Living in Holiness in the Midst of Challenging Times.

Let’s discuss the book of Colossians a bit: who wrote it, why they wrote it, when they wrote it, and who and where the Colossians were.

Here are apostle Paul and his disciple and fellow minister of the Gospel, Timothy, writing a letter to the Colossians. Paul and other ministers like Timothy took the Gospel to different places, as Jesus told the original disciples and effectively all of us to do: the Great Commission, to go out into all the world, teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

That resulted in new Christians in places like the city of Colossae—likely reached by Paul & Timothy’s fellow minister, local leader and disciple of Paul, Epaphras. Essentially, Epaphras has been keeping his brothers in Christ updated on how things are going in his church plant in Colossae, and his brothers’ response to him is this letter to the Colossians.

Well, what’s going on in Colossae?

The city of Colossae was about 100 miles east of Ephesus, in what we know as modern-day Turkey. It’s believed that Christianity may have reached this city during Paul’s mission work in Ephesus, which is noted in the book of Acts.

There was diversity in this city—all kinds of people and ideas thanks to its many travelers—no different than all the various types of people moving to Fort Worth (this metroplex) and many of the students arriving on the college campus.

It was a place where many different religious and philosophical viewpoints were rampant and even mixed together. This helps us understand what was going on around and even maybe to the Christians in this city. 

There was this combination of different religions and schools of thought that was affecting them, resulting in this letter.

Like us, the Colossians were trying to find their way in the midst of all kinds of social, political, religious, racial, and economic divides and marriages.

How could they remain holy and set apart in their world?

And how can we, like them, do the same?

How can we live out holiness in our everyday lives, as many things vie and contend for our attention and allegiance?

Have you ever struggled to do the right thing in life or in the eyes of God?

Maybe in your relationships (family and friends), in your finances, at work, etc. I know I have.

I think we find the key to living out holiness in Colossians 1:21-23. Here, Paul urges the Colossians to remain grounded in their faith in Jesus, not swayed by the cultural narratives that oppose the hope of the Gospel.

Like the Colossians, we Christians were once alienated from God, no longer in direct communion and relationship with him. At one point, we lived in a state of alienation and hostility toward God because of our sinful actions and thoughts.

We were hostile in mind—lacking God’s knowledge and awareness, we were in opposition to Him. The word in Greek for “hostile in mind” is echthros, which means enemy or hated.

In other words, we were enemies in our own minds. We were at war with ourselves because we were hostile toward Christ, who is our creator and sustainer. We were hostile against ourselves and at odds with our personal advantage.

This misalignment with reality led to evil and broken actions. We lacked true love, relationship, fellowship, and unity with God and others. We were confused, leaving pain in our wake. This is our status before coming to faith in Jesus.

But now that the Colossians have professed faith in Jesus, they have access to a new reality that He affords them. Their new status is reconciled and restored to God and others. Everything once distorted by sin was made right and realigned with truth. They were no longer alienated or a foreigner to God and His family but brought into the family of God, restored in love and relationship with God and others.

Again, the same is true for Christians today. The text says that we were presented before God. We were brought close to Him, and that was once terrifying to consider but was made possible by Jesus. Jesus brings us close to Him.

What wasn’t possible before, due to our inability in our unholy and sinful nature to be in the presence of a holy God, was made possible.

Instead of the sacrifice of an innocent animal, as was accustomed to atone or pay the price for sin, Jesus offered His innocent body in death. He fulfilled the sacrificial requirements (holy and blameless, without blemish), freeing us from accusation (above reproach).

Both of these describe the condition required for proximity and closeness to God without judgment and perishing—holiness is required to approach Him.

With and because of Jesus, we can be.

Instead of space necessary between us, we can come near and stand before Him without facing the reality of who we are in our sinful nature. Now, we are safe to be in proximity to God, and He welcomes us into this and His family.

This is a complete reversal of our status—from a state of alienation to reconciliation + restoration. We see this in John 15:15, where Jesus says:

15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

We, as believers, now exist in a new state of being: no longer strangers but friends. This is our new relationship with God.

No matter who we are, where we came from or what we have done or even will do, we can be transformed into someone new. And when we’re transformed, we then gain access to someplace new: God’s presence.

Recognizing this new status means knowing and believing that God acted on your behalf to make this transformation and reconciliation possible with Jesus Christ. He makes us holy as He is holy—giving us His status.

Paul urged the Colossians to “continue in the faith,” which implies that they already chose to believe in the Good News of Jesus, repent, turn away from their broken lives, and turn toward and head in the direction of the one true God.

Many of them turned away from polytheistic ideologies, believing in multiple deities for different circumstances, etc. But while they may have turned away from their polytheistic ideologies, it didn’t stop their polytheistic ideologies.

And now, they needed encouragement to remain holy in the midst of their ever-changing and opposing culture—set apart for God’s glory and service. They needed help to continue in faith, or, in other words, to walk in their new status.

What happens when we receive reconciliation and grace through belief in Jesus? In short, we are reborn.

That’s what allows transformation to happen. We die to the old self and are reborn the new self, in Christ Jesus. And when that happens, we receive another gift—God’s Holy Spirit.

Because there is no longer any hostility or alienation between God and us, now His presence is so accessible to us that He gives us a new spirit and comes to dwell within all of us, the closest He could ever be, by giving us His Spirit.

So, we are made new and immediately receive the Holy Spirit. He comes to dwell with us.

The only way we can truly walk in holiness is by having the Holy Spirit live within us. He enables us to overcome challenges, guides us in new directions, teaches us and speaks to us, and gives us gifts to edify and lift up ourselves and others.

It’s obvious from all we’ve talked about that being born again and given His Spirit is a gift from God, but learning to walk in His ways is a choice and decision on our part.

This is what the Colossians needed encouragement in and what today’s Christians need encouragement in today.

If you look at the text preceding v. 21, you see Paul shares in a quite poetic nature the beauty of what Jesus has done for them—the beauty of who He is to them and who He has made them to be. He reminds them then in v. 22 that they need to continue in the faith—choose to walk in active obedience.

But they don’t have to do this in their strength because Galatians tells us that the Holy Spirit begins to transform us daily and manifest things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, self-control, gentleness, and kindness within us. The fruit of our rebirth overflows into our hearts and subsequent actions towards God and others. In God’s strength, we can walk in holiness and obedience.

We don’t do anything to earn or make our salvation possible, but we are left with a choice and a gift that allows us to walk in that choice to live a life holy and set apart for God’s purpose and service. We choose to walk in intimacy with God, and the gift of the Holy Spirit enables us to do so and walk out our new status, not in our strength but in His.

And yet, there’s nothing more we need to do but have faith in Jesus Christ. Being reconciled to God—transferring our hope in our efforts to our hope and trust in His death to make us holy—requires faith in Jesus. Being restored to holiness—receiving forgiveness and holiness—requires faith in Jesus.

And what begins by faith in Him then continues in faith. We are then empowered to live in our new identity (holy, restored, reconciled, no longer on the outside but brought in), no longer what we were before.

Yielding to our new status in Christ Jesus looks like knowing there’s nothing more we need to do than recognize our new status and walk in it. We yield by submitting to this new truth versus being swayed and pulled into the direction(s) that culture or the people around us pull us into.

Not only were the Colossians challenged by ideas from people, spaces, and places that directly opposed God, but they were also influenced by forces within the Church itself. They were influenced even by those who thought they needed “something more” to be holy.

Maybe they thought you needed to eat a certain thing, wear a certain thing, look a certain way, etc. But Paul encouraged them not to be deterred from the Gospel—-either the temptation to take away from the Gospel or to add to it.

Jesus Christ alone is who we are to trust in, and He alone is sufficient.

Nothing more, no special rules, days or “more spiritual” practices or methodology would secure them. Paul frees them from the lie that anything outside of Jesus would secure their hope and faith because their hope needed to be anchored in the Gospel alone.

What about you today? Maybe it’s not the tug of other ideologies and schools of thought. Maybe it’s the “something more.”

It behooves me to say that while the OT, which was known to the Jewish people as the Torah, outlined many rules and regulations for the people of God, these were instructed to set them apart as God’s people, apart from other people groups who worshiped other gods and lived in other ways.

So, when you see things mentioned that may seem controversial (like tattoos, piercings, certain foods or clothing, etc.), it’s important to note and remember that some of these may have been cultural practices and signs of those who worshiped other gods.

Let’s not get it twisted—we are now under a new covenant and law, bought with Jesus’ blood, not the blood of animals like before. Jesus says that He came to fulfill the law (Torah) and prophets, and that freed the Colossians and us now from things that once set us apart before.

You know what, or rather, Who sets us apart now? The presence of God’s Spirit within us. And this was done by and through Jesus, who makes us holy and enables us to live in holiness.

We’d like to think that we can become better, holier, greater people through our efforts or get some kind of insider knowledge that puts us higher or above the rest of humanity. (heard the terms, ‘holier than thou,’ ‘holy roller’ or ‘bible thumper’?)

However, Jesus Christ is above all, and only He restores us to the people we were meant and designed to be—the image bearers of God. His Spirit helps us to do that, to bear His image. Day by day, we are being transformed to reflect more of His personhood and character. God’s presence transforms us from the inside out, making us holy, set apart, and distinguishable.

If you continue in the faith, yielding to His Spirit, who is growing you in holiness, and don’t shift from the hope of the Gospel, you will live in holiness. You will be able to stand firm in the hope of Jesus, no matter what comes your way.

Though we, like the Colossians, are tempted to be swayed every which way, and many things vie and compete for our attention and allegiance, we have the hope of Jesus as an anchor for our souls. This weightiness of this hope takes us from spinning around aimlessly in the wind to anchored, planted—unshifting and unmoveable in today’s culture.

Practical Next Steps

Stand Firm: Journal a few ways you can stand firm and live in holiness, despite challenging times in your life or the world around you.

Read: Colossians 1:21-23, Hebrews 6:19-20

Reflection Steps

Reflect on these questions as you think about living in holiness:

Are there any cultural topics or discussions you find particularly challenging to engage in as a Christian? Why?

What could it look like daily and weekly for you to live in holiness?

Let’s Pray Together

Dear Lord, I humbly seek Your grace and help in challenging times and culture. I pray that you would fill me afresh with Your Spirit, enabling me to live a life holy unto you and reflect your light into a broken world. When I feel confused, give me wisdom and knowledge. When I feel overwhelmed, give me peace and calm. When I feel afraid to stand for You, give me strength and boldness. Amen.