Speaker	Sermon/Lesson Title	Audio   Video  Text   MS Word	Category
Bobby Stafford	The Book of Colossians Lesson 4 Colossians 1:19-23		Colossians

Reconciliation

Introduction:

Reconciliation is a word that warms the heart and gives us a reason to rejoice when two former good friends, who have been enemies for years, have been reconciled and are enjoying friendship again; when a father and a son, who haven’t spoken in years, have been brought back together as a family once again; and when a husband and wife, separated for a long time, have been reconciled as God intended.  These are all occasions of joy and happiness.

Text:  Colossians 1:19-23

Aim:  Jesus is the only One capable of reconciling man to God.

Body:

I.            The Need of Reconciliation  Colossians 1:21 “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled” NKJV  Sin alienates a person from God.  (Isaiah 59:1-2) “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” NKJV  Man becomes separated from God due to sin and falls out of intimate fellowship with Him.  Man loses peace with God, becomes an enemy of God, and one who is against God.  He opposes Him by living in sin instead of living for Him. 

II.          How We Can Be Reconciled  Colossians 1:19, 20, 22 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight – ” NKJV  By virtue of the fact that Christ possesses all power and attributes of God, He and He alone, had the ability to reconcile man to God, to bring him back into fellowship.  So, because man was incapable of bringing this about, God took the first step and sent Jesus Christ into the world.   

(II Corinthians 5:18-21) “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us; we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” NKJV  By His death, Christ bridged that gulf between man and God which had been caused by man’s sins.  He was made a sin offering to bring us back to God.  His death paid the price for sin.  His death also put to death the enmity which existed between man and God, thus producing peace.  (Ephesians 2:14-18) “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.  And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.  For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” NKJV  This reconciliation is only found in the one body, the church.  [We can be friends again.]  Colossians 1:18 “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” NKJV  For this reconciliation to occur, we must reach to Him, come in contact with the blood of Christ.  His blood was shed in death.  Therefore, if we desire peace with God, we must contact His blood and get into His body.  (Romans 6:3-4) “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” NKJV  One baptized into Christ is baptized into His death! 

III.        The Blessings of Being Reconciled  Colossians 1:22-23 “in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight – if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” NKJV  Staying reconciled to God is conditional.  It depends on if we continue in the faith, remain obedient to the gospel, and continue to confess our sins.  We must remain “grounded and steadfast.”  (I John 1:7-9) “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” NKJV  Note the warning in II Peter 3:17. “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;” NKJV  He will not impute sin to us.  (Romans 4:7-8) “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” NKJV  He will not impute sin to us and will present us “holy.”  Being holy is being separated from the world, called out of it, and being added to the church.  Holy and blameless are words used to describe the church in Ephesians 5:27. “that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” NKJV  We must be “above reproach” before God.  No charge can be laid to our account.  This is how God considers us if we continue in the faith.

Conclusion:

One of life’s happiest moments occurs when someone is reconciled to God through obeying the gospel.  (Romans 5:10-11) “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of HIs Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” NKJV  Are you willing to do just that? 

Bobby Stafford 

November 27, 2016 

Colossians:  Lesson 4  Colossians 1:19-23