Streams of Living Water

The greatest need of the world around us, and of the church of which we are a member, is that we live holy lives. The word holiness means ‘different’ or ‘separate’. People need to see that Jesus really has made a difference to us; only then will they want the same for themselves. But what will that holiness look like? Last week, we looked at many of the things that if we want to be holy, we need to say goodbye to; but this week, I want to look at some of the things that if we want to be holy, we need to say hello to – things we need to strive for and incorporate into our lives.

Each of the verses in Colossians 3:12-17 could form the basis for a whole sermon, or even series of sermons. But tonight I want to go through these verses, not skimming over them, but understanding what they mean for us today; whilst at the same time maintaining the flow of what Paul is saying. I want to look at five issues: first, from vs. 12a, being the people of God; secondly, from vs. 12b-14, following the example of God; thirdly, from vs. 12, living at peace with the people of God; fourthly, from vs. 16, being guided by the Word of God; lastly, from vs. 17, doing with thankfulness to God.
[A] Being the People of God (vs. 12a)
If we are Christians, according to Paul, then we are God’s chosen ones – literally ‘the elect of God’. We are Christians not primarily because we chose God, but because He chose us. It’s a hard thought to grasp, but from before you were born, before the world was created, God had chosen you. And because the word ‘holy’ means separate or different, being chosen by God marks us out as different. God has made us different and now He calls us to be different – He has chosen us, and now He calls us to live as His people. This phrase, ‘the chosen ones of God’ is used in Psalm 105:6 to talk of the Jews – at one time, they were the elect of God – His chosen nation. It’s not as if God has stopped loving the Jews, but in the New Testament Age, the Church is His chosen people. The Israelites of the Old Testament were called to be different, but at every stage of their nationhood, they wanted to be the same as everybody else – all the foreign nations worshipping strange gods and living immoral lives. But now, the chosen ones of the New Testament, the Church, we have been made different and we are called to be different – and the question for us is this – will we hanker back after the world; or will we be the people of God?
God has made us holy – literally, God has made us saintly. We are saints. It’s not only especially good people who qualify to be called saints in the Bible, it is everyone who trusts in Jesus, because in Jesus, God has sanctified us, He has made us holy. When you go to work remember that you are God’s holy ones – you are a saint of God; and Paul is saying to us that we are to live out what God has made us. You really aren’t the same as everybody else, so don’t try to be – live for God and find dignity in your holiness before Him.
At base, the reason God chose us and the reason He made us holy is because we are His beloved. We read that Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. God doesn’t love us because there is something good in us which merits His love; He loves us because He is a God of Love. And the amazing thing about Paul saying that the Church is God’s beloved; is that this language reflects the words God spoke over His Son Jesus – “this is my beloved Son, listen to Him.” God calls His Son Jesus beloved, and He also says that the Church is beloved. The very fact that God spoke this way to His Son, gave Jesus confidence in His relationship with His Father, and gave Him strength to live a life of perfect holiness. And God says the same to us – it’s almost like He is saying, hopefully without being irreverent, ‘you don’t have to try and make me love you by the things you do. It’s too late for that. I already love you. Knowing that I love you, live as my beloved child!’ 
We are the people of God – He could have chosen others, but He chose to choose us. We are His saints, made holy by Him and called to be holy. We are His beloved – loved just as God loved Jesus, like a father loves a Son. Live in these mega-truths; be the people of God – accept its privileges and its responsibilities.
[B] Following the Example of God (vs. 12b-14)
What does practical holiness look like? In a word, it looks like God Himself – if we want to be holy, we will aim to be like Christ Jesus. Paul allows us an insight in these verses into the character of God – the God who is compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patience, forbearing, forgiving and loving. He says of forgiveness that we are to forgive because thus God forgave you. But here, in the last few words of vs. 13, Paul sets us a pattern. Before we are able to follow the example of forgiving like Jesus forgave, we must ourselves experience the forgiveness of Jesus. Before we are able to follow the example of being compassionate, like Jesus, we must ourselves experience the compassion of Jesus. Before we are able to follow the example of being kind, like Jesus, we must ourselves experience the kindness of Jesus. That, you see, is where the liberal church goes wrong – it tries to encourage its members to follow the example of Christ, but it ignores the fact that before we are able to follow the example of Christ, we must ourselves experience Christ. We must have been changed by Him. You cannot possibly hope to be like Jesus in His compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness and love, without first being changed by the Jesus of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness and love. Have you experienced Christ?
Compassion, or literally, a compassionate heart, refers to the heartfelt love God has for His people. Jesus is talked of in Matthew 9:36 as having compassion for the crowds. It is a tender love – the kind of love, the Psalmist says in Psalm 103:13, a father has upon his children. It is when our hearts go out to those in need or in distress. Kindness, goodness or generosity is a broader concept, because it covers not just those who are in distress, but any who we can help in any way. In Ephesians 2:7 we are talked about as being the recipients of the kindness of God in Christ Jesus. Kindness is when we are good and generous even to those who cause us pain. And God’s Word says that as the New Testament people of God, holy and beloved of God, we are to reach out in compassion to the distressed, and we are to be generous, even to our enemies.
We find our model for humility in the Jesus who humbled Himself and became obedient to death. It is when we place ourselves below others; when we think of others better than ourselves and we are concerned about the welfare of others. It is the polar opposite of the showmanship of hero-worship, where leaders jostle for position each one trying to get higher up the pecking order of power. Gentleness, or meekness, is again typified by the Jesus who said “Come unto me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Learn from me, that I am lowly of heart and meek”. Gentleness refers again to the way in which we consider the needs of other people before we consider our own – it is the opposite of selfishness. But it also refers to the way in which we are willing to put the rights of others before our own – we want greatness for others without wanting it for ourselves; we are willing to impoverish ourselves in order to enrich others. And God’s Word tells us that as the chosen people of God, saintly and dearly loved, we are to be like the Jesus of lowliness and gentleness, who became poor that we might become rich.
Our ultimate example of patience is God, whom we read of in 1Timothy 1:16, as exhibiting perfect patience in our salvation. The idea of patience is very close to that of self-denial, where, supposing someone has wronged us, or disappointed us, we do not seek revenge by what we say or by what we do. Let’s face it, God has shown us far more patience than we will ever have to show to others. Forbearance, demonstrated by God passing over our sins in Romans 3:25, is where we endure with, bear with, and put up with others. They may offend us and annoy us, but we bear with them, just like, they have to bear with us. It’s hard to do, offences can be very great – but we are commanded to put up with them. Furthermore, we must forgive – no condition is attached here – simply that we must forgive. There will be times when we have complaints against each other, but these will never be resolved if we do not possess forgiving hearts. After all, someone may need your forgiveness today, but you will need their forgiveness tomorrow. These models are hard to follow, but in the grace of Jesus Christ, having been chosen by God to be His people, holy and beloved, and having experienced all these things from the very hand of God, we are to put them on, even as you put on your clothes in the morning.
Last, but most important of all, we are to put over all these things love. A quick scan through the Old and New Testaments will reveal just how many references there are to the love of God towards us – a man is never more like God than when he loves his brothers and sisters in Christ. If you think of all the other graces as being like parts of clothing, it is love which binds them all together and makes them complete. Love brings perfection and perfect unity. Without love, perfect unity will never be achieved. In the last analysis, the impression we should give, as God’s chosen people, saintly and beloved, is that of love. If we do not give off the aroma and fragrance of love, if people do not leave our fellowship saying, “see how they love one another”, then we are not complete and we have not reached perfect unity.
A tall order – that lust should be replaced by love; that fornication should be replaced by forbearance; that greed should be replaced by gentleness and that anger should be replaced compassion – but we are God’s new people, transformed by the holiness of God through Christ, saints and dearly loved. Every day, in humble dependence upon God and aiming to imitate Christ Jesus, we need to take the vices off and put the virtues on.
[C] Living at Peace with the People of God (vs. 15)
Paul now extends our motive for the kind of holiness he has been speaking of in vs. 12-14 by reminding us that we have been called as members of one body. This is a reference to the God’s Church, which according to this verse, should be thought of as a single organism. We are members of one body – there aren’t a million different bodies – but one. In Paul’s mind, being chosen by God and being called into the body of Christ are one and the same thing. That flies completely against an increasing feature of our Christian society, where Christians are quite happy to talk about knowing and loving Jesus, but want nothing to do with the Church. But the one cannot be true without the other – we cannot love Christ and yet hate His body; just like we can’t love the head of our wives, but hate their bodies. But what Paul is using the body metaphor here for is to remind us that effective community life in the Church, which is what God has called us to, requires us to have the peace of Christ ruling in our hearts. Whereas in vs. 12-14, Paul was using the picture of putting on clothes, now he is using the picture of an umpire, making and awarding decisions. The peace of Christ is that umpire or referee. Everything we do, every decision we make, every word we say is to be governed and ruled by the peace of Christ.
