Woodlawn Ev. Lutheran Church 

PENTECOST 4 – June 28, 2009

Colossians 1:3-8    THANK GOD FOR THE GOSPEL!

By Pastor Thomas Kneser

 

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

 

It was a difficult time for the young pastor.  He recognized that some false teachings were beginning to creep in among his members, teachings he knew detracted from the true warmth and beauty of the gospel.  So how was he going to deal with it?  How could he show that the false teachings were robbing the Christians of the comfort and certainty that comes only through the good news about Jesus?  So he decided to make a long journey, a trip of about 1000 miles to meet with his teacher and mentor, one of the great leaders of the church.  Surely, he could point him in the right direction, help him face the false teachers head on and correct the errors that were threatening the unity of his congregation. 

That pastor’s name was Epaphras.  He was serving at a congregation in a city called Colossae which was located about 100 miles inland from Ephesus in what we now call Turkey.  He went to meet with the apostle Paul who had spent three years at Ephesus preaching and helping start new churches throughout the region, including at Colossae.  Paul was in Rome and he instructs Epaphras and writes this letter to the members, warning them of the dangers of these false teachings.  Paul points the young pastor and his people, and all of us as well, to the one truth that stands above all else, by which all other teachings must be measured – the gospel.

That gospel may not look powerful and impressive in the eyes of the world.  But as we heard in our gospel reading, Jesus himself compared it to seeds scattered in the field, but seeds that will produces a fruitful harvest.  That gospel is like the mustard plant which grows and provides blessing to all kinds of God’s creatures.  As your pastor I direct you to the same thing Paul emphasized to the Colossians…

THANK GOD FOR THE GOSPEL!

Thank God for that gospel which produces faith in your hearts, which brings you the love of God and which instills a sure and certain hope for the future.

            After introducing himself to the readers of this letter, Paul talks about how he has heard wonderful things about the congregation and the people, things that caused him to lift his voice in prayer and thanksgiving to God.  The cause of that thanks, the basis for his joy?  Because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints – the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.  He reminds the Colossians that it is the gospel that has brought them all the blessings that they enjoy as people of God – blessings of faith, love and hope.

            In the first place, it is the gospel that produced faith in their hearts and made them believers, children of their heavenly Father.  That was a far cry from what they had been before they heard the gospel from pastor Epaphras.  Most of them had been pagan unbelievers, people who were steeped in the idolatry and immorality of those times.  Colossae was largely a Gentile city meaning the people worshipped idols of wood and stone, that they had no clue about the one true God, the promises of the Old Testament about a Messiah.  They were on the fast track to hell. 

But then Epaphras came from Ephesus where Paul and his fellow missionaries were headquartered.  He came bringing the good news that there was a Savior from sin, that there was someone who was sent by God to rescue them from their lost condition, to give them hope and a future.  Epaphras brought the gospel, the message of God’s love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.  A few verses further in this chapter Paul summarizes this gospel, The Father has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  That’s the gospel the Colossians heard from Epaphras, the gospel that brought them out of the darkness of their idolatry and immorality so that they put their faith and trust in Jesus as their one and only Savior.  No more idols, no more wasted and empty lives.  Now they had Jesus with his message of forgiveness.  Now they knew who the true God was and what he had all done for them and that they had a bright and eternal future. 

That’s what you and I have learned as well.  Like the Colossians we were born into this world snared by sin, totally devoted to our selfish human natures.  But the gospel touched our hearts and changed all that.  We were led by the Spirit, working through the law and the gospel to repent of our sins and to believe in Jesus as our Savior.  It was a miracle, just as it was for the people of Nineveh when they heard the call to repentance and faith through the prophet Jonah.  Either through the waters of baptism which were applied as the name of God was spoken, or as we heard the message about Jesus from a friend, a spouse or in a worship service, we were brought to faith.  Now we know who Jesus is.  Now we believe in him as our Savior from sin.  Now he has first place in our lives because he has made us God’s children. Now we know that we have a place in God’s family, in God’s kingdom of grace.  What a difference that makes for us!  What peace of mind that gives us, knowing that God is on our side and that he wants us to be with him for all eternity. 

II.

            That’s what God’s love is all about.  And that too, we learn from the gospel.  Our sinful nature only looks at God as a taskmaster, someone to hide from, someone to be afraid of.  But the gospel shows us God’s true heart, his heart of love and mercy and compassion.  That’s what makes John 3:16 so precious – For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son…  In love God sent his Son to die for us.  In love Jesus sacrificed himself on that cross to free us from our sins.  In love God worked it out so that we would be exposed to the gospel and would be brought to faith through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Thank God for that gospel of love!

