The Do's and Don'ts to the Colossians

It is good to be with you tonight and I'm thankful for the opportunity to preach, thankful to Pastor Josh and the leadership for the opportunity, and it's good to be with you. Tonight we are going to start in God's Word. I'll be looking at the book of Colossians. The main text will be Colossians 3, 1 to 17.

If you're able you can stand with us and we'll read from God's Word. So Colossians 3 verse 1 begins, If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, for ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry, for which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, and the which ye also walked some time when ye lived in them, but now ye also put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Lied not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarians, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another.

If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which also ye are called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Let's pray to the Lord before we get started. Lord and Heavenly Father, Lord, we praise you for the grace and salvation we have in Christ, and thank you for the opportunity to dive into your word, to learn about what it means to put off the old self and put on the new. And Lord, I pray that tonight you would give me the words to speak, that I would speak only what you desire from me to, Lord, and that the believers in the room would be encouraged and edified through your word. And I pray that if anyone is here tonight that does not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, that today would be the day of salvation, that they would hear the gospel and receive Christ as their Savior, Lord. Pray that you would be with us tonight, and bless this message, Lord. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.

You may be seated. So before we dive into the passage, I'll give you a brief introduction to the book of Colossians. And I've titled this sermon The Do's and Don'ts to the Colossians, Putting on the New Man.

And I'd like to start again by giving you an introduction. The letter was written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Colossae. In chapter 1, Paul introduces this letter stating that he is writing to the saints and faithful brothers at Colossae. He encourages the Colossians, saying, We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which he have to all the saints.

For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, where have you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel? Epaphras was a friend of Paul. He's mentioned in verse 7, chapter 1, and he most likely visited Paul in his first imprisonment in Rome and gave him updates on the church at Colossae. He would have informed Paul of the heresy that was being taught there in regard to Christ's preeminence. Namely, some were teaching there that Jesus was not God or Creator, which, if this were true, would mean that the cross is not salvific.

There's nothing saving about it. So Paul defends Christ's deity and preeminence in the beginning of the book of Colossians. And preeminence simply means that you surpass all others. You're superior. You're above all other things.

You're the top of any particular category. And in this case, Christ being preeminent means that he has existed before the world began. He is God and he is superior to any other being. He also is the creator of all things.

Therefore, he surpasses all created things by his very nature as God and Creator. Paul reiterates this when he says, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. That's in chapter 1, verse 14. And Paul finishes chapter 1 describing Christ's glory and his role in creation. He explained how Christ's power works in him mightily.

He says, Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. In chapter 2, he encourages the church at Colossae by reminding them that he is with them in the Spirit of God. He reminds them that they are rooted in Christ and so therefore we should walk in him.

That's chapter 2, verses 1 through 7. And finally, at the end of chapter 2 and verse 8, Paul warns them not to listen to men or women who would steer them away from the truth. He says, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. He says instead that they should remember that we are dead to sin and alive to Christ. He warns them against the form of Gnosticism of that day, combined with a legalistic Judaism that had become pervasive to the Colossian believers.

So in a nutshell, many there believe that they had attained secret knowledge because they they perform certain deeds or did certain things or didn't eat certain foods. But Paul goes on to say, Which things have indeed a show of wisdom and will, worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh? Another way the end of chapter 2, verse 23, can be translated is that these things have no value against the indulgence of sin. So it doesn't help you overcome sin at all just to follow rules, but not take it to heart. So this means, again, that you you can't defeat sin simply by following a rule.

They do not help you resist in the indulgence of sin. Which brings us to our main text today in Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 17. Paul addressed the preeminence of Christ and warned them not to fall into multiple false beliefs that will cause them to stumble back into a sinful way of living. He's admonishing them and telling them not to go back to the way they lived before knowing Christ. He's reminding them not to fall back into beliefs that are outside of the true gospel.

That Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the laws both God and man and was crucified and rose again three days later. This leads into what I'm referring to, again, as the ten do's and don'ts to the Colossians. We participate, or we must participate, in these do's and don'ts as believers in Christ if we are to grow in our faith and to be disciples of Christ and disciple others to do the same.

So some of you are really gonna like this title because you like to follow rules, you like to fit within a box, and some of you will hate this title because you don't like being boxed in, you don't like feeling like someone's forcing you to do something, a do or a don't, like I just want to do whatever I want to do, get off my back. So getting back to the do's and don'ts here, we're putting off the old self and putting on the new self. The first do is where Paul says, if ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. So do seek the things that are above. He says again, if ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. If ye then be risen with Christ, what does that mean?

