sins, a lot of times people want freedom from them but they have found in their lives, at least up to this point, that that really has never worked. In coming to Jesus, however, in believing in his death on the cross and resurrection back to life they have come to realize they are forgiven of all their sins. There is that great relief from the guilt of past sins. Often times found in this experience is a new power to overcome that which has been so problematic in the past. Even if a person finds that a particular ‘big’ sin is not easily overcome, at least there is now the desire to overcome it. And with the desire will come the power, though, it may take time.

       There has to that initial desire anyway to be free from sin, right? It seems that’s what brings a lot of people to the cross, to belief in Jesus. Some individuals, we know, want to protect their sin. They don’t want to give it up. They may be willing in fact to give up all the them, all of them perhaps except one thing, whatever that one thing is. That’s the thing they cannot face. That’s the thing that holds them from believing in the Gospel message. We saw this was the Rich Young Ruler’s problem in the Gospel account, wherein he asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Recall. Luke 18, starting in verse 18: “And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich” (18-23, ESV). That’s the problem of a lot of people. There’s that sin they can’t, or to be more precise, really don’t want to give up.

       For the true Christian, for the one who has become born-again, that’s not the case. There isn’t a sin we want to keep on practicing. We don’t want to sacrifice our fellowship with God for some sin, whatever that sin is. We know we can’t have both, and we truly don’t even want both. We only want our relationship with God. As we become more and more enlightened to the truth, as we gain knowledge of the Bible and the things of God, we come to understand very quickly, and not that we really didn’t understand this already, how destructive sin is. There is the great downloading of knowledge we get when we first become a believer in Jesus; at least, that’s the experience for a lot of people, especially for people that didn’t have much of a church background. And all that knowledge we gain excites us, and increases our eagerness to grow in our newfound relationship with God. And learn and grow we do. And sin starts to be eliminated from our lives, or at least, it should be in the process of being eliminated. That’s one of the initial goals of the Christian, and it will remain a goal for the rest of life. For a person who wants to be a Christian, and yet at the same time practice what the Bible calls sin on a daily basis, there is a major problem, and the major problem is likely the fact that that person hasn’t become a true believer to begin with.

       Now reading verse 5 in its entirety: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (ESV).

       Interestingly, these are the main sins that Paul lists for the Colossians. The main sins. They seem like no-brainers, but it is probably wise to go ahead and define them. At the very least we can be reminded of what they actually are. Let’s go through the list of the sins, one-by-one.

       1) Sexual immorality. Sexual immorality. This is the practicing of sexual relations in a way that isn’t approved by God. So, this would include fornication, and that older term (though it is very precise), is simply having sexual relations with a person of the opposite sex outside of marriage. It is like when two people live together without being married. A big sin in our day and age, one that has had major resurgence in the last thirty years or so. There have even been known persons, speaking on a personal level, who say they are Christian yet live with someone without being married. This boggles the mind. Also included here would be adultery. We know what that one is. And we could, and should also include homosexuality. Yes, that is the case. It’s a sin and is alway going to be a sin. Its a sin in this age and will also be a sin in the age to come.
       2) Impurity. What does impurity mean? Impurity seems to drive more toward the mind, and what kind of thoughts flow through the mind. It could also entail things individuals do which are impure—not necessarily sexual practices, but anything that would be incorrect. Paul said to the Ephesians: “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:4, ESV). So the mind and the mouth, as well any impure actions the mind and mouth lead a person to do.
       3) Passion. This usage by Paul of “passion” appears to refer to the energy behind evil sexual acts. It is the desire to be sexually immoral. The King James Version uses the term “inordinate affection.” So, having affection for other humans in an inappropriate way and then acting on those affections.
       4) Evil desire. This also looks to refer to sexuality, but actually with an emphasis on the mind. It is the desiring in the mind of committing sexual acts that the Bible calls evil. The King James uses the term “evil concupiscence.” Concupiscence means lust, sexual desire, or sexual passion.
       5) Covetousness. This is the desire of wanting more. The feeling of being never satisfied with what one obtains. A lack of contentment. And, it can mean obtaining more of which we have no right to obtain (i.e. adultery). We need no reminder that this is a big issue for us, as American Christians, and may be the most tempting thing for us on this list. To read the whole part of the verse, Paul stated, “covetousness, which is idolatry.” What this means, in Paul bringing up idolatry, is that when we focus on obtaining more, and we make that our mindset, that means we are too focused on this life. It means we care more about this life than we do about God, and the things of God, like gaining knowledge or even helping others. So, our mindset, or what we have our eyes fixed upon, becomes idolatrous.

       After listing all these sins, Paul states in verse 6: “On account of these the wrath of God is coming” (ESV).

