Guest Sermon

Good morning, Church of the Advent. Merry Christmas to you and to your family.

Merry Christmas from Candace and myself, and from your sister church, St. John's, up here in Southampton, Pennsylvania.

It's good to be with you this morning, this Christmas season.

This season where we can celebrate. Celebrate God becoming man and dwelling among us.

Celebrating God being willing to send His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to live the life we should have lived.

To die the death we should have died, to rise again conquering hell and death and Satan by His life, death, and resurrection.

And celebrating that with the inauguration of it all, which is His birth.

This morning I want to invite you into the middle of a sermon series we're working through up here at St. John's.

And that is a sermon series in the book of Colossians.

We find ourselves this morning in Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

We're going to spend our time in verses 5 through 11, but in order to do so,

I just want to sum up what Paul says in verses 1 through 4, and that is this.

Set your mind on things above, not things on earth.

What he's calling the Colossian church and you and me to in this statement is simply this.

Focus your eyes.

Set your gaze on Christ and who He is.

Set your focus on what He has done for you.

Not your day to day, but His eternal gift to you.

His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection.

The very life, the very person, the very deity that gave us hope, that gives us hope and joy in a future.

Having done that then, he says, you have an identity.

Your identity is no longer what you fight for day by day.

It's what's been given you, a free gift of grace in Jesus Christ.

Now wear this identity.

Having established that, he says, now in order to wear this identity well,

you must take off the old that you might put on the new.

Now I don't know about you, but when I was younger, I worked a multitude of odd jobs.

Odds and ends jobs here and there.

Some jobs more pertinent than others.

Some jobs because I couldn't find a career job just yet.

One of those jobs was in construction.

During college, just post-college, I found myself building pole barns and horse barns.

Now this morning, we're not going to talk about construction, but about work attire.

When I was working construction, my work wardrobe required heavy jeans,

which quickly became worn and torn and grease laden.

I also was required to wear steel-toed boots, work gloves, hoodies, a Carhartt jacket,

overalls in the winter, a face mask in the bitter cold, a hard hat, and a tool belt.

Having become a pastor later in life, I was required to get an entirely new wardrobe.

No longer are well-worn greased jeans and steel-toed work boots appropriate.

No longer am I required to wear a hard hat and a face mask, pandemics notwithstanding,

a Carhartt jacket or a tool belt.

These are no longer acceptable or representative of my new career.

Now my wardrobe is slacks or khakis, wingtip dress shoes, an overpriced button-up shirt

that comes without a collar, so I have to buy a hard, almost plastic-like collar

that is attached by metal buttons known as collar buttons.

I digress.

But the point is this.

When our identity changes, so too does our wardrobe.

Going from pole barns to pulpits required a complete overhaul of my work attire.

For Paul, writing to the Colossian church, he saw this very same need in their Christian lives.

Having come to a new identity in Christ, setting their minds on things above, not on earth,

the church needed clear direction about what of their old lives had to be put off

so that their new identity in Christ might rightly and fully be put on.

For Paul, this meant certain old behaviors, old lifestyles,

having to do with sexuality and speech as we see in the text for today.

Two central areas, as it were, of human life, both in Colossa and our lives today.

Both had to be dealt with.

Both of these areas come with the capability for great good when used in Christ

or great evil when abused by the enemy and in the world.

When it comes to the old lifestyle, the worldly use of sexuality and speech,

we aren't to treat it lightly, Paul says.

It isn't suggested that we slowly wean ourselves off these old behaviors and lifestyles.

It isn't suggested that we avoid them as often as possible

or toy with them as continuing possibility for some time later in life.

Paul says very emphatically,

put these to death because God's wrath is coming on account of these behaviors and lifestyles.

These parts of our old life, of our old identity,

before claiming our identity in Christ, they have to be killed.

They have to be put to death.

So this morning we're going to look at these two categories of sex and speech

and what it means for us to put them off,

that we might fully and completely put on our identity in Christ

and grow in maturity in this new identity in Him.

Before we do that, let us pray for God's help in understanding and applying this text.

Heavenly Father, God, we thank you for this Christmas season.

We thank you for the gift of your Son incarnate coming to earth,

coming to live the life we should have lived, to die the death we should have died.

We thank you for the joy, the hope, and the guaranteed future that comes with this season and Easter season alike.

We ask God as we work through this scripture, these set of verses, that you might open our hearts and minds,

dig out our ears, let these words be not my words, but your words.

We ask that as we apply them to our lives, that they might take effect,

that they might root themselves deeply in us and change the way we walk, we talk, and we live in the world around us.

In your name we pray. Amen.

So this morning, starting in chapter 3, verse 5, we see Paul saying,

put to death, put to death sexual behavior, put to death sexual misbehavior, I should say.

And Paul gives us a list of five things that contains both actions and thoughts.

It's not just what we do, but what we think.

It's our head, our heart, and our hands that shows who we are and whose we are.

And he says, put to death sexual immorality, put to death impurity and passion and evil desires and covetousness,

for these are the things that are bringing God's wrath.

