Take your Bibles with me and turn to Colossians 3. Colossians 3.
I have kind of an ambitious subject today, I want to talk to you about how to live. You might say the text we are looking at today gives you the secret to a successful life as a Christian. I'm excited to share it with you.
I got an interesting Christmas present this year. My wife bought me a book, a rather expensive book, about the woodworking of a man named Jonathan Fisher.
Jonathan Fisher was a pastor who was born in 1768 and spent most of his life in a little town in Northern Maine - Blue Hill, pastoring the same church there. He died in the 1840s.
Now, you have never heard of Jonathan Fisher. I had never heard of him until I found this book. And the book is written for woodworkers, it is a book about furniture making with hand tools on the frontier. It's not meant to be a biography. It gives just enough biographical details to get to the dovetails and blanket chests.
But it turns out he was a remarkable man. He was a faithful pastor of one church for nearly fifty years, he was a faithful husband, he had nine kids who loved him and carried on his legacy, he started a school, he helped start a seminary, he trained many pastoral apprentices who went and started churches, he wrote several books for young people and illustrated them himself, he built a home and worked a farm and built literally everything in his house by hand, he was an accomplished painter and engraver, he even made a wooden clock with wooden gears which he figured out all by himself.
When he died he had left a deep, deep impact on his community in Maine, and they preserved his stuff and turned his home into a museum - which is why we can read about him.
The local legend is that the day he died, his homemade clock stopped working. On the face of that clock, which he had made when he was college aged young man, he painted these words in latin "Time irretrievably flees."
As a 78 year old man, his time was up.
I want you to listen to this that was written by his daughter on his deathbed:
He had his reason perfectly to the last, shook hands with every one that came in, & bid them farewell. He has been in a very happy state of mind all winter, has had no desire to get well. He could look forward with a full assurance of a hope to a blessed immortality beyond the grave; not a doubt crossed his mind; he often said he felt some of his acceptance with God, thro’ the merits of Christ. A short time before his death Mr. Harris, our Pastor, inquired if he felt that he could adopt the language of St. Paul, in 2 Timothy 4:6,7,8; with a smiling countenance, he said yes.
Do you know what 2 Timothy 4:6-8 says? Let me read it to you.
[!bible] [2 Timothy 4:6-8 - KJV](https://bible-api.com/2 Timothy+4:6-8?translation=kjv) 6. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
That moved me. I don't know about you, but I want to live that kind of life. I'm not talking about living on the frontier in Maine and having to cut my own firewood and make my own furniture, I'm talking about a live that makes an impact, a life lived fully for God to the last, a life when I'm finished I can say "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." I want to stand before my Savior someday and here "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" and be given a crown of righteousness.
How are we supposed to live our life? What are we supposed to live for?
Last week I preached on the parable of the talents and we learned that while we are waiting for Jesus to come back, we have work to do. We have to grow His assets.
The last time we were in Colossians, we looked at the people the Colossians church was listening to - who were trying to convince them that the key to the Christian life was a mix of rules and mysticism. That's not it. But what is it?
Well, let's read our text. Colossians 3:1-4.
[!bible] Colossians 3:1-4 - KJV
- If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
- Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
- For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
- When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
I want to talk about how we are supposed to live as Christians. How to be a successful Christian. How to be able to say, like Jonathan Fisher "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course."
There are two things in these verses. They teach us what we should live from and what we should live for. What we should live from, and what we should live for if we want to have a successful Christian life.
Let's pray and we'll get into that.
The first thing I want you to see is...
Or in other words, what is the foundation of our life as a Christian?
When you become a Christian, when you put your faith in Christ, the Bible teaches that you are converted. Just think about some of the words the Bible uses for becoming a Christian:
These are all words that signify that something happens to you when you trust Christ - you change. From the inside out, you change. You become a different person. God changes you. You become a new man.
I became a Christian when I was 14. I understood the gospel. I understood that I was a sinner and I put my faith in Christ. Bells didn't ring. Thunder didn't clap. I didn't feel tingly all over. I didn't weep at an altar. But God changed me. I had spiritual life inside me.
