Colossians 3:12-17 "Teach and Admonish One Another"

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Let's pray.

Jesus, we worship you full of mercy and truth and righteousness and peace.

You're glorious.

Father, so work by your spirit that I would remember that I stand complete in Jesus before I preach this sermon.

That we stand complete in Jesus before we obey the first word of it.

We're yours because of Jesus.

Thank you.

Would you work in our hearts that we would be who we are.

That we would become in our lives those who reflect the reality of Jesus in us.

Who live lives of mercy and truth and righteousness and peace like our Savior.

Now, Lord, speak.

Your servants are listening.

Amen.

Turn with me to Colossians 3.

Another one another passage.

Where Paul, through the Holy Spirit, depicts the church as a gospel community.

In some areas that we've already discussed this summer.

And a new one for this morning.

We'll start reading in verse 12.

Put on, then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved.

That's the context of this.

As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved.

Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Bearing with one another.

And if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other.

As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

And above all these, put on love.

Which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.

To which indeed you were called in one body.

And be thankful.

Now where we'll focus this morning.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

Teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.

Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

With thankfulness in your hearts to God.

And whatever you do, in word or deed.

Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

So far, God's holy, inerrant, infallible word.

For which we give Him great thanks.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So the particular one anothering.

That we're talking about this morning.

Is teaching and admonishing one another.

In all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Or as the parallel passage in Ephesians says.

Speak to one another.

With psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

I've always wondered what that means.

That's so strange, isn't it?

You speak to anybody like that?

Is the Christian life supposed to be one big live musical?

Musical theater in our relationships?

It's kind of scary, isn't it?

I don't know if I want to be a part of that.

But in order to understand this part of gospel community.

We've got to see the gospel part really big this morning.

It's the whole context.

The whole environment of teaching and admonishing one another.

We've seen this gospel dynamic of our relationships every single week.

But this passage especially highlights it.

So I want to linger there a bit together this morning.

By the gospel part, I mean that our relationships are focused on and fueled by Jesus.

That's what it means to be in gospel community.

A few weeks ago, we saw the gospel reality of Jesus' sacrificial love moving toward us in relationship.

That that was what actually fueled us to move towards others with sacrificial love.

Then we saw how Jesus identifies with us in our joys and in our sorrows so that we can do the same for one another in our joys and sorrows.

We talked about the freedom the gospel offers to us to confess and forgive as God and Christ has solved our sin problem.

Last week, Peter so helpfully reminded us of our need for the community of the gospel.

Where big needs find other big needs and together find an even bigger savior.

Today we'll see again how vital the good news of Jesus is for the relationships God calls us to share in his family.

Finally, I've always loved Dale's steak sauce.

It's really, really good.

In fact, I was just looking this morning.

It's basically soy sauce with some extra salt added to make sure.

It's liquid salt, okay?

I know that, but it's really good.

That's why I like it.

It's possible that when I'm grilling dinner for my family,

sometimes I've put a little bit too much Dale's for a little bit too long.

And when they get their chicken, all they can taste is salt, which seems delightful.

But for whatever reason, they don't love that.

Verse 16 says, our church needs to be marinated in Dale's.

Well, it doesn't say that.

Actually, in gospel Dale's is what it means.

So that gospel flavor seeps through us in our relationships, in our community together.

That's what the word of Christ dwelling richly among us means.

Together marinating, soaking through, thoroughly taking us over,

so that when someone gets a taste of us, they say salt, or better, gospel.

That's the only way to define what I just tasted is gospel.

See, the word of Christ here in this passage is not merely specific words Jesus spoke,

but more fully the message about Jesus, the gospel.

That's what Paul is saying we must be marinated in, defined by.

It's the most important thing about us.

In the beginning of Colossians, Paul has explained that gospel this way.

You and I had one definition, dead in our sins.

Dead, unable to bring ourselves back to life.

And on top of that, condemned because we have a debt so big we couldn't possibly pay it.

And it's written up against us and there's nothing that we can do.

That's how we're defined, condemned and dead.

