Colossians 1 verse 23 reads,
If ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye have heard,
and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven,
whereof I, Paul, am made a minister. If ye continue in the faith,
grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope
of the gospel which ye have heard. And again in chapter 2, reading
at verse 5, Paul writes, For though I be absent in the flesh,
yet am I with you in the Spirit, joying and beholding your order,
and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and
built up in him, and established in the faith as ye have been
taught. abounding therein with thanksgiving. These are the words I want to
draw your attention to this morning. Paul's words here, verse 23 of
chapter 1 and also in chapter 2 verse 7 is similar sentiments. Verse 23, if you continue in
the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel. as he have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him rooted and built up
in him and established in the faith as ye have been taught
abounding therein with thanksgiving. Consider the little of Paul's
introduction in his epistle to the Colossians Some of the glorious
truths that he sets before us regarding the person and the
work of Christ. Him who creates all things and
sustains all things. Him who laid down his life for
the church, who made peace with the blood of his cross. Paul
sets these truths before the Colossians. And here in verse
23, we come to One of the reasons why he writes
to the Colossians, his desire for the Colossians, his reason
for opening up this epistle with such glorious truths about Christ
and what he's done to save his people, to save the church, his
body. Paul's desire for the Colossians,
Paul's desire to those who were gathered in the church in Colossae,
to those whom God had reconciled unto himself through the blood
of his own son. Paul's desire for these people
are that they might continue in the faith, grounded and settled,
and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which they
had heard. So having therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, that they should walk in him, rooted and
built up in him, established in the faith. That they might
be grounded and that they might be settled. This desire of Paul's
for the Colossians was a similar desire that he had For other
churches that he wrote to, you can read a similar sentiment
in Ephesians chapter four and verse 13 to 15, where Paul writes
to the church at Ephesus, till we all come in the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of
men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive,
but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things
which is the head, even Christ. Paul's desire is that those whom
he writes to, those to whom he preaches, those to whom he was
sent with the gospel, those gathered in the church at Ephesus, at
Colossae, at Corinth, wherever he was sent, his desire was that
they might all come to that unity in the faith, that they might
be built up in the faith, that they might continue in the faith,
that they might come to that knowledge of the Son of God.
the stature of the fullness of Christ, and that they might not
be children, that they might not be tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, that they might
not be blown this way or that way, that they might not be brought
to doubt and to question, and to steer from the gospel and
the gospel which they had heard from him, unto anything else,
any other gospel, any other errors, but that they might be rooted
and grounded, that they might be grounded and settled, established,
built up in the faith. This is his desire, and this
is a large part of the reason why he writes to the church at
Colossae, because he hears this report of them embracing ideas
and philosophies and teachings that had drawn them aside from
that truth of the gospel which he had preached and which they
had heard from others, from Epaphras, from those whom God has sent
unto them. So he wants to see them established, grounded and
settled and not drawn aside. But we have to say, like those
at Colossae, like those at Galatia, like those at Ephesus, like those
in many of the churches, particularly at Colossae here, we have to
say that of ourselves, we simply can't stay settled. We simply
can't stay grounded. We will be blown about by every
wind of doctrine. We will be tossed to and fro.
We're too changeable, we're too fickle. We're too sinful, we're
too weak, we're too willful. We do turn to the left hand and
the right. We can't keep ourselves. We're
not grounded and we're not settled in ourselves. Our flesh is unsettled,
our flesh is restless. If we're to continue in the faith
grounded and settled, if we're not to be moved away from the
hope of the gospel, then God must keep us. It's him who brings
us into the gospel. It's Christ that saves us by
his gospel, and it's Christ who must keep us. Paul aims that his hearers might
be settled, that they might be grounded. He aims that God might
keep them in that faith of the gospel. This is his aim for his
hearers, and he seeks to bring this about by God's hand through
the preaching of the gospel. And by reminding his hearers
as he writes to those at Colossae in this epistle, he begins with
this presentation of Christ in the gospel. His desire that they
might be grounded and settled He begins to see this brought
about by reminding them of who Christ is, by reminding them
that they have been delivered from darkness into the kingdom
of his dear Son, by reminding them that they have been redeemed
by the blood of his Son, by reminding them that they are in Christ
who is above all things, who created all things and sustains
all things, who is the head of the body of the church, the firstborn
from the dead, He reminds them that it pleased the Father that
in Christ should all fullness dwell. He reminds them that He,
Christ, has made peace with the blood of His cross to reconcile
all things unto Himself. He reminds them that they who
were sometimes alienated and enemies in their minds by wicked
works, God has reconciled in the body of His Son, in the body
of the flesh of His Son through death. to present them holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. He reminds them
of the gospel, of who Christ is, what Christ has done, what
they are in him. And by this, he seeks to see
them continue in the faith. For they and all those that were
in Christ, if we're in Christ, we are grounded in Christ. And we are settled in Christ.
