Rooting Out Sin

Well, good morning, church.

Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Colossians.

Colossians chapter 3, page 984, if you're looking in a pew Bible.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Chapter 3, we're looking at verses 5 to 11 today.

Chapter 3, Paul's giving instructions to the church about what it means to live in union

with Christ.

Last week, we looked at what it means that we have died and risen with Christ.

Today, we're looking at things to put away, and next week, we'll be looking at characteristics

to put on in this very practical section of the letter.

So, let's read Colossians 3, starting at verse 5.

Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil

desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.

In these, you too once walked when you were living in them.

But now, you must put them all away.

Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its

creator.

Here, there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,

free, but Christ is all and in all.

Earlier this summer, I was walking around my backyard, and I noticed some weeds and vines

that had been growing up along the fence.

And I thought to myself, some of those look a bit like poison ivy.

You know, I got that as a kid.

It wasn't very nice.

I should probably deal with that sometime.

But I was working on other projects around the house at the time.

I wasn't quite sure what was poison ivy and what wasn't.

I wasn't sure how to deal with it without getting it, so I let it go.

And it gradually slipped to the back of my mind.

Then in early September, I was out in the yard again.

And I noticed that these weeds and vines had grown up throughout the summer with the rain

and the heat.

And rather absentmindedly, I started pulling up a few of them, gathering them in my arms,

and I dumped them in a corner of the yard and thought no more of it.

Until two or three days later, when I began to suffer the consequences of my carelessness.

First little blisters appeared on my wrists, and they spread up my arms.

Within a few days, they had spread all over and were appearing in new places every day.

It was a systemic poison ivy infection.

I was itchy everywhere all the time, especially when I was trying to sleep.

I was woken up in the middle of every night, and I would pace the kitchen floor trying to

distract myself.

I tried every remedy I could find on the internet.

Calamine lotion, oatmeal baths, even diaper rash cream, and apple cider vinegar.

I don't recommend the latter.

Finally, I had to go to the doctor and get prescription medication.

Now, since then, my attitude toward poison ivy has changed in three ways.

First, I learned to identify it precisely for what it is.

I carefully examined photos and descriptions of it on the internet.

I'm a bit of a hawk about it now.

I can recognize it from a distance.

I can distinguish it from more harmless vines.

I've noticed, which I didn't notice before, how pervasive it is in our neighborhood.

Second, I did some research about how to get rid of it.

I asked some of you for advice.

Some of the advice I got was not what I initially wanted to hear.

I wanted to deal with it without any chemicals, right?

That's always the ideal.

But the consistent advice that I received was, in this situation, the weed killer really helps.

So I took that advice.

And third, I pulled it out by the roots.

One day, I put on an old set of clothes, two pairs of gloves, some sneakers that I was ready

to get rid of that had been hanging around for a couple of years, hadn't worn them.

I went through the yard, pulled up every bit of poison ivy that I could find.

I even went into the neighbor's yard because that's where some of it was coming from.

I picked up the pile of weeds that I had carelessly dumped in the corner so that no young children

would happen to run into it.

Thankfully, they didn't.

I put every branch and leaf in the trash bag, and then I threw away the gloves, clothes,

and sneakers that I was wearing.

For now, at least, our yard is free of poison ivy.

The passage we're looking at this morning says that there are some things in our lives

that are like poison ivy in the backyard.

They need to be clearly identified, and they need to be ruthlessly exterminated.

Paul says in verse 5, put these things to death.

He says in verse 8, put them all away.

Don't just ignore them.

They don't go away by themselves.

Declare all out war on them.

Take no prisoners.

Make no compromises.

Get rid of them.

Pull them up by the roots.

Throw them in the garbage.

Not the compost.

Don't let them come back and gain a foothold ever again.

Today, I want to look at three questions.

I want to look at what do we need to get rid of?

Why do we need to get rid of it?

And how do we carry out this process?

So first, what do we need to get rid of?

And the answer is all sorts of spiritual garbage.

Paul gives us two lists in verse 5 and verse 8 of nasty weeds that don't belong in our spiritual gardens.

Verse 5, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Verse 8, another list of five, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Now, in verse 12, Paul will give us a contrasting list of five Christian virtues to cultivate.

And so next week, we're going to look at not just what we need to get rid of in our lives, but what we need to cultivate.

But in addition to the list in verse 5 and verse 8, Paul gives us two additional warnings in this passage.

One in verse 9, where he says, do not lie to each other.

And one in verse 11, where he's warning against creating or maintaining divisions in the body of Christ

that is disregarding or dishonoring or excluding others who are of a different race or class or background.

Do you notice how wide is the range of sins that Paul calls out here?

Sins of thought, sins of word, sins of deed.

This list covers most of the Ten Commandments, right?

Number one and number two, idolatry.

Number three, dishonoring the Lord's name.

That word slander could also be translated blasphemy.

Number six, murder, right?

Jesus says anger and wrath and malice in your heart is murder in your heart.

Adultery, number seven, and other sexual sins.

Bearing false witness, number nine, with lying.

And finally, coveting, number ten.

And you know, this isn't particular to the letter to the Colossians.

These are not…

Paul's not targeting specific problems in the Colossian church.

This is standard early Christian teaching.

You can read almost any of Paul's letters or other New Testament letters,

and there's these lists, Galatians 5, 1 Corinthians 5, Ephesians 5, 1 Timothy 1, and elsewhere,

that cover all these bases and a couple more.

Or Jesus teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, right?

Jesus covers anger, lust, unwarranted divorce, dishonesty, and unforgiveness all in one chapter.

The point is, like a mutating virus, sin takes on many different forms,

but they're all dangerous, and they're all ultimately deadly.

Now, this is important to note because many people today criticize Bible-believing Christians

for having a very narrow range of moral concerns, right?

Why are all those Christians so fixated on regulating other people's sex lives?

Is that all that Christians really care about?

Now, on one level, that critique is not totally fair.

Even the most politically conservative Christians are not proposing to criminalize sexual behaviors

that they don't agree with.

But at another level, I think the question is pointing to a genuine danger

if we selectively apply these lists.

And I think whatever our political inclinations, we need to beware of this danger.

N.T. Wright put it this way, many Christians tend to concentrate on either the list in verse 5

or the list in verse 8.

He says,

He goes on to say,

You might say that Paul is an equal opportunity sin attacker.

All right?

You see, if we single out one of these sins, whether it's sexual immorality or racism,

and if we constantly speak out against it as if it's the only sin that really matters,

and in the process we ignore or deny or minimize or excuse many of the others in this list,

now, don't we almost always choose a sin to pick on that we're not particularly attracted to

and that we're not currently involved in?

And doesn't that reveal some pride and self-righteousness rather than simply a pure gospel conviction?

You see, we don't want to clear out the poison ivy,

but ignore the poison oak and poison sumac.

They look a little different on the outside,

but it's the same oil that causes the same terrible reaction in human beings.

Now, another form of, we might call it hypocrisy or selective application that we can fall into

is to speak more loudly against the sins of the non-Christian world around us

than the sins within the Christian church and within our own hearts.

That's a bit like me going on and on about the poison ivy in my neighbor's backyard,

of which there is plenty, I assure you,

but not dealing with the invasive vines and prickly thorn bushes

that might be spreading through my backyard.

Paul always saves his strongest words about sin for those who profess to follow Christ.

In other words, in the fight against sin,

we always need to start by cleaning our own house first,

and only then will we be able to make a positive difference in our neighborhood.

You see, Paul's message to non-Christians is never this,

start behaving like Christians should.

Paul never says that.

Now, yes, non-Christians can benefit from anger management classes.

It's good we have those around.

Non-Christians can benefit from not sleeping around.

Even the New York Times health section last weekend rather reluctantly concluded

that having fewer previous sexual partners,

and especially having no previous sexual partners,

does tend to make for happier marriages.

It's good for society if truth-telling is the norm,

and it's right to honor people of all ethnicities.

Now, many non-Christians would share many of these values

and sometimes embody them far better than Christians do.

But if you're not a Christian,

the message of Christianity is not,

start behaving like a Christian should,

and then maybe we'll accept you.

It's not, obey God, and then God will accept you.

The message of Christianity is that every single one of us,

without exception,

is more sinful and flawed than we admit or even can imagine.

But in Jesus Christ,

God has done everything necessary for us to be completely forgiven

and forever loved.

So turn to Christ.

Trust in Him.

You're accepted in Christ.

Therefore, obey.

