Colossians Series - 4
Reconciled
To God
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. We
sometimes use the expression, “a matter of life or death” to emphasize the
importance of a situation.
1. A medical emergency may be a matter of
“life or death.”
2. A safety issue regarding an automobile
or truck, may be a matter of “life or death.”
3. A health hazard can be a matter of “life
or death.”
B.
From a spiritual standpoint our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is a
matter
of “life or death.”
1. A matter of being saved or being lost
eternally.
2. A matter of eternity in the presence of
God or eternity with the devil and his angels.
3. A matter of heaven or hell.
C. Paul’s
message in Colossians 1:21-23 is a message of reconciliation between God
and man. It is a matter of spiritual "life or death."
21 And although you were formerly alienated
and hostile in mind, engaged in
evil deeds, 22 yet
He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to
present you before
Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed
you continue in the faith firmly
established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the
gospel that you have
heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which
I, Paul, was made a
minister.”\
D. In each of these verses I want you to
see a characteristic of the reconciliation found through
Jesus Christ.
I.
THE NEED FOR RECONCILIATION – vs. 21,
A. Why do human beings need to be reconciled to God? Notice Paul’s description of
Humanity.
1. Alienated from God – vs. 21.
a. What does this mean?
b. Separated from God by Satan’s
wicked work in the world. See Genesis 2:17; Isaiah 59:1-2.
2. Hostile in mind. We might not consider ourselves to be hostile
towards God but sin is actually an act of
hostility towards God. Remember, with God there is no neutrality.
a. Matthew 12:30 – Jesus said, “He
who is not with me is against me?” There is not
neutral ground spiritually. There
is no “demilitarized zone” in spiritual battle.
b. James 4:4 – “You adulteresses, do
you not know that friendship with the world is
hostility toward God? Therefore
whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God.”
c. Where did this hostility
originate? It did not originate with God. He has never been
hostile toward us. He has always
longed for a loving relationship. The hostility is a
result of our sin and
disobedience.
3. Engaged in evil deeds. Do we ever forget where we have come from and
how dependent
we are upon God’s grace and mercy?
Do you remember the story behind John Newton’s
writing of “Amazing Grace?” On his
deathbed he said, “I am a great sinner, but Christ is a
great savior.”
B. Compare this to Ephesians 2:1-6 – “And you were dead in your
trespasses and sins, 2 in
which you formerly walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of
the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of
disobedience. 3 Among
them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the
desires of the flesh and
of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But
God, being rich in
mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even
when we were dead in our
transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have
been saved), 6 and
raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places
in Christ Jesus,
II.
THE MEANS OF RECONCILIATION – vs. 22.
A. In verse 22 Paul cites the means by which reconciliation occurs. You
and I can live
because Christ died.
1. “He has reconciled you in His fleshly body through death.”
a. Without the death of Christ there
is no way we could be saved. All of the sacrifices of
the Old Testament could not take
away sin. It was impossible for the blood of bulls and
goats to remove sin (Hebrews
10:4).
b. We can never be good enough
through our human righteousness to earn salvation.
2. “Through his fleshly body,”
was a shot across the bow of the Gnostics who did not
believe the Messiah was flesh and
blood.
B. Why has he reconciled us? Notice the remainder of verse 22. “In order
to present you
before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”
1. Christ is going to present the church to His father. Can you imagine
how wonderful this
will be? Picture Jesus introducing
you to the Father!
2. When He presents us we will be:
a. Holy – separate, pure, completely
without sin.
b. Beyond reproach. There will be no
finger pointing and blaming in heaven.
C. Why did Jesus come?
1. To show us who God is.
2. To set an example for how we should live – 1 Peter 2:21.
3. To reconcile us with the Father. God does not want us to be separated
from him. Have
you ever had a child leave home
rejecting your love and care in pursuit of their own way?
Can you imagine how the father of
the Prodigal son felt in Luke 15? Hallelujah! God did
not give up on lost humanity! He
sent His son to redeem us!
III.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF RECONCILIATION – vs. 23.
A With every privilege comes a responsibility. Do you remember when you
received your
driver’s license? Did you get the “responsibility talk” from your
parents? Paul immediately
reminds the Colossians that they have a responsibility regarding
reconciliation.
B. In verse 23 - :If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established
and steadfast, and not
moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard.”
1. Notice the word, “if.” It introduces a conditional clause. If you buy
an insurance policy it
has conditional clauses. It will
only be valid if the terms and conditions of the policy are
met.
2. God’s promise of reconciliation is prompted by unconditional love.
This does not mean
that reconciliation does not have
conditions.
C. Notice these conditions.
1. Continue in faith.
2. Be firmly established and steadfast.
3. Do not be moved away from the Gospel.
CONCLUSION:
A. Why has God reconciled us to Himself?
1. Because He loves us – yes.
2. Because He desires a relationship with us – yes.
3. There is another very important reason. Look at Ephesians 2: 7 – “So
that in the ages to
come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward
us in Christ
Jesus.”
B. A father left a large inheritance to
his two sons. He promised to give a double to the son with
the most wisdom. Each son was given $100 and told to buy something that
would fill every
room of the house. The first son went out and bought $100 of hay. Even
that much hay would
not completely fill the rooms. There were still empty spaces. The other
son went out and bout
one candle for each room. He sat them on lampstands and their light
filled the house. H
received the inheritance.
C. God is depending on us to fill the
world with his light. How are we doing? How are you doing?
Will you examine your life and be reconciled to God? If we can help you
we urge you to
come.
