Colossians 3:1-11; The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost; August 3, 2025;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:1–11, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

I blame the refrigerator. I put stuff in, and it goes bad. It’s supposed to keep it for later, but later never seems to come. When I finally get around to wanting it, it’s bad. The drawer in there that’s called the vegetable crisper, is really a vegetable rotter. The mold in some of the containers has become self-aware. I moved a container of milk to get a Dr. Pepper, and it said “Excuuuse me!” I’ve taken to asking some of the containers questions, like I ask Alexa. In some cases, they know more. Last night, I was awakened from sleep by a racket in the fridge, like the mold and rotten milk heard it was Fisherman’s Picnic and were partying like tourists.

If you want a clean refrigerator, you must clean it out. You must get rid of the old stuff, either by keeping up with eating leftovers, or you’ve got to throw it out, you’ve got to put the rotten stuff “to death”.

It is true in your Christian life. That’s what Paul is talking about here. He is talking about living a baptismal life.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (v3)

He’s building on what he said in Chapter 2.

…having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him… (Col 2:12-13, ESV)

And in Romans,

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (Romans 6:3, ESV)

Being baptized into Christ, means that that Old Adam, your sinful nature, has been killed, drowned to death. You have been crucified with Christ.

He gives an example in himself,

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

If Paul is correct (and he is!), he is telling us what it means to live a baptismal life, a Christian life. “Put on the new self!”, Live life as a Baptized child of God. Being a Christian means that Christ on the cross is the power and pattern for transformation from the old self, to the new one.

It’s a bit like cleaning out my fridge. It’s not hard to tell what needs to go. God’s law, his Word, identifies what is sinful. You’ve heard that before. The law shows us our sin, like looking in a mirror, when you look into it you see your zits, blemishes and bad hair. When you open a container in the fridge, if a bad smell fills the kitchen, you know it’s bad.

Paul makes a list;

sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry

Christians recognize all these as works of Satan and his worldly forces. But the sins of the flesh are not always so big. From CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.

“You will say that these are very small sins … But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from [the Enemy] God. … Murder is no better than cards … Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope…”

Paul is warning that unchecked sins, small and great, are a pathway away from the Christian life toward God’s just judgement. It is a fair warning, because we are all still living in our sin.

The cross shows us just how serious sin in our lives is. Our sinful nature can’t be defeated without a death. The Old Adam deserves death. He deserves hell. He deserves the wrath of God.

But there is more to the cross than only punishment. It is that surely. Christ is punished for the sins of our Old Adam. The cross is also our only means of salvation. On the cross Jesus takes our punishment. All of them, both small and great. Daily repentance is our means of returning to the cross. It is the reason why we begin most of our worship services with it. Listen to our confession again, listen for how broad it is, it covers sin that lives in our Old Adam, the Absolution points to the only means of his death.

Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Pastor: Almighty God, in His mercy, has given His Son to die for you and, for His sake, forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

It harkens back to your Baptism. We plead to God for forgiveness, because we have been baptized. And he answers, “you are forgiven.” It is exactly what Paul means when he says,

Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (v. 11).

The death of the self, the Old Adam, is spiritually real. It is based on God’s promises that are given to you in Holy Baptism.

Paul uses very specific language in our text. “put to death” νεκρώσατε (nekrōsate). It means to kill it dead, completely. He is talking about an active murder. He doesn’t say, manage it, or compromise with it. We see this in Christians who protect their pet sin by saying things like, “I know it’s wrong, but I also know God wants me to be happy.” The truth is you can’t do the killing. It isn’t something human beings can’t accomplish. It is accomplished by God through Holy Baptism and daily repentance. It happens daily through the work of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Word of God. From Romans 8(:13).

…if by the Spirit you put to death (θανατοῦτε) the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13, ESV)

And in Galatians

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24, ESV)

The putting to death, the murder of the Old Adam happens at the cross and is propelled to Christians through our connection to Christ in Holy Baptism. And activated by daily repentance.

When Paul says, “put on” ἐνδύσασθε (endýsasthe) he is showing us the way. A literal definition is “sink into the garment”. You could say “sink into the water of Holy Baptism and the garment given”. He is suggesting a change of clothes. You have already been given the garment in your conversion to Christ, put it on every day!

Luther often describes the Christian life as wearing a Christ-like garment, a robe of righteousness. That is Jesus’ righteousness. And just like you put on clean cloths every day (or you should anyway), you do put on Christs’ robe of righteousness by returning to your Baptism every day.

The bad stuff in my fridge is my fault. There is no way around it. If you want a clean refrigerator, you must get rid of what’s bad. You must make room for more stuff to save for later. That’s the Christian life also. It’s your fault that sin lives in you. You can’t move forward toward a better life with all that bad stuff there. But there is a difference. I can clean out my fridge, it just takes stopping the procrastination. But you can’t remove the sin in your life. The Old Adam will be with you until you die. He will always push you away from God. But there is something you can do. You are doing it right now, right here. Open your ears and hear God’s Word of law and gospel. Listen when the law convicts you. Repent when you recognize the sin described as yours. Return to your baptism daily. Plead to God for forgiveness, he is faithful he will forgive.

And don’t forget. There is more you can do. When God makes his altar call, “This is my body… This is my blood….” Come to his supper and receive forgiveness, life and salvation. There is no better way to be sure that Jesus Christ died for you than to receive him through the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

The Word, the Water and the Bread and Wine are the Holy Spirit at work. He is removing your sin. He is prompting you to be better in your life. He cleans out your rottenness, your spoiled food. He is at work every day calling you to live in your Baptism. He is showing you, prompting you to serve your neighbor. And when you fail, he is there, not to condemn but to forgive, encourage and live in your Baptismal, Christian life. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.