Colossians 3:12-17 Four Motives Encouraging Our Walk

"Paul explains four motives that ought to encourage us to walk in newness of life."

The Grace of Christ:  "God chose us -- not because of anything we were or have done; ... God set us apart -- we are not our own; we belong completely to Him; ... God loves us -- when a Christian sins, he is a child of God breaking the loving heart of his Father; ... God has forgiven us -- God's forgiveness is complete and final."

"Because of these gracious blessings, the Christian has some solemn responsibilities before God.  He must put on the beautiful graces of the Christian life:  tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearance, forgiveness, and love."

The Peace of Christ:  "Paul turned from character to conduct.  How can a Christian know when he is doing God's will?  One answer is the peace of Christ in the heart and in the church.  When a believer loses his inner peace, he knows that he has in some way disobeyed God ... if we have peace in our hearts, we will be at peace with others in the church ... When a Christian loses the peace of God, he begins to go off in directions that are out of the will of God."

The Word of Christ:  "The Word will transform our lives if we will but permit it to dwell in us richly ... dwell means to feel at home ... Here Paul directed this to the entire church body ... if we do not know the Bible and understand it, we cannot honestly sing it from our hearts.  Our singing must be from our hearts and not just our lips."

The Name of Christ:  "The name of Christ means identification:  we belong to Christ.  But His name also means authority ... Because Jesus Christ is God, and He has died for us, we have authority in His name ... If we permit anything into our lives that cannot be associated with the name of Jesus, then we are sinning."

Father, thank You for Your grace in choosing me.  Help me to have Your peace in knowing that I am remaining in Your will.  Show me when I stray from it.  Keep me wanting to study Your Word and wanting to keep it in my heart.  And remind me every day that I am identified with You and have authority from You.  Keep me from permitting anything in my life that cannot be associated with You.

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford