“If a man therefore, purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
“These” at the beginning of the text refers to works of iniquity. If we seek to be useful servants of Christ we must be aware of Satan’s tricks. His aim is to ruin our witness and to humiliate us. Useful service is the result of being an “instrument (vessel) unto honor.” This means that a useful servant of Christ is trustworthy, and is likely to do good works of ministry. It also means that when this servant meets the temptation to “aim low” he resists and “aims high.” When we encounter the temptation to “aim low” we should recognize this as a ploy of Satan and “aim high.” The useful servant of Christ is “sanctified.” According to the Greek word translated “sanctified,” the useful servant of Christ is “set apart” or “made holy.” Remember that it is not his or her holiness but Christ’s imputed holiness. The useful servant of Christ is different from the world. He, or she, is aware of Satan’s ploys and doesn’t fall for them. But when this servant errs, he confesses and seeks Christ’s forgiveness. The useful servant of Christ is aware of his humanness and does not commit the sin of self righteousness. (This is a sin that Jesus reprimanded several times in the gospels.) The useful servant of Christ is “prepared unto every good work.” This is also translated as “prepared to do every good work.” (NIV) This quality is apparent in Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:20-37. In the parable, the priest and Levite “went by on the other side.” They just ignored the man’s needs. The “Good Samaritan” recognized the man's desperate plight and stopped to help him. This is an example of what it means to be “prepared to do every good work.” Jesus told those who heard the parable that they should “go and do likewise.” This text is good advice if we want to be useful servants of Christ. We need to be aware of Satan’s attempts to sidetrack us with his foolish tricks. Don’t let him trick you! Bro. Joe
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“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12. Having your conversation (conduct) honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (Or “glorify God on the day He visits us.”) Does it matter what people think about us or say about us? The answer is “yes” and “no.” If we are always worried about what people think about us or say about us no matter whether what we are doing is good or bad, the answer is “no.” If we are concerned that our behavior reflects the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, then the answer is “yes.” Look at what Peter advised: Peter refers to us as “strangers and pilgrims.” Christians are citizens of two countries. We are citizens of our country, subject to the laws of our country, but we also have a heavenly citizenship, which means that we are citizens of the kingdom of God. In that sense, we are “strangers and pilgrims.” While it is important for us to be be good citizens in the earthly realm, and that we reflect the best of the values of this realm; it is even more important that our lives reflect the best of the values of the heavenly realm. Sometimes, we just have to be “strangers and pilgrims” in our behavior. This might bring us into conflict with earthly values. When that happens so be it. Our Christian witness is all-important to God, and should be for us as well. Peter demands that we “abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” There are things that we, obviously, should not do. When we give in to “fleshly lusts,” which we will if we aren’t careful, we give a bad example to the world. The world is super-critical of us when we do not “abstain from fleshly lusts.” We were admonished by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to “abstain from all appearance of evil.” This is not a call for us to be self-righteous. It is not self-righteous, however, to live a clean Christian life and to help others do this as well. In verse 12, Peter wrote that our conduct should be “honest among the Gentiles (in this case, pagans): that, whereas they speak against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God on the day of visitation.” While people might not be impressed with our Christian lifestyles, they will be impressed when the demands of this lifestyle make us trustworthy in all of our dealings with people. If people are going to say bad things about us, it should be about our stand for Christ, with which they disagree, but not about our trustworthiness. I am not suggesting that we lay awake at night and worry about what other people think of us. I am suggesting that we should be aware that what we say and do reflects our commitment to Christ. Bro. Joe “If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. 5. If you see the donkey on someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it."
