NEW LIFE IN HIM Colossians 3:1-11
Here
is a turnaround story of a Lesbian who despised Christians, then she became one
of them. "Professor Rosaria Butterfield hated and pitied Christians. She thought
Christians and their God, Jesus, were stupid and pointless. As a professor of
English and women's studies, she used her post to advance the allegiances of a
leftist lesbian professor. She and her partner shared many interests: AIDS
activism, children's health and literacy, and the Unitarian Universalist
church.
She began researching the Religious Right and their politics of hatred
against queers like her. To do this, she would need to read the Bible. She
began her attack by writing an article in the local newspaper about Promise
Keepers. The article generated many rejoinders,
including some hate mail and others that were fan mail. But one letter I
received defied this filing system.
It was from the pastor of the Syracuse Reformed Presbyterian Church. It
was a kind and inquiring letter. Pastor Ken Smith encouraged me to explore
questions such as, "How did you arrive at your interpretations?" How
do you know you are right? Do you believe in God? Ken didn't argue; instead, he
asked me to defend the presuppositions that undergirded it. I didn't know how
to respond, so I threw it away.
Later
that night, I retrieved it from the recycling bin and placed it on my desk.
With the letter, Ken initiated two years of bringing the Church to a heathen.
Oh, I had seen my share of Bible verses on placards at Gay Pride marches and
Christians who mocked me on Gay Pride Day. That is not what Ken did. He did not
mock. He engaged. So, when his letter invited me to get together for dinner, I
accepted. This will surely be beneficial for my research. Ken and his wife,
Floy, and I became friends. They entered my World. They met my friends. We
talked openly about sexuality and politics. They did not act as if such
conversations were polluting them. When we ate together, Ken prayed in a way I
had never heard before.
I
started reading the Bible, the way a glutton devours. At a dinner gathering, my
transgender friend J cornered me in the kitchen. She warned, "This Bible
reading is changing you, Rosaria." With tremors, I whispered, "J,
what if it is true? What if Jesus is a real and risen Lord? What if we are all
in trouble?" One Sunday morning, I sat in a pew at Church. Conspicuous
with my butch haircut, I reminded myself that I came to meet God, not fit in.
The
image that came in like waves, of me and everyone I loved suffering in hell.
Then, one ordinary day, I came to Jesus. Jesus triumphed. And I was a broken
mess. Conversion was a train wreck. I did not want to lose everything that I
loved. I weakly believed that if Jesus could conquer death, he could make right
my World. I rested in private peace, then community, and today in the shelter
of a covenant family, where one calls me "wife" and many call me
"mother."[1] Rosaria Butterfield resides
with her family in Durham, North Carolina, where her husband serves as pastor
of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Durham.
What a
powerful testimony from a former lesbian whose life was transformed by Christ's
love and the love shown by a pastor couple and the church community. Her New
Life in Christ is now touching and changing many lives around the World,
especially those who are struggling with sexual sins. In our "In Him"
series, we will explore how the Apostle Paul encouraged the Colossian believers
to stop returning to their former sinful lifestyle and instead live out their
New Life in Christ boldly and unashamedly to the fullest. Colossians
3:1-11
The
twin experiences of being born again and getting baptized by immersion are
unique and precious personal spiritual encounters. Only those who have
experienced it can explain the unlimited joy and enormous freedom that come
from knowing the Savior of their lives. At that moment of conversion, God
forgives all our sins and makes us Holy.
At
that very moment, if we had died, we would straight away go into His presence
to live with Him forever. However, that is not always the case; we continue to
live and face the challenges of navigating our New Life in Christ in this
broken World. The Apostle Paul offered some guidance for seasoned and newly
baptized believers in the Church of Colossae.
I. Our
old life has died and was buried with Christ in Baptism.
This is how Paul reminded
the Colossian believers, in Col 2:12, "For you were buried with Christ
when you were baptized. And with him, you were raised to new life because you
trusted the mighty power of God who raised Christ from the dead." (NLT).
