Replacement Theology

The Christian’s Approach to Sin

Colossians 3:1-15

 

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

25 April, 2010  AM

www.biblebc.com

 

I.       Introduction (Hebrews 10:9)

 

A.     If only Christians knew just how free they are!

B.     We don’t “FEEL” free very often, but the fact remains, WE ARE FREE INDEED! According to God, a sinner who has simply like a dying man, come to Jesus Christ in prayer and asked for mercy and salvation, is MADE FREE!

 

1.      Free from sin’s power

2.      Free from Satan’s dominion

3.      Free from hell’s punishment

4.      Free from even the fear of trouble

 

C.     But the issue is, If we are free, why do we keep ending up in bondage again to some re-occurring sin? And how do we stay free?

D.     I am going to preach this morning on putting old stuff off, so that you can put something new on

 

1.      Principle: We cannot battle sin, but we can replace it with something that defeats it every time!

2.      When God gave His Son, He did not just give Israel an “Add-On” to their old lives, and their sinful natures – God gave them something completely new! The NEW Testament!

3.      And in order for the whole world to experience the benefit of the New Testament, God had to take away the Old!

4.      That principle is so true in every person’s life here this morning! You are going to have to dump some old things to enjoy God’s new and better things!

 

II.    Message – Replacement Theology

 

A.     The Old Way We Lived (Ephesians 4:17-21)

 

1.      Referred to as a walk – a journey

 

a.       We did what came naturally, instinctive

b.      We followed our senses – what felt good, what was easy, what brought pleasure

c.       And in doing so, we hurt other people, and took advantage of them, and broke God’s laws, and ruined our world

 

2.      Described as

 

a.       Vain thinking

b.      Dark thinking

c.       Living SEPARATE from the life of God

d.      Totally Ignorant of God’s ways

e.       Blind to God’s Son

f.       Past feeling – wow! What a phrase – numb – hard! Lost all sense of sin, and do not feel the load of its guilt upon them, and are without any concern about sin or its consequences!

g.       Addicted only to pleasure sins – selfish pigs! Brute animals!

h.      That’s what we were!

 

3.      But we have learned to live differently! Since being born again! We have learned to live Christ’s way - The true way! That’s what Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were all about!

 

B.     The Putting Off Step (Ephesians 4:22-24)

 

1.      This is the determined decision to drop something, and let it die (it is old and ought to die), so that you can pick up something better, and let IT live in you instead

2.      Do you know why most Christians are discouraged about their Christian life? It is because they are “wearing” too many layers of life! They have only ADDED Christianity to their lifestyle

 

a.       They just added church to their schedule – and they hate how it interferes

b.      They just read the Bible out of duty – as little as possible

c.       They just add on prayer as a ritual – set, written out prayers

d.      All the while, they keep on watching filth on TV, and keep running around with ungodly friends and co-workers, keep bad attitudes and unforgiving spirits

 

3.      The truth is this:

 

a.       All of our old nature; all of the things we used to do naturally, enslaved us, and only hardened us, and made us worse – evil men wax worse and worse – never better! NEVER

b.      Our sins kept us in bondage – never freed us from anything except from heaven!

c.       And that bondage was leading to death (Rom 6:23)

d.      And no matter how hard we tried, we never got free of sinful habits

e.       But if you are born again this morning, you are saved to be free (Gal 5:1)!

 

1)      Christ BOUGHT our freedom NOT TO sin, but freedom FROM sin!

2)      IN Christ we are totally new!

3)      And so the fight is on! Between the old man and the new man in us!

 

f.       You see, no one can try and live BOTH the old life and the new life at the same time!

g.       One of them has to die (Mt 9:16,17) – that is the putting off part!

 

4.      To “Put Off” Requires you to take a good look at your “former conversation” – your old way of living. It is referred to in the Bible as:

 

a.       Your old nature

b.      The old man

c.       He is a corrupt man

d.      And evil man – depraved (Mark 7:15,20-23) – there is none good – no not one!

e.       A deceitful man (Jer 17:9)

f.       Take a GOOD LOOK at who you really are! You have been that way since birth! It is who you are NATURALLY, without even thinking!