In other words,

the verses we're looking at today

flow out of the verses we looked at last week,

verses 1 to 4.

Did you notice,

therefore, in verse 5,

put to death, therefore,

what is earthly in you?

We can only do that

because of what verse 3 has already said.

You have died,

and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Jesus died and rose from the dead,

and we have died and risen,

spiritually speaking, with Him.

We are united with Him,

and so we have a new identity

and a new life in Him.

So we shouldn't focus only on some sins

or only on the world's sins,

but, you know, for many of us,

the danger is not so much

that we will selectively call people out

on certain sins and not others

or that we will only rant and rave

about the ungodly world that we live in.

For some of us,

we are so concerned not to appear hypocritical

or to have anyone accuse us of being hypocritical

that we never lovingly and clearly

call somebody out

who is a brother or sister in Christ

who is caught in a sin

or being led astray

by the deceitfulness of sin.

Instead, we say things like,

I know they won't respond well,

so I won't say anything,

as if you can always predict the future.

And even if you can, so what?

When does God call us

to simply guess what's going to happen

and only act on that basis?

Or we say, we're all sinners,

so who am I to judge?

Even the Pope said that, didn't he?

Well, the Pope's comment was taken out of context,

but that's neither here nor there.

The point is we make excuses.

Many of us are tempted

to be cowardly people pleasers.

And that is neither loving nor godly

nor in accord with Paul's very pointed

and plain words in this passage.

You see, Paul's concern here

is that the true followers

of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus

would live up to the name

of the one we represent.

And that we would get rid

of all sorts of spiritual junk

that does not belong in or among us.

So what do we need to get rid of?

All sorts of spiritual junk.

All the things in this list.

Now that brings us to the second question,

why?

Why do we need to get rid of all these things?

Paul gives four reasons.

First, in verse 6, Paul says,

get rid of sin because the wrath of God

is coming on account of these things.

Now what is God's wrath?

Sam Storms defined it this way.

God's righteous antagonism

toward all that is unholy.

God hates sin.

He is absolutely, unflinchingly opposed to it

because it wrecks his good creation

and it denies his holy character.

All the sins in these lists

cause all kinds of chaos

and fragmentation in our souls,

in the church,

and in the world.

When we practice these things,

we are being untrue to ourselves

and even more importantly,

we are being untrue to God.

And God will not simply let all of this

go on forever.

One day God will judge the world

in righteousness.

He will put an end to sin.

He will condemn it to hell forever.

And the only reason we have any hope

of surviving that day

is because Jesus has united himself to us

and died in our place

so that God could destroy our sin

without destroying us.

That's the hope that we have,

that we've clung on to Jesus.

But still,

even though God is committed

to rescuing us

and bringing us through that,

God still hates the sin

that dwells in us

and is committed to getting rid of it.

And the question for us is,

do we also hate our sin

like God does?

Are we indignant

that it still has as much of a hold on us

as it does?

In other words,

the simple way to ask this question is,

do you really want to change?

Sometimes the reason

why we don't make progress

in getting rid of sin in our lives

is because

we don't really want to change.

We've made our peace with sin.

We've decided that it's acceptable.

It's understandable.

It's not really that serious.

It's too hard for me

to live without it.

So I'll try to manage it

rather than get rid of it.

But Paul says,

no.

Sin is not something to be pruned.

Sin is something

that needs to be gotten rid of.

Be killing sin

or it will be killing you.

John Owen said a long time ago,

sin is rot

that must be gutted.

It will slowly eat away

at your very humanity

until it finally hollows you out.

Isn't that what happens

when sin takes a deeper

and deeper hold of a person?

It dehumanizes us.

Any of these things,

when they get deeper

and deeper into us,

they hollow us out.

God hates sin

with a vengeance

and so should we.

Second reason,

verse 7,

get rid of sin

because

that's how you used to live,

not who you really are.

In these,

you too once walked

when you were living in them.

You too once walked.

That is,

you actively engaged

in these very sins

in specific times

and places.

And you were living in them.

It's a more ongoing verb.

That is,

you were living in a context

where such things

were simply normal.

Now,

Paul's writing

to a church

of relatively new

Christian believers

in Colossae.

The church had existed

for probably less than five years

when he wrote this letter.

