Pastor Slaughter

Pentecost 2

6-2-2024

Theme: It’s all about Jesus

Text: Colossians 2:13-17

 

I had a really interesting conversation with a family member when I went to Arizona for my niece’s graduation. My family member isn’t a Christian (still working on that) but I didn’t think twice when she said this but working on my sermon made me think back to what she said. She said something to the effect, “As a Christian, you have high moral beliefs, right?” I said yes and we moved on with the conversation. But it got me thinking. What does the unbelieving world think about Christianity? Do they view Christianity simply a moral belief system about how you are supposed to live your lives? Has Christianity become simply a moral guideline about what is right and wrong, what you should or shouldn’t do? Or is it viewed that way?

Is that the impression we give about Christianity to the world? That Christianity is simply about what you are supposed to do or not to do? To view Christianity in this way is dangerous. It’s dangerous because we begin to view our salvation by the things we do or don’t do. It can be devastating to our faith because it could lead to feeling of fear (that I am never good enough) or of pride (that by virtue of what I do I am saved which is legalism).  Today let us be reminded it’s not about what we do or don’t do. Rather, “It’s all about Jesus”

 

One of the early heresy that came out in the Christian church and plagued the Colossians was this idea that it was Jesus plus additional good works equals eternal life. To reach this higher Christianity you had to observe all the Old testament rules and regulations to be saved. What they were doing was placing themselves under God’s law again.

Let’s follow that train of thought for a moment. If you say you have to keep God’s law with all its legal demands, then you have to do it perfectly. All of God’s moral laws summarized in the 10 commandments. Can’t slip up not even once. Then you also have to keep all of Mosaic ceremonial laws which God gave to the Old Testament Israelites concerning foods, festivals and circumcision and the like. Guess what? You have to keep it perfectly.

Every legal demand stood against us. Every sin we committed condemned us. Every loveless thought, every hurtful word, every trespass just would be added to our record and the debt that we owe for our sins. In fact our spiritual condition was so beyond hope that Paul says “You were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh.”

Paul is using some vivid pictures in our lesson. He takes us to the grave and says that is what you were. Spiritually dead. I am guessing most of you have been to a visitation for a funeral and peered into the casket. No matter how badly you want it, they are not going to speak to you or get up and give you a hug. Why? Because they are dead. Because of our sin, the sin passed down to us, we are unable to save ourselves. A miracle needed to take place.

If that wasn’t vivid enough, then he brings the picture of amassing a debt, a debt that we could never pay. Instead of paying it back, we keep added to the record of what we owe by every sin we have or ever will commit. The record of our debt gets longer and longer, and our debt gets bigger and bigger.

So you have these false teachers coming to the Colossians and saying that it’s not all about Christ but it is all about the law. It’s all about what you do. Its like from a Monty Python, “I am not dead yet” thinking that they can contribute towards their salvation. In their pride they were appealing toward people’s sense of pride. Yeah I CAN do something. Yeah Salvation is in my hands. Which is devastating because they didn’t see the full extent that they needed a Savior. Or they filled people with hopelessness, despair and fear because no matter how hard they try it will never be good enough.

I wonder if we, Christians, give that impression to people. Instead of it being “It’s all about Jesus” Do we make it “It’s all about the law” or “It’s all about what you do or don’t do.”

I think it plays out in our lives as parents where we are more focused on how our child behaves as opposed to sharing Jesus with them where we almost give the impression that discipline will change their hearts (which is something only the gospel can do).

I wonder if the pride in our hearts shows itself by comparing ourselves to others and how they live. I may be dead but not as dead as that guy over there. It takes a greater miracle for them to be forgiven than me.

Or on the flip side, we get so focused on the law, where we see our sin so clearly before us, we start to feel hopeless when we begin to read the record of our debt that we owe. The guilt begins to pile up. We start to fear God and almost even become angry with him because no matter how hard we try, we can’t keep God’s law perfectly.

It’s not all about the law. But it is all bout Jesus. God gave us his law to point us to Jesus. That is what it did in the Old estimate before Christ came. The requirements of the law were designed to demonstrate that we needed done what we could not. Then Jesus came and did what we could not.

Just listen to these beautiful gospel truths that Paul says, “Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision o your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses.” Jesus performed a miracle. He took us who were spiritual dead and raised us from our graves by forgiving us. Vs.14 “God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands.” God erased the debt that we owed him for our sins. And how did he do that? “This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross.” Jesus didn’t just say “Oh don’t worry about it. Oh your sin isn’t such a big deal.”

It’s like you have a big room filled with filing cabinets and you take out a piece of paper. You look at the paper and it has a list of all of your sins on it. You quickly open another cabinet. And it has a list of your sins. Soon you realize that entire room is filled with a record of your sins. You fall to the ground and tears streaming down your face. Then someone tells you to look again. And you see the paper has in big read letters. Paid! And you look at another one and it says Paid. And you look at the man’s hands and you see the price that was paid to pay for all of your sins. Jesus didn’t forget about them but he paid for them by his sacrifice. Nailing them to the cross.

It’s all about Jesus! And what Jesus has done for us. That is what gives us peace. Not the law but the gospel. The law serves it purpose though. It was designed to point us to Christ. To show us our need for Christ. Our need for a savior.

When we remember it is all about Jesus, it changes our focus. As parents, in all that we do, we want to point our children to Jesus. In the conversations we have, the priorities we set, even when we discipline, we want to point our children to Jesus. When we remember it’s all about Jesus, we can put aside the pride in our hearts and stop looking down on others because we see how desperately we need Jesus. When we remember it’s all about Jesus, we can let go of the guilt and fear because when we look at the cross, we see the payment that was made.

 

My family in Christ, Let’s make it all about Jesus. I wish when I was talking with my family member the reason why I have high moral standards. Because it’s all about Jesus. Paul makes this point at the end of our lesson. There is no point in focusing on a show when the body who is casting the shadow comes into view. Likewise, the law should not be our focus. Instead let us see Jesus!