Paul writes to the Colossian church to warn them away from a trend that he saw as a great threat to their faith. In essence, this trend was to follow certain teaching that was "not according to Christ" (Col 2:8). Dangerous trends similar to this still exist today and sadly they have become firmly entrenched within much of the current church culture. As Michael Horton points out in his recent book, "Christless Christianity," the modern-day church has become largely Christless. Christ has become a nice supplement to faith and community instead of being the instrumental cornerstone of faith and community. This happens as Christians become taken in by "plausible arguments" (Col 1:4) that suggest that we should define our lives by peripheral matters (which tend to be the kind of topics that play towards our emotions, our personalities, and our comfort level) as opposed to central matters like the gospel.
How do we deal with these threats? Paul's strong advice to the Colossians was, in effect, to get in Christ and stay in Christ. In Christ we find everything we need to know about how to live life wisely (Col 2:2-3).
Nothing then is more important than receiving Christ Jesus as the Lord over your life and then basing the rest of your life on this truth (Col 2:6-7). As Proverbs 1:7 tells us, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. So it makes sense that the first step towards living life wisely will mean a continual conscious respect of Christ as Lord over every step you take in life.
How will this look like within the context of the church? First it means the church should promote straightforward, clear, communal thnking about Christ Jesus the Lord. We need to always make sure that we are thinking rightly about Jesus and in particular rightly of him as Christ and Lord. Second, the church should promote active, accountable, communal practice of Christ Jesus as Lord. It is the responsibility of each Christian within the church to help one another work out all the consequences and implications of the fact that we have received Christ Jesus the Lord into our lives. This will mean intentionality and will mean digging past the superficial to get towards the kind of relationships where we are deeply known and we deeply know others.
Take some time to meditate on Colossians 2:6-7. What are some specific areas in the modern day church and the modern day Christian life that need to be confronted with the truths of this verse? (ex. money, time, family, career, dating relationships) How would our priorities and decisions in these areas change if people began to truly get in Christ Jesus the Lord and stay in Christ Jesus the Lord?
2 comments:
First, Paul says that if we have received Him as LORD, we are to walk in Him. The "walk" is referred to in several places throughout Paul's writings. It is how we are to conduct ourselves. If He is Lord and always present, and we REALLY believe that, how would we conduct ourselves? Some examples Paul gives of this walking is: "with gentleness", "fully pleasing God", "in unity", "bearing with one another". What an amazing community there would be if a group of believers really took this walk seriously? Maybe that is what Jesus meant when He said, "this is how all men will know that you are My disciples."
Next, we are told that we are to be "rooted and built up and established in the faith". I think the most effective way to accomplish this is through the spiritual disciplines: Bible reading and meditation; prayer and praise; scripture memory, witnessing, fellowship, etc. These are not to be done as obligatory "religious" practices, but can bring a life of fullness when done while in communion with God's Holy Spirit.
Finally, is the admonision to "abound in it with thanksgiving". Thankfulness has been one of the most powerful forces in my life. For many years, I have tried to make a point of identifying things I am thankful for throughout the day. At the end of each day, I try to recap a few of those things. Recently, I have started to write 2 or 3 things down in a journal every day that I am thankful for. It is truly amazing how our troubles fade when we maintain a heart of thanksgiving.
When we bring these concepts (walking in Him, spiritual disciplines, thankfulness) into the practical issues of our lives (money, time, family, career, dating relationships), that is when we can see our lives transformed. When a group of people do that, we have a transformed community.
May we see that happen in our lives and in our church community at Roosevelt!
Thanks for this post. It's clear relevance is responsible biblically and sound practically.
I will be watching this blog.
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