for our scripture reading, and
it also serves as my text. Turn with me to Colossians chapter
3. If you then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. For which
things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. in the which ye also walked sometime
when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these,
anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your
mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing
that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. and to put on the new man which
is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created
him. Where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or
free, but Christ is all and in all. If you will turn back with me
now to Colossians chapter 3. If the Lord's pleased to allow
me the privilege, I want to talk to you from Colossians 3 about
the bond of perfectness. The bond of perfectness. Let's
read my text together. Colossians chapter 3. Verse 14, and above all these things, that
is the putting off of all those things that I read, put on charity,
which is the bond of perfectness. There is in this Word, You're
familiar with this world. You grew up in it. I grew up
in it. We shop in it. We do business
in it. In this world, there is a people
chosen of God. Now somebody may debate whether
I am or not or whether you are or not. Men love to debate. They love to question. But there's
no debate about this. In this world, there is a people
chosen of God. Chosen of God. The scriptures
plainly say that they were given of God the Father to His Son
to manifest the glory of His name and their salvation. He
says it over and over. And I say the scriptures say
Because everything else is conjecture. Everything else is speculation
and opinion. The Holy Scriptures are the only
source of information we have on God. You can talk about what
you think or what seems right or what your daddy said or what
great-grandpa said or somebody in the past or some famous author. Let God be true and every man
a liar. That's what Scripture says. The Holy Scriptures are the only
source of information we have concerning God, or God's purpose
of grace, of His judgment, or about salvation, or anything
else. Where'd man come from? Am I going
to run to the scientist who's wrong so often? No, I'm going
to go to God. I wasn't around when man was
created, but He was. And I know that the Holy Ghost
has come, being sent of our Lord comfort His people, but He's
not going to speak apart from the Word. Now get that in your
head. God's not going to speak, God
the Spirit I'm talking about, is not going to speak to you
about anything apart from His Word. And He's not going to speak
of Himself at all. That's what our Lord says. He's
going to take a mine and show it unto you. And I know that
the ascended Christ has left evangelists and pastor-teachers
in this world, but what are they commanded to do? Preach the Word. A preacher's calling. How do
I know this man's even called of God? He's shown to be approved
of God. Whether or not you approve of
him, I don't know. But that ain't what we're interested in. We
want to know, is this man approved of God? Did God set this man
aside? He's shown to be approved of
God by his ability to rightly divide the word of truth. Paul's charge to young Timothy,
preach the word. That's what he taught him. Preach
the Word. And to that same young man, he
said, From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which
are able to make thee wise unto salvation, not as they lay in
a book unrevealed, but as they are opened by the preaching of
the Word and the powerful working of the Holy Ghost. If a preacher
stands up and he says, And God said, and then he quotes a portion
of Scripture, but you're ignorant of the Scripture, you don't know
what he says. I'm telling you, for years I
heard these little phrases from the pulpit and they called it
the Word of God. God helps those who help themselves.
God didn't say that. But they led you to believe He
did. Huh? Oh. It wasn't. These scriptures are
not going to make you wise unto salvation as they lay unrevealed
in the book. I carried that book for years
and didn't understand anything about it. The Jews did too. God's people are from the beginning
chosen to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and elision and
belief of the truth. The truth. And this is the word, Peter said,
which by the gospel is preached unto you. There is no gospel
apart from his word. That's ridiculous. Somebody accused me one time
of what he called gospelism. By unbelievers, and especially
unbelieving intellectuals. No one would talk out of dogs. belief of the truth, and to this
end he called them by his gospel to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And God has chosen to save a
people for the glory of his name, and had he not made provision
to save some, there'd be no world. There would have been no future.