And most,

if not all,

of the Christians

in Colossae

had come from a Gentile

or pagan background

where all of these things

in one form or another

were sort of par for the course.

Paul was reminding them

those things characterized

your former life

before you knew Christ.

In other words,

these sins are not

the real you.

They're only vestiges

left over

from your past life.

Now,

isn't that a powerful weapon

in the fight against shame?

Isn't the sense of shame

the sense that I'm

dirty

and contaminated

and worthless

because of these things

that I've engaged in

in the past?

They stick to me

and I can never

get them off me.

In fact,

they become part

of who I am

and we become afraid

to let go

of sin

because we're afraid

that we'll lose ourselves.

And Paul says,

no.

By getting rid of sin

and clinging on to Christ,

you're finding

your true self.

You're not losing

your true self.

And all the sin

that clings to you

is not who you really are

at the deepest level.

It's not who God

defines you to be.

It's not who you are

becoming in Christ.

All that contamination

and pollution

and filth

can be washed away.

It does not define you.

So get rid of sin

because God hates sin.

So should we.

Get rid of sin

because it's what we used to do.

It's not who we really are.

Third reason,

verse 9,

get rid of sin

because now you're part

of a new humanity

in Christ.

You have put off

the old self

with its practices

and have put on

the new self.

Now sometimes

when Paul uses

this language

of the old self

and the new self

or as the King James

version puts it

a bit more literally,

the old man

and the new man,

sometimes Paul is speaking

about Christians

individually.

For example,

2 Corinthians 5, 17,

if anyone is in Christ,

there is a new creation.

The old has gone.

The new has come.

But here,

I think Paul's

primary emphasis

is not just

an individual one

but a corporate one.

In other words,

what Paul is saying

is this.

As members

of the body of Christ,

we have put off

the old humanity

embodied in Adam,

characterized by sin

and destined for death.

And we have put on

the new humanity

embodied in Christ,

characterized by righteousness

and destined for life.

We have put off

the old humanity.

We have put on

the new humanity.

Now, Paul uses this phrase

in the same way

in Ephesians 2

when he is talking

about Jews and Gentiles

being incorporated

into one body

in Christ.

So, if you flip

a couple pages back

in your Bible

and look at Ephesians 2,

Ephesians 2:14

verse 14,

it says this,

for he himself,

that is Christ,

Christ himself

is our peace

who has made us

both one

and has broken down

in his flesh

the dividing wall

of hostility.

Go on to the middle

of verse 15,

that he might create

in himself

one new man,

one new humanity

in place of the two,

so making peace

and might reconcile

us both to God

in one body

through the cross.

So, this is the picture

that Paul is painting,

that God has drawn

different,

all kinds of different people

into one new humanity

in the body of Christ.

And if you go back

to Colossians,

verse 11

makes a lot of sense

in this context.

It's not a sort of digression,

but Paul's saying

here,

here in the new humanity,

there is not Greek and Jew,

circumcised and uncircumcised,

barbarian,

scythian,

slave or free,

but Christ is all

and is in all.

Right?

Paul's saying

here in the new humanity,

here in the body of Christ,

our human distinctions

need not divide us

because Christ is all.

He's everything.

He's everything we need.

And Christ is in all.

He dwells in every one

of His people,

regardless of race,

class,

or nationality.

You know,

it's not always easy

to love one another

across racial and class

and national lines.

You know,

look down at the list

in verse 11

for a moment.

The Greeks

were a dominant civilization

at the time.

They were proud

of their military prowess

and their intellectual heritage.

They were privileged

and they tended

to look down

on Jews,

the next one

in the list.

The Jews

were fiercely independent.

They had endured

centuries of slavery

and exile,

but maintained

their cultural traditions.

Circumcision

was a source

of pride

for Jewish males,

but Greeks mocked it

and denigrated it.

So,

it was challenging enough

for Jews and Greeks

to get along,

but Paul goes even further.

Barbarians.

Barbarian

was a pejorative term

invented by the Greeks

to mock people

who couldn't speak Greek.

They're the bar-bars.

The blah, blah, blah.

They speak

an uncivilized language.

Now,

Scythian,

Scythian was sort of like

as far off

as you can go.

Scythians

were nomadic tribes,

who originated

in southern Siberia.

They were considered

wild men.

They were fearsome warriors,

they never bathed,

and they covered themselves

with tattoos.

