I just want to quickly say how
much of a blessing it is to be here with all of you. I'm just
very thankful. I've been here two months now
and it's just been wonderful. Colossians chapter 1. We'll be
in Colossians chapter 1. The name of the message is The
Gospel Bearing Fruit. The Gospel Bearing Fruit. Colossians chapter 1. We'll read
Our text will be found in verse 6, but I'd like to read the context,
read it from 3 to 6. Colossians chapter 1, starting
in verse 3. We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since
we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you
have to all the saints. for the hope which is laid up
for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the
truth of the gospel. And here's our text tonight,
which is come unto you, as it is in all the world, and
bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you since the day ye
heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth. This study, I can't tell you
how much of a blessing it's been for myself personally to go through
Colossians. I'm learning just right along
with everyone, and it's been wonderful. It's been amazing
to see how each verse is so interconnected with each other, and it's brought
much joy to study this book. And tonight we're going to continue
in verse 6. An amazing thing is that as we
grow in grace, and in the knowledge, and in the truth of Christ, we
don't brag about it. In religion, we always wanted
to tell people where we were at, or I know I did, and it was
always, you seem like you're always trying to one-up someone.
I talked to Brother Norm today, or this week, and he was saying
in grace, We joy to see others grow and even surpass us. This is what we desire, even
as preachers. We desire the brethren to grow
in the knowledge and truth of Christ. We desire that. And so the amazing thing is that
as we grow in grace, we don't brag to others about how much
we know. But as we grow in grace and in
the knowledge and truth of Christ, we exalt him even more. We give
Him all the glory and all the honor and all the praise. Turn
with me, if you would, to John chapter three. So as we grow in grace, we praise
and exalt our precious Savior. And I ask the question, is it
not so with you, beloved? It's so with me. I just, I'm
in awe of what Christ has done for me. Just in awe. And look what John chapter three,
verse 27 to 30. John answered and said, a man
can receive nothing except that be given him from heaven. So
always remember that all the knowledge we have of Christ and
all the knowledge we have comes from God. He's the one who gives
it. Even the ability to do our jobs
and the things that we do. He gives us that knowledge. Ye
yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but
that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth
and heareth him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.
And this my joy therefore is fulfilled." And here in verse
30, here's the heart of it right here. He must increase, but I
must decrease. This is what happens in the believer's
life. He must increase, and I must decrease. It's amazing. And this
is what happens. As we grow in grace, we see ourselves
more and more of a sinner, and we see what a mighty Savior He
is. Oh, it's precious truth, and
it comes alive. It comes alive as we grow in
the grace and knowledge of Christ, and we look away from ourselves.
That's the key to we look away from ourselves and we look to
Christ. We look to him and we don't stop
looking. We just keep looking to Christ.
We just keep looking to him. So let's do a quick overview
last week. Last week, we looked at the hope
which we have laid up for us in heaven, how it's incorruptible. It's laid up for us in heaven,
in Christ. And we looked at how Christ is
truth personified, truth personified. He is the truth. And we we heard
the word of the truth of the gospel. And this, again, is why
it is absolutely vital for us to preach Christ, we must every
time someone's in the pulpit, they must preach Christ. They
must. We must. Because this is the
only hope for sinners. So let's look at verse six. It
says, which is come unto you. And let's read verse five for
the hope, which is laid up for you in heaven, wherever you heard
before in the word of the truth of the gospel. So here it's talking
about the word of the truth of the gospel, which is come unto
you. Which is come unto you and bring
it forth fruit as it doth also in you since the day you heard
of it. and knew the grace of God and truth, which is come
unto you as it is in all the world." What a marvelous statement. The
gospel, the word of the truth of the gospel has come unto you,
believers. It has come unto God's elect. The gospel, Paul says to the
Colossian saints, has come unto you. Romans 10.20 says this, but Isaiah
is very bold and saith, I was found of them that sought me
not. God's people didn't seek the
gospel, did you? I didn't. I know I've talked
to many believers and they said, Brother Wayne, I wasn't even
looking for Christ. Well, now we see why. Which has come unto
you. Which has come unto you. And
here's a question for us to ponder, personally. Before the Lord saved
us, were we even interested in the gospel? Not at all. Not at all. Now he made us willing,
and we started to listen to gospel preaching, right? And he just
drew us in, didn't he? With cords of love, scripture
says. But before the Lord saved me,
I had no interest in the things of God, I had no interest in
the gospel, I had no interest in Christians, none at all. Now
they're the only folks I want to be around. And just like our brethren at
Kloss here, Just like our brother in that class, they didn't seek
to hear the gospel. It came unto them. It came unto
them. By God's divine providence, the
gospel of his free grace had come to them and was preached
to them. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The gospel came to them. And this is why we say that it
is not by It is not by chance that you're here right now. It's
not by chance if anyone's listening. It's not by chance if someone
listens later on through sermon audio. It's not by chance. It's
by God's divine providence. It's by his divine providence
that the free grace of God, the gospel of the free grace of God
in Christ has come unto you. which has come unto you as it
is in all the world. So the gospel comes unto us,
right, being sent by God. It's sent by God. And it's preached
by faithful gospel preachers. We proclaim Salvation is of the
Lord. It's in Christ and Him alone.