The text written above shows us that we are not to treat even one that we would consider an enemy badly. There is something in us that says otherwise. If someone hates us it seems that we should have the right to ignore their ox or donkey. In fact, what we would sometimes like to do is to chide them and say that they are getting what they deserve. We might say, “Who cares about your old ox or donkey?” But the Bible does not leave room for that. Let’s see what Jesus, who is always our final authority on any issue, had to say on the issue. A good example is Matthew 5:43-46: “You have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy, 44. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45. That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46. For if you love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same?” Jesus went far beyond returning an enemies stray ox or donkey, and helping an enemy when his donkey is under a load to heavy for it to bear. Jesus said that we are to love our enemies and even bless those who curse us and pray for those who would persecute us. Man, this really goes against our grain doesn’t it? Let’s go a little deeper into what Jesus had to say about our enemies. He said that if we want to be like God, then we will love our enemies and do good to them. I don’t think that Jesus meant that we had to love our enemies in order for God to love us, but I think that He meant that people will know that we belong to God when we treat all people equally, whether they love us or not. In John 13:34-35 Jesus said: “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another. 35. By this shall all men (people) know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” The love that we show to one another in the church sets an example for the world, and helps them to know that we belong to Jesus. They might even want to become a part of us if they see such love. What we all need to do right now, if we want to be witnesses to a world in bad need of Jesus, is to love one another and let that love seep over into the world around us. Love is contagious, and if you want your church to grow, let people all around you see the love that you have in your church and they will want to be a part of that love. Is that what they see now? What are you going to do about it? Bro. Joe “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
When Paul wrote 2 Timothy he knew that his days were coming to an end, and he was ready to die and go to heaven. 2 Timothy 4:7 reveals that Paul was satisfied now that his life had been worthwhile. It also gives us some insight into Paul’s character, i.e., what made Paul the outstanding person that he was. What we have in this text is what I call "A Study of Paul's Character. “This "study" can also help us build character in our own lives. Paul wrote that he had “fought a good fight.” What did he mean by that? His life, like ours, was a daily battle to do the right thing. Like us, he had to fight with Satan every day, because Satan wanted to pull the great apostle down and ruin his witness. It is no different in our lives. Every Christian has a target on his back, and Satan takes aim at that target every day. We are never free from his temptations. Also, Paul’s fight was with false witnesses who wanted to call people’s attention away from the centrality of Christ. It was a constant fight. It is still a fight today. There are always people who want to get us sidetracked on religion and ritual instead of focusing on Christ. Christian character is obviously built on devotion to Christ. We cannot be Christ like in our character if we don’t give our complete devotion to Him. There were other things that Paul had to fight, but what I have shared should suffice to help us build our character. Like Paul we need to fight a “good” fight. That means that we hang in there and keep on fighting, even when things are difficult. Paul wrote that he had “finished the course.” Another translation of this is, “I have finished the race.” Paul saw his ministry through to its conclusion, i.e., he did not quit. You know the old saying: “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins.” What was this race that Paul was running? He was primarily called to be the missionary to the Gentiles.(Isn't it interesting that when God wanted to call a missionary to the Gentiles, He chose the meanest, and most feared Jew of that day to do it?) This would have been difficult for Paul in the beginning, because until his Damascus Road experience, he had been a devout Jew. This meant that he could have nothing to do with Gentiles. After that experience his ministry was mostly about and among Gentiles. Think of all that Paul had to do to overcome his lifelong prejudice. The fact is, though, that he did it. He went all over Palestine, Asia Minor, Greece, and eventually to Rome, carrying the gospel to the Gentiles. Now that he was about to die, Paul could look back on his life and see that he had finished what God had given him to do. If you want to build Christian character in your life, you need to find out what it is that God wants you to do. If you don’t already know what it is, find out, and do it to the best of your ability, following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. When we get away from God’s will, God’s purpose for us, we are wasting His time and ours. What is the “race” that God has given you to run? Will you see it through to the end? Paul wrote that he had “kept the faith.” I interpret this to mean that through it all Paul stayed true to his faith in Christ, and to the doctrines that His faith led him to. Paul did not stray from preaching Christ, and from living for Christ. If we would build Christian character, we would stay true to Christ and to His plain teachings in scripture. We cannot let ourselves get sidetracked with minor arguments over faith and practice. Are you “keeping the faith”? Do you quit when the going gets rough? Are you keeping the faith in spite of what others might say about you? Bro. Joe “We are bound to thank God always for you, brothers, as it is meet, because that your faith grows exceedingly, and the charity (love) of everyone of you all each other abounds. 4. So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure.”