There would have been no flood. There'd have been no ark. You
and I wouldn't even have a being. No sons, no daughters, no future,
no mankind. If Adam tells the whole story,
then God would have destroyed this world at his fall. Because the scripture says, in
Adam all die. Sin entered by him and death
passed upon all men. But here's our hope, there's
a second Adam. A second Adam. He's not second in power and
he's not second in glory or he's not second even by appointment. He's second by manifestation. The first Adam appeared back
yonder in the garden. The second Adam appeared to die
on a cross. The first Adam was the first
man to appear in creation. He was the first man and representative
or the federal head of all mankind. And one writer said, a whole
force lies in an acorn. So all of humanity lied in Adam. But before this man Adam ever
took a breath, ever walked or worked or willed, there was another
Adam. Another Adam. In 1 Corinthians
15, 47, it says the first man, that first Adam, He's of the
earth, the second man, the second Adam, is the Lord from heaven.
The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam a quickening
spirit. And as is the earthy, such are
they also that are earthy, and as is the heavenly, such are
they also that are heavenly. They're just like. And these
two Adams represent all mankind. Jesus Christ is the second Adam. He's the federal head and representative
of all those given to him by the Father. Scripture said, as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. What you talking
about all? He's talking about all represented
by Adam. They're going to die. All those
represented in Christ will be made alive. So where are you going with this,
Pastor? Here's where I'm going. The hope of salvation is Christ.
It's Christ. Now I have four things this morning
that I want to talk about and hope to encourage every believer
who hears it, and perhaps convert some who've never heard it before.
First of all, I want us to see that hope in the believer is
the creation of God. In Colossians 3.10, he said,
We are to put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that did what? Created him. Is he talking about created Christ?
No. He's God. He's not a created creature.
He's God. Christ said, I came down from
heaven. My origin is not earth, not through
the seed of a man. I came down from heaven. He's
not created. He's not talking about that.
What the apostle's talking about in this verse is the creation
of Christ our hope in us. That image must be created. And to save your soul, it has
to be created by God. By God. Jesus Christ is not a
created being. He's eternal God. He's made flesh
dwell among us. What Paul's talking about here
is the new man, something alien, something totally different,
totally opposite from ourselves. And this new man is Christ. This
image, he said, is renewed in knowledge. It comes from without. It comes from the Word of God.
It comes by the Spirit of God. It comes from God. And it comes through the preaching
of the gospel. And it's after the image of him
that created him. after the image of God our Savior
whose image is created in us by faith. We're renewed, Ephesians
4 verse 23, in the spirit of our mind. And put on the new man which
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. He didn't create righteousness
in Christ, he's talking about the righteousness of Christ created
in us by faith. That's what he's talking about.
The image of our hope is in perfect harmony with the character and
attributes of God. Our hope is in a person, and
this person is the Son of God, our Savior. And since we're saved
by a representative, and we're all saved being made one with
Him, Colossians 3.11, Then there's neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision
or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, born or free, but Christ
is all and in all. He's all in this matter of salvation
and faith and revelation of God, and as all, he is the created
hope in all that believe. He's all and in all. Listen to this over in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5. If any man be in Christ, what
is he? He's a new creature. That word's creation. He's a
new creation. What's that mean? Old things
are passed away. That's what that means. My old
reasoning is gone. I have a new man to reason from. My old limitations are gone.
I have a new man. You see what I'm saying? This
hope is created. It can't come from you. There's
nothing in here but a black hole. I tell you that all the time.
It's just a big empty jug. If you're searching for something
in here, you're looking in an empty box. He's all and in all. And if any
man be in Christ, He's a new creature. Old things are passed
away. All things have become new. My old standing, I was cursed. My
new standing, in the presence of God, accepted. Accepted in
the blood. And with this in mind, he begins
this chapter saying, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those
things which are above. Is that your hope? Huh? Is that your hope? Then
seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. His sitting is our standing,
isn't it? Because He sits, I stand before
God. Everything purposed of God in
our salvation is secured in Him. It's secured. So then, verse two, set your
affection on things above, not on things of the earth. Everything
here is temporal, I mean temporary. Everything here is fading. You
don't believe me, look in the mirror when you get home. It's
fading. The whole world, like a meal
we eat, and we're so satisfied, we're so full, we ate Thanksgiving
dinner. Man, I'm so full and satisfied, I got next day I was hungry. Bon said, I can't believe
you want to eat again. But that's the reality of it,
isn't it? But it's not so in heavenly matters.
