Ruth 3 - A Strange Proposal

Naomi now takes the initiative in finding a husband for Ruth. Now this goes right against our culture, but it was normal in those days, and given the state of relationships in Western society we should be a little wary of claiming that our way is better (I hasten to add that I neither am I promoting arranged marriages! Just saying we have limited grounds for feeling superior!). 

Naomi tells Ruth to prepare herself and go and sleep at the feet of Boaz. She was in effect saying that she wanted to marry Boaz. Again we find these actions strange, and possible strange that such things could happen without any sexual activity occurring. This again is a comment on the state of our society.

Boaz, as always, acts honourably. He is touched by Ruth's actions, but knows that there is another family member who has prior claim. So he will consult with this other relative before taking further action.

So we see patience being  put into action as well. Even if we are convinced that something is God's plan, we should still follow proper procedures and not cut corners. If it is indeed God's will, then things will work out.

Ruth 2 - Meeting Boaz

Under the Law people were allowed to pick up the gleanings from crops (Leviticus 23:22). We also read of Jesus' disciples doing this (Matthew 12:2), though that caused problems because it was on the Sabbath. As an aside, this is a warning against trying to be super-efficient. We should certainly seek to do things well, but it is a mistake to try and squeeze out every last ounce of efficiency.

The field belonged to Boaz, a relative of Naomi. He was an honourable man. He noticed Ruth and made arrangements so that she was properly cared for and protected. Family relationships are vital to the strength of a society and enable people to overcome all sorts of difficulties.

Ruth was surprised at Boaz's kindness. It should always be the case that when people come into the kingdom they are surprised by the kindness that they receive from people, for many people who come in will have been deeply wounded.

Boaz had also heard about what Ruth had done for her mother-in-law, Naomi. So there is a two-way process here. The outcome of this tale depended upon both Boaz and Ruth displaying the fruit of the Spirit.

Ruth 1 - Exile

This was the time of the judges, meaning it was a time when the nation had no sense of direction and was neglecting God's ways. There was a famine in the land, so a man and his wife, Naomi, left Bethlehem to go to Moab, along with their two sons. While in Moab the two sons married Moabite women. The Moabites were descendants of Lot (Genesis 19:36-38). Now notice that Israelites were not meant to marry Moabite women, but no criticism is voiced here. Sometimes things happen in life that really should not happen, but not everything spells disaster, and God works through all sorts of situations.

Orpah and Ruth were the two women. In time Naomi's husband and her two sons died.

The time of famine came to an end, and Naomi decided to head back home. Naomi cared for her daughters-in-law, and released them to return to their home and fine new husbands there. Initially both refused to leave, but eventually Orpah did leave. Ruth, however, insisted on staying with Naomi, making the declaration that "your people will be my people, and your God my God". This is a model for Gentiles coming into the kingdom.

So Naomi and Ruth returned home. Not surprisingly Naomi was deeply affected by all that had happened to her, all her losses. So she said call me Mara (meaning bitter), not Naomi (pleasant). This did not mean that God could not work through her. We are affected by the events of life, and we don't always get "healed" immediately. Sometimes we remain wounded for a considerable time, but this does not mean that the Lord cannot work in our lives.

Ruth - Introduction

The events outlined in this little book took place in the time of the Judges, a time when Israel had no real direction and was not following God. While it is a short book, dealing with superficially inconsequential people (there are no kings, prophets or warriors), it reveals many vital lessons, and is theologically rich.
First it shows that despite the moral degeneracy of the nation as a whole God was still at work. Whatever the circumstances it is always worth us following God's ways. Naomi, Ruth and Boaz are people who act righteously, despite the spirit of the age.
Secondly it introduces the concept of the "kinsman-redeemer". Boaz redeems Ruth, rescuing her from widowhood. In the same way Christ rescues us.
Thirdly Ruth is a Moabite, so it gives us a picture of God's salvation going out to the Gentiles. Moreover, Ruth is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:5), a remarkable thing if you think about it.
Fourthly, it shows how Gentiles are saved. Ruth committed herself whole heartedly to the God of Israel. When we get saved we commit ourselves to the God of Israel.

Psalm 119:161-176 - Love is Word

Even authorities persecuted the psalmist without cause, yet his heart trembled at God's word. We live in a time when our society is increasingly anti-Christian, but we need to ensure that it is God's word that we fear. As Jesus said, we should fear Him who can destroy the soul, not those who can only destroy the body.