It's nowhere else. It's nowhere else. And beloved,
this is the amazing thing. The gospel is sent to God's elect. It's sent to God's elect. And
they're given hearing ears. And they're given eyes to see
Christ. Turn, if you would, to Galatians chapter one. Galatians 1, verses 15 and 16,
and look what Paul says here. Galatians 1, 15 and 16, and keep
in mind what we just read, that the gospel is sent, right? The gospel is sent to his people.
Galatians 1, 15 and 16. But when it pleased God, he separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace. to reveal
his son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen. Immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood. There was a time set when
it pleased God for every one of his people to hear the gospel,
and it's sent to them. Oh, it's marvelous. It's marvelous. Undeserving rebels, and the gospel
comes to them. Because remember what we looked
at on Sunday, right? We'd never go to him, would we? but it comes
to us, the gospel comes to us, which has come unto you as it
is in all the world. And all God's preachers were
sinners saved by grace. Were sinners saved by grace.
Telling other sinners, and we have one message to proclaim.
Sinner flee to Christ. He's the only salvation. He is
the only salvation. Oh, we preach Christ in him crucified. And we just marvel, don't we?
We marvel at the grace of God in Christ. We marvel at it. That God has saved me. He redeemed me by his precious
blood. And oh, he can for you, if you
come to him. Oh, that the Lord would make
you willing, the Holy Spirit would make you willing to come
to him. which has come unto you as it is in all the world. So
our text says it's in all the world. The gospel came to these
Colossians. They were idol worshipers. They
were pagans, full-on pagans. And they're going about trying
to establish their own righteousness, worshiping idols, heathens. All kinds of different pagan
worshiping going on during those days and being offered to false
gods. Well, the question is, is there
any difference today? It's the same, just different
names wrapped all over them, right? Nothing new under the
sun, scripture declares. Not much has changed. Not much
has changed. It's we who the Lord has saved
We're just like them. In our natural state, we were
going about trying to establish our own righteousness, not looking
for God, not caring for God, and the gospel came to us. Oh,
it's marvelous. Which is coming to you as it
is in all the world. Now, during Paul's time, all
the world here would mean the Roman world. and the known world. It doesn't mean the whole world.
It meant the, because they classified the world as the Roman world. But now we see the gospel preached
and proclaimed all over the world now, don't we? We do. Out it
goes. Out the gospel goes. And think
of this during Paul's time. What it would mean during the
Roman world, right? No longer was the gospel just in Israel. It's in all the world now. They're
out there going preaching the gospel. So the gospel was no longer just
in Israel and to the Jews, but now it's being preached all over
the known world to Jews and Gentiles alike. And think of this. Think of when
the Colossians would read this. Think of how we are when we hear
of a gospel church. Oh, we've just found there's
another preacher over here. Or, oh, we find out about what
Lance Heller's doing out in Papua New Guinea. Or Brother John Clout
says, oh, the doors were swinging open. And we're just rejoicing,
don't we? We rejoice. Think of the joy
that it brought these Colossian believers. They were once pagan
idol worshippers, and now the Lord saved them by his precious
blood. They'd be rejoicing. They'd be
rejoicing. It would bring the Colossians
great hope that others were being delivered from darkness to light
by the marvelous gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And they were
hearing that others all around the world were hearing the gospel
of God's redemption in Christ alone. through the precious blood
of Christ, and that his people were being saved by the free
grace of God in Christ. See, they're no different than
us. They'd be rejoicing. It's just like us getting excited
by how the gospel goes forth in the internet. How did it go? It's a whole other mission field.
