COLOSSIANS 3:1-112006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Colossians 3:1-11

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006. As we continue our study in the book of Colossians, and we're here in chapter 3, verses 1 through 11, we're shifting gears in the book of Colossians. It's no longer, as chapters 1 and 2 have been dealing with the doctrine of Jesus Christ,

Now, Paul is shifting gears to tell us what that means to us. Chapters 1 and 2 of the book of Colossians deal with doctrine of who Jesus is, what he's done, who we are in him. And now as we go into chapters 3 and 4, Paul will begin to share with us

what we must do as a result of that, the application of those truths in our lives, how it's to impact the way that we live. It was a common format for the Apostle Paul. He used it often in his books. We saw that in the book of Ephesians.

The same type of thing where chapters one through three deal with doctrine in the book of Ephesians. And Paul tells us all the wonderful things that we have in God and and all that he has done for us. And then chapters four through six give us the the therefore, since you know these things, here's how you ought to live and here's how it needs to take place in your life. Here's the way that you should live as a result of that.

The book of Romans has the same thing, same format. Chapters 1 through 11, again dealing with doctrine of the truth of God and redemption, the salvation message.

And then chapters 12 through 16 deal with the application, then, what that should mean to you and I as we live our lives. Now, this is so important because many times as Christians, we can get out of balance in our lives. We have a need for both doctrine and application in our life. We need a good balance of both of them.

It is important that you learn doctrine, that you know what you believe and why you believe it. It's important that you study the Word of God and learn all about Him, but not just so that you can know a lot. We must take what we have learned and let it impact our lives.

In the book of Colossians, we have learned that Jesus Christ is preeminent. We have learned that Jesus reconciled us. We have learned that Jesus Christ is in us and gives us the hope of glory. We have learned that Jesus has all wisdom and all knowledge. We have learned that Jesus has the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in him bodily.

We have learned that we are complete in him, Colossians chapter 2. We've learned that we were circumcised with him, buried with him, and raised with him. So now, what does that mean to us? And how should that affect and impact the way that we live? We'll be looking at three ways that Paul will give to us that we are to respond. Three ways that we must respond to what we've learned about Christ. Number one,

Set your mind on things above. Number two, put off the old nature. And number three, put on the new nature. These three things we see in this portion of Scripture, verses 1 through 11, that Paul will tell us, here's how you're to respond. First, you need to set your mind on things above. Then you need to put off the old nature and then put on the new nature. Now, before we dig in,

to our portion of Scripture this morning, I do need to warn you. This passage can only affect you, or the only way that this passage can really mean anything to you is if you believe the Word of God. You must believe God's Word.

No matter how you feel about it, no matter what your opinions are or your upbringing, what your mother told you as you were growing up or what Oprah or Dr. Phil says, none of those things matter. In order for this passage to mean anything to you, in order for it to take effect in your life, you must believe with all your heart the word of God. Without question, knowing that it is God's word and that what it says is the truth. Knowing that God is.

knows what he's talking about. And it's up to us to believe it with all of our hearts. Second Corinthians 517 tells us, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Do you believe that? Do you really believe that if anybody is in Christ, and that includes you, that you are a new creation?

That it's not just some philosophy or some great idea or some just nice picture that helps us feel warm and fuzzy inside. No, there's a reality to it. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. Believe it. You must believe the truth of God's word. You must believe that all things, the old things, they've passed away and all things have become new.

You're no longer bound to the life that you once lived. Your past is in the past. It's taken care of at the cross because you believe in Jesus Christ. You must believe the word of God in order for this portion of scripture and any other portion of scripture to really impact your life and mean anything for you. We start this morning in verses 1 through 4.

With the first point, and that is to set your mind on things above. Verse 1 says this, He starts out by saying, Paul's point here is that you were raised with Christ, so this is how you ought to act. If you have been born again,

we've learned already through the book of Colossians, then that means that you have been raised with Christ. You were included with him in his death, his burial, and his resurrection. Paul goes through that in great detail in chapter 2, and we talked about that. You were included with him in his death, burial, and resurrection.

So you were raised with Christ. And here's what you need to do. Paul says, if you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above. Here's what you need to do. Seek the things which are above. This word seek, it's in the imperative mood, which means that it's a command to you and I.

