GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
COLOSSIANS 1:2
2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Who are the “saints”? The word “saint” in the Bible doesn’t really fit what a lot of people think of, that is, someone who is venerated by one church or another, often having led a particularly pious life, having died or suffered a great deal for the faith, and having some miracles connected with their actions. In the Bible, a saint is something different. A saint is one of the hagiois (ἁγίοις) or “holy ones,” meaning anyone who is a believer in Jesus Christ. They are the believers Paul persecuted in Damascus (Acts 9:13), and they are all of the Christians in Rome (Romans 1:7), in Corinth and all of Achaia (2 Cor. 1:1), in Ephesus (Eph. 1:1); in Philippi (Phil. 1:1); in Colosse (Philemon 5), and everyone around the world who prays to the true God in heaven (Revelation 5:8). Some of them have been martyred by those who “shed the blood of your saints and prophets” (Rev. 16:6), but some are still in the world now. The devil wages war against them, trying to conquer them (Rev. 13:7). Most importantly, you need to recognize that you who are baptized into the name of Jesus Christ are a saint, holy to the Lord (Zechariah 14:20) and set aside for his holy purpose. The doctrine of Jesus Christ has been entrusted to you and to all the saints (Jude 3).
What do we do when a brother or sister in Christ—anyone we love—begins to wander away from their faith? How do we treat them? Do we shut them out, or beat them down, thinking that we see pastors hammer away with the law in the pulpit? Well, we might hear pastors hammering away at our consciences with the law, but that’s never how a true Christian pastor ends a sermon—he concludes with the gospel. Our trouble is that sometimes we think we have to see absolute proof that a person is truly and completely penitent before we’re willing to even think about lifting the veil from the gospel. And that’s where we’ve taken a turn away from the true gospel of Jesus. Just as Christ was revealed to us, we, in turn, reveal him to others (Luke 10:21). What we need to do is show love and compassion for those saints. Remind them in love of what they should know, and don’t be shocked that they seem to forget, either with their actions or with their words. We correct one another as we go along in life. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). A good word in the Apocrypha supports this: “You correct, little by little, those who trespass, and you remind and warn them of the things through which they sin, so that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in you, O Lord” (Wisdom of Solomon 12:2).
The gospel is the message of God’s grace to us. By grace (charis, χάρις), we mean more than the goodness God shows to all his creatures (Psalm 145:9). We mean especially the grace by which God saves sinners. The grace of God which saves us is nowhere found in mankind. It is that personal quality and attitude in God himself, the good will of God toward men (Luke 2:14). This grace amazes us, because God forgives the sins of those who are worthy of eternal death. Paul says in Romans 11:6, “If by grace, then it (salvation) is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” The grace of God and the worthiness of man are exclusive of one another; God is gracious to sinners only in Christ, and only for Christ’s sake.
This grace brings us peace. To those who do not perversely resist God’s grace, God’s promises surround us and hold us up in the peace of forgiveness. Consider the words God uses for his grace. It is universal. “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). It is active. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It is sincere. Christ our Lord cried out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37). Finally, the grace of God is effective (we would say, efficacious). This is demonstrated by “the word of God, which is at work in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
The grace and peace of God make us saints; faithful brothers and sisters of Christ and in Christ. You have his peace, by grace through faith.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota