Treasure in Christ

We’re all here preparing to go to college or to help you prepare to go. College continues your investment in education, but education is a means to an end. The end is a career. But a career is not an end either. It is a means to gain wealth or prestige or meaning or just to get out on our own so we can live life how we want. In his book, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis wrote: “It would seem our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak….We are far too easily pleased.” Our hope, our dreams, our goals are far too small compared with what Jesus offers. Paul fights for us, pleads with us, to choose what really matters and hang onto it with all our might.

Notes

Scripture quotations from the New International Version (NIV) (1984)

We pick up at the very end of Col 2:2 and on into verse 3 (NIV). Paul says his purpose ultimately is

that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, (Col 2:3) in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

• Our life goal should be knowing Jesus Christ—personally, like our actual King and Lord, Savior and friend
• There are treasures in knowing Him beyond our present imagination
• Paul says, in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
• Wisdom, knowledge, education, it all leads to one kind of treasure or another
  • In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon points out many of the treasures (Chapter 2)
    • Respect or Prestige
    • All the pleasures of mankind
    • Houses and fields and buildings and gardens and crops of all kinds
    • Any and every kind of food and drink from all over the earth
    • Servants and entertainers
    • Possessions beyond number
    • Money
    • Power and influence
  • Solomon was the wisest, richest, most influential man in his day
    • He had it all
    • But said it was all “meaningless” (Ecc 1:2, NIV) and “a chasing after wind” (Ecc 1:17, NIV)
    • The problem with wisdom is you start to see why all this earth and this life has to offer is pointless:
      • You can’t take it with you
      • You spend your life laboring for treasure and have to leave it all behind
      • It’s like a waste of our lives
      • What’s the point?
    • He comes as close to the answer to his dilemma as he can in his day
      • Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. (Ecc 12:13-14, NIV)
    • He knew we would be judged for everything we did in this life,
    • but he didn’t know Jesus and how He could change everything
• Paul says that ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ
  • Jesus said you could have a hundred times of all of Solomon’s treasures—if you give them up for Him and for His Gospel (Mk 10:29-30)
    • Homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields—and persecutions
  • He intends to give us new heavens and a new earth, where we will rule with Him forever! (Rev 5:9-10; Rev 21:1-7)
    • What we gain by living for Him and His Gospel, we can keep and use forever (Mt 6:19-21, NIV)
    • Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:32-34, NIV)
  • Only the treasure that comes by walking in the wisdom and knowledge of Jesus Christ can never be lost!
  • So we must fight to hold fast to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to know Him and serve Him in truth.

(Col 2:4) I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

• There are many who would seek to rob you and me of this eternal treasure
• And they have “fine-sounding” or persuasive arguments—do not be deceived!
• There are those who look and sound like Christians
  • Like the “super-apostles” who were sowing division and confusion among the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:1-6)
  • Or the Jewish preachers who were trying to convince the Galatians that without completing or participating in certain religious rites and rituals, they would not be saved
• There are also those who want nothing to do with Christianity
  • • Like the godless “men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom 1:18, NIV)
    • Who deny God as Creator, deny Noah’s Flood and deny the coming judgment by fire (2 Pet 3:3-7)
    • Who introduce and promote all kinds of immoral behavior (Rom 1:24-32)
• There are many who once believed but have since wandered from the truth and abandoned the faith
  • And they damage not only themselves but others (2Tim 2:16-18; Titus 1:10-11)
  • Perhaps you’ve heard of the “deconstructing” pastors, Christian musicians and influencers
    • They have lost everything
    • And they want us to lose the eternal treasure offered in Christ
    • To comfort themselves in their error
• To give into any of these deceivers is to lose our salvation (Heb 6:4-6)
• But the Colossians, their faith and their treasure, are safe...for now

(Col 2:5) For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

• Paul knows the genuineness of the Colossians’ faith, how firmly they trust and follow Jesus
• But he also knows how easily an individual or a church can fall
  • He has fought false teachers and destructive heresies as long as he has served Christ
  • All it takes is a little carelessness, a little overconfidence, a little lowering of our guard (1Cor 10:1-12)
    • We’re too easily impressed by eloquent speakers and fine-sounding arguments (2Cor 11:1-6; Col 3:4)
    • We’re too quick to explain away those parts of the Bible that we don’t want to obey—or accept teachers who do it for us (Prv 3:7)
    • We’re overconfident in the firmness of our faith (1Cor 10:11-12)
    • We slip either into legalism or liberalism, a bit of both! (Mt 16:6-12)
    • We leave it to others to test every doctrine and every teacher against the Scriptures (Acts 17:11; 1Jn 4:1-6)
    • We give in to the worries and cares and distractions and temptations of this life (Lk 21:34; 1 Cor 10:1-10)
    • We don’t recognize the deceitfulness of sin and miss the grace of God to repent and find freedom, and we become ensnared by bitterness or sexual immorality or godlessness (Heb 3:12-13; Heb 12:15-16)
  • These things don’t lead us away all at once, but slowly, gradually, until we abandon faith in Him altogether
  • We need to fight to remain faithful and grow in faithfulness, as Paul says in the next two verses.

