Put Off, Put On
Colossians 3:8-11
Read
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:8-11
Explain
Paul continues his list of sins that we are to put away, this time he joins his command with an postive contrast. We are to put off our old self, and we are to put on the new self. This simple contrast is frequently missing from many pulpits. We are quick to preach the dangers of sin, but slow to preach the life of Christ to believers.
Put Off
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Colossians 3:8-9
Paul keeps going with this list of sins. He has moved from sins of desire, to sins of anger. You might think, I am not an angry person. I disagree...
Watch a child throw a temper tantrum, and you will see that we are enslaved to anger. When we don’t get what we want, or when we think that we are short of what we deserve, we grow angry. Cain, grew angry and killed his brother. His action was an overflow of his anger.
This is straight Jesus,
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Matthew 5:21-22
Put Off Sins of Anger
Anger is the impulse of our hearts that is sudden and sharp. It arises for a million reasons. It comes out when you’re in traffic, or waiting too long in line at a restaurant. We are so quick to anger in our hearts. It is set off by anything, great or small.
You’re out to eat, and your children are acting foolishly. Something starts to simmer beneath the surface. They’re embarrassing you. Everyone is watching. Everyone is thinking about you, about how your children are the loud ones. So you snap. In an outburst of anger, you discipline your child, not from the posture of Christ, but from your own indignation. You are a slave to your anger.
Or a husband leaves his beard hairs in the sink—for the 50th time this year—when you’ve repeatedly asked him not to. You decide in your heart, I want him to pay for breaking my rules. So you become cold and calloused and passive-aggressive. Why? Because you want to get your way. This is pride.
Or children and teenagers, your parents who love you make a judgment call you don’t like. They give you a curfew or a rule to follow. And you boil under the surface. I’m going to show them. I’m going to get my way. I want this. And even though you know you’re called to honor your father and mother, you say, I’m going to do what I want, when I want, how I want. That’s rebellion.
You need to put away your sinful anger, because God has put away His anger toward you. If God responded to us the same way we respond to others, there would be no mercy.
Put Off Sins of Speech
Next, Paul lists sins of speech, “slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices”
Out of the mouth, the heart speaks. If our hearts are ruled by anger and sinful desires, our mouths will show it.
Put away slander. We know what this is—speaking ill of others. Let their own actions stand on their own, even if you think you’re right. They don’t need your commentary. And you might be wrong, speaking out of hurt, operating out of pain. Don’t slander your neighbor.
Put away obscene talk. The things we used to talk about before Christ are dead to us—cursing, dirty jokes, filthy humor. These are “acceptable” sins in the world, but they have no place in the Christian life. As people who have been saved and raised to new life with Christ, we want to be people who speak life.
Let your speech be marked by grace, truth, beauty, and life—not by sexual perversion, anger, or curses. Your speech reveals more about your heart than you realize.
Colossians 3:9 (ESV)
“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.”
Not only do we put away curses and crude language, we put away lying. We put away all falsehood. We are people of the truth. Lies and deceit should be antithetical to the Christian.
Since we have died to ourselves, we must put off all its practices. In other words, all the things of the world that used to mark our lives, anger, desires, speech, we bring all of it to Christ. And what He says to kill, we kill. What He says to remove, we remove. What He says to put away, we put away.We are no longer marked by these things. We are marked by Christ.
Put On Christ
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:10-11
The las has no power, but to enflame our hearts to the sin that besets us. Paul does not stop with a list of sins, but he moves to gospel motives. This is resurection. If we put to death our old self, we remove its practices and we put on Christ.
Our world loves self. We live in an age of individualism. In the book Dorian Grey, Basil encourages young Dorian to never change. “Do what you want, when you want.” At this Oscar Wilde famously penned the quip, “Just be yourself, everyone else is taken.”
Paul is not encouraging us to be ourselves. He is calling us higher, to put on Christ, be like Christ. Love Christ. Follow Christ. You will never be enough to satisfy the longings of your soul, Christ alone is enough. When we put off vices, and sins, we must replace them with the person and virtue of Christ.
How can we put away sexual immorality? By putting on Christ’ts purity. How can we put off our pride, anger, and wrath? By putting on Christ’s mercy and compassion. How can we put away slanderous speech and lies? By letting the words of Christ dwell in you richley. Let your speech be seasoned with the word of God. Don’t be yourself, be like Christ.
Notice all of the labels. But look at the last clause. Christ is all and in all. When you come to Christ by faith and repentance, Christ becomes your life. He is not your boss one day a week, but he is Lord. Your life is hidden in him. He is not only your friend, brother, he is King. We strive to live, empowerd by the Holy Spirit in such a way, that when the world sees you, they see Christ.
Apply
Watch Your Heart
Sins of anger, malice, and wrath all start in our souls. These are all concived inside our hearts and minds.
Watch over your heart. Pay attention to what provokes you. Is your anger justified? Is your anger a result of your own pride? or self intrest? Are you stewing on percived slights, that are likley not about you? Are you constantly angry with those you love? and under your charge, such as your wife and children?
Bring your heart to Christ for examination. Let him rule your desires.
Watch Your Mouth
From your heart, flows your speech. Angry hearts produce angry words. When I am angry, I am short with my wife and my son. This is an unfortunate pattern I see in my life. What about you?
Watch over the honesty and dignity of your words. Half-truths, exagerations, subtle slander, and off color jokes might be excusable for some. But Christians are called to a higher master. Let your speech be honest, kind, sweet, and full of dignity.