"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature....Because of these, the wrath of God is coming." (Colossians 3, 5a, 6--NIV)
Our text presents to most a contradiction of the faith/grace message; but it is not. When I repent of sin, surrender my life to Jesus Christ, and go through the waters of Baptism, that is all I need do to be, "accepted in the Beloved." Once in the Household of faith, once I become a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, once I begin a life of following Jesus, well, there is more. Theologically, it is what follows the New Birth, i.e., conversion. The New Birth is a one time event; conversion is a process.
You know as well as I that there are things yet in our lives which do not reflect the, "be perfect as Your Father in Heaven is perfect," okay, "complete." Some times, however, I suspect a "way out" in the use of that word. At any rate, you and I are called to what William Law described as, "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life." For bebop christians, this takes all the fun out of religion. They do not want to deal with what people in the Bible dealt with --- sin. There is also here a, well, whatever you want to call it, threat? If I don't, "Put to death... whatever belongs to your earthly nature," then, "the wrath of God is coming."
Why does our Lord Jesus Christ call us to, "Put to death...whatever belongs to [our] earthly nature"? The answer is quite lovingly simple. His love for us calls us to a "devout and holy life," not to take the "fun" out of life, but to replace superficiality, a shallow confession, a shallow worship with the depth of relationship in Him, in Father, in the Holy Spirit which brings us into His, "joy unspeakable and full of glory." This, "joy...and glory," comes only when we, "put to death, therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature."
I know, "Why can't you just share pleasant devotional thoughts? If it appeared on Facebook, it would probably not get any 'Likes.'" Well, I read the whole Bible regularly, and passages such as our text keep cropping up. What should we do? Should we do what so many do, just ignore them, pretend they don't exist? No. "All Scripture is God-Breathed, and is profitable (beneficial, useful)." So if we want to be, "profitable (beneficial, useful)", I guess we need to walk in and study, "All Scripture," even that which commands us, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature."
(The Bible says you must love me
)
Father, in Jesus' Name, I implore You, Holy Spirit, to work in me more and more the grace and power to, "Put to death...whatever belongs to [my] earthly nature." Amen.
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Fall Mission, October 27-November 26
Our text presents to most a contradiction of the faith/grace message; but it is not. When I repent of sin, surrender my life to Jesus Christ, and go through the waters of Baptism, that is all I need do to be, "accepted in the Beloved." Once in the Household of faith, once I become a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, once I begin a life of following Jesus, well, there is more. Theologically, it is what follows the New Birth, i.e., conversion. The New Birth is a one time event; conversion is a process.
You know as well as I that there are things yet in our lives which do not reflect the, "be perfect as Your Father in Heaven is perfect," okay, "complete." Some times, however, I suspect a "way out" in the use of that word. At any rate, you and I are called to what William Law described as, "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life." For bebop christians, this takes all the fun out of religion. They do not want to deal with what people in the Bible dealt with --- sin. There is also here a, well, whatever you want to call it, threat? If I don't, "Put to death... whatever belongs to your earthly nature," then, "the wrath of God is coming."
Why does our Lord Jesus Christ call us to, "Put to death...whatever belongs to [our] earthly nature"? The answer is quite lovingly simple. His love for us calls us to a "devout and holy life," not to take the "fun" out of life, but to replace superficiality, a shallow confession, a shallow worship with the depth of relationship in Him, in Father, in the Holy Spirit which brings us into His, "joy unspeakable and full of glory." This, "joy...and glory," comes only when we, "put to death, therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature."
I know, "Why can't you just share pleasant devotional thoughts? If it appeared on Facebook, it would probably not get any 'Likes.'" Well, I read the whole Bible regularly, and passages such as our text keep cropping up. What should we do? Should we do what so many do, just ignore them, pretend they don't exist? No. "All Scripture is God-Breathed, and is profitable (beneficial, useful)." So if we want to be, "profitable (beneficial, useful)", I guess we need to walk in and study, "All Scripture," even that which commands us, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature."
(The Bible says you must love me
)Father, in Jesus' Name, I implore You, Holy Spirit, to work in me more and more the grace and power to, "Put to death...whatever belongs to [my] earthly nature." Amen.
*************************
Fall Mission, October 27-November 26
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
