If Not Religion Then What?
Colossians 3:1-4
Message #8
Today’s message is the “Then what?” answer to the “Yeah but” questions that last week’s message raised. The title last week was “Sufficient or Not?” Meaning, is a real, personal, living relationship with Jesus Christ really enough? Is it fully sufficient? And the very clear answer was, YES! IN Jesus Christ and THROUGH Jesus Christ is all that we need for our entire life with God, both our life here and our eternal life.
And in our last message, we were told to not let anyone condemn us based on days, or food, or man-made religious rules. And the last verse in Chapter 2 “dropped the hammer” on us, which is what sets up today’s message.
Colossians 2:23 (NLT)
23 These rules (man-made religious rules and regulations) may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
And that is where we started getting some “yeah buts.” You know, “Yeah, but what about all the rules?” “I thought all those rules helped me be right with God.” “I’ve been following those religious regulations all my life.”
But the Bible makes this point very, very clear. The Nation of Israel tried to live for God by following a massive set of religious rules and regulations for 1500 years, and it never worked for them.
There is one great commandment. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second, like unto it, is love your neighbor as yourself.” So, the one commandment is “Love.” Vertical love – horizontal love.
All those religious rules actually blinded them from being able to see the Messiah.
They couldn’t see the Messiah because the veil of their religious rules blinded them to the life-giving, transforming, supremely sufficient Savior that was sent from God.
And unfortunately, it’s not just the Jewish religion. Solomon made it clear there is nothing new under the sun, and there are still so many religions doing this same thing today.
The veil of their religious rules and regulations is blinding them from the life that comes ONLY from the supremely sufficient Savior.
So, today, we begin to answer the question, “If I don’t live by all my religious rules and regulations, then what do I live by?” “If those religious rules don’t transform me, then what does?” “If it’s not more rules and religion I need, then what do I need to transform my life?”
Well, I’m glad you asked. In fact, I’m glad you asked three times. I believe the Word will answer that question.
Let’s start with Colossians 3, the first part of verse 1.
Colossians 3:1(a) (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, . . .
The Greek word translated “since” means “a fulfilled condition.”
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, . . .
You may be reading a translation that says, “If” or “If then,” which may sound like a question mark, but it’s not. It’s an exclamation point. If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ and received him as your Savior and Lord, then you have been buried with him in death to sin and raised to new life – IN HIM (or with him).
Colossians 3:1 (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
[BECAUSE] you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven
NKJ says – seek those things which are above
[BECAUSE] you have been raised to new life with Christ, seek those things which are above
SINCE you have been raised to new life with Christ,
Set your sights on the realities of heaven
Be constantly seeking the things of heaven
The word “sights” (NLT) refers to your “mental focus.” Set your “mental focus” on the realities of heaven. The Greek tense here is PRESENT, meaning always be setting your sights (your mental focus) on the realities of heaven. It means, “if it’s in the PRESENT, be doing it.” Be doing it, always be doing it, and continue always be doing it.
It’s NOT “always be setting your mental focus on the rules and regulations of your religion.”
It’s always be setting your mental focus on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
Get our 5 part series on “Heaven” on the wordbymail.com website or on the Word By Mail phone app. Set your sights on heaven. It’s not the 623 laws. It’s not commentary on how to keep the laws. Set your sights on heaven.
I was in a Greek Orthodox monastery, and the small group of friends I was with had the opportunity to speak to a “Monk-in-training.” And we got to speak to him IN the very special room where the Monks gather for three hours at the beginning of every day (3 am to 6 am) to pray and recite passages from their Book of Liturgy.
And as he was standing next to the podium with the revered Book of the Liturgy, I asked him (in a soft monk-like voice), “Do you read from the Bible?”
And with a puzzled look, he said, “No, it’s all in this book,” as he lovingly laid his hand on the Book of Liturgy.
And so, at home, I checked that book. I actually skimmed through some of it online, and there were a lot of very Biblical thoughts and prayers, and there was scripture on some pages. But it was all wrapped in this beautiful “revered Book” of the rules and regulations and liturgies of the Greek Orthodox Church.