We can look back to the previous chapter to answer this question. Colossians 2 12 says, buried with him in baptism, referring to Christ, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. The phrase through the operation of God can also be translated through faith in the working of God or the powerful working of God. So this means that just as we died to sin in Christ Jesus, we are raised to life through faith in the powerful working of God. We have been raised from our old sinful habits and ways.

We're to act as if those are dead. Romans 6 5 to 7 says, for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin. Therefore, set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. Put off the things of the earth or of this world.

And that leads us to the second do. Do live alive in Christ and dead to sin. Colossians 3 3 to 4 says, for ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. So we are to live dead to our own interest, in so much so as it's in opposition to God's will for our lives.

This doesn't mean that you cannot ever want anything, of course. Jesus uses our desires to direct us to his will. That was part of what the Lord used to direct me into ministry, is that I love, I love it. I love to serve others and to worship the Lord and to teach others how to do the same. And so we see that in Psalm 37 3 to 4, which tells us, Trust in the Lord and do good.

So shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. So in other words, when we trust in the Lord and desire him, we delight ourselves in him, he will give us the desires of our heart. So as we are growing in Christ's likeness, this putting on of the life we have in Christ, we're training our hearts and minds to desire that what he desires for us. And what he desires for us is always the best thing for us, even when we think it's not or struggle with that.

So seek the Lord Jesus Christ and love him more, desire him more, submit to him more, surrender every facet of your life to him, and he will satisfy your soul. He will give you the desires of your heart when you are content only to have him. He says, Jesus says in John 14 6, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Christ is our life. We see it also in 1st John 3 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

And so we have this hope that we shall appear with him in glory. The Lord is perfecting us in Christ and we will, and when we humble ourselves, by putting off our sinful habits and ways and putting on the mind of Christ, the servant heart of Christ, and when we're living alive to Christ, that's how we put off that old man and put on the new, becoming more like him. But sometimes we can lose sight of the seriousness of our sin.

We can fall into sinful habits and or just struggle with sin day to day. So when we do that, that's what Paul is saying when he says to mortify your members, and that's the third do, is to do, mortify your earthly nature. So mortify your earthly nature. He says, Colossians 3 in 3 5 to 7, mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry, for which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, in the which ye also walk some time when ye lived in them.

Mortify simply means to put to death. So put to death your members refers to your flesh or your body, what is earthly about you. And to take a second here, it's similar to when Jesus says if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.

He's not literally telling you to tear it out and throw it away. But he is telling us that we should treat our flesh, treat our bodies as like as if we're dead, as if we cannot even commit sin because we don't function that way. Because we're in Christ, we're alive in Him, we're to function as if we are in Him, and we are in Him spiritually. It could be translated, therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead. Paul was telling them to make the spiritual reality of their deadness to sin a reality in their daily lives, and when it comes to their conduct. Believer, let there be an outward reflection of your death to sin and your new life in Christ. The wrath of God is coming upon those who live in the sins mentioned in verses 5 through 7, which were fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, inordinate affection, and therefore as those who are saved by faith in Christ, we are to no longer live in the passions of the flesh.

The word concupiscence, which I've been waiting to get to because I've read it a couple times now, the word concupiscence refers to sinful desire or more specifically a sinful sexual desire or lust. So Paul is saying to get rid of evil desire, every evil desire, and ends with covetousness, which is idolatry. It's interesting that he finishes the verse here because he's essentially saying that if we want or just or desire something more than God, it is idolatry.

So maybe for you it's sports or clothing, or if you're a musician like me it could be that you want a new guitar or a new piano or maybe it's shoes, whatever, or maybe if you're a millennial or Gen Z it's a video game, you like to play Call of Duty or whatever it is. But whatever the idol is, if you're putting it before God, it is an idol if you're putting it before God, if it comes first place instead of him. So we need to destroy the idols in our lives and sometimes that takes the form of fasting from something because we've elevated something that's good to be something we worship. And sometimes we need to die, we just need to get rid of something completely and destroy it. Either way we need to die to sin and live alive in Christ. Are there idols in your heart that you need to confess to the Lord this evening and turn away from? If we desire something that someone else has, so much so to where it consumes our thoughts and our behavior, that is sin and that is idolatry. Do you need to repent of covetousness today?

