Sermon
Colossians 3:7-11 - Chris Osburn 12/10/19
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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It's certainly good to see everybody.
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You was able to make it out this evening and we are continuing
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continuing, our study and the third chapter of Colossians.
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And the versus under consideration, tonight are
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verses 7 through 11 of chapter 3. in these upcoming versus Paul
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has given us a lot of very practical things that we can
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live by on how to put up our old, sinful way of life and how
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to put on a new christ-like life and and what that looks like and
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and some tools that we can use and it's just a very practical
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set of verses not only in what we're studying tonight, but but
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through the rest of the chapter, honestly, And there's a lot of
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things that can be talked about in these few verses.
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So I kind of had to choose to stop going deeper into certain
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subjects, so I could get the study taken care of.
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But there is so much information and so much that we can learn by
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just by these few verses. I want to go ahead and read the
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first 11 verses of Chapter 3 of Colossians.
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It says there, beginning in verse 1.
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If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which
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are above where Christ is sitting, at the right hand of
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God, set your mind on things above, not on things on the
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earth for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in
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God, when Christ, who is our life appears, then you also will
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appear with him in glory, therefore put to death your
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members which are on on the earth.
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Fornication uncleanness passion, evil desire land.
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And die evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry
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because of the because of these things, the wrath of God is
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coming upon the sons of disobedience in which you
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yourselves, once walk when you lived in them.
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But now yourselves are to put up all these anger wrath, malice
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blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth do not lie to one
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another. Since you have put off the old
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man with his deeds and have put on the new man who is renewed.
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And knowledge according to the image of him who created him
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where there is, neither Greek, nor Jew circumcised nor
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uncircumcised, Barbarian scythian, slave nor free.
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But Christ is in all is all, and in all so, beginning in verse
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number 7, We have the question posed to us.
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What is meant by the phrase you yourselves?
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Once walked when you lived in them.
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So this phrase is in direct reference to the attributes that
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were mentioned in verse 5, which were fornication uncleanness
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passion, evil, desire, desire and covetousness.
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So Paul was telling the Colossians that they at one time
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before following Christ, they too could have possibly have
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these characteristics. He's instructing and trying to
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show that that the old way that we used to live or the old man.
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That's how that was before they became Christians and such for
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us today. When we choose a Life of Christ,
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there are things that we need to change.
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Is complete lifestyle. Change that happens.
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When we look at a few passages, that kind of describe that in
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1st, Corinthians 6, verse 9 through 11 says, do not be
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deceived. Neither fornicators nor nor
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idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites, nor
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thieves nor Covetous nor drunkards, nor revilers nor
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extortioners will inherit the Kingdom.
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Of God and such were some of you but you were washed, but you
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were Sanctified, you were justified in the name of the
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Lord Jesus. And by the spirit of God, also
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in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through 3, it says, and he I'm
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sorry and you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins
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in which you once walked, according to the course of this
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world, according to the prince of power of the air, the spirit,
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who now works in the sons of Disobedience among whom all
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also, we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our
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flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh, and of the Mind, And
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were by Nature children of Wrath just as the others also.
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In Titus 3 verses 3 through 5, it says, for we ourselves were
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also once foolish disobedient, deceived serving, various lusts
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and Pleasures living in Malice and envy hateful and hating one
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another. But when the kindness and love
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of God, our savior toward man appeared not by works of
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righteousness, which we have done, but according to his
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Mercy, he saved us. Through the washing of
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regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
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So, these passages of scripture give us characteristics of what,
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a way of life was prior to becoming a Christian as choosing
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to obey the gospel and follow Jesus.
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But when we are washed baptism, First, Corinthians 6:11, We Are
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Made Alive, Ephesians 2:1 by the washing or baptism.
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That is described in Titus 3:5. So, these characteristics should
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be wiped away from Our Lives when we choose to follow Jesus
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and follow Christ and follow God's word.
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They do not. They now those characteristics
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characteristics. Now, do not Define Our Lives of
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who we are. That was a present.
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That was a past old man that we put off.
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And that all happens when we are baptized into Christ.
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We make a conscious decision to change who we once were now.
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God does not do the work for us. He does not make up our own
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minds when we are washed of our old ways, and our old way of
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life, it does not mean that God now controls are thinking and
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controls, our way of life, and we are just robots and he and we
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are unable to sin. That's not what that means.
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We are still capable of Sending you, we all sin, but it's not,
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it's not stating in these verses that when we choose a Life of
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Christ, God is now in the driver's seat and controlling
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everything we do. We still have free will and
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still have choices to make the word walked here in verse 7 is
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defined as to regulate one's life.
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That's how Thayer defines it. It is continuous way of life or
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lifestyle. Meaning that, that is how we
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choose to live our life. We choose to make those
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decisions daily. It is a daily progression and
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when we live for Christ, that is now our lifestyle.
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Even though we have a life of Christ, we still May slip up
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stumble or fall by committing any of these things that were
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mentioned in the verses, but that is now not our way of life.
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Our way of life is now focusing on Jesus and God's desire for us
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and Paul in the next verse gives us some practical ways on how to
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put off the old man. And what the old man looks like.
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So that brings us to question number 2, which deals with verse
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8, says, Define the following words in this verse In verse 8
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says, but now your you yourselves are put to let me
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start over, I'm sorry. But now you yourselves are to
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put off all these anger wrath, malice blasphemy filthy language
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out of your mouth. I know Frank just asked for a
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couple of definitions of these, but I'm going to go ahead and
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try to touch on each one of these descriptions, that has
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made. So anger, the word anger, here
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is a noun This is talking about not how we get angry sometimes
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at just some certain situations. This is talking about
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indignation a slow Burning Anger, that controls everything
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that you do every decision you make.
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It is something that is subsiding in you and just burns.
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So it's a different word than what we find in Ephesians, 4:26,
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Expert says, be angry and sin. Not, there's no conflict between
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Ephesians 4:26 and the word anger here in verse 8.
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Because when we read this passage and other passages like
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this, we are allowed to be angry at situations and circumstances
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and choices. As long as we do not sin with
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that anger, but to be perpetually, angry to have a
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burn in our hearts to have a control, our crew.
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Things and control. Our emotions that is where we
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are, so susceptible to sinning and giving a devil, a foothold
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in our lives The word wrath, the Wrath, the word wrath here is
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described as Rage or an outburst of passion a boiling over of the
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anger that we just talked about that Shone out early.
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You know, if we let that anger to sit in our hearts and burn,
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it's going to come out somehow and it comes out in Wrath and
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and then that goes right onto the word malice, which gives us
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an ill will that has a desire to injure.
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So all based upon anger, if we let that anger sit, it just
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keeps growing and growing and growing and we have ill will
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towards other people. Malice.
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We want, we want people to hurt. The next word blasphemy.
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This is something I learned in. And this was defined as a verbal
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insult intentionally, uttered intended to injure, another or
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defame their name. I always thought that blasphemy
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only could be done to God. And, and by studying this, we
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can quote on quote, be Blasphemous to somebody else.
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By, by speaking ill, towards them or in, are insulting them,
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or Or whatever it may be. It can be against anyone who we
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speak evil against. And then the last description
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here. Filthy communication is pretty
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self-explanatory. I've seen speech, it includes
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insults bullying vulgar language all, which is the meeting
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demeaning to not only the person whom is directed to, but those
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who met in be in close proximity to the word spoken.
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So, it's pretty interesting on how the progression of these
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words build. You have anger in your life,
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it's a slow burning, it then turns into Rath, which becomes
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that your anger becomes an outburst of passion, and then
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that passion and anger turns into malice, where you desire,
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someone to be injured. And in that in that that anger
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still has potential to become Blasphemous where you're
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speaking verbal insults to somebody.
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And then of course, along with that comes the filthy
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communication. So very practical stuff that we
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can learn from in just those few little words there that brings
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us to our third question. Number three, how does one put
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off the old man? And his deeds and this is in
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verse 9. It says do not lie to one
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another since you have put off the old man with his deeds.
