Rules for Holy Living
When you play a game or work at a job, you have to obey the rules. If you do not obey the rules, you can be disqualified or lose the game and be fired from your job! You don’t want that to happen. So, you follow the rules.
When you follow the rules in a game, you have the chance of winning. When you follow the rules at work, you earn your wages and you have the chance of getting a raise or a promotion! These are incentives to keep you following the rules. As humans though, we tend to see how far we stretch the rules or see how many we can break before we get caught. This is for almost everyone at some point in our life.
God has given us rules, but he has also given us free will. What does that mean? It means, God has set for us rules for being His children and we have to DECIDE whether or not we will follow those rules.
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
To whom are these rules given? Well, who has to obey the rules of a game? Only the players, the participants in the game, must follow the rules. Spectators just watch, they don’t have to obey the rules of the game, nor can they win or lose the game. What about at work? Only the employees must follow their employer’s rules. For example, I don’t have to be at your place of work at a specific time, work for a certain number of hours, or produce a certain kind of product, do I? Why? I don’t work there. I do not risk being fired for not being on time, but I also do not receive a paycheck!
So who are God’s Rules for Holy Living for? Let’s look at the text and see if we can find an answer.
Colossians 3:1-3 says, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
Who is Paul talking to in this passage? Verse one tells us that he is talking only to those who have been raised with Christ. He is referring to only those who have been baptized (raise out of the water of baptism). So the rules God is about to give in this passage is only for baptized believers. We as Christians should not expect the world to behave the same way we do. They are not subject to the same rules! They are also not eligible to receive the same benefits, as verse 4 tells us, “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
So what are these rules that baptized believers have to obey?
The rules have two categories. First Paul tells us:
The Prohibitive Rules
These are the things that God has made a rule AGAINST. In other words, the “DO NOT” rules. Look at verses 5, 8 and 9 for these. God says, through Paul, to PUT TO DEATH – KILL – these things, these things of your earthly nature:
1. Sexual Immorality – Any kind of sexual activity outside of between husband and wife.
Hebrews 13:4 – “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” God has blessed sexual activity of husband and wife with each other (referred to here as “marriage bed”), but He condemns anything that makes the marriage bed impure – any sexual activity outside of between a husband and wife.
Hebrews 13:4 – “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” God has blessed sexual activity of husband and wife with each other (referred to here as “marriage bed”), but He condemns anything that makes the marriage bed impure – any sexual activity outside of between a husband and wife.
2. Impurity – Anything that keeps you from being set apart for God.
Hebrews 10:22 – “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” The best way to keep ourselves pure – the only way – is to draw near to God, because when we are near to God, the sinful things that can make us impure are far away.
3. Lust – This is a longing for anything contrary to God’s will for you.
I John 2:15-17 – “15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” The cravings or lust of man, lust of the eye, an arrogant “look at me” attitude – these things are not of God and will separate us from Him.
4. Evil Desires – These desires will lead us into sin.
James 1:13-15 – “13When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” When we let our desires start making decisions for us, we lead ourselves into sin. We do – no one else. We cannot let our fleshly desires rule over us.
5. Greed / Idolatry – Anything you give more time and devotion to then God, is your idol.
2 Corinthians 6:16-17 – “16What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” God calls us to be separate – to be His (possessive) people. We cannot let anything become an idol and stand in the way of that.
6. Anger 7. Malice 8. Slander 9. Filthy Language 10. Lies
As we see in Ephesians 5:3-7, Paul didn’t just give these rules to the Colossians, but like I said before, these rules are for baptized believers. Jesus himself mentioned most of these in Mark chapter 7. He was talking to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, again those supposedly having given their life to following God’s rules.
Even though these are the rules, we still must choose whether or not we follow the rules. But, as with games or jobs, there are consequences for breaking the rules. Paul tells us if we break these rules, we will face the wrath of God, Colossians 3:6.
The second category of rules is just the opposite of prohibitive. These are the “DOs” rules. We are to strive to fill our life with the activity described in each of these rules. What are they? Continuing in Colossians chapter 3, looking now at verses 12 through 17:
1. Be Compassionate and Kind – One of the qualities that defines Jesus, is His compassion and kindness.
a. Matthew 14:14 – When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
b. Matthew 15:32 – Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
c. Matthew 20:30-34 – 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
2. Be Humble – We cannot consider ourselves to be better or more important than anyone else. If we think highly of ourselves, if we are arrogant or boastful, we leave no room for God to exalt us!
a. Luke 14:10-11 – 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
b. James 4:10 – Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
3. Be Gentle 4. Be Patient 5. Be Forgiving 6. Be Loving
7. Let Christ’s Peace rule your heart - So far all the rules I listed can be followed by ANYONE. So far. This rule, however, can only be followed by a certain group of people. Romans chapter 5 tells us who that is: only those who have been baptized. How do I know this? Look at verses 1 and 2 of Romans chapter 5, “1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
You might say you understand that “Christ’s Peace” is had by those who are justified through faith, but you don’t see anything about baptized believers. Let’s read on in verse 5, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Look at that last phrase. “The Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” To whom has the Holy Spirit been given? We find the answer to that question in Acts chapter 2 verse 38, “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Who does Peter say receives the Holy Spirit as a gift? Those who are baptized!
You might say you understand that “Christ’s Peace” is had by those who are justified through faith, but you don’t see anything about baptized believers. Let’s read on in verse 5, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Look at that last phrase. “The Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” To whom has the Holy Spirit been given? We find the answer to that question in Acts chapter 2 verse 38, “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Who does Peter say receives the Holy Spirit as a gift? Those who are baptized!
8. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly – How can you know when the word of Christ is dwelling in you “richly”? When you are confident you can obey 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” And when you handle the word correctly, as Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
9. Do all things in the name of Jesus Christ – This rule seems easy at first. I can tell people when I do some act of service that is in the name of Jesus. I can call Jesus’ name when I pray or sing or teach. That comes almost naturally to a Christian. However, Paul does not say Do all the Christian things you do in the name of Jesus Christ. No, no, no. What he said was, “Do ALL things in the name of Jesus Christ.” The reason this rule can be so incredibly difficult, is this: this rule is a call to a sinless life! You cannot commit sin and claim it is in Jesus’ name! We know that only those that actually do the will of God will be recognized by Jesus. We know because of what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, verses 21 through 23, “21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
We have been given rules. These rules are to help us live a life that is holy – set apart – for God. These rules are given only for those who have already put on Jesus Christ in baptism. Many of these rules can be followed by anyone, but some can only be followed by baptized believers. We cannot hold the world to the same standard to which God holds us. They don't have to follow the rules, and even if they did, without obedience first, they are still lost.
Also, these are all rules that are voluntary – we must choose whether or not we will follow them. I started off by saying that all players in a game or employees must follow the rules. If they choose NOT to follow the rules, they can be disqualified or fired.
So, you choose:
Will you choose NOT to follow these rules knowing “the wrath of God is coming?” (verse 6)
OR
Will you choose TO follow these rules so that, “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory”? (verse 4)
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