Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.
The school was founded in 1927 by the evangelist Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. His intent was to make a school where Christ would be the center of everything so he established daily chapel services. Today, that tradition continues with fervent biblical preaching from the University Chapel platform. Today on The Daily Platform, we're continuing a study series entitled, Seeking Things Above, which is a study of the book of Colossians. This study explores and applies the timeless truth that Christ is our sufficiency in all relationships, responsibilities, and circumstances.
If you would like to follow along in the study booklet, you can get one on Kindle or you can order a printed copy from the website, thedailyplatform.com. Today's message is from Colossians chapter 3, verses 5 through 10, and Dr. Pettit will walk us through the important topic, overcoming sin. Please take your Bibles this morning and turn with me to the book of Colossians chapter 3. This morning, we're going to read verses 5 down to verse 10. And actually, I spoke on this passage last week on the theme, understanding sin. So really, the focal point was on understanding it.
This week, my focal point is overcoming it. And so today will be intentionally more practical in our response to the sins that we personally struggle with. And we read beginning in verse 5, where it says, mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. And then he lists out sexual sins, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. And then he makes the statement, for which things, that is these sins, sake the wrath of God, cometh on the children of disobedience. That is on account of these sins, God's wrath is coming. Verse 7, in the which you also walk sometimes when you lived in them, that is you prior to your conversion used to live this way. Then he goes on, he says, but now ye also put off all of these things, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, that is at a point in time the old man was put off at your conversion, and have put on the new man, which is renewed and is being renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
A number of years ago, a young pastor sat down with an older pastor after an evening of fellowship, and with a sense of serious concern, asks this this following question. He said, will you simply tell me one more time and take me one more time through the steps that will help me to overcome sin? One of the greatest issues of the Christian life is how do I overcome my sin?
How do I rise above the downward pull of my own sinful flesh and the alluring temptations that are in the world? Appealing to this need of spiritual victory was a major platform for the way false teachers in Colossae were gaining a hearing among the Christians. They pulled at the conscience of the believers in order to gain a listening ear, and the problem was not the questions that they were asking.
These are legitimate questions. The problem had to do with the answers that they were giving, because the Colossians were being taught that the way to overcome sin was through self-effort, your own strength apart from Christ, either by keeping certain Old Testament laws or by placing harsh self-imposed discipline on oneself. And the problem is that Christ and his crosswork were not a part of that process. And as a result, their approach could only lead believers to a life of defeat because they can't overcome sin any other way than the way that is revealed in Scripture. And let me say this morning that addressing and answering this issue of overcoming sin is crucial for all of us.
Why? Because first of all, overcoming sin is a relevant issue. I've learned something. Preaching on sin is not out of date. This is not old school.
This is new school. Why? Because none of us can escape the presence of our own sin. Listen to what Paul said in Romans 7. He said, we know the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. Paul said, I don't even understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law that it is good. So now it is no longer I who am doing it, but sin that dwells within me. You see, we all live with the present reality of our own sin that is in us.
And we constantly have to deal with our own emotions, our own desires, and our own temptations. It's very interesting to me that after last week's message on understanding sin, there was a heightened response to what I said, and actually different ways, both positive and negative. And I think it's due to the fact that the present reality of sin in the lifestyles of our student body or people you know is very real.
It's very relevant. So overcoming sin is an issue that is a present reality, but let me also say that overcoming sin is an issue that affects spiritual maturity. When you have lingering sin habits in your life, they will stunt your personal spiritual growth. Growing in Christ requires putting away sin. For example, the Jewish people never celebrate Passover without obeying the command to cleanse their homes of leavened bread. And if you've ever been to Israel during Passover, they're going crazy to get their house clean. And Paul uses that example of Passover and unleavened bread when he writes the Corinthian church, and he confronts them for the toleration of immorality in the church.
And what does he say? He says, cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. Let us therefore keep the feast.
Celebrate this festival, not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. What is Paul saying? He's saying that in order to enjoy Christ in our worship, then we have to live pure in our walk. It is the height of hypocrisy to say that I am enjoying Christ and at the same time enjoying sin.
It's hypocrisy. Your hypocrisy is terrible, for overcoming sin is an issue that affects our spiritual growth. And then let me say overcoming sin is an issue if you're going to help others overcome sin.
Think about it. What responsibility do I as a Christian have when other Christians fall into sin? I want to ask you as a student body, do you feel responsible for those that are around you? It is really not cool today to confront people over sin. So what are we supposed to do?
Just kind of let it go on and everything's okay and we turn a blind eye and a deaf ear and we don't say anything at all? Are we not supposed to be our brother's keeper? Paul says in Galatians 6 that if a brother is called in a transgression, overtaken in a fault, those of you who are spiritual help restore him. But don't do it with a judgmental critical attitude, do it with a spirit of meekness and gentleness and kindness. And then he warns us, even those of us who are a part of helping people overcome sin, he says you got to keep watch on yourself lest you be tempted to because all of us are sinners. All of us here should be able to help restore our brothers and sisters to the biblical steps of spiritual victory.