Settled in Christ and his gospel. We're built up in the faith in
the gospel. The gospel of Christ is our foundation. It is that in which we are grounded. It is that which causes us to
be settled and nothing else does. Any departure from the gospel
will bring a departure from that grounding and that settling that
being rooted and established in the faith, it causes us to
be unsettled, to be blown about. But our foundation is in the
gospel. We're built up on the foundation
of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone. It's on that foundation of the
apostles and the prophets, that foundation of the gospel which
they preached, which the prophets preached before the coming of
Christ, and which the apostles preached when Christ had come
and fulfilled all that the prophets had prophesied of him. This gospel
is the foundation of the believer's hope. For we are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone, Ephesians 2.20. And that foundation,
this foundation of the gospel, This foundation which is revealed
to God's people is laid upon rock. This is not a foundation
which is laid upon sand. God builds his church on one
foundation, the gospel. And he lays that foundation,
not on sand, but on rock. As we read in Matthew in chapter
seven, where it speaks of building the house, Christ there teaches
his hearers the wisdom of building not upon the sand, but upon rock. Matthew 7 and verse 24 we read,
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,
I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon
a rock. And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and
it fell not. for it was founded upon a rock.
And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them
not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon
the sand. And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the wind blew, and beat upon that house, and
it fell, and great was the fall of it. and it came to pass when
Jesus had ended these sayings the people were astonished at
his doctrine for he taught them as one having authority and not
as the scribes. The wise man builds his house
upon the rock and when God builds his house the church when he builds it through the
preaching of his gospel when he lays it upon the foundation
of that gospel builds that house, that church, he lays that foundation
upon rock, upon rock. But what is rock? Rock is not
as such the foundation but it's what the foundation is laid upon.
That rock upon which God lays the foundation of his church
is the revelation of Christ to us by God the Father. The foundation is the truth of
the gospel. But unless that truth of that
gospel and unless Christ in that gospel is revealed unto us, it
is but knowledge in the head. And knowledge in the head is
knowledge which is built upon sand, which can fall. But when God reveals Christ to
us and reveals the gospel to us, When it comes by the revelation
of God and it is opened up to us by the Spirit, then it is
that which will never fall, because it is the revelation of God that
makes us to know these things. And having had these things revealed
to us, we will never lose them. They will never let slip, and
we will never turn from them. For the work is God's work from
beginning to end. So the rock upon which God lays
his foundation of the gospel is the revelation of the gospel
and the revelation of his son to us and in us. You may say this day, oh, I know
something of the gospel, I know something of Jesus. But I ask,
is that just in your head? Or has God revealed him to your
heart? For many confess Christ in the
head who never really know Him in their hearts, who've never
really seen what they are before God and seen what He is as their
Saviour. He's never really been made known
to them personally and entered in, in the inward parts. But when God reveals Christ to
you, it's very, very different to when you merely read off Him.