When Paul expressed his thankfulness for the Thessalonian church, he listed three of their great qualities for which he was thankful – faith, love, and patience (perseverance). These are qualities that we should desire to have in these trying days. It is not as dangerous to be a Christian in our day as it was in the Paul’s day, but we still need these qualities if we are to live for Jesus and be effective witnesses for Him. Besides, who knows what we might face in the future? Paul was thankful for their faith. Faith is all-important in the life of a Christian. According to Ephesians 2:8, it is by God’s “grace through faith, that we are saved.” But faith is not something that we use to be saved and then go about our way, living as we wish. Faith becomes part and parcel with our lifestyles. We are saved by faith and we are sustained by faith. We face each day with faith in the Lord Jesus that He is going to enable us to face and endure whatever a day might bring. There are two other words in the New Testament that go along with faith – believe and trust. When we believe in Jesus as our Savior, He saves us and indwells us with the Holy Spirit. From that point on, we trust Him to help us in all of the events of our lives. I can’t say that I never have doubts, but I can say that it is a great comfort to know that I can trust that Jesus will help me meet whatever I have to meet with on any given day. Paul was thankful that their love for each other was increasing. The Greek word for love used here, is not the kind of love that we have for friends, or even for our loved ones. It is God’s kind of love, which is sacrificial and is active in our lives. The Greek word is agape. It is the kind of love mentioned in John 3:16 and in the great love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13. It is the word for love that Jesus used in John 11:35: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, by the love that you have for each other.” The church’s first witness to the world is the love that we have for each other. What is the world to think when they see us fussing and feuding, fussing over who is in control of our church? It was ultimately important that the Thessalonians love each other if they were to witness to their pagan world. It is no different for us. The world needs to see our love for each other increasing. Think of your own church. Think of your own attitude toward your fellow church members. Do you love them? Perhaps we all need to check our “love quotient” and determine whether or not our love is increasing. Our world is as much in need of Christ’s love as the world of Paul’s day. The only way the world will see that love is when they see it in us. Paul was thankful for their patience, or perseverance. The Greek word used for “patience” here means not just waiting patiently, but enduring while we wait. At this time, we do not have to endure the heavy persecution that the Thessalonians had to face, but we do have to face the daily annoyances and problems of life. Whatever it is that we have to face, we need to persevere in our faith and love. In other words, we should not let the problems of life cause us to throw up our hands and quit. Check these qualities in your life. Pray that you will grow in faith, increase in love and persevere in the trials of life. . Bro. Joe “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13. Bear with each other and forgive what grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity.”
Some people had come to Colossae and called that church away from the primacy of Jesus to legalism. (These people were commonly called "Judaizers," who taught that one had to become a Jew before becoming a Christian.) Paul is calling upon them to keep their focus on Christ. In our text verses, he is reminding them about the Christian lifestyle. This has not changed, and it is good advice for us. In verse 12, Paul called them to “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” A close look at these virtues will reveal that they are virtues practiced by Jesus in His sojourn on earth. We are called upon to be compassionate and kind. This seems simple, but if we will reflect on our feelings and reactions to other people, we will know that we need to work on these two virtues. Today people are becoming more and more callous towards each other. If we are not careful, we will be callous as well. I try to remind myself when I get in a “heated” situation that I must be compassionate and kind. All of Adam’s blood in me wants to strike back, but the blood of Christ that saved me reminds me to be compassionate and kind. (Paul didn’t promise that it would be easy.) This is where humility and gentleness (meekness) comes in. We have to remember that we are not out to win arguments or to lord it over people. Like Jesus, we are to be humble and gentle in our relationships with people. This does not mean that we lie on the ground and invite people to walk over us. What it means is that we are confident enough in our faith that we don’t have to “win” to feel good about ourselves. We are also urged to be patient with other people. To me this is the most difficult of the virtues listed here. We just need to remember that when we become impatient and argue, we have closed off our witness. This is how we should live if we want to be effective witnesses of Jesus. In verse 13, Paul told them “bear with each other and forgive what grievances you may have against one another.” We need to know that grievances are the most prominent of sins committed in churches. When we live in community with people, things happen that cause us to disagree, and, if we aren’t careful, we will form grievances. This is what causes churches to split. We are called upon to be better than that. This is what happens in the world all of the time, which a quick perusal of a newspaper will show us. It should be different in Christ’s church. Instead of holding grievances against each other, we should forgive one another. We seem to think that to forgive someone, against whom we hold grievances, will take something away from us. That is one of Satan’s great lies that keep our churches from being effective witnesses to our communities. Paul told them to “forgive as the Lord forgave you.” The Lord practiced grace on us and we are to practice grace on others. In verse 14, Paul told them, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” If we don’t love people, we can’t practice the virtues mentioned in this text. When we love as God loves, we will be able to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. We will be able to forgive others instead of forming grievances. We need to check our love quotient, and see if we are living as we should live based on this text. Bro. Joe “And (Abraham) believed in the Lord, and it was counted unto him as righteousness.”