Our Lord said to the woman at the well, whoso drinketh of the
water that I shall give him will never thirst. Never thirst. But the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life. I'm the bread of life, he told
those Jews. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me will never thirst. Now listen to verse 3 here of
Colossians, chapter 3. Here's the reason why I'm saying
all this. For you're dead, and your life is hid with Christ
in God. When Christ who is our life shall
appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory. The best I can describe it, That's
the created hope in us, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ and
Him crucified. Christ and Him resurrected, seated
at the right hand of God. Sitting on the throne, crowned,
possessing eternal life. And then secondly, I want us
to see our present state in this world. This is where we get all
twisted around. the way things are. I can see
that. I can go along with that. This is the way things are going
to be. This is how it is in glory. But what about right now? What
about every day when I wake up? I want us to see our present
state in this world. And the first thing he tells
us is that we're dead. Not physically. I mean, come
on, you're not dead physically, but you are spiritually. You're
dead in that door now. We are to consider ourselves
dead. Dead. that is dead concerning the salvation
of our souls. Believers are 100% dependent
on the person and work of Christ. Listen to what the hymn writer
said. I love this old hymn. I played it again this morning
several times. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Oh, dwell on these. I dare not
trust the sweetest brain, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. We're dead and our life is hid
with God in Christ. And for me to live, Paul said,
is Christ. Listen to what he told them over
in the book of Galatians. He said, I'm crucified with Christ,
judged, condemned, put to death. Nevertheless, I live. Now, what's
this? Yet not I, not I, but Christ liveth in me. I'm dead, but my life is hid
in him. You see what he's saying here?
Christ liveth in me, and the life I now live in the flesh,
I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave
himself for me. And then secondly, my state here
is the state of one wholly represented by a living Savior. We have a
living hope. And my Savior is seated at the
right hand of God. My walk, my life, my attitude,
my spirit is that of a sinner saved by grace. Totally dependent
on my representative. Totally dependent on my substitute. Paul said in Philippians 3.12,
not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.
But I follow after, if that I may apprehend that, for which I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus. I live my life reaching forth,
reaching forth unto those things which are before. What I have,
I have by faith. If it's not hope, Then why do
you still ask for it? Pray for it. What I have, I have by faith.
And what I have, I have as a hope. And one day, by the promise of
God, I shall possess it in all of its fullness. And then thirdly,
my state in this life is the state of an heir. after that you believed, Fawcett. Now your believing is the glory
of him that first trusted in Christ. But after you believed,
this was all of God. He gave it to you. He enabled
you. But after you believed, you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of what? Our inheritance. Until the redemption of the purchased
possession unto the praise of his glory. And then the state of the believer
in this world is that of a person who's looking forward to death. Boy, that's a tough one there. Everything that represents his
fault, his curse, his inability, and prevents him from being what
he is in Christ, is in this flesh, and must die in order to receive
his inheritance. In the scripture, it's called
your enemy and the enemy of Christ. You're dead. The last enemy that
shall be destroyed is dead. Oh, but when you do, then this
mortal will put on immortality, and this corruptible shall put
on incorruption, and death will be swallowed up in victory. Oh,
death, where is thy sting? That which I dreaded so long,
that which I did everything in my power to avoid. Huh? Where's
your sting? Where's your victory? Thanks be unto God which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the state, the state of
the believer in this world. All right, here's the third thing.
The attitude and conduct of those who truly believe. After the
words I just quoted from 1 Corinthians 15, 53 through 57, he finishes
this chapter with these words. Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in
the Lord." Everything you do in this world, you're going to
leave it. I don't care what you build.
I don't care how much you gain. I don't care what your bank account
is. Soon. And I'm telling you, that word
soon is taking on a whole new meaning for me. Soon. You're going to leave it. You're
going to leave it. And nothing so haunts me as a
professing believer and preacher of the gospel than vain works.