We need to rejoice all the more in God's word, for that is where true riches are found. 

We need to shun and detest all falsehood, but find great delight in God's word. His word will give us peace and joy, and bring strength to us. Following God's precepts is to be our way.

This majestic psalm closes with David calling for God to give him understanding. The whole Psalm gives a picture of us seeking, longing for, and delighting in God's word, and God, in turn, proving that all His words and promises are true.

Psalm 119:153-160 - In the midst of trials

"Look on my suffering ...". When God met Moses in the burning bush He said that He had heard the cry of His people. David here calls on God to defend and redeem him. He calls on God to save him because he has not forgotten God's law, and according to God's promise.

Has God forgotten His promises? Of course not, yet we all go through times when it seems as though He has. So why does God put us through these times? Well I don't have any any all-encompassing answer, but one of the purposes is to deepen our faith. See here that the effect on David is to make him cling all the more tightly to God's word and promises. It is the word of God that brings life. Yet having rebelled against God we held on to all sorts of other things, trusting in various things. We need to be weaned off these things, and difficult times are one of the ways that God does this in our lives. So if we are going through a trial at the moment we need to cling all the more to God's word, to depend even more on Him.

As we sense that our soul is turning more and more to God then we should rejoice. For God's word is eternal, outlasting everything.

Psalm 119:145-152 - Seeking the Lord

David again is in trouble. So he calls upon the Lord to answer him, and he calls with all his heart. If the Lord answers him he will obey the Lord. This is not a form of blackmail, but a simple statement of fact. We cannot serve the Lord purely in our own strength. We need His salvation in order to enable us to serve Him properly.

What David does do is seek the Lord with all his heart and all his strength. Sometimes God lets things happen in our life so that we will turn to Him with increasing fervour. David puts his hope in God's word and meditates on His promises. There is a lot of talk about God's promises in this Psalm. We need to spend more time meditating on God' promises, for these are things that are bound to happen.

David calls on God to treat him according to His love and His Laws.

As in most of the stanzas there is mention of the wicked who devise plans against him. David responds by continuing to trust in God's word.

Psalm 119:137-144 - Pressing on

Another stanza where David is sticking to God's word in the midst of opposition.

The starting point is that God's word, His Laws, are right. They are fully trustworthy. If only the world followed them fully there would be far fewer problems in the world, even no problems. Someone always objects "what about all the punishments?". Well if the world positively followed God's word the punishments would be irrelevant!

However, we most definitely live in a world that does not follow God's ways, and is often actively opposed to them. This can wear us out, for we can be constantly swimming against the tide. 

God's promises have been thoroughly tested. We can rely fully on God's word.

The world may not think much of us, but even so we do not forget God's word. For His righteousness lasts forever. The world's fashions change from one age to the next, but God's ways are constant. 

Even in the midst of trials, God's commands and His word can bring delight to our souls. They give us the understanding that we need in order to live.

Psalm 119:129-136 - Your Word is Wonderful

David continues in the same vein as the previous stanza, eulogising the word of God, His statutes. He obeys them because they are wonderful. Now there are times when we should obey God just because it is the right things to do even if we don't understand, but this is a temporary state of affairs. The goal is that we have the mind of God and both know and understand His ways.

When God's word becomes clear it gives light, making situations clear. It gives true wisdom to us, wisdom that is totally independent of someone's academic ability.

There should be a longing within us for the word of God, for His commands. 

Then David appeals to God to have mercy on him, and to direct His steps. The most merciful thing that the Lord can do for us is to direct our steps in His ways. Then sin will not rule over us. This, of course, is what has been achieved on the cross and through the Holy Spirit. Our sins are forgiven, we are set free from sin, and the Holy Spirit sanctifies us.

We also need to be redeemed from human oppression. Sometimes it is hard to obey God's word not just because of our own nature, but because of the society and environment in which we live. But even in these situations the Lord can give us freedom and authority.

A sign that God's face is shining upon us is that we know and obey His commands. 
Love for God's word can also cause grieving in our heart as well, for we will see a world that is ignoring God's word, and suffering because of this.