But the problem is, the Jewish religion of Jesus’ day also had their “beautiful, revered scrolls” with all their rules, and regulations, and religious writings, and their “revered liturgy” was also mixed with some wonderful things about God.
But they were actually at odds with Jesus Christ. So much so that they made sure to remove all impact of his life from their religion.
And there are religions today that have done the exact same thing to Jesus Christ.
Colossians 3:1 (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
And then God’s Word repeats this command (in the original, it is an IMPERATIVE – meaning, a command).
Colossians 3:2 (NLT)
2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
Set your “mental focus” on the realities of heaven.
Think about the things of heaven, NOT the things of earth!
NKJ says, Set your mind on things above
SINCE you have been raised to new life with Christ, THEN set your mind on things of heaven and NOT on the things of earth.
What effect does our mind have on our actions?? Our mind is a very powerful thing, and where we focus it… we go. We see this in all sporting events, baseball, football, soccer, tennis, golf, and dirt bike riding. All these things have one very important thing in common. Where you set your mind is where you are going to go. The way to catch (or hit) a ball is to set your mind on the ball. The way to get a ball to go where you want it to go is to set your mind on the place you want the ball to go. In dirt bike riding, you focus intently on where you want to go. NEVER on where you don’t want to go… because you ARE going to go where you SET your mind.
And so, God’s Word says, Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, THEN set your mind – set your sights – set your focus on the THINGS OF HEAVEN and NOT OF EARTH because where you set your mind is the direction you are going to go.
You are going to either
Move toward the things of eternal life
or toward the things of this fallen world
Based on where you set your mind
Based on what you constantly focus on.
So, IF you have been raised to new life with Christ and IF your mind is set on the things of this world, then you are in dire straits! And trying to follow a bunch of rules is NOT going to help you.
Last week, Colossians 2:23 made it clear that the rules approach provides no help in conquering your sin nature because rules and religion applied from the outside will never actually give you new life inside. Your new life must come from the inside out if you want to actually live in the new life Christ has given you.
You’ve got to set your sights (and mind)
on the things of heaven
and not on the things of earth.
In verse 3, we see the “logic” of setting our sights and minds on things above and not on things of this life.
Colossians 3:3 (NLT)
3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
When you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you died to this life, and your real life became “hidden” in Christ, so why now would you set your mind on a life that you died to?
If indeed you have been raised to new life with Christ, and if you truly want to begin living that new life, THEN set your mind (sights) on where your real life is and stop setting your mind on a life you have died to.
What does that mean that your real life is “Hidden with Christ”? Well… verses 3 and 4 together give us some idea…
You died to this life when you received Jesus as your Savior, and now your real life is “Hidden with Christ in God,” BUT the fullness of your new life in Christ is in some ways hidden (concealed) from you and this world. That’s what verse 3 says.
But then, look very closely at verse 4.
Colossians 3:4 (NLT)
4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
You died to this life when you were born again, and now your real life is “hidden with Christ in God.” But in many ways, the fullness of your new life in Christ is hidden (concealed) from you and this world. However, there is a day coming when Jesus Christ will be revealed, and when he is revealed, the full reality of your new life will be revealed with him. And when it is, you will share in all his glory for eternity.
Honestly, it is impossible to fully grasp the eternal significance of this because… (as verse 3 says) your real life IS HIDDEN with Christ in God. We talk a lot about this in our five-part “Heaven” series – be sure to get it on the phone app or website. But just listen to these two verses.
1 John 3:2 (NLT)
2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
We’re already God’s children, positionally. We were God’s children before time, before the world began because God exists outside of time and not because he “arbitrarily chose” us. But because God exists outside of time, you’re already his children. And when we received Christ, then we appropriated what God already knew.
Read Revelation Chapter 1 and the vision of the glorified Christ in the vision of the Apostle John (who was Jesus’ best friend), and he was face-down in the dirt because he was seeing the real Christ.
There’s a ton of awesomeness in that verse. But then add to it Colossians 1, verse 27.
