Colossians 3:5-7
Dealing With the Baggage of Your Past
Introduction:
i. Col. 3:1,4 – Paul then reminds them of their glorious heavenly calling… because of which they are to walk worthy. A heavenly calling, a heavenly citizenship, and a heavenly position DEMAND a heavenly walk! Nothing less is a worthy walk!
ii. Col. 3:5 – then he makes his exhortation BASED upon his prayer… based upon God’s will… and based upon their position in Christ. PUT TO DEATH the sexual sins listed.
i. Now contrast here is between our former walk and a worthy walk.
God’s Wrath on the Uncleanness of the World (vs.6)
A. Children of Disobedience
i. Every last one of which walked in the FLESH and pleased the FLESH.
ii. They were not born of the Spirit…
iii. They did not walk in faith and thus could not please God.
iv. Their lifestyle was characterized by satisfying the flesh without regard to the truth of God’s Word.
v. Light came into the world and these men loved darkness rather than light.
B. God’s Wrath
Þ Eph. 2:1-3 – EVERY believer in Ephesus was included in the group (children of disobedience) before their salvation.
Þ From the prostitute and the sweet little old lady who made cookies for the neighborhood kids… it goes for the religious and irreligious… the moral and the immoral man…
Þ ANYONE who refused to be persuaded by the gospel and is thus not born again is in this group!
Þ Don’t say, “That doesn’t apply to me. I got saved in the third grace! I haven’t committed such sins!
Þ Let’s not think like the Pharisees whose evil hearts were exposed by Jesus. They said, “I thank God that I am not like other men: extortioners, unjust, adulterers!”
Þ Jesus said that that the sin of lust of the same sin as the act. We are ALL like other men!
Þ It doesn’t matter which side of the track you grew up on; it doesn’t matter who your father was; it doesn’t matter whether you ended up on skid row or whether you got saved in your third grade SS class…
Þ BEFORE we were saved, we ALL lived to fulfill the desires of the flesh… to one degree or another… and were all children of disobedience!
i. The believer will not face that future day of wrath. We have been saved from the day of wrath.
ii. However, the believer who continues to live in sexual sin WILL be chastened… not the wrath of a Judge, but from the broken heart of a loving father. (Heb. 12:6)
iii. God hates sexual impurity in the world. It is FAR WORSE for a believer to commit such sins. We are sinning against greater light…
Your Former Walk (vs.7)
A. You Lived and Walked in Such Sins Before Your Salvation
Þ Forgiveness and grace extend to ANY kind of sin! Sexual sin is not the unpardonable sin.
Þ And it IS possible to MORTIFY the deeds of the flesh… and to WALK in newness of life.
Þ Salvation in Christ means FREEDOM from slavery to sin… any sin!
Þ And if you have been involved in such sins, and wondered whether God would ever save you, there’s good news for you too! He turns none away who come to him in faith.
Þ I Cor. 6:9-11 - Consider the types of people God saves: The list included fornicators, adulterers, and homosexuals!
Þ They were justified, washed, and sanctified through Christ!
Þ In fact, it MUST be put to death.
Þ This is a command, not a suggestion!
Þ Paul said, “Such WERE some of you… but NOW ye are washed.”
Þ They WERE involved in gross sins, but when they came to Christ, they put it away.
Þ After a person comes to Christ, he is expected to PUT TO DEATH his former sinful lifestyle!
Þ The filthy baggage has to go…
Þ There can be no thought whatsoever of a “gay church”… though some have been promoting such an idea. That’s like a church for practicing thieves, or a church for practicing liars.
Þ God saves the sinner FROM his sin. He doesn’t save the sinner so that he can continue IN his sin.
Þ Rom. 6:1 – shall we continue in sin? God forbid! We are now DEAD to sin!
B. Such a Lifestyle Is Inconsistent With Your Position in Christ
Practical Ways to Put to Death Your Former Walk (vs.5)
There are some practical things we can DO to avoid sexual sins. We have MIGHTY SPIRITUAL WEAPONS which are able to tear down the strongholds established by the flesh. (Nip it at the bud; cast down imaginations; etc.)
Þ Our weapons and source of power are SUPERIOR!
Þ Victory is ours any time we CHOOSE it… and walk by faith.
Þ We can never say, “The devil made me do it.” Or “I couldn’t help myself!” Yes we can!
Þ Are we willing to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God?
Þ Walk in the Spirit and you will NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Þ That is a promise to be believed and PRACTICED.