(Col 2:6) So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, (Col 2:7) rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

• If we don’t want to lose our faith in Christ and lose all the treasure He offers, we need to live in Him and grow in Him in the very same way we received Him as Lord
• You hold firmly to that original, Biblical Gospel
  • Don’t change it; don’t let others change it for you—that will cost you your salvation (Gal 5:1-4)
  • You have received the Lord Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus as Lord
    • He is a King—your King!
    • He is coming to rule the world and judge us and everyone in it
• You build on that foundation
  • by studying His Word
  • and growing in your understanding of who He is,
  • of how He wants us to live,
  • trusting all He promises, conforming our lives to His likeness
• That should lead to a natural overflowing with thankfulness
  • To God, to Jesus
  • For the forgiveness Jesus brings you by His death and resurrection
  • For the treasure He promises you for your faithfulness, obedience and pursuit of greatness in His Kingdom!
  • For the grace and power He provides to help you grow in His ways and gain the treasure He offers
  • And for so much more!

(Col 2:8) See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

• It is up to you and me to guard ourselves from being taken captive
  • We need to watch out for unbiblical influences
  • We need to test everything against the truth recorded for us in the Bible
  • We can’t leave it to others alone to protect us—what if they go astray?
• These are hollow and deceptive philosophies because they cannot save us,
  • They can sound very wise and convincing, and lead us right into eternal destruction!
  • They depend on human wisdom and experience rather than on the Creator and His clear, direct instruction and revelation
    • They promote the ideas and philosophies of men—even when the Scripture contradicts them
    • Some add human rules to the Scriptures, thinking they’re wiser that way even as they undermine the actual teaching of God (Mark 7:1-13)
    • Some cast aside God’s commands because of “new” definitions of God’s words, meaning and purposes
      • the word “love” has been severely abused in this modern age
  • They depend on the basic principles of this world—as best we understand them at present!
    • Science is constantly correcting itself—at least where it’s willing to admit it’s wrong
    • We’re still trying to figure out how the creation works
    • Many scientists refuse to consider the truth of God as Creator and Judge, so they’re blind to the testimony of the things they study
      • The evidence for Creation and the Flood screams in their faces, but they refuse to see it
      • They are deceived and being deceived
      • They lead themselves down a broad way that leads to destruction and encourage as many others to follow after them (Rom 1:18-32)
• We protect ourselves and those around us when we trust our lives to Jesus Christ alone, His wisdom and His Word
  • The creativity of wicked men and their false ideas knows no limit
  • For any of us to evaluate a teaching from anyone, inside or outside the Church, we have to ask: Is it based on the Bible and on the true Jesus revealed therein?
    • You say, “Everyone has their own interpretation!”
    • That doesn’t mean they’re all correct!
    • There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph 4:4-6, NIV)
    • There is only one true “version” of God, just like there is only one real you
    • You are knowable and so is God
      • But knowing you, the real you, depends on how much you reveal about yourself
      • And how much others listen and believe you
    • God has revealed everything He wants us to know about Him through the Bible
      • That means you and I need to know our Bible and walk with God by doing what it teaches
      • Over time we will know Him better and better
      • And all of us who invest the time needed will in time come to the same conclusions about Him and about living the life He intends
        • Few of us are there yet
        • So we need to keep humble and teachable, continually learning, practicing, growing
        • We need to follow and learn from those who are further along in their learning and practice

(Col 2:9) For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, (Col 2:10) and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

• There is no one more qualified to teach and model who God really is and what He wants of us than Jesus
• Jesus is God in human flesh
  • Fully God, fully man
  • Highest authority on God and men
  • He alone, among men, is God
    • Your favorite scientist, philosopher, politician is not God in human form
    • Your favorite teacher, athlete, movie star, musician, parent or anyone else is not God in human form
    • You and I are not all-wise and all-knowing; we are not God in human form
  • If you build your life on the wisdom of any person—including yourself—who is not Jesus Christ, any wisdom other than the Bible, you will be eternally lost
• And amazingly, those of us who believe and follow the true Jesus Christ have been made complete
  • We’ve been giving everything we need for life and godliness
    • All Scripture (2 Tim 3:16-17)
    • New creation (Eph 4:20-24)
    • God’s great and precious promises (2Pe 1:3-4)
    • Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14; Rom 8:9-11; Gal 5:24-25)
  • We are able to live holy and godly lives that store up treasure in Heaven that we can never lose
  • We are able to give up all things for Christ and His Gospel, and receive here a hundred times as much—and then eternity reigning with Him, building and enjoying the incredible kingdom and righteous society God intended from the beginning

We all seek a profession and learn skills at least to put food on our table. Like Solomon, we may think that’s all there is to this life, just to work and enjoy our family and find whatever pleasure we can during our few days on earth. Then we die and leave everything behind.

Jesus says differently. You can invest for your eternity even today. You can think of ways you could help more people hear and know about Jesus and learn to walk in His ways. You could use your profession as a tool to teach others about Christ and how to walk in His ways. Or you could make that your profession!

How ambitious are you? What treasure will you seek? Things that last a lifetime and are left behind? Or things that last for eternity and are forever yours. Only those things done to know and serve Jesus Christ and to help others know and serve Him earn treasure that lasts forever. What will you give your life for?