Psalm 119:121-128 - When help seems far off

David had done what was right, yet he still could not see how things were going to work out. He could not see the Lord's salvation. It seemed as though there was still the danger that his oppressors would get the better of him.

So the sense that despite having done what is right it is seeming to have no effect, God is not intervening or helping matters is normal. David calls on the Lord to help him and not let his enemies get the better of him.

He looks for God's salvation, but can see nothing. Sometimes we try and work out how God is going to do things, but nothing seems to work. Every avenue seems to be blocked off. 

Now look at David's response to this situation. It is not to give up. Instead he calls on God to deal with him according to His love and to teach David his decrees. So he still has faith in God's love, and still believes that the most important thing for him is to do things God's way. Moreover, he wants to have understanding of God's ways, to know them better. 

There are many times when we cannot see how or why things are happening. In such times it is not God who is wrong, but our understanding that is lacking.

Finally he calls on God to act, because he, David, loves God's commands. The fact that we love God and His ways makes a difference.

Psalm 119:113-120 - Banish all evil thoughts

"I hate double-minded people". This stanza contains David's and, up to a point, God's attitude to evil people. Some people who hate God are double minded, saying one thing and doing another. In contrast, David loves God's law. Dedication to God's word produces a clarity and consistency of thought.

We make God our refuge, the one whom we run to and seek help from in times of trouble. We put our hope in His word, for His word is full of promises of deliverance.

David tells the evildoers to go away, he wants nothing to do with them. In times of trouble we can be tempted to do wrong things, to make wrong decisions. We need to banish all such thoughts, then we can keep the commands of God. 

We need to be sustained by the promises of God, we need to feed off them. Then we will live and not be defeated. His word will uphold and strengthen us.

Those who reject God's ways are deluded. They have grand ideas and philosophies, but they all come to nothing. They will be discarded as dross unless they repent.

They act proudly, disdainfully rejecting God's word. In contrast we tremble before the Lord and stand in awe at His word.

Psalm 119:105-112 - God's word

People are often doing all they can to avoid following God's ways, to argue against His word. But for the one who trusts God the Word is a lamp to our feet. It guides our way, and points out the obstacles along the way. 

We need to be committed to God's ways. David says he has taken an oath. Many today would consider this to be too formal, but lack of commitment is one of the big problems in society today. We need to make a firm commitment to follow God's ways.

Following God does not mean an end to suffering, quite the opposite in fact. But in the midst of difficulties and sufferings we can learn to rely more and more on God and His word. This involved risk for David, but he continued to remember God's ways.

Yet again we get the actions of the wicked, seeking to entrap David, but he remains wedded to God's ways. 

The word of God brings joy to our heart, and our heart needs to be utterly dedicated to God.

Psalm 119:97-104 - How to be wise

Having turned his focus on the Lord in the last section, he now realises his true strength. It is only when we turn to the Lord that we find salvation and find who we truly are. Our identity is found only in Christ.

David loves the Law (the word of God) and meditates on it all the time. This does not mean he does nothing else, or has become a monk! Rather it means it is uppermost in our minds at all times. 

This makes us wiser than our enemies. The word of God gives true wisdom.

It makes us wiser not just than our enemies, but also our teachers. Now this is not a ground for being arrogant, but it is the word of God that makes us truly wise. We can listen to the best sermons, read the greatest books, but it is when we understand the word ourselves that we become truly wise. Books and sermons and teachings will help us in this, but it is our personal understanding that is key.

See that obedience of God's precepts is the sign of true understanding, it is also the key to even more understanding. As we do the word, we will understand it better.

As well as positively doing God's word, we need to shun evil in all its forms.

God's word is sweet to taste and brings delight to the soul.

Psalm 119:89-96 - Focus on the Lord

David has just described the struggles he is going through, or rather the effect they were having on him, and he was feeling his strength drain away. Now he turns his focus back on to God. We will all go through times when we feel overwhelmed by events and circumstances. It is normal to go through these times. We need to hold on, and turn our attention back to God.
For the word of the Lord is eternal, the circumstances are temporary. The circumstances will pass away, the word of the Lord will stand forever.
The Lord's faithfulness and His laws stand forever. We need to have an eternal perspective, knowing what is truly important.
It is holding on to God's word that enables us to get through times of affliction.
Yet again there is mention of the wicked, but the word of the Lord is more powerful and is without limit.

