Our Paul’s of today

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

I have spent a LOT of time in a few verses in Colossians preparing a research paper recently. The Apostle Paul had written the letter as a means of correction and direction in pointing them to the centrality of Christ. Epaphras had started the church who was predominately Gentile, but it had battled cultural influences and traditions. There were many false teachers that emerged leading followers astray with the injection of the tradition into the message of Christ’s Gospel. They had added to the requirements, and even steered many away with blasphemy. There were so many heresies, one particular was not named in the scripture.

I thought of our team in India this morning. God’s light has been shown and hundreds of small house churches have been started by very young preachers just as Epaphras thousand of years ago. They are battling the influences of their culture and a lack of knowledge on their own. There are many questions unanswered and those who are agnostic can gain an upper hand. Our team is the Paul of today; teaching, edifying, encouraging, and simply pointing them to the centrality and supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ as Paul did throughout Colossians. 9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

The people of Colosse had entwined into the simplicity of the Gospel, the need to earn their salvation through their works in addition to it. They had moved to worshiping stars, angels, denying themselves, and many other influences of society and tradition. The Gospel or Good News of Christ is so simple we even complicate it today. We can never earn our way into heaven.  Living a good life will not outweigh your bad on God’s eternity judgement scale and get you into heaven. Salvation produces good works but good works do not produce salvation. The only way into heaven is through a humble repentant heart. A realization of your sin, the confession and plea for forgiveness of that sin, and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Lord over your life with the price He paid with His blood on the cross at Calvary.  John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.