Most people who know about Christianity know that there is supposed to be a change that happens in our character. To be a Christian means to follow Christ, to strive to be like Christ. But how exactly does this happen?
Every week I publish my sermon notes so that you may read them for yourselves. For my parishioners, this could be a good review from the weekend before. And it gives you a chance to see what I intended to say! For other pastors and ministers, feel free to borrow and use any of this material. I'd love for God to be glorified by you incorporating these notes into your own worship.
Character Driven: How to Develop a Christ-like Character - 03.10.13
Colossians 3:1-17 / Video: “More Than Words” [4:48] - AngelHouse
Introduction: We are in the My Story sermon series, learning how to tell our life story in the best way possible. What is the story we want to tell with our lives? What will be our legacy? What story do we want others to remember about us?
Any good story teller or novelist will tell you that character development is crucial in the art of a good story. The same is true of our Christian story. The Bible teaches us that “if we are in Christ we are a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come.” 2 Cor. 5:17. Jana just read to us that we “put off our old self and put on our new self.” Most people who know about Christianity know that there is supposed to be a change that happens in our character. To be a Christian means to follow Christ, to strive to be like Christ.
But how exactly does this happen? We sometimes have the mistaken idea that this change is simply a miraculous one, that someone God zaps us into expressing a new character. Or that somehow these character changes are floating around in the air and that they can just be spiritually encountered (like in the video.) While there is a miraculous and spiritual dimension to our Christ-like character change, we learn today from Colossians 3 that there are 6 pragmatic changes too.
To be character driven like Christ requires 6 changes:
1. A change of my ___VISION___.
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1 ESV
Circle that word, “If.” This can be translated either “if” or “since.” It’s not conditional as much as it is the evidence of what is real. This is our first stop to know the truth of whether we are a Christ-follower or not. Many people want to know if their faith is genuine or not. This is the proof of authenticity. If you are really “raised with Christ,” your entire focus will be changed to “the things that are above.”
Sometimes people joke about being so heavenly minded that they are not much earthly good. The truth is that our heavenly focus changes how we think about everything here on earth. We recognize the importance of the eternal. We value the character of Christ that makes all things new.
Not only is your change of vision important evidence of your authentic Christian faith, but it is the first necessary step in changing your own character. You recognize Christ seated at the right hand of the Father is perfect and faithful while we are not anywhere close. Rather than comparing ourselves with other people and judging ourselves better, we keep our comparisons between ourselves and Christ, and thus have the deep desire to change into someone more like Jesus! Which leads to...
2. A change of my ___MIND___.
"Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." Colossians 3:2 ESV
This is a change of what we are thinking about. Very similar to #1. We’ll never come to the place where we truly set our mind on the things that are above, unless we first seek the things that are above. A change of mind follows a change in focus. If you find church and Christianity a weekly distraction, something that takes you away from what you’re doing and thinking the rest of the week, then you haven’t come to this point yet.
But if you are focused on Jesus in Heaven and discover that you have a real thirst and hunger to know more about Him, a desire to pray to Him, and a desire to be with other people who are worshiping Him, then you have set your mind to be changed by Christ into the person He has created you to become.
God will never violate your free will to be who you want to be. If you want to be your own person, separate and apart from God, then He will grant you your wish - even if that is not best for you and your relationship with Him. But if you change your mind and your focus to Christ, then all the other character changes we’re discussing can subsequently take place.
3. A change of my ___INSTINCTS___.
"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you." Colossians 3:5a ESV
Look over this list of behaviors listed in verse 5. (read them.) No one has to work too hard to be like this. It is instinctual. It’s how we’re naturally bent. This is the description of the old self. It is who we are apart from Christ, without any effort on our part. The list continues in verse 8 (read them) the natural expression that comes out of our mouths expressing what is deep in our hearts.
There is a natural and frustrating process that takes place with this change. We can’t do it. No matter how hard we try, we can’t STOP living this frustrating way. Maybe you’ve tried before. Maybe you’ve committed your heart to Christ and then tried to stop your “sins” - those things you do that don’t please God, or what you don’t do that you should - only to find after a few days of trying that you’ve failed once again and give up. There’s 5 things about this you need to know:
- We can never accomplish this on our own in our own power.
- We never completely achieve the death of what is earthly before our earthly death (that’s why 1 John 1:8-9)
- That’s the whole point of grace - receiving what we don’t deserve and mercy - not receiving what we do deserve.
- We continuously must work on this. God reveals new things to us all the time. There is no such thing as a Christ-follower who doesn’t struggle with his sinful instincts.
- We can’t just STOP doing something without at the same time START doing something else. We cannot do #3 in isolation from #4-6 as follows:
4. A change of my ___KNOWLEDGE___.
"Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." Colossians 3:10 ESV
Knowledge by itself will never make you a Christ follower. The world is filled with people who have studied the Scriptures, but never have been changed by them. Jesus was most frustrated, after all, by the Pharisees of his day, called them “white-washed tombs, beautiful on the outside but full of dead man’s bones on the inside.” (Matt. 23:27) But OTOH, we must study and learn to know what it is that God expects of us. What does it look like to be a Christ follower? We sometimes have very erroneous images of this from media, culture, teachers, parents. Where do we get the right knowledge that can lead to real change?
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." Colossians 3:16 ESV
This is why it is so important for us to focus some of our time every day in the Scriptures. In our study and meditation of God’s Word, our minds are renewed into thinking like God wants us to think! (Rom. 12:2)
5. A change of my ___PRACTICES___.
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,..." Colossians 3:12-15 ESV
When we have the change in #1 - #4, we are ready for this most pragmatic aspect of our Christian lives. This is also what I think is the most misunderstood part of the character change process for any Christ follower. It takes practice! It takes prayer, but it takes more than prayer. It takes practice! It takes God’s Spirit living inside of you, but it takes even more: it takes practice! It takes knowledge and study of God’s Word, but it takes even more... It takes practice!
Have you known people that claim they have had an authentic Christ change in their character, yet still deeply struggle with anger, hatred, jealousy, and bitterness? Part of it may be that none of us have arrived and thus should be careful about judging. But part of it is also this idea of practice. While we never arrive in displaying a Christian character, we should be growing in the display of it. We may not ever achieve it perfectly on this side of Eternity, but we should be achieving it more than we used to!
God wishes to change us from the inside out. But He doesn’t just “zap” us into perfect people. He expects our cooperation. Don’t get this confused with salvation. We can never be saved by anything we do. That’s all Christ and His sacrifice. However, the change that follows from a self-focused person into a Christ-envisioned, Christ-minded, Christ-like person takes our cooperation with the Spirit of God. In other words, it takes practice.
Each one of these Christ-like characteristics: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, etc. start with a recognition that we are failing to live up to what Christ is calling us to do, how Christ is calling us to live. I suggest that each week you work on a different character-istic and deliberately do those things that help you to learn. For example if you struggle with patience, find the longest line at the grocery store, drive in the slowest lane, live without the need to multi-task with your smart phone! If you struggle with humility, find ways to honor the accomplishments of others. Pass off the opportunity to take credit personally. What you practice now will become habit later. The accumulation of a habitual lifestyle turns into your character!
6. A change of my ___DEDICATION___.
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17 ESV
Finally - and what really separates this entire discussion from self-improvement to God-improvement - we change our dedication. Whatever we do and say, we do it and we say it in the name of the Lord Jesus. What does “in the name of Lord Jesus?” To do it as he would. To be under his authority. To do all that would bring good credit and good will to Christ. To honor Christ. Ultimately to worship Christ. In other words, it takes all that we do and say, 7 days a week, 24 hours each day, and turns it into a worship service. It takes away any separation between the sacred and the secular and makes all things sacred... holy and separated unto Christ for His good purposes.
When we change our vision, our mindsets, our instincts, our habitual instincts, our knowledge and our practices - and we give all these changes to our Lord and Savior as our dedication and worship of Him, then we will find ourselves well along the path of becoming like Jesus, with His character. Our life stories will be stories we love to have told, showing ourselves to be authentic Christ-followers. Let’s pray.