       For the Christian who is learned, having gained a lot of knowledge, this is a known fact. And as the Bible is read, this fact is seen demonstrated. This is what happened back in Genesis 6, when God flooded the world due to the heaviness of sin. It would seem those people become so engrossed in their sins, so depraved, that God had no chance of bringing them back to himself. He had no choice but to destroy them. They brought it on themselves. Or, we might take into account the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities, which we find in Genesis 19 (see also Jude 7). The people there had become so engrossed in homosexuality that, again, God had no choice but to destroy them. They wouldn’t have come to him no matter what he would have done. That’s what sin does, it blinds, and in blinding individuals to the point of no return, it brings about God’s wrath. God hates sin, and when it become particularly vile, he deals with it. Thankfully, we, as Christians, never have to worry about God’s wrath. Remember, Paul told the Thessalonians, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9, (ESV). Even if we are disobedient, we won’t bring God’s wrath into our lives. We might bring about discipline, but that is quite different from wrath. Discipline is meant to help—to lead in the right direction. To give one a better life. Wrath, wrath, on the other hand, is meant to totally destroy with no hope for a second chance.

       Then added, by way of reminder, is the phrase in verse 7: “In these you too once walked, when you were living in them” (ESV).

       This is the experience for a lot of Christians. It is the experience of coming out of a vile life, an enslaving life, enslaving one to thoughts and actions they have lost control over. Coming out of the behaviors that were just listed, the sexual immorality, adultery, homosexuality, the improper thoughts and actions, the improper sexual passion toward partners, the impure thoughts, the desire to gain more things and get more in this life. These are the things some Christians come out of, especially if they come to Christ at an older age, say their mid-twenties or beyond. A lot of people come to Christ at a younger age, and therefore don’t face a lot of these entrapments. It really just varies on a person by person basis. But that’s primarily because we have been raised in a Christian nation, one in which Christianity if very prevalent, and a lot of people were brought up in Christian homes. We need to remember for the Colossians, Christianity was brand new. They were Gentiles, and hadn’t been Jews striving under the Jewish Law. They knew nothing pertaining to the real God in their prior lives. They were given to living lives without the influence of God, but with the total influence of a way that knew nothing of him.

       And that’s the beautiful thing regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is that it takes people from ways in which they once walked, and puts them on a new path. God can break the power of sin for people, for individuals who feel entrapped by whatever it is, whatever has plagued them in their lives. This is what the Colossians had discovered, and this what people discover in our day and age. People can try to come out of sin without God, but often they find themselves right back where they were—with no power to overcome the bad habit. But, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through the message of the forgiveness of sins and the being formed into a new life, through that message comes God’s power to deliver one from those old ways, and to set them on a path of new ways. When a person believes, often times the power comes thereafter. They can have the remarkable ability to overcome things that in the past that had no ability to control. The indwelling of the Spirit of God upon believing and being born-again can have miraculous power for people. Sometimes people can immediately overcome a past problem, but sometimes it takes time. The power is now present to work with.

       Verse 8: “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth” (ESV).

       Paul is moving to another group of sins. It might be suspected that these sins are somehow lesser sins, or a group of second level sins. But that doesn’t appear to be the case. Sin is sin, but there are more destruction sins than others, those which have greater consequence. Nevertheless, this second list provided in this sentence deals with contentious behavior primarily. We could say disagreeing with others, to put it mildly, or fighting against others probably to make it more accurate. It has to do with dealing with others. And notice, and this is foundational to this verse, is that there would be an unforgiving attitude on the part of the violator—the one practicing these things. One the biggest points Jesus emphasized with his disciples during his earthly ministry was that of forgiving others. Yet, so many Christians don’t forgive their fellow man. It has been seen many times and in many places. Not just one saying they forgive, but actually forgiving is what we want. Let us recall what the Gospel writer Matthew recorded for us, “Then Peter came up and said to [Jesus], “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21, 22, ESV). It wasn’t just a lot that Jesus wanted, but it is now and always.

       Let us go ahead and define each of these sins in our second list here, just like we did previously, and try to gain a better understanding of them.
       1) Anger. Jesus has defined anger for us. Matthew 5:22 states, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire” (ESV). And, remember, Paul instructed, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-, 27, ESV). It’s not a sin to be initially angry about something, but it seems to become a sin if that anger lingers.
       2) Wrath. So, wrath is something that is reserved for God. It’s not something that we are supposed to be practicing as part of our character. Wrath implies that we are certainly right, better than others, and that others therefore deserve our severe condemnation. The Scripture records for us that when the archangel Michael was warring with Satan, that “he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you” (Jude 9, ESV). If we are not even to judge and rebuke Satan, then certainly not our fellow humans.
       3) Malice. This form of sin is the desire to do others wrong, or to get back at them, whether the action presents itself as justified or not. It is that internal, burning feeling that usually develops over time. It is due to incorrect thinking, again, usually over a long period of time, and it is a result of not forgiving another for their offense.
       4) Slander. Slander is a big sin, one in fact that was even alluded to in the Ten Commandments that were given to Moses in Exodus 20. There, God said to the Israelites, ““You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16, ESV). Why is slander so bad? Because if we say something that is false with respect to another, whether intentionally or even unintentionally, if it is on a big scale, it can permanently damage the person’s image when the person really didn’t do what was said. It makes one like a ‘reputation’ or ‘image’ murderer.
       5) Finally, Obscene talk from your mouth. What first might come to mind is cussing, and while we should try to avoid cussing, this appears to be a deeper issue. It would be the general conversation of one’s mouth. Telling dirty jokes, making fun of people—Christian or non-Christian, criticizing others as a hobby, and things like these. This latter one, overly criticizing others, looks to be one that has become acceptable and normal in certain Christian circles. It can even be heard in certain podcasts or among certain Christian YouTubers. It is like having a toilet for a mouth, and it is not what God wants from us.

