In his book. Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss. After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it."
It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life.
So many people struggle with forgiveness, and yet, a struggle with forgiveness goes deeper than merely forgiving another of their hurtful deeds or words. To truly forgive as we must, genuine gospel living must be our everyday life.
LET’S REVIEW FROM PART 1 (last week’s post):
Gospel living desires a new direction (Colossians 3:1-4)
Gospel living destroys the old ways of death (Colossians 3:5-7)
Gospel living discards the old ways of death (Colossians 3:8-11)
Now let’s look at the 4th and final key to gospel living as seen in Colossians 3…
Gospel living dresses in new spiritual clothes
(3:12-17)
We must not forget a truth we studied last week:
“If we do not choose to destroy the old ways in our life, the old ways will destroy us.”
So, we must “mortify” immorality and covetousness – and we must discard (remove it like a piece of clothing) old ways (anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication, and lying). But we need to replace the old ways, taking off the “garment of anger or lying” is not enough for genuine gospel living. Gospel living replaces the old ways with the new ways – with the powerful help of the grace of God!
I was listening to a leadership podcast last week about building better interpersonal relationships. Here were some of the suggestions made:
Interruptions derail progress. So, allow a person to fully finish their thought before adding to the conversation.
Silence is often golden. So, allow some time of silence for others to contribute to the conversation. This helps them feel included, valued — and thus builds stronger relationship.
Listen to understand. When we listen to respond, we are thinking about what we want to say next. When we listen to understand, we are comprehending what a person is expressing before we decide what to say. To understand better, we need to get better at asking questions. So, instead of asking questions that start with the word “Do,” ask questions that begin with “how/why/what.” “Do” questions are usually answered with “yes” or “no.” How/Why/What questions require more explanation.
Let’s ask a “why” question and two “what” questions this morning to better understand this portion of Paul’s letter to the Colossian church.
Why do we choose new ways? (3:12)
1. ELECT: God chose you. God literally saw every mistake, every failure, and every rebellious act you have done. He saw this in eternity past. He saw you at your absolute worst and chose you! This is love. This is relationship with God.
2. HOLY: You are holy because of Jesus. You are separated to God in thought and in life when you accept His offer of genuine relationship with Him. This position of “holy” progresses over time, yet God chose you in eternity past. “Elect” came before “holy.”
3. BELOVED: You are loved by Jesus. Love does not mean life is easy. Love loves when life is hard, ugly, unfair, and heart wrenching (Jer. 31:3). Love does not leave you, forsake you, or betray you (I Cor. 13:4-8). Love comforts, strengthens, and sustains you. Love speaks truth, builds trust, and honors God because love sees you as created in the image of God. When you and I experience God’s love, we will imitate it towards others.
What new ways do we choose? (3:12-15)
1. Inward compassion (bowels of mercies) (Lk. 6:36)
2. Kindness (Eph. 4:32)
3. Humility (opposite of pride) (I Pet. 5:6)
4. Gentleness that implies humility (meekness) (Gal. 5:22-23)
5. Patience in the face of immoral opposition (longsuffering) (Gal. 5:22-23)
6. Sustaining One Another (Forbear) (Gal. 6:2)
7. Forgiveness. (next week we will conclude this 3 week series on Gospel Living with “7 Truths Bombs about Forgiveness!”) Remember, you and I cannot “put on” the spiritual garment of forgiveness before we “put off” the spiritual garments of anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication, and lying!
8. Love (I Cor. 13:1-3)
9. Peace of God (rule in your heart, a place of dominance – Phil. 4:6-7; I Pet. 5:7)
10. Thankfulness (a choice – I Thess. 5:18)
What are the essentials for gospel living? (3:16-17)
1. The Word of God (richly, common sense)
2. Teaching others
3. Warning Others (“admonishing”)
4. Music (“Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs”)
5. All for Jesus with a thankful heart