Before I say anything else this morning I want to say that this is available to you. Listen to this - this is some of the the last words in the whole Bible. Revelation 22:17
[!bible] Revelation 22:17 - KJV 17. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Listen, Jesus isn't trying to keep you out of heaven and keep you from becoming a Christian. There isn't some gauntlet for you to run through or checklist for you to check off - Jesus ran the gauntlet for you, he checked the list for you - He just says come.
Come to Jesus, believing in Faith what He has done for you, Come as a sinner and trust in Christ and He will save you and He will change you.
I hope you have had that experience. I hope you have trusted Christ as your Savior.
But our text today teaches us that when we are saved, when we are quickened, when we are born again - some things happened to us that are important for us to understand.
Look at verse 3 again:
[!bible] Colossians 3:3 - KJV 3. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
When you trusted Christ as your savior - you died. Your old man died.
This is exactly what Romans 6:6 teaches us:
[!bible] Romans 6:6 - KJV 6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
When you trusted Christ and became a Christian, your old self died with Jesus. When Jesus went on the cross, He took your old self with you.
You died with Christ.
My favorite hymn, Before the Throne of God Above - puts it this way:
[! Song] One with himself I cannot die, My soul is purchased by His blood, My life is hid with Christ on high, With Christ my Savior and my God.
You died with Christ.
That is what verse 1 is teaching. Look at it again:
[!bible] Colossians 3:1 - KJV
- If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Just as Christ died and rose again, we died in Christ and rose again. We are living a new life, a resurrected life in Christ.
When we baptize people, we always say "Buried with Him in baptism, raised to walk in newness of life with Him."
Because that is how it works, we are buried with Christ and raised with Christ. We are given a new life.
So as we live, we are to live in the knowledge that the old man is dead and we have a new man, a new life in Christ.
The third thing foundational truth we see in these verses is
That's what verse 4 says:
[!bible] Colossians 3:4 - KJV 4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
So not only is our old man dead, not only are we living now a resurrected life, but someday, and we can count on this - we will be glorified with Christ.
Someday Christ will return and call His own. He will rule this world in glory and we will rule it with Him.
So what do we live from? We live from these three great truths - we died with Christ, we arose with Christ in new life, and someday we will be glorified with Christ. These are three truths you can take to the bank.
But they should also completely change how you live your life. Actually believing these truths, actually putting them into practice, is the key to living as a successful Christian.
When you are tempted to sin - you need to remember that the old man died with Christ. It's dead.
Again - Romans 6. Listen to this:
[!bible] Romans 6:11 - KJV 11. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What is Paul saying in both of these passages? He is saying that the key to living as a Christian is understanding these truths - you are dead to sin and alive to God. "You are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God"
That is the foundation of our life as Christians. The challenge for us is believing it. The challenge is living at 6:05am on a random Tuesday like we are dead and alive through Christ. The challenge is when temptation comes your way at the office, remembering that you are dead and alive through Christ.
Let me put it like this. How does someone become a runner? They have to identify as a runner and then confirm that identity with their life. Well, they have to decide "I'm a runner now" and then every time they go for a run, they are confirming that decision. Every time they are in the store and they think "I should look at the running clothes" they are confirming that identity. Over time, as they confirm that identity time and again it starts to become obvious to others - that person is a runner.
And so it with being a Christian. You identify with Christ in His death and resurrection and then you live every day like you are a Christian, every time you go to church you are adding one more piece of evidence that you are dead and living a new life, every time you read your Bible you are adding another piece of evidence that you are dead and living a new life, every time you are tempted to sin and instead live for God you are putting another check mark in the "I've been resurrected column."
We have to constantly remind ourselves of this foundational truth. We are dead. We are alive in Christ. Then we have to live like it.