Now, it's important to know that it's a command because you need to know that it's not something that will just happen automatically. Just because you're a Christian doesn't mean that you automatically seek the things which are above. It doesn't mean that when you wake up every day, you automatically, it's your natural tendency to seek the things which are above. No, we're not.

We do not automatically seek the things which are above. It's a command and we must choose to obey it. Remember in Matthew chapter 6 verse 33, Jesus gives a similar command. He says, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. He gives the same command, seek. What are we to seek? First, Jesus says, seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Why does he give us that command? Well, because our natural tendency is to seek all these things instead of the kingdom of God first. We seek all the other things, the things of this world, the car, the house, the job, the family, whatever it is that's upon our heart. We get caught up in the worrying, the considering, focusing on the things of this life. And we seek those things rather than the things above.

Paul and Jesus agree. We need to be obedient to their commands and seek the things of the kingdom of God. Seek the things above.

What do you seek? What is it that you are seeking after and that you're searching for? This word seek means to seek in order to find something or to seek by thinking, meditating or reasoning or to crave, require or demand.

In other words, Paul is saying this, all of your attention should be placed on the things above. You should be searching in order to find. You should be thinking, meditating and reasoning on the things above. You should be craving, requiring and demanding the things above. You're to be consumed by the things above and not the things of this life. Why? Well, very simply, because that is where Christ is.

That's what Paul says. Seek the things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Now, may I remind you, you are complete in Christ. He is everything that you need. And in him, you have all wisdom and all knowledge. So be consumed by him. He is above. He is in the kingdom of God.

And so seek first the kingdom of God. I noticed two things about Christ's reminders for us. First, notice that he is sitting down.

And as we've already seen so many times, let me remind you that he's sitting down because his work is completed. It's finished. It was finished there upon the cross. As he cried out, it is finished. The work was done. It is accomplished. And so now he is seated at the right hand of God. But second, notice also that he is at the right hand of God. And this reminds to us and speaks to us of his preeminence.

He is above everything. He is God and he has all authority and all power. You and I, we do not need anything else. He's done it all for us. He has everything that we need. We must just simply receive his grace, mercy, forgiveness and strength. Verse two, set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Here Paul rephrases his first command. How do you seek the things which are above? Well, he says, set your mind on them.

Have you ever had a hard time focusing your mind? You know, maybe even right now you're listening, Colossians chapter 3, good stuff, and I sure set your mind on things above. And so you begin to look up and you see the ceiling or you see the sky or you see, why is it like that? How many tiles are there in the ceiling or why is it bubbling out like that? What is that interesting shape that I see? Paul gives us this command because we need it.

We need to set our mind to place it on the things above and not the things of the earth. Again, we do not automatically think on things above. We get consumed with the things of the earth. What is it that you think about? What is your mind set upon? I think a good indication of what we think about the most is what we talk about the most.

And so we can reflect on our conversations throughout the day or throughout the week and consider and know what we're thinking about based on the conversations that we have. But notice that there's only two options. It's either the things above or

or the things on earth. So if you had to pile all your thoughts into those two categories, which pile would have the most? The pile of the things of earth as you think about and are considering the things about work or watching the news or survivor, thinking about the house, the car, whatever else may consist of the things of earth that occupy your thoughts or the things above.

Jesus Christ, God, heaven, salvation, the gospel message, the word of God. Which has the most of your thoughts? What are you setting your mind upon the most? Paul tells us we need to set our mind on the things above. And that again is the first point this morning. Set your mind on things above. Your thoughts, your hopes, your dreams above.

Need to be placed, not on this earth, not in this life, but on the life that is to come as we spend eternity with God. Let's go on to verses 3 and 4. It says, For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. This is why you must set your mind on things above. Very simply, you died.

That's why you need to set your mind on things above and not the things of the earth. Because you died.

Understand as a believer in Jesus Christ, the scriptures teach that you died. You were included with Christ in his death, his burial and his resurrection. That's what being a Christian is all about. So you are dead. And so our focus should not be and cannot be on this life because we died. Our focus should be on the next where Christ is when he who is our life appears. Set your mind.

Set your heart and your hopes and dreams on eternity and not this life. Paul says, look, you're going to appear with Christ in glory. You're going to spend eternity with him. Count yourself as dead to this life and live for eternity.

It's similar to what he shared with us in Galatians 2, verse 20, where Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Paul says there, I was crucified with Christ. I was included with him in his death.