Psalm 119:81-88 - Holding on

Longing for God's salvation and things seeming not to go right is a normal part of the Christian life. Time after time David encounters things that cause anguish to his soul. From the New Testament it is clear that Paul went through similar episodes, the two Corinthian letters especially reveal the inner thoughts of Paul.

It look as though God's promises will never be fulfilled. David had put his hope in God's word, but nothing seemed to be happening. This is normal!

He felt the pressure, felt himself weakening. Yet he did not forget God's decrees.

Again we have the people who actively opposed David. David was waiting for God to take action. In Romans Paul tells us that vengeance belongs to the Lord, and 1 Peter tells us to follow Jesus' example in entrusting ourselves to God when faced with evil men. 

David still trusted in God's commands, but called on God to help him. He continued to hold on, even though he felt he was failing.

Psalm 119:73-80 - Look to your Maker

We were created by God, made and formed by Him. It is amazing how many people are so desperate to try and prove otherwise. Many who are evolutionists follow this not because of scientific endeavour, but out of a desire to prove there is no need for a God. They would rather we were just the product of random chance, a meaningless blip in the fabric of the universe. Others postulate multiverses, though they cannot detect them, in order to "prove" that God did not create the universe. All their attempts are ultimately futile.

Why do they do this? It is because if we are created beings then we have an obligation and a dependency upon the creator. Far better to follow the way of the psalmist and ask the creator to give us understanding of His ways.

We should seek to be an encouragement to those who fear God. To be people that when others see us they see someone in whom the word of God lives, in whom faith is alive.

This is not an easy path. The psalmist endured discipline at the hand of God, but he knew it was for his own good. Instead of seeking to be spared discipline he asked for the Lord's comfort. He delighted in the law of the Lord.

Those who mock the righteous will be put to shame.

Psalm 119:65-72 - Be good to me

"Do good to your servant according to your word". The word of God is actually good news for us. It tells us of God's blessings. This applies right from Genesis 1 where we are told to go forth and multiply and to have dominion over the earth. Throughout the Bible there are promises of blessings, the problem is that we repeatedly turn away from God and ignore His commands.

We need God to teach us knowledge and sound judgement. Note the personal relationship again, God teaching us, and the need for us to have judgement. The word is not just a set of rules, but of principles also. 

Sometimes we need discipline in order to learn what is right, that is why the psalmist says "before I was afflicted". 

Then again there is the attack, this time referring to the arrogant slandering us with lies, and their hearts being callous and unfeeling. David's response is to keep God's precepts. This is not a mere adherence to them, but keeping them in his heart and delighting in them. 

The word of God is more precious than silver or gold. The word brings life.

Psalm 119:57-64 - My portion

"You are my portion". Different people make different things the goal of their life. we are to make the Lord the goal of our life, He is our inheritance and our reward. He is what makes life worth living.

This involves obedience and seeking the Lord with all our heart. Remember that Jesus said if you love me you will obey me, and that the greatest command is to love the Lord with all our heart. In turn the Lord is gracious to us. This does not just mean forgiveness, but an empowering of our lives, an opening of doors.

We consider the way that we live and make adjustments so that we are forever more in line with God's ways. And we are quick to obey.

As in many of the stanzas there is then mention of opposition. This time to physically restraint David. In the face of opposition we remember the ways of the Lord. Our first reaction is to do things God's way.

We also offer support to all who also seek the Lord.

Psalm 119:49-56 - Dealing with difficulties

The word of God is not abstract, but is a personal communication from God to His people. And He gives words to us individually as well. His word gives us hope. 

When things are difficult the promises of God bring us comfort, and His word preserves our life. The word brings understanding, and it strengthens our souls. It tells us what the final outcome will be. So we have strength to endure all circumstances. And it guides us in how to react and respond in situations.

We will still be attacked, will still be mocked, even unmercifully. There will be times when the world in general, and individuals in particular, mock us unmercifully. In such times we need to keep hold of the word of God, both as a source of comfort and as a guide for our lives.

We delight and meditate upon the word of the Lord. These are to be the theme of the song of our soul.

Psalm 119:41-48 - Love the Word

The solution to our problems is God's unfailing love and His salvation. We need to know the love of the Lord and we need to experience His salvation.

