Word of Salvation – Vol.43 No.31 - August 1998

 

Thankful for the Gospel Church

 

Sermon by Rev P Smit on Colossians 1:1-8

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:28-39

Suggested Hymns:

BOW 8a; 210; 118a; 372; 383; 525

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In a world of countless spiritual alternatives, where religions and philosophies abound, what is the mark of true Christianity?  What in essence is the heart of it?  Can we mix and match Christianity with other religions?  In God's eyes do all religions merge at the one intersection of heaven?

Well, the Colossian church was a young church.  It had been established by Epaphras, a fellow servant of Paul's.  In his letter to the church of Colossae, Paul goes about explaining what the essence of the Christian faith is.  Like we are today, the Colossian church was confronted by countless spiritual alternatives.

People had come into the church with teachings that derailed the essence of the gospel.  Paul goes about setting it straight.

Paul, who'd never met the Colossians, begins his letter with words of thanksgiving.

He begins by...

Giving Thanks for the Church (Verse 3)

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.” Paul begins his letter by saying, I thank God for you, not just now, but in my prayers.  Paul was a thankful person.  In his thankfulness, he showed he valued people who loved God – even people he'd never met.

Are you a thankful person?  In your prayers, do you always give thanks to God for the church?  Do you focus on the good things God is doing among us?  Do you thank God for that?

Be a thankful person.  Tell others how thankful you are for them, for their involvement with you.  Most of all thank God for his people.  Follow Paul's example, write a card to someone, tell them that you've thanked God for them.  "When I prayed for you I thanked God for your love, for your support, for your care...”.  What an encouragement that card can be.  What a blessing.  What a gift.

Paul spells out what he is so thankful about.  As a spiritual father, he is thankful for the essence of the Christian life displayed in them.

In verses 4 to 6, he thanks God firstly...

1.  For Their Faith in Christ Jesus

“...because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus”.  Paul was actually writing this from Rome.  He was under house arrest, but he had heard about their faith.

Paul's life was dedicated to sharing the gospel.  In Romans 15:20 he said, "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation".  It was Paul's heart that, “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”

Imagine the joy Paul had in hearing that these people had come to a deep faith in Christ Jesus, that by trusting in Jesus, they had received the gift of eternal life.

When a Christian brother or sister dies, in one sense we are deeply saddened, but in another sense we can be immensely thankful.  Although they died, they now live.  Death is not the end – it is only the end of the beginning.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die”.  That is the most important thing in life.  To know the one true God, and his Son Jesus Christ.  To enjoy him, to serve him, to be prepared and ready to meet our Maker.

That is why Paul was so thankful for their faith in Christ.  He saw this life in its right perspective.  He saw this life in an eternal perspective.  Do you?  Are you excited and thankful to God about your faith?  Are you growing in your faith, are you seeing this life in its eternal perspective?

Paul thanked God for their faith.  But also...

2.  For Their Love for All the Saints

Paul writes, "I thank God because we have heard of...the love you have for all the saints...”.  The essence of true Christianity begins with faith, but moves on to love.  The true mark of a Christian, who believes in Jesus Christ with all his heart, and who loves God and his neighbour with all his heart, soul, and strength.

Without love, Christian faith, is hollow, empty, powerless and faulty.  As Paul says in 1Corinthians 13, without love we are a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  Noisy, but empty and irritating.

Sincere Christian love is selfless, it seeks the good of others, it keeps on when other love fails.  True Christian love mirrors the love of God, not perfectly, when the love of Christ is in us.  That love grows out of faith.  When you understand how much God loves you, when you believe that Jesus gave up his life to save you, when you trust in him truly, then you can only respond in love and you can only continue to serve others with his love.  You will love all the saints.  You will love all God's people, and those who don't know Christ.

Are you displaying this love to those here?  Through hospitality, friendship, service?  Paul gave thanks for the active love shown.  Let us give thanks for the active love shown, too.  Let's keep working at sharing this love.

The third thing Paul is thankful for...

3.  For their Hope Stored in Heaven

"...the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.”  The Christian faith has great hope.  That hope is stored up in heaven.

It is our hope, as it says in Revelation, that we will be before the throne of God to serve him.  That never again will we hunger; never again will we thirst.  It is our hope that Jesus will be our shepherd; that he will lead us to springs of living water.  And that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

It is this hope that is the foundation of our faith and is the foundation of our love.  As Paul says, faith and love spring from this hope.  You cannot sustain your love without faith and hope.  You cannot sustain faith without hope.  These three are the essentials of the Christian faith.  Faith, hope, love!

Paul says in 1Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love”.  How's your hope in God?  How deeply is this hope of eternal life embedded into the fibre of your life?  Your faith and love will be a measure of your hope in God.  Your hope will grow as you soak your life in the Word of God and full submission to him.

Faith, hope, love, came to the Colossians and us by one method – 'The Gospel' – the good news about Jesus'.  Through Paul, God is saying: this gospel is the Word of Truth.  We can never compromise the Gospel.  It is God's truth to us.

Acts 4:12, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."  No other name than Jesus.  What was so wonderful is that this gospel was spreading in Paul's day.  All over the world, people were hearing about the salvation of Christ.  All over the world people were being touched by the powerful and yet gentle ministry of the Holy Spirit.  All over the world people were finding hope, in a hopeless existence.  All over the world people were realising that the truth of Jesus Christ sets people free, rather than binding them.

And it's still happening today.  China, Sudan, Africa, South America.  The Gospel is bearing fruit in their lives (1:6).  That inward spiritual process is growing across the world.  The global family of God is increasing.  You may feel we are only a small church here, but you are an important part of a huge church.  You are a holy people, special and precious to God.  On the day of Christ's return your eyes and mine shall see the vast assembly of nations, tribes and peoples who have all been saved and redeemed by the blood of Christ.  You are part of the people of God who are bearing fruit and growing across this world.

And it's all by God's grace.  See the end of verse 6, “...since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth".  What a marvellous thing that God allowed us to hear and understand God's gracious gift.  What a precious privilege that we have heard the joyful words, "Jesus Saves".  What a call you and I have to share this message of hope, with all its truth.  So that others, too, may hear it and believe and be saved.

It was Epaphras who went the Colossians.  Who's going to go to your neighbours?  Who's going to the people you meet?  Who's going to go to the people of this city, or community?  It will only happen as we make it our goal to reach out to a few families and open up our homes, our lives, and our love.  Will you join me?  Shall we do it, for Jesus' sake?

May we be a people who are thankful to God, and our church family.  May we be a people in whom the true marks of the Christian church are seen -- faith, hope, love.  May we be a people in whom this Gospel of Christ is bearing fruit and growing.  And may we be a people to take the message out so that others will hear of God's grace and be saved.

Amen.