Well, for them, they didn't have that. But think of that. They're
in these small towns. They don't have vehicles like
we have that they can go all over the place. It takes some
days to travel places. And they're hearing the Gospels
going forth throughout all the world. Oh, it would bring them
great joy. Turn with me, if you would, to
Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16, and in this
way, the great commission is being fulfilled by God's divine
providence and power, even today as the gospel message goes forth
into all the world, right? The great commission is being
fulfilled. Mark chapter 16, verses 15 to 16. And he said unto them, go ye
into the world, all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. There it
is, the great commission. So this would cause great joy
amongst the Colossians, amongst the believers there to
know that the gospel of God's free grace is going out. and
it's going forth in all the world, and it's bearing fruit. Look
at our next portion. Which has come unto you as it
is in all the world, and bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in
you. Now, an unregenerate sinner cannot
bring forth fruit for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He can't. One may ask, well,
why not? Well, because they're not true
branches. They're not true branches. Think of it, a branch, you have
a branch and you break it off a tree and you put it down and
if it has leaves on it, you come back in a couple days and those
leaves are starting to wither and wither up. There's no fruit. All the fruit comes from the
trunk, the vine. All the nourishment comes up
and then it buds out through the branches. They're not true branches. But
oh, Christ is the true vine and we are the branches. Turn if
you would to John chapter 15. And think of this too. A branch
cannot bring forth fruit unless it's attached to the vine. See, We've often talked in religion,
you're trying to bring forth your own good works and your
own fruit. Oh, if I could just be more loving, if I could just
be more joyful, if I could just, if I could just, if I could just.
It just drives you crazy is what it does. But it's the fruit of
the spirit. It's the fruit of the spirit.
Look at John 15 verses four to six. Abide in me and I in you
as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself. So right there, We
can't produce fruit on our own, except it abide in the vine.
So we know all the nourishment comes up through the vine and
goes to the branches and they blossom. No more can ye except
you abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I
in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. Look at this. Or without me, you can do nothing.
Well, there goes workspace religion. Gone. Out the window it goes,
right? It's gone. It can do nothing. Without Christ,
we can't do anything spiritually. Anything. If a man abide not
in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered. And man gather
them and cast them in the fire, for they are burned. So. No fruit unless we're attached
to the vine. And look what our text says,
and bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in you. So they are
told that the gospel is going forth and it's bearing fruit. It's bearing fruit in others
just as it had in them. just as it had in them. And just
because we don't see that, it doesn't mean we don't keep putting
the gospel out, eh? No! God gets the glory. He has
to be the one who grants faith and regenerates sinners. The
gospel, as I said, comes to rebels, to sinners who aren't seeking
God, and it will never return unto Him void. Isaiah 55.11 says,
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, it shall
not return unto me void. But it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto
I sent it. It will not return unto God void. So the gospel, as I said, comes
to rebels. It comes to sinners who are not
seeking God, who have no desire for God at all. And it brings
forth fruit unto his glory, and unto his honor, and unto his
praise in God's elect. They are regenerated by the Holy
Spirit of God and believe the Gospel and it bears fruit in
them. And He gets all the glory, as
I said, because without me you can do nothing. Nothing. The Gospel bears fruit. It takes
those who used to curse Christ's name and makes them praise His
name. It bears fruit in those that
mock Christians are made to love Christians and to cherish the
brethren and to pray for the brethren. It's marvelous. It's
amazing. Those who never prayed now cry
out to God. Those who never thought of God,
now He's their delight and their joy. Christ has become altogether
lovely to the believer. Yes, the gospel bears fruit,
and this is all the work of the Holy Spirit of God. And he will
never speak of himself, he points us to Christ. He points us to
Christ, and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you. So the
gospel was not only bringing forth fruit in the world, but
as our text says, also in you. Also in you. This is why we need
to hear the gospel. This is why we need the gospel
preached to us. Each time we meet, each time
we study the word of God, we pray, oh Lord, that she be magnified. He must increase and I must decrease. Our text goes on to say, since
the day you heard of it. So isn't it amazing the gospel
comes to us, sinners who aren't even looking for it and don't
want to have anything to do with it. And we know we don't have
hearing ears. Then the scripture says, since
the day you heard of it. Here's the importance of preaching
the gospel, beloved. As faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God. Here again, and we saw that in
verse five. Where have you heard before in
the word of the truth of the gospel? Since the day you heard
of it. Just like when a great king came
to Lazarus' tomb and said, Lazarus, come forth. And God uses the
preaching of his word to open the eyes of the understanding
of sinners. And they see Christ. And they
flee there. They flee there. Can a deaf man
give himself ears to hear? Not at all. Can a blind person suddenly declare
themselves to see by their own power? But divine grace had given our
Colossian brothers and those of us who believe ears to hear
and eyes to see. Since the day he heard of it,
they heard both internally and externally. There was a time when they weren't
hearing internally, but now they do. It wasn't just words anymore.
