Colossians 3:17

the book of Colossians chapter 3. I’m reading verses 16 and 17. Our focus is on verse 17 this morning. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. and whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. God blessed to us His sacred and holy word this morning. Mark Twain once wrote a book about the West, he took travels out west and he wrote this fascinating book. And in the book, there’s an account of a man who was a notorious liar. He was known in the community as the spinner of tall tales. He had such a bad reputation that no one believed anything that he said. And one day he was found hanging dead. And there was a suicide note attached. to him. It was written in his own handwriting. It said that he had taken his own life. But the coroner’s jury pronounced it murder because of the man’s poor reputation. The jury declared that if the man himself said he had taken his own life, it was proof that he hadn’t. Now, in the contrast to this man described by Mark Twain, you as a Christian, you as a Christian, or to have a good reputation. Your life is to be so regulated that everything you do ultimately brings honor and glory to the name of Jesus Christ, your Savior. Instead of being known as a notorious liar, you should be known as someone who is a thankful person. Paul was focused in this section of scripture on how the Christian life is to be lived. Now, he’s going to get into specifics here with regard to the various classes of Christians, husbands and wives, parents and children, slaves and masters or owners. And at this point, he sort of summarizes the Christian life under a general rule. And so we’re going to look at the general rule, and then Lord willing, in the weeks to come, we’ll look at the specifics with regard to each. individual class of Christian. Let me begin by saying this. Your life is to be carefully regulated. Now notice verse 17, whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. You know, it’s very helpful to us to have the laws of Christ’s kingdom summarized by a general rule. It’s easy to be remembered. You may not remember everything that Paul has to say here in chapter three, but surely you can fix in your mind this general rule with regard to the Christian life. You and I need things put in a simple form. It’s easily understood, and that covers all the situations you’re going to come in, you meet or come into in life. In the Old Testament, we know that God’s moral law was summarized by the Ten commandments. Very simple, straightforward, ten commandments. We can summarize the whole law of God with two commandments. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. If you’ve got those two commandments, you really have the whole law summarized for you. Our text here provides a law that’s applicable to every Christian, to every action, every word or thought you have, in every place, and under all circumstances. If you could put this verse into practice, verse 17, you can be assured that you’re living in a way that will be pleasing to God. Now, we ought to be thankful that God gives us these kind of rules because he takes into account our weak and frail state as Christians, how easily we forget things. how quickly and easily you and I lose the details. So God says here, let me make it simple for you. Just do this! How God condescends to help us as his people. He does this because he loves us. And this is important that we realize that God provides things for us many times a very simple manner. when I was growing up, all children were taught a simple rule for crossing the street. Stop, look, and listen. I mean, if you got that, if you did those things, you’d keep safe. Well, God in a similar way, provides a simple rule for his children here. A guy, safe guide, to get you through life. That whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. So you find here a general rule for all Christians. Now, all your words and works are to be regulated by this general rule. Whatsoever you do in word or deed. I know there are many professing Christians today that walk about as if they or their own free agents that they can do whatever they want in life. They don’t seem to grasp that they’re bought with a price, and therefore, They’re not their own. They think they can do whatever they please. What people don’t seem to realize is that when you’re saved, it involves a change of masters. Once you were a slave to Satan, now you’re a slave of Christ. You’ve changed masters. But you’re still a slave. You’re still a servant. That’s what people seem to fail to recognize. If you ever read Pilgrim’s Progress, there was an account there was an account there where, Mr. Christian confronts, or I should say Apollyon actually confronts Mr. Christian, is he on the narrow road to the celestial city. It’s called the Valley of Humiliation. This event takes place in. And Apollion says to Mr. Christian, whence come you and whither are you bound? And Mr. Christian says, I am come from the city of destruction, which is the place of all evil, and I’m going to the city of Zion. To which Apollion says, By this, I perceive that you’re one of my subjects. For all that country is mine, and I am the prince and God of it. And Mr. Christian says, I was born indeed in your dominion, but your service was hard, and your wages such as a man could not live on, for the wages of sin is death. Yeah, I was your servant at one point. But, he goes on to say, I have let myself to another, even, to the king of princes. And how can I, with fairness, go back with thee? Therefore, leave off to persuade me