Above All These Put on Love

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:12-17 ESV)

In the previous verses we are taught regarding the kinds of things that we are to put out of our lives, if we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and if we have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We, as followers of Christ, are to put to death sexual immorality, impurity, passion (lust), evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. And we must put off anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk, etc.

But now are being taught what we should put on in our lives in place of the things that we are to put to death. And you can read more on this here:

[Matt 5:27-30; Matt 7:21-23; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 5:16-24; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-11; 1 Thes 4:1-8; 1 Tim 4:7; Titus 2:11-14; Heb 12:1-17; 1 Pet 1:14; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10] 

Now we are to put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, love, the peace of Christ, thankfulness, the word of Christ, teaching and admonishing one another, singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and deeds and words done in the name (character) of the Lord Jesus. For this reason Jesus died, that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, putting off the old life of sin, and putting on our new lives in Christ in holiness and in righteousness.

And this brings to mind Jesus’ words recorded for us in Matthew 12:43-45 ESV:

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

And the point is that we have to replace the old with the new. The good has to take over where the bad once was. We cannot just be cleansed of our sins and then go right on sinning and not change in heart and mind and in behavior. I heard someone say, “When is a thief not a thief?” The response? “When he stops stealing.” The reply, “No, when he becomes something else. Otherwise he is just a thief between jobs.” And that is true! If we clean out the old but don’t replace it with the new, the old will work its way right back.

And this is why we have so many teachings on this subject in the Scriptures (see noted Scriptures above), because the whole point of our salvation from sin is to deliver us out of our lives of living in sin and for self so that we will now live for the Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to him and in surrender to his will in holy living, and no longer in sin. So if we profess Jesus as Lord and as Savior but then we go on living in sin, and not in righteousness, then we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

Therefore, genuine faith in Jesus Christ requires that we die to our old lives of sin and that we are reborn of the Spirit of God to now walk in newness of life in Christ, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. This is a lot like making a U-turn in a road, only this is a spiritual U-turn. We were going in the direction of sin and self and now we have made that U-turn and we are going in the direction our Lord is leading us in moral purity, honesty, faithfulness, integrity, uprightness, and obedience to our Lord.

Where we use to serve self, now we are to serve our Lord, and we are to minister to the needs of others, especially to those who are also members of the body of Christ through genuine faith in Jesus Christ. For our lives now belong to Christ to do his will and not our own will. For love (agape) prefers what God prefers, which is what is holy and righteous and just and pure and honest and faithful and obedient to our Lord. And our desire is for the Lord to do his will above all else because we love him and we want to please him.

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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