Truth That Changes Lives

JP Jones: The Bible here in Colossians Chapter 3 says we need to render a death blow to sin, not slap it, not punch it, but actually kill it.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the senior pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a professor in biblical studies at Biola University. Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us a message from a series entitled All About Jesus. Let's listen in as JP gives us part one of Dealing the Death Blow to Sin.

JP Jones: If you have your Bibles, would you open to Colossians Chapter 3? We've been in a study in the book of Colossians the last several weeks. This is a book that's all about Jesus. The Apostle Paul is writing to a group of people who've come to faith in Jesus Christ. They've opened up their lives to Jesus, but there are parts of their thinking and living that have been squeezed into the mold of their culture.

They've been influenced by a secular philosophy, and they've also been influenced by a Jewish legalism, and then also from a pagan religious practice. This whole conglomeration of ideas has shaped the thinking and living of the people at Colossae, and the Gospel has set them free. But they still have some things that they need to wrestle with and they need to be continually set free from.

The book of Colossians is written to people a lot like us who have some baggage in our lives. God wants to speak truth to us and to set us free, and He brings the message back to Jesus every time. Whether our questions are religious and philosophical, the answer is Jesus. If our questions are personal and transformational, the answer is Jesus. And if our questions are about relationships, marriage, and family, the answer is Jesus.

Paul in the book of Colossians brings everything back to Jesus Christ, and the passage that we're looking at today in Colossians 3 is really a practical passage. It's about living this new relationship with Jesus. In particular, it's about some of the things that we need to get rid of in our lives, some of those baggages that weigh us down and rob us of our relationship with God and our experience of relationship with one another.

In fact, the command is to deal a death blow to sin, not just slap it or punch it, but to actually deal a death blow to sin. There is in martial arts a term for the death blow. It's called Dim Mak. One of the great controversies within the martial arts community has to do with that. Bruce Lee, the icon of the martial arts, died a mysterious death in Hong Kong.

A lot of people thought he died of a heart attack. The autopsy was inconclusive. It could have been a drug overdose or a heart attack, but a lot of people believe that one of his rivals gave him the Dim Mak punch. That particular punch within martial arts is said to bring about someone's death within three days.

The Bible here in Colossians Chapter 3 says we need to render a death blow to sin, not slap it, not punch it, but actually kill it. There are three commands in the passage that we're going to look at that speak to how we are to deal drastically, radically, and decisively with sin. Some sins we're to put to death, some sins we're to get rid of, and some sins we're to just stop. But there's a logic behind why we're to do that and there's a spiritual motivation behind why we're to do that.

It says this in Colossians Chapter 3 verses 5 through 11. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other since you've taken off your old self with its practices and you've put on the new self, which is being renewed in a knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.

The first question we need to ask ourselves so that we can rightly understand this passage and how it applies to us is: Who is this written to? Who is the audience? Is it written to the religious legalists in Colossae? Is it written to the practitioners of the mystery cults? Is it written to the secular philosophers? The answer to all those is no.

It's written to the audience that he's just described in the first four verses. In Colossians 3:1 through 4 he says, since then you've died and your life is hidden with Christ in God, keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above and not on the things that are on Earth, for you've died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then we also will be revealed with Him in glory.

This passage is written to believers. This passage is written to Christians. This passage is written to people who have a new relationship with Jesus Christ. Repentance is not just part of the entrance requirements into the kingdom. Repentance is to be the practice, the ongoing practice, of followers of Jesus Christ.

I would say this based upon this passage and other passages in scripture. If you're here today and you're a seeker, you have questions, you're searching, and you're trying to find out who Jesus is and whether Christianity is true, this passage is not commanding you to repent of all your sins. The scripture that is written to you is Romans 10:9 and 10.

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Call upon the name of the Lord. Confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you'll be saved. We don't have to do anything to experience the salvation of God. It's already been done for us through Jesus Christ. We're saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

This is a passage written to Christ-followers, and the high call of this passage is commanding us to deal with sin in our lives, to deal a death blow to sin, to get rid of those destructive behaviors that rob us of life with God and life with one another. We're to put to death, we're to get rid of, and we're to stop anything that would be outside of God's will for our lives. This passage is written to followers of Jesus and it debunks some of the myths that we are prone to believe about Christianity.

