Chapter 3 in this section of the Word of God that is unpacking for us what it looks like to actually live a life that is faithful to Christ, that is transformed on the basis of the work of the Gospel and making us new creations. The call of the Christian is that on the basis of what we have been shown in the gospel, now we are called to serve the Lord in absolutely everything that we do, and that involves dying to our flesh, that involves casting our sin aside, and then actually seeking to live in a way that is in submission to what the Lord wants to mark our lives. And last week, we primarily talked about The put off part, right? What it is that we're called to put to death in our lives by the grace of the Lord. This week, we begin the put on part. What it is that is actually supposed to be present in our lives. But in the middle of those two, we saw something very important in chapter three. of the book of Colossians, verse 10, that the new self is being renewed after the image of its creator. That's the encouraging part, amen? That this is what God is actively doing in the lives of his saints as we seek to honor the Lord in our lives. That he is actually at work in us and through us by his own power. In other words, this is much more than just simply a check mark. This is present in your life and this is not present in your life. This is about the transformation that God is doing in the hearts and the souls of his people through the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what this passage is all about. And this is the call of sanctification and what we need to put on as the church. So let's read this passage of scripture today. Colossians 3, verses 12-14. Stand with me if you're able as we read this section of the Word of God. Colossians 3, verses 12-14. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other. as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. You may be seated. One of the key points that we've talked about in our journey through Colossians chapter three is that it is vitally important for us to understand that sanctification is living out what is already true about us in the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel. We're seeking to live a holy life because he's made us holy. We're seeking to be people of love because he has showered divine love on us. And involved in that is understanding this is what God has already done in our past, this is what He is doing now, and this is what He will do one day in the future. And understanding these things is key to rightly seeking to submit to the Lord and to honor Him in our life. And we start out by highlighting in verse 12 what's already true about us. Do you notice that? He begins this section on what we need to put on by showing us who we are in Christ. You see, what many of us would expect is for verse 12 to start differently. Because many of us would expect him to say, put on then compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Let's get to the doing part. Let's get to what we actually need to do and let's do that immediately. Let's dive right into that, but he doesn't do that. He starts with something else first, and it's vitally important that we recognize this. He starts with a wonderful reminder of who we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who we are in Christ. Who are we? We're God's chosen ones. We are holy. We are beloved. This is our identity in Christ because of the grace that we've been shown, and he talks about that before he begins telling us what is to mark our lives. Why? Because we have to be anchored in our identity in Christ. We have to be anchored in understanding the grace that we have been shown. We have to be anchored in understanding we are His own possession and it is only on that basis of knowing the work of Christ that we can begin to honor Him in our lives. So let's take these point by point. He begins by saying we are the chosen people of God. We are God's chosen. Look at Ephesians chapter one. Ephesians chapter one, it drives this blessing that is ours as those who are redeemed by Christ's home. Helps us to see the lavish grace that God has chosen to show to us as his people before the foundation of the world. Ephesians chapter one, verses three through six. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. Our salvation was planned, chosen, and purposed before we were ever born. It was planned, chosen, and purposed before the world was ever made. This was already set in motion, and that is not on the basis of who we would be. It's not on the basis of God looking at you and saying, man, you're so special, I want you. It is on the basis of God's purpose and love for the glory of his name and redeeming a people for himself. This is true of every single believer who has ever been saved or will ever be saved. And brothers and sisters, this is the anchor point for our identity in Christ. This is the foundation, that we belong to Him, not because of anything that we have done, not because of our works of righteousness, but because of His choice. Not even because we chose first, but because He chose first. And that's important. I mean, you know how it feels when you ask somebody, you make the choice, you're like, I wanna do this with you, and they say, yeah. It's kind of begrudging, right? That relationship of you wanna go do something and you get the impression, well, you know what? They're making the choice to do this with me, but really they pretty much would rather be anywhere else right now. That's not how our relationship is with God. That's not what the basis is for our relationship with him. God chose you first. God loved you first, not the other way around. And that is important because it is the only source of assurance and security that we have. That is the depths of God's love for you that He chose eternally to love you whenever you would never have chosen Him. Apart from His grace working in your heart, working in your soul to bring you to that point of faith. And this is the first anchor point of our identity in Christ, on which we are to pursue sanctification in the Lord. The second one, not only did He choose us, we're also said to be, Colossians 3, verse 12, we're also said to be holy. If you are in Christ, you are holy. Not because you're living a perfect life, Not because you're always walking in submission to the commandments, but because Christ has made you holy by the power of the gospel. That you have been justified, you have been made righteous because of the work of Christ credited to your account. You have been brought into a relationship with God. 1 John 1 9. Such a beautiful reminder of assurance to us on this point. 