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 you were also 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 and 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. In our verses today Paul is NOT talking about how men may be made perfect in the sight of God but how men may live perfectly among themselves – with the caveat that perfect love is nowhere to be found in this world. The remedy is to live in the peace of God which will restrain our natural instincts. Christians should live to see everything in the light of eternity. Paul reminds the Colossians that they are chosen of God and are to live holy (set apart) lives; to live in this world but not of it. The elect of God are Christians who have been chosen by God. No one comes to the Lord by his/her own choice but is called by God. Underlying our response is God’s plan and God’s initiative.

When Christians need to make choices the peace of God in our hearts should be the deciding factor; where there is no alternative there is no problem. We are to live in Christian liberty according to the precepts in this passage. Christians are working out day to day new patterns and new ways of reacting. The things we learn best are the things we put into operation. In short, we are to behave as we believe and in Christ, we are beloved of God.

When Warren Buffett was 71 he stated that his scorecard was not his enormous wealth and stature in the world but “Basically when you get to my age , you’ll really measure success by how many of the people you want to love you actually love you.” We need to know the meaning of Paul’s words: that without love we just have legalism.

Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began (26) but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all the nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith – (27) to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

The letter to the Romans, the greatest doctrinal and theological letter in the New Testament was written by the apostle Paul. The verses we study today are at the end of the letter in chapter 16 and Paul has spontaneously broken out in a doxology (words of praise to God) which he often did when overcome with the truth of God. In our verses he is referring to a mystery prophesied in some obscurity in the Old Testament; that the Gentiles are also called as fellow heirs to the Jews in Christ. This had been concealed not through the doing of man or through chance but as part of God’s eternal plan. It was not random. Paul is writing to the church at Rome which was composed of many Gentiles.
The ultimate goal of the gospel is not about man but about God’s eternal glory. The crucial idea here is a shift away from the idea the gospel is about us. It is not incompatible with our happiness because God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him. The emphasis in our verses is on God, not our reaction to the gospel; before we can be established we must believe the gospel – in Christ and His sacrifice as the only payment for our sins – realizing our good works contribute NOTHING to our salvation. We know we are established in faith – not faith plus good works – when we cannot live other than holy lives. The plan of redemption was formed from eternity; no eye could discover and no heart conceive of this. Paul addresses his praise to the author as the only wise God. Man is not competent to sit in judgment on the truth of His declarations or the wisdom of His plan.
I am so often struck by the similarity of this theology to the first three steps of Alcoholics Anonymous which reveal the unknown mystery of alcoholic recovery – and it only works if we are all in.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

It’s not the gospel but the principal is God alone is the author of salvation.

Rejoice always, (17) pray without ceasing, (18) in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (19) Do not quench the Spirit. (20) Do not despise prophesies. (21) Test all things; hold fast what is good. (22) Abstain from every form of evil. (23) Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (24) He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. (25) Brethren, pray for us. (26) Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

The first letter to the Thessalonians was written by the apostle Paul to new believers in Christ who were being persecuted or always being threatened with persecution for Christ. In these circumstances how were they – and us – to develop the ability to rejoice always? Paul is referring to the spirit and the mind and advises us to lay down our burden and embrace the will of God; to pray always; to rejoice in the Lord and to practice calm in the face of adversity. We do this with the realization that God turns to our advantage our present evils – He directs us in prayer to what matters. The result of joy in living with God is a calm mind. We are warned to not quench the Spirit by our negligence of daily progress. Do not turn from the light and go after the vanity of this world. God also causes the faithful to see and opens their hearts. Paul requires the faithful to abstain from doubtful doctrine and is saying the spirit of judgement is given by God for discernment. The God of peace will see that the faithful would be perfected by him. The never failing aid of God is promised BECAUSE God has called them.

Prayer without ceasing means being in the spirit of dependence on God. Thankfulness and holiness go together and all things work together for good to those that love God – recognizing that all our circumstances come from God. We are warned against quenching the Spirit who seals our souls at the moment of faith. Unbelievers may resist the Spirit but only believers quench the Spirit by not responding to His guidance. We are to rely on prayer and the indwelling Spirit rather than human ingenuity. Be discerning and examine everything in the light of Scripture. If a doctrine contradicts Scripture, it’s wrong.

Daily walking in the Spirit is the conscious effort in which we strive in order to live holy lives. Romans 8:28 tells us that “and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Believe it. Do it.

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (9) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (13) Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (14) Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless

Our verses today in this second letter from Peter were written to rebut false teachers who were publicly denying the second coming of Christ to judge those of this world. He is writing to the faithful who are charged to wait in certain hope – the day of the Lord seems long in coming because of the shortness of life. The day of resurrection does not depend on the present flow of time but on the purpose of God – our nature is impatient and we do not know the hidden will of God except as has been made known to us in the gospel. It does not matter when God gave His promise to return as He will remain faithful. It does not mean God operates in a timeless state; His relationship with time is different from ours because He is eternal but this does not negate the imminent return of the Lord. All of God’s time is different and equally present; time affects us but not God.

God is patient not wanting any to perish but all to repent; He is not slow but patient. Salvation implies deliverance from something to something – leads to a purpose that has been frustrated or interrupted and is not a purpose in itself. The final purpose of God is His own glory – neither salvation or damnation are the ultimate end but the means to an end.

God has done all He can do for sinners who won’t come to Christ of their free will. C.S. Lewis has illustrated this beautifully in his story ‘The Magician’s Nephew’: “When the Lion (Christ) had first begun singing, long ago when it was still quite dark, (Uncle Andrew) had realized that the noise was a song. And he had disliked the song very much. It made him think and feel things he did not want to think and feel. Then, when the sun rose and he saw that the singer was a lion (“only a lion” as he said to himself) he tried his hardest to make believe that is wasn’t singing and never had been singing – only roaring as any lion might in a zoo in our world. “Of course it can’t really have been singing,” he thought, “I must have imagined it. I’ve been letting my nerves get out of order. Who ever heard of a lion singing?” And the longer and more beautifully the lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon heard nothing but roaring in Aslan’s sing. Soon he couldn’t have heard anything else even if he had wanted to.”