Dead to Immorality

Colossians 3:5-8

As we work through Chapter 3, we see that Paul is writing about spiritual living, or morality.  Now that he prefaced this section with setting our minds on things from above, not of this world, he doesn’t just leave us trying to figure out what that means…he explains.  It is a lot of information; in fact, it is quite the list of things to do and not to do.  However, a few things stuck out to me that caused me to pause and dig deeper!

Wrath

I first wanted to highlight this word, as I think that we don’t always understand what it means, and as I noticed in my NASB translation, it is used twice in this passage, but they have different meanings!  So, depending on which translation you are reading at home, let us make sure we all have the same understanding here.  In verse 6, we read: because of which the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. Looking at the original Greek word that Paul wrote here, we find ὀργή, which is used multiple times in his letters, most frequently in Romans, to indicate God’s ultimate judgment against sin.  It is the wrath that we were saved from as sinners.  It is the shame, disappointment, and separation from Him forever that results from us not being holy.

In verse 8, we also read: But now you also lay aside all these things: anger, wrath, wickedness, slander, abusive language from your mouth.  The original word used for wrath here is θυμός, which you can see by looking; even if you don’t know ancient Greek, it is a different word!  Some translations might use the word rage, which I believe is a more fitting description of this word, meaning an outburst of anger.  For me, rage is like an uncontrollable response based on a feeling of anger.  So, let us not get confused between human rage and God’s wrath.  I believe that when we consider God’s wrath, we think of absolute and destructive anger.  A good representative of this is the Great Flood that happened back in Noah’s time.  However, if you read that text carefully, God was actually saddened that He had to do it. Unfortunately for us, our only comparison is human wrath, which is generally considered rage: an uncontrollable reaction due to a high level of anger.  God’s wrath is righteous judgment; human rage is an immoral response to feeling angry.

Interestingly, the word anger used in Paul’s list in verse 8 is in fact the same word used for God’s wrath…and he says to avoid it!  Why?  Isn’t God’s wrath or anger righteous?  I found a good explanation here from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, which is a whole other post of its own, but the answer is quite simple.  God isn’t influenced by emotions.  He knows all and is always righteous.  Therefore, if we try to exercise God’s wrath, we are essentially trying to take control of the universe into our own hands!  We should avoid Godly wrath because it belongs to Him.  Consider what James and John asked Jesus in Luke 9:54, and Jesus rebuked them for wanting to destroy a city.  He revealed their shortsightedness.  If you are still wondering, “But why?” we must understand that our job, as followers of Christ, is to make disciples, not destroy the wicked!

Now that we took care of that, let us look at the passage as a whole.  I was wondering why Paul gives us two lists.  If you compare verses 5 and 8, you will notice a subtle difference.  Verse 5 is talking about internal sin: desires, passions, and feelings.  Verse 8 highlights outward actions.  Now, if you read ahead, I know verse 9 also mentions an outward sin, but we will handle that on its own next time.  What we can tell in the comparison between these two verses, and probably why Paul also wrote them in the order that he did, is that the internal sins in verse 5 lead to the external sins in verse 8.  As we “put to death” the internal sins, we still need to change our outward behavior, which, because we have practiced them for so long, have become “bad habits.”  While the individual sins in both lists can be identified and dealt with on their own, I would like to suggest a practical way of dealing with this.  

Early in my followership of Jesus, I mainly focused on behavior modification.  That is, recognizing the outward actions that are unholy and changing how I treat other people.  While this is a good (and easy) first step, it is incomplete!  My wife, actually, has helped me to recognize this.  I might get upset and choose to keep my mouth shut, but it is still obvious that something is bothering me.  Even though I can control what comes out of my mouth when I am angry, I still feel and think all the things I am not saying!  She can notice even if I don’t say anything.  She might not know exactly what words I am thinking or what emotion I am experiencing, but she knows something is wrong.  Inquisitively, she may ask me, “What is wrong?” or “What are you feeling?”  I learned quickly that it is not an invitation to spew the words that I am trying not to say!  Rather, it is an indication that while I am not sinning with my external words, I am still wrestling with something inside.  This is where the list in verse 5 helps us.

So, instead of just changing my external words and actions, I have begun to learn how to use them as indicators of what is going on inside of me.  As a man, this is helpful, since we have a tendency to avoid emotions altogether.  Instead of simply modifying my behavior in order to appear holy, I can use these reactions as an invitation to dig deeper.  Most often, I can indicate that greediness is my main motivation.  Greediness can also be described as selfishness, wanting to control things to be my way.  In other words, I want to be God within my own domain.  This is why Paul says it leads to idolatry.  It isn’t necessarily that greediness leads to worshiping a graven image, but rather that I am idolizing myself.  This could spin off into a whole other lesson about what idolatry really is, but I am trying to stay focused!  

So, when my initial reaction indicates an internal sin I am struggling with, I can begin to ask questions: “Why do I feel that way?  Is something triggering me as a defensive response from a past trauma? In what ways am I trying to be like God?”  The answers to these questions will be presented with the Holy Spirit’s help.  It is at that point when I can then ask for the Lord’s help to heal me, transform me, and make me more holy.  This is spiritual formation.  When we learn the things that draw us farther away from God, we can then surrender them to Him and begin to experience the transforming work of our hearts.  Ultimately, that sinfulness that we struggle with in our souls is the result of separation from God, which is actually His wrath.  Righteous judgment of our heart condition leads to separation from Him.  It makes us feel immoral, greedy, lustful, and evil, which in turn leads us to act ungodly.  So, simply changing our actions only makes us hypocrites (actors)!  We are acting differently than what we are feeling.

Can you see how this all comes full circle?  When we are stuck in this cycle, our internal sinfulness leads to external sin and it repeats itself.  However, if we reverse the process, we can actually get healing!  Being a Christ follower isn’t about doing all the right things; it’s about completely surrendering to His Lordship and being transformed from the inside out.  Paul wrote about this in Romans 12.

So, as we begin to identify our outward sinful behaviors, let us not only change our appearance, but allow God to change our hearts, sanctifying us through His Holy Spirit.