Do you know Him? Has He been revealed? For these
things are hid from the wise and prudent, but revealed unto
babes. Revealed unto babes. And except
that we're brought down from the pride and the wisdom of man
by nature, and made to be like children before God, but like
babes before God, we'll never see, and they'll never be revealed
to us. But when God humbles us by His
Spirit, shows us what we are, sinners, in need of salvation,
and reveals his Son unto us and in us, that we may bathe some
children before him who hear and who understand. For Jesus
answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent, and has revealed them unto babes, unto babes. Yes, these things aren't understood
by great knowledge and great wisdom. They're revealed and
you can be but a child before God, but a babe, but the youngest
and come to understand the gospel. You can be but the youngest and
come to understand and to know and to see Jesus Christ and who
he is. for God reveals him to those
whom he would save. Do you know him today? Is he
your saviour? Has God revealed Christ to you? Therefore in Colossians 2 and
verse 6 Paul exhorts his hearers that as he have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord So walk ye in him, rooted and built up
in him, and established in the faith as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving, as ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord. Because we receive him. God reveals
Christ to us by the gospel. God makes known Christ to us
and he gives Christ to us. We don't choose Christ. He isn't
asked because we sought Him, we followed Him, we accepted
Him. We went and found Him. You can
search forever and not find Him. You can search the Scriptures
forever and not see Him. But when God chooses to make
Christ known unto His people in the Gospel, it's His work
and He reveals Him, and they receive Him. As ye have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, So walk ye in Him. God gives us Christ. He reveals Him to us and in us. He overwhelms us with His love
in Christ. When He comes to guilty and needy
sinners in the Gospel, He comes to them where they are, in their
lost condition, and He makes known unto them what they are
and their need of salvation. And when they fall down before
Him contrite and broken, knowing that they are lost, knowing that
the wrath of God burns against them, knowing that outside of
Christ they are nothing and that eternity of destruction awaits
them, when they fall down before him helpless, needy, without
strength, weak, barren, hopeless, in despair. Then God comes unto
them in mercy, then he comes unto us in mercy, and then he
comes and he makes known his love unto us and he overwhelms
us with his love he overwhelms us with that love which he set
upon his own from all eternity which he made known by laying
down the life of his own son upon the cross which he made
known by beating and bruising his own son in their place If
you are His by beating and bruising His own Son in your place, if
you are in Christ this day, He overwhelms you with His love
by making known what He did by love for your soul when He bruised
His own Son, when He slew His own Son for your sins, for the
sins of His own. Do you know this love? Have you
been overwhelmed with this love? with the love of him who died
for vile, guilty sinners, who stood in their place, who died
in their place. Sinners like you, sinners like
me. This sort of love. Love not deserved, love not merited,
love not bought. Love undeserved, unmerited. The sort of love which no man
could know. except God should reveal it,
except God should give it freely to those that deserve it not.
Do you know this love? Have you been overwhelmed with
this love? For when God reveals Christ to his own in his gospel,
he makes known his love for them, that Christ died for them while
they were yet sinners. Yes God reveals Christ to his
people, a people outside of Christ, who outside of Christ are guilty,
rebellious sinners, upon whom the wrath of God abides, upon
whom the wrath of God remains, until they are ever brought to
that point where they come to know His salvation. Outside of
Christ, God's wrath abides upon the wicked. And if they pass
through from time into eternity, and never come to know that loving
Christ never come to know the washing of his blood that washes
their sins away then they will enter eternity and enter into
an eternal darkness where they will ever live under the wrath
of God where they will ever die under the wrath of God but those
whom Christ delivers those whom Christ redeems, those whom God
reveals his Son and his salvation unto, those to whom he makes
known this love which overwhelms like the waters of the sea which
sweep over us, those to whom he reveals his Son are those
to whom he makes known Christ in his
gospel as their saviour. Those who are built up upon the
rock, those who are founded upon that foundation in the gospel,
for these things are revealed, these things are received and
that is the rock upon which God builds his foundation in our
hearts and upon which he builds us up in the faith and establishes
us that we might continue in the faith grounded and settled. This is that upon which he builds
us up in the faith, this is that upon which he builds his church.
We're built up and we're built up by those whom God sends to
preach his gospel, those like Paul Those like Paul who wrote
to the Colossians that they might be grounded and settled, rooted
and built up in Christ. This is how we're built up. And
yet, nevertheless, it is still true, and there's still this
solemn warning, and this is why Paul wrote with such urgency,
and such desire in his heart, such feeling in his heart for
these Brethren at Colossae. It is still true that people
do fall away, There are those who draw back. As we read in
Hebrews 10, there are those who draw back from the gospel. There
are those who draw back from walking by faith. There are those
who turn from the gospel to the left hand or to the right. There
are those disciples who were offended and who turned from
Christ, that though they followed him, they turned back. There
are those who turn aside. As 1 Peter chapter 2 says, the
dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed
to her wallowing in the mire. There are those who heard the
truth of the gospel, there are those who heard the truth, and
yet turn back to the flesh, and turn back to the world, and turn
aside, and corrupt the gospel, and turn away from Christ and
his foundation. Israel drew back from God, We
read in the Old Testament, that nation whom God gave much wisdom
and knowledge to, whom he gave such revelation to in his dealings
with. Though he met with them, though
he showed great signs and wonders to them, though he gave them
the priesthood, though he gave them the law, though he met with
them in so many ways. Constantly in the days of Moab,
in the days of Joshua, when Joshua entered into the promised land,
constantly they grumbled, constantly they complained, constantly they
turn away, constantly they turn again from the living God and
turn aside unto the gods of the nations amongst whom they dwelt.
