Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse

A Series of Devotions by Pastor Randy Moll

Colossians 1:1-8

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: as ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.” Colossians 1:1-8

Though the Apostle Paul may never have visited the church in Colosse, when he heard of the believers’ faith in Christ Jesus and the resulting love they had for their fellow believers, he, together with Timothy, gave thanks to God for giving them the confident hope of eternal life in heaven through faith in Messiah Jesus.

The good news of God’s offer of pardon and forgiveness and the promise of everlasting life in heaven because God the Son became true man and redeemed mankind reached the ears of the Colossians through Epaphras (and perhaps others, too) and faith in Jesus was kindled in their hearts through the hearing of the Gospel.

As the good news of God’s gracious gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven for Jesus’ sake was used to generate faith in the hearts of the believers at Colosse nearly 2,000 years ago, so this same message generates faith in human hearts today. The same Gospel, that Word of truth, tells us of the certain hope laid up for us in heaven, not because of anything we have done or can do, but because God’s own dear Son, Jesus Christ, came into this world and suffered and died for the sins of all and rose again in victory. God’s Word tells us that His gift to us for Jesus’ sake is life everlasting in the mansions of heaven.

Such a gracious gift of God — the forgiveness of all our sins because of His own Son’s holy life and innocent suffering and death in our stead and the assurance that we have a place in His eternal, heavenly kingdom — will also move those who believe to selfless love for other believers and fellow heirs of eternal life in heaven, but this love is the result of God’s loving gift of salvation to us, not the cause of it.

What a comfort to know that, though we have sinned and come short of the holy demands of God’s good law, Jesus fulfilled it for us and then took our sins upon Himself, paying the just penalty upon the cross that we might have forgiveness and life everlasting through faith in His name! And this hope which we have is not an uncertain hope but simply waiting for the things assured to us by the promises of God.

God has offered and promised us a place in heaven through faith in His Son. That place has been made certain to us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We await that day in confidence and assurance that heaven is ours for Jesus’ sake. And, when we face the end of our lives here in this world, we need not doubt and wonder if we will make it into heaven. Heaven is guaranteed to us because Jesus shed His blood for us and paid in full for all our sins. If our salvation depended upon us or anything we did, we could have no certainty and no hope; but because it depends upon Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for us, we have every assurance and hope of everlasting life in the mansions of our heavenly Father’s house!

Paul wrote this letter while he himself was a prisoner because there were those who were seeking to rob these believers of the assurance and hope they had in Jesus by placing other demands upon them — suggesting such things as the worshiping of angels, eating certain foods or observing certain days. Today, too, there are many false teachers who would suggest and say that to be true Christians people must exercise certain gifts, eat certain foods or observe certain days.

The apostle’s message, the true Gospel, is that we are complete in Jesus — our salvation and everlasting life are certain in Him — there is nothing we need to add to His redemptive work!

Dear Father in heaven, thank You for graciously bringing to us the Word of Truth, the saving Gospel of forgiveness of sins and life everlasting through faith in Your Son, Christ Jesus. By Your Spirit, move us to believe and take heart and be assured that, for Jesus’ sake, our sins are forgiven and, for Jesus’ sake, we have life everlasting with You in heaven. Amen.

[Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse

A Series of Devotions by Pastor Randy Moll

Colossians 1:1-8

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: as ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.” Colossians 1:1-8

Though the Apostle Paul may never have visited the church in Colosse, when he heard of the believers’ faith in Christ Jesus and the resulting love they had for their fellow believers, he, together with Timothy, gave thanks to God for giving them the confident hope of eternal life in heaven through faith in Messiah Jesus.

The good news of God’s offer of pardon and forgiveness and the promise of everlasting life in heaven because God the Son became true man and redeemed mankind reached the ears of the Colossians through Epaphras (and perhaps others, too) and faith in Jesus was kindled in their hearts through the hearing of the Gospel.

As the good news of God’s gracious gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven for Jesus’ sake was used to generate faith in the hearts of the believers at Colosse nearly 2,000 years ago, so this same message generates faith in human hearts today. The same Gospel, that Word of truth, tells us of the certain hope laid up for us in heaven, not because of anything we have done or can do, but because God’s own dear Son, Jesus Christ, came into this world and suffered and died for the sins of all and rose again in victory. God’s Word tells us that His gift to us for Jesus’ sake is life everlasting in the mansions of heaven.

Such a gracious gift of God — the forgiveness of all our sins because of His own Son’s holy life and innocent suffering and death in our stead and the assurance that we have a place in His eternal, heavenly kingdom — will also move those who believe to selfless love for other believers and fellow heirs of eternal life in heaven, but this love is the result of God’s loving gift of salvation to us, not the cause of it.

What a comfort to know that, though we have sinned and come short of the holy demands of God’s good law, Jesus fulfilled it for us and then took our sins upon Himself, paying the just penalty upon the cross that we might have forgiveness and life everlasting through faith in His name! And this hope which we have is not an uncertain hope but simply waiting for the things assured to us by the promises of God.

God has offered and promised us a place in heaven through faith in His Son. That place has been made certain to us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We await that day in confidence and assurance that heaven is ours for Jesus’ sake. And, when we face the end of our lives here in this world, we need not doubt and wonder if we will make it into heaven. Heaven is guaranteed to us because Jesus shed His blood for us and paid in full for all our sins. If our salvation depended upon us or anything we did, we could have no certainty and no hope; but because it depends upon Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for us, we have every assurance and hope of everlasting life in the mansions of our heavenly Father’s house!

Paul wrote this letter while he himself was a prisoner because there were those who were seeking to rob these believers of the assurance and hope they had in Jesus by placing other demands upon them — suggesting such things as the worshiping of angels, eating certain foods or observing certain days. Today, too, there are many false teachers who would suggest and say that to be true Christians people must exercise certain gifts, eat certain foods or observe certain days.

The apostle’s message, the true Gospel, is that we are complete in Jesus — our salvation and everlasting life are certain in Him — there is nothing we need to add to His redemptive work!

Dear Father in heaven, thank You for graciously bringing to us the Word of Truth, the saving Gospel of forgiveness of sins and life everlasting through faith in Your Son, Christ Jesus. By Your Spirit, move us to believe and take heart and be assured that, for Jesus’ sake, our sins are forgiven and, for Jesus’ sake, we have life everlasting with You in heaven. Amen.

[Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

Jesus once said, “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). And, when I see the things happening in our world today, it gives me cause to wonder about the answer to that question.

Yes, there are many who profess to be Christians, but how many are left who really hold to the true and Biblical Christian Faith?

How many believe the Triune God of the Bible created the heavens and earth and all things in six days (each with an evening and morning) and that the age of the earth is only about 6,000 years and not millions or billions of years old?

How many believe the account of the fall of mankind into sin in Genesis 3 or of God’s judgment upon the world in the Great Flood of Genesis 6-8? How many believe that the imagination of Man’s heart is (since the fall) evil from his youth (Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Jer. 17:9)?

How many believe all the Biblical accounts regarding the patriarchs and believers of the Old Testament period?

How many believe the Bible’s accounts of miracles in both the Old and New Testaments?

How many believe what the Bible teaches throughout about marriage being the lifelong union of one man and one woman unto one flesh? How many believe the Bible when it condemns fornication, adultery, homosexuality and every other perversion of God’s design for a man and woman in marriage as instituted by God in Genesis 2?

How many believe what the Bible says in regard to human life being God’s creative work in the womb and believe that abortion and euthanasia are contrary to God’s commandment against murder?

How many believe what the Bible teaches about the roles of men and women in the church and in the world? How many accept the Bible’s prohibition against women in the public ministry?

How many believe the commandments of God are good and right even though we all come short of keeping them as God intends and they reveal the sinfulness of our thoughts, desires, words and actions? How many believe the Bible’s teaching regarding their utter sinfulness before God and their inability to be acceptable to God on the basis of their own works and life?

How many believe that Jesus is truly God the Son in human flesh, born into this world of the virgin Mary; that He lived a sinless life in the stead of all mankind and then was crucified to atone for the sins of all mankind and rose bodily from the grave on the third day? How many believe He has ascended to the right hand of God the Father in heaven where He is over all things, and that He is coming again to raise up all the dead and will judge every human being who has ever lived?

How many believe that they — not just others — need to repent daily of the many sins and shortcomings in their lives and look in faith to Christ Jesus and His cross for mercy and forgiveness and then seek God’s help and strength to amend their lives and live in accord with God’s commandments?

How many believe that the only way to be acceptable to God and receive God’s mercy and forgiveness is through faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own will or decision but created by the Holy Spirit’s working through the promises of the Gospel?

How many believe there is only one way to be spared in God’s final judgment and not be condemned to the eternal fires of hell and that is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world?

Yes, I could go on and on, but you get my point. Many who claim to be Christians are smorgasbord Christians. They pick and choose what parts of the Bible they believe and reject or ignore the others. But we won’t get to pick and choose which parts of the Bible are used when we are judged on the Last Day.

Considering the current direction of the world, most churches and so many people who still claim to be Christian, “when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

When did God create the heavens and the earth? Again, the Bible answers that question for us when it says: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…” (Gen. 1:1).

Though some would attempt to extend the six days of creation into long periods of time and others would introduce a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 with the claim that the angels were a part of an earlier failed creation, the Bible is quite clear that the six days are, literally, six days.

In Genesis 1, we read: “So the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen. 1:5), with the same parameters mentioned of each day; and, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Gen. 1:31).

The Bible also makes clear that all things were created within the six days when it says: “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Ex. 20:11); and, “You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You” (Neh. 9:6).

When did the six days of creation occur? While it would be a mistake to make a doctrinal issue out of a specific date or year, the Bible’s genealogical records indicate that creation occurred approximately 4,000 years before Christ, or approximately 6,000 years ago — numbers which can be calculated based on the ages of the patriarchs when sons were born to them, the lengths of kings’ reigns and other dates or events in the Bible, such as the exile and destruction of the temple (e.g., Gen. 5 and 11; 1 and 2 Kings; 1 and 2 Chron.).

Though the Bible contradicts modern “scientific” theory regarding the age of the earth, there is no contradiction with the true evidence, which suggests a young earth and a catastrophic and universal flood (Genesis 6-8). Believers accept the accuracy of God’s account of creation which is recorded for them in the pages of the Bible.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. And in hell, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom….” Luke 16:19-23 KJ21; Read Luke 16:19-31

We should note first of all that Jesus’ illustration of the rich man and Lazarus may be much more than a parable, for it is told by Jesus as if it is a true and factual account. Whether an actual historical event or a parable, we can still learn much from Jesus’ telling of it.

The rich man is not identified by name; but the poor beggar’s name was Lazarus, which means “God is help.” Even though Lazarus was poor and full of sores, we know that he was a true believer in God, as his name indicates, because he was taken to heaven when he died.

Even though the rich man was greatly blessed by God in material things, he did not believe or listen to the Word of God (Moses and the Prophets). This can be seen by the fact that there were no fruits of faith in his life in regard to poor Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, and by the fact that his soul went to hell when he died.

In addition to teaching that one’s soul goes either to heaven or to hell when he dies, Jesus warns against living life solely for the enjoyment of the good things of this world. One’s first concern should be to heed the Word of God and repent, turning away from sin and the selfish use of this world’s goods to faith in Christ, who died to redeem us from sin and death.

As a fruit of true repentance, we will then put to death our selfish and sinful desires and use the goods of this world to help those in need. We will not close our hearts to the poor and needy but will do all we can to help them.

One more important truth should also be learned. If one does not heed the Word of God during his lifetime, there is no other hope for repentance; for the Holy Ghost works through the Law to convince us of our sin and the punishment we deserve and through the Gospel to reveal our Savior and to assure us of eternal salvation through faith in Him.

If one, during his lifetime, refuses to turn from his sins to Christ Jesus, his Savior, there will be no more opportunity for repentance. His torment in hell will be forever!

But when one, by the grace of God, heeds the Word and repents, trusting in Christ for forgiveness and life, he is forgiven by God and his soul, at the time of death, will be transported by angels to the bosom of Abraham.

O Jesus, who my debt didst pay and for my sin wast smitten, within the Book of Life, oh, may my name be also written! I will not doubt; I trust in Thee, from Satan Thou hast made me free and from all condemnation. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn 611, Verse 5)

[21st Century King James Version (KJ21) Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.]