But he says the good news is that God sent his perfect image, his son Jesus to the cross where he pays that debt

to free us from what we owed and to bring us from darkness and death and drag us into light and life.

In fact, actually to bring us into God's family that we would know him and be reconciled to God.

So the good news, the gospel, the word of Christ is that we have everything in Christ.

In fact, everything we have and are is only because of Jesus.

Otherwise, you're just condemned and dead.

We are alive only in Christ.

We have purpose only with Christ.

We have joy only because of Christ.

So Paul says in chapter 3 that Christ is your life.

Makes sense, right?

Christ is your life because you're only defined rightly in relationship with him.

Listen, you're not defined as a failure.

As a dropout.

As a sinner.

That's not what defines you.

And equally so, you're not defined as a good doctor.

As a successful student.

As a caring mother.

No.

Verse 12.

You're defined as God's chosen ones.

Holy and beloved.

Set apart for him.

Adored by your father.

Father.

You have a purpose in this world.

It's his glory.

You have security in this life.

It's his love.

Why is that not enough for us?

I'd suggest that you and I spend a lot of time and a lot of effort trying to define ourselves.

And make up an identity for me.

And trying to find our life in a lot of other places.

But a gospel community is a place where we marinate together in the gospel.

And are defined only by that good news.

We sang it earlier.

Father.

This family bears your name.

Live in us.

Through faith.

Shape us.

By your incredible love.

Love.

Wanted a drink of water and almost got a drink of Dale's.

Trying to be honest with you.

It's one thing to be defined by something.

It's quite another to delight in it.

Isn't it?

You can agree that you are defined as salty and not like the chicken.

Right?

I've seen this Facebook post several times.

Everyone who knows me knows I love blank.

And then your friends all comment and fill in the blank for you.

I'm always scared to post that.

Everyone who knows me knows I love blank.

What would they say Will loves?

What does he delight in?

What would people say for you?

One of the things you can't miss in this passage is this overflowing delight.

As the word of Christ dwells richly among God's people.

They're singing isn't there?

Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs.

This good news.

This new identity defined as a beloved child of God.

It so delights my heart that you can't stop it from coming out.

All the time.

Everywhere.

Perhaps in particular in this passage when I'm around others who share that delight.

It's like God's people when their feet touch the ground on the other side of the Red Sea.

And what do they do?

They break into song together.

Singing about the greatness of their God.

And of his salvation.

This incredible deliverance where he's brought them through miraculously.

They can't seem to get over it.

They don't just sing there one time.

They throw parties about it every year don't they?

They write songs about it and sing them every week.

They tell stories about it to their kids.

Because their delight is in the God of their salvation.

And you can see it.

It's the word of God.

And the life changing story that it draws you into your chief delight.

Is that what people would say about you?

That's what characterizes a gospel community.

Before we even talk about what we will share with each other in relationship.

It's this group of people so defined by the gospel.

So delighting in the gospel that it is unmistakable.

They're salty.

They're gospelicious.

They're gospelicious.

Yes, kids.

I can coin words on your sheets.

And I made one up this week.

Gospelicious.

Christ-centered.

Maybe more traditionally.

Jesus-obsessed.

Right?

A few weeks ago we talked about being a people sent to live for God's glory and declare his grace.

And one of our members came up to me after the service and said,

Pastor, do you have any trouble talking about your wife to other people?

I thought, I don't know, it sounds like a trap.

I'm not sure what you mean.

And she said, listen, I mean, when you really love someone, you can't stop telling people about them, can you?

She said, I used to be like that with Jesus.

I would tell anybody and everybody I could find how awesome he was and how he loved me.

And I don't do that as much anymore.

She said, I heard you saying that this morning.

And I think our problem is not that we don't know how to.

It's that we don't actually love him.

We don't love him that much.

We don't love him as much as we say we do.

Pastor, we need to pray for all of our hearts, for mine and all of ours.

I thought that was really insightful.

And a great example, by the way, of teaching one another.