Colossians 1:27 (NLT)
27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
This is the secret. This is the mystery of God. The mystery of God is not one set of religious rules and regulations over another set. Or which set of rules and regulations are from God, or which set isn’t, or which set should we follow, etc. Listen, the mystery of God is Jesus Christ in you. That’s what the Bible says. Christ lives in you.
When our new life is fully revealed, we will be like him – we will share his glory.
The Bible is trying to convince you to set your sights on the realities of heaven rather than the destruction of this world. Heaven is coming. So, don’t set your sights and your mind on a life that you’ve died to. Instead, set your sights and your mind on your real life that is hidden in Christ for now, but soon it will be fully revealed (both to you and to the world).
Your role in the transforming power of the Christian life is to set your sights and your mind on your real life in Christ. Then, Jesus Christ living in you does all the rest because a real, living relationship with Jesus Christ is supremely sufficient for your entire life with God.
If you are setting your sights and your mind on your real life in Christ, THEN you will be transformed, and you will be able to “put to death” the things of this world.
Next week, we are going to look at HOW a real, living relationship with Jesus Christ is supremely sufficient to transform your life both here AND for eternity.
Jesus – with nothing added.
But for today, let’s skip down to Colossians 3, verse 10.
Colossians 3:10 (NLT)
10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Let’s pray these verses to close. Please look at these verses as I pray them.
Colossians 3:1–4 (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
Colossians 3:10 (NLT)
10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Heavenly Father, we pray that since we have been raised to new life with Christ, we pray that you would draw us, that you would drag us, that you would prod us into setting our sights on the realities of heaven, where [you, Jesus] sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
Lord, we pray that you would consume us, Lord, that you would constrict us, Lord, to think about the things of heaven, and not the things of earth, to set our minds on heaven and not this earth.
Because, Lord, [we] have died to this life by your grace, Lord, we have died to the things of this fallen world. Lord, we died with you to sin, we were buried with you, and we were raised to new life with you. And Lord, [our] real life is hidden with [you] in God.
And so, Lord, Jesus, when you who are our life, when you are revealed to the whole world [we] will share in your glory. And we pray you would use that to drive us every day.
Lord, prepare us to learn, to commit to putting on [our] new nature and being renewed, being transformed as [we] learn to know [you] and become more like [you] in the end, Lord, that you would be glorified. We pray in your name, Jesus, amen.
And in our last message, we were told to not let anyone condemn us based on days, or food, or man-made religious rules. And the last verse in Chapter 2 “dropped the hammer” on us, which is what sets up today’s message.
Colossians 2:23 (NLT)
23 These rules (man-made religious rules and regulations) may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
And that is where we started getting some “yeah buts.” You know, “Yeah, but what about all the rules?” “I thought all those rules helped me be right with God.” “I’ve been following those religious regulations all my life.”
But the Bible makes this point very, very clear. The Nation of Israel tried to live for God by following a massive set of religious rules and regulations for 1500 years, and it never worked for them.
There is one great commandment. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second, like unto it, is love your neighbor as yourself.” So, the one commandment is “Love.” Vertical love – horizontal love.
All those religious rules actually blinded them from being able to see the Messiah.
They couldn’t see the Messiah because the veil of their religious rules blinded them to the life-giving, transforming, supremely sufficient Savior that was sent from God.
And unfortunately, it’s not just the Jewish religion. Solomon made it clear there is nothing new under the sun, and there are still so many religions doing this same thing today.
The veil of their religious rules and regulations is blinding them from the life that comes ONLY from the supremely sufficient Savior.
So, today, we begin to answer the question, “If I don’t live by all my religious rules and regulations, then what do I live by?” “If those religious rules don’t transform me, then what does?” “If it’s not more rules and religion I need, then what do I need to transform my life?”
Well, I’m glad you asked. In fact, I’m glad you asked three times. I believe the Word will answer that question.
Let’s start with Colossians 3, the first part of verse 1.
Colossians 3:1(a) (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, . . .
The Greek word translated “since” means “a fulfilled condition.”
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, . . .
You may be reading a translation that says, “If” or “If then,” which may sound like a question mark, but it’s not. It’s an exclamation point. If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ and received him as your Savior and Lord, then you have been buried with him in death to sin and raised to new life – IN HIM (or with him).
Colossians 3:1 (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
[BECAUSE] you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven
NKJ says – seek those things which are above
[BECAUSE] you have been raised to new life with Christ, seek those things which are above
SINCE you have been raised to new life with Christ,
Set your sights on the realities of heaven
Be constantly seeking the things of heaven
The word “sights” (NLT) refers to your “mental focus.” Set your “mental focus” on the realities of heaven. The Greek tense here is PRESENT, meaning always be setting your sights (your mental focus) on the realities of heaven. It means, “if it’s in the PRESENT, be doing it.” Be doing it, always be doing it, and continue always be doing it.
It’s NOT “always be setting your mental focus on the rules and regulations of your religion.”
It’s always be setting your mental focus on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
Get our 5 part series on “Heaven” on the wordbymail.com website or on the Word By Mail phone app. Set your sights on heaven. It’s not the 623 laws. It’s not commentary on how to keep the laws. Set your sights on heaven.
I was in a Greek Orthodox monastery, and the small group of friends I was with had the opportunity to speak to a “Monk-in-training.” And we got to speak to him IN the very special room where the Monks gather for three hours at the beginning of every day (3 am to 6 am) to pray and recite passages from their Book of Liturgy.
And as he was standing next to the podium with the revered Book of the Liturgy, I asked him (in a soft monk-like voice), “Do you read from the Bible?”
And with a puzzled look, he said, “No, it’s all in this book,” as he lovingly laid his hand on the Book of Liturgy.
And so, at home, I checked that book. I actually skimmed through some of it online, and there were a lot of very Biblical thoughts and prayers, and there was scripture on some pages. But it was all wrapped in this beautiful “revered Book” of the rules and regulations and liturgies of the Greek Orthodox Church.
But the problem is, the Jewish religion of Jesus’ day also had their “beautiful, revered scrolls” with all their rules, and regulations, and religious writings, and their “revered liturgy” was also mixed with some wonderful things about God.
But they were actually at odds with Jesus Christ. So much so that they made sure to remove all impact of his life from their religion.
And there are religions today that have done the exact same thing to Jesus Christ.
Colossians 3:1 (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
And then God’s Word repeats this command (in the original, it is an IMPERATIVE – meaning, a command).
Colossians 3:2 (NLT)
2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
Set your “mental focus” on the realities of heaven.
Think about the things of heaven, NOT the things of earth!
NKJ says, Set your mind on things above
SINCE you have been raised to new life with Christ, THEN set your mind on things of heaven and NOT on the things of earth.
What effect does our mind have on our actions?? Our mind is a very powerful thing, and where we focus it… we go. We see this in all sporting events, baseball, football, soccer, tennis, golf, and dirt bike riding. All these things have one very important thing in common. Where you set your mind is where you are going to go. The way to catch (or hit) a ball is to set your mind on the ball. The way to get a ball to go where you want it to go is to set your mind on the place you want the ball to go. In dirt bike riding, you focus intently on where you want to go. NEVER on where you don’t want to go… because you ARE going to go where you SET your mind.
And so, God’s Word says, Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, THEN set your mind – set your sights – set your focus on the THINGS OF HEAVEN and NOT OF EARTH because where you set your mind is the direction you are going to go.
You are going to either
Move toward the things of eternal life
or toward the things of this fallen world
Based on where you set your mind
Based on what you constantly focus on.
So, IF you have been raised to new life with Christ and IF your mind is set on the things of this world, then you are in dire straits! And trying to follow a bunch of rules is NOT going to help you.
Last week, Colossians 2:23 made it clear that the rules approach provides no help in conquering your sin nature because rules and religion applied from the outside will never actually give you new life inside. Your new life must come from the inside out if you want to actually live in the new life Christ has given you.
You’ve got to set your sights (and mind)
on the things of heaven
and not on the things of earth.
In verse 3, we see the “logic” of setting our sights and minds on things above and not on things of this life.
Colossians 3:3 (NLT)
3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
When you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you died to this life, and your real life became “hidden” in Christ, so why now would you set your mind on a life that you died to?
If indeed you have been raised to new life with Christ, and if you truly want to begin living that new life, THEN set your mind (sights) on where your real life is and stop setting your mind on a life you have died to.
What does that mean that your real life is “Hidden with Christ”? Well… verses 3 and 4 together give us some idea…
You died to this life when you received Jesus as your Savior, and now your real life is “Hidden with Christ in God,” BUT the fullness of your new life in Christ is in some ways hidden (concealed) from you and this world. That’s what verse 3 says.
But then, look very closely at verse 4.
Colossians 3:4 (NLT)
4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
You died to this life when you were born again, and now your real life is “hidden with Christ in God.” But in many ways, the fullness of your new life in Christ is hidden (concealed) from you and this world. However, there is a day coming when Jesus Christ will be revealed, and when he is revealed, the full reality of your new life will be revealed with him. And when it is, you will share in all his glory for eternity.
Honestly, it is impossible to fully grasp the eternal significance of this because… (as verse 3 says) your real life IS HIDDEN with Christ in God. We talk a lot about this in our five-part “Heaven” series – be sure to get it on the phone app or website. But just listen to these two verses.
1 John 3:2 (NLT)
2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
We’re already God’s children, positionally. We were God’s children before time, before the world began because God exists outside of time and not because he “arbitrarily chose” us. But because God exists outside of time, you’re already his children. And when we received Christ, then we appropriated what God already knew.
Read Revelation Chapter 1 and the vision of the glorified Christ in the vision of the Apostle John (who was Jesus’ best friend), and he was face-down in the dirt because he was seeing the real Christ.
There’s a ton of awesomeness in that verse. But then add to it Colossians 1, verse 27.
Colossians 1:27 (NLT)
27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
This is the secret. This is the mystery of God. The mystery of God is not one set of religious rules and regulations over another set. Or which set of rules and regulations are from God, or which set isn’t, or which set should we follow, etc. Listen, the mystery of God is Jesus Christ in you. That’s what the Bible says. Christ lives in you.
When our new life is fully revealed, we will be like him – we will share his glory.
The Bible is trying to convince you to set your sights on the realities of heaven rather than the destruction of this world. Heaven is coming. So, don’t set your sights and your mind on a life that you’ve died to. Instead, set your sights and your mind on your real life that is hidden in Christ for now, but soon it will be fully revealed (both to you and to the world).
Your role in the transforming power of the Christian life is to set your sights and your mind on your real life in Christ. Then, Jesus Christ living in you does all the rest because a real, living relationship with Jesus Christ is supremely sufficient for your entire life with God.
If you are setting your sights and your mind on your real life in Christ, THEN you will be transformed, and you will be able to “put to death” the things of this world.
Next week, we are going to look at HOW a real, living relationship with Jesus Christ is supremely sufficient to transform your life both here AND for eternity.
Jesus – with nothing added.
But for today, let’s skip down to Colossians 3, verse 10.
Colossians 3:10 (NLT)
10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Let’s pray these verses to close. Please look at these verses as I pray them.
Colossians 3:1–4 (NLT)
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
Colossians 3:10 (NLT)
10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Heavenly Father, we pray that since we have been raised to new life with Christ, we pray that you would draw us, that you would drag us, that you would prod us into setting our sights on the realities of heaven, where [you, Jesus] sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
Lord, we pray that you would consume us, Lord, that you would constrict us, Lord, to think about the things of heaven, and not the things of earth, to set our minds on heaven and not this earth.
Because, Lord, [we] have died to this life by your grace, Lord, we have died to the things of this fallen world. Lord, we died with you to sin, we were buried with you, and we were raised to new life with you. And Lord, [our] real life is hidden with [you] in God.
And so, Lord, Jesus, when you who are our life, when you are revealed to the whole world [we] will share in your glory. And we pray you would use that to drive us every day.
Lord, prepare us to learn, to commit to putting on [our] new nature and being renewed, being transformed as [we] learn to know [you] and become more like [you] in the end, Lord, that you would be glorified. We pray in your name, Jesus, amen.