The Lord is ready and willing to forgive you and cleanse you. This leads me to our first don't among the do's and don'ts. So don't put on the old man but instead put on the new man.

And that's really I guess a don't and a do but we'll just say it's a don't for the sake of my title. But looking back at Colossians 3 8 to 10 Paul says, But now ye also put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. So put off anger, put off wrath, put off malice, put off blasphemy, put off filthy communication out of your mouth. When's the last time you got angry at something which led to wrath, which led to an evil desire to do something that you shouldn't, which also led to not honoring the Lord in that moment? Usually when I think of times where I'm getting really upset in the heat of the moment, it's something I didn't expect. Like stubbing my pinky toe on the edge of the bed frame, which is terrible. And I I struggle with that at times when I smash my foot into the door or something.

My wife and I joke about how my feet are like magnetized so I like walk through the bedroom and I can't can't seem to get away from it sometimes. But it's usually in moments like that that I'm convicted because my three-year-olds watching and I slam my hand into a wall or show anger and frustration, but she needs me to be an example to her of what it means to put off sinful anger and put off malice, put off blasphemy, and honor the Lord with my heart and my attitude. So Paul also says, lie not one to another seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. Don't put on the old man by lying to one another, but instead put on the new man by committing to always tell the truth. Be committed to the truth and love.

Sometimes there are subtle ways that we can deceive ourselves into avoiding the truth, but we must put off that old self and put on the new self that is committed to truth. Ephesians 4 25 to 26 says, Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.

And so this tackles both ideas that were presented in Colossians 3 8 to 10. To put away lying and speak the truth to every man, and Paul describes what it means to put off anger and wrath and malice by saying, Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. So therefore it's possible to be angry and not sin, but where we have to be careful is when we assume our anger is righteous. Because we're sinful and still in the flesh, we need to harness our anger and make sure that we do not sin, and that's called self-control.

Sometimes anger is legitimate, for example, if someone is wrong to you or someone you love, but it becomes sinful when it forms in you a desire to do ill or evil against another person, another person created in the image of God. We must be willing to forgive those who trespass against us. That should be our prayer every day. As Jesus lays out for us in Matthew 6 9 to 15 he says, After this manner therefore pray ye, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses. And going back to Colossians 3 10 to 11 he says, Put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all. And he's speaking to the church here. This leads us to our next don't in Colossians don't participate in worldly distinctions. As brothers and sisters in Christ there are no distinctions between us when it comes to our spiritual life in Christ and our standing before God. Let me remind you that Paul is speaking to the church here, the people of God. He says to the church that Christ is all and is in all. We are one body.

We should not be divided based on our looks, our background, or our preferences. We must be unified in our love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Our love for him will drive us to love each other more. And if we cannot love our brother or sister in Christ then the love of God is not in us. 1 John 4 19 to 21 says, We love him because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love his brother also. Don't allow meaningless quarrels to drive a wedge between you and a sibling in Christ or to rob you of the joy that you have in the Lord. Sometimes we need to be reminded of what Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2 23, but foolish and unlearned questions avoid knowing that they do gender strifes. So we want to avoid things that are going to cause division.

That being said, if you can have a productive conversation with someone on an issue you should have it because we're also called to speak the truth and to believe the truth and pursue the truth but do so in love. 1 Corinthians 13 1 to 2 says, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity or love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so as to remove mountains and have not charity or love, I am nothing. We're also reminded again in Ephesians 4 15 to 16, But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joint together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Remember that Christ in Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Many of these groups at that time would have been very opposed to each other, but Paul was making it clear that we are dead to our old way of living.

We no longer identify in those worldly ways of thinking and living. No, instead we are all in Christ, who is our life, and we are called to love each other and serve one another, which leads to our next do. So number six, do put on the spiritual qualities of Christ and forbear with one another. Colossians 3 12 to 14 says, Put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another.

If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Boughs of mercies can also be translated a heart of compassion. So have a heart of compassion.

Put on kindness and have a humble heart and mind. It means humbleness of mind. The phrase humbleness of mind here means to have a humble opinion of oneself. You are lowly in mind, which means that you don't hold yourself higher than you ought to. You recognize your own weaknesses, shortcomings and faults, but even in light of your strengths, you consider others as more significant than yourselves.

