Mills Memorial Baptist Church
Sunday Morning Worship 10/4
  • I’ve Found a Friend Who Is All to Me
  • Choir Song
  • Lamb of God
  • Day by Day

      • Colossians 3:17-20KJV1900

      • Colossians 3:21-23KJV1900

      • Colossians 3:24-25KJV1900

      • Colossians 4:1KJV1900

  • Colossians 3:17–4:1
    We have been looking for the last few weeks at this wonderful little book of Colossians.
    And really there’s been one truth running through all of it.
    Christ is enough.
    In chapter one Paul showed us who Christ is.
    He’s the Creator.
    He’s before all things.
    By Him all things consist.
    He’s the Head of the church.
    And Paul said in Colossians 1:18, “that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
    Then in chapter two we learned that we are complete in Him.
    We don’t need Christ plus some religious system.
    We don’t need Christ plus some human philosophy.
    Paul said, “And ye are complete in him.”
    Then last week we came into chapter three.
    If Christ has given us new life, that new life ought to make a difference in the way we live.
    There are some things we’re to put off.
    There are some things we’re to put on.
    And we ended with verse 17.
    Colossians 3:17 says, “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.”
    That word “whatsoever” is pretty broad.
    Whatever you do.
    Whatever you say.
    Do it in the name of the Lord Jesus.
    Now Paul is going to show us what that looks like.
    Sometimes we have a tendency to divide our lives into the spiritual part and the regular part.
    Church is spiritual.
    Prayer is spiritual.
    Reading our Bible is spiritual.
    But then there is marriage and raising children and going to work and dealing with people.
    That’s just life.
    But Paul doesn’t make that division.
    If Jesus Christ is Lord, then He’s Lord at church and He’s Lord at home.
    He’s Lord when I open my Bible and He’s Lord when I go to work.
    Christ Alone means He has a real part in every part of my life.
    It’s possible to acknowledge Christ as Lord in the things we call “our spiritual life” while practically leaving Him out of our relationships and responsibilities that, truthfully, fill most of our week.
    But if Christ really has the preeminence, He can’t simply be Lord of Sunday.
    He has to be Lord of Monday too.
    Because Christ is Lord, every relationship and responsibility in our lives should be lived under His authority and for His glory.
    So what does that look like in everyday life?
    Because Christ is Lord, we ought to let Him govern...

    I. Your Relationships

    Look beginning in verse 18.
    Paul starts right where most of us live every day.
    He starts at home.

    A. In Marriage

    Colossians 3:18 says, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.”
    That word “submit” is not a very popular word today.
    But we don’t get to remove a word from Scripture simply because our culture doesn’t like it.
    But we shouldn’t we make it mean something God never intended.
    Biblical submission does not mean that a wife is less valuable than her husband.
    And it certainly does not give a husband permission to be controlling, cruel, or abusive.
    Notice that Paul says, “as it is fit in the Lord.”
    Christ is still Lord of the relationship.
    Then Paul turns to the husband.
    Verse 19 says, “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.”
    The husband doesn’t get to point at verse 18 and stop reading.
    God has something to say to him too.
    Love your wife.
    Don’t be bitter toward her.
    Don’t become harsh.
    Ephesians 5:25 says, ”
    Ephesians 5:25 KJV
    25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
    That is a pretty high standard.
    Christ loved sacrificially.
    He gave Himself.
    So the wife is responsible before Christ for the way she responds to her husband.
    And the husband is responsible before Christ for the way he loves his wife.
    Both are under Christ.
    Sometimes we get very interested in what the other person is supposed to do.
    But Paul gives each of us our own responsibility.
    The question is not first, “Is my spouse doing what they are supposed to do?”
    The question is, “Am I doing what Christ has told me to do?”
    Christ should govern our marriage.
    Then Paul moves to your other relationships...

