If we have been set free through the gospel with a new identity through the centrality of Jesus Christ’s work, then our lives should be different. Our thoughts, our words, and our actions should reflect the new beginning won for us in Christ. Pastor Ruth Carver unpacks Paul’s words in Colossians 3:1-17.
Sermon Outline
Orient your life to Christ by setting your mind on these things (v. 1-4)
- Your identity is in Christ
- Your life is hidden in Christ
- You will be resurrected like Christ
Orient your life to Christ by putting these things off (v. 5-10)
- Five sins of sex
- Five sins of speech
- The sin of lying
Orient your life to Christ by putting these things on (v. 11-15)
- Five virtues
- Forgiveness and love
- Peace
- Gratitude
Orient your life to Christ by worshipping Him (v. 16-17)
- Teach and admonish each other
- Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
- Do everything you do in light of Christ
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Colossians 3:1 speaks of Christ sitting at the “right hand of God”. Keeping this in mind, how is Psalm 110:1 prophetic of Jesus Christ?
- Read I John 3:1-2. How do these verses help us understand our “hiddenness” in Christ?
- Paul says in II Corinthians 5, “We walk by faith, not by sight”. How can we set our minds on Christ when we can’t see him (3:2)?
- In 3:6, Paul says the wrath of God is coming because of the 5 sins of sex listed in 3:5. How does the wrath of God come in the present and in the future?
- What have you heard your mother (or someone like a mother) say to you to get you to control your tongue?
- Do you agree that lying is a speech sin that deserves highlighting? Why or why not?
- Presumably there were both Jewish and Gentile Christians in the church in Colossae. How do you think they would understand the words “God’s chosen people” that Paul uses in 3:12?
- What does “bearing with” each other mean to you, and is this different from forgiving one another (3:13)?
- Thinking about psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, do you tend to prefer one type of worship music – traditional, intellectual or emotional? Even if you have a preference, how is variety in worship music healthy?
- Colossians 3:1-17 has a strong emphasis on our identity in Christ. How does Romans 6:1-14 further help you understand baptism as a sign of our identity in Christ?
- How does knowing that this earthly life is short encourage us to orient our lives to Christ?