Genesis 15:6 is famously referred to in Galatians 3:6. Abraham is a central Bible character, because he became the father of the Jews. In fact, the whole Old Testament after Genesis 12 is a history of the descendants of Abraham. In fact Jews, Christians and Muslims claim Abraham as their ancestral father. We can learn a lot from this man of God. The first thing that needs to be pointed out is that Abraham was a regular human being. He was not an angel. What I love about the Bible is when it shows us the “heroes of the faith” it shows warts and all. When we read the account of Abraham we discover that when he obeyed God and went into Canaan, when a famine came he went to Egypt out of the will of God. While there he lied and called his wife Sarai, his sister. He was half right because she was his half sister. Another example is his relationship with his wife’s handmaiden, Hagar. He was given permission by Sarai but he didn’t have to do it. All of this, and other things, point out that the father of our faith was a human being. But even considering all of that, the Bible shows us that he was a great man of God. Despite our humanness, we can be servants of God. To be sure, Abraham was forgiven for his sins, as we can be too. Genesis 15:6 and Galatians 3:6 tell us that Abraham was a man of faith. In Genesis 12:1ff, Abraham was called by God to leave his home in Ur and go to Canaan, which he eventually did after his father’s death in Haran. It took faith for Abraham to leave everything that he knew in his homeland to take a trip to a country that he had never seen, and would never claim as his own country. In Hebrews 11:8-10, we read this about Abraham: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go into a place which he would after recieve for an inheritance, he obeyed; and went out, not knowing where he went. 9. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country; dwelling in tabernacles (tents) with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. 10. For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” This is the same Abraham that I wrote about in the first paragraph. I did not do that to put Abraham down; rather, I did it to encourage you to see that no matter what you have done in the past, if you will turn to God and seek His forgiveness, He can use you. The only perfect person that ever lived on this earth was Jesus Christ – period. In Isaiah 41:8, Abraham was given a great compliment: “But you Israel, are my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend." If you go by that verse too quickly you will miss the compliment. God told His prophet, Isaiah, that Abraham was His friend. To be called anybody’s friend is a compliment, but when God calls you His friend that is more than a compliment, it is a cause for rejoicing. What made Abraham a friend of God? Among other things, when God called him to go to Canaan, He went. We call this obedience. It is important that we obey God in our lives. We need to obey Him in our daily lives in all of the little things that we do in life. We need to obey Him when He calls us to special service as He did Abraham. What if God called you to be a missionary in some foreign country? You might say, “Who me?” You are as qualified as Abraham was if God has called you to this special service. I hope you get my point here. God calls people to do what He knows they can do, and He qualifies them to do whatever it is that He has called them to do. The point is that even if Abraham had not been qualified to do as God told him to do, God would have qualified him to do it. Whatever service God calls us to, from the most menial in the eyes of the world, to the most important, God qualifies us to do it and it is important because it is of God. Bro. Joe “But you therefore are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5. You are children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch (be alert) and be sober (self-controlled). 7. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are drunk are drunk in the night.”
