Dress for Success Our Witness for Christ

Colossians 3: 12-14 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

The world is just looking for a reason to believe. They are desperately seeking a deeper meaning for life than the shallow ones offered by Satan. Think back to before you knew Christ. I remember the constant nagging thought that there just had to be more than this. There had to be meaning; purpose. When I would look to the church I would often see hypocrisy, false morality, and a sense of superiority. These are the things we need to be wary of in our witness for Christ. Because the sad truth is that as much as people are looking for a reason to believe, they are also looking for a reason to not believe. There are many false religions out in the world competing with the truth. What they see and hear from us, may be the only chance they have to believe.

In Paul's letter to the Church at Colossae, he encourages and corrects believers who were doing a lot well, but had started to listen to false teachings which were confusing their witness for Christ. Paul recognizes the importance of witness because he never actually visited Colossae. Biblical scholars agree that in all likelihood, the Colossian Church grew out of Paul's ministry efforts in Ephesus. From there the Gospel spread and churches were opened in many other places Paul never even visited; Colossae being one. It is not surprising then that we find toward the end of his letter to the Colossians that he addresses correct and incorrect Christian behavior. It is the correct behavior, found in our key verses above, that assist the Gospel in spreading to places that desperately need it.

Now let us be clear. The Gospel message will spread with or without us. It is power and life and freedom to all who hear it. The fact that God chooses to use us at all should remain at all times incredibly humbling. That the master of the universe, who spoke everything into existence with a single command, should choose to use us should be awe-inspiring. Now, each of these verses above contains an important nugget we can mine for theological understanding. In verse 12 it is easy to focus on the virtues we are supposed to have as Christians.

Compassion - Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

Kindness - But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Luke 6:35

Humility - ...All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1Peter 5:5

Gentleness - And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2Timothy 2: 24-26

Patience - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

But the key in this verse is Paul's usage of the word "clothe." First of all, this indicates that God recognizes that these virtues are not things that man inherently possesses. If we did, we would not need to "put them on." Man is not by nature a compassionate being, kind, humble, gentle and patient. Those in the world who see our witness know that these attributes are not in the world. They are looking for compassion. They are looking for kindness and humility; gentleness and patience. The world is harsh and unforgiving. It is lacking kindness and encourages false bravado and pride. There is nothing gentle or patient in the world. Neither is there in man. These virtues are the virtues of Christ and we must make a conscious decision to clothe ourselves in them. Just as we decide what to wear each day, we must choose to wear these virtues. The Good Samaritan was not good by nature he chose to stop and help the wounded man. We too must choose to stop and help the fallen world. That is the second observation about the usage of "clothe"; we must choose to represent the virtues of Christ. I have heard people say, "I am just not a people person." These verses do not say to clothe yourself if you feel like it or if you are comfortable. This is a matter of our will. When we are saved we should surrender our will to God. Part of that surrender is doing the things that may make us uncomfortable, but have eternal value. The third observation about the choice of using the word "clothe" is that these virtues are how we will be seen or recognized. Your clothing is your outward appearance. It is what catches the eye of the observer. It is how you stand out. That is the role these Christian virtues must have. You cannot be "kind on the inside." That does nothing for the kingdom of God! Your compassion cannot be limited to those who are like you it must extend to those who are most unlike you! Your patience cannot merely be for those who rub you the right way. It is easy to love the lovable. Your humility and gentleness cannot be just for those you deem worthy of it. You cannot change your spiritual clothes based upon who you are dealing with. You must wear Christ at all times, in all circumstances and to all people. That is how they will know Him. That is how they will see Him!

Verses 13 of the key verses provide another insight into our witness for Christ. Forbearance and forgiveness. Forbearance refers to how we tolerate each other. The most interesting definition is, "Abstaining from the enforcement of a right." The world reflects the theology of "payback." Revenge is glorified and the result is a world that sues first and asks questions later. There is no tolerance in the world. Everybody is egregiously wounded, looking for someone to blame. The church should be different however. This is what verse 13 is saying. We need to bear with one another. It is about mercy. God showed us unrelenting mercy. We need to show the same:

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant. Psalm 86: 15-16

We need to turn to the unsaved and show them the mercy God has granted unto us. That will stand in stark contrast to the world. It will stand out as a light in a dark place. So will forgiveness, the second portion of verse 13. It says to forgive, "whatever grievances you have." It does not matter to the Lord what they are. They do not matter in light of all God has forgiven you for. Peter once tried to justify himself to Jesus suggesting that he should forgive his brother seven times. Here was the response from Jesus:

Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:22

Jesus is not saying we should stop forgiving at 77 times or even at 490 times. He is saying there is no end to forgiveness. Man places restrictions on the virtues of God. I have heard many Christians lament that this is simply not possible. Within the confines of the flesh it is not but that does not change the fact that it is the will of God and it is the instruction of Christ. The key in verse 13 is, "as the Lord forgave you." When Jesus forgave you it was complete, it was whole, it was finished.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9

From ALL unrighteousness. There is no "forgiving but not forgetting" with God. The world teaches to not forgive, to not trust, to play the victim. Satan wants us bound by the bitterness that breeds from unforgiveness. There are not to be conditions to our forgiveness! We need to forgive as Christ forgave us. That is what the world needs to see from our witness. In a cold and unforgiving world, a Christian who forgives completely. That is how they will know Him. That is how they will see Him!

Lastly, verse 14 binds it all together. It shows us the one virtue that rules them all love. We often think of love in romantic terms but love is so much more than that. God is love. When teaching His disciples about how the world will know believers, Jesus taught:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

And Jesus raised the bar even higher:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, - Matthew 5: 43-44

The world espouses the philosophy of hating your enemy. People need to see the virtues of Christ witnessed through our lives, bound up in love. True love is not forced and it is not fake:

Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Romans 12: 9-10 (NLT)

People are too accustomed to the false love the world offers to not see it for what it is. We cannot approach the witness for Christ with anything less then authenticity. The virtues of God must be put on but without love binding them together in perfect unity, they will fall off. Kindness without love is shallow and short lived. It becomes an act instead of a way of life. It has no endurance. Humility without love is a lie. It is transparent. The same will go for every virtue of God. We do not easily choose to be gentle or forgiving it simply is not in the nature of man. The driving force then must be love. As verse 14 states, it is "over" all the other virtues. It binds them. It gives them unity. It solidifies our witness for Christ. That is how they will know Him. That is how they will see Him!

The world is out there beloved; waiting for a reason to believe. It receives messages every day that are contrary to the Word of God. It is bombarded with false religions and skewed teachings. The world is a cold and harsh taskmaster. It runs contrary to the virtues of God. We have been bought with a price. We are servants of the Most High. The one who spoke the universe into existence has called us to a work. Our first work is our witness to the world. We are to be a shining city on a hill. We are to stand out to be different. That is how they will see Him beloved through us. Through our commitment to choose to put on the clothing of the virtues of God. Through bearing up with one another and forgiving as Christ forgave us. Through doing everything with the driving motivation of love. They will know we are Christians by our love.

And they need to know the difference. They need to be able to see the difference. You can take nothing with you into eternal life except those whose lives you have touched with your witness for Jesus Christ. Nothing else will matter in the end. The success for us as believers is the success of the Gospel; it is the success of the Great Commission. Put on the virtues of God. Dress for His success today. That is how they will know Him. That is how they will see Him!

Reverend Anthony Wade March 11, 2010