There's a lot of teaching on the radio, on TV, through different books, and through guys in a pulpit that run contrary to what the clear teaching of the word of God is. Maybe you've heard this myth: God wants me to be happy. Because God wants me to be happy, He'd never ask me to do anything that would be difficult, would rob me of my true feelings, or would be unenjoyable because God just wants me to be happy.

That's a myth. God wants us to be holy. God wants us to be like Christ. God wants us to be set apart from sin and set apart unto Him. It is true that God wants to give us joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Jesus said in John Chapter 15, these things I've spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full.

God's joy is not the same thing as our happiness. God's joy comes from obedience and being set apart to God's purposes and from abiding solely in Jesus Christ. Happiness is defined by us as being able to do whatever we want to do, whenever we want to do it, any way we want to do it. God wants us to be holy, not necessarily happy.

Here's another myth that this truth in Colossians 3 debunks. Since we're saved by grace, and grace covers us from all of our sins, then we can just keep on living whatever life we want to live because grace will just keep on forgiving us because aren't we saved by grace? This myth is as old as the New Testament because in Romans 5 and 6, the Apostle Paul talking about the awesome nature of grace said that where sin did abound, grace did much more abound, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Grace is never a pretense for sin. Grace sets us free from sin. Grace gives us power to resist sin. Grace helps us overcome sin. Grace isn't an excuse to keep on sinning.

In this passage in Colossians Chapter 3, it says to put to death immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. And then these next words: for it is on account of these things that the wrath of God is coming. That's heavy stuff, the wrath of God. That's how serious this is. That's how important it is that we deal a death blow to sin, because these types of behaviors, attitudes, and actions are the very thing that occasion the wrath of God.

Here's a third myth that we are maybe prone to believe but this passage debunks. It's the myth that since I'm saved only by grace and I'm powerless to do anything about the sin in my life, I guess there's really nothing I can do to overcome it, so God is going to have to give me some Pentecostal holy spiritual zap to take away sin and until He does, I guess I'll just keep living in it.

This is one of those myths that has an element of truth but enough lie to make it a lie. Are we powerless? Yes. Are we able to overcome our sin and save ourselves? No. Is God the only one who can change us? Yes. But all throughout the Bible, we are commanded to obey God, we are commanded to cooperate with God, and we are commanded to seek to transform our lives.

The very assumption in those commands is that there's something within us that is able to respond and follow through on what it is that God commands us. In Colossians Chapter 3, these three commands—put to death, get rid of, and stop—are based upon the assumption that because we are new people in Jesus Christ, we can put to death, we can get rid of, and we can stop, because what God commands, He empowers to carry out.

Colossians Chapter 3 is telling us that this new life in Jesus Christ is a life where we get rid of and we turn from and we repent of sin in our lives so that we can experience God's holiness and love and grace and plan that He has for our lives. This is a passage written to Christians. There's a certain logic behind it because it says in verse 9, after giving these commands to put to death, get rid of, and stop: since you have taken off your old self with its practices and you have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the One who created it.

The "since" there is the logical connection. These commands make logical sense because we've become new people, because at salvation we put aside the old self, we put on the new self, and now as Christians we are being spiritually renewed. Did you know that every Christian is experiencing an inner renewal project? God's doing a renovation of our heart and soul and our character on the inside.

Because that's true, it just makes sense to put to death, to get rid of, and to stop. There's a logic behind the command and not only is there a logic behind the command, there's a power motivation because since we've put aside the old self and we've put on the new self and we're being spiritually renewed, we have access to God's power to follow through.

We actually can put to death, get rid of, and stop. This is a message of hope. Repentance is a message of hope. Repentance is a good message because it sets us free and it leads to transformation. The alternative is just say no. Just say no. Do you realize that doesn't work? In the last 20, 30 years since the just say no campaign was presented to our youth, percentage-wise, more kids smoke, more kids drink, and more kids use drugs.