As she helped me understand, gave me insight into this reality.

When the gospel is truly what defines and delights you.

When Jesus is actually your love, your life, you talk about him.

That's what this teaching and admonishing one another is about.

About talking to one another.

About what?

About Jesus.

About the gospel and its transformative reality in all of life.

In whatever else it is that we might want to talk about.

About the word for teaching is focused on the head.

Informing someone about something.

Instructing them.

We do this all the time.

We teach each other, don't we?

Sure.

We teach each other what we should watch on Netflix.

We teach which diet fads to embrace.

Where to vacation.

How to handle challenging children.

Children.

What about how to handle the challenge of following Jesus together?

What about what God is teaching me in my marriage?

What about seeing singleness or retirement or loving neighbor through gospel lenses?

And where my struggles or my study, God is showing me something new.

When the word of Christ is dwelling richly among us.

We teach one another about it.

Paul is talking here, by the way, about the gospel dwelling richly among the community.

It's the y'all part there.

That you is the y'all version of you.

Among y'all.

That actually assumes the individual, doesn't it?

If the word of Christ is dwelling richly among us,

it assumes that each of the individuals is marinating in that, doesn't it?

Remember that picture from the end of Luke's gospel we talked about?

Where all the disciples gathered around sharing what Jesus has shown them about their Bibles?

Why not here too?

Isn't that a beautiful picture to be a part of?

That's gospel community.

Teaching one another.

Admonishing one another is very similar to that.

But the word here actually goes a bit deeper beyond the head to the heart.

Addressing the will and the affections.

I've said inspiring for that reason.

That's what we want to.

Inspiring one another.

Although often admonishing has an idea of correction associated with it.

Let me give you examples.

Earlier this summer, a friend from church saw me playing tennis with one of my girls.

And after we finished, we were talking and talking about the challenges of parenting

and the importance of getting that one-on-one time with our children

to be able to really engage their hearts.

And she shared with me how valuable it was and impactful in her life,

her relationship with her dad in that time that she got with him.

And she encouraged me.

She said, maybe even wake up early to get it.

Because I was bemoaning how difficult it was to find that time.

Maybe even wake up early and go play tennis just with her.

It's really worth it, Will.

Graciously, she was admonishing me toward being a godly father.

I'm so grateful to learn from her.

Moving more toward the corrective.

Last year, I sent out a prayer request in our prayer guide that was unthoughtfully worded.

It implied that I felt our retirees may not be living for Jesus.

A couple of you came to me and said,

Pastor, words are important for all of us,

and especially someone in your position in our church family.

I'd urge you to consider if these words reflect God's heart well.

They didn't.

And you gave me the chance to apologize,

to learn,

and to grow.

That's admonishing one another.

More than once during or after a meeting,

I've had a fellow pastor or elder pull me aside and say,

hey, I think as you led this portion of our meeting,

you started to forget the truth of the gospel.

You became defensive.

You didn't listen well.

But instead of beating me down with that,

he said, you know, it's really unhelpful when that happens,

and you're leading the conversation.

So I really want to pray for you

that you would remember God's delight in you as his child,

that you would have confidence in that,

and the truth of the gospel for you.

It'll be a blessing to all of us in the meeting.

What a needful and life-giving admonition.

Do you hear how that offers grace?

Helping me see idolatry in my heart,

in my life,

and at the same time inspiring me back

into delighting in my Father the way I should be.

What a gracious thing to say.

Now, we don't always receive admonition well, do we?

It's one of the reasons some of us are afraid

to admonish one another.

We especially struggle if it's not communicated graciously.

But the reason it ought to be frequent in gospel community

and well-received is when you speak with a brother or a sister,

you're teaching, you're admonishing another person

in whom God dwells.

You're talking to another person where the Spirit is already at work,

so you don't have to fix their heart.

You don't have to change them.

You just get the privilege of sharing what God is teaching you

or pointing them to be sensitive to what the Spirit is doing,

pointing them to Jesus, right?

There's hope in that.

That's why we can and we must enter into this joyfully

in our relationships.