    B. In the Home

    Verse 20 says, “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.”
    Notice again where Paul takes us.
    “Unto the Lord.”
    A child who obeys his parents is doing something that pleases Christ.
    Young people, there will be times when you don’t understand why your parents have told you no.
    There may even be times they get something wrong.
    Parents are not perfect.
    But God has placed authority in your life, and learning to respond properly to that authority is part of learning to follow Christ.
    Then Paul speaks to fathers.
    Verse 21 says, “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”
    Again, notice the balance.
    God tells the child to obey.
    Then He turns to the parent and says, “You have a responsibility too.”
    Authority doesn’t mean we can treat people carelessly.
    It’s possible to correct a child without crushing him.
    I know, Sometimes as parents we get frustrated.
    We’re tired.
    We’ve said the same thing five times.
    And if we’re not careful, correction becomes anger.
    Instruction becomes irritation.
    Paul says, “lest they be discouraged.”
    We aren’t trying to raise children who merely know when Dad is mad, so I better obey.
    We want to raise children who know what pleases the Lord.
    The people who live with us see a side of us that everybody else may not see.
    It’s possible to be patient at church and impatient at home.
    It’s possible to speak kindly to somebody in the lobby and then be sharp with the people in the car on the way home.
    But Christ is just as much Lord in our house as He is in this building.
    Does the way I treat the people closest to me show that Christ governs my relationships?
    Christ should govern our relationships, but His lordship doesn’t stop at home.
    He should also govern the way we approach what He has given us to do.
    We ought to let Christ govern...

    II. Your Work

    Beginning in verse 22 Paul speaks to servants.
    Colossians 3:22 says, “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:”
    Before we apply that to our work today, let’s stop here for just a minute.
    This is one of those passages somebody may throw at you and say, “See, the Bible condones slavery.”
    Don’t be afraid of the passage.
    Paul is writing in the Roman world where slavery was simply a fact of life.
    Now, Roman slavery was not identical to the race-based slavery that developed in America.
    People became slaves in different ways, and their circumstances varied greatly.
    Some held skilled positions.
    Others were treated terribly.
    So we don’t need to soften what slavery was.
    But Paul speaking to Christians who lived inside that system is not the same thing as Paul saying that the system was good.
    In fact, look at what Christianity does inside that world.
    Paul tells the servant, “You serve Christ.”
    Then he turns to the master and says, “You have a Master too.”
    Galatians 3:28 says
    Galatians 3:28 KJV
    28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
    And when Paul writes to Philemon about Onesimus, he tells him to receive him “not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved.”
    That changes things.
    The servant answers to Christ.
    The master answers to Christ.
    Neither one is ultimate.
    Those biblical truths concerning human worth, brotherhood, justice, and accountability to God became a powerful force in the abolition movement.
    Yes, there were Christians who defended slavery.
    Christians have defended things the Bible did not justify before.
    That doesn’t make the Word of God the problem.
    It means Christians were not consistently obeying it.
    So when somebody brings this argument against the Bible, we should know how to answer it.
    But now come back to what Paul is teaching these believers.
    The institution he was addressing is not our employment system today.
    But the principles certainly carry over into the way we work.
    First...

    A. Work With Sincerity

    Paul says, “not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:”
    Eye-service is exactly what it sounds like.
    I work when somebody has his eye on me.
    The boss walks into the room, and suddenly everybody looks busy.
    Then he leaves, and everything relaxes.
    Paul says that should not characterize a Christian.
    Why?
    Because somebody is always watching.
    God sees.
    We ought to be the same worker when the boss is gone as we are when he’s standing beside us.
    If I agree to give somebody an hour of work, I ought to give him an hour of work.
    If I am being paid to do a job, I ought to do the job.
    The Christian ought to be somebody who can be trusted.
    Not because every employer is good.
    Not because every workplace is fair.
    But because Christ deserves faithfulness from us.
    That leads right into verse 23, where we see we are to...

    B. Work for Christ

    “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”
    There is that word again.
    “Whatsoever.”
    Whatever you do, do it as unto Christ.
    That changes the way we look at work.
    There are jobs we enjoy.
    There are jobs we don’t.
    There are days when work is satisfying.
    There are days when it’s just work.
    But the Christian has a reason to do ordinary work well.
    “As to the Lord.”
    Verse 24 makes it even clearer.
    “For ye serve the Lord Christ.”
    Ultimately, that’s who we are working for.
    You may work in a factory.
    You may work in an office.
    You may own a business.
    You may work at home.
    You may be retired and spend your time helping family or serving others.
    A young person may be doing schoolwork or chores.
    Whatever God has put in front of us to do, we can do it for Christ.
    Sometimes we think serving God means standing behind a pulpit or teaching a Sunday School class.
    Those things are service to God.
    But so is doing an honest day’s work with the right heart.
    So is doing what you said you would do.
    So is doing a job that nobody applauds.
    If Christ is Lord of every part of life, then our work belongs to Him too.
    And Paul reminds us...