I think this is so crucial for us today as a student body. Think about it. Should you not be learning to help your own peers overcome sin? Should not the dorms be a place where people are being strengthened and encouraged to live for God? And if you're not helping people that are around you now, then what are you going to do when you leave and you go out into the world? I remember very clearly when I came to Bob Jones that I thought when I came that others should be leaders and I should be one who follows along. This is after spending four years in college being a spiritual leader.
And I quickly realized that I should be just as much a leader here as I was before I came here. Everybody in this room needs to step up to the plate and be a person who can help others overcome sin in their life. Overcoming sin is crucial. So in Colossians 3 Paul makes it very clear how one is to overcome sin and basically he lays out two key steps.
And the first step has to do with accepting what is true. That is it actually has to do with your faith. Faith John says is the victory that overcomes the world.
When we speak of faith we're speaking as to what we believe as revealed in the truth of the scriptures. And Paul is declaring in Colossians that we have been freed from sin because of Christ's work for us on the cross and Christ's work in us through the new birth. In other words victory has been accomplished through Christ and this work includes three things. Number one there has been a deliverance from divine wrath. In verse five Paul identifies the immoral sins that characterize the depraved life of unbelievers. In verse six he reveals that these sins are the calls for God's judgment. He said on account of these the wrath of God is coming. Now Paul tells us as Christians to mortify or put to death these sins.
Why? Because if God's wrath is coming on those who do these things then we should not be doing these things because we are no longer under God's wrath. Paul stated earlier in Colossians that we have been freed from the wrath of God through the death of Christ. Look at Colossians 2 14. He says blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us. He took it out of the way nailing it to the cross. When Jesus was crucified a placard was nailed to his cross and it stated the reason for his death.
Do you remember what it said? The King of the Jews. Now why was Jesus crucified? Because of treason against the Roman government.
It was a political charge because he claimed to be the King of the Jews or at least that was the charge. And Paul takes that image of that placard and then declares to us why Jesus was really crucified. He was not crucified because of a crime he committed. He died for our violations against the law of God that God has carefully recorded against us.
Every sin you and I have ever committed God knows them all. And when Jesus was nailed to the cross and suffered, he was actually suffering the punishment of God's wrath for those things that I've done and they were nailed to the cross and being nailed to the cross God is saying to all of us that our sins are paid in full. So we who are once the worst of enemies have now become the best of friends. We are no longer under God's wrath therefore how should we live? We should live as his obedient children. We have been delivered from God's wrath.
This is a step to spiritual victory. I'm no longer under God's judgment. But then secondly we have been delivered from our old self. Paul says this in verses 9 and 10.
He says the old man has been put off and the new man has been put on. So what is this old self? Well it's everything you are before you are saved. Now many of you accepted Christ as your Savior probably somewhere between 12 years old and under.
I didn't. I got saved at 19. So to me my old life was so clear to me the way I was and the way I am now. But all of us are like this regardless of being saved at 5 or 15 or 25.
So what is this old self? Well it's everything you are before you're saved. It includes our being connected to Adam and enslaved to our sinful nature. And Paul is saying that the power of the old life has been severed.
Just like a head is being cut off we've been cut off from the old life of sin. And Paul uses symbols to describe this experience. For example he uses the symbol of circumcision. Circumcision was a physical sign for a Jew who was under the Abrahamic covenant. It symbolized your dedication to God and your separation from sin. And in the New Testament circumcision is not a physical act it's a spiritual act of God where the enslaving power of the old life is cut off or it is broken by the power of God.
Colossians 2 11, in him also were you circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh. But then there's a second symbol and that's the symbol of baptism. And the idea is that we are all spiritually immersed by God's Spirit into the death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus. And the idea is that we are connected and united to Christ and our old life, our old life of sin is buried with him so that your old life is no longer here.
It's dead and gone. The old has passed away. And then there's a third symbol. That's like the changing of clothes. The old worn-out life of sin has been set aside like old clothes and it's been exchanged for a whole new life in Christ symbolized by new clothes. And all of these changes, circumcision, baptism, changing of clothes, they're just three different ways of looking at the same exact thing and that is the old life of sin has been severed. It's very interesting that back during the Civil War it was estimated that there were 60,000 amputations.
If a soldier was shot in a limb, he had the potential of having that limb infected with gangrene and it would lead to his death and the only way to deal with it was to cut off the arm or the leg. What Paul is saying is this, that the gangrene of sin in our life is dealt with through an amputation. The power of the old life has been broken. You are freed. You are no longer slaves.
You were in Egypt but now you've been set free. So how do we overcome sin? We start with believing these things. The wrath of God we have been delivered from. The old life we have been delivered from and then one other thing and that is we've been delivered from our old identity. Paul says we put off the new self and this is not just a makeover but this is a whole new you.
