Remain Steadfast in Christ and the Faith
The Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Colossians while in a Roman
prison; his first imprisonment in Rome in which he spent over two years
under house arrest. Paul wrote this letter in 60 A.D., also writing
Ephesians and Philemon the same year, while under the same
incarceration; arrested in Jerusalem, he was turned over to Roman
authorities to be transported to the Roman prison.
Several hundred years before Paul’s time, Colosse was a leading city
in Asia Minor[Present day Turkey]. Located on the Lycus River and the
respected east-west trade route beginning at Ephesius on the Aegean Sea
to the Euphrates River. By the first century A.D., Colosse had fallen
behind in business matters. The town was sadly reduced to a second rate
commerce-city.
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Colossians 1:21-23- Once you were alienated from God and were enemies
in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22- But now he has
reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you
holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—23- if you
continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope
held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has
been proclaimed to every creature under heaven and which I, Paul, have
become a servant.
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Out of Christian concern, Paul attempts to remind the Colossians just
how badly they, as a church, had, in the past, drifted from God. Their
heinous behavior caused a separation between themselves and the Lord.
Then they, as a congregation, repented, and became right with God.
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2:1- I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for
those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2- My
purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so
that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order
that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, 3- in whom are
hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4- I tell you this so
that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5- For though I
am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight
to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
vs 6- So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to
live in him, 7- rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith
as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
vs 8- See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and
deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and basic
principles of this world rather than on Christ.
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Paul pleads with the Colossians, not to let themselves be led astray
by false teachings of the world. Do not become ritualistic in your
worship. Remain steadfast in Christ and the faith.
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vs 11- In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off the
sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with
the circumcision done by Christ 12- having been buried with him in
baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who
raised him from the dead.
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Paul reminds them that not only have they been crucified and buried
with Christ, they have also received a deeper spiritual covenant with
God, the circumcision of their hearts by Christ.
Deuteronomy 30:6- The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and
the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your
heart and with all your soul, and live.
Jeremiah 4:4- Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your
hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break
out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done—burn with no
one to quench it.
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vs 13- When you were dead in your sins, and in the uncircumcision of
your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all
our sins.
3:1-2- Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts
on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2-
Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
vs 5- Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly
nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, which is
idolatry. 6- Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
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Your behavior should reflect the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians
5:22-23 – But the fruits of the Spirits are love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Some of these behaviors are easier to achieve than others. Many take
work and training. We are called as Christians to master them.
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3:17- And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving to God the Father through him.
4:2- Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3- And
pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we
may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
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Paul is wearing leg and arm irons, in prison, while writing this
letter to the Colossians. He writes due to hearing reports that the
people of the church of Colosse are expressing and possibly teaching
and/or practicing heresy.
The church of Colosse had a history of both; apostasy and returning to biblical doctrine and faith in Christ.
It is easy to fall into the apostasy that Paul is describing. In
today’s world it has never been easier to drift from the doctrine of the
church and Jesus Christ, and away from God entirely—for many people.
For Christians, the bible warns of a great danger in doing that very
thing.
Matthew 10:33- Jesus said, “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
It is very dangerous for a Christian to drift into apostasy. We are
out of the will of God. God cannot use us. We are on a road to disaster.
God might have mercy on us, and be patient with us, but eventually he
will call us to repentance—If we are his child. If not, that is also a
road to disaster—hell with Satan.
Do you need to re-dedicate your life to Christ? Have you ever
accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? To receive Jesus into your heart
or re-dedicate your life to Christ, I invite you to pray this
Believer’s Prayer to God.
Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins.
I am sorry for all my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You
as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me
eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of
person You want me to be. Thank you Lord Jesus. A-men.
If you prayed this prayer for the first time, you are now a child of
God. Through the Holy Spirit, you have a personal relationship with the
creator of the universe and Jesus Christ.
If you were already a Christian, only in a state of apostasy of
sorts, now you are back in fellowship with the living God, our creator.
Either way, we are called to walk in the Faith, daily. That means to
pray continually, study the Word of God[Bible], and attend church
regularly with other believers in Christ. By doing these things, we
will be able to stand firm against Satan and his schemes—thus avoiding
apostasy.
May we all stand firm in Christ and stand against Satan and his schemes,
Gary The Tested
