Live in Christ Who gives you life.

 

Sermon for Epiphany 2, January 15, 2023

Peace to all of you who are in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Colossians 2:6-15  ⁶Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, ⁷by being rooted and built up in him, and strengthened in the faith just as you were taught, while you overflow in faith with thanksgiving.  ⁸See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, which are in accord with human tradition, namely, the basic principles of the world, but not in accord with Christ.  ⁹For all the fullness of God’s being dwells bodily in Christ.  ¹⁰And you have been brought to fullness in him.  Christ is the head over every ruler and authority.  ¹¹You were also circumcised in him, with a circumcision not done by human hands, in the putting off of the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, ¹²when you were buried with Christ in baptism.  And in baptism you were also raised with him through the faith worked by the God who raised Christ from the dead.  ¹³Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses.  ¹⁴God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands.  This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross.  ¹⁵After disarming the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ. (EHV)

Live in Christ Who gives you life.

Dear friends in Christ,

            What makes a person good?  Theologians and philosophers have debated that question for almost as long as time has existed.  Most people would like to be good, and most people would like to consider themselves good people.  Certainly, most people want to raise good children, we want to have good neighbors, we want good government and a safe and peaceful place to live.  Still, what makes a person truly good?  What standard will we use?  Is any standard acceptable?

Today, in our world, there are numerous standards being used to identify good versus evil.  If you study philosophy in college, you would be directed to study a wide variety of thinkers who came up with various standards of what they think is good.  Perhaps, though, they all miss the point.  You see, when it comes to salvation and eternal life, whether the world sees you as good, doesn’t really matter, does it?  What matters is what God sees.  Therefore, in answer to some who were misleading the people of Colossae with various philosophies and religious ideas, St. Paul advises that you Live in Christ Who gives you life.

Now, we might all agree that having the world judge you to be good does have some advantages in this life.  If your neighbors view you kindly, you are likely to have peaceful interactions with them.  If the authorities in your city, state, and country view you as good according to the laws of that area, you are unlikely to spend time in jail, and you might even be offered a position of power.  If you are considered good by your family, you will likely be given much more freedom to do things as you want to do them.  On the other hand, what does God, who will judge us in the end, say about being good?

Our God, the Creator of heaven and earth, has declared, “You shall be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)  That, my friends, is the standard that matters in the end, and God’s standard will never change based on the whims of society, or the evil in men.  To enjoy eternal life in heaven, we must be holy as the Lord our God is holy, for “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” (Matthew 25:31-32)  

The people of Colossae were under attack by teachers from a variety of backgrounds and ideas of good.  Certain teachers of Jewish background demanded adherence to the Mosaic laws, especially demanding circumcision of these Gentile Christians before they would be saved.  There were also plenty of pagan philosophies floating around, all of which were at best attempting to satisfy natural law, but not one of those ideas could count as holy before God.

In a recent Sunday sermon, and countless other times, you were reminded that “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  This is why Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6)  Being holy before God requires perfect obedience to God’s law and God’s will for our lives, without any exception for personal preference or time off for good behavior.  Being holy requires perfect thoughts that are always in full agreement with our Creator.  It requires that we never desire anything but what God gives us.  It means we never complain or ever question God and His Word.  Furthermore, because God is our Creator, He has the perfect right to make the rules for who will enter His heaven, and He requires that we perfectly align with Him.

Still, the Good News, that the people of Colossae had already learned, is that Jesus has taken care of our righteousness and the punishment for our sins.  They already knew that nothing more is needed to be saved than to believe in Jesus as their Savior.  “The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.^” (Isaiah 53:5)  Therefore, Paul writes to remind them not to let go of that saving promise.  He said, “Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, by being rooted and built up in him, and strengthened in the faith just as you were taught, while you overflow in faith with thanksgiving.” 

The truth is there is nothing we must do to make our salvation more sure.  Jesus had accomplished everything needed when He announced from the cross, “It is finished.”  To come to believe in Jesus doesn’t require a decision on our part.  There are no spiritual exercises that make God more happy with us.  Forgiveness and salvation come to us completely as a gift of God’s grace. 

