Don't Turn from Jesus
Colossians: A Letter from Jail
Don’t Turn from Jesus
Colossians 1:13-23
Let’s turn to Colossians 1. If you need a Bible go ahead and raise your hand and one of the ushers will bring one to you. Colossians 1 is on page 983 in the Bibles we are passing out.
This Fall we are working our way through Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. In ch.1 vs.1 we see that we should study this letter because it was written by Paul, who was an apostle of Jesus Christ. Apostles were specially gifted by Jesus to write truth directly from God. So this four-chapter letter is not just truth from Paul to people back then, it’s truth from God to all of us today.
But as I studied this week’s passage, it saw another reason why it’s crucial that we study this letter from Paul. It’s because Paul wrote about topics of massive importance.
For example, in today’s passage Paul tells us what makes the difference in whether we are forgiven by God for all of our sins, or punished by God for all of our sins; in whether we experience God’s love and care, or are cast away from God’s love and care; in whether we behold God’s glory forever, or whether we face God’s judgment forever.
So it’s not an overstatement to say that nothing is more important than that you and I understand and respond to Paul’s message in this letter to the Colossians.
So let’s take a look at what Paul says in Colossians 1:15-23 –
15 He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
In vv.21-22 Paul describes what we used to be, and how God saved us. V.21 says that we all “once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” But because of His great love, God did not leave us like this. V.22 -- “he has now reconciled [us] in his body of flesh by his death.” God takes alienated, hostile, evil people, and through the Cross reconciles them to Himself.
But that’s not all God does. In v.22 Paul tells us God’s purpose for reconciling us to Himself – God reconciled you “in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” We who were alienated from God, who were hostile to God in evil deeds, at the end of history, in heaven, God will present us before him holy and blameless and above reproach. At that moment God’s saving work will be brought to it’s conclusion – you will be morally perfect.
But keep reading in v.23 – all this will happen “if” – “if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel.”
So right here in v.23 we see Paul’s warning to us. Paul warns us that we must continue in the faith, and not shift from the hope of the gospel.
Paul is very clear. If we do continue in the faith, and do not shift from the hope of the gospel, then we will be presented before God holy and blameless and above reproach. But -- if we do not continue in the faith, if we do shift from the hope of the gospel, then we will not be presented before God holy and blameless and above reproach – we will not be in heaven.
So feel the weight of this. Your next thirty or fifty or seventy years on earth will determine whether or not you are presented in heaven before God holy and blameless and above reproach. And what will make the difference is whether or not you continue in the faith and don’t shift from the hope of the gospel.
So what does it mean to continue in the faith? It means continuing to trust Jesus, and not turning from trusting Jesus.
It means trusting Jesus to satisfy my heart with Himself.
It means trusting Jesus to forgive my every sin.
It means trusting Jesus’ commands about sex and money.
It means trusting Jesus to be my life purpose.
It means trusting Jesus to strengthen me in every trial.
It means trusting Jesus to keep me trusting Jesus.
That’s what it means to continue in the faith.
And Paul says that your eternal destiny depends on whether or not you continue in the faith. So feel the weight of this – but also understand Jesus is the One who will carry that weight.
But now how could we tell if we were drifting from the faith? Here’s some examples:
Maybe you used to have a strong heart-connection with Jesus, and you really knew Him, but now your Christian life is just going to church and trying to be good. That’s drifting from the faith, because faith is a personal heart-connection to Jesus.
Maybe you have a tough day at work tomorrow, and you say to yourself: “I deserve a little porn. That will satisfy my heart hunger.” That’s drifting from the faith, because Jesus commands sexual purity, and because only Jesus will satisfy your heart hunger.
Or maybe you have a friend who says – “It’s good you are a Christian. But maybe Buddhism will bring you even more of God?” That would mean drifting from the faith, because all of God is found in Jesus, and only in and through Jesus.
Or maybe you find yourself saying: “This one sin is no big deal; I obey Jesus in lots of other areas.” That would mean drifting from the faith, not because faith means perfection, but because faith means repenting over every sin, and fighting against every sin.
Or maybe as you look ahead to the future you find that what excites you most is not seeing Jesus, but a vacation, or retirement, or a promotion. If what excites you most is something other than seeing Jesus, beholding Jesus, worshiping Jesus, then you are drifting from the faith.
So all those are symptoms showing that we are in danger of drifting from faith in Jesus. And why is that such a danger? Because, as Paul says in vv.22-23 – we will be presented in heaven before God holy and blameless if -- IF we continue in the faith and don’t shift from the hope of the gospel.
So how do we keep from drifting from the faith? If we are honest, we will admit that we have areas of our lives where we could drift from the faith. So how do we keep from drifting? Paul’s answer is in vv.15-22. In these verses Paul gives us five truths about Jesus. And the reason he gives us five truths about Jesus, is because the way to not drift from the faith, is by seeing clearly who Jesus is. When we see who Jesus is, when we meditate on who Jesus is, our faith will be strengthened, our faith will be established, and we will not drift from the faith.
