Today I want to look at perfect peace. God wants each of us to walk in His kind of peace. He wants us to know that we are doing the right thing at the right time. That can be a hard concept for us to grasp. Being sure of our actions at times seems like a big ask.
Today we are going to talk about Paul. Think about his life. There were many times where Paul was beaten, whipped, imprisoned, etc. If you think about it, it would have been easy for Paul simply to say, “Well I must have messed up.” But instead you don’t see him say that. Actually you see him at times boasting about it. Why? Because he was exactly where God wanted him to be.
Have you ever asked yourself, “How did He know?” What is Paul’s secret? Paul is no different than one of us here today. When we do the same things Paul did, we will get the same results he did.
Our text for today is a road map showing us how to live in peace and assurity in the knowledge of what to do and when to do it. Paul tells us how to put on the new man so that we can walk in perfect peace.
Our Text
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Colossians 3:10-15 KJV
YOU “Put on…”
Colossians 3:9-10 KJV
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
It sounds simple, but the first step to having perfect peace is for YOU to put on the new man. Our responsibility is to put on the attributes of God making our actions and thoughts come in line with the Word of God.
It starts with our thoughts. In order for us to put on the new man, we have to begin to think like the new man would. That means that we need to understand what the Bible says and start thinking about those things.
Start your morning off with the Bible and end the evening with more Bible reading. Let your dreams and thoughts as you fall asleep mull over what the Bible says about you and not how your day went. Same as you awake. Don’t think about what you have to do. Think about what God has done for you and in you. Start the day and end the day with Him.
Psalms 4:3-4
3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.
4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Both when you lay down and when you rise up – commune with your own heart upon your bed. Scientists found that you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Make the #1 person be Jesus and you will start to look like a new man.
Mortify Sin
The word “mortify” means to cause (someone) to feel embarrassed, ashamed, or humiliated.
In Colossians 3:5-8 KJV,
Colossians 3:5-8 KJV
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
This is a whole separate sermon, but I want to briefly touch on this one thing. We are each for ourselves supposed to make sin shameful in our lives. Now when I say that I know there are people whose instinct is to revolt. Counting sin as shameful in our own lives is not the same thing as feeling condemnation.
There is something wrong with the Christian who is proud or unbothered by sin in his/her life. These people will never walk in perfect peace because their actions are constantly against God’s will.
The world today is preaching “love each other”, but they are really preaching “tolerate the sin of each other”. When we don’t “mortify” or count our own sin as shameful there is no incentive to change. The first step to putting on the new man of your salvation is to mortify – recognize and attribute shame to – the sin in your life.
Notice! It says “Mortify therefore YOUR members” That means leave your fellow christians alone! It isn’t your job to point out other people’s sin and make them feel ashamed for it. Only you can change yourself.
Jesus handled that attitude perfectly when He said,
Matthew 7:3-5 NKJV
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Perform Actions and Habits like Jesus
Now that we are reading the Word, communing with God morning and night, judging ourselves against the Word and mortifying the flesh, it is time to act differently.
Colossians 3:12 KJV
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Sometimes we try to make Christianity harder than it really is. Simply put, seek God with your whole heart and try to do everything you can to look, sound and act like Him.
Paul is giving us a list of the major highlights here in verse 12. The “bowels of mercies” is another way of saying “walk in compassion”. In later posts we can discuss what each one of these things looks like.
Perfect Peace
Perfect Peace comes when you do what you know to do.
Don’t feel like you have to get each one of these thing perfectly before you have peace in your heart. You and I still make mistakes, but God judges the heart. What is your desire? Is it really to please God? Or are you trying to do your own thing and get God to join up with it?
Colossians 3:15 KJV
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
The word “rule” means to judge between right and wrong. When you have a heart toward God, your conscience will rule your life judging your actions. It will tell you if you are doing right or wrong. It will keep you from evil.
Proverbs 16:2 KJV
2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.
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