And so it's no longer I who live, it's Christ who lives in me because I was included with him in his resurrection. And so the life I live is by faith in the Son of God. I'm living for him, trusting in him, hoping in him, living according to his ways. If you were raised with Christ, seek the things which are above because you died. Your life is hidden with Christ.

Your real life is not what you experience here. Your real life is what's hidden with Christ in God that you will get to experience for the rest of eternity. And you will begin to experience it when He appears because you will appear with Him in glory. So set your mind on things above. The second point we'll look at this morning is

Put off the old nature. Number one, set your mind on things above, Paul says. That's how you should respond to the truths that we've learned about Jesus Christ in Colossians chapters 1 and 2. But the second thing that we must do in response to this information, to this knowledge, is we must put off the old nature. And we learn that in verses 5 through 9 here of Colossians chapter 3.

Verse 5 tells us to put to death your members. Verse 8 tells us to put off all these things. And verse 9 tells us to put off the old man. We're commanded here to put off the old nature. Verse 5 tells us, therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry.

We see the word, therefore. The idea is that since you are to set your mind on things above, since you died and your life is hidden with Christ, since you will appear with him in glory, put to death your members which are on the earth. Now this again is why it's so important to understand who Jesus is and what he has done for us. We were included with Christ first.

In his death, burial, and resurrection. And because of that, we are able to put to death our old nature. The fact that we were included with him in his death, burial, and resurrection is why we can put to death our old nature. If we weren't included with him, we could not put to death our old nature. The only way we can, or the only reason that we can, is because of what the scriptures teach us.

That we were included with Him. There's a new creation that has taken place. And the old things have passed away. That is why we must believe the Word of God. Because it may not feel like it. It may not feel like those things have been put away. It may not feel like we've died with Christ. And the struggles that we once had have been taken care of. It may not feel like our flesh has been put to death. But despite how we feel, we must believe what God's Word says.

We must believe that we were included with him in his death, burial, and resurrection. And as a result, we are able to, we have what we need, we have what it takes to put to death the old nature. Colossians chapter 2, verse 23 says,

Paul reminds us, or I remind you what Paul said, These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. That's how chapter 2 ends, right before we get into chapter 3. It ends...

With the understanding that the self-imposed religion, all the rules and regulations and things that you add on to yourself, they are not effective. They have no value against the indulgence of the flesh. The false humility, the neglect of the body.

It has no value against the indulgence of the flesh. It doesn't keep you from sin. You can't, by religion, put to death the things of the old nature. You can't, by religion, live the life that God has called you to live. You cannot correct your sinful nature with laws, rules, and regulations. You cannot correct your sinful nature by beating yourself up or fasting for a long time. What we must do is we must believe God's word.

and put our flesh to death, because we were included with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. Romans chapter 6, verses 11 and 12 say this, Paul says,

There in Romans 6, Paul tells us to reckon yourselves to be dead to sin. That word reckon means to count or consider. Count yourselves dead. Consider yourself to be dead. Count yourself to already be dead, gone. You've died with Christ. And then live the life that you live by faith in the Son of God.

Paul says, do not let sin reign. Don't obey it. Put it to death. It's not a matter of determination or discipline. It's a matter of faith, believing God at his word so that when the flesh craves, when it screams and cries out as you understand and know that it does, as it entices you and threatens you and says, you must give in to this sin. You must cave in. You must indulge yourself. You must gratify yourself.

The cravings of the flesh. Don't believe it. Don't believe it. Instead, you believe God at his word that you've been crucified with him. That flesh has been cut off. As we learned in chapter two again of Colossians, we've been circumcised in Christ. That flesh has been cut off. But it.

It endlessly tries to reattach itself and convince us that it's still alive and that we're still subject to its demands, its cravings, and its desires. Paul says, don't believe it. Put to death the members which are of your body. Put to death the members of your flesh. Those things that want to come back, those things that rear their ugly heads, don't.

put them to death. Not because of your great determination or your great discipline, because of your great faith in the Word of God. Because of your great faith and belief at God and His Word. The things that we're to put off, Paul lists a couple examples. In no way is this an exhaustive list of the things of the flesh, but just some examples for us to consider for a moment. Fornication. This is sexual immorality. It's all types of sexual immorality.