So let’s try this right now. Let’s take a look at these five truths about Jesus, and see if looking at them doesn’t strengthen you faith.
First, Jesus is the visible image of God. You can see this in the beginning of v.15 –
15 He is the image of the invisible God.
The word “image” here means exact representation. It’s not that Jesus is sort of like God. It’s that Jesus is God, so when you see Jesus, you see God.
Think about the fact that there is a God, who has created everything, who created you and who holds your destiny in his hands. How helpful would it be to see what He is like? And so God the Father sent Jesus the Son into the world – fully God and at the same time fully man – so we could see what God is like.
God is all-powerful – so we see Jesus commanding the storm to stop.
God is all-knowing – so we see Jesus knowing what the Pharisees are thinking.
God loves and cares about us – so we see Jesus healing a leper.
God is more satisfying than anything else in the world – so we see Matthew leaving his lucrative tax collecting business to be with Jesus.
God is angry at our sin – so we see Jesus throwing the money-changers out of the temple.
God is passionately committed to saving us from our sin – so we see Jesus on the Cross, hour after hour of horrifying agony, to pay for our sins.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God, because He is God. So why would you drift away from trusting the One who is Himself God?
Second, Jesus is the creator and meaning of everything. You can see this in vv.15b-17 –
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
You could think that means Jesus is the first created being. But that would be wrong. Jesus was not created. Jesus is fully God, which means He has always been. So what does this mean?
Here the word “firstborn” means “supreme.” So Paul is saying that Jesus is supreme over all creation. And you can see that by what he says in v.16 --
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
So think about everything that has been created, from the intricacies of the human eye, to the galaxies millions of light years away. Everything was created through Jesus -- Jesus is the Creator of everything. And everything was created for Jesus – Jesus is the purpose for everything. So Jesus existed before all things – and everything is held in place by Jesus.
So everything has its meaning in Jesus. Food has it’s true meaning only in Jesus, sex has its true meaning only in Jesus, money has it’s true meaning only in Jesus, relationships have their true meaning only in Jesus. Jesus is the true meaning of everything, so if you turn from Jesus, you turn to meaninglessness.
Third, Jesus is the head of the church, the resurrecter of the church. You can see this in v.18 --
18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
It’s tempting for churches to rely on something besides Jesus – like techniques, slick programming, entertainment. But the church is a body, and Jesus is the head. And just as your physical head guides and feeds your physical body, so Jesus guides and feeds His spiritual body, the church.
So if we rely on techniques, slick programming, or entertainment, we will not be guided by Jesus or fed by Jesus, and at the end we will not be resurrected for heaven by Jesus. So why would we want to turn from Jesus?
Fourth, Jesus has all the fullness of God dwelling in Himself. You can see this in v.19 –
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
Maybe you are a spiritually-oriented person. You want all of God that you can get. So why not try a little Buddhism to get more of God? Or a little goddess worship to get more of God? Or a little pot to get more of God?
It’s because all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. All the fullness of deity is in the person of Jesus Christ. All of God is in Jesus. So the only way to get any of God, is in Jesus. And the only way to get the fullness of God, is in Jesus. So why would you want to turn from Jesus?
Fifth, Jesus’ death reconciles all of creation to God, by conquering those who rebel, and by transforming those who trust Jesus. You can see this in vv.20-22 --
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Through the Cross Jesus reconciles everything to God: everything in heaven, everything on earth. Now some people think this means everyone ends up saved and in heaven. But that’s not what Paul is saying, because in ch.2 v.15 Paul says that through the Cross Jesus conquers demons and takes them away to hell. So for the demons to be reconciled to God means that they are conquered and led away to punishment. That’s also what will happen to all those who do not continue in trusting Jesus. So for some, reconciliation means being conquered by Jesus.
But there’s another option, which Paul mentions in vv.21-22 --
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
Those who trust Jesus, those who continue in the faith and do not shift from the hope of the gospel, are reconciled in a different way. The Cross transforms them from being alienated and hostile, to being presented before God in heaven holy and blameless and beyond reproach.
So Jesus conquers those who rebel, but he transforms those who trust Him. So why would you want to turn from Jesus?
Communion
I want to urge you to continue in the faith, and not shift from the hope of the gospel. I want to urge you to not turn from Jesus. Your eternity is at stake.
And a perfect way to end this message is by having us partake of Communion. Because Communion brings us to the foot of the Cross. And that’s where we need to be after a message like this.
We need to be at the foot of the Cross – worshiping Him for what He has done for us.
We need to be at the foot of the Cross – repenting for last week’s turnings.
We need to be at the foot of the Cross – receiving forgiveness for last week’s turnings.
We need to be at the foot of the Cross – recommitting ourselves to trusting Him.
We need to be at the foot of the Cross – trusting Him to keep us from stumbling.
We need to be at the foot of the Cross – trusting ourselves entirely to Him.
So let’s do that together.