Turn with me now, if you would,
to Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. It's been
a while since we've been in Colossians. The word here is instructing
us on what our Relationships ought to be in light of Christ
and in light of what he's done for us We've already looked at
verses 18 to 21, but they say Wives submit yourselves unto
your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord Speaking to wives
and then In verse 19, it speaks to husbands saying, husbands
love your wives and be not bitter against them. And then verse 20, speaking to
children says, children, obey your parents in all things for
this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Verse 21, speaking to parents,
fathers, provoke not your children to anger lest they be discouraged. Now we're going to pick up today
with verse 22 and let's read down to chapter 4 verse 1. Colossians
3 22 says servants obey in all things your masters according
to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness
of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever you do, do it
heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of
the Lord shall you receive the reward of the inheritance, for
you serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall
receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect
of persons. Masters, give unto your servants
that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a
master in heaven. Now that's good instruction that
we need to hear. We desperately need to hear that.
I'm going to expound on that for a minute, but let me say
this first. This is a Bible study. That's
what this is. We have designated a service
called a Bible study, Bible class. Most people call it Sunday school. This is a time for learning what
the scripture has to say to us in light of Christ. It's always
in light of Christ. But the scripture has much to
say to us. In just a moment, we're going
to have a worship service. We call it the morning message.
It's a time for declaring Christ. And with that being said, I want
to declare Christ in this Bible study this morning. I want to
declare Christ. We really don't ever instruct
without declaring Christ. We shouldn't. ever instruct without
declaring Christ. And really, we don't ever declare
Christ without instructing. They go hand in hand, but it
leans more heavily in each direction at each one of those times. So
let me instruct for just a second here, and then I'd like to lean
heavily on declaring Christ, okay? Verse 22, it says, servants,
Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with
eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing
God. Mankind by nature, and I'm talking
about all men and women naturally. I'm talking about me, I'm talking
about you, I'm talking about all of us. Mankind does not naturally
want anyone to reign over him. We don't like that. We don't
like others reigning over us. The flesh of man wants to be
under no one's thumb. Nobody. Because that's the case,
men and women naturally develop resentment against their bosses
and against their places of employment. It happens all the time. You
know what I'm talking about. Rarely will you talk to somebody about
their job, and they just give glowing remarks. They will for
a minute. They're so fed up with this one
place, they finally leave it, and they go somewhere else, and
this place is incredible, for a minute, until you settle into
that, and then it's the same old thing. Everybody's always
mistreated. It's always unfair. It's always
utter misery. Can't wait to get out. That really shouldn't be. I'm
talking to myself here. I'm talking to all of us here.
That really shouldn't be. God has given us a job. God gave us the job. In His kindness,
in His goodness, He has provided us a way of earning a living. We forget about the goodness
of God in these things. Our flesh has a way of ruining
everything. And He has provided us a way to take care of us,
provide for us, put a roof over our head, put clothes on our
back, put foods in our belly, food in our bellies. God is the
one who's done all of this for us. He's given us a sound mind
to do it. He's given us an able body. He's given us strength to do
it. Every component of it is a gift and a kindness from Him.
And when we complain about it, and let me just speak frankly
with you, I want to learn something about this, because we complain
about everything. We're talking about jobs now,
but we complain about everything. When we complain about it, Our
complaint is not against our boss. It's not against our place
of employment. Our complaint is against our
God who put us under that boss in that place of employment.
Everything concerning us is of God. He is the origination of
all things. And that's why verse 22 right
here says, servants obey in all things your masters according
to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness
of heart, fearing God. He said, do this recognizing
God put me here. God gave me this job. His hand
is sovereignly on me, controlling everything that pertains to me.
God controls everything that pertains to us. Everything. If He wants me to be in a different
position, He'll put me there. I remember whenever I was feeling
this desire to preach and I didn't know if the Lord was going to
call me and I had all these questions and all these inner feelings.
I went one time and I talked to a very dear, wise, old pastor
and I was asking him questions and kind of him hauling around
and he read between the lines and he stopped me. He said, I
tell you what, he said, do this. He said, you be content where
God has you today. He said, if God wants you to
be somewhere else tomorrow, he will put you there tomorrow.
I said, okay. That's all I needed to hear.
God sovereignly controls everything concerning us. If he wants me
to be in a different position, he'll put me there. If he wants
me to get a raise, he'll give it to me. If he wants me to be
in a better work environment, he'll create one for me. The
best thing that any child of God could do in any condition
or position at any time is happily wait on the Lord. This is the
advice of Scripture. Wait on the Lord. Just happily
wait on the Lord. In all things, look to the Lord. Trust the Lord in it. Recognize, acknowledge the Lord
in it. Verse 23, it says, Whatsoever
you do, Do it heartily, from the heart, as to the Lord and
not unto men. Your boss may be the most sour,
wretched individual this world has ever known. He or she may squash all desiring
you to produce any good work for him or her. I used to work
in a place and It had a sign on the wall in the break room,
and it was a joke, but it said, the beatings will continue until
morale improves. You know, that's a joke there. Maybe it was a joke there, I
don't know. I'm not there anymore. But here's the point, your boss
may be the most sour, they just may squash everything in you
that wants to work hard for him or her. Just remember this, you're
not working for him or her. Your work is not unto him or
her, it's unto the Lord. Really, it's on everything we
do. He said, whatever you do, do
it heartily, unto the Lord and not unto men. The Lord has me
here, the Lord gave me this job, this is unto the Lord. That's
why he said in verse 22, don't do what you do with I service
as men pleasers. That means don't work hard while
the boss is looking and then as soon as the boss leaves, go
lay down on the job. The Lord is watching at all times.