Not just limited to adultery or sex before marriage, but pornography, homosexuality, any type of sexual immorality is included in this word fornication. Uncleanness is impurity in thought or action. The word passions is the idea of vile passions. Evil desires are cravings that are troublesome, injurious, wicked, wrong, or destructive. And covetousness is the greedy desire to have more.

This is what our flesh is like. This is the members of our old nature. Paul says you have to put those things to death. I like what H.A. Ironside had to say about this portion of Scripture. He says, "...all these are to be judged in the light of the cross of Christ, no matter what the cost. No excuse is to be offered for such sins, and no palliation," which means to cover by excuse and apology, "...no

No palliation of their wickedness is to be attempted on the basis of the innate tendencies of the human nature. These sins are abhorrent to God and abhorrent to the new nature in every believer. Paul says, put it to death. Iron says, no more excuses and apologies. The fact is we have everything that we need in Christ. We were included with him in his death, burial, and resurrection. So deal with the sin in your life.

Put to death your members which are on the earth. Reckon yourself to be dead to sin and live by faith in the Son of God. It's what you must do as a believer in Jesus Christ. It's not an optional thing. Again, this is a command. It's not optional. And neither is it automatic. You must choose to obey and do it by faith in Jesus Christ. Sometimes we wish and hope that

We will just wake up and the struggle will be gone. But it doesn't work that way. It's not an automatic thing that takes place while we sleep. It's something that we must choose to obey, believing God at his word. And again, that's why I share with you.

In order for this passage to mean anything for you, in order for it to really impact your life, you must believe the Word of God. You must believe that you're complete in Christ, that you have everything that you need, that you don't have to subject yourself to the cravings and desires of the flesh, but you can, by faith in God, put those things to death, relying upon His strength, because the life that you live is by faith in Him. Verses 6 and 7.

He says, because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. These are sins that God hates. He says that the wrath of God is coming because of these sins. And so if the wrath of God is coming as a result of these sins, how could we walk in them being children of light?

How could we live in sin as sons of God? That's why we need a healthy fear of God in our lives. God's wrath is very real. And it's promised on the sons of disobedience. God doesn't go back on his promises.

He promises his wrath to come and it will come. And it's promised for the sons of disobedience. Now, we all sin. We all struggle with our flesh. We all fall short. And we must continually go back to the cross to seek forgiveness and restoration of relationship with God. 1 John 1.9 tells us that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

But if you are living in disobedience, you should be concerned. If you fall short, confess it to the Lord, you have forgiveness. But if you're living in disobedience, you should be concerned. Because the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. The wrath of God is coming upon those who live, who walk in disobedience.

For the Christian, it needs to stay past tense, like Paul says in verse 7, in which you yourselves once walked. You used to walk in those things, but it needs to stay past tense because the wrath of God is coming upon those who walk in disobedience. Sure, you have a twisted and sordid past, but it is past tense.

You're a new creation. All things have become new. Remember 2 Corinthians 5.17? You have to believe that. You must believe God at his word. That as a believer in him, you are a new creation. And so don't walk in those ways any longer. You're not subject to that any longer. Verse 8.

But now you yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

He introduces a new word here in the idea of putting off the things of the flesh. It's to put off, which literally means to lay aside. The picture of this word is what you do when you remove a jacket or another article of clothing. Like if I remove this watch, I'm putting off the watch. And that is what we're called to do, to put off all these things.

You were wearing these things. They were part of your life, but now you need to take them off. You need to not allow them to be a part of your life. You need to take them out of your life so that you no longer walk in them.

What are these things? Again, some examples, not an exhaustive list, but anger, wrath. Wrath is the outburst of anger, the boiling up and soon subsiding again. That is the temper tantrums and the flare-ups of anger that we have or wrath that we have. Malice is the desire to injure or wickedness that is not ashamed or unashamed to break laws.

Blasphemy is slander. It's injurious speech, especially against God, but not limited to that. And then, of course, filthy language is obscene language, obscene speech. Paul says, put off...

These things. You used to wear them. They used to be a normal part of your life. But now you need to take them off. You used to walk in these things. But now, that's what verse 8 says. But now you yourselves are put off all these things. You used to be that way. But now it should not be the case.

You may still stumble and fall. In fact, you will. But these cannot be your walk of life. They cannot be a normal part of your life. They cannot be like the clothes that you put on every day. It's something that you live in. It's something that you're comfortable in. It's something that you experience day in and day out. You died. You've been circumcised in Christ. So put off all these things.

Verse 9, he goes on to say, do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds. And so here he says and adds on another one. Now don't lie to one another. Again, that's part of your old life, your old nature. You need to lay it aside. And he says, having put off the old man with his deeds. Now this word put off is interesting because it's different than the word we just studied in verse 8.

This word put off means more than just taking it off from oneself, but it means throwing it away. And so if I were to take my watch and I would throw it off to the side of the room, that's the idea. He says, don't just take it off and keep it lying there next to you, but throw it away so that you never participate in that again. So you don't go down that again.

The old man, it's a reference to our sinful nature. And this is the relationship that we're to have with our sinful nature. We're to put it to death. To lay it aside and separate ourselves from it completely. Now let me ask, does that describe you? The flesh put to death, laid aside, and separated from you completely. Does that describe you? Does that describe me?

The more I grow in my walk with Christ, the more I am learning that it's all about dying to myself. Jesus told us that in Luke 9, verse 23. He says to those who are following him, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. To take up your cross is a reference to dying to yourself. If you want to follow Jesus,

If I want to follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves and die to ourselves daily. We must put those things out of our life. And this is where the imagery that Paul uses comes to life. The imagery that he uses so often of war and athletic events, where he captures the struggle of pressing on, of striving, of going 100%.

Because it's a death to self. It's a war that's taking place between the spirit and the flesh. The flesh wants to come back. It wants to dominate. It wants to convince you and put you back in bondage again, saying that you have to complete. You have to fulfill the cravings. You have to be obedient. You have to carry out these things. But there's a war that's taking place because you know the truth and your spirit says, no.

And the imagery of Paul is vivid of the striving forward, of pressing on 100%. A while back I was watching a football game. It was USC versus Notre Dame. And I don't know football very well, but...

My uncle was there to explain it to me, so I was able to understand the game. But, you know, anytime I watch a football game, it completely amazes me because I always think, and maybe this is just me, but I always think, you know, if I really had to do something, if it was really a need, if I really had to accomplish something, I could do it. But then I see these guys...

And they go all out. They give it their best. They're pushing, they're shoving, they're hitting hard, they're running as hard as they can. It's an all-out war that takes place. And yet they do not always succeed. They don't always accomplish their goal. They don't run as far as they want to go. They don't push through to the touchdown. It's difficult because of the war that's taking place.

It's an accurate picture of what God calls us to do. We're called to go all out, to declare war, to struggle, to strive, to give our all to deny ourselves and follow Jesus Christ. We're to put to death the old members. We're to put off the sinful activity. We're to put off and throw away from us the old man and his deeds. Finally, the third point is,

In response to who Jesus is and what he's done for us. In response to who we are in him. Number three, we're to put on the new nature. And we find this in verses 10 through 17. Now we're only going through verse 11 today. This will be continued on next week as we pick it up in verse 12.

But number one, set your mind on things above. Number two, put off the old nature. Number three, put on the new nature. Verse 10 says, Paul is teaching us an important concept here. Put off the old man and put on the new man.

We're not just called to stop doing the things of the flesh, but to start doing the things of God. Or in other words, we're called to replace our old attitudes, actions, and thoughts with new ones. Where we were once full of anger and hatred, now we're to be filled with peace and love. Where we were once controlled by our sinful nature, now we're to be self-controlled.

Now we're to be under the control of the Holy Spirit, under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Where we once were speaking filthy language, now we're to speak the things that build up and that edify. Put on the new nature, that is, the nature of Christ. He tells us there, "...have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him."

The new nature that we have is according to the image of him who created us. That is God. It's the nature of God. It's the nature of Christ that we're to put on. We're to put on the new nature. Verse 11. Again, I share.

We have been included with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. Now we are not bound by sin. We're not subject to our upbringing. We're not subject to our nationality or our culture. God has removed all of us from the world.

All those things. He's taking care of all those things. No longer, and what that means for us is it can't be excuses for us. It's just the way I was brought up or that's the way, you know, Irish temper, that's the way I am. I have this temper because it's my culture, it's my heritage.

But Paul says, no, there's no longer neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all because we were included with him in his death, burial and resurrection. God has removed the barriers and we're all one in Jesus Christ. You may notice as you come to church that we don't have a Greek section and a Jew section.

