Live It UP! Countdown Blog #5: Put It Off

I started this study with Col. 3:1-4 back in blog post #1:

"1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."

And today, I am going to back up to it, because today's text begins at verse 5 with the word "therefore". When given a text starting with words like "Therefore", "Now", "Because", etc. I always like to back up a little bit to get a better understanding of the placement of the given text. My long drawn out way of saying "context", lol. 

Today, I am looking at Colossians 3: 5-11:

"5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all."

Now, backing up to verses 3&4 we get a better outlook on what verse 5 is asking us to do. "For you died" ...I did??? When, where, how???  Keep calm... of course this death wasn't physical, as you are here reading this! However it was very real. Notice how verse 5 speaks to us: "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth" We have already suffered spiritual death, being born into sin. We were dead in unrighteousness, of no use to God, rotting and stinking. You may still think I am using metaphors, but I am actually being very literal. We also died to ourselves, when we obeyed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the act of baptism was our photograph of the operation. We died when we gave our "life" (that was no good) to Christ, was then buried, and raised again to live! We have identified ourselves with Him and as verse 3 says "...our life is hidden with Christ in God". 

Now, landing at verse 5 and examing till verse 9, our brother Paul is continuing to instruct us on living it UP by telling us to basically kill off that old man's influence. It is a right response to the grace we have been given to now go into ninja assassin mode and deal killing blows to old behaviors. "Put off" in these verses are not like taking off a coat and putting it on again because we get cold. That phrase "put off" is a lot more permanent. And in the same verse Paul assigns the charge: Idolatry. I'll drop a list, just to make them stand out:

• Fornication
• Uncleanness
• Passion
• Evil Desire
• Covetousness
• Anger
• Wrath
• Malice
• Blasphemy
• Filthy Language
• Lying

Quite a list...And yet I can find Christians not only wearing these, but comfortably and even displaying it for all to see. How can you ever live it UP while mired in any of these???

 Are you wondering why anger is idolatry? These are not just lone acts, because however long we live we will find ourselves getting angry about something, we will catch ourselves having an evil desire from time to time. Paul means the giving into it, wearing it, being comfortable in it... walking and living in them (which is evidenced by verse 7). Paul is showing this is idalotrous, because it is an attitude of self-centeredness, self-worship. You make yourself and idol and catch God's wrath eventually. How far do I want that old man and his ways away from me?? As far as I can get him! 

A lot of our problems with new converts and people who walk away from church is that we don't help them put off these things. It takes someone that has done it to do it. Either that or people condemn a person instead of assisting them, or praying for them. In other words, we judge and people feel judged and they run from us and God. It won't be nice when God holds us accountable for the things we have done to the Body of Christ. Everyone is struggling with things inwardly and even outwardly, at least one reason being we have things to "put off" not just hang up for later. 

I leave you with another scripture about putting off stuff:

Hebrews 12:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Let's get light! Put off that stuff and Live It UP!