Certainly is good to see everyone.
That's come to be with us tonight and we appreciate you so
very much for coming tonight and studying the word of God in this
part of our worship service. We're continuing our study on
the book of Colossians chapter 3 and the questions that I have
here. The five questions cover verses
12 through 16, and I just going to read those verses for our
introduction and then get into our questions.
But in Colossians chapter 3, let's begin in verse 12.
Therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved put on Tender
Mercies kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering bearing
with one another and forgiving one.
Another, if anyone has a complaint against another even
as Christ forgave you. So you also must do but above
all these things put on love which is the bond of perfection
and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which also you
were called called in one body and be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom
teaching and admonishing. One, another in Psalms and
hymns, and spiritual songs singing with Grace, in your
hearts, to the Lord. so we're covering these verses tonight in
the first question is about the elect of God who are the elect
of God and secondly, what's meant by the phrase, put on
Tender Mercies. First of all, I'll just say that
the word elect and in the context of this narrative means
chosen or picked by God. So understand that first it's
talking about being chosen or picked by God.
Now, one of the things that are very confusing in the religious
world is the concept of divine election, and any kind of
doctrine that teaches unconditional Divine election is
false Doctrine. We know that unconditional
election would be that God chose individuals regardless of what
they chose to do in their life that God hand-picked people and
there's nothing you can do to be saved or not be saved if God
picked you or didn't pick you, that's Way that it is.
And that's not what we believe. And that's not what the Bible
teaches about Divine election, but we do believe in election.
In fact, we the people of God are the elect of God and God has
foreordained before the foundation of the world.
Those that were going to be saved and that is and obedient
Christian. So anyone that falls into the
category of being an obedient Christian that is complying with
the laws of God finds. Self as being the elect and
obedient Christian. Now, let me just make the point
about conditional election briefly, this is very, this is
not new, it's very familiar, but there's two parts when we talk
about conditional election and it's really quite simple.
There's God's part and then there's man's parked and it
doesn't matter what God did on his part.
If man doesn't do his Park and it wouldn't Mattered.
What man would do on his part if God hasn't already done his
part. So God predetermined that he was
going to save the world and he decided that his son would be
his lamb, his sacrificial lamb, and that was predetermined
before the foundation of the world.
That Jesus would be the Lamb of God and die for the sins of the
world. So let's look at God's Park.
He really did all the work, he sent Jesus to die for the sins
of the world, and then he sent the the gospel revealed by the
Holy Spirit and those that obey the word of God obey, that
gospel are saved. So God's part sent Jesus to die,
for the sins of the world. The Lord's part, he died for the
sins of the world and became God sacrificial lamb.
What else did God do? He gave us the gospel.
He gave us the power to save which is the word of God, which
is the gospel that's God's part, man.
Spark is obedience. And when we do that, we are the
the elect of God. Now, the phrase put on Tender
Mercies. It's rendered that way in the
new King James. In the King James version, it
actually renders it bowels of mercy, and you've heard me say
this. That when it talks about
something from the bowels, or the deepest part of the heart,
it is always talking about the deepest part of the affection.
And that's different from when the Bible talks about the heart,
being the mind, that's a totally different word.
But when you talk about Bells, you're talking about something
that is tied to the deepest part of affection.
So what does it mean? What our bowels of mercies they
are tender. Affections in fact, this
phraseology, by the way was a very common Hebrew, a ISM.
And it literally means having a heart of compassion.
So, what he's saying is this, if you are the elect of God,
beloved have a heart of compassion, be this particular
way in your life, and your demeanor.
And in the way that you deal with your brothers and sisters
in Christ, So bowels is used in the King James version
figuratively. In the New Testament, they are
says a couple things about that. He said in the Greek poets, the
bowels were regarded as the seat of a more violent passion but
the Hebrews as the seat of tender affections and Paul adds
a few others too. He says, add kindness and
humility, and meekness, and long-suffering.
And by the way, anytime you talk about long, Suffering, you're
talking about, just that suffering long, it's about being
patient. You know.
One of the things it's hard to be for me in my personality and
my whole life is being patient and I know people that are so
patient. It just comes natural to them.
But this is a command this is telling me that I need to
demonstrate that kind of attitude or demonstrate
long-suffering or patients because that's how I demonstrate
that too. Others that's going to be
reflected in my behavior. So that's sometimes difficult.
That might be a weakness of ours.
We have to do that though Paul says add those things.
So if you look at the verses and you look at the end of verse 12,
remember this was a continuous letter and it wasn't broken down
by chapter and verse. So after we finished what was
being said about long-suffering and so forth We Roll right into
verse 13. And he says bearing with one
another, the King James says forbearing one.