And then finally,

there was the dividing line

between slave and free

that ran throughout

the ancient world.

So,

what has Paul done here?

He's just listed

all kinds of people

who normally

don't get along,

who were raised

on different sides

of the tracks,

who don't usually

see eye to eye,

who don't usually

trust each other,

who have all kinds

of past history

and current politics

separating them.

And then,

look at what he says.

He says,

Christ is bigger

than every one

of those distinctions.

God is bringing people

from every tribe

and tongue

and nation

into the body

of Christ,

the church,

and in relationship

with each other.

He is conforming

us together

to the image

of his son.

You know,

we live in a time

and place

where

conversations

about race

and class

are often fraught.

Right?

There's mistrust

and isolation

and lack

of understanding,

false accusations,

one tribe

is pitted

against another.

Almost everyone

feels defensive

in one way

or another.

but the gospel

frees us

to let down

our defenses.

The gospel

frees us

to admit

where we fall short,

where we struggle

to love our neighbors.

You know,

I will say

of all the sins

in this list,

this is probably

one of the ones

that's hardest

to confess

to a brother

or sister in Christ

to say,

I struggle

with prejudice.

I have trouble

with some other

groups of people.

Because don't,

isn't what we all

want to say is,

I'm not racist.

Don't accuse me

of that.

Because in our culture,

that's a pretty bad

thing to be accused of.

But the gospel

frees us to say,

I don't have it

all together.

Whatever

sin on this list

it is

where we specifically

need help.

The gospel

frees us

to open ourselves

up to people

who are different

than us

and to rejoice

that God

is bringing together

all kinds

of people.

Greeks,

Jews,

barbarians,

Scythians,

into the body

of Christ.

People who have

no earthly reason

to know and love

each other

except we belong

to the new humanity

and we've been bought

by the blood of Christ

and we're a family

and we're destined

for life together

forever.

And that's

a wonderful thing.

That brings us

to the fourth reason.

Verse 10,

get rid of sin

because every day

we're being renewed.

We've become part

of the new humanity

in Christ

but God has not

just done something

a long time ago

to rescue us.

He's continuing

to renew us

day by day.

It's an ongoing work.

God's renewing us

in knowledge

that is

or as Romans 12 says

he's transforming us

by the renewing

of our mind.

He's renewing us

after the image

of the creator

of the new humanity.

Again,

we see that theme

that when God

redeems us

he's recreating us.

He's making us

all that we were

meant to be

as his image

bearing creatures.

Christ is a true

image of God

and we being

united to Christ

by the Holy Spirit's

renewing power

are gradually

being made

like him.

We're becoming

who we were

always meant to be

and God is

continuing the good work

that he has begun

in and among us

and he's doing that

as we live together

as a body.

Many years ago

an Anglican pastor

named C.F.D. Moule

wrote,

Christian conduct

is the result

not simply

of the effort

to be good

but of incorporation

into the body

of Christ.

In other words

he's saying

it's not just

through us

trying harder

that we

grow in Christ-likeness

but as we live

together

in the body

of Christ

through the friendship

and prayers

teaching

and counseling

encouragement

and accountability

and constructive

criticism

of other Christians

that God continues

to renew us

day by day.

So what do we need

to get rid of?

All sorts of

spiritual junk.

Why do we need

to get rid of it?

Because God hates it

and so should we

because that's how

we used to live

not who we really are

because now we're part

of the new humanity

in Christ

and every day

we're being renewed.

So finally

how do we do it?

At the beginning

I shared three things

I needed to change

in order to deal

with the poison ivy

in my backyard.

I want to conclude

with three parallel

practical ways

of dealing with sin.

First

we need to identify sin

for what it is.

Paul does not talk

evasively

or in polite euphemisms

or in categories

that are so general

that we don't know

what he's really

referring to.

Paul names sin.

He calls it

what it is

so that we can

recognize it clearly

whenever it manifests itself.

Sexual immorality.

Any sexual intimacy

outside of male-female marriage.

Impurity.

Anything associated

with sexual immorality

that contaminates

our character.

Pornography

falls into this category.

passion and evil desire.

Out of control lust

and cravings.

Covetousness

or greed.

Now sometimes

covetousness

or greed

seems a little more

tricky to define.

Right?