further. I am his servant, and I will follow him. What’s Bunyan telling us here? Well, once you were a servant to Satan, but now you’re the servant to the king of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, if you’re converted. So now whatever you do takes in everything, and you’re to do it in such a way that you are to please your. King. Now think about this. You are a servant. That means you’re under the control of your master, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is further defined here as including all your words and deeds. That pretty much takes in everything, doesn’t it? Everything you say or do comes under this general rule. No exceptions. Now, Scripture teaches if any man seemed to be religious, and bridal if not his tongue, this man’s religion is vain. Therefore, what we say is important, and it’s to be regulated. You are to be carefully controlling all that you say, so that you are pleasing to your master to the Lord Jesus Christ. Your conversation should minister grace onto your hearers, according to Ephesians. That is the duty that all believers, have. The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, the book of ecclesiastes said in chapter 10 and verse 11. And so we have the idea here that your tongue is to be used for the master’s glory, that few should be able to listen to you without being wiser and better. All your actions, your deeds and your works, are also to be directed so that they are in agreement with Christ will. We’re to let our light so shine before men that they will see our good works and glorify our Father, which is in heaven. People are known by their fruits, what their life produces, what they do, and you can give evidence of being a servant of Christ by your behavior. What does James say? Show your faith. by your works. Let me make this observation. Everything you do in life reflects your master. That being the case, good servants should scrutinize every action in light of this. So all your words and all your works are to be regulated by this general rule. Now, you were to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, it says. There are several things that we could draw from this particular rule. phrase. We have the name of the Lord Jesus. One of the first things it indicates to us this. We do all under the authority of Christ our king. When you do something in someone’s name, often you are acting on behalf of that individual as their representative. For instance, you remember when David went out to fight Goliath, what did he say? I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, who thou hast defied this day while the Lord deliver the end of mine hand. I’m coming as God’s representative and facing you. When something is doubtful or evil, we can say, I can’t do this. I don’t feel authorized to do this by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Remember how Joseph said, How can I do this great evil, this great wickedness and sin against God when Potipers’ wife tempted him with adultery? Peter in the New Testament says, we ought to obey God rather than man. He would be steadfast in obeying Christ’s command to preach the gospel despite being ordered not to do so. I’m acting as Christ representative. I have to do so. Whenever an act is commanded by Scripture, you have to feel like you have to feel like you have to to do it because Christ your king commands it. Brother, how safe you feel, how clear and conscience you are. If you are certain, you have authority from your great king for whatever you’re doing. You know, the scripture says that the righteous are as bold as a lion. Why are they bold as a lion? Because what they’re doing, they’re doing under the authority of Christ. When you feel you are acting for Christ, and not for yourself. Elevates all that you do. Because you are carrying out Christ will. I want you to look with me at Acts chapter 4 in verses 1 to 13, if you would. This is the first persecution of the church that we find here. We read in chapter 4 of the book of Acts in verse 1. And as they spake under the people, the priest and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people and preached through. Jesus, the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in hold under the next day, for it was now even tied. Howbeit many of them, which heard the word, believed, and the number of the men was about 5,000. And it came to pass on the morrow that their rulers and elders and scribes and Anas the high priest, and Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kinder to the high priest were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, by what power or by what name have you done? By what authority are you doing this? Is what they’re asking. And then verse 8. Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost, said under them, ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man by what means he is made whole. Be it known unto you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Christ Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye have crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by him, doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which has become the head of the corner. Neither is their salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. And when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled, and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Peter is acting here by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Under the authority of Christ, and he acts with boldness, it tells us. He acts with boldness. Let me make this