You are a new creation. The old is passed away. Have you ever met somebody who changed their whole identity?
You ever met anybody like that? My dad when he was 18 years old changed his name. My dad's name is William Pettit III but for 18 years of his life my dad's name was Grenville Atchison Pettit. They called him Granny and he changed his name. He got a new identity. When you and I become a child of God we get a new identity. We are recreated with a new image.
Adam lost that image in the Garden of Eden. Christ restores that image in the in the human soul through the new birth and these are the things that are foundational to our overcoming sin. These are the truths that we must accept and believe and this is the faith that overcomes the world. Once you believe that you accept it is true then there's the second step and that is you have to act on what is true. True faith leads to clear actions.
These actions are required for spiritual growth. Everything is irrelevant if you don't do these things. Your position is irrelevant. Your knowledge is irrelevant.
Your past is irrelevant. Your service for God is irrelevant if you don't do these things. Your doctrine is irrelevant if you don't practice these things. This is an action you must do and Paul gives two verbs to describe the action but in essence they're the same thing. What does he say in verse 5? He says mortify that means to kill it put it to death.
John Owen 17th century Puritan said said it clearly he said be killing sin or it will be killing you. Let me ask you a question if a rattlesnake came in your room what would you do? What would you do before screaming? If a rat came in you into your room what would you do?
I love it if a rat comes into the boys dorm because it will not survive. What if a scorpion came into your room and was on your bed what would you do? You'd kill it. If Christ was murdered for sin for our sin then what should we do with our sin? We should murder it.
How do you do this? How do you kill sin? You stop it. Think about it. If you die you stop doing what you were doing.
You ever notice that? When a person dies he stops sinning. Whatever he did before it's over with. Why?
Because he's dead as a doornail. Because you are dead in Christ then the only way to overcome sin is you have to stop it. If you're having sex unmarried stop it. If you're involved in looking at pornography stop it. If you're involved in thinking lustful thoughts stop it. If you are involved in a homosexual relationship stop it. If you're involved in sexual self gratification stop it. Whatever you're doing that inflames your lust Paul says stop it. Why?
Because you're dead in Christ. And then he says remove it. We put off the old man. We put on the new.
There is a transformation of our wardrobe. So what does he say? Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, dirty words, lying, all of that he's saying put them off. He's saying stop it. There was an old comedian named Bob Newhart. How many of you have seen this video?
Okay a lot of you have. And he's acting like a psychologist or I guess he is a psychologist in the in the clip. And a lady comes in and she wants to get help for her phobia and her phobia was the fear of being put alive into a casket.
And so he said I'm gonna give you he said I'm gonna charge you for five minutes it probably won't take any longer than that maybe less time. And she told him her fear and he sits and he says I'm gonna give you two words to help you overcome it. She said should I write them down he said oh I think you'll remember it. And he sits sits forward and he goes stop it. And she started to talk and you know make excuses and he said stop it. Stop it.
And what Paul is telling us is if we have experienced these things in Christ then what do you do? Say it with me you. Stop it. Say it like you mean it you. Stop it.
Okay so go on YouTube and watch it and I think you'll enjoy it. Father thank you for the victory we have in Christ that we can overcome sin in Jesus name. Amen. After hearing these sermons from the series in Colossians we thought you would like to hear a hymn based on Colossians 2 complete in thee. Verse 10 says and ye are complete in him which is head of all principality and power. In the hymn verse 2 especially speaks to today's sermon about overcoming sin. Complete in thee no more shall sin thy grace hath conquered reign within. Let's listen to the Bob Jones University Orchestra and student body singing the hymn complete in thee.
Let's listen to the Bob Jones Orchestra and student body singing the hymn complete in thee. Complete in thee no more shall sin thy grace hath conquered reign within. Thy voice shall build us up through thee and thy shall stand complete in thee. Gave just in thine, O blessed God, their sake in thine salvation wrought. Thy blood hath parted, Lord, for me, and glorified I do show thee. Complete in thee, O sublime, and no good thing to be denied, since now my portion, Lord, will be.
I ask no more, complete me. Gave just in thine, O blessed God, their sake in thine salvation wrought. Thy blood hath parted, Lord, for me, and glorified I do show thee. This Savior bled before thy God, most righteous of the sample, Lord. Among thy chosen will I be, at thy right hand complete me. Gave just in thine, O blessed God, their sake in thine salvation wrought. Thy blood hath parted, Lord, for me, and glorified I do show thee. Gave just in thine, O blessed God, their sake in thine salvation wrought.
Thy blood hath parted, Lord, for me, and glorified I do show thee. I'm Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Thank you for listening to The Daily Platform. If you're looking for a regionally accredited Christian liberal arts university, I invite you to consider BJU, which is purposely designed to inspire a lifelong pursuit of learning, loving, and leading. For more information about Bob Jones University, visit bju.edu or call 800-252-6363. Thanks for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue the study in Colossians here on The Daily Platform.
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