Living the life of the new age expresses itself in our daily interactions, as well as when we meet together as God’s people in our weekly church gatherings. Paul now mentions three features of our life as Christian communities.
Let us return to the wardrobe. We have just taken off, and hopefully thrown away, the old clothes. Now let us dress ourselves in garments of life and beauty.
The Christian life is like a wardrobe. In any wardrobe there are both old and new clothes. My problem is I get too attached to my old clothes. However, some of them just have to go.
Like night and day, or black and white, in Colossians 3:5-7, Paul marks a stark contrast between a life set on the things above and one absorbed with the things of the world.
Old habits die hard. In her previous home she used to chain her car to a tree when she went out shopping, and they had three locks on every door in their house. Having moved to her new home, what does my friend do now?
A girl recently began attending the church of a friend of mine. She was stunned that her new church allowed people to give freewill offerings. She asked my friend, “What are the ‘laws of giving’ in this church?”
Paul now gives his third and final warning against listening to those who try to disqualify believers because of beliefs or behaviours that the gospel does not condemn.
I once heard someone who had a near-death experience speak in church. He shared, “I thought I was a Christian before, but now I’m more of a Christian.” I thought to myself, how could you become more of a Christian?
Dead, buried, and risen. This is Jesus’ story—and ours! Paul now graphically reminds us of the fullness we have in Christ (v. 10). Unusually, verse 11 seems to use circumcision as a metaphor for Jesus’ death: His whole body was cut up and stripped naked on the cross.