Just say no doesn't work because there's no logic behind it and there's no power to follow through on it. One psychologist, in tracking some of the statistics on this, has written that a study of athletes who were tracked with using steroids, two groups. One group was told just don't use steroids. And the other group was given information about the downsides and the consequences of steroid use, and they were given alternatives in terms of other means for exercise and physical development.

They tracked them a year later and they found that the kids who had received balanced information used fewer steroids than the kids that were just told don't use steroids. Another study in Australia tracked beachgoers. One group was warned that if they don't use sunscreen, their skin will fry. And the other group was given information about the skin and the potential damage of the sun and possible sunscreen options.

And again, they tracked them a year later and found out that the ones that just received the negative message didn't use sunscreen, and the ones who were told about the possible damages from the sun but also the alternatives did use sunscreen. What's the implication? Just say no doesn't work. Maybe you've come to church, maybe you've been around church for a long time, and that's what you think the Bible is saying. That's what you think God is saying. That's what you think this preacher is saying: just say no.

That is not the message of the Gospel. The message of the Gospel has a logic behind it and has the power to activate it. What's the logic? When we come to Jesus, we lay aside the old self, we put on the new self, and we begin a process of spiritual renewal. Jesus actually comes into our lives, so it makes sense to put to death, to get rid of, and to stop.

What's the power source? Christ is in us. We are being renewed. We can draw upon the power of Jesus to put to death, to get rid of, and to stop. So the message of Colossians Chapter 3 is a strong message for us to repent. You might be going, wow, that's an interesting Mother's Day message to hear. I just preach them like I see them.

Paul in Colossians is telling us that Jesus is the answer. Our new life in Jesus Christ is real. Our new life in Jesus Christ calls upon us to put to death some things, to get rid of some things, and to stop other things. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must rid yourselves of all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips, and do not lie to each other.

We need to put to death some sins. While all sin is sin, and all sin has the power to separate us from God and all sin has the power to separate us from one another, some sins are more destructive in their impact. Some sins require a more drastic response. Some sins we need to put to death, not just slap, not just punch, but give the old Dim Mak death blow.

The word "put to death" is a Greek verb, nekrao, which means to make dead, to deprive of power, and to make impotent. The word is used several times in the New Testament. It's used in Romans Chapter 4 three times to describe Abraham as physically unable to procreate. He was in his physical body dead with respect to being able to have an heir. We are to spiritually take action so that we actually put to death sin because of its destructive power in our lives.

These sins are sins of the passions and sins of the desires: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed. We have to literally kill them. Romans Chapter 6 says consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Do not let sin reign in your mortal body. So whatever it takes to stop sin, we need to be willing to take that action. That's what Colossians 3 and Romans 6 is describing.

Because these particular sins—immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed—are sins of our desires, they are sins of our passions. Because they're sins of our desires and our passions, we think about them, we fantasize about them, we plan how we can commit them, and then we commit them. Then we become addicted to them and they define us.

That's why it says in Colossians 3: put to death immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. When these particular sins have a hold in our lives, we are idolaters. We're actually worshipping them rather than worshipping Jesus Christ. When you go back to the top ten in Deuteronomy Chapter 5 and Exodus Chapter 20, the Ten Commandments, the first four commands all are about keeping God first. Anything that takes the place of God in our hearts, in our minds, in our lives, that's idolatry.

Immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed have the capacity to hook us, to control us, to define us so that we are idolaters in carrying out those desires. So what's God's command to us? Put it to death. Deal drastically, do whatever it takes. And it needs to be first-degree murder, not manslaughter, not second-degree murder. It needs to be premeditated. We need to think about it, we need to plan it out, we need to get the resources necessary and the people who can help us. We need to do whatever we need to do to kill the reign of sin in our lives because it literally will destroy our relationship with God.

Guest (Male): What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP provides us with great insight. That is why we'd like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We'll send it your way for just five dollars. Or if you'd like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653, or give us a call at 949-916-0250. That's 949-916-0250.

For your gift of 25 dollars or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book, Facing Goliath. Please join us every Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 AM at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653, or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653, or call us at 949-916-0250.

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