Colossians 1:21-23 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Do we understand exactly what it is that our faith is about? In today's age that is a question whose answer I don't take for granted. With the rise of the so-called "information age" I think we need to be careful with what we assume to be true and factual information. One of the greatest pieces of misinformation to be found in this world is the definition of what faith is.
For the majority of the world faith is about how you live your life. Please note what I said, "Faith is defined by how you live your life." If you live your life in a moral and right way then that is considered faith. If you live your life in a moral and upright way and openly follow the rituals of your particular faith, then you are considered a person of strong faith. There is a key to understanding the modern world's viewpoint of faith. Again faith is living your life in a moral and upright way. Strong faith is when you are deeply involved in the rituals of your particular faith.
Do you understand the implications of this world-view of faith? As long as you live a good life, a moral and upright life with morality and uprightness defined by the world you can call yourself a person of faith. It doesn't matter if your can't define who God is. It doesn't matter if you can explain your faith or simply claim it is something personal. That's okay according to the world. It doesn't even matter to the world (and this is becoming popular) if you are or are not connected to an organized religion because faith is not defined by rituals and organizations, it is defined by whether or not you are a good person in the eyes of the world.
As long as you believe you are a good person you are considered a person of faith. Strong faith is when you follow the rituals of your particular faith? To go to church, to be involved in baptism or the Lord's Supper, to study your Bible and the like are matters of ritual, according to the world. They do not define faith but simply show you have a strong faith. And the more difficult the ritual the stronger your faith is declared. Go off and be a missionary and you are considered a person of great faith. Give ten percent of your money to God, do this, be that, achieve this or somehow stand out and that qualifies you as a person of strong faith. Doesn't matter the religion or what the God is about, if you follow it and do it openly that is strong faith.
It is because of this that people will say, "I have faith but I'm not a religious person." Or you will hear, "I don't go to church but I have faith." The world has swallowed hook, line and sinker the Devil's greatest lie, "It doesn't matter what you believe, just so you believe something!" All of these things are true to the world because of the way the world defines faith and of course because the world is tainted with the horror of sin.
But what does God say of faith? What does God's Word declare to be true about faith? What does God say about us? We can learn the answers to these questions by studying the wonderful little book called Colossians. The Apostle Paul through the Holy Spirit wrote these words to highlight the wonder and marvel of our faith in contrast to the superior wisdom and insight of the world. Our theme for today will be: THE TRUTH OF FAITH. 1st. What we were. 2nd. What we are. 3rd. Gospel faith.
Please note the opening words of our text. They say, "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior." Needless to say, those words are shocking to the world. God in these words is telling us the difference between the believer and the unbeliever. In addressing the believing Colossians he says, "once you were." In the past you had this problem. The problem was unbelief and godlessness highlighted by the words: "alienated from God...enemies in your minds."
I think we do indeed understand the implications of both of these phrases. They are strong phrases that have a clear meaning, but one that our nature doesn't like. To be an alien means that we are a stranger, different from, an outsider, or opposed in character to something. In this case we are called aliens to God. What God is we are not. We are the opposite of the perfect and holy God. It is a word that clearly attests to the gap that exists between the Lord and our sinful selves. He is holy, we are sinful. He is perfect and incapable of mistake, we are imperfect and make mistakes almost constantly. It is a powerful phrase.
So too the next phrase, "enemies in your mind." We are not neutral to God. We are not just slightly tainted, with little blemishes that mar our goodness. We are out and out called "enemies" of God, hostile to him, filled with hatred for him, having a desire to rid ourselves of him and his ways. We are enemies in our minds. This is a part of our nature. From the time we are conceived to our very death we have this "old Adam" that opposes, fights against and resists everything and anything of God. Again the phrase is powerful and revealing, showing what we are, revealing the true nature of mankind to God.