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Putting off the old man is a reference like we've already
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touched on to change as made when we choose in life of a
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Christian would become New. Creations, the old
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characteristics of sinful decisions.
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We make no longer and we make a choice to stop living for our
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own selfish desires and our own selfish loves, and we put that
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old way that we used to be behind us.
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We are choosing a New Life of Christ, and when we change or
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put off that old way of life, we To replace it with something.
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We have to replace it with the new man that is talked about, in
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the New River in the next verse. And that deals.
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With verse number 10, how does one put on the new man?
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And what is meant by the phrase? Renewed in knowledge verse 10
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and that says and have put on the new man who is renewed in
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knowledge according to the image of him who created him.
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So if we wanted to give these couple of verses and especially
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this verse kind of an overall arching word to describe it, it
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comes down to repentance. Repentance is the word where
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things change in our life. We put off the old man and we
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put on the new man, we change our life completely in another
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Direction, living a lifestyle that is conducive to Jesus
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lifestyle and his commands. So we are to become living
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sacrifices as described in Romans 12 verse 1.
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All that we now do is for God and not for our own fleshly
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desires. Putting on a new man changes
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everything about our life. All that we once knew.
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And thought we had a knowledge on becomes insignificant to the
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knowledge that we now have by gaining, but that we now gain by
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serving, God and growing in our knowledge of him and his will.
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And that can only be done by reading the word of God and
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understanding the knowledge that is in there and renewing our
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knowledge and life and understanding more of what his
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desire is for us. We cannot be renewed into a new
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man by any other way than what's written in the in the word of
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God. So Paul gives us some positive
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affirmation that we can be made new through those through that
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way of Understanding God's will for us.
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I want to read. And if you have your Bibles open
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to Ephesians 4, starting in verse 20 and will read through
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32, And just while we read this, I mean this this these few
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verses really touch on everything that we talked about
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here in Colossians and there's there's phrases in here that
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we're going to recognize as we read them.
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It says, they're beginning in verse 20, but you have not so
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learned Christ if indeed, you have heard him and have been
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taught by him. As the truth is in Jesus that
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you put off concerning your former conduct the old man,
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which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and beer.
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Renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new
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man, which was created according to God in true righteousness and
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Holiness, therefore, put putting away lying, Let each one of you
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speak truth in his neighbor with his neighbor for, we are members
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of one. Another be angry and do not sin,
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do not let the sun, go down on your wrath, nor give place to
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the devil, let him who stole steal no longer, but rather Him
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labor working with his hands and what is good?
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That he may have something to give him who has need, let no
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corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for
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necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers
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and do not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed
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for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness wrath anger,
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clamor and evil. Speaking be put away from you
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with all malice and be kind. To one another tender-hearted
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forgiving one another. Even as God in Christ, forgave
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you In verse 11. Which deals with the question?
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Number five, that were. It says at now breakdown this
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version explain. Its meaning verse 11 says, where
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there is, neither Greek nor Jew circumcised nor Ernst
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uncircumcised, Barbarian scythian, slave nor free.
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But Christ is all and in all This is very, very simple.
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Christ is available and accessible to all.
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The Jews thought very highly of themselves and believe that they
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were the only one who had the privilege of accessing God, the
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Creator. Paul reaffirms here that it does
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not matter where you are from. What nationality we are, what
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color our skin is what language we speak, whether we are in
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bondage to someone or a master of some, it does not matter.
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What state or your circumstances, you may be in,
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Jesus is king of all Nations, and died for all, and his
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salvation is available to all that is what Paul is saying.
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In this verse 11 doesn't matter where you're from doesn't matter
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if you're a Jew by blood or or whatever.
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The case may be, everybody has the same privilege.
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To access Christ. And we are commanded that, we
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have to control ourselves. We have to have our self under
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subjection, because that's what Jesus has called us to do.
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That's what we are instructed to do.
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And if we don't, Paul tells us right here.
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What happens if we do not have our anger under control, You
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know, free counseling right here in Colossians 3 or 7 through 11
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on practical living ways and how to deal with our emotions and if
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we don't deal with them and if we don't keep them under
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control, how they can expound and be problems.
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