We're doing it unto him in singleness of heart, heartily as to the
Lord, and not unto men. Understanding that will give
us a brand new outlook on our jobs. It really will. When Hannah was a kid, her family
did some volunteer work with the Special Olympics. And there
was a special man, a simple man, who came up to them one time
and he said, hey, guess what? And they said, what? He said,
I get to go to work tomorrow. And they said, really? That's
great. He said, yeah. And guess what? They said, what? He said, they're
going to pay me too. He said, this is my good news.
I get to go to work tomorrow. God has given me a mind. He's
given me strength. I'm not laying in a bed. I'm not in the gutter somewhere
with nothing. I get to go to work tomorrow.
And if that wasn't enough to top it all off, they're going
to pay me too. Double whammy. Oh, to have a
heart like that. Really? Oh, to have a heart like
that. That would be a blessing to us.
That calls us to be a blessing to others. Our Lord loves a heart
like that. He rewards a heart like that.
Look at verse 23. It says, Whatsoever you do, do
it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of
the Lord shall you receive the reward of the inheritance, for
you serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall
receive for the wrong which he hath done and there is no respect
of persons murmuring against complaining against sinning against
all that has ever gotten God's people is chastening from him. That's all that's ever gotten
us even God's people there's no respect of persons. And then
chapter four, verse one, he said, masters give unto your servants
that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a
master in heaven. If you're the boss of a company
or you're in a, in a in charge position and you have employees
under them, be generous to them, be kind to them. Don't be an
unfair, hard taskmaster. God delivers his people from
men and women like that. As the Lord has been to you,
be that way to those who are under you. And that's just the
good and right way to be, all right? That's the good and right
way to be. Now that's good instruction. Good life instruction. With that,
let me tell you this. This is needful information right
here. Being a good employee never saved
anybody. Being a good employer never saved
anybody. So many people believe. that
that kind of good conduct out in the world, out in our dealings in the world,
in the workplace, dealing with people, so many people believe
that that has merit with God for our salvation, being good. It doesn't. It doesn't. Men and women, see the instruction
of the Word. We just had instruction from
the Word. And men and women all the time see the instruction
of the word, which is good instruction. If we would follow this and if
we would apply this, it would go well with us. It would. But too often men and women wrongly
and so unfortunately they see the good instruction of this
word as being salvation and it is not. Men and women wrongly see the
deeds of the law, the good deeds of the law as being salvation
and it is not. Christ is our salvation. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that's our salvation. The verses we just read plainly
clearly tell us that. All right, the verses that we
just read, the verses we just look at, they just beautifully
declare that to us. Jesus Christ and Him crucified
is right here in this portion of scripture. I've told you so
many times, but I'll tell it to you again, because that's
what I do. The story's told of that young man who was called
on to fill the pulpit while the pastor was away, and he did,
and after the service was over, He came down from the pulpit
and he went up to one of the elders in the church and he asked
him, what'd you think of my message? And the elder looked at him and
said, it was a very poor message. He was shocked. He said, poor?
Why'd you think it was poor? He said, did you think I didn't
study enough? He said, no, clearly you studied.
He said, well, did you think that my delivery wasn't clear? He said, no, your delivery was
very clear. He said, then why do you say it was poor? He said,
it was poor because Christ wasn't in it. And I'm going to tell
you this, if all I told you this morning was the first half of
this, this would be poor. Good instruction. That elder told that young man
it was poor because Christ wasn't in it. And the young man said,
well, Christ wasn't in the text. And he said, young man, in every
portion of scripture. There is a road that leads to
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Our business is to find that
road and get on it. So let's do that. All right?
Let's do that. Verse 22, look at this with me.
This is the glory of the gospel. Verse 22, it says, Obey in all
things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service
as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. In the flesh, obey every single
thing your master has told you to do. Hold your place right
here and turn with me over to Isaiah 42. Isaiah 42, the heading at the
top of my page says, The Office of Christ. This is speaking of
Christ. This is God the Father speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said in verse 1, Isaiah
42 verse 1, the Father said, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in
whom my soul delighteth, I have put my spirit upon him, he shall
bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Behold my servant." The good
news of the gospel, when we talk about the gospel, if we want
to know what the gospel is, the gospel means good news. And if
we want to know what the good news, it is in the fact that
Christ willingly became the servant of God for His people. In the stead of His people. In the place of His people. It's
called substitution. If you want to get to the heart
of the gospel, it's substitution. A changing of places. Christ took the place of His
people. We were all servants. I'm looking
at a bunch of servants. We were all servants, but here's
the thing. We all ended up being unprofitable
servants. Everything this tells us to do,
I don't do it. I don't. It would go well with me if I
did, but I don't. I do not live up to this. I'm
unprofitable in this regard. All of us fell into sin. That's what happened. All of
us fell into sin. And because of that, we could not fulfill
the demands of our master. He gave us his law. You do this,
you live. Couldn't do it. Didn't do it. Wouldn't do it. We all sinned
and came up short. Isn't that what the scripture
says? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There
is none that doeth good. No, not one. Isn't that what
it says? All of our righteousness is a
filthy rag before him. Isn't that what it says? We all
failed our master. Here's the problem we're in.