 

5.      To “Put Off” Is a Reaction to your closeness to God (Acts 7:30-33; Isaiah 6:1-5)

 

a.       If you have no desire to put any of your old habits off, it is simply because you have not gotten very close to God!

b.      Those in this room who seek God’s face, and humble themselves daily in God’s presence will be the ones who will be leaning forward in their seats this morning yearning to hear every word from this book so that they can get closer to God!

c.       But those in this room, who are on the back rows, and who are only here because Jesus has only been ADDED to your old sinful life, will be the ones who constantly chatter while I’m preaching, and constantly get up and go to the bathroom, and constantly look at their watch!

d.      You had better do a self-check this morning? Take a good look at what you are!

 

6.      Putting Off is Referred to in Various Ways:

 

a.       Casting Away – Throwing Away something useless (Mark 10:46-50)

b.      Putting Away – like you would in a divorce (Eph 4:25)

c.       Cutting Off – like you would gangrene or cancer (Mt 5:30)

d.      Shaking Off – like you would filth and dirt (Matthew 10:14)

e.       Casting Off – like you would something on fire (Rom 13:12)

f.       Casting Down – like you would an evil tyrant (2Cor 10:5)

g.       Renouncing – standing up and publically renouncing/giving up something (2Cor 4:2)

h.      Laying Aside any old ropes or chains that used to bind you (Heb 12:1)

i.        Mortify – we will focus on this one word in a few moments

j.        It is serious – it is one of the major themes in the Bible!

 


C.     The Putting On Step Replacement Theology (Ephesians 4:23,24)

 

1.      You put off of something so that you can put on something better in your life

2.      The devil constantly lies to people telling them what GOD has for them is inferior to what this world has to offer; What God offers is boring; That God’s will is terrible and disastrous!

3.      At salvation, you got two of everything you need:

 

a.       A new mind – the mind of Christ

b.      A new heart – the new heart which is soft, and tender, and sensitive, and clean

c.       A new Spirit – the Holy Spirit

d.      A new habit – right way of handling pressures, and temptations, and feelings!

e.       And they all co-exist with all the old ones

f.       You live each moment by yielding to the old one, or the new one

g.       That’s what “Putting On” is all about!

 

4.      OBVIOUSLY, it is natural to give in to the old nature – and it is going to be easy

5.      But as a Christian, you can, you MUST choose to feel with the new heart, think with the new mind, love with the new heart, pray with the new Spirit – and that’s hard at first, but it’s worth it

 

D.     The Method – How to Put Off, and then Put On (Colossians 3:1-15)

 

1.      Closeness to Christ (Col 3:1,2) – you have got to start here!

 

a.       Set your affections, your attention, you love, your desires toward heaven

b.      Ignore what this world is lying to you about – easy love, quick money, praise of men

c.       And just do whatever it takes to love Jesus

 

1)      As much time in the Bible as possible

2)      As much time pouring our hearts and our feelings before Him in prayer

3)      As much time resting in His care, trusting He knows and does best

 

d.      Every victory starts here – and every failure is because we fail here!

 

2.      Consent that you are indeed dead (Col 3:3,4; Rom 6:6,11)! I have talked about this already last week! Reckoning yourself to be saved FROM old sins, from the past, from the devil’s grip. Constantly reckoning, reminding and believing it to be true!

3.      Crucify – Mortify – Put to Death the Old Habits every time they crop up!

                                                                                     

a.       By eschewing sins as really wrong – despising sins like you would finding a dead body

b.      Be Specific – target specific sins in your life – no tolerance!

 

1)      Fornication – any sexual act outside of marriage including pornography, adultery, sex before marriage, romance novels, touching and caressing someone who is NOT your wife or husband!

2)      Uncleanness – filthy thoughts

3)      Inordinate Affection – out of the ordinary loves; i.e., love of materialism, money, dogs, trees, sports, gambling, self!

