Colossians 3:5-14

Colossians 3:5-14    Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.  You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.  Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.  Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (NIV).

   Why does God have such a big problem with sin?  Sin blocks love.
   God is totally loving and God is totally holy, perfectly good.  To be in a permanent relationship with God, you need to be in a truly loving relationship with God, thus there can be no sin.  Jesus made that possible by His atonement on the cross.  Now people can be forgiven of all sins, and people can be changed to be holy by the Holy One.  Holiness is a call from God as Paul implies in verse twelve.  It requires being in Christ.
   We all have sinned, and we all have been hurt by the sins of others.  There is only one hope: Jesus.  Paul states: “…forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  Forgiveness is an aspect of love.  Jesus loves everyone.  Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  He was the substitute for the wages of sin, which is spiritual death.  If a person believes in Jesus, and to truly believe is to receive, he or she is saved from hell, and he or she will have life with Jesus forever.
   And since a person who is saved is united with God, baptized with the Spirit of Christ, he or she is able to forgive others.  And he or she can improve with each and every sin listed.  It is a life long process, and it does require complete reliance on the Spirit of Christ.  Yet Paul is not soft on his language about what to do with sins; put them to death.
   Today on a warm and sunny mid-October day in Denver, I went for a walk by the retirement community where my grandma use to live.  Grandma passed away a decade ago.  We were close friends, and I was thinking about her.  Reading the list of sins in this passage, my grandma does not come to mind.  My grandma lived her life being faithful to her husband and she worked hard as a housewife.  But even my grandma struggled with sin.  Then when my grandpa died, she had much anger.  If my grandma was here today she would say she was not holy.  And she was not in a loving relationship with God decade after decade.
   In the wake of my grandpa passing away, Grandma moved into that retirement community and soon started going to a community church though she had not worshiped in a church her entire adult life.  My loyal grandma started attending week after week.  She had not read any of the Bible since a Sunday school back in the 1920’s.  Much of what the extraordinary pastor was teaching about was foreign to her.  Yet at some point, she started paying attention here and there.  Both of the ministers were kind to her, and she recognized that.  Eventually she gave her heart to Jesus.  My grandma in her late 70’s was forgiven by Jesus of all sins she had committed over many years.  And she was united with Jesus.  And though maybe not immediately evident on the surface, my grandma started to change.  Until she passed away, she still had plenty of struggles being a widow, but she became more and more loving as she grew closer and closer to Jesus.
   I add something personal here.  After that long walk yesterday, as I was driving by her building, I pictured her standing on her patio waving to me.  She use to do that when I would leave after spending the day with her.  I know the next time I see her do that will be a wave “hello” in heaven.
   Knowing Jesus will bring a desire to be more like Him, and He is holy.  God is not giving a list of sins to try and keep Christians from having fun.  The opposite, the Colossians were instructed to live a life of holiness, the result of which is a closer relationship with our great God, and a more loving relationship with our fellow human beings, who we are called to love.  Whatever your age, you can give your heart to Jesus today.  The decision is yours.
Hunter Irvine