Another then he says forgiving one another, if anyone has a
complaint against another even as Christ forgave you.
So you also must do. Here's the question.
Can we forgive somebody that doesn't ask for forgiveness?
Think about that for just a minute.
Can we forgive somebody? Or is it okay, or is it
permissible to forgive somebody? That does not ask for
forgiveness, the answer to that question is yes.
You can forgive somebody personally for anything at any
time if you wish. But please don't misunderstand
what I'm saying. I'm not saying that the person
can receive forgiveness from God if they don't ask or without
repentance. I'm not talking about that.
I'm talking about something, for example, if I choose to forgive
somebody of something, I'm allowed to do that.
They still have to answer to God.
If that be the case, give you a couple examples, you've heard
me. Preach on this before, when
Stephen was being stoned, he said, Lord lay not this sin to
their charge. Now they had to answer to God.
Obviously, in that regard, they had to what Stephen was saying
by saying the words, lay not this sin to their charge, he was
basically demonstrating the fact that he personally was not
holding that against them. Give another example.
This is even better. When Jesus says father forgive
them for they know, not what they do, Jesus was saying that
about someone that was taking his life.
Here's the point. It doesn't matter from a
personal standpoint, if you want to forgive somebody, but let me
just demonstrate. Let me just Define what I mean,
by forgiving. Someone when you say, I forgive
someone, or if I do that, I am literally letting go Now
obviously, if somebody does you wrong, and you have hurt
feelings, and you have hard feelings, and maybe you're
angry, and maybe you're bitter and maybe hold a grudge, maybe
you don't let it go. All that will do is just draw
you personally. And when you forgive someone,
you're not letting anybody off the hook, they still have to
answer to God. What you're saying is you're
saying, I am letting go. I'm not letting that negatively
influence me anymore and you let go I preach this, I don't know
where I preach it. So if I preached here, forgive
me but I did preach this not long ago somewhere and I made
this statement about this idea. I said If somebody does you
wrong. And offends you in any way and
they hurt your feelings or whatever, chances are they've
moved forward and not even thinking about you, why would
you give them the power to let them make?
You feel the way that you feel about what they did?
Let it go, let it go. That's what forgiveness is.
It is a Letting Go Joseph was a great example of that named his
firstborn son Manasseh. Meaning God has made me to
forget all the trouble of my father's house So he let go, he
said, I'm not going to be negatively influenced anymore,
all right, so bearing with one another, and I'm gonna get to
Matthew 18 in just a minute. We have to time Matthew 18 to
this so that we understand what I'm trying to point.
I'm trying to make, but bearing with one another or forbearing
in the King James literally means similar to long-suffering
the previous verse. It's the idea of having a spirit
of patients with the faults of others, And this would be
manifested in the willingness to forgive somebody who has
trespassed against us. Now the verse is saying this as
Jesus Christ. Forgave you Also forgive one
another. All right.
So maybe you're sitting there thinking, wait a minute, Matthew
18. It says, I got to go to that
person first, and we're looking for forgiveness, right?
You ever stopped to consider Matthew 18 is exclusive to one
thing. It is talking about a space in
between two people, that's it. And I'll tell you something,
sometimes people want to bind, Matthew, 18, on all kinds of
stuff. One thing it is the example of
what you do. When there's a sin between two,
people one sins against another, that's what Jesus said.
If anyone sins against you, You go to that person.
Now, notice why you go, there you go.
There because of sin has occurred.
And the Bible says, if that person hears, you or responds
favorably to you or repents and makes it right.
It says you have gained your brother.
Now, the reason that it says you've gained your brother is it
implies that you had lost your brother.
Do you know why? Because sin separates?
And when their sin, there is a Operation of Fellowship.
That's the reason you're not going there for them to make up
with you. You're going there to help them,
see their sin and repent and make it right.
And Jesus says this, if they won't hear you, you take
somebody else with you. Do you know why very important.
There's a reason that you take somebody with you obviously from
the mouth of two or three Witnesses, let every word be
established as it says but there's more and is brilliant.
You ever stopped to consider, if I think Terry sinned against me
and I go to him and I say Terry you sinned against me and he
says, well, no I didn't and then I bring some others with me.
We go see Terry and we are at all out.
Do you know of the people that I bring with me?
Might say, no a minute Frank, you're wrong, he didn't sin.
One of the reasons that you bring others with you, is to
prove that there really was a sin.
Why? Because sin separates, so
Matthew 18 is talking about Sin and is talking about being
forgiven, from God, and restoring Fellowship.