4)      Evil Concupiscence – morbid sexual acts

5)      Covetousness / Idolatry – love of anything or anybody more than God

 

c.       Go Deeper

 

1)      Anger – anything that constantly upsets you and makes you angry

2)      Wrath – is what you do when you are angry

3)      Malice – is how you think and plan to carry out your wrath when you are angry

4)      Blasphemy – the blaming of God and the demoting of God from being right and good

5)      Filthy Communication – filthy words, cursings, innuendos

6)      Lying – never being honest; always protecting yourself!

 

d.      Go further still

 

1)      Laziness – what a sin today!

2)      Griping and Complaining – that is the soil that murder and adultery are planted in!!!

3)      Disobeying – we don’t take what we DON’T DO seriously

4)      Dishonouring – your parents, your mate, your pastor, your Lord!

5)      Hey! Are ANY of those sins in your life? You cannot just wrestle with them – they have to be cast out, thrown away, shaken off, cast down, laid aside, and ultimately mortified!!!

 

e.       Distance yourselves from sins AND temptations

f.       Burn the sin out with the blood of Jesus Christ – there is still power in the blood!

g.       Bury the old desires, the loves, the attractions, the feelings, the thrill, the enjoyment. You don’t kill something like a rat, or a wolf and then leave it there! You need to dig a deep hole, and bury it!

h.      Forget where you buried it

 

4.      Replace Everything Old in you, with What God Has Given You (Col 3:12-14)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

a.       Start switching

 

1)      Ignore how you naturally feel, or how you naturally fear

2)      Switch your attention to the new mind – if it is in you!

3)      Switch your feelings to the new heart

4)      Maybe you are having trouble finding the new mind, or the new heart because it is NOT IN YOU!!!

5)      Walk in the HOLY SPIRIT instead of in your old spirit and old attitudes!

 

b.      Start replacing (Eph 5:3)

 

1)      Fornication… with the fear of God (Heb 13:4)

2)      Unclean thoughts… with the word of God – memorize and mediate on exact and precise words (like Philp 4:8)

3)      Inordinate affection… with fasting – until right affections return

4)      Evil concupiscence… with singleness for a while – you are unsafe

5)      Covetousness… with thankfulness and contentment

6)      Anger… with bowels of mercies – God commands it so he will enable you!

7)      Wrath… with kindness – love your enemies, do good, bless them!

8)      Malice… with humbleness of mind – no scheming, no revenge

9)      Blasphemy… with long suffering! Stop getting upset at God for allowing troubles and hardships into your life

10)  Filthy communication… with forbearing people! Put up with them and don’t become like them (Eph 5:3,4)!!!

11)  Lying… with pure honesty - transparency

 

c.       Start saturating every thought with charity – unhindered, unconditional love (3:14)

 

5.      All of that ONLY happens as you draw closer to Christ, and repent of your own sinfulness, and determine to wear new clothes – live according to the new man in you!

 

a.       What are you struggling with?

 

1)      Bitterness?

2)      Wandering eyes?

3)      Depression?

4)      Instabilities – variance?

5)      Envies?

6)      Hatred?

7)      Drunkenness?

8)      Drugs?

 

b.      Mortify each and every one of them by

 

1)      Getting Close to Christ – just His presence starts the cleansing process!

2)      Starting Consenting that you are indeed dead and that you don’t HAVE to yield

3)      Crucify – Mortify – Put to Death EVERY Old Habit every time it crops up!

4)      Replace Everything Old in you, with What God Has Given You

 

E.      The Result (Col 3:15) – the Peace of God!

 

1.      Most of you have never known the kind of life that Christ gave you because you are still carrying around a lot of the old life – a lot of baggage

2.      Our theme this month is living free from old sins – victorious

3.      If only you knew the peace of God

4.      The power of God

5.      The presence of God, in your life!

6.      He is not very far from any of us

7.      We are so used to being in bondage to our old man, that we have no idea just how great is the life according to the new Man – Jesus Christ!