A very dear friend of mine and Christian brother who has done ministry with me in the past,

who has walked through many parts of life with me, the good, the bad, the ugly, the redeemed, and the still being redeemed.

This friend of mine, about 40 years ago, for the first time in his life, finally admitted that he was sexually broken.

Not sexually struggling, not sexually working things out, but broken.

Now, he wasn't out picking up prostitutes on street corners, nor was he engaging in regular promiscuous encounters,

but he was addicted to porn.

And at the same time, he had reached a point in his life where his faith has now mattered more to him than his own desires of the flesh.

And even though he had reached this point, his addiction didn't just cease to exist because he had made a commitment.

He had also reached a point in his life where he longed to be married, and to be married to a godly woman.

But he was confronted with the reality.

The reality that until he took off his lifestyle of instant sexual gratification,

he could never enter into a relationship well.

He could never look at a woman rightly without his brokenness creeping in and objectifying the lady,

even if only for a moment, ruining his ability to see her as fully human.

Seeing her as a child of God and not an object for fulfilling his desires and passions.

Desires and passions, by the way, words Paul uses to call out sexual misbehavior of the world in verse 5.

So my friend got rid of his TV.

He gave it away.

He shut off his internet.

He traded in his iPhone for a flip phone.

He began to, in his own way, put off the things of the world that drove him to sexual misbehavior.

And he signed up for Sexaholics Anonymous.

He also went to his pastor and to his Christian brothers and confessed his sin and asked for accountability.

He walked in this for three plus years.

He's still walking in it, but as a man on the right side of the addiction, of the misbehavior.

A man with a new identity in Christ, able to live in it more fully and well.

Three years into this journey, he met a woman.

And for the first time in his life, he was able to enter in.

His newfound identity in Christ, paired with his putting to death the old behaviors of sexual brokenness,

allowed him to put on Christ and to be as Christ for this young woman who had just lost her mother to cancer.

One year later, as they were dating, she was baptized as an Anglican, nonetheless.

And six months later, they were married.

But this man still would tell you he could not have gotten to where he was when he met his would-be wife,

nor to where he is today in his Christian walk,

without taking the words and the message of Colossians 3, 5-6 extremely seriously,

and committing nearly a half a decade of his life to putting to death the sexual sin in his life.

And while we don't all have a past like his,

I think we can all be challenged and encouraged by the intentionality that he showed

in throwing off the sin that kept him from fully embracing his identity in Christ.

We must be honest and intentional in our own lives, in the same way that he was.

If you're single, have you found yourself struggling with this question,

how far is too far in your dating relationship?

It's the wrong question.

I've asked that question when I was a younger man.

But if we're being honest with each other,

if we're willing to be honest,

it's just pushing the boundaries to fulfill our own desires and passions.

As soon as we must ask questions about boundaries,

our intentions aren't truly pure.

They're being tainted by our desires,

by our passions,

by what we want.

We want to put the cart in front of the horse,

even though in our hearts we know that it doesn't work.

If you're married but find yourself fantasizing,

or from time to time starting,

sorry,

staring at a man or woman who is not your spouse,

then you're not really putting to death the old self.

You're letting the old self hang around as a backup plan of sorts.

A teacher of mine,

the Christian high school I went to,

used to often say to the men in the class,

the boys truly,

look,

even if you're on a diet,

you can walk past the bakery

in regards to looking at attractive women in the mall while his wife shopped.

But I think if Paul were standing next to him today,

or back in those days in the classroom,

he would take him by the scruff of the neck and shake him and say,

no,

you can't.

It doesn't work that way.

You must put out of your mind,

out of your life,

out of your routine,

any impurity,

actions,

and thoughts that keep you in your old lifestyle's clothing.

If you're struggling with internet porn,

or infidelity in your relationships,

it will eventually tear apart your relationships.

And it cannot be handled by treating it with kid gloves,

Paul says.

It must be put to death,

so that we can put on Christ as our new identity more fully.

We have to take it seriously,

as a matter of spiritual life and death,

friends.

Again,

the expulsive power of a new affection.

He doesn't start by saying,

throw away the old.

He starts by saying,

you are new,

you are renewed,

and being renewed in Christ,

and he'll repeat that again in a little while in the text we're looking at today.

But knowing where our gaze is,

knowing what our identity is,

we're called to put off the old,

that we might embrace the new,

because of the grace already given us

in the person,

in the work of Jesus Christ.

But Paul doesn't stop here at sexual brokenness.

He moves on to speech.

And I think we should note here,

he is equally concerned with speech,

as he is with sexual sin.

It would do the church well

to engage this,

to sit with this,

to actually wrestle with this a little more deeply.

It's easy for us to point out sexual brokenness,

and to slide poor speech ethics under the rug,

or to hide them.

But Paul says both inflict serious damage,

not only on the individual,

but on the whole community.

And in regards to sinful speech patterns,

Saul says,

put them all away.

Anger,

wrath,

malice,

slander,

obscene talk.

And if these words don't wring your belly,

he goes on and says,

don't lie to each other.

Stop lying.