So personally, though we can forgive anybody for anything at
any time that we choose to do so, but that's really not the
problem. The problem is when somebody is
asking for forgiveness and people want to withhold their
forgiveness or people might say, well, we're just kind of see how
it goes. Well, we'll just kind of see
what happens in the future. Don't do that, because that's
not what the Lord does for us. So as the Lord forgives us, we
forgive others question. Number 3 covers verse 14.
But above all these things put on love which is the bond of
perfection. So the freight that the question
is what's meant by the phrase the bond of perfection.
Well, obviously he's talking about love and love is the bond
of perfection log will make a complete Bond of unity between
brethren. In fact, this phraseology could
actually be better rendered. That love is a perfect Bond of
unity. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 3.
Paul said Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the
bond of Peace. Philippians, 1:27 says, only let
your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether
I come and see you or him absent, I may hear of your
Affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind
striving together for the faith of the Gospel.
One more passage Philippians 2 and to fulfill my Joy by being
like-minded. Having the same love being of
one. Accord of Of one mind, one
scholar said that such a love. That is poured into the hearts
of Believers. Is the adhesive of the church.
I really appreciate it so much. Terry's prayer.
And I always appreciate and I don't do it enough, but I always
appreciate when a brother. Praise thanking God for being at
peace. Congregations, that are not at
peace. Can destroy the work, it gives
destroy the church. And it's a wonderful thing to
have a bond of unity. Now, you can have all kinds of
things that you have challenges that you're working through, but
if you have the bond of unity, you can, you can make it
through. And Paul says, what that is?
That is the bond of unity is love.
And then in verse number 15, he says and let the peace of God
rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body
and be thankful. So the bond of perfection or the
bond of perfectness is love flows, right?
Into verse 15 and it talks about peace.
Now, I know that sometimes we think peace is the feeling that
we get when things are going exactly the way that we want
them to go. In fact, you can look up.
If you Google that you can get all kinds of definitions, you
can look up and dictionaries. Get all kinds of definitions.
And one of the definitions, that is reoccurring, I've looked it
up. It's having a feeling of, of
inside a feeling of contentment because everything is, as you
want it to be, But the peace of God is different.
In fact, the phrase peace of God, literally means peace from
God. It's the peace that only God can
give. In fact, piece is one of the
attributes of God. You know, God has many things.
We used to sing all the time that song God is love.
Come, let us all unite and seeing that God is love.
Why? Because love is an attribute of
God. God's also many other things.
One of the things that he is he is also peace.
Peace. So what we're talking about is
the peace of God which is the peace that comes from God.
It is the calmness of mind that's provided by God.
And by the way, when the Bible talks about the peace that
surpasses all understanding You ever had a piece of mind?
In the midst of or in the face of terrible things going on.
And there's chaotic mess all around us.
But were at peace. And sometimes people that look
on us from the world, they don't know why, they're how you can be
at peace. That's the peace that surpasses
all understanding. In other words, you are at peace
and you have a peace of mind in spite of the circumstances in
your life. There's no understanding to.
That is surpasses understanding you just have it.
You know why? Because it comes from God,
therefore that peace that God gives is divine.
It comes from God. Now what is it if you have the
peace of God regardless of the circumstances in your life it is
this the best way that I can phrase, it's like this.
The peace of God that we're talking about that needs to
ruler reign in our hearts, and these two, absolutely dictate
our hearts and Lead our hearts and minds and put us in the
proper mindset, is the peace of mind that knows this, that
regardless of the circumstances that are in my life, even if
they're very - it doesn't matter because Everything is right
between my soul and God. That's number one.
Number two, I'm putting all of this and trusting all of this to
God and I'm putting my life In Time and Eternity in his hands
and regardless of the, of the circumstances.
And regardless of his answer, I'm okay, that is the peace of
God that passes all understanding.
So what he says, is this verse 14?
Put on love. It's the bond of perfection and
let the peace of God rule in your hearts to, which also, You
were called in one body and be thankful, you know, the idea of
being called here in one body, you know.
It talks about that very same thing in Ephesians chapter 1 and
it shows the very important place that you can only find
this peace of God. It is in one body.
It's in the church, Ephesians 1, 2012, 22 and 23.
You know, sometimes people can have a peaceful feeling but they
can be an error, they can be wrong.
And if they could have a peaceful feeling inside but it
didn't come from God, the only ones that get the peace of God
that comes from God, are his children.
His people, the elect that we talked about the ones that are
found. As this verse says, in this one
body, that's what comes from God, Other times people could
have feelings of Peace but they're mistaken.
It surpasses all understanding peace is not subject to the
circumstances of life. Then we come to our last verse
verse 16 and very familiar. Passage verse 16 says, let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching
and admonishing. One, another in Psalms and
hymns, and spiritual songs singing with Grace, in your
hearts, to the Lord. You know, you can look up a
number of commentators and they'll pretty much say the same
thing if they're make if they're giving definitions.
