This is Part 3 and the final part of the article, now a blog, taken from the ezine I started in 2010 called "The Reviver."
List of Sins
Colossians 3:8-9, “But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behaviour, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.” If you add this list to Colossians 3:5, you get a pretty intense list of sins and there are other such lists in the Gospels and the Epistles. I have not the time in this article to go into details about the sins themselves, but I advise you to do such a study, as it is an incredible revelation about our human character and that we all still sin terribly. Even though Paul says that we should ‘strip off our old evil natures with all its wicked deeds’, we still seem to entertain such sins in our everyday walk. This must change as the Lord’s return becomes more apparent. For a more in-depth look at sin, listen to and read my two sermons called, What About Sin? and How to be Blessed! (These sermon transcripts can be found at the following URL - http://mtlministries.com/_/Sermon_Podcasts/Archive.html)
The New Nature
Colossians 3:10, “In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you.” Paul says that this new nature within us is continually being renewed as we learn more and more about Christ, who created this nature in us. This renewal can only come by the conviction of the Holy Spirit and repentance. Repentance is the only act before God that can gain God’s forgiveness for sins that we commit against Him. The act of repentance is also for us to be released from the guilt that we feel after we have committed these sins. Only by repentance can we walk away from our sinful lives and be renewed in Christ and become holy. As we learn more and more about Christ, we learn more and more about the exact requirements He has of His servants, and this causes us to acknowledge sinful ways within us that we may never have seen before.
List of Righteous Qualities
Colossians 3:12-13, “Since God chose you to be the holy people whom He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Paul lists the qualities that we should all possess in increasing measure and he caps it off by appealing to us to forgive others by pressing the point that the Lord forgave us our sins. Therefore, we must forgive others for the sins they commit against us. Jesus makes it even more potent when He says, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in Heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:25) Forgiving others is a condition of entrance into Heaven, for if we do not forgive others God cannot forgive us, therefore if we are not forgiven, we are not saved either. Without forgiving others you cannot be holy. Colossians 3:14, “And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.” This is why Paul calls ‘love’ the most important piece of clothing, because if we truly love we can then truly forgive.
Clothed with Christ
“In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you.” (Colossians 3:10) Our confidence is in Jesus clothing us with Himself (the Christ-like nature), as we begin to learn more and more about Him. Jesus has promised us that as we press into Him, He will clothe us with His new nature, the nature that was made perfect on the cross. It was at the cross that Jesus purchased us, and He purchased these new natures that we can claim for ourselves, our born again birthright in Jesus Christ. We must lay hold of this right in prayer and be transformed by the renewing of our hearts and minds by repentance and walking in holiness.
In Christ
Robert Cartledge
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