We read in Nehemiah in chapter 9, verses 24 to 26 that the children
went in and possessed the land they went in with Joshua and
they possessed the promised land which was promised unto them
and they subdued before them the inhabitants of the land the
Canaanites and God gave it into their hands with their kings
and the people of the land that they might do with them as they
would and they took strong cities and a fat land and possessed
houses full of all goods wells digged vineyards and olive yards
and fruit trees in abundance so they did eat and were filled
and became fat and delighted themselves in thy great goodness
nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against thee and
cast thy law behind their backs and slew thy prophets which testified
against them to turn them to thee and they wrought great provocations
They drew back. Why? Because ultimately they
still worshipped South. They still sought their own ends. They still worshipped South and
not God. When they didn't need God, they
turned from Him. When they needed Him, they cried
out to Him. But when they became fat, when
they delighted in the goodness of the land, their love for God
grew cold. and they turned aside. Just like
us. Just like us today. Just like
us in the flesh. When we need God, we come to
him. Oh, he's great then, he provides
all our need then. But when we're content, when
we're filled, when things are easier, when we're in no great
trouble, then our hearts grow cold and we turn aside. And we turn to the left hand
and the right hand and we begin to doubt. Yes, Israel of old
turned aside. But also we read in the New Testament,
we read John's Gospel earlier, and in John chapter 6 we read
of those disciples who had followed Christ, those disciples who had
heard his Gospel, those disciples who believed, who made a profession
of belief in Jesus Christ and who walked with him in the days
of his flesh. Those disciples, many of them,
there came a point when they turned from him. We read in John
6, verse 66, from that time many of his disciples went back and
walked no more with him. From that time many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. Disciples who had walked
with Christ, who had believed Him, who had made a profession
of belief, and yet became at some point offended, and turned
back, and turned from the hope in the Gospel. Yes, they turned
back. But what caused that? Why did
these disciples who were with Christ, who saw Him do great
wonders, why did they turn? They turned because of the offense
of the Gospel. that gospel which Christ had
declared from them earlier in the chapter. Yes, in verse 66
it says that they walked no more with him. But what had Christ
just said in verse 65? He said, therefore said I unto
you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto
him of my father. Christ says unto them that there
are those who would not believe and there are those who would
believe. that there are those who would betray him. And he reminds them that no man
can come unto him except it's given unto him of the Father.
And that's why many are offended, and that's why many turn aside.
For the gospel is revealed, Christ is received. No man can come
unto Christ except the Father draws him. and it's offence for
man wants the choice, he wants to be in control, he wants the
say, he ultimately wants to be the one who affects his own salvation
but to be told that he cannot come except the father draw him
cuts very very deep and when we hear that we cannot come except
the father draw him cuts very, very deep to the flesh. And many
are offended. You may be offended. You may
not like that. But if God has shown you your
sin and God has shown you your great need of salvation, nothing
like this will offend because you will know that except you
are saved, except God shows you mercy, you are lost and eternity
and hell awaits. And those who are brought to
see this and to know it and to know that should they die this
day, they will pass from time and enter into an eternity of
wrath, don't give up. They don't grow offended and
turn aside into the things of this world again. They just fall
upon their knees and they just cry out the louder, Lord have
mercy upon me, a sinner. Such as these don't give up.
Such as these know their only hope is in the gospel and their
only hope is if they should be given Christ and their only hope
is if God should reveal Christ to them and make him known unto
them as their saviour. Is he your only hope? Is he your
saviour? Has God revealed him unto you?
Have you received him? Are you walking in him as you
have received him? Are you continuing in the faith?