We do have a barbarian section and it's the one you're sitting in. Just kidding. We're not divided by nationality, background, or upbringing. The point is, all the things of the old life are gone. They're put away. They're laid aside. Why? 2 Corinthians 5.17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

God says, you are a new creation. You're not divided by the old lines anymore. You're not subject to the old heritage, heritages and things that you're you are brought up with. You're not subject to the things of the world any longer. You don't have to fulfill those things. You don't have to walk in those things. And you shouldn't want to because those things make you miserable and destroy your life. Put on the new man, the new nature, the nature of God.

Because you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Paul has given us three ways to respond to what we have learned about Jesus Christ. Number one, he's shared that we need to set our mind on things above. Not to be focused on this life, on here and now. But that our mind is to be focused on the things of eternity. The things of heaven where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Since we know who Jesus is and what he has done, since we're complete in him, since we have everything that we need in him, since we're going to spend eternity with him, let's set our mind on the things above. Let's keep our hearts, our focus, our hopes and dreams on the things above and not get caught up in this life. Number two, Paul said, put off the old nature.

Don't allow the flesh to dominate any longer. Don't let it reign in your mortal body. You're not bound to it. You're not subject to it. Paul says, put off the old nature. Put it to death. Take it off. And then throw it away so that you do not walk in those things any longer.

But again, it's not just about stop doing those things, but we must replace those attitudes, those actions, those habits with new ones. And so number three, Paul says, put on the new nature, the nature of Christ. And in place of those things that you once did and the way that you used to walk, now walk like Jesus. Put on his nature, his attributes, his characteristics.

Now the question that we should all be asking is, how do we do these things? How do we set our mind on things above and put off the old nature and put on the new nature? I understand what it means. I understand what you're saying, but how do I do that? Remember the doctrine. Colossians 2, verses 9 and 10 tells us, You are complete in Him. You have everything that you need in Jesus Christ.

Just a few verses earlier, Colossians 2.6 tells us, As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. And how is it that you received Jesus Christ? How did you receive Christ Jesus? You received him by faith. Hearing the word and believing it to be true faith.

for yourself. You heard that Jesus died on the cross for sin and you applied it to yourself. He died on the cross for my sin. You heard the word of God that you could be saved by believing in him. And so you believed you took God's word. You heard God's word and you believed it and you applied it to yourself. And you said, this is for me. This is God's word for me that I can be saved by believing in Jesus Christ.

You're saved as you hear the word of God and you believe it to be true for yourself. Now, obedience to these things and fulfilling these three commands or responding in this way, it's exactly the same. It's by faith. Receive it and live as if you believe that it's true. Receive it. You are a new creation in Christ. Believe it and receive it and live as if you believe it's true.

If you just continue living your old life, doing the same old things, living in sin, no restraint, if there's no struggle, you don't believe it. You're just submitting to what the flesh says and submitting to and you're not believing the word of God.

No, the way that you walk in these things is you must believe God's word that you are included with him in his death, burial and resurrection, that you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. So seek the things which are above. Live as if you believe it's true.

Live as if you really believe you're going to spend eternity with God and give an account for how you live your life. Live as if you really believe that your hope, that your dreams, that everything you want is found in Christ. Receive it. Believe it. And live as if you believed it's true. Put off the old nature. Believe it. You have everything you need. You're complete in Christ.

You can. You're able to. You have what you need to put to death the members of your flesh. And that's hard because there's many times in our Christian life where we're struggling with sin, where we're struggling with a weakness of the flesh. But what you must do is believe God at His word. He's given you everything that you need. He finished it at the cross. So put to death. The flesh will be screaming and crying.

The cravings will be saying, you have to give in. You're going to die if you don't. You're just going to waste away and it's going to be horrible. You can't live without this. That's what our flesh cries out and screams, but don't believe it. Instead, believe the word of God. Receive it for yourself that you've died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. You were raised with him so that you can walk in newness of life. Believe it.

And live as if you believe that it's true. And then put on the new nature. You know, we say it's so hard to love this person. We don't believe God's word then. We say it's so hard to walk in this or to walk in that. Don't excuse yourself. He commands us to seek the things above, to put off the old nature and put on the new nature because we're new creations in Jesus Christ. We're able to, in His strength,

by His power, by His grace, and His mercy. Believe it. Receive it. And live as if you believe that it's true.