Compelling Change–Part 2*
Where Repentance and Sanctification Meet
In several of his letters, Paul begins with the indicative, who and what we are in Christ, the orthodoxy of our beliefs. He then completes the latter half with the imperative, how and why we should behave and live, the orthopraxy of our faith in Christ. The letter to the church at Colossae is no exception. As chapter 3 begins, Paul turns to the imperative by beginning with the transition “If then,” or as some translations read, “Since, then.” He begins with the foundational reality of our position as redeemed, spiritually resurrected followers of Christ. To demonstrate the reality of who believers are and to further his argument, the apostle Paul uses phrases such as “raised with Christ” (v. 1) and “hidden in Christ” (v. 3). In other words, if we have been spiritually resurrected (born again), there will be visible consequences of that resurrection.
“In the place of anger and selfishness, you ask the Lord to grant you a compassionate and forgiving heart. This is an example of compelling change.”
Putting Off, Putting On
In the verses that follow, the apostle provides two categories in the process of change: “putting off ” (vv. 5–10) and “putting on” (vv. 12–14). Beginning in verse 5, Scripture declares examples of what to “put to death” or put off: a litany of sins and sinful behaviors that the follower of Christ must strive to get rid of in their lives. Sins such as sexual immorality, impurity, anger, slander, and obscene talk. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather representative. Paul then contrasts this reality with what the Christian should put on. These are godly characteristics and behaviors such as “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other.” This list is not an exhaustive one of Christian character and behavior, but examples of what marks the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. This model is what God’s word provides as the process of change.
The following exercise is an example of putting off and putting on as a Christian. Let us say you have a problem with anger. It is Sunday morning, and you have gathered with others for worship at the church of which you are a part. Your pastor is preaching through Colossians, and he comes to the passage mentioned above, Col 3:1–14. While listening, verses 7 and 8 really stick out to you: “In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” You are struck by these words and in your mind, you ponder, “I know I struggle with anger, am short-tempered and say and do things in my anger that I instantly regret. God’s word is telling me I once walked as an angry person, and I am not that way anymore, by God’s grace. Furthermore, it tells me to put away my anger; make it a point to stop being so angry.” But then you are wondering, “How do I just stop being angry?” However, the better question is “Why do I get angry so often?”
“Ask the Lord to give you the strength, by his Spirit, to take your selfish disposition and angry responses and replace them with a compassionate and forgiving heart, one that is akin to him and unlike how you have been living. Then, actively look for him to do this in you, moment by moment, day by day.”
Now What?
What do you do next? As you continue listening to the sermon, verses 12 and 13 of Col 3 resonate in your ears: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (vv. 12–13). It is, you admit, your unwillingness to bear with others and forgive others. In other words, it is a selfish heart that you must ask the Lord to renew. More than this, you realize you must ask the Lord to replace what you have taken off. You remember it is the clean and empty places the devil and his demons love to play (Matt 12:43–45). In the place of anger and selfishness, you ask the Lord to grant you a compassionate and forgiving heart.
Here, in Colossians 3, Scripture reveals to us the process of change: putting off our sins (e.g.—anger) and putting on Christ’s character (e.g.—a compassionate and forgiving heart). So, when you get up on Monday morning, you ask the Lord to give you the strength, by his Spirit, to take your selfish disposition and angry responses and replace them with a compassionate and forgiving heart, one that is akin to him and unlike how you have been living. Then, actively look for him to do this in you, moment by moment, day by day. This exercise in transformation is simply one example from God’s word regarding the critical practice of compelling change in the life of a repentant believer.
*This is the fourth in a series taken from the book The Power of Repentance by Barry Gibson
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