       If we stop and consider it, and as afore to pointed out, these sins really can be combined into one big, gargantuan sin wherein each of these five sins play off of each other. A person can get angry, have obscene talk from the mouth, then get malicious, slanderous, and wrathful. Sounds familiar, right? We see this, though perhaps not so blatantly clear, with how politicians often deal with each other. We see it with people getting lawyers to sue others, say for example they were in a car accident with another. There are advertisements based on these so called ‘qualities’ of character. We see it, unfortunately so, when two people are getting divorced. It’s amazing to the mind that two people who once were ‘in love’ with each other can then, say, a few years later, be entangled in viciousness toward each other as if they are the worst enemies on the face of the earth. How does that happen? It has to be a trick of the mind—a trick brought about by the sin-nature that is in everyone and of which Satan plays off of. If two people were in love to begin with, they can remain in love. Certainly, people can start acting differently, or in evil ways (like we’re talking about), but they can always go back to how they were acting before. Just because bad character traits have brought themselves forth doesn’t mean they have to continue to do that. It boggles the mind.

       Verse 9: “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self” (ESV).

       It is interesting how Paul separates lying as the final sin on his lists. He singles it out. The mind is definitely wondering why that would be the case. Remember, Paul told Titus that God never lies (Titus 1:2). In contrast, Jesus stated in reference to Satan, “When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44c, ESV). In essence, and again violating a Ten Commandment, we are becoming more like Satan instead of God. Lying is what Satan did when he deceived Eve in the Garden. It’s almost as if lying is what signifies being in the old self versus the new self. The personal experience was right after becoming converted, lying was one the first things to go. It is so freeing not to lie, to not be bound by the slavery that lying produces. When we lie, it creates a domino effect where it becomes apparent that one lie leads to another lie. If a person tells a fib, they have to back that fib up with another fib. It creates a big mess. It’s amazing how much trouble can be avoided by just telling the truth from the get-go. Yeah, depending on the situation, it may sting for a moment, but then it is over. However, when we lie, we escape the initial sting, but then set ourselves up for a much bigger sting later. Besides, folks won’t trust us if we have a reputation of lying.

       Going to verse 10, and reading part of verse 9 again, “seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (9, 10, ESV).

       The idea, then, we have come to, has the appearance of growth. Christian growth. And this growth we are talking about isn’t something that is to be dreaded. That’s often the feeling that comes on the inside. That feeling of dread. The feeling, “Oh, God is going to put me through this or that to get me to grow. He’s going to cause hard times in my life.” However, that doesn’t seem to really be the picture. Think about it. Paul used the word “knowledge” in our verse. Students learn knowledge in school by going through the grades. In first grade, they are taught this or that, and then in third grade something else, and then in fifth grade still something else. It all builds upon what was previously learned. Generally grade-schoolers aren’t put through suffering to get them to grow, but they are taught. Now, they may see it as suffering, but hopefully not. In the same way, God doesn’t want and desire for us to suffer. He will use suffering if it comes along to cause us to grow, but he doesn’t want it for us. Sometimes we may willingly put ourselves through unpleasant things in order to grow, but generally learning knowledge doesn’t include a whole lot of suffering, at least physically.

       Peter has said in his epistle, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter, 2:2, ESV). Therefore, when we become saved, we are like newborn infants in regard to the understanding of spiritual things, in regard to the understanding of the Bible. And thus, we learn, learn, and learn, more and more regarding Biblical things, and we grow in knowledge. This spiritual milk causes us to grow, and then eventually, after a long time, we get into the spiritual meat. Peter didn’t even talk about that. But that seems to be a fair assessment. Going back to what Paul told the Colossians, the knowledge, as we learn it, actually renews us day after day into being in the image of our Creator, into the image of God, into the image of Christ. We are called Christ-ians, so we should resemble Christ in some manner, right? This can only be accomplished through learning knowledge about God things, whether that’s done through reading the Word, the Bible, or whether through reading some commentary, or a book discussing Christian things, or listening to or watching sermons. It’s getting us in line with the truth of God so that we can grow to “be imitators of God” as Paul told the Ephesians (Ephesians 5:1, ESV).

- Daniel Litton