Even singing, we're getting to that part.

It's connected here with teaching and admonishing

because of our overflowing delight in the gospel

that shapes and defines me, right?

That's where that comes from.

See, this is for all of us, isn't it?

This teaching and admonishing, singing.

I hope you're hearing that in my examples

because it's easy to think, okay, singing.

Yeah, James, good.

Teaching.

Oh, good, Will does that.

Admonishing.

Ah, that's why we have elders.

And it is true.

The Bible says God gives particular gifts and callings

to lead here in the community,

but this command is not talking about that.

This command is quite clearly for all of us.

Teach and admonish one another.

Everyone, everywhere in this gospel community.

So listen, teaching or admonishing one another

doesn't require a seminary education.

It does require God's word dwelling richly in and among us,

doesn't it?

That's why we so often open the Bible to see Jesus together.

Why we do it at VBS with our kids

and at youth large group gatherings,

in our small groups, in our connect communities,

so that we see Jesus and the reality of the gospel

that defines and delights us,

that it can shape us and make us gracious,

even gospelicious teachers to each other.

Because how else are we going to do that

unless we're dwelling richly, marinating in it ourselves?

I love how this passage in Colossians

and the one in Ephesians

move us from the sanctuary into all of life.

See, it certainly includes corporate worship services,

just like this one.

Services where we're teaching and admonishing one another

with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Yes, listen, our worship is vertical to God for sure,

but it also has a horizontal element to it, doesn't it?

Just this morning, we called each other to worship

with a psalm.

What did we say?

Come, let us worship and bow down.

Let us make a joyful noise to God,

for he is great and we are his people.

We're urging each other toward him, aren't we?

Then we sang that great hymn,

How Firm a Foundation.

It's a hymn admonishing one another

to cling to Christ in hard times.

How firm a foundation,

ye saints of the Lord,

singing at each other,

is laid for your faith in his excellent word.

And then we go on to talk about

how we can remind each other

that God says don't fear,

that God says I'm with you,

I won't forsake you.

And we're reminding each other of that

even as we worship God.

We need that admonition, don't we?

It's a beautiful thing, y'all,

to find yourself embracing

or crying with

or praying with a brother or sister

in the middle of this worship service.

It's not disruptive,

it's not inappropriate,

it's beautiful and right and good.

And I encourage you towards it.

And, verse 17 says,

whatever you do.

Not just here,

but from the sanctuary now

to the playground,

to the classroom,

to your dinner table

or a lunch meeting,

what do you talk about?

Our vertical worship of God

has a horizontal element.

And maybe even more challenging for us,

our horizontal relationships

must have a vertical element.

Our hearts must be overflowing

with a desire to focus on Christ,

not on self.

That's what we say it means for us

as a church to be committed

to being Christ-centered.

That's not just in the preaching,

that's as a church family

and our first core commitment

about being Christ-centered.

We say it means giving glory to Jesus

is the goal,

not just of preaching,

not just when we're in this room,

but even of our life

and community together.

Because the Bible's all about Jesus,

not just the sermon,

but our conversations,

every one of them

should point us back to Jesus

so that we live each day

in His strength

rather than our own

and for His glory

rather than our own.

Y'all, that's not easy, is it?

Listen, it's normal for football fans

to get together and talk about football.

It's expected that parents

will get together

and talk about their children.

It's a good thing

and important that engineers

get together and talk about engineering.

And it is vital that Christians

get together and talk about Christ.

Amen?

That should be what happens

in our relationships.

Not just talking about it,

but challenging one another

with God's Word.

Sharing what God is teaching us.

Even at times,

singing with overflowing delight

at the good news of the Gospel.

Can you believe it?

Did we come to worship today

in a place that delights

in calm order

or delights in Jesus?

Do we live in a community

that delights in our home renovations

or delights in Jesus?

What do you talk about?

What makes your heart sing?

Is it not the good news,

the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

It changes not just your Sunday morning,

it changes everything.

What would it look like for Southwood

to be more and more a community like this?