Þ God always keeps His promises.
Þ Failure is never because of a lack of power… it is never the fault of the Spirit, but of our flesh. We CHOOSE to walk in the flesh…
Þ Failure is due to a lack of faith… a refusal to BELIEVE God’s promise.
Þ If we in faith, trusting God, CHOOSE to mortify the deeds of the flesh, God’s power will be more than sufficient!
i. Rom. 7:18 - for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. We can all relate to Paul’s dilemma!
ii. Nevertheless, we are COMMANDED to put those deeds to death… to MORTIFY fornication, uncleanness, etc.
iii. It boils down to a matter of a yielded heart… surrendered to God… our bodies presented as a living sacrifice… yoked together with Christ… not my will but thine be done!
iv. If the heart is yielded and surrendered to God and we are filled with the Spirit… the body will be characterized by self control.
a. Fear is a legitimate emotion. It is God given.
b. God’s wrath CONTINUALLY comes (is coming…) on the children of disobedience. (unbelievers)
c. This is a revelation of who God is… and His infinite hatred for sin… and in particular these sexual sins.
d. Since God’s wrath is upon those sins, put them to death!
e. The believer should want nothing to do with that which brings down God’s wrath.
f. The wrath of God is meant to evoke a FEAR of God.
g. Prov.16:6 - by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
h. Hence, when we get to know who God is… as we learn of His wrath toward sin, His infinite hatred of sin, & fear Him for it, we will depart from it!
Þ Fear is a legitimate emotion. Fear displeasing God.
Þ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God!
Þ Fear the Father’s chastening hand. It can be SEVERE!
Þ Prov. 5:8-12 – lost honor; lost wealth; irreversible regret; body consumed;
Þ Prov. 6:32-34 – he destroys his own soul… dealing with the regret and broken pieces of one’s life… broken families… wound & dishonor that will not be wiped away… rage of third party!
Þ Prov. 7:22-23 – to the slaughter… stocks… a dart through his liver…
Þ The consequences of sexual sins should cause us to FEAR getting involved in it.
Þ Fear bringing a life into the world illegitimately.
Þ Fear aids and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Þ This fear is legitimate before God.
Þ Eph. 5:6 - Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise!
1. Paul warns the Ephesians about believing people who would say to them that there are no consequences to sexual sins. There ARE!
2. Men tried convincing believers of this in the first century… and they are still up to it today!
3. Today men argue that ancient religious forbade fornication because they didn’t have birth control, but it’s ok today!
4. Men argue that sex is OK if it is consensual… or if it is safe… as long as nobody gets hurt.
5. Whether someone gets hurt or not is not the point. It is wrong because God – the Author of Life – the Moral Standard of the Universe – said so! It’s wrong because it is disobedience to Him!
6. And there ARE serious consequences… not just earthly… God’s wrath stands against such sins.
Þ God told the Jews to go into the Promised land and PUT TO DEATH all the Canaanites. If they did not put them to death (but hid them away in a far valley) they would come back to haunt them… and to be thorns in their sides!
a. I Cor. 6:18 – The horror of what sexual sin means for the believer.
b. As Christians, WE are members of the spiritual Body of Christ… the church. WE (bodies, souls & spirits) are members of the Body of Christ… and UNITED with Christ Himself.
c. This is an AWESOME privilege!
d. Sexual sin UNITES the two people involved. It is not a marriage union, but it is a union.
e. Sexual union unites the whole person… not just the body.
Þ Being male or female involves the whole person, not just the body. (thinking; emotions; attitudes; viewpoints; desires; etc.)
Þ Sex does not merely join one body to another body; it joins a male and female PERSON to each other… a union of body, soul, emotions, heart, mind…
Þ It is in a real sense a UNION of BOTH parties involved.
Þ Therefore, for a believer to join his body to a harlot for a few moments of sexual pleasure… ought to be UNTHINKABLE!
f. It is a union that involves MORE than his body. It involves his whole PERSON to that harlot… and since he is a member of Christ, it joins CHRIST to that harlot!
Þ Paul says that that believer is joining a member of Christ’s Body to a harlot!
Þ Sexual sin in some sense involves bringing the Lord into an illicit union.
Þ How much MORE hideous and unthinkable is such a sin!
Þ It is like joining Christ Himself to an harlot.
Þ It does not taint His character or His person, but it does taint His reputation and testimony!