Because there's not

it's not defined

by a limit

on how much income

you can have

before

you go over the line

into greed

and materialism.

Right?

It's not quite so

clear-cut

as sexual immorality

in one sense

but

John Piper

has a very helpful

definition.

He says covetousness

is desiring

something so much

that you lose

your contentment

in God.

It's a good question

to ask.

Am I wanting

something so much

that I've lost

my sense of contentment

and joy

in God?

If so

that's

coveting

or greed

or envying.

And that's why

Paul says covetousness

is a form of idolatry

because it displaces

it pushes

out

our worship

of God.

The opposite

of covetousness

is contentment.

Someone

shared this quote

with me this week.

To be a Christian

is to receive

God's good gifts

and to enjoy

them the most

to need them

the least

and to give

them away

most freely.

To enjoy

them the most

to need

them the least

and to give

them away

most freely.

That's the

opposite of

covetousness.

Going on

the second list

anger

and wrath.

Now verse 6

talks about

the wrath of God

and Ephesians 4

says be angry

and don't sin.

So when we're

defining anger

we need to

distinguish

sinful anger

and godly anger.

And I think

one place

that's very helpful

for us to do

this is the

end of the

book of Jonah.

The end of the

book of Jonah

God has a

conversation with

Jonah.

And Jonah

is angry

and twice

God asked him

this question

do you do

well

to be angry?

Jonah doesn't

listen the first

time he

goes on his

rant

so God

asked him

a second

time

do you

do well

to be

angry?

It's a good

question to

ask ourselves

when we're

angry.

Is your

anger helping

you to

live well?

Is your

anger helping

you to live

courageously?

To resist

complacency?

To hunger

for righteousness

and justice

not just for

yourself

but also for

others who

are vulnerable?

that's a

righteous

anger.

Or

is your

anger

locking you

up in a

prison of

bitterness?

Is it

making you

shut down

emotionally

until you

explode in

rage?

Is it

making you

cynical toward

everybody

especially

anyone who

resembles

those who

have hurt

you the

most?

Or is it

producing the

fruit that

Paul describes

at the end

of verse

8?

Slander

or gossip.

Obscene

talk.

That doesn't

just mean

cursing.

It literally

means shameful

words.

It could

include ridiculing

or embarrassing

others.

Those kinds

of words that

cut others

down.

Jesus said,

out of the

abundance of

the heart,

the mouth

speaks.

So we

need to

identify sin

for what it

is.

Second,

do some

research how

to get rid

of it.

Don't assume

that you

have all the

wisdom you

need within

you to

deal with

sin.

Search the

scriptures for

what they have

to say about

the specific

issues you're

dealing with.

for many

people,

memorizing

scriptures has

been a really

helpful thing

to do.

Scriptures that

you can bring

to mind when

you're in the

moment and

when you're

tempted to

fly off the

handle or

tempted to

whatever.

Also,

there are lots

of good books

downstairs on

the book

stall and some

of them address

many of these

issues.

just a few.

Good and Angry

by David

Powlison.

Very helpful

book.

Closing the

Window by Tim

Chester that

deals with

pornography.

Money,

Possessions,

and Eternity by

Randy Alcorn.

Or A Loving

Life in a

World of

Broken

Relationships.

If you're

dealing with,

if you're

struggling with

resentment or

bitterness,

by Paul Miller,

A Loving

Life.

It's a great

book.

But whether

or not you

read a book,

ask for help.

Ask for

advice.

Ask for

prayer.

Ask for

accountability

from your

brothers and

sisters in

Christ.

And take

the advice

you receive

to heart.

Now, I'm

not saying

everybody's

advice is

always going

to be

exactly what

you need

to hear.

Sometimes

you'll get

bad advice.

That's why

compare it

against the

scriptures and

ask more

than one

person.

But if

it's in

line with

the scriptures,

and especially

if a couple

of people are

sort of getting

at the same

thing,

take their

advice to

heart even

if it's

not what

you wanted

to hear.

That's why

we need

each other.

Because we

don't always

see things

clearly on

our own.

If things

are really

deep and

complex,

consider

seeking out

a pastor

or a

counselor if

you haven't

already.

And when

you explain

your issues,

be transparent.

Because nobody

can help you

if they don't

know what you

need help

with.

all the

sins in

verse 5

and verse

8 are

bad enough.