You use your gifts and strengths to serve others and to glorify Christ. He says forbearing one another. The legal definition of forbearing would mean to refrain from exercising a legal right or to refrain from enforcing the payment of a debt.

It can also be translated bearing with one another. So when you forgive someone, you take away, you don't hold that debt against them. None of us have yet arrived and none of us have perfectly possessed all of these qualities that were shown in verse 12. We must therefore give grace to each other as we are all growing in Christ's likeness. This also involves bearing one another's burdens. So not only do we forbear and not hold debts against each other, we should also go further and bear one another's burdens, helping each other walk through difficult times. Paul said this to the Galatians in Galatians 6, 1-2, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted, so be careful that you're not tempted yourself, bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Bearing one another's burdens doesn't always mean that we can take that burden ourselves for someone else, but it does mean that we can help to make that load lighter for them. We can also help them to carry it.

We can remind them of the hope that is in Christ, both in our words and in our actions. So some of you might like this analogy because you've seen the movie or read the books, and some of you may not, so it may be lost on you, but I can't help when thinking about bearing each other's burdens as seen from The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King. If you've ever seen it or read the books in the story, Fredo and Sam are approaching Mount Doom, and the whole idea of the series is that there's this ring of power that consumes anyone who tries to take hold of it, other than the evil master. And this journey that Frodo sets out on with his friend Sam to go destroy this ring and the only place that it can be destroyed, a volcanic mountain called Mount Doom, Frodo is worn down by the weightiness and burden of carrying the ring all that way, so much so that he collapses in front of the mountain before making it there, and he can't go any further. So his friend Sam picks him up and says, I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you.

Come on! And so we often can't carry the burden for someone else, but we may be an instrument that the Lord uses to help carry them in bearing one another's burdens. We put on charity or put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. So bear one another's burdens and build each other up. In this, we also renew the spirit of peace with one another, which leads us to our next do. Do let the peace of God rule in your hearts. Colossians 3 15 says, And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Because we are one body, Christ's body, we are called to peace. Can you imagine one part of the body waging war against another?

The body would not function. Paul gives us that illustration in 1st Corinthians 12 20 to 21 where he says, But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. So we are to be thankful to God and allow his peace to dwell in our hearts, not seeking opportunities to cause fleshly division, no, rather we live in peace with one another. Ephesians 4 32, he says, Be kind ye one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. So pursue peace with your brothers and sisters in Christ and with those around you. How can we let the peace of God rule in our hearts? By letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly. So we pursue peace, we let it dwell in our hearts by meditating on his word and letting his word dwell in us richly. And that's the eighth do. So do let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

And again, how does this happen? Only when we are allowing the Word of God to pour into us. This happens by reading the Word of God, listening to the Word of God, telling each other about what we're learning about God. That's why we have 242 groups, which many of you are a part of, and we share what we're learning in God's Word and what he's teaching us.

And if you want to be plugged into those, you can ask me or somebody else and we can, one of the other leaders I should say, and we can get you plugged in. And it's really sweet just to learn what each person is learning in the Word of God. These are all ways that we can cultivate the Word of God in our hearts together. So let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. That's Colossians 3 16.

We're called to teach and admonish one another. And I had a personal example of admonishment recently with my wife who, after putting our one-year-old to bed, I came out and it was late and I was thinking it'd be nice to eat a bowl of cereal and have some Cocoa Puffs. And so I poured some Cocoa Puffs into a bowl and put some milk in there and I took my first bite. And after she was done reading, she looks at me and says, put that bowl down.

And I was like, no. I wanted to eat this. And then she said, Caleb Scott Rogers, if you don't put that bowl down, you're sleeping on the couch tonight. And I had to think, hopefully it's okay that I'm telling this story, but I had to think how badly I wanted that bowl of Cocoa Puffs. And I'm glad to say that I put the bowl down. And in that moment though, I love my wife and I'm thankful for her, because in that moment my wife knew that I have said I don't want to be snacking late at night.

I want to be healthier. So she firmly reminded me what it was, what was better for me, and to stop eating the cereal. And that's what it means when we admonish one another, is stop eating the cereal. Don't head into sin. And we need that. We need that from one another, to redirect each other toward Christ. And I find it interesting that right after Paul says to let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, he says to teach and admonish each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Essentially we should express the truths of God's Word in the songs we sing, in the poetry we write, and in everything we do.

1 Corinthians 10 31 says, whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever you do, to alter the glory of God. When you post on social media, are you letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly? Are you allowing what He has to say to direct you and to tell you what to say? If you sing in the car or around the house, is the Word dwelling in you? Are you thinking about Him? Are you meditating on Him? When you celebrate a win in life, is the Word of Christ dwelling in you? Does it cause you to praise and thank Him? Are we every bit as excited about Jesus and His work in our lives as we are about a decision that was made in the White House, or a Super Bowl that was won, or do we love Christ more than these worldly things? May we not allow ourselves to get so caught up in the affairs of this world that we're not caught up in the affairs of Christ and His kingdom? Are we absorbing God's Word more than we're absorbing everything else in the world? What we sing about, write about, post about, talk about, think about, all of it reflects who our Lord is and what we value and what is dwelling in us.

Is the Word of Christ what flows out of your life? Do you need to repent of some behaviors and recommit to Christ today? Friends, the Lord is ready and willing to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

Bring your cares, your sins, your burdens before the Lord and lay them at the foot of the cross. Whether you pray at the front or at your seat later, do not leave tonight until you've gotten your heart right with Jesus and you have sought His forgiveness. Repentance is the first step as a believer in letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. And the reason for that is because oftentimes we have sins or things that are distracting us and we need to repent of that thing, turn away from it, and turn to Christ asking His forgiveness and getting back into His Word. So repent if you need to tonight and He will forgive you. He is faithful and just to forgive us. Re-commit to loving the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And if you're not a believer in Christ tonight or you're unsure, if you're saved from your sins, we will invite you to come at the end of this message to learn from one of our men or women how you can be saved from the wages of sin and have eternal life in Christ.

So is the Word dwelling in you richly? The other point I'll make here is that we don't sing songs in service only to make ourselves feel better or to have a good time. If those result from it, great, we should have a good time praising the Lord, we should feel good, but that's not ultimately why we sing the songs that we do. We sing to remind ourselves of our sinful state and our desperate need for the Savior Jesus Christ. We sing songs to remind ourselves of His glorious work on the cross, to pay the penalty for our sins so that we can be redeemed. Our songs should teach us about our Lord and His Word. Our songs should admonish us and correct us and redirect us to biblical truth, all the while exalting and magnifying the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord, our Savior, and our King should be glorified in the songs we sing in service. So on this topic of singing, and of course I like singing because I'm a musician and I sing, on the topic of singing comes our last do. Do, or I'm sorry, second to last do, do sing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Where are your hearts this evening? Do we have grace in our hearts or have we allowed the world to make us calloused? Sometimes the issues of our day can cause us to become hardened or harsh.

As believers we need to remember that people need to know the Lord Jesus before they're going to change their mind about any social, political, moral issue. And that's not to say you shouldn't speak the truth, you should, but we need to have the gospel front and center when we're approaching an unbeliever. And we need to make sure that we're filled with grace in our hearts and not calloused by how we feel about a particular topic.

Have we become harsh in our judgments? Singing to the Lord, crying out to Him, helps us to remember His grace, which restores grace to our hearts. To read the verse again, Paul says, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. When we are forgiving one another, forbearing one another, loving one another, and when the peace of Christ reigns in us, our hearts are fertile and ready to receive the Word of Christ. And it is then that we're able to effectively advance His kingdom as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Like Alex talked about on Sunday, being a disciple of Christ, we must have our hearts ready and filled with His grace. Finally, the final do, is do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father through Him. And how do we do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus? Paul says in Philippians 2 5 to 11, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Are you doing everything you do in the name of the Lord Jesus? Meaning that you honor His name, His grace, His love, His glory, His humility, His self-sacrificial heart.

Are you seeking to model that? When you go go to your job, when you talk to a friend, when you purchase a latte and you're drinking the latte, are you doing it to the glory of God? When you get your hair cut, when you pump gas, when you clean your house, when you help your spouse, when you play with your kids, are you doing it as Christ would? Are you seeking to glorify Him in what you do and how you behave and how you act?

Are you putting off the old man and putting on the new? Paul exhorts the Colossian believers whether in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. When the Word of Christ dwells in us richly, it will grow our love for the Lord, for His people, and for the lost who need to know Him. The Word will sanctify us and renew our hearts and minds so that we will do all for His glory. So let us put off the old man and put on the new. So if you'll please stand with me today.