Þ It profanes and disgraces HIM! It is the ultimate act of irreverence and disrespect; an utter disregard for the Person of Christ.
g. Sexual sin is FAR WORSE for a believer than for an unbeliever.
Þ The thought ought to be so REPULSIVE to a believer that it would never occur. It ought to send shivers of HORROR down our spines…
Þ Those thoughts of holy horror will be more effective in removing lustful thoughts than a cold shower!
Þ THINKING about what sexual sin is in God’s sight is an effective means of turning away from it.
h. Vs. 18 b – It is sinning against one’s own body.
Þ Most sins involve that which is without (outside the body). (stealing, idolatry, murder, etc.)
Þ But sexual sin arises from within the body… and comes right out of the body.
Þ Illicit sexual activity is a degradation or a corruption of the body… it is using the body for something it was never intended to be used for.
Þ I Cor. 6:13 – the body is NOT for fornication (illicit sex), but was created FOR the Lord… for His honor and glory.
Þ It is sinning against one’s own body… a corruption of the body’s God-given purpose.
Þ I Cor. 6:19-20 – As a Christian, our bodies are not our own.
a. Our bodies were created by God; redeemed or purchased by God; and indwelt by God; & for God
b. Thus, God OWNS our bodies, souls, and spirits.
c. Hence, we cannot do with them as we please.
d. He owns them and dwells in them… as His temple.
e. The body is a holy Temple. Joining it to a harlot is like the sin of profaning the Temple of God!
f. It is like turning the holy Temple of God into a house of ill repute. It should be unthinkable!
g. We are to GLORIFY God in our bodies… and committing sexual sins does not glorify God.
i. Tempted? THINK about what you are about to do… and you just might change your mind!
j. Vs. 18a - When a believer THINKS about what this kind of sin means, he should FLEE fornication!
a. This principle implies that the believer is AWARE of how easily his sinful flesh can be stirred up.
b. The alcoholic who wants to make no provision for his flesh will go the extra mile to avoid temptation. He will walk an extra five blocks to avoid having to smell the barrooms.
c. The glutton will not hang around the bakery… but will avoid situations that will stir up his appetite.
d. The believer will do whatever it takes to avoid the temptation of sexual sins too… he will avoid that which stirs up his sexual appetite.
Þ This speaks of a whole lifestyle.
Þ Computers are part of daily life in the 21st century. I use it to study the Bible and prepare sermons. It is a great tool.
Þ But the danger is that it puts every one of us just a mouse click away from the most defiling forms of pornography…
Þ If you are having a problem with pornography on the computer: make no provision for the flesh! Put in a filter… or get rid of the computer if you have to!
Þ If you watch TV – use the remote often… mute the ungodly music and turn off the wicked pictures.
Þ If it is an old illicit relationship that continually stirs up your flesh AVOID that person. Burn the bridges.
Þ And ladies, be sensitive to the fact that your bodies stir up the flesh in men. Be careful about what you wear… and the way you carry yourself!
Þ Avoid PLACES that stir up the flesh… avoid MUSIC that stirs up the flesh… avoid ANYTHING that stirs up the flesh!
Þ You know yourself. You know your limits. You know what stirs up your flesh. Make no provision for it!
a. Story: little boy bringing his fishing pole to SS.
Þ We too make provision for the flesh. God’s Word says, MORITIFY it… put it to death… don’t hide it under the seat… or bury it under a tree… or put it on the back burner. Put it to death! And make no provision for the flesh.
a. Flee fornication! (I Cor. 6:18)
b. Flee youthful lusts! (II Tim.2:21)
c. Gen. 39:7-13 - Consider the example of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. He ran because he was afraid of what might happen!
d. He knew how easily his flesh could get stirred up. He didn’t have time to think… no time to plan something clever to say… he just ran!
e. Was he demonstrating that he was a weak man in running? Yes… an honest man who KNEW of his weakness. Hence, he ran. And in running… in acknowledging the weakness of his flesh, he demonstrated spiritual STRENGTH! (II Cor. 12:10)
a. To avoid fornication, get married!
b. It is better to marry than to burn in lust! (vs.9)
c. This is the God given outlet for a very normal and natural desire.
d. In the bonds of marriage, the sexual relationship is honorable and pure… (Heb. 13:4)
e. Outside of marriage, it is dishonorable, impure, and worthy of divine judgment!
f. Marriage is God’s means to AVOID fornication… illicit sexual contact.
g. Marriage legitimizes the sexual union.