Our experience of life and our experience of God help us to understand the Word of God. And the Word of God helps us to make sense of life and to know how to live in various situations.

The word of God needs to be in our mouth. We need to speak the word.

A person who knows God is a person who obeys the word of God. When we do this we live in true freedom. We can even speak the truth to rulers. We live in an age when society is increasingly anti-Christian. We need a confidence and a boldness, together with love and wisdom, to speak the truth to the world.

Notice the love for the word of God and His commands that permeates through all of this  psalm. This is no dry adherence to a code or to a theology, but a deep love for the Lord and for His word, and from a man who received the love of God and longed for more of that love.

Psalm 119:33-40 - Longing

We need to be taught by the Lord. There are many implications to this. The first is that we come to the word of God looking for Him to teach us, we do not go to the word looking to tell God what He should think! (Which is what some people seem to do!). 

Secondly, it is about a relationship. We are not just coming to a text book, but to the living God, and through the Holy Spirit He instructs us.

The Bible is God's word and we should accept it. However, God wants us to have understanding as well. There will be times when we just obey God because He has said we should do something, even though we cannot see why it is the right thing to do. But this is not a permanent state of affairs, and is not the goal. God's goal is that we have understanding of His ways, then we can follow with all of our heart.

Obeying God's commands is not onerous, but is a delight and a joy. God's commands actually are the best thing for us. We need God to turn our hearts towards His ways, and away from selfish gain. Self-centeredness is the fruit of rebellion.

When we turn from God we turn towards worthless things. It is God who gives our lives meaning and value.

We live in a world that has rebelled against God, and indeed we at one time were part of that rebellion. That means that we live in hostile territory and the world would love to put us to shame. But we can call upon the Lord to defend us.

There is a longing within our souls for the ways of the Lord.

Psalm 119:25-32 - Freedom in the Word

"I am laid low in the dust, preserve my life according to our word". This is very significant. The word of God is the word of life. The word of God is more enduring than anything else, and His word speaks life to us, not death.

We come to God in honesty, admitting who and what we are, and we come looking for instruction, looking for change.

"Cause me to understand". We need God's help, the help of the Holy Spirit, in order to understand. 

Sorrow and trouble wearies our soul. It exerts a cost on our soul and there is only so much that we can take. So where does our strength come from? It comes from the word. The word of God keeps us from deceitful ways. It is so common for humans to use deceit as a weapon, as a means of coping.

Instead we should chose the way of faithfulness and set our hearts on the word of God. 

If we make the word of the Lord our pathway then our hearts will be free. It will bring true freedom into our lives.

Psalm 119:1-24 - Word

Well, here is the biggy, the longest Psalm in the Bible. It has 176 verses, with 22 stanzas, each one named after one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It is a Psalm dedicated to the Word of God and living a life worthy of our calling.

The purpose of the Word is that we keep the word. As James says, we are to be doers of the word, not hearers only. Our hearts are to be completely devoted to God. This creates a conflict within us, for we no how frail we are and cannot, in our own strength, live up to God's standards.

Keeping the word applies to all, including the young. Society tells us that it is normal for the young to go off the rails, to indulge in reckless behaviour. Well it may be normal, but it is not right, and it is not good. The goal of a young person should be to keep their way pure, just as it should for a middle-aged person or an old person. We achieve this by living according to the word of God. 

We are to delight in His word, but we also need His help, we cannot keep the Law ourselves without His help.

We need God to open our eyes, and to enable us to see the wonder and the riches in His word.

Colossians 4:7-18 - Final Greetings

Tychichus was a "dear brother, faithful minister and fellow servant". So he is characterised by relationship with Paul, what he does, and who he is. He was sent by Paul to inform the Colossians of Paul's circumstances and to encourage them. Onesimus (see letter to Philemon) would also come along with Tychicus.

Paul was not alone in prison, but Aristarchus was also there with hi, as was Mark. Both Jews and Gentiles worked alongside Paul.

Epaphras wrestled in prayer for the Colossians, in order that they may stand firm and mature.

Luke is the one who wrote the third gospel and the book of Acts, and this shows how he had such a good knowledge of events in order to write Acts.

The letter was to be sent to other churches in the area.

The letter itself was probably written by a scribe, but Paul signed the end himself to authenticate it.

