Walk It Out

In one paragraph

The message worked through Colossians 3:5-17, with the preacher reading back through chapter 2 to set the context, then walking the congregation through what it looks like to actually live out the new life they have been given in Christ. The controlling image was simple: taking off dirty clothes and putting on clean ones. The point kept returning to the same place - union with Christ should...

Read together

1. Colossians 2:1-5 read aloud as context before the main passage, covering Paul's struggle for the Colossians and warning against deceptive arguments
2. Colossians 2:6-7 quoted as the 'walk it out' command, being rooted and built up in Christ
3. Colossians 2:8 warning against being taken captive through philosophy and empty deception
4. Colossians 2:9-12 fullness of deity in Christ, circumcision without hands, buried and raised with Him in baptism
5. Colossians 2:13-14 made alive with Christ, forgiven, certificate of debt canceled and nailed to the cross
6. Colossians 2:15 rulers and authorities disarmed, made a public display through Christ's triumph
7. Colossians 2:16-17 no one to judge regarding food, drink, festivals or sabbath, which are shadows; substance belongs to Christ
8. Colossians 2:18-19 warning against those who defraud believers by delighting in humility and worship of angels
9. Colossians 2:20-23 if died with Christ, why submit to worldly decrees; self-made religion and asceticism are of no value against fleshly indulgence
10. Colossians 3:1-4 raised with Christ, seek things above, set minds above, life hidden with Christ in God
11. Colossians 3:5 treat earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amount to idolatry
12. Colossians 3:6-7 wrath of God coming on sons of disobedience; these were things the Colossians once walked in
13. Colossians 3:8 rid yourselves of anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech
14. Colossians 3:9-10 do not lie; stripped off old self, put on new self being renewed to true knowledge in the image of the Creator
15. Colossians 3:11 no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free; Christ is all and in all
16. Colossians 3:12-13 as chosen of God, be putting on heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with and forgiving one another as the Lord forgave
17. Colossians 3:14 put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity
18. Colossians 3:15 let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be thankful
19. Colossians 3:16 let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness
20. Colossians 3:17 whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
21. Galatians 2:20 quoted to illustrate tandem crucifixion with Christ, no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me
22. 1 John 2:15-17 do not love the world; lust of flesh, lust of eyes, boastful pride of life are not from the Father; the world is passing away along with its lusts
23. Exodus 20:3 have no other gods before Me, referenced to explain how idolatry means putting anything in front of God
24. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus, that you be thankful, also references avoiding sexual immorality
25. Philippians 2 Paul cited as another place he brings up hymns and singing to the Lord
26. Romans 5:8 while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, used in context of God making the first move in forgiveness
27. James 4:6 God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble, cited while discussing humility
28. Romans 2:4 the kindness of God leads people to repentance, cited while discussing putting on kindness

What was said

• Pray specifically this week for the community of Juan de Santo Tomas in Guatemala, which the preacher described as a spiritually dark place in need of Jesus.
• Think of one person you have not forgiven and take a step toward releasing that, remembering that unforgiveness is, as the message put it, a poison pill you take expecting the other person to die.
• Before you speak or act, run it through the question the preacher drew from the passage: can I do this in the name of the Lord Jesus? If not, stop.
• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly this week by bringing the gospel into at least one conversation, what the preacher called gospeling each other.
• Pick one thing from the list the passage names, anger, slander, greed, obscene talk, or whatever you know fits you personally, and treat it as something to take off, the way you would take off clothes that no longer fit.

Talk about it

1. The preacher described Juan de San Tomas as the darkest place spiritually he had been in a long time, just miles from some of the best ministry he had seen. What does that contrast stir up in you, and how does it shape the way you pray for places you will never visit?
2. The preacher said that 'looking out for number one is the norm for human beings' and that Madison Avenue knows it and sells to it. Where do you see that pull most clearly in your own life, and how does being in Christ push back against it?
3. The passage calls believers to take off things like anger, malice, and slander, and to put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Which item on either list is hardest for you right now, and why?
4. The preacher spent significant time on forgiveness, calling unforgiveness 'a poison pill you take and expect the other person to die.' Is there a complaint you are holding against someone, and what would it look like to release it the way the Lord has forgiven you?
5. The preacher said union with Christ should bring unity in the church, and that you do not have to be uniform but you do have to be unified. Where do you see that unity working well in this body, and where do you see it breaking down?