Husbands and Wives

There are some very practical things that Paul writes to the Colossians about the rules for the household.  This is a briefer set of instructions than what he wrote to the Ephesians.  The important thing to remember is that God designed the family and when we follow His plan for the family, we’ll have happier households.  Today we’ll look at husbands and wives and tomorrow we’ll talk about children and other members of the household.

Let’s start with husbands.  God made the husband the head of the household.  What a tremendous responsibility!  He tells the husband to do two things in verse 19:

1. Love your wife – This is the Greek word for unconditional love.  To love your wife no matter what.  This kind of love is not a this-for-that kind of love.  It is not a conditional, “If you please me, I will love you” kind of love.  It is a love that your wife needs and deserves.  This is the love that says, “You are my one and only.”  Too many men cheat on their wives because they don’t love them second only to Jesus.  I’m not talking about physically cheating (though some men do carry on affairs.  If you are having an affair – STOP!  Repent of your sin, confess it and ask for forgiveness from God and your wife!).  I’m talking about the affair that a man has with his job.  I’m talking about the affair that a man has with his TV.  He comes home and plops down on the couch and zones out the rest of the night.  I’m talking about the affair that a man has with his computer and the pornographic websites on the internet (Jesus said that lusting after someone other than your wife is tantamount to committing adultery with her).  Husbands, we have to love our wives.  Period.
2. Do not treat your wife harshly – If you truly love your wife unconditionally, you will not treat her harshly.  You will not talk bad about her behind her back.  You will not put her down to your friends.  You will not fly off the handle and lose your temper with her.  You will fulfill the vows you made to her – to love, honor and cherish her until death do you part.  You will tell her that you love her – every day!  She is not your property to do with as you please.  She is the partner God created just for you!  Treat her with gentleness, love and honor.  After all, Christ loved her enough to die for her.  We should love our wives enough to die to ourselves for them.

As far as wives are concerned, Paul tells them to submit themselves to their husbands.  Notice that it is an act of the will that a wife submits to her husband.  This is not an easy thing to do.  The wife has to consciously decide that she will trust that her husband has her best interests in mind and submit to his leadership in the family.  When a husband is not loving and is selfish and self-centered, it makes this command much harder.  But Paul does not say to submit if you feel like it or if your husband makes decisions based on what is best for you and your family.  He says that it is fitting in the Lord to do so.  You are not submitting for your husband’s benefit.  Rather, it is out of love and obedience to the Lord that you submit.  it is the Lord’s own command that wives submit to their husbands.  When you choose to submit to your husband, you are obeying God and that pleases Him.
Following God’s plan for the family isn’t always easy.  If it were easy and if it came naturally, we wouldn’t need the reminders to do it.  But when we submit to God first and foremost, we’ll find it easier to follow His plan for the family and our lives will be better and more blessed for it.

Colossians 3:18-19

New International Version (NIV)

Instructions for Christian Households

¹⁸ Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

In The Name Of Jesus

Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV) is probably my favorite passage in the entire letter.  It is a passage about how we are to deal with one another in Christ’s church.  Look at these character traits Paul uses in verse 12:

• Compassionate
• Kind
• Humble
• Gentle
• Patient

In verses 13-14, we see that we are to

• Bear with each other
• Forgive each other as God has forgiven us
• Love each other
• Live in unity

Verses 15-16 tells us to

• Live in peace with each other
• Teach each other
• Admonish each other
• Worship God with gratitude

Finally, verse 17 sums the whole thing up:

And whatever you do,whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. – Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

If you can’t say it, think it or do it in Jesus’ name, then don’t say it, think it or do it.  It’s that simple.  You can’t flip someone the bird in Jesus’ name when they cut you off in traffic.  You can’t lust after your co-worker in Jesus’ name.  You can’t gossip in Jesus’ name.  You can’t harbor bitterness in your heart in Jesus’ name.  You can’t stab someone in the back in Jesus’ name.  You can’t lie to someone in Jesus’ name.  You can’t hate anyone or call them horrible names in Jesus’ name.  Do you get the picture?

But you can forgive in Jesus’ name.  You can love your wife and kids in Jesus’ name.  You can say, “I’m sorry for hurting you” in Jesus’ name.  You can control your temper in Jesus’ name.  You can encourage others in Jesus’ name.  You can work with integrity and character in Jesus’ name.  You can speak the truth in love in Jesus’ name.  Do you get the picture?

Rather than living lives of darkness, we must live in the light of God’s love and grace.  We must share that light and grace with everyone we meet in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Colossians 3:12-17

New International Version (NIV)

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do,whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Pray For Oklahoma

Please pray for the people of Moore, Oklahoma today.  The devastating tornado that went through there yesterday has turned their world upside down.  Please pray for those who have lost loved ones.  Please pray for those who have lost all of their earthly possessions.  Please pray for the churches of that area and all around our country to do mighty things in the name of Jesus to help rebuild and repair lives and homes.  This is a great opportunity to show God’s love to people in a very tangible way.  Tornadoes are not about judgment or punishment or wrath.  Tornadoes (and earthquakes and tsunamis and hurricanes, etc.) happen because we live in a broken world.  When humanity fell because of sin, the world was broken.  Jesus came to redeem the world and put it back together.  He restored the possibility of a relationship between human beings and God by His death and resurrection.  He will one day restore everything else that has been broken when He returns and does away with sin, death and pain forevermore.  Until that day, we, as His people, must be diligent in our efforts to demonstrate the love of Christ to every man, woman and child on planet earth.  We must follow Christ’s command to love our neighbors, even our enemies. One of the ways we can show Christ’s love is to support those agencies who will put Christ’s love into action.  International Disaster Emergency Services is one such agency.  Their website is http://www.ides.org/.  You can donate online to help them help others.  Please consider how you can donate and give of your resources to help those affected by this deadly storm.  God bless…