This is a word for us all here tonight – the peace of Christ is to be our umpire and governor. That peace is first of all the peace He gives to us – when, for us, He made peace with God through His blood shed on the cross; that peace also extended to our relationships with each other. The sword of anger and hatred has been taken out of our hearts and replaced with love. He has removed the barriers between us so that no longer do worldly distinctions, like ethnic background or former religious experience, have any role to play in our Christian unity. We have peace – not appeasement, but a hard fought peace. And we must ask; will this word I now speak to my fellow-Christian promote peace between us or will it cause needless friction? Are my actions designed to push myself forward or to maintain the bond of peace between Christians here? That peace is secondly the peace Christ embodies for us – we take our example of how to live at peace by seeing Christ – the Christ, who through His display of the seven virtues of vs. 12-14 loved His disciples and His people despite all their waywardness. Jesus Himself said, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called Sons of God”. Sons inevitably look like their father – we never look more like God than when we are making peace.
Peace isn’t merely a touchy feely emotion, if it is that at all, it is a hard fought privilege and responsibility which each of us must strive to maintain. The truly holy aren’t those who have spurned the company of other Christians and have gone to live in monasteries, praying and singing all day. The truly holy are those who have embraced all the problems of being members of one body – love and forgive, despite the quarrels, are patient and forbearing, are compassionate, kind and gentle whatever the provocation. These are the truly peaceful Christians, who, in obedience to the call of God to be members of one body, allow Christ’s peace to rule in their hearts.
[D] Being Guided by the Word of God (vs. 16)
Where do we go to find guidance on, and encouragement towards, this kind of life of holiness? Paul tells us that if want to live as the chosen people of God, with all these virtues of love and peace, then we need to allow the Word of Christ to dwell richly in us. We are to be sweetened and flavoured by the Word of God – the Bible. It is to be our ultimate authority in issues of day to day holiness. Without the Bible dwelling richly in us, not just turning to the Bible on odd occasions, but actually allowing it to penetrate us all the way through, we will not know what true holiness is and how then to live holy lives at home, at work and in church. It is as the hymn says, “Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord, abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.” Let the Word of God influence your every decision, thought and action.
Paul then talks of how we use that Word of God – teaching and instructing one another – speaking mind to mind and heart to heart. I wonder how much the Bible comes into our conversations with each other – how much do we help each other in our day to day holiness by sharing from God’s Word with each other? If we want to truly help others to be holy, then we must direct them to the teaching of God’s Holy Word. Interestingly enough, Paul focuses specifically on the Psalms as the topic of His teaching and preaching – although it is disputed, psalms, hymns and spiritual songs here probably refer to different divisions of the Book of Psalms we have in the Bible. The Psalms have always been special to us in the Scottish Presbyterian Church, and here Paul is telling us to let them dwell richly within us, and to use them in encouraging and teaching one another. And, even as we sing, we sing not only to God, but in the presence of other people – our singing instructs us and others about practical day to day holiness, knowing that, because Paul speaks about singing with grace in our hearts, we are singing them because of what Jesus has done in our lives. We, as Christian people, the chosen people of God who have been cleansed and sanctified through the blood of Christ on the cross, sing the Words of our master with thankfulness to Him.
The foundation of practical holiness is in our knowledge of the Word of God – strive then to read and understand the Bible. Read it every day and hear it being expounded in Church.
[E] Doing with Thankfulness to God (vs. 17)
Verse 17 should form for us the absolute summary of the Christian life and doesn’t deserve just a couple of minutes at the end of a Sunday evening service. These words sum up everything – all our efforts towards holiness are a ‘doing’ in the name of the Lord Jesus. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we are to do so in the name of Jesus. The words ‘hallelujah’ or ‘praise the Lord’ can so easily trip off our tongues, but the whole Christian life, from beginning to end, in whatever area, is a life lived to the praise of God. We must therefore, make sure that our lives match up to our profession of Christ.
And again, the whole reason we live these holy lives is out of thankfulness to God – not in order to win favour with God and to get Him to do something for us, but in order to show how thankful we are to Him for all He has done for us in Christ. I think it was John Calvin who said, “Christianity is a religion of grace and an ethic (or behaviour) of gratitude”. How thankful are you for what Jesus Christ has done for you? The more thankful you are, the more you will want to live a holy life. That awareness of how much God has done for us in Christ in choosing us, loving us and sanctifying us, will make us want to live lives of devotion to Him as Lord and God.
As we match up to these standards in God’s Word, how do we fare? I’m sure each of us will confess that we have a fair bit to go. But for every failure there is forgiveness, and for every effort there is the energy of the Holy Spirit available to us for the asking. In His strength, having been made pure through Jesus, resolve to say goodbye to the sins we looked at last week, and hello to true holiness in your life. Don’t try to do any of these things in your own strength, or you will fail; rather, trust in Christ to give you the strength and then get on and be holy.
And if you aren’t a Christian, then realise that the only way you can really live a holy life is if God has made you holy through Christ. Perhaps you’ve been trying for years to be holy, but it’s never worked. Don’t wait for it to happen to you – come now to Jesus in repentance and commitment, asking Him to be your Lord and God. AMEN