Why does he say this?

Because time and time again,

the gospel teaches us,

the words of Paul and the other apostles

in the New Testament teach us,

that the gospel is about truth.

And there is no place for untruths

in the Christian community.

If we look at the world around us,

it is quickly and clearly obvious

how rampant anger,

wrath,

malice,

slander,

and lying are

in a culture

and a world

that haven't put off

the old self.

And it can be easy

for ourselves

to get wrapped up in it as well

and join in this way

of speaking

or relating

or talking about those

who are outside of our circles.

Look at all the Facebook warriors

out there,

both for or against

mask wearing,

for or against

the past or future president,

for or against

taking a vaccine,

for or against

our culture tells us

we have to be on one extreme

or the other

in order to fit in.

It shapes our culture's

public voice

and it is built on the back

of slanderous

and malicious speech.

Think about our political landscape,

even in our own lives,

regardless of what side

you fall on

when it comes to political issues.

Do you allow yourself

to speak,

to write,

or to think slanderously,

maliciously,

or angrily

about the opposite side?

Are you quick to say

you couldn't be Christian

if,

or you shouldn't be Christian

if,

how could you vote this,

how could you stand for that?

On a more personal note,

in your personal relationships,

relationships,

even within the church

or your nuclear families,

as we find ourselves

in holiday season,

is there that person

who gets talked about

in your church circles?

Is there that one crazy

aunt,

uncle,

or in-law

who gets put down

behind their back

on the way to

or from

Thanksgiving

or Christmas

or New Year's

family get-togethers?

Do you get home

from work

and tear down

your boss

or co-workers

to your spouse

or friends?

Paul says,

put it away.

Give it up.

In order to fit

into your new clothes,

into your new identity

in Christ,

that malarkey

has got to stop.

It has to go

the way of the dodo bird.

It has to become extinct

in your speech patterns

and habits.

Those things

aren't for building up,

which is the role

of the Christian community,

but they are

for tearing down,

which is the mark

of the work

of the devil.

To tear apart

relationships

is his ultimate goal.

Between us and God,

between us and ourselves,

between us and our neighbor

and us and creation,

that is the devil's work,

to destroy

those relationships.

To be in Christ

then is to rebuild them,

to build them up,

to fortify those relationships

and to mend them.

And when we are

not intentional

about using our language

to build one another up,

we lend a hand

to the opposition's goal.

So Paul says,

throw off

sexual brokenness,

that you might put on

your identity

in Christ more fully

and use sexuality

in a way

that glorifies him,

that glorifies his creation,

that sees his brothers,

his children,

your brothers and sisters

as image bearers

of the king.

put off

slanderous speech

and speech habits

that are from the old life.

Put off

tearing people

and perspectives down

and spend your time

building up

in love

and truth

in the gospel.

And yet he says,

I understand

that while you work

on these things,

you're not fully there.

And that's okay.

Take notice

to what he says

in verse 10.

Because if you're anything

like me,

this is good

and necessary news

in the context

of this passage.

In verse 10,

it says

that although we try,

we aren't 100% successful.

In fact,

sometimes it feels like

we're batting 400,

which is Hall of Fame

worthy in baseball,

but we're not talking

about baseball this morning.

And yet it seems like

it might be asking

too much

on a given day.

But here's the good news.

Here's the good news

that Paul reminds us of

in chapter 10.

This new self,

this new identity,

the putting off

and the putting on

is a process.

It's not an event.

It didn't happen

only at your baptism,

only at your confirmation,

only at your renewal

of confirmation,

your renewal of vows.

You are not

a finished product.

We are not

finished products.

We are still wet clay

in the hands

of the great potter.

He is fashioning

and shaping us

day by day.

So today,

put to death

the ways of the world

in your life

more than yesterday

and tomorrow

more than today

and continue

to grow in knowledge.

Christians are to be

the most critical thinkers

as we apply

these lifestyle changes.

So process

the difference

that shows up

in your lives

and how life

can and will be

with your new clothes,

with your new identity

fully put on.

When you fall short,

remember Christmas.

Your identity

is given to you,

a gracious gift,

because God became

man to dwell among us,

to live as one of us,

to die that we

might not have to.

It's this identity,

rooted in Christmas

and fulfilled

in the resurrection

at Easter,

that we are invited

to put on

Christ

when we put to death

the old identity

of sin

and death.

Amen?

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father,

God,

we thank you

for the gracious

gift of Christmas,

fulfilled and completed

in the work of Easter.

God,

we thank you

for coming

and dwelling among us,

to be a God

who's not too big

or too out there

to become man,

to take on our sin

and our brokenness

that we might live

and live eternally

and live with you.

Thank you

for rebuilding

our relationship,

for repairing

and redeeming us

as your creation.

God,

help us so

to throw off

the way of the world

that we might put on

our identity in Christ,

that as the world

around us sees us,

they might begin

to ask questions

about what makes us

so unique,

so loving,

so gentle,

so tenderhearted,

and so full of truth.

God,

we thank you

for the gift of Christ.

In your name we pray.

Amen.