And they grow in grace, and it bore fruit in them by the power
of the Holy Spirit, just as it does with believers. Just as
it does for, and this is true for today, just as much as it
was back then. We hear the gospel of God's free
grace, And we grow in the grace and knowledge of the truth. And
beloved, it's only found in Christ. And it's only found in him. This
is again why it's so vital to preach the gospel of Christ.
To preach the one who bore the sins of his people on Calvary's
cross. and paid everything God demanded,
and he is satisfied with that sacrifice. I know we keep saying
it all the time, but it, three wonderful words, it is finished. Oh, it's wonderful words for
the believer. And the gospel, beloved, continues
to bear fruit through all the ages. Isaiah 27, six says this. He shall cause them that come
out of Jacob to take root. Israel shall blossom and bud
and fill the face of the world with fruit. Oh, is it not true
with God's elect God's spiritual Israel? And remember this, beloved,
that God's gospel is not barren. It's not barren. It'll take root
and it'll bud and blossom in the hearts of God's elect by
the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. And the gospel is
living truth, beloved. It's living truth. And it produces
fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. In the hearts of God's elect.
Those are manifested through the preaching of God's Word.
We grow and we learn and we embrace even more the things of Christ.
And that's what we yearn to hear. Turn, if you would, to Acts chapter
2. And think of this. The truth
is like a mustard seed, right? A mustard seed, you plant it
and it grows into a great tree. Now think of this. Think of that,
think of the truth is like a mustard seed which grows into a great
tree. And look at Acts chapter two, starting in verse one. There's
a group of believers in the upper room, right? And when the day
of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord
in one place. Then on that day, so here's a
small group, and they're one accord. But later on, we're gonna
see that there's added 3,000 souls. Look at verse 41. Then they that gladly received
his soul. So that small group goes out and they preach Christ.
And look at verse 41 and 42. Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto
them 3,000 souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine
and fellowship and in the break in the bread and prayer. The
gospel goes forth and it bears fruit. It bears fruit by the
power of the Holy Spirit. And from the day of Pentecost,
the church grew and grew and grew into the millions and now
into a number. And one time when we're all gathered
together in heaven, into a number that no man can number. The gospel
bears fruit. And it still bears fruit today. It still bears fruit today in
His people who are saved and also in the calling of God's
lost sheep to Christ. And knew the grace of God in
truth, So not only did the Colossian believers hear the gospel, but
they believed the gospel. The gospel came to them, they
heard the gospel, and they believed the gospel. Beloved God granted
them faith to believe. He granted them, just like for
those of us who are saved, he granted us faith to believe.
Without me, you can do nothing. Remember this text we looked
at? That is so true in salvation,
isn't it? Without Christ, we can do nothing.
We can't save ourselves. God granted them faith to believe,
and they knew the grace of God and truth. They knew it. They saw themselves as sinners
who could not be justified before God on their own. The truth of
the gospel of God's free grace had been revealed to them. Free
justification by the righteousness of Christ in Him alone. A full pardon of all their sins. All of them. And this was all
according to the riches of the grace of God in Christ. And it all arose out of the love
and free, unmerited favor of God in Christ. The only reason
we're saved is because God had mercy on us in Christ. The free,
unmerited favor of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And the Colossian believers were
born again by the Holy Spirit of God. They believed because
they were born again. What comes first, faith or regeneration?