Musical theater?

No.

Do we become the weird people

everyone whispers about?

They talk about Jesus in the Bible all the time.

Y'all, let me be honest.

That's not our problem.

It's not.

I haven't had anybody in my office

complaining about

one of your members

talks about Jesus too much.

Maybe it would

mean more of our conversations

at the pool would begin with,

guess what I read this morning?

Isn't this so good?

I just had to share this with y'all.

I want you to see this good news

from God's Word.

Maybe it sounds like two guys

in a small group sitting at lunch

and one says,

hey, I love that new concept

for the business y'all have.

I'm really excited for you

but I just wanted to say to you

as I hear you talking,

I keep hearing you talk about nothing

but the financial possibilities

it has for you

and I wanted to just warn you

about the deceitfulness of wealth

because I've seen it in my own life.

I've really struggled with that

and we read about it

in our Bible study this week

and I just wanted to encourage you

and let you know,

I'm praying for you

and I'm praying that new idea

goes great for the sake of the kingdom

that it's really successful

and I'm praying God would guard your heart

from that dangerous idol too.

Can we pray together about that?

Maybe it means when someone

shares a struggle or heartache

they'll not hear human solutions

or spiritual platitudes

but real hope in Christ

offered from a fellow struggler

who's found the good news

and has nothing more important to do

than listen to you

and pray for you

and point you to Jesus

and they can't think of anything else

that would be a higher priority

in their day than that

and that will happen.

It will.

God will do that

as we continue coming back here

to be defined by

and delighting in

the good news of Jesus.

That's how it happens, right?

It's not from the external in,

it's from the in out.

We don't just say,

I'm gonna start speaking more spiritually.

I'm gonna make sure to use more

thou's and these

and Jesus's

in all my sentences.

That's not how you teach

and admonish one another.

No, we actually need the spirit

to work in our hearts.

That we repent

of the other places

we find our identity

and our joy

so that we're increasingly

defined by

and delighting

in the good news of Jesus

making us God's very own

dearly beloved children

and that starts to flow out.

That's exactly why, by the way,

Jesus planned

and commanded

this table

for us regularly.

For us to be here often

so that we could remember

that we are His

and we could celebrate

the thing

that is most important

in who we are

and how I live my life

even this week

so that His gospel

and His grace

would not only define us

but it would overflow

from us

to others.

Jesus sat at that table

on the night

that He was betrayed

and He took bread.

He broke it

and He gave it

to His disciples

as I'm ministering

in His name

give this bread to you.

He said,

take and eat.

This is my body

broken for you.

Do this in remembrance

of me.

And then He took the cup

after supper

saying,

this cup

is the new covenant

in my blood

shed for many

for the remission

of sins.

drink it

and remember

me.

For as often

as you eat this bread

and drink this cup

you proclaim

the Lord's death

until He comes

and you proclaim

that this is who you are

and whose

you are.

If you know Jesus

if you trust Jesus

if He is your life

then in His name

I offer you

the only thing

that will truly

fulfill

and delight you

Jesus

present with you

meeting with you

by His Spirit

sitting with you

at His Father's table

come and eat

and celebrate.

And if you don't

know and trust

Jesus

if you say

I've heard about Him

but He's not

He's not my life

He's certainly not

the thing that defines

and delights me

then listen

in the name of Jesus

I offer you

the one who's

the bread of life

who's the living

water

who says

if you drink

of me

you'll never

be thirsty again

don't come

just to these

outward elements

come to Jesus

and know Him

as the fulfillment

of every longing

that you have

come

and let us even

pray with you

this morning

we would love

to do that

and love to share

with you about Jesus

let's pray

and we'll come

together

Father thank you

for a reminder

I need

of where my life

is found

I need that reminder

more than weekly

you've sent your son

you must have

delighted in us

so much

we must have

been so precious

to you

we must be

indeed

your joy

and crown

that you would

give your son

for us

remind us of that

as we celebrate

that he gave

his body and blood

for us

we ask in his name

amen

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