Journey WitnessesSample

The church in the city of Colossae was largely Gentile, yet suffered from a strange influence of false doctrine from Old Testament Jewish roots mixed with pagan philosophy. This created two unique but important problems for the Colossian church. One problem dealt with combining legalism with Christianity based in the grace and finished work of Jesus. The second combined mystical philosophies with faith in Christ. This, of course, led to behaviors and practices inconsistent with Jesus’ life and teachings. 

Paul’s call to the Colossians was to rid themselves of this skewed way of thinking and all that it creates and become someone new. It was a call to recognize the supremacy of Christ as well as the power they possessed as followers and witnesses of Him. 

But how? How do we put on our new selves? In one sense, we already have. We were raised with Christ (v. 1, NIV), and so we are made new. Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves of that! “I’m a new person. That old, sinful person is gone.” But the new self is also being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator (v. 10, NIV). When we study the Bible and learn about God, we aren’t merely amassing information about our Maker; we are becoming more like Him. Our lives as followers of Jesus should bear witness to the gospel at work in us. The gospel has incredible transformative power because of the power of the Spirit at work.