Regeneration. And then you believe, oh, that God might regenerate
you. Oh, that He might grant you faith. Born again by God, the Holy Spirit,
through the preaching of His gospel. They hadn't just heard
about this life-changing gospel. They'd experienced it. They'd
experienced it. It saved them. It brought them from darkness
to light. And they had a love for God and
a love for the gospel and a love for the brethren. And it's still the same for us,
isn't it? The gospel is good news for sinners. Good news for
sinners. They knew the grace of God and
truth, our text says. They knew the grace of God and
truth. By revelation, God had revealed to them Christ. And
they're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And they confess
this truth. And they rejoiced in it. They
rejoiced in it. And they rejoiced in it when
others believed. And they rejoiced in it when
the gospel was being preached. When it was going forth. They
knew the grace of God in truth. And it was not adulterated in
any way. It was not mixed in with any
error. Notice it says, in truth. In truth. Now works mongers,
like back then and even still today, and false teachers then
though, sought to add to the gospel. But Paul reminds the
Colossian believers, that which they heard and knew was truth. was truth. Turn with me, if you
would, to Acts chapter 20. They received the gospel as it
was preached by Epaphras to them without any mixture of error. Now the question may have even
came up, was there any difference in the message of Epaphras preached
in the message Paul preached? That may have been a question
that came up. Acts chapter 20, verse 24. The same gospel Paul preached
was the same gospel that they heard. I knew the grace of God and truth. Acts chapter 20, verse 24, but
none of these things moved me, neither count I my life dear
unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy in
the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify
the gospel of the grace of God. they had heard the gospel of
the grace of God in Christ. And this is the true gospel.
Salvation in Christ, plus nothing. God, by his divine providence,
had sent them a preacher to declare to them his gospel truths, and
they believed. They believed. Is it not so today? It's still the same. And His gospel did not come to
them in word only, but, O beloved, it came to them in power, and
in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. And their rest and
trust was Christ. And it's the same for us today.
It's the same for us today. The false gospel, which false
teachers were promoting, Look in chapter 2, verse 8, and also
chapter 2, verses 20 to 23. The false gospel which these
teachers were promoting was not grace, but was works. It was
works. Colossians chapter 2, verses
8. The false gospel being promoted by these workmongers at Clos
was not of God, but it was of man. And it was not the truth. Luke 2, verse 8, Beware, lest
any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. The traditions of men. Oh, how
many have fallen into that snare through the ages, and praise
be to God that he hasn't let us get there. And then look at
verses 20 to 23. These work mongers, they were
mixing grace and works, and it was nothing but a man-made religion. Colossians
2, verses 20 to 23. Wherefore, if ye be dead with
Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living
in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? So now folks are
saying, well, you've got to do this. You've got to do this and
be saved. It's Christ plus this. Circumcision
was one thing that they often said. Paul says, touch not, taste
not, handle not, which are all perishing with the using. After
the commandments and doctrines of men, which things have indeed
a show of wisdom and will worship, in humility and neglecting of
the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh."
All these worksmongers, they were trying to turn them from
grace to works. No, beloved. Our brethren at
Colossus, they had heard the grace of God in truth faithfully
proclaimed to them, faithfully proclaimed to them by Epaphras.
And they were granted faith to believe, and they clung to Christ. They clung to Christ. And He
is our refuge. The question is, have you fled
to Christ, the sinner's only refuge? Oh, that God would make you willing.
These saints, they knew the gospel of Christ was the power of God
unto salvation because it had saved their souls. It had redeemed
them. And don't forget what they were
into. They were pagan worshippers and idol worshippers and all
kinds. I say it's no different now, just different names on
things. But God saved them. The gospel's the power of God
and the salvation, and it can save the worst sinner. It saved me. Oh. So these saints at Kloss, they
knew the gospel of Christ. And they knew that it was the
power of God and the salvation. They knew the blessedness of
this gospel. And it brought them great joy.
Great joy. Oh, may we just rest and trust
in our mighty Savior. Our mighty Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh, that I could just trust and
rest in Him more and more. Just keep my mind fixed on Him. Oh, He has mercy to sinners,
doesn't He? See you when it's time.