We all failed the master. So the master said, behold, I'm
going to send a servant to accomplish the work that they couldn't do
and he is not going to fail. What we could not do, the commands
of the law that we could not accomplish because we were weak
in our sinful flesh, God sent Christ to do. Verse 1 says, Behold
my servant. whom I uphold, mine elect." The
Father said, I choose Him. All of God's people are chosen
in Him. They're chosen in Him. God the
Father put His particular people in the Son and then He said,
I choose the Son. And we're all chosen in Him.
He said, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom
my soul delighteth. He said, I am well pleased. The
Father is well pleased with one man. How can the Father be pleased
with me? Look at me. How can the Father
be pleased with me? Only in Christ. Only if He looks
at me in Christ. When He looks at me, He sees
Christ. He sees who Christ is, what Christ
did, And He says, I'm well pleased in Him. Verse 1, Behold My servant
whom I uphold, Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth, I've
put My Spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. That's us. He shall not cry,
nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he
not quench? He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth is one of my favorite lines in the scripture. Verse
four says, he shall not fail. Is salvation done or not? Is it done or is it not? Is it
almost done and I now need to do something to finish it or
is it finished? Which one is it? According to
God the Father, he shall not fail nor be discouraged till
he have set judgment in the earth and the aisles shall wait for
his law. The Father said, he will do it
heartily with his whole heart unto me. With a willing heart,
he will delight to do my will and he will finish the work that
I've demanded. Look back at our text, Colossians
3, verse 22. I'll be quick here. Colossians 3, 22 says, servants
obey in all things your master according to the flesh. Not with
eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing
God. And whatsoever you do, do it
heartily as to the Lord and not unto men." Our Lord Jesus Christ
said, Father, in the volume of the book, it is written of me,
I delight to do thy will. All my focus, all my attention
is on you. I gladly take on this form of
a servant made in the likeness of man. I willingly humble myself
and willingly become obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. What did it take for God's holy
spotless servant to become obedient unto death? What did it take?
He had to become the substitute of the sinful, wretched souls
who were worthy of death. That's what he had to do. That's
what the servant accomplished alone before the open eyes of
God Almighty. He bore the place and the punishment
of his people. Verse 25, it says, but he that
doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done
and there is no respect of persons. That was us. We were the ones
in the wrong. We were the ones who sinned against
God. We were the ones who were owed the punishment for our sin.
But when Christ was made to be our substitute, because he bore our sin, because
he made it to be his very own, he was the one who suffered the
punishment for it. Even though our sin was laid
on the very son of God himself, and just think about this, this
is the glory and the beauty of God's holiness and his justice.
Even though our sin was laid on the very son of God himself,
there was no respect of persons. There was no respect of persons.
The one who bore the sin bore the punishment for the sin. He
cried, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It's because
that's what it took for the servant to accomplish the work. And he accomplished it. The father
said, Behold, my servant, he's not going to fail. And Christ,
his servant, cried, Father, I didn't. I didn't. I finished the work
you gave me to do. Verse 24 says, Know this. of the Lord shall you receive
the reward of the inheritance." Know this, salvation is of the
Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is not a cooperation between me and the Lord. Me and the Lord
don't have a good thing going. We don't. I'm dead in my trespasses
and sins if left to myself. And salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation's of the Lord. It's not in you doing anything
or me doing anything or accepting what He has done. He did it and
it's done. Salvation's of the Lord. And
all of God's people will cry, Amen. They'll say, we know this. It's been revealed to us by His
Spirit. We're not trying to redo the
work that He has already done. Salvation is of the Lord. And
because salvation was accomplished by the Lord, and because God's
servant did finish the work for God's people, because of that,
I love this, chapter four, verse one says, masters, give unto
your servants that which is just and equal. If the reward was
earned, if the reward is owed, It must be given. Because Christ
earned the reward, which was all the people the Father gave
to him. He said, if you ask me, I'll give you the heathen for
your inheritance. All the souls you gave to me, that's what the
Lord kept saying. That was His reward. We get Him, He gets us.
And because He did earn the reward, that reward has to come to Him.
That's the only thing that's just and right. We'll be His
forever. That is salvation. That right
there is salvation. What Christ did, that is our
salvation. And because of that, let me end
with this, okay? Because of that, seeing what
God's servant did, seeing how he was and who he was, because
of that, let's all be good employees for his sake, just out of thankfulness
to him, because it's well pleasing to him. Let's be good. Must be good servants, good employees,
obedient servants. All right, you're dismissed.