In Vs 20, we read that they also died with Christ and were set free from the
spiritual forces and rules of this World.
What do these scriptures mean to us
today? When we went under the water in baptism, our old life with its sinful
nature was dead and buried. Coming up out of the water was a resurrection; God
raised us from the dead, just as He raised Christ from the dead, into new life
with Him. Our sinful, fleshly self, with all its lustful passions and desires,
has died and been buried with Christ. Now our old life cannot dictate to us how
we should live our New Life.
I
recall how my life was gradually, yet radically, changed after I was baptized.
It is not to say that I have never sinned since then or will never sin again. However,
I do say this: Jesus lives in me, and He will forgive and cleanse me from all
unrighteousness each time I confess my sins (I John 1:9). Knowing that our old
life is dead and buried is crucial for us to move forward. To do that, we will
have to cut ties with sinful friendships and cultivate God-honoring
relationships.
II.
The Impact Of Our New Life In Him
The
Apostle Paul lays out specific guidelines for the believers to live out their
New Life in Christ. If you are truly a born-again believer, how does your New
Life in Christ impact you?
Whenever
God does something, He does a comprehensive work that includes the salvation of
individual sinners. In your New Life in Christ, your heart, mind, and body are
impacted by God.
I. A
New Heart
Colossians
3:1, "Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on
things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." We can
only live our New Lives to the fullest by keeping our eyes on Jesus Christ, who
is currently seated at the right hand of God.
In the
Bible, when a King puts anyone on his right hand, he gives them equal honor and
dignity. I Kgs 2:19. That was what God did when he raised Christ from the dead
and seated him at His right hand. He gave Jesus the same honor, dignity, and
power He had by placing all things under Him. As New Believers, we now entrust
our hearts to Christ, who reigns supremely.
Paul
writing to the Corinthians noted, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the
new creation has come; the old has gone, the new is here. II Cor 5:17. This
newness includes a New Heart, according to the promise of God, who said, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of
flesh."
What does this new heart represent in the Bible? In
the scriptures, the heart is that
spiritual part of us where our emotions and desires dwell. As born-again
Christians, we desire Christ more than anything else, and to do His will. And
also, we express Christ's emotions of Joy, love, forgiveness, and compassion.
How does this practically work out? We seek His Kingdom and His righteousness
first. We love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love
our neighbor as ourselves. We forgive people and do not hold bitterness in our
hearts.
II A
Renewed Mind
In
the life of a New believer, along with a new heart, a renewal of mind takes
place. After setting our hearts on God, we are encouraged in verse 2 to set our
minds on things above, not on earthly things. What is the mind, biblically
speaking? In the New Testament, the Greek word phroneo is often translated as “mind” and
most commonly refers to a person’s thoughts, understanding, views, opinions,
affections, or moral considerations.
Before we
were born again, we used to think, form opinions, and set our affections on the
earthly and immaterial things. But in our New Life, Christ renews our minds,
and now we retrain our minds to think the thoughts that would glorify Christ
and advance His mission on earth. Failure to do so may put us in a place like
Peter, who Jesus rebuked, saying, “Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not
have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Mark 8:33). Are you focusing only on the temporary and immaterial
things or the things above?
III. A
Self-Controlled Body
A
new heart and a renewed mind enable a new believer to live a self-controlled
life, where they bring their body under their control in all aspects of living.
A self-controlled person will exercise control or restraint in their bodies,
managing their physical and sexual appetites.
People
who do not know Christ are led by their instincts like animals and try to
satisfy their appetites for food, sex, and wealth. Whereas Paul urges believers
to put to death: Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed,
which is idolatry.
A
self-controlled body also includes our tongue, with which we speak. As new
believers, we must rid ourselves of anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy
language, as well as speaking lies. New Life in Christ consists of setting our
hearts and minds on Christ and controlling our bodies. May the Holy Spirit
empower us to live our New Life to the fullest.
[1] Source: Rosaria Champagne
Butterfield, “My Train Wreck Conversion,” CT magazine (Jan/Feb, 2013), pp.
111-112