Colossians 4:2-6 - Prayer

We are to devote ourselves to prayer. We need to make a conscious decision and effort to pray, otherwise we let things slip. There is a balance to sought here. Sometimes people speak detrimentally of prayer lists, or following some system of formal prayers, and there is a danger that things can just become a meaningless ritual. However, there is value in adopting good habits as well. We all need some discipline. At the same time there is also a place for "casual" or "informal"prayer too. 

We are to be watchful, on our guard and full of thanks. We need to watch what is happening to ourselves, to our family and friend, to our country and world, and to pray about these things. There are things that God will not do unless we pray. Prayer is one of the ways in which God fulfills His plans through us.

Paul specifically asks for prayer that his own mission might be successful, that God would open doors for the gospel. He also asks that God will enable him to proclaim the message faithfully. This is Paul the great evangelist and apostle. All of us are dependent upon God to fulfill our mission properly.

All of us are to be wise in how we interact with the world, making the most of all opportunities and using wisdom. We respond with grace and salt. The world, even Richard Dawkins, are not the enemy. Jesus died for everyone.

Colossians 3:18-4:1 - Driving the point home

Most of our lives are spent with our families and at work, so if Christianity is to mean anything it will have a profound effect in these areas of our life. So Paul now gives instructions on family and work. These are in a way a cut-down version of what he says in Ephesians 5:22-6:9.

Wives are to submit to their husbands, and husbands are to love their wives. Now we have an enormous problem with submission, in fact it is something we tend to recoil from. This is partly because we have a wrong view of authority, and all have experience of wrongly exercised authority. In Ephesians Paul says two key things in relation to this. First we are to submit to one another, and secondly husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Biblical authority shows itself in serving others.

The instructions here to both men and women go against some common attitudes in society. Some feminists almost engender a hatred of men. There is not meant to be a "battle of the sexes", we were made to work together in harmony. We are not meant to treat women as sex objects. Instead we should treat them as precious daughters of God. 

Children are to obey their parents and parents are not to embitter their children. Discipline does not mean finding every fault we can, it does not mean correcting every little thing. Such an approach leads nowhere.

We are to do our work as if working for the Lord. We are not to work hard just when it will be noticed, but as an attitude of life. Our human bosses may or may not treat us well, may or may not reward us properly. But we work for the Lord, and we know we will receive an inheritance. So we are motivated by our heavenly reward, not our earthly reward. And if our bosses do mistreat us we can be sure that they will have to answer to God.

Masters are to treat their slaves well. In human terms they may have had complete ownership and authority over their slaves, but in reality they too would have to answer to God.

Our awareness of the Lord has a deep affect on our everyday lives.

Colossians 3:13-17 - Bears

"Bear with each other ...". Our attitude and actions towards other people is a key indicator of how much we have or have not grown in Christ. Other people can be awkward at times! Sometimes we find them frustrating or annoying. We need to be patient and we need to forgive. This does not mean that we never correct others or are blind to their faults, but it does mean that we are prepared to put up with some stuff.

We have been forgiven by the Lord, so we are to forgive others. Note the implicit assumption that Christ is our living Lord. Jesus forgave us when we had nothing to commend us to Him, and He was prepared to pay a terrible price. Equally, He took our sin completely seriously, He did not just pretend it wasn't there.

On top of all the things mentioned in these verses we are to put on love. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, without love we are nothing. Love is a deep and honest concern for the true well being of others, and it is this that binds everything else together.

We are to let peace rule in our hearts. We have peace with God, so we should have peace with others. Enmity and strife reign in people who are not at peace. We do not need to have a constant attitude of being at odds with the world. We all know people who are very contentious, such people are always people who are not at peace, there is a deep underlying root to their anger.

Thankfulness is another characteristic we are to have. We should always look for things to give thanks for. This is a powerful spiritual weapon

We are to let the word of Christ dwell richly among us as we teach and admonish one another. So we do not ignore each others faults, but seek to help each other grow. Both the content and the attitude of our teaching is inspired and imbued with Christ.

We are to do everything in the name of Christ, giving thanks to Him. Christ is in all and is all, and He is to be the complete focus of our lives.