These definitions are straight from strong.
And defining the following words.
Psalm according to mr. Strong is a Pious song or a song
of Praise a him. According to strong is a song
written in praise to God a sacred song.
Thirdly, as spiritual song spiritual songs according to
strong our songs. Belonging to the spirit or that
have spiritual things. So if you look at these
definitions, there's really not a whole lot of Distinction drawn
between any of those and really, they're all, they're all quite
similar. There's not a tremendous amount
of Distinction in the definition of them of the ones listed.
The important thing is singing the word singing, and Says that
singing is voicing words and musical tones involving
modulations, and inflections, and singing, with Grace means
that in our singing, It's a message and attitude and a
sincerity. I think that's great.
With our singing, it is a message.
It's an attitude and it's the sincerity that's important.
Now, if we're going to teach each other and admonishing, one
another in Psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs then it's very
imperative. That the words of our songs are
scriptural. And, you know, there are things
that are appropriate. I remember in a songbook years
ago, when I was a kid, we were going to congregation and
monitors Oaks, they had a, they had a Hymnal there and you open
it up and one of the songs in there, You're a Grand Old Flag.
Well, you know, you're a grand old flag, is a fine song on the
fourth of July, but really it has no place in the worship
service at all. There's there was other songs
like that they're inappropriate. Those are inappropriate things
in worship. When we sing worship will songs.
So songs need to be appropriate, you wouldn't lead a song in the
morning? Oh, why not tonight?
When it's in the morning time, you would want sing something.
That would prompt people to be persuaded to step forward and
obey the gospel. Then and right now almost
persuaded or something else. So it's very important that we
use songs that are appropriate, and especially scriptural, and
do so, with spiritual content, and the melody is made in the
heart. Now, I just want to make one
final point about the heart. Thayer says the heart is the
seat of our spiritual life. It is the source of our
thoughts, our passions, and our desires.
That's different from bowels by the way.
That's talking about affection. Here is talking about the seat
of our thoughts, passions and desires, everything it is the
seat of our spiritual life. It's the source of all that.
That's why the Bible says that as a man thinketh in his heart.
So is he it's the source of it all it begins in the mind.
It also is our Inner Man, our spirit and which we sing.
And with those words are to originate from the thoughts and
feelings of the heart. Art.
We had a great singing recently here.
We had some different, some new songs and they were fresh.
And it's is so important to sing songs that we know we can't sing
them, or at least sing songs that we can follow.
But it's important that we sing songs where every aspect of our
attitude and our thoughts and our passions, and all of that
are involved. Instead of just singing the
words to get through the song. Here's a song, we've sung for 30
years, we just go through the song then the songs over.
We shut the book, it needs to be more than that, and we sing with
the heart and we sing with our desires, our desire is to serve
and praise and please God. And in every aspect that we do,
and that's what it means in spiritual songs, singing with
Grace, in your hearts, to the Lord.
When you were saying that I was thinking about something that
happened a few years ago. there was a two young, two men in a
car and they had been, they had both been drinking.
And they got in a car accident and one of them was killed in.
The one that was the passenger was the one that was killed.
And I remember that the mother of the young man that died said,
I forgive you. And there was no asking for
forgiveness. It, I forgive you and I thought
I was so impressed by that because what she was saying, she
was saying I release myself. I let go.
I'm not going to hold on to hate and Malice.
I'm not going to allow the bitterness to overtake my life.
She was saying that, that's what she was saying to this young
man. She said, damn, she grabbed him
like this. He came into the funeral was in
Texas and she had him sit right next to her.
And she said, I forgive you and what she was saying is I'm not
going to be negatively influenced anymore.
And I think that's a, I think you're right.
Terry. Think you hit it on the head
when it said we can't have malice.
You're absolutely right. That's a sin got to turn loose
of that so I appreciate that. Preciate that ask you very, very
much. I wanted to say this add one
more thing about the single. I am so thankful for the men
that have the ability to stand up and Lead new songs for us.
I think that is so important and I remember what Linwood said one
time is, he said that's so important to singing It's so
important to to learn new songs and sing new words as sing and
so forth. It really helps the singing.
And if you look at the definition of singing, with
Grace, in your hearts, to the Lord, I think sometimes that is
necessary to do that. So yes, we love the old
standbys, absolutely. We love those, but the new songs
to, and to stretch ourselves, and learn new songs.
I'm so thankful. And by the way traveling, all
over the United States, we are blessed here.
Traveling all over the country holding gospel meetings.
I'm going to tell you, we have, we really have it.
Well here and very thankful for the men that can do that and
they and the congregation that sings as well as it does.
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
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