Just by doing something that's not accomplishing anything, Russell.
Nothing. Vain work. Beating the air with
words. One old western I see, he said,
I don't want to, we're not just going to come down here and start
poking holes in the air. That's what he was doing, you
know. Vain words. Putting on a vain
show. Going through the motions. Oh
God, help us to do what we know to do. And do it with understanding. And do it for the right reasons. Christ being all in all and being
created as such, Paul says in Colossians 3.12, put on therefore
as the elect of God, holy and beloved vows of mercies. Be a merciful person, merciful. Really delight, God delights
to show mercy. That's what it means to be merciful,
to delight in it, to look for the opportunity. Put on vows
of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering,
forbearing one another, putting up with one another, and forgiving
one another. Any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. And this is the attitude and
spirit of all those with Christ as their hope. We pray, God help
us to live this kind of life. That's how we pray. God help
me to live this kind of life. He has. He has. When God created this
hope of glory in us, He gave us all that we need to walk before
Him as sons and daughters of Christ. He's sufficient. Christ is sufficient
not only as our Redeemer and substitute, but as our ability
and motive to live in this world. As you have received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk in Him. Built up in Him, rooted in Him,
established in the faith, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead. And you're complete in Him. All right, fourthly, and here's
the title of my text, The Bond of Perfectness. Above all these
things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And
if you look, closely at this verse, you'll
see that the words put on are in italics, which means you can
lift them out. And so it reads this way, above
all charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And I've said
this many times, but I believe it bears repeating. Charity is
active love. Love, apart from charity, has
given it one word. Charity. It's love shown, it's
love extended. And from this verse, I'd have
us to see two things. First of all, that this bond
of charity is the love of God in Christ Jesus, who has manifested
his love for us, in that he died for us while we were yet sinners.
This is charity, this is love shown, love manifested, love
given. And you look at your life and
your calling and everything about your regeneration, everything
about the believer is evidence of God's love. He loved us and
gave himself for us. And there's nothing in the attitude
and conduct of the believer that's not manifested in its ultimate
perfection. In Christ's person and what? These vows of mercies, kindness,
humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing, forgiving,
but especially charity. Listen to what Paul said about
charity. 1 Corinthians 13.4. Listen to this. Charity is suffering long. Isn't
that what he told us today? Be long-suffering. And charity does. Charity suffereth
long. Charity's kind. It's not puffed up. And it goes on with a detailed
account of the character of God's elect. Charity is the bond of
perfectness. It's the motive, the rope, the
tie that binds charity. God's people love one another,
and they show it. It's not enough to say, well,
I love you. Now, I love you. Here, take my jacket.
You see the difference? Here, I love you. Here's my card,
go ahead and use it. I love you, let me buy you groceries
this week. Huh? Charity, there's a difference. Charity's active love and it's
the bond. You want to talk about unity?
Here it is. Charity. Love one another. Now I'm going to tell you something. If you love one another, you're
not going to cut one another off. No, you're not. You may get mad in a minute,
but you're going to get over it quick. Don't let the sun go
down on your wrath. That's what the Lord said. Get
over it. I used to tell my kids all the time, oh, you know what
she did to me? Get over it, son. Get over it. You don't. Charity. Oh, it's the bond of perfectness.
It's the motive, the rope, the tie that binds. Do we have a
perfect hope? Well, it takes one to be saved. And those who do are bound to
one another by this wonderful bond of perfectness that's perfect
in Christ. We're bound by His charity. Oh, he that saith, I love God
and hates his brother, he's a liar. He's a liar. Is that all? That's
what the Lord said. That's what the Holy Ghost inspired
a man to write. He that loveth not, knoweth not
God. Knoweth not God. Oh, charity. Let me somehow get hold of this
thing of charity. And give me the words to preach
it. And I know where it's at. It's perfectness is in Christ.
And that's why we're bound together in His perfectness. But I'm telling
you right now, We share in that charity. We love one another.
And we do it more than just in words. More than just in words.