We don't serve the old boss of sin and the flesh anymore - we serve the new boss of God and Jesus. When the old boss comes around and tries to tell you what to do, you can gently remind him and yourself "I don't work for you anymore, I have a new master."
This is the foundation we are to live from as Christians. Again, look at verse one:
If ye then be risen with Christ.
Paul is assuming this foundation.
So if you want to live a successful Christian life, if you want to hear "well done thou good and faithful servant" if you want to be able to say "I've finished my course and fought a good fight and there is a crown laid up for me in heaven." Then you have to build your life on this foundation - you are new.
So that is what we are living from. That is the foundation.
What about the second thing I said is the key to living as a Christian? What about...
Well, let's look at our text again. Look at the first two verses:
[!bible] Colossians 3:1-2 - KJV
- If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
- Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
The key to living as a successful Christian is remembering you are hid with Christ and resurrected with Christ - and looking forward to heavenly things.
Here is the truth: you get to aim your life. You get to choose the target. You get to choose what you are going to set your affections on.
Earlier this week my wife dragged me to the mall. I just love the mall, don't you men. Anyways, when we got there, the mall was just filled with these awesome boats. Beautiful boats. Speed boats, pontoon boats, boats that look like you could live in them.
And here is the truth - a lot of people have set their affections on getting a boat or getting a bigger boat.
Maybe it's not boats for you - maybe it's an investment portfolio. Maybe it's a bigger house. Maybe it's a new Corvette or a new camper.
Maybe it's some position or title. Maybe it's a vacation or a experience.
These are the things the world lives for - what 1 John calls "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life."
But we as Christians are supposed to set our affections on things above. What does that mean? It means we are supposed to live for God. We are supposed to live for the smile of heaven. We are supposed to live for Christ.
We are to live our life here and now like someday we will stand before our Savior and Master and give an account.
Now, what does it mean that we set our affections on things above? Does that mean we just spend all our time here with our head in the clouds? "Can't do my work today, too busy thinking about heaven." "Let's not do anything, let's just pray and think about heaven."
Is that what this is saying? No!
I mean, if you take this to it's extreme, the world would fall apart. No Christian would do any good on this earth. There would be no Christian doctors, no Christian hospitals, no Christian mayors, our houses would be in shambles. We would be, as they used to say "so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good."
That is not what this is prescribing for us.
Can I tell you, people who live like that don't really understand the "things above."
Let me put it this way. When Jesus asceneded into heaven in Acts chapter 1, the disciples, all of His followers, were gazing into heaven. They were looking up to the sky.
And God sent two angels - two men in white apparel - what did the angels say?
[!bible] Acts 1:11 - KJV 11. Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Listen - they had work to do for the master. It's heavenly work, but it happens here and now. Jesus is coming back, and He is going to inspect the work we do for Him here.
Think of the Lord's prayer:
[!bible] Matthew 6:10 - KJV 10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
So what is this saying - we have to live here and now - but we should not live FOR here and now. We have to live for the day we stand before our Master and He looks over what we have done with what He has given us.
Listen to how C.S. Lewis explained this:
It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought the most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the slave trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth "thrown in." Aim at earth and you will get neither.
Church, do you want to be successful for God? Do you want to have a successful Christian life? Do you want to be able to hear "well done, thou good and faithful servant?"
You have to live from the reality that you have died with Christ and have risen again with Him.
Maybe you haven't. Maybe you've never been saved - you've never been born again?
Why not receive Jesus? Why not believe the gospel today and be saved. Jesus took your sins on Himself and died so you can live. Today - put your faith in Jesus.
If you've done that - live like you have. Live like your old man is dead and you are alive with Christ.
That's what you should live from. Then, live for the smile of heaven. Live in the truth that you will stand before Jesus - the same Jesus who died for you - someday. Live to hear "well done thou good and faithful servant."
Successful Christians live from their identity with Christ and live for the time they will stand before Christ.
How are you living? Remember the lesson of Jonathan Fisher's clock
"Time irretrievably flees."
Let's do something for Him.
Stand with me for invitation.