1 John 1, verse 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the cleansing that we need. This is the holiness that we need given to us through Christ that we might have a relationship with the Holy. And whenever we come to Him on the basis of His work in our heart and in our soul by the power of His Spirit, coming to Him, asking Him to forgive us of our sins, clinging to Christ in faith, we are made holy. We are made holy. And this is who we are. And what do we do on the basis of that? Everybody in this room can look at their life and they can see something in their life and they're like, Eh, that's not so holy, right? That needs to change. I need to repent here. What is the process of sanctification? We've been made holy and therefore by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, our life is growing and maturing to reflect what we've already been given in the gospel. But as we do that, we're not seeking to live more holy in order to earn holiness, we're seeking to live holy because we already have been given holiness in Christ. Final point of our identity in Christ. We're chosen, we're holy, this is who we are as grace in Christ, but we're also, do you notice this? It's a beautiful point, we're also beloved. We are beloved as the people of God. Eternally loved. Eternally loved by God as his people, as his redeemed. This is the depths of the grace that God lavishes on us as the church. Not just that we would have a relationship with God, not just that we would be given the opportunity to know God, but that that relationship and that knowledge would be one of profound, eternal, great love. This is what we are given in Christ. Love that comes to us through the Lord Jesus. And this identity, this grace that we have been shown, that is ours in the gospel, this should leave us in awe. That we should stand back and look at the start of verse 12 and realize if you are here today as a born again Christian, if you have been genuinely saved by the power of the gospel, this is who you are. that this is not what you wish to be true about you a thousand years into eternity. This is what Paul says is already true of the church and is already ours in Christ. That is the beauty of what we have in him. And therefore, flowing into the rest of this passage, we serve him out of a heart of love and humility, seeking to please our Father who has been good and faithful to us. And it is out of love that we pursue Him. And I wanna say this again clearly, and we talked about this last week, but if you're seeking to serve God and to honor God in your life because you want His approval, you don't need good works, you need the gospel. You need the gospel and you need to realize you need to come to Christ. You need to see your sin. You need to repent and you need to cling to Jesus and saving faith that you might be made holy because the only way to that right relationship with God is through his grace. And then it is on the basis of a relationship of a loving father that you seek to please him. And how do we now do that? How do we live out this identity and this grace that's been shown? First virtue that he lists here is compassionate hearts. Compassionate hearts. How could we, who have been shown such lavish and undeserved favor, not be compassionate and tender towards others? This is talking about tender mercy that goes all the way down to the level of your heart and to the level of your soul. You know, you look at the ancient world and all these virtues that Paul's unpacking and you see them in line here and you realize these are very counter-cultural to his day. And especially this part about having a compassionate heart that was driven from love to try to help other people. Why was that? Well, this is the ancient Roman world. And in the ancient Roman world, it wasn't exactly a culture of compassion. It wasn't a culture of love and care. They literally would leave babies that they did not want out to die in the elements. That was the culture of this day, but it was the Christians who were filled with compassion to take them in. Elderly individuals who needed care were often neglected. in this day as well. And in contrast to that, and in direct opposition to what it is that would have been valued in their culture, Paul says, you need to have a compassionate heart. You need to have a tender heart that would be desirous of seeking to care for other people. And the question for you and I is that, is that seen in our life? Do we have this heart of compassion? Do we have a heart that seeks to love other people, that seeks to serve other people, that sees their needs and is driven to try to serve them in the Lord Jesus Christ? Not just tenderness towards those who are outside of our circle, but even tenderness towards those who are within our own families, right? That's often where we're prone to show a lack of compassion and a lack of tenderness is towards those who are actually closest to us. But if we're to have a true heart of compassion, that would be actually seen first towards our families, being tender towards them, seeking to love them, and then towards our church family, and then from our church family to our community. The next point on this that we see we're to put on here, chapter three, Colossians chapter three, look at verse 12. We see compassionate hearts, and then we see something very related to that, don't we? Kindness. Kindness. What is kindness? This is, in the original language, it's talking about a grace that is marking your whole person. Grace that marks your whole person so that what is hard or harsh about you is shaped to be more gentle. That's what kindness is, right? You can think about it as smoothing out the rough edges. It's permeating your whole life and your whole soul. Don't be confused here, okay? Kindness is not the opposite of courage. Kindness is not the opposite of courage. We need courage. We need bold defenders of the truth. But brothers and sisters, courageous and bold defending of the truth without