The Colossians knew this, and still, Satan was working through deceptive teachers to make them wonder.  You and I also face the same type of persuaders who are convinced that we must do something to be right with God.  The opinion of the law rooted in our rebellious nature makes it hard for us to fathom God’s merciful love.  St. Peter warned from personal experience: “Be alert.  Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Resist him by being firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9) 

One of the devil’s oldest lies is telling us that you can’t trust God to be faithful.  But, the Holy Spirit assures us through John, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)  Our God is ever faithful.  For thousands of years before He sent His Son, God gave promises of the salvation to come.  Now, that Jesus has come, and has lived and died to accomplish our release from the devil’s chains, those ancient prophecies fulfilled comfort us with the sure confidence that Jesus is who He claims to be.

Most of our world has a hard time believing this because they imagine we need to see God with our own eyes in order to believe.  To that idea, Paul writes, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, which are in accord with human tradition, namely, the basic principles of the world, but not in accord with Christ.  For all the fullness of God’s being dwells bodily in Christ.”  When God claimed Jesus was His Son, He wasn’t deceiving us.  Christ’s resurrection from the grave, at the precise time He had promised to rise, proves He is exactly who He said He is.  Those people who walked this earth with Jesus, heard Him teach, saw His miracles, watched Him die, then saw Him alive again—they saw God face to face.  That wasn’t any imagined theatrics. 

People who today deny Jesus deny numerous eyewitnesses and the testimony of God Himself.  None of this matters if you don’t know or believe what Jesus did for you.  However, for you, Jesus became a man.  For you, Jesus suffered and died.  For you, Jesus rose and lives in heaven.  Paul explains that this reality has cleansed you of everything that separated you from God. 

The Jews were commanded to circumcise their boys as a sign of God’s covenant of grace.  That covenant was complete in Christ Jesus.  Therefore, Paul explains, “Christ is the head over every ruler and authority.  You were also circumcised in him, with a circumcision not done by human hands, in the putting off of the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, when you were buried with Christ in baptism.  And in baptism you were also raised with him through the faith worked by the God who raised Christ from the dead.” 

Baptism and faith in Jesus connect you fully to Jesus, the Head of all creation.  As you have already heard, it is through Christ that all your sins have been carved away from you, and the penalty of death for sin is paid in full.  Likewise, in Christ, you have been given life that doesn’t end.  Therefore, Live in Christ Who gives you life.

What great comfort is ours that the sins that so trouble our hearts, and this world in general, are no longer remembered by God.  Paul wrote, “Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses.  God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands.  This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross.” 

We each had a debt of sin that none of us could ever pay.  Most of us even today still feel guilt for the multitude of things we know are not in accord with God’s commands.  As faithful Christians, we know we don’t measure up to perfect.  Thanks be to God, it is not our measure that counts before God. 

When Jesus was nailed to the cross, you who were dead in sins were made alive to God through Jesus.  You who once had no hope now stand in complete and perfect holiness in God’s sight.  This isn’t to make us arrogant and immoral.  Rather, it gives us sure confidence to live for Jesus who loved us unto death.

There is a lot of talk in our world about how to be a good neighbor, how to live unoffensive lives among people who offend our God, how to love things that God tells us to hate, and how to do and do and do and do.  None of those things make us right in God’s eyes, nor do they give us peace.  Jesus gives us peace that never ends.  When the world screams against you that God’s way isn’t right, remember what Paul wrote here: “After disarming the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ.” 

The world’s philosophies will pass away.  The laws of the land, and societal protocols will always be subject to change and the vagaries of sinful people.  One thing is constant—God’s love for His people.  He sent His Son to be your Savior.  Jesus lived, died, and rose again to give you life that never ends and a home in heaven that will welcome you into eternal joy and peace.  Through baptism and through faith in Jesus granted to you by the work of the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament, you have been connected with the Son of God who give His all to save you.  He promises never to leave you, never to forsake you, to hear and answer your prayers, to always defend you, and to work everything for your everlasting good.  Trust Him.  Trust Jesus and the message of peace with God He has given to bring you life.  Live in Christ Who gives you life.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.