 

III. Conclusion (Hebrews 10:9)

 

A.     Hey: We cannot battle sin, but we can replace it with something that defeats it every time!

 

1.      When God gave His Son, He did not just give Israel an “Add-On” to their old lives, and their sinful natures – God gave them something completely new! The NEW Testament!

2.      And in order for the whole world to experience the benefit of the New Testament, God had to take away the Old!

 

B.     The Putting Off Step

 

1.      A determined decision to drop something, and let it die (it is old and ought to die), so that you can pick up something better, and let IT live instead in you

2.      To “Put Off” Requires you to take a good look at your “former conversation” – your old way of living.

3.      To “Put Off” Is a Reaction to your closeness to God (Acts 7:30-33; Isaiah 6:1-5)

 

C.     The Putting On Step Replacement Theology

 

1.      You put off of something so that you can put on something better in your life

2.      At salvation, you got two of everything you need:

 

a.       A new mind – the mind of Christ

b.      A new heart – the new heart which is soft, and tender, and sensitive, and clean

c.       A new Spirit – the Holy Spirit

d.      A new habit – right way of handling pressures, and temptations, and feelings!

e.       And they all co-exist with all the old ones

f.       You live each moment by yielding to the old one, or the new one

g.       That’s what “Putting On” is all about!

 

3.      Choose to feel with the new heart, think with the new mind, love with the new heart, pray with the new Spirit – and that’s hard at first, but it’s worth it

 

D.     The Method – How to Put Off, and then Put On

 

1.      What are you struggling with?

 

a.       Fornication

b.      Uncleanness – filthy thoughts

c.       Inordinate Affection – out of the ordinary loves

d.      Evil Concupiscence – morbid sexual acts

e.       Covetousness / Idolatry – love of anything or anybody more than God

f.       Anger – anything that constantly upsets you and makes you angry

g.       Wrath – is what you do when you are angry

h.      Malice – is how you think and plan to carry out your wrath when you are angry

i.        Blasphemy – the blaming of God and the demoting of God from being right and good

j.        Filthy Communication – filthy words, cursings, innuendos

k.      Lying – never being honest; always protecting yourself!

l.        Bitterness?

m.    Wandering eyes?

n.      Depression?

o.      Instabilities – variance?

p.      Envies?

q.      Hatred?

r.        Drunkenness?

s.       Drugs?

t.        Laziness – what a sin today!

u.      Griping and Complaining – that is the soil that murder and adultery are planted in!!!

v.      Disobeying – we don’t take what we DON’T DO seriously

w.     Dishonouring – your parents, your mate, your pastor, your Lord!

x.      Quit a LIST!

 

2.      Hey! Are ANY of those sins in your life? You cannot just wrestle with them – they have to be cast out, thrown away, shaken off, cast down, laid aside, and ultimately mortified!!!

3.      Mortify each and every one of them by

 

a.       Getting Close to Christ – just His presence starts the cleansing process!

b.      Starting Consenting that you are indeed dead and that you don’t HAVE to yield

c.       Crucify – Mortify – Put to Death EVERY Old Habit every time it crops up!

d.      Replace Everything Old in you, with What God Has Given You

 

1)      Start switching

 

a)      Ignore how you naturally feel, or how you naturally fear

b)      Switch your attention to the new mind – if it is in you!

c)      Switch your feelings to the new heart

d)      Maybe you are having trouble finding the new mind, or the new heart because it is NOT IN YOU!!!

e)      Walk in the HOLY SPIRIT instead of in your old spirit and old attitudes!

 

2)      Start replacing (Eph 5:3)

3)      Start saturating every thought with charity – unhindered, unconditional love (3:14)

 

4.      All of that ONLY happens as you draw closer to Christ, and repent of your own sinfulness, and determine to wear new clothes – live according to the new man in you!

 

E.      The Result (Col 3:15) – the Peace of God!

F.      But that new heart HAS to be in you! That new mind has to be there IN you (2Cor 13:5)