observation. When you witness for Christ, remember, you’re doing so by the authority of Christ. And there’s no reason to be hesitant. There’s no reason to be reluctant then. We can speak with boldness because we’re doing it by Christ’s authority. Remember when Christ was on the earth, he taught the people as one having authority and not as though. scribes. In a way, that’s the way we should teach. Those who have authority from the Lord to proclaim this message of the gospel to others. Do all under the authority of Christ your king. That’s by doing it in the name of Christ. That’s one thing. The second thing. Do all for the glory of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That’s the second thing. In many years, the goes the Spanish mariners crossed the ocean and they traversed all over the oceans upon voyages of discovery to the new world. They never touched a new land. It could be an insignificant island. It could be a piece of the main continent. It didn’t matter. But wherever they went, they planted a flag. And they planted that flag, set up the standard of Ferdinand and Isabella, taking position. of the soil for their king and queen. They were dedicated to glorifying those who ruled over them. Whatsoever you do as a Christian, you are to do so as to glorify the name of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You know, you read that Barnabas and Paul were men who risk their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What does that mean? They wish to advance Christ’s kingdom on the earth. They wish to honor his name and have it spread across the globe. You read that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in 2nd Thessalonians 112 as a purpose, or our lips giving thanks to his name in Hebrews 1315. The intense desire of our spirit should be that Christ be glorified in all things by our words or our deeds. Now, it’s easy to give place to self-glorification. It’s easy to seek the honor of men, but that’s not what our focus is supposed to be. One day, Herod arrayed in his royal garments and sitting on a throne gave this oration before the people of Tyron Sidon. And the people began shouting that it’s the voice of a God and not a man. And then you read those dreadful words, and immediately the angel Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory. He wanted the self-glorification. But then God smote him was eaten with worms, the Bible tells us. And he died. The men of this world really have no interest in glorifying Christ. But you, you as a believer, you as one who has been bought by the Savior, should be consumed with the idea of how can I glorify God with my word? in my deeds. Let me make this observation. Your duty is to glorify Christ. It’s not my duty to glorify a particular denomination or a particular church, but it’s my duty to glorify Christ. So do all to the glory of Christ as Lord and Savior. My third thought is this. When we do all things in the name of Christ, it means that we do all in the strength of Jesus Christ, who is our helper. I want you to look with me at Psalm 44, if you would. Psalm chapter 44 and verses 4 to 6. Thou art my king, O God. Command deliverances for Jacob. Jacob here in its large sense as the people have gone, the Israelites. Through thee, we will push down our enemies. Through thy name, we will tread them under that rise up against us. For our I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. When we look at this passage of scripture, we see that doing things in the name of the Lord means that we do things by the power of the Lord. It’s not that I can do it with my sword or my bow. You are the one who commands deliverances and you the one who provides deliverances by your hand and your power. Jesus Christ declared without me, can do nothing. Therefore, whatever you do depends upon Christ’s enablement. When you do things in Christ’s name, there’s a sense in which you are recognizing you can’t actually do this. But whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it by the power of Christ working in you. It’s a confession of your inability to accomplish it yourself. You should never commence a work for the kingdom of God without seeking strength from the Lord. you’re to do everything by your master’s strength, acknowledging that you need a fresh strength and power from on high. Then you can say, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheth me. I may make this observation. When you do everything in Christ’s strength, how differently everything will be done. If we do it in Christ’s strength, it’ll be done differently. And if we try to do it it in our own. So your life is to be carefully regulated is what the scripture tells us here. The second thing, this passage, our text tells us, is this. Your heart is to be full of thanksgiving to God. Verse 17 says, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Now, you are to express Christian thankfulness in all things. Ephesians 5 in a parallel passage, verse 20, giving thanks always in all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Very similar phraseology. What this indicates to us is that thankfulness should be a common aspect of our lives as Christians. It shouldn’t be something that’s extraordinary. It should be common. We should be people that are bursting with gratitude. we must in all things be thankful. This is the difficulty. That means in things that we would classify as good or evil. Those things that we would classify as great or small. In all things, we’re to glorify our Lord by this gratitude. Job, we find, bless God, even when God had taken away all his wealth and all his possessions. I’m not. reminded of the story about Matthew Henry, the famous Bible commentator, who one day was robbed on the street. And he came back and he wrote in his diary a word of thanksgiving to God. Now, you think about that a minute. If you had been robbed, would it be something that you would think about, how can I be thankful in this circumstance? But here’s what he wrote. I thought it was interesting. After this harrowing experience, here’s this great saint of God writes these words. Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before. Well, it was the first time I ever got robbed. In all the days, I walked to streets and everything, I could have been robbed many times. This is the only time I ever been robbed. I should be thankful for that. So he writes that Don. Second, because although they took my purse, they didn’t take my life. Well, they got my money, but I’m still alive. I ought to be thankful for that. He writes that, done. The third thing. Because although they took my all, it was not much. They robbed the wrong guy, you know? He’s a minister. And so he says, even though they took what I had, really, in the big picture of things, it really wasn’t much. I should be thankful for that. The fourth thing he writes here. Because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed. there but for the big gross that God go, I could be that robber on the street. But I’m not because of God’s grace, therefore I ought to be thankful that I’m not a robber. So here he is, bad circumstance, but he finds four things that he should thank God for in that bad situation. I wonder if we could come up with four things that when something bad happens, if we could sit down and come up with four things that we should thank God for. But that shows you the mindset. It’s like what the text says here, that in all things, we should be thankful to the Lord. Thanks should be offered in all the common activities of life, whether we’re eating or drinking, whether we have social gatherings, that quiet conversation with other believers in our daily work. There’s a lot of things that we should look at and realize we ought to be thankful for God, for this or that or the other. But especially, when you come to work. worship. You ought to engage in thankful prayer and thankful psalm-s singing. We’ve already talked about being thankful and it led right into the psalm-s singing in verses 15 and 16. And here he comes back to that same idea to be thankful in all the things that we’re engaged in. We should express gratitude. So you’re to express Christian thankfulness in all things. He says you are to express thankfulness to God the Father. In particular, he says, the fact that God is your heavenly father ought to be a reason to be thankful, that you’re one of his children. Isn’t that a reason to be thankful? If you then being evil know how to give good gifts under your children, how much more shall your father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him? He’s given us many good things, has he not? It’s instructive to note here that thanks is especially given to God the Father because it’s common in our day and age. The look at God the Father is all justice and holiness. Forget the fact that he’s also love and goodness and grace. And somehow or other, sometimes we categorize him in that category. But it is the father who gave his son to die. It is the father who justifies us, who adopts us into his family. Every good every perfect gift comes from above. It comes down from the Father of Lights, does it not, to us? Isn’t that what James said? and James 117? So you have every reason for your thanks to be given to God, the Father. Indeed, the Scripture commands you to do it. You are to acknowledge you have received all that you have from God, the Father, through Christ. Blessed be the God. God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Is that the end of the verse? No. In Christ. Romans 1.3. Does God the Father you elect you unto salvation? Yes. But weren’t you chosen in Christ? Does God the Father pardon all your sins? Yes. But does he not do so on the basis of the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ, your Savior? Does God the Father adopt you into his family? Yes. Does He not do so because we’re accepted in the beloved? Does God the Father answer prayers? Yes. But remember, they are prayed in Jesus’ name. Does God the Father love his people? Yes. But remember, Remember, the love of God is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Romans 839. It’s always by Christ the mediator that we can approach God the Father. And your thanks is even made acceptable in God’s sight. So even your thanks will not be pleasing to God unless by Christ and for His sake. You can never receive a single blessing from God the Father unless it comes through Christ. That is key to this phrase that we have before us. Well, Mark Twain wrote about the man with such a bad reputation for lying that even when he supposedly committed suicide, they called it murder. As a Christian, you’re to have a good reputation. Your life is to be so carefully regulated. Everything you say or you’re due brings honor to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And your heart is to be full of thankfulness to the Father for all the good things he has given you through the person and work of Christ. That is the basic principle and the law that will cover your whole Christian life. This phrase is sort of the general rule for everything that we need. Well, let us close. We’ll work.