Here are the facts that the world does not want to acknowledge. We want to believe we are innocent and basically good people. We want to believe that as long as we maintain that "goodness" why God will just fawn over us and accept whatever "minor" flaws we might have. Yet here is the truth. Here is why the world in its natural state is filled with murders, rapes, immorality, greed and all sorts of evil. Here is why people can persist and insist in the most Godless of behaviors and call it good. It is our very nature, our unconverted nature to stand opposed to everything God.
Yet note what our very next sentence says, "But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." Here is our hope and joy! We are told that because of God actions things are and will be different in the believers mind. We have been reconciled. God has changed our status from "aliens" to citizens, from enemies to allies and family members. How did our Lord do this?
He did it through Jesus. The physical death of Jesus on the cross was indeed the atoning sacrifice for our sins. On that cross Jesus took God's righteous anger against our sins and paid the debt entirely. And now because of Jesus redemptive work, we are presented in God's sight as holy and without blemish, but even more so, we are presented as "free from accusation." In other words, Jesus has won for us entirely, forgiveness of sins and with that forgiveness, eternal life and salvation.
What we need to make sure of is that we grasp that this is a blessing extending to believers in Jesus. This isn't some sort of blanket forgiveness that is automatically given to the whole world. Don't misunderstand me, Jesus did indeed die for the sins of the whole world, past, present and future. He paid for everyone's sins. But it is clear in God's Word that we get the benefit of that forgiveness only through faith in Jesus and the message of Jesus. Without faith the work of Jesus isn't applied to a person. It's like everyone having a check for 6 million dollars but most people don't believe the check is any good so they never cash it. They throw it away, ignore it but never cash it. Faith in Jesus is the thing that cashes in God's gift of salvation.
To help you grasp that this is true then look at what is now found in our text. It says, "if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant."
You see, it is faith that brings us the benefits of what Jesus has done. In Jesus we are changed, in Jesus the Father accounts us holy and without blameless. That all of this is correct is seen in this verse. It speaks of continuing in the faith, not wavering, not doubting, but sure and certain of the promises of God. Sure and certain of the hope held out in the gospel. The gospel is the message of Jesus perfect life, his perfect sacrifice, his resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven. The Gospel is about the work of Jesus, the good news of our salvation in Jesus. The gospel is not a message to tell you how to live in Jesus. It is not a message speaking of obedience or one of following the law of Christ. It is a message that our sins are forgiven in Jesus. That Jesus is the Lord and Savior of our souls. That Jesus has attained for us the status of holy and blameless before the Father, yes given us the hope of heaven, the confidence of eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus.
To help us all the more in this note that Paul makes it clear that the gospel he is speaking of that this faith is based on is the one that he has taught and preached and has been a servant of. This can only be the message of God's Holy Word. Read all the Epistles of Paul and you will understand what he teaches. He teaches Jesus as Lord and Savior. He teaches that it is all done and accomplished in Jesus. He teaches that faith and the true God cannot be separated into what you want or think but is what God has declared. He teaches clearly and forcefully salvation by grace through faith alone. That is the gospel!
Now I wish I could explain in greater detail the section of this text that says that the gospel has been preached to every creature under heaven. Please note that the verb is indeed in the past tense. That means this proclamation to the creatures of the world has been carried out. The whole world knows the history of Jesus. The whole of creation knows the message of forgiveness and eternal life. This statement helps us all the more to grasp what Paul says in Romans, "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed." It seems that the very creation of God knows and understands the wonder and marvel of Jesus as given in the gospel. It amazes me that such truth is revealed by our God. The creation is excited and filled with joy at Jesus but we humans, we keep thinking we can come up with something better than the gospel of our Savior.
There you have it, the wonder of Jesus and him as the heart of what faith is. Faith is not living right and being good, it is the message of Jesus and that He lived right, he was perfect for us not only in life but even in death. His atoning death for our sins! His resurrection proclaims He is God's Son and our Savior from sin. Rejoice then in Jesus. Rejoice that what we once were we are no longer because of Jesus and his gospel message. Amen.