kindness is unbiblical and displeasing to God. It's a direct commandment in this passage that we are to put on kindness. And yes and amen, it is also a direct command from the rest of scripture we are to defend the truth. These two things go together. But in our social media age, it seems like people either want you to have a warm heart or they want you to be a bold defender of the truth, but rarely do you see both present. But actually in the life of the church, It's been well said that we should have both a steel spine and a warm heart. And this is what Christ wants of His people. In fact, this is not a suggestion, it is a divine command that we are to put this on for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. which flows right into the next virtue that he lists here, he says humility. Humility. What is it that drives humility in the heart and in the soul of the Christian? It's understanding the incomparable glory of God. The incomparable glory of God. Because one of the things that we get caught up in, in our sanctification journey, is we look at so-and-so over here and we think, man, I'm really doing good. Like, I'm really faithful. Or, and some need to hear this too, we look at so-and-so over there, we're like, man, they're so holy, I'm really doing bad, right? There are some people who are prone to that on the despair. But actually, don't look and compare yourself to other people, look at God. Look at the perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at His glory, look at His splendor, look at His awesomeness. That's the benchmark. And that leads us to humility. We're not pridefully puffing ourselves up, but we're not pridefully over here wallowing in despair and centering ourselves on our own misery. Instead, we're looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. We're beholding his glory, and that is driving us to humility in our life. And this is what we are called to as the people of God. This is what we are called to as his people. And this humility is going to drive us instead of a constant comparison game towards other people, we are gonna be driven to love them and to seek their good in the Lord Jesus. and to seek to realize that we are doing this together as a church body and we all need to grow. And that flows really, that humility is related to this next point, which is meekness. And some translations have this as gentleness, but the idea that's being conveyed here is that you have yourself under control through the power of the Spirit of God. You're not lashing out, you're not losing it, you're not going on tirades. Instead, you're walking in spirit-empowered humility and self-control. And you think about it, especially whenever other people sin against you, right? This is when this meekness and this humility is going to get tested. Are you going to lash out? Are you going to lose it? Are you going to walk in meekness? But then we come to this final point. of the virtues that we're called to put on in verse 12. It's one that's not easy. Patience. Patience. Patience is so often a test for us. It's so often a test for us, especially in an instant digital social media age where everything comes at the push of a button. But brothers and sisters, Christians struggled with patience before technology. How do I know that? Paul has to exhort them and encourage them to patience, right? That indicates that this is something that they're having to work to actually put on. And so our struggles with patience in our day are not caused by technology, they're caused by the sinfulness of the human heart. And a struggle with patience is not new. Patience is, it's essentially the ability to be long-suffering. It's not just waiting. It's not just letting time pass by. It is enduring hardship. It's enduring difficulty and seeking to be faithful to the Lord. That's why patience is so hard. Because we want the quick fix. We want the quick fix. We want the issue to be over now. We wanna be back and fully healthy in our own time. We want the issue with that family member or coworker fixed now, not two weeks from now or two months from now or two years from now. We want this event in our life to come to fruition, yet God hasn't granted it yet. And key to patience is realizing we can bring those requests to the Lord, Yes and amen, we bring those to Him. We petition Him regarding the timing of things that transpire in our lives, but we do so with the heart of learning that His timing is always best in the perspective of eternity. He's never late. He's never early. He's always on time. And the growth in patience comes when we realize that fact. And you look at this and you think about what is the biblical example of patience. The biblical example of patience is God himself. The patience that he has with us as sinful human beings. How patient was God in sending his beloved son to die for our sins. Thousands of years go by in human history and he waits and he waits and he waits and he sends his son at the fullness of time. according to Galatians chapter four. And how patient was he to us as individuals and allowing us to continue to exist, but bringing us to that point of faith and repentance in him. Incredibly patient. God himself is our example of patience. And we trust in him. Now all of these things in verse 12, they flow into verse 13. How do I know that? Well, if you're gonna be somebody who's able to bear with other people, and if you're gonna be somebody who's able to forgive other people, you need to be, you need to be a compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and patient person. Amen. These things go together. And we need these things present in our life before we're gonna be able to live out verse 13. But what are we called to in verse 13? We'll read it together with me. Read it together with me. Colossians 3, verse 13. Bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. We begin with this concept of bearing with one another. Now, it's an amazing reality to me that often we act so surprised that we have to deal with the shortcomings of other people. It's like, we're totally caught off guard by the fact that people are sinners in this world, right? We're shocked. I mean, you're trying to tell me that the people in my family, in my church, and in my workplace aren't perfect. Yes, they're not. We live in a fallen world