            And it is that gospel love which now motivates us to reflect that love in every aspect of our lives.  Last week was Father’s Day.  Hopefully all of you have or had a father who was kind and compassionate, one who loved you as his child.  What a blessing that is!  But all of us do have such a father, our heavenly Father, a Father who rescued us despite our disobedience toward him, a Father who sent his one and only Son so that we could be brought back into his family. 

            And now that we have tasted what his love is like, we want to reflect that love in our lives.  Christians are to be known for their love.  That’s what Jesus told his disciples, Love each other, as I have loved you.  This is how all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

            We will display that love toward the people around us.  We will use our lives in service to others.  In our neighborhoods and communities we will be responsible citizens, upholding and abiding by the laws of the land.  We will speak out against violence and evil.  We will contribute our time and energy to charitable activities, like the food pantries we are supporting through a door collection today.  We will do those things to help our fellow man, people who are loved by our Lord.

            Now, even unbelievers can do those kinds of things, so we will also want to show our love in ways that only Christians will be involved with.  We will share the message of God’s love with the people around us.  Remember, if they don’t know Jesus, they are headed for hell.  If they don’t have their faith and trust in him, then they are lost for all eternity.  So tell them the good news of God’s love and forgiveness in Jesus.  Invite them to our picnic service next month or to any one of our activities.  Have them bring their children to our Vacation Bible School, or our Christian Day school.  Sharing the gospel with them, giving the Holy Spirit the opportunity to work in their hearts, is the most loving thing you can do for another person.

            And obviously, we will also show our love directly to our loving Lord by praising and thanking him for all that he has done for us.  Hopefully that is why you are here today.  He loves it when we gather around his word and sacraments to learn more and more of his grace and mercy, his power and direction.  Show your gospel love in giving your time and energy here at church and in the roles into which he places you in life – parent, spouse, church member, citizen, etc.  That’s how we display our love to him who loved us first, by putting him and his word first and foremost in our lives.

III.

            We show that gospel love, our devotion to our Savior and to the people around us, because we know that this life is not all that there is.  We know that there is a better life waiting for us in heaven.  And that is a life that will be shared by all who have been touched by the gospel and moved to put their faith and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of all their sins. 

            This past week much of the news has revolved around the deaths of some famous individuals in the entertainment world.  I didn’t hear a lot about what their religious convictions were, whether they were believers or not.  So I can’t pass judgment on where their souls went when they died, whether to heaven or to hell.  But there was also a shooting in Iowa of a well-known high school football coach.  One of his former players commented that this man’s true greatness was not in what he accomplished on the football field, but that he knew Jesus as his Savior and that he was now home in heaven.  Isn’t that what we want people to say about us – that our hopes and dreams were focused, not on this life, but on our eternal futures in heaven?  We have that assurance, that certainty, because the gospel message of Jesus has had an impact on us.  It is the gospel that gives us the sure hope of heaven.

            That’s what Jesus’ ministry was all about – to challenge people into thinking about the kingdom of God, whether or not they were part of that eternal kingdom.  A lot of people of his day and many in our day, still think that it’s all about an earthly kingdom, finding some kind of utopian existence in this life, pursuing the American dream of life, liberty and happiness.  But that’s not what Jesus was saying or preparing.  He said that we will go through much tribulation and suffering before we enter his kingdom.  There will always be those who oppose God’s people and make this life difficult for us.  And we will always have our sinful nature that keeps us from living the life God wants. 

So our hopes and dreams look beyond this life, to life with our Savior in heaven.  He came into this world, took on human flesh and blood in this life, to make sure we would be able to join him in the life to come, to have a place in his eternal world of heaven.  That’s why he lived a perfect life and died that innocent death and then rose triumphantly from the grave.  That’s our guarantee that we will live with him, that our sins are paid for, that he conquered death for us.  The gospel brings us the message of hope, that whoever lives and believes in him will never die, but will have the light of life, eternal life with Jesus.

That is the hope that sustains us in this life as we face difficulty and suffering.  We know we have a Savior who has the power and the desire to help us through this life to the next one.  He is the one who gives us the strength to endure, even as we face the end of our lives in this world.  He is the one who helps us keep our eyes and lives focused on what really matters, not how much stuff we have or how great we become here and now.  No, our real treasures are in heaven, with our Savior. 

All these things are ours through the gospel, the message of God’s love for us in Jesus.  That gospel tells us that our sins have been forgiven, that Jesus is with us no matter what we are facing in this life, and that we have a new and better life waiting for us in heaven.  Don’t let any false teachings or worldly philosophies turn you away from the truths of God’s Word, that Jesus is your Savior, that he is the only way to heaven.  Thank God for that gospel!  AMEN.