These verses fall in the middle of Paul’s discussion about the coming of Jesus. In them he informs us as to how we should live in light of the fact that Jesus is coming. In fact, it is how we should live anyway. Notice the brilliant use that Paul makes of light and darkness, and day and night in describing how we should live. First, he tells us that we are not of the darkness but of the light, and not of the night but of the day. This means that we live in the “light of the world” Jesus Christ. Most of the evil in the world is done at night and in the darkness. I have noticed that when I read of people getting in trouble in one way or another, it almost always happens in darkness, either at night or early morning. Darkness is the milieu of Satan, and it is when he does his “best” work. Throughout the Bible sin is displayed as part and parcel with darkness. On the other hand, the Bible displays God’s work as being in the light for all to see. We are reminded that we do not belong to the darkness but to the light. Jesus said in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world.” In Matthew 5:16 Jesus said: “You are the light of the world.” Because Jesus is the light of the world, we are the light of the world. This means that we are not ashamed of the things that we do, and everything that we do can be done in the light of day. In his gospel, John depicts God as light and sin as darkness. It is imperative for us to live in the light if we are to be the witnesses that we should be. Second, Paul tells us to “watch,” or to “be alert.” This is a warning for us to realize that Satan is always as Peter depicted him: “Going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” Satan is always busy trying to take us over to the “dark side.” We need to be aware of daily temptations. That is why we should start each day with prayer, asking God to protect us from Satan and from his darkness. Too often, we children of light do not show that light to the world. We need to show Christ’s light in daily life, and we need to show Christ’s light in our church fellowship. When we act like the world, we do not let our light shine for others to see what it means to really live for Jesus. All too often, we hear of people saying things like: “If that’s what a Christian is, I do not want to be one.” We can dim our Christ-given light by overtly sinning, or by being overly self-righteous in our relations with the world. The New Testament depicts the Pharisees as being guilty of both overt sin and of self-righteousness. They mistreated people whom they considered to be of less importance to them, and they looked down their noses at the same people. We need to be alert to the tricks of Satan and tell him “no” when he tries to pull us down. Third, Paul tells us to be “sober” or “self-controlled.” We are promised in the Bible that there is no temptation that we can’t overcome, because God will enable us to overcome it. But we need to practice self-discipline in this matter. I define “self-control” as doing what we know is really the best for us, for the kingdom of God and for our witness to the world. If something seems wrong, don’t do it or say it. If we know that something is wrong, we should just say “no” and move on. The Bible gives us ample evidence that even the best of men can be tripped up by Satan. David with Bathsheba is one example, and another example is Peter when he denied the Lord. We know right from wrong and we should choose that which is right. We will stumble, and when we do, we should quickly seek God’s forgiveness and He will give it. Let’s use this text as a springboard to living as people of the day, always on the alert, and always self-controlled. We are not in this alone; the Lord will enable us to live for Him as we should if we will just depend on him and not on ourselves. Bro. Joe “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove, what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Paul wrote that when we have “presented (our) bodies a living sacrifice” some changes should take place in our lives. One thing that he wrote was that we should present ourselves holy. Holy does not mean self-righteous; rather, it means living a life that is “acceptable unto God.” Paul also writes that this is not asking too much of us: “which is your reasonable service." In verse 2 he points out how we can present our lives as acceptable to God in a holy manner. Now, you get the idea here that being a Christian is to be different from the world. Sometimes this makes us at odds with the world. There are people who tell us that if we love people, we will accept whatever lifestyle that they live and just “love them.” I just wonder if that goes for child molesters, murderers, adulterers, thieves and etc. He tells us how we can live the acceptable life. Jesus would not tell us to hate anybody, but He would certainly not tell us to agree with them in their lifestyles. He wrote:“And be not conformed to this world.” A.T. Robertson translated this: “Do not be poured into the world’s mold.” Keep in mind that the world system is under the control of Satan, and he is happy when we join the world in its schemes. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2: 9-11: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10. Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which hath not obtained mercy, but now have received mercy. 11. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul…” This is definitely not a call to fit ourselves into Satan’s mold. Further, Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:3-4: “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banqueting, and abominable idolatries: 4. Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you…” All of this from Peter’s first letter does not tell us to conform to the world, but to be different. Further, Paul wrote: “But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” We are not only to refuse to conform to the world’s morality, but we are to be transformed – changed. We should not do those sinful things that we did before Christ came into our lives. This transformation does not turn us into modern day Pharisees; rather it turns us into Christians. This means that we will not turn up our noses at people who are not Christians, but that we will seek to help them, pray for them and love them. The New Testament does not allow us to hate anyone. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus told His disciples, and us, to love people like He did. We seek to influence them for good rather than allowing them to influence us for evil. I think that the world is crying out for people who are genuinely transformed by the Holy Spirit. These would not be people who smile on whatever people want to do, but who eschew evil, but at the same time love people. Being transformed does not mean that we become religious, legalistic, and holier than thou; rather it means that we seek to serve people in the name of Jesus. It means that our own behavior has changed, and that our behavior influences people for good. Like Jesus, we do not encourage people in their sin, for this gives them a false hope. But we demonstrate a lifestyle that brings praise to the Lord. Do not be self-righteous but do not let the world conform you to its mold. Bro. Joe |
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