Are you grounded and settled? You see, drawing back, turning
from this gospel, drawing back from God is essentially to turn
from the truth of the gospel as it is in Christ. that all
is of Christ, all is of God, everything, that salvation is
of the Lord, that salvation is entirely by grace, that salvation
is entirely of God. The Gospel declares Christ and
Him crucified. His salvation and departure from
this, from any part of this, is to become ungrounded and unsettled. for all is of God, all is by
grace, from start to finish. For as Ephesians 2.8 says, for
by grace are ye saved, for by grace are ye saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Philippians
1 and verse 6 says, being confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ. What God begins, He completes. What starts by grace, is continued
by grace. For you can't start off with
grace, you can't start off with salvation being all of God, and
then add something of man, something of the will of man, something
of the works of man, of the strength of man. No, what God begins,
He must finish. He'll either do all the work
to save and keep his people or he'll do none of the work. When Paul wrote to the church
at Glacier, who were turned aside from this hope in the gospel,
who were turned aside from the truth that all is by grace through
faith and faith alone. that justification, that sanctification,
that salvation is entirely through faith, entirely by the grace
of God. When they turned aside and tried
to seek to keep the law and to add something of the works of
man unto the works of Christ, Paul was stirred up with great
fervor. He begins to write his strongest
of epistles to this church. for he sees this as such a danger. And in chapter 1 and verse 6
of Galatians, he writes unto them, I marvel that ye are so
soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ
unto another gospel, which is not another. He marvels that
they're so soon removed. Chapter 3, he writes, O foolish
Galatians, Who have bewitched you that ye should not obey the
truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set
forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you.
Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing
of faith? Are ye so foolish? Having begun
in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye
suffered so many things in vain, if it be yet in vain? he therefore
that ministereth to you the spirit and worketh miracles among you
doeth he it by the works of the law by the hearing of faith this
only would i learn of you received you the spirit by the works of
the law or by the hearing of faith you see if you add anything
of the works of the will of the worth of man unto grace it becomes
no more grace you've destroyed it. As it says in Romans 11 and
if by grace then it is no more of works otherwise grace is no
more grace and if it be of works that is no more grace otherwise
work is no more work. Now my friend salvation is by
grace, entirely by grace, grace at the beginning, grace in the
middle, grace at the end, grace from start to finish. For then
it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy. Romans 9 16. For as John 1 12 to 13 says,
as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man, but of God, of God, by grace. That's how we start, not
of the will of man, but by the will of God. And that is how
we continue. As he have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. rooted and built up
in him and established in the faith as he have been taught
to bound in therein with thanksgiving beware lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit. We start by grace and we continue
by grace and the glorious hope and comfort is that God does
keep his people, he does cause them to continue in the faith
He does establish them in the gospel. He does ground them and
settle them. And he grounds us and he settles
us by his gospel. We can't keep grounded and settled. We can't ground and settle ourselves. But he does and he can. And he does it by his gospel.
As we start, so we continue. He saved us. He revealed Himself
to us and He keeps us. None of His sheep will ever perish. None will be lost. None will
be plucked from His hands. All that the Father gave unto
the Son, He will save and He will keep to the end. None will
be lost. Well, how could they? How could
they be lost? He suffered for them. He died
for them. He laid down his own life for
them. The Father beat and bruised him
for them. Is he going to give any up? Will
he lose any of his for whom he suffered? No, he won't. No, he keeps us. And he'll keep
his people to the end and he'll do it by his gospel. And this
is why Paul writes to the Colossians and reminds them of that Gospel,
and of that great Saviour, the Son of God, by whom they are
saved, and in whom they are rooted and built up in the faith. That's
who was revealed unto them. That's who they received. And
it's Him in whom they walk. Him in whom they believe. Him in whom their faith is settled
and grounded. Him in whom they continue. like
the woman with the alabaster box of whom we read a few weeks
ago. They sit down at his feet. They
sit at Jesus' feet, where they began, at the cross, at the foot
of Jesus at the cross, and they look on him whom God pierced
for their sins, on him who was pierced, that they might be saved,
that they might be delivered. They look on him who loved them. And they hear Him, they sit by
the One who loves them, who loved them and who loves them. And
they love Him who first loved them. Those whose citizens' feet
are those who love Him. And that is where God's people
stay. But they confess with Simon Peter, Lord, to whom shall we
go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ the Son of the Living God. Amen.