Have you ever spent a long day working outside in the heat? During the warmer months, I spend at least one day a week working in the yard. After such a day, my clothes are usually a dirty smelly mess, and I have to shower before doing anything else. My clothes are so filthy that I almost feel bad even putting them in the dirty clothes basket alongside other dirty clothes (that aren’t nearly as dirty).

Now imagine what it would feel like to put those clothes back on after getting out of a nice long shower. It would be just…wrong. Why? Because after getting clean, you should put on clean clothes. You should adorn yourself with what is now true of your nature. You’re no longer a dirty sweaty mess, so you shouldn’t wear dirty sweaty clothes. You’re clean. So you should wear clean clothes. Simple enough, right?

This is essentially Paul’s argument in Colossians 3:5-17. Since we have died to our old selves and old ways, we should put off our old clothes. Since we have been cleansed and raised with Christ, we should put on new clothes of righteousness. But how do we do that? What clothes should we remove, and which should we put on? What does that look like in real life? This passage has the answers.

Grave Clothes

First, we must take off our grave clothes, “for we have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God” (3:3). However, Paul uses much stronger language than just “putting off” our old clothes. He says that we are to, “put to death” certain characteristics of our life before Christ (3:5). We are to kill our old habits and ways- sexual immorality, impurity, passion (lust), evil desire, and covetousness (3:5). All of these lead to idolatry because we cannot pursue them and also submit to the Lordship of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, if you are still in sexual sin, you must put it to death. It is a suffocating garment of death that rots the soul and destroys relationships. Do everything you can to put a bullet in the head of sexual temptation and sin!

Continue reading “Throw Away the Grave Clothes and Put On the Grace Clothes (Colossians 3:5-17)” →