Shawn

Christ Is Our Life

In Colossians 3, we see a contrast between life and death.  Paul says in verse 4 that Christ is our life so we should not focus on earthly things, but on heavenly things.  Why?  Because Christ, our life, is in Heaven.  Since Christ is our life and we should focus on heavenly things, we must do away with the earthly things.  Paul says to put them to death (Colossians 3:5, NIV).  He gives a laundry list of vices that belong to the earthly nature in verses 5 and 8-9:

• Sexual immorality, impurity and lust (any sexual behavior outside of a monogamous, heterosexual marriage relationship)
• Evil desires
• Greed (Paul says that this is idolatry – the worship of money)
• Anger (harbored anger)
• Rage (flying off the handle)
• Malice (evil intentions)
• Slander
• Filthy Language
• Lies

Well, I think that that about covers the gamut, don’t you?  These things all belong to the earthly desires of our sinful natures.  We are to do away with these things and focus on Christ.  We have to surrender to the power of Christ in our lives so that Christ, who “is all, and is in all” (Colossians 3:11, NIV), will have the rule and reign in our lives each and every day.

Remember this: you do not belong to this world.  You are a new creation.  You are being made new.  Let the Holy Spirit make you new today.  Don’t focus on your past – it is forgiven.  Don’t worry about tomorrow’s temptations and sins.  Focus on following Christ on this new day.  Focus on what He has accomplished by His atoning sacrifice.  Remember that He is your life today.

Colossians 3:1-11 (NIV)

3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality,impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Grace

The link to today’s message from Griffith First Christian Church.

Grace from Shawn Cornett on Vimeo.

There Is No Smite Button!

As humans, we crave structure and rules.  We want to know where the line is so that we can make sure that we don’t cross it.  Much of the time our desire to stay on this side of the line is based on fear.  If we cross the line, we’ll get punished and we don’t want that.  We are addicted to rules.

But what if there was a better way?  What if life was about relationship and not about rules?  What if faith was about a relationship with God based on love and not about being robotic rule followers?  Jesus was clear about the rules.  Everything could be summed up in 2 rules:

1. Love God
2. Love Others

All of the Thou Shalts and the Thou Shalt Nots could be summed up in loving God and loving others.  If you have a loving relationship with God, you will strive to please Him out of gratitude for all He has done for you.  If you have a loving relationship with others, you won’t hurt them by sinning against them.  We can get so focused on the rules, that we forget about the relationships.  We get so focused on not getting punished by breaking rules, that we don’t realize that we can live in a loving relationship with God.  God is not out to get you!  God has this amazing, crazy kind of love for you.  He doesn’t want you to blindly obey His commands like some kind of robot.  He wants you to enjoy His presence in your life.  He wants you to have abundant life that comes through a relationship with Him.  He doesn’t want you to be afraid of Him.  Look at what the Apostle John wrote:

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. – 1 John 4:18 (NIV)

How awesome is that?!?  God’s love is perfect and is the basis of our relationship with Him that comes through faith in Christ.  Do you realize just how freeing this really is?  You don’t have to walk on eggshells around God.  You don’t have to be terrified that God is out to get you.  This is not God:

There is no smite button (I love this cartoon from The Far Side by Gary Larson)!  God’s love is perfect and infinite.  His love is limitless and unconditional.  Don’t live in fear of breaking rules and invoking God’s wrath.  Instead, live in the freedom and joy of having a loving relationship with your Creator and Savior.

Colossians 2:16-23 (NIV)

¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. ¹⁸ Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.¹⁹ They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

²⁰ Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: ²¹ “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²² These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. ²³ Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

All Our Sins

As we continue looking at Colossians, I want you to think about verses 13-14:

 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. – Colossians 2:13-14 (NIV)

I love the last part of verse 13:

He forgave us all our sins… – Colossians 2:13b (NIV)

What a wonderful phrase (Hakuna matata?  Nah!)!  I would like you to focus on one word in that phrase: all.  Paul says that it is while we were dead in our sin that God made us alive with Christ.  He has raised us from the spiritual grave.  It was while we were sinners, not when we were perfect.  Instead of making us clean up our acts and get everything in order, God took the first step.  He reached out to us in grace and forgiveness through the cross.  Through Jesus, all of our sins are forgiven – past, present and future!  They are gone!  They are no more!  The debt has been paid once and for all!  Stop focusing on your sin and start living in the freedom of grace.  God has washed us clean in the blood of Christ and though we were once dead, we are now alive.  Notice the difference – we are no longer dead in our sins.  We are alive with Christ!  Just as He lives, so too do we.  Because we have this wonderful gift of love, we should desire to please God.  How do we do that?  Remember what Paul said in Colossians 1:1-14 about pleasing God.  (Read this one again)  The fact is that we can live lives that please God and because of His grace and mercy and forgiveness, that is what we should strive for.

Colossians 2:6-15 (NIV)⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. ¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.