Lying

about them

is even

worse.

And

deliberately

hiding them

from someone

who is

directly

affected by

them

counts as

lying.

It's

interesting

that Paul

doesn't just

include lying

in one of

the lists.

He adds

it on at

the end

as a

separate

command,

even though

it disrupts

the symmetry

of the

passage.

There's a

nice symmetry

of the

passage if

you eliminate

the lying

command.

Five

vices,

two reasons

to avoid

them.

Five more

vices in

verse 8 and

two more

reasons to

avoid them

in verses

9 and

10.

And Paul

adds in,

do not

lie to

each other.

I think

he perhaps

puts it

that way

for emphasis.

Lying or

deception is

particularly

significant

because it

breaks

trust.

It makes

others feel

vulnerable,

tentative,

and unsafe.

Trust can

be rebuilt,

but it

does take

time.

Telling the

truth can

be painful,

awkward,

costly,

and embarrassing,

but it's

the only

way forward.

First John

talks about

if we walk

in the

light,

then we

have fellowship

with one

another,

and the

blood of

Jesus Christ,

His Son,

cleanses us

from all

sin.

So let's

walk in

the light.

bring these

things out

into the

light.

Share them

with a

brother or

sister in

Christ if

you haven't

already,

so they

can pray for

you and

encourage you

and hold

you accountable.

So identify

sin for what

it is,

do some

research how

to get rid

of it,

ask for

advice and

help,

and finally

pull it

out by the

roots.

How do you

pull something

out by the

roots?

You have to

bend down on

your knees.

we need

to pray.

And we

need to

bring to

bear upon

it the

power of

the cross

of Christ.

The cross

of Christ

is the

most powerful

tool we

have as

Christians

to root

out sin,

not just

to pull

off a few

leaves or

to weed

whack it

and then

have it

grow back

again,

but to

really get

down and

pull it

out by its

roots.

Because the

cross shows

us two

things.

The cross

shows us

that there

are no

sins that

are simply

excusable.

All the

sins in

these lists

are bad

enough that

they required

the death

of the

Son of

God

Himself

to atone

for them.

But the

cross also

shows us

that there

are no

sins in

these lists.

There are

no sins

that make

you

unredeemable.

And isn't

that the

lie that

many of

us struggle

with?

We think,

yes, I've

done all

these sins,

or many of

them, or

one of

them, and

the guilt

is overwhelming,

and I will

never escape

it, and

I'm

unredeemable.

And the

cross of

Christ says

no.

Christ

died to

redeem us

from all

sin.

In fact,

Hebrews 12

says,

for the

joy set

before Him,

Jesus endured

the cross.

What was

that joy?

The joy of

bringing us

with Him

to glory.

The joy

of calling

us His

brothers and

sisters.

The joy

of incorporating

us into

His body,

into the

new humanity

with Him

as our

head.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

The cross

says Christ

has died

to cleanse

us from

every sin

and to

take us

all the

way with

Him to

glory.

So,

brothers and

sisters in

Christ,

let's put

sin to

death by

the power

of Christ.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

Father,

we thank

You that

You speak

to us

plainly

and clearly

in Your

Word.

We thank

You that

You expose

our sin,

what is

destructive

to ourselves

and to

one another

and dishonoring

to You.

But we

thank You

that You

have given

us the

power

in Christ

because of

His

atoning

death

on the

cross

for us,

because of

His

victorious

resurrection,

because of

the gift

of the

Holy Spirit

that You

have shed

abroad in

our hearts.

Lord,

You have

given us

the power

to fight

against these

sins,

to identify

them,

to root

them out.

We thank

You for

Your renewing

power.

We thank

You,

Lord,

that we are

being renewed

day by

day in

knowledge after

the image

of our

Creator.

We thank

You that

we are being

renewed as a

body.

Lord,

I could do

that renewing

work even

now,

even today,

and throughout

this week as

we pray with

one another and

fellowship with

one another and

seek to encourage

each other in

these ways.

We pray that

You would

prevent us from

falling into

either pride

and self-righteousness

or despair

and hopelessness,

but that You

would fix our

eyes on our

glorious Savior

and that You

would continue

the good work

that You've

begun in

and among us.

We pray these

things in

Jesus' name.

Amen.