Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; (13) bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do.  (14) But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.  (15) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  (16) 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. (17) And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 

The letter to the Colossians was written by the apostle Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome for preaching the gospel. This letter was occasioned by heresy in Colosse and reaffirms the sufficiency of Christ – true God and true man. In our verses today Paul is addressing the principles of Christian living; the faithful have been given a new eternal life in Christ and this demands a certain pattern of behavior – the righteousness of Christ is applied to the faithful in God’s eyes and we are to act as God now sees us

Paul tells us that we are sovereignly selected by God and not a Christian by choice. We are holy – separated out – that we are now positionally different. We are beloved of God. The direction of our external lifestyle is very specific and is identified elsewhere as fruit of the indwelling Spirit. In context, there was no Greek word for humility which was a despised attribute in that ancient world; pride was all important. Christ Jesus changed that in His teachings and His life – He turned the wisdom of the world upside down. The antidote to pride and self love which poisons us and our relationships with others is humility. Patience is the opposite of resentment; forgiveness is demanded of us if we expect forgiveness ourselves. Jesus Christ is our pattern for living. Once the faithful have that we are to put on love which in this case is an act of the will – without love all would be legalistic and moral attitudes.

Paul ends this list of priorities of a new man/woman by reminding the faithful we are to do all in the name of the Lord who gives us peace and the calm to guide our behavior. We will learn to be content in all situations; be thankful to God and sing to the Lord a new song. Happy new year

(5) Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:  “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. (6)  in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.  (7) Then I said ‘Behold, I have come – In the volume of the book it is written of Me – To do Your will, O God.”  (8) Previously saying “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), (9) then He said,  “Behold I have come to do Your will, O God.”  He takes away the first that He may establish the second.  (10) By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (11) And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  (12) But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand if God, (13) from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.  (14) For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. (15) But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us;  for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord; I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them, (17) then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  (18) Now where there is remission of these there is no longer an offering for sin. 

Our verses today, from the book of Hebrews, tell us the foundational truths of the gospel. They tell us that all of the Old Testament points to the coming of a Messiah to save man from his sins. That the Messiah did come. That Christ Jesus is that savior for man. That Christ is true God and true man and He came into this world to do the will of God – to fulfill Gods eternal plan for redemption of man.  In Christ, in His perfect and acceptable sacrifice, the repeated sin offerings of the Old Testament are finished. The new covenant is established – works will never and could never earn salvation for man. We are saved by unmerited grace through faith in Christ.

It is written in the New Testament that faith without works is dead. This simply means that the true believer will be reborn and saved at the moment of faith and will behave as he/she now believes – that because of the transformation in faith the believer is compelled to perform good works.  There is no JESUS AND. The Catholic Church teaches Jesus and good works – Jesus and purgatory. Other religions might also do this but my personal experience is with the Catholic Church.  This doctrine is a lie.

This is the message of Hebrews: Jesus Christ Is our eternal high priest.  Jesus Christ is superior and sufficient and His perfect sacrifice provided salvation for all those who believe in Him – their sins are covered in Christ and nothing more can be added.  Look at verse 17 – “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  Merry Christmas indeed.

Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I say, rejoice!  (5) Let your gentleness be known to all men.  The Lord is at hand.  (6) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (7) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The letter to the Philippians was written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison for preaching the gospel.  This makes our verses all the more remarkable for his command; “Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I say, rejoice!”  The dominant principle in chapter 4 is spiritual stability in this world filled with anxiety.

Our secular culture struggles with anxiety – the inability to cope with circumstances. This world directs us to find man made solutions; that man can solve his living problems without God, making use of secular experts.   It is futile to search for ultimate answers without God at the center of our lives. Without God we are fruitless, rootless, worthless and unstable.  We are not a biological machine and cannot successfully live in an existence of self love.  In whatever state we need to be content in Christ – we are not the issue. God is living IN the faithful; God is eternal, faithful, holy, pure and in charge of history and circumstance.  And God is near.  We are not to question the Lord but to delight in Him

Human solutions to instability are just human imagination and sentimental invention.  We can count on God’s revealed character and the history of His actions.  The only resting place for the soul is in God and we are to be anxious for nothing in Him – to be content in all circumstances.  We are to rejoice in the Lord always. What a wonderful relief.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, (4) always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, (5) for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, (6) being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (8) For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. (9) And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, (10) that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, (11) being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. 

The letter to the Philippians was written by the apostle Paul.  In our verses today, he begins by expressing confidence in their salvation in Christ. Paul states here in verse 6, the doctrine that NO ONE God has brought to a saving faith will be lost. Wow. What God has begun, He finishes

Scripture teaches salvation is entirely the work of God, not man. In Christ our sins are atoned for, and apart from any human merit God imparts a regeneration to those  He draws near. To quote c.s.lewis from Weight if Glory, “In the end that Face which is the delight or the terror of the universe must be turned upon each of us either with one expression or with the other, either conferring glory inexpressible or inflicting shame that can never be cured or disguised. I read in a periodical the other day that the fundamental thing is how we think of God. By God Himself, it is not. How God thinks of us is not only more important, but infinitely more important.”

Paul moves on to discuss knowledge and discernment. He is basically saying that biblical love is based on holiness and truth – we are to stop relying on emotions and traditions and rely on reason – discernment is a cognitive act. The rationality of true faith goes hand in hand with spiritual growth. True faith can be examined, tested, and used for the basis of judgment. Our priorities should not be of this world but of the next which results in glory and praise of God through our lives, words and actions.

And may our God and Father Himself, And our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.  (12) And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, (13) so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.  (4:1) Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; (2) for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

The letter to the Thessalonians was written by the apostle Paul. The first three chapters of the letter look at the quality of the church there and the integrity of Paul’s life and mission.  Paul spent a very short time there and it would seem his authority and character were attacked in his absence. In our verses today, Paul is praying for not just his return to the Thessalonians, but he is also calling for spiritual growth – this theme runs all through the letter to the Thessalonians.

Paul is praying to God the Father and Christ Jesus – both divine and equal.  His concern is about the Thessalonians spiritual growth – a perfecting faith. Paul longs to return there so he can expand their knowledge of the gospel – their knowledge of the truth.  One can’t believe what one doesn’t know. In verse 12 Paul is praying for an increase in love which would flow out of the foundation of an expanding and perfecting faith by expanding truth/knowledge of Gods sovereign plan. Love is evidence of the growth of a soul. So this growth which begins with truth and knowledge  leads to faith and trust;  the spillover of love for others is perfecting faith, love and hope.

The first two verses in chapter 4 introduce the subject of excelling even more – “you can do better”.  Paul is introducing the priority of excellence.  He is not a fan of the status quo and here he presents the major issue of spiritual growth through an expansion of knowledge/truth motivated by a longing for God.  Jesus Christ is the only way love and faith can excel.  It will happen when the Lord makes it happen.  People who are not saved can’t grow.