with sinful people. And that is why we need to bear with one another. We could also say this is forbearance, right? It's so essential that we understand that sinners are in need of grace and we live in a fallen world. And this means that as we walk together and as we go throughout our life and as we're sinned against, we're not lashing out, we're not returning sin for sin. We're bearing with one another. Now, of course, we do deal with the sin. Matthew 18 is in the Bible. Matthew 18 is in the Bible where you go to the person, if they don't respond, you bring another person, if they don't respond, then you bring it before the church. Right, so we do deal with the sin. 1 Corinthians chapter five, someone is actually excommunicated, they're removed from the church body for unrepentant sexual immorality. These are important instructions for us on how to deal with sin. But here's a key point. Jesus lays all of that out because he knows that his people will need to deal with sin in a fallen world. And part of the instruction for us as the church on how we are to deal with sin towards us is that we are to bear with one another. We're not looking to pummel each other. We're not looking to stifle one another. We're looking to patiently serve one another and seek to bear with each other for the sake of growth in holiness and growth in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, that's quite different from a group of people who simply want to be bitter. That's quite different from a group of people who simply have it out for one another. Even this means that our heart, whenever we do confront sin, would be one of forbearance where we're seeking to confront that sin because we love the person and we want their good in the Lord Jesus Christ. And if this is true in the workplace and in the church, it's even more true in the family. You know, somebody's sitting here thinking, you mean to tell me that I need to bear with my family? I need to bear with myself? My spouse? Here's the real shocker. They need to bear with you too, right? They need to exercise this quality towards you too. We as Christians should not be surprised that we have to deal with sin. Which brings us to the end of verse 13. Such a powerful point. As the Lord has forgiven you. Let me read that one more time. As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. What a powerful reminder. that the reality of how Christ has shown us forgiveness serves as the basis for how we treat other people. And the calling here is to see how has God forgiven us? What is the mercy that we have been shown? Right, look back at Colossians chapter two. It relates, what did God do to forgive us? How much has he forgiven us? Colossians chapter two, verses 13 through 15. and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us of its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him. How did God forgive us? By crushing his beloved son. That is how God accomplished our forgiveness. An infinite debt of sin paid for by the infinitely divine son of God, punished by his own father. This is how we have been forgiven. And you combine that with Romans 5.8 that says God shows His love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. You're beginning to get the picture of the forgiveness that we've been shown, right? This is incredible love. This is completely undeserved. This is completely unmerited. And yet this is what is present for every single believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, right? I want you to look at this. Zero in on this point. In chapter three, verse 13. Chapter three, verse 14. Forgiving each other as the Lord will? No. as the Lord has forgiven you. If you're in Christ, you've already been forgiven. All of your sins have been washed away. They have been paid for. They have been dealt with. You are redeemed by the Lord Jesus. This is the mercy that is ours, which is amazing. It's not just that every sin that I know that I've ever committed has been forgiven. Even the sins that I forgot that I committed, even the sins that I don't know I'm gonna commit, all of them have been dealt with by Jesus. And so what are we to do in light of that truth? Treat other people in light of the grace and forgiveness you've been shown. That's what Colossians calls us to, as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive. That forgiveness now is to mark every single relationship that we have as the people of God. Yes, I know there are sinful things that we walk through that others do to us. Yes, I know there are times that we need bold confrontation. There are times that we need church discipline. Yes, there are times even for legal action against sinful crimes. But in terms of our hard attitude, in terms of our demeanor as the people of God towards others, it is to be one of personal forgiveness. It is to be one of realizing that God has forgiven me, therefore I will forgive others. And it's also realizing nobody could do anything against me that is greater than my own sin debt against God. that he has forgiven an infinitely greater debt than any other sin that has ever been committed against me. Look with me in Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18, the parable of the unforgiving servant. This is Jesus, he takes this principle that we're talking about in Colossians chapter three, and he shows it to us through an illustration. Now this servant, he's forgiven a debt he could have never repaid by his master. The master undeservedly and graciously wiped it all away. Did the servant deserve it? No. Did he do anything to earn it? No. He didn't merit it. And yet this same servant then goes out with someone with a far lesser debt. And the man asks for forgiveness. The man pleads with him and he will not grant it. Jesus shows us the point. Matthew 18, verses 32 through 35. Then his master summoned him and said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you? And in anger, his master delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. This is the heart of forgiveness that is lacking. The devastating lack of realizing the infinite debt we have had wiped away and a failure to forgive the lesser. And this is the calling of the Christian. Not just to have compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness on the outside, but to actually have a changed heart by the