    C. Remember Who Rewards

    Verse 24 says, “Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
    There will be times when people do not notice your faithfulness.
    There may be times when somebody else gets the credit.
    Christ sees it.
    The reward does not ultimately come from men.
    It comes from the Lord.
    Then verse 25 gives the other side.
    “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.”
    God sees the wrong too.
    A servant can’t say, “I was just doing what I was told,” and excuse what is wrong.
    And a master can’t say, “I’m in charge,” and excuse the way he treats people.
    God is not a respecter of persons.
    So whether anybody is standing over our shoulder or not, we serve the Lord Christ.
    Christ should govern our relationships and our work, but there is another side to everyday life.
    He should also govern how we handle the responsibilities and influence He has entrusted to us.
    so, We ought to let Christ govern...

    III. Your Responsibilities

    Now Paul turns from servants to masters.
    Colossians 4:1 says, “Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.”
    This is only one verse, but there is a lot in it.

    A. Be Just

    Paul says, “give unto your servants that which is just and equal.”
    The person with authority has a responsibility to the person under his authority.
    That principle is just as important today.
    If you employ somebody, supervise somebody, lead somebody, or have responsibility for somebody, Christ cares about the way you handle that responsibility.
    Sometimes we talk a lot about submission to authority.
    The Bible definitely teaches it.
    But the Bible also has something to say to the person who has the authority.
    God never gives authority so that we can simply get our own way.
    Authority is a stewardship.
    If people work for you, treat them honestly.
    If you make promises, keep them.
    Don’t use your position to humiliate people.
    Be just.
    Do what is right.
    James 5 warns wealthy men who withheld wages from laborers.
    James 5:4–6 KJV
    4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
    God heard the cry of the people who had been wronged.
    God notices how we treat people.
    Whatever influence He has given us belongs to Him.
    Why?
    Paul tells us at the end of the verse.

    B. Remember Your Master

    “Knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.”
    I love that statement.
    The Roman master may have looked around his household and thought he was the one in charge.
    Paul says, “Remember, you have a Master too.”
    There is no Christian who is at the top.
    Every one of us answers to Christ.
    The employee has a Master in heaven.
    The employer has a Master in heaven.
    The child has a Master in heaven.
    The parent has a Master in heaven.
    The husband has a Master in heaven.
    The pastor has a Master in heaven.
    Nobody gets to say, “This is my life, and I’ll do whatever I want with it.”
    That was the point all the way back in chapter one.
    Colossians 1:18 KJV
    18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
    Here Paul is showing us what “all things” means.
    It means my marriage.
    It means my home.
    It means my job.
    It means the way I respond when I am under authority.
    It means the way I behave when I have authority.
    Christ is Lord of all of it.

    Conclusion

    So let me ask you one question this morning.
    Is there some part of your everyday life that you are living as though Christ has no say there?
    OH, You would never say that out loud.
    You believe He’s Lord.
    You believe the Bible.
    But maybe when it comes to one particular relationship, you still handle it your way.
    Maybe it’s your marriage.
    Maybe it’s your children or your parents.
    Maybe it’s work.
    You have separated your job from your Christian life and forgotten that even there you “serve the Lord Christ.”
    Maybe God has given you some authority or responsibility, and you have begun to treat it as though it belongs to you.
    It doesn’t.
    You have a Master in heaven.
    That really is the message of this whole series.
    Christ Alone.
    Christ is enough for our salvation.
    Christ is enough for our growth.
    Christ gives us new life.
    And Christ deserves the preeminence in every part of that life.
    Not just Sunday morning.
    Every part.
    So perhaps the prayer this morning is simply:
    “Lord, show me the parts of my life where I have not been letting You govern.”
    My relationships.
    My work.
    My responsibilities.
    And when He puts His finger on something, yield it to Him.
    Because Christ is Lord, every relationship and responsibility in our lives should be lived under His authority and for His glory.
    Let Christ have His rightful place in every part of your life.
    And that brings us naturally to the Lord’s Supper.
    We come to this table remembering the One who gave Himself completely for us.
    The One who is Lord of our salvation, is also Lord of our lives.
    So as we prepare to take the bread and the cup, this is a good time to ask Him to search our hearts.
    Is there any part of my life I have been holding back from Him?
    And as we remember His sacrifice for us, let’s yield ourselves again to Him.

      • Ephesians 5:25KJV1900

      • Galatians 3:28KJV1900

      • James 5:4–6KJV1900

      • Colossians 1:18KJV1900

  • Victory in Jesus
Mills Memorial Baptist Church
millsmemorialbapt@gmail.com
989-843-6433
https://millsmemorial.faithlifesites.com
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