Colossians 3:12 - Time for a new outfit

So we have been told of the things that we need to get rid of. Now we are told what we need to replace them with. However, this isn't a simple instruction, but is based on our changed status. Three aspects of this status are given here:

1. We are God's chosen people;
2. We are holy;
3. We are dearly loved.

We have been chosen by God. You weren't saved by accident, but on purpose. We have been set apart for purpose.  Our lives have meaning, they are a crucial part of God's plan for the world. And we are dearly loved. So much evil behaviour is actually a reaction against feeling unloved or rejected. It is no less wrong because of that, but when we rebelled against God we entered a vicious circle. We sinned and that makes the problem worse and so we sin more, and so it goes on. This cycle has been broken in Christ.

So instead of anger and selfishness we put on kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness and patience. These are not characteristics of a weak person, but of someone who is confident in who they are. We are children of the living God, we have a purpose in life, we are dearly loved, so we have every reason to be confident. And this confidence does not exhibit itself in boasting, but in humility.

Colossians 3:5-11 - Put on the new self

Christ is our life. What does that mean? It means He is the source of our life, that He is our example, and that we will be Christlike. Therefore we are to get rid of everything in our lives that belongs to our earthly nature, our unregenerate nature.

Paul then lists some of the things included in this: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Every book of the Bible makes it clear that we have our part to play in making our salvation real in our lives, making it effective. 

So why should we get rid of these things? Because they bring the wrath of God. The wrath of God is a passionate and reasoned hatred of sin. God hates sin because of what it does to us, and what it does to others. So these things are bad for us. They are also things that God hates, and the call to Christ is a call to unity with God. 

"You used to walk in these ways". Jesus says He came to save the unrighteous. This is just as true today as it was then. The gospel is about calling people out of darkness into the light. This means they will have indulged in some pretty dark ways. Indeed we ourselves have done so at one time. Now is the time to get rid of them. 

Then there is another list: angler, rage, malice, slander, bad language, lying. 

We have to take off the old self and put on the new self. Now see that the work is not complete. For our new self is being renewed in knowledge in the image of God. 

This applies to all people. For Christ is all and is in all. Paul probably uses this phrase as a counter to Gnostic type teaching.

Message on Romans 8:1-17

A message preached today on Romans 8:1-17 can be listened to here.

Colossians 3:1-4 - Created in His Image

Many of Paul's letters follow a similar pattern. They begin with a presentation of what Christ has done for us, of what has been achieved on the cross. Then there are the practical implications on our own lives. We are utterly and completely dependent upon what Christ has done for us. However, this is no way whatsoever means that we do nothing. 

God created us in His image, this means that we have a measure of independence. Look at like this. Consider a laptop computer. It maybe plugged into the mains, but it can of course operate without being plugged in to the main for a couple of hours or so. But suppose the laptop says to itself "I don't need the mains, I can live on my own strength" so it unplugs itself from the mains. For a couple of hours everything will be fine, but then it will start to run into trouble as its battery runs down, and because it has divorced itself form the mains it cannot get recharged. The laptop can operate independently, but only if it maintains regular contact with the mains. So it is with us. We are completely dependent upon Christ, but He created us and He has saved us so that we can be independent as well. It is when we give God His proper place that we gain true freedom.

So we are to set our minds on things above, on Christ and the position He has been given. This is not so that we "so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good", but so that we are fed by the Spirit, that we become the most useful and influential people on earth.

Colossians 2:20-23 : Uselessness of human rules

Elemental forces is an ambiguous term. It could mean either the basic principles of this world, or to spirits that stopped people getting to God. In a way it is both. When we think of spirits and demons and so on we tend to think of "weird stuff", but while there are occasions when "weird stuff" does happen, the vast majority of demonic and spirit activity takes a much more mundane form, and false philosophical and religious teachings are one way in which the devil seeks to hold the world captive. When we died with Christ (in baptism) we died to sin and we died to "elemental spiritual forces". Neither of these things have authority over our lives any longer.

Now this does not mean we never sin, and it does not mean that the principles of the world have no effect on us. It does mean that we are now free to fight them. We do not need to submit to them any longer.

Here Paul is addressing teachings with lots of rules. "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle". 

These sorts of teachings have an appearance of wisdom. They seem to be helping us to overcome sin, but they are based on purely human wisdom. So they are useless in "restraining sensual indulgence". We cannot overcome sin by human effort nor by human rules. Only the Spirit can enable us to overcome sin, as Paul argued in Romans 7 and 8.