sovereign work of God that leads to us being able to genuinely forgive others even when they don't deserve it. Even when they haven't earned it. Does that mark your life? Does that mark my life? You see, you can't just sit here and look at these virtues and say, man, I want that, I'm gonna pursue that in my own strength. This kind of forgiveness, it only comes from the supernatural work of God in your heart. That's the only explanation for this. You can't have this in the flesh. Are you kidding me? Have you ever seen lost people? This is not present. This does not mark them. This kind of grace is only found in those who truly know the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you marked by this or are you marked by bitterness? Are you marked by anger? Are you marked by resentment? Are you clinging on to these things that maybe other people have done to you instead of dealing with them and forgiving? And if that's you, and maybe you're looking at this and you're saying, I need to repent. If you're here and you're a Christian, but you need to repent of a lack of forgiveness, remember the glory of the gospel and that there's forgiveness for you in Jesus. And run to him for transformation. But if you're here today and you're realizing this has never marked my life, this has never been present, and I need to be saved, again, the Lord Jesus himself is the God who forgives. And He is faithful and just to forgive all who come to Him in faith and in repentance, wiping their sins away. And so come to Him to stay and be saved. But for us as the Christian, the glorious truth is that we seek to please God with our lives, not out of some kind of anxious, fretful spirit, wondering if we're going to measure up. But out of realizing we've been forgiven everything, we're eternally loved, we're eternally chosen, we're His, that's never gonna change. And so what marks our lives? Look at verse 14. And above all these, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. It is actually the reality that God has lavished us with his sovereign love through the gospel so that now we as his people, we are marked of first priority by the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the defining mark of the people of God. This is what binds everything together in perfect harmony. You say, what is harmony? What does that sound like? Sounds like you guys singing on Sunday morning, amen? Sounds like the church singing praises to Jesus Christ. You hear an example of it every Sunday. Harmony. Harmony together. But if you've ever heard a group of musicians singing together and one of them's off key, you hear it, right? You hear it real quick. But it is actually love. It's love in the heart of the Christian that balances their life being pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ. The love of God shown to them in the gospel. The love that they have because of His grace for the Lord Jesus. And they actually love Christ. They love the Word of Christ. They're marked by a desire to please Him. And that overflows into a love for their families, for the church, for other people, so that now all of this is being brought in harmony in our lives. This is what marks us. It's not. trying to put these things on out of fear. It's not just trying to go through the motions. It is transformation at the heart level that we actually love Christ. He is at the centerpiece. It is this point which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Which by the way, I would point out, this is set in context of being addressed to the church. Right? We talked about that last week. He mentions it in verse 11. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, skiffian, slave, free, but Christ is all in all. So we're pursuing this together, sanctification, walking in Christ. We're pursuing it as the church. And so this harmony, it is something that is present in our individual lives that we're actually living in balance of humility and grace and forgiveness, but it's also present as a beautiful harmony in the life of the local church. Brothers and sisters, the church is not just in harmony when she sings. The church is in harmony and living out the good pleasure of her master day by day. that you look across the room and you see this brother or this sister who are working through an issue together, but they've chosen to forgive each other because Christ has forgiven them. And you see another brother who is sacrificially serving another member of the church by a heart of love, showing compassion to them, meeting their need. You see a sister who is cooking a meal for this other saint who has gone through some kind of a medical issue and she's serving them. You see a couple of individuals who are growing in humility and learning what it means to love their family. Talk about beautiful harmony. Talk about Jesus binding the hearts and the souls of his people together through the grace that is theirs. This is what he is doing in us individually, but also in us together as a church body. And I pray that we would be focused on and that our heart in pursuing a life that is pleasing to him would be driven by love. Driven by love that binds everything together. I'm gonna ask Brother Doug, if he would, to come and lead us in our closing hymn. If there's anything that you need to talk about, if there's anything that you need prayer for this morning, if you have the privilege to pray with you or to visit with anything, with you about anything that may be on your heart or your soul after our services today, let's bow together in a word of prayer. Father, we study this passage today, and we're reminded of the lavish grace that you've shown to us. Father, you have forgiven us as your people. Father, you have wiped our sins away through the Lord Jesus Christ. You have called us to yourself. You have made us holy. You have shown us love. And Father, now, day by day, you are renewing us. You are growing us. You are transforming us. Father, this is what Christ is doing in us. And I ask that you would let us have our eyes on him. That out of a heart driven by love, we would seek to live a life that is pleasing before him. And Father, I thank you for the heart of this church in that way. And that we would be an encouragement to one another in the Lord Jesus as we seek his glory. And it's in his name I pray, amen.