Lake Murray BC Podcast

In our passage this morning we can be reminded both of the cost of gospel ministry and of the responsibility all believers share in spreading the hope of the gospel to our neighbors and the nations. As a church committed to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, we must be ready to steward the gospel to serve others in the face of suffering.

In this passage, Paul wants to remind the church at Colossae of what Christ has done on their behalf, and why he has done it. So that, as they reflect on the past work of redemption and the future work of restoration, they would walk faithfully in the present.

The whole of creation groans under the weight of brokenness and sin. We know this and experience it each day. In our passage this morning, Paul wants to show that not only is Jesus Lord over all creation, but he is also Lord over its redemption—that the answer to a sinful, broken creation is the one through whom, by whom, and for whom it was created.

At the time the Epistle to the Colossians was written, false teachers had crept into the church at Colossae—going so far as to deny the divinity of Christ. In these three verses, Paul affirms the authentic Jesus as the one who holds all things together.

Today as we continue in Colossians 1, we'll observe 3 distinguishing marks of the Church.  As God’s people, we are to be grateful for our salvation, going with the Gospel, and growing in our Christlikeness. 

The letter of Colossians is a letter to a young church, in a dying city, that has been inundated with pressure to compromise the truth of the gospel they had received.  What can we learn from this letter? How can we apply the message of Colossians to our own church and lives?

Listen as guest speaker, Bart Barber, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, teaches from 1 Corinthians 4.  The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power, and we are empowered by God for the work of the gospel.

As we complete our "Made New" series this morning, we'll study the practical response to sin in the life of the Christian.  No Christian, no matter how long they’ve believed, will be perfected in this life. We must practice the promise and power of new life by fighting sin and living in obedience to Christ.

If we are to ever truly be a church committed to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, it will only be built on the truth that every human life matters to God and is precious in his sight. We cannot claim to love and serve God and not love and serve those made in his image—especially the lost, the least, and the lowly. As creatures made in God’s image, every human life has dignity, value, and is worth protecting.

We began our Made New series last week by studying the new life we have been promised in Christ.  The Apostle Paul ventures onward in Romans 6. He wants his readers to be convinced of this critical truth:  The gospel not only gives us the promise of new life, but the power as well.