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Mortification Of Sin (Colossians 3:5-7)
I. What Does It Mean To Mortify?
II. What Must We Mortify?
III. Why Must We Mortify?
I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our text for today's message is taken from Colossians 3:5–7, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. For which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, in the which ye also walk sometime, when ye lived in them.” The Lord bless the reading of His holy and sacred Word.
The word “therefore” always brings us to the preceding verse or verses. In verse 1 to 4, the apostle Paul said to the Colossians that, ‘As believers, you were united with Christ in His death and resurrection. And just as Christ was raised from the dead, you were raised with Him unto the new man, the new creature. And this new transformation in Christ, though hidden from the world, one day will be revealed in glory with Him.’ In other words, knowing what was written about your salvation and what had happened in your life in your conversion, then it must result in this.
This is very typical of Paul’s writing. He first established the theology. Then he will follow up with a call to live out the theology. For example, in the book of Ephesians, the first three chapters had to do with doctrines. And then Paul began with a call in chapter 4:1, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.”
Similarly, in the book of Romans chapter 1–11, Paul established some of the most wonderful theology, and then he began with the call in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Likewise, here to the Colossians, Paul said, ‘You are united with Christ, and whatever happened to Him happened to you. When He died, you died. When He was buried, you were buried. When He rose, you rose. When He ascended and was seated at the right hand of the Majesty, you were raised with Him and blessed with all spiritual blessings, and one day you will dwell together with Him in heaven forever.’ He first established the theology, then he gave the call: ‘Therefore, now while you are still alive living in this world, this is what you must do and this is how you must live your life.’
The title of our message is: “Mortification Of Sin”.
I. What Does It Mean To Mortify?
Firstly, we want to understand what does it mean to mortify. Look at verse 5, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.” To mortify is to kill or put to death. And what we must put to death are our members, as in this earthly body.
Remember Jesus also said something similar in Matthew 5:29, “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”
Obviously, both Jesus and Paul did not mean a physical surgery. Sin does not come from the eye or the hand or the leg, but the heart, the evil within. Nonetheless, some people still have the misconception that this mortification is about a physical cutting. Origen, one of the theologians of the early church, believed in this literal physical cutting so much so that he had himself castrated, though later in his life he regretted.
Several hundred years ago in England, if a big pickpocket was caught and convicted, his right hand would be cut off. If he was caught again, his left hand would be cut off. There was one pickpocket who was caught twice and both his hands were cut off, but he continued stealing with his teeth. The physical cutting of our members cannot change the heart. This is not what mortification means.
To mortify is to die with the evil practices. To put to death those sinful things that we used to indulge in, to eliminate those things associated with us that are contrary to godliness. Some people may be surprised to learn that we must still mortify. We must still put to death.
Did not the Bible say that in Christ Jesus we are already crucified in our old man? As Romans 6:6 says, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
Are we not dead to sin already? Then why must we still mortify or put to death?
You see, at the point of our conversion, positionally our old man has already been crucified. However, that positional reality must still be worked out in our practical life as we live in this mortal body.
As believers, we are new creatures on the inside. The old has passed and the new has come. But this new creature lives in this old body which can be troubled by sin. And this body can either be an instrument for righteousness or an instrument for unrighteousness. The inner new man has the desire to live a life to please God, but the old sinful flesh is holding it back. So the battle is on, and the believer will always struggle from within.
As Paul said in Romans chapter 7, ‘On one hand, I know this is the right thing to do, but I do not do it. On the other hand, I know this is the wrong thing to do, but yet I do it.’
Dear friend, as believers, we have died to sin’s penalty, but sin’s power can still be very strong, and our flesh is weak. Sin is like a defeated king who no longer reigns nor has the ability to condemn, but he still works hard to devastate all his former subjects. That is why we must continually put sin to death by yielding to the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit’s weapon is the Word of God.
So as the believer is grounded in God’s Word and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, he will be able to mortify or put to death the sin that so easily beset him. When we say we put sin to death, we do not mean sin is dead. Sin is not dead. It is very much alive and active. But we are dead. And sin must find us dead. That is what it means to mortify.
II. What Must We Mortify?
Secondly, what must we mortify? Paul gave a list of sins and they had to do with sexual immorality. I believe there’s no greater sin that has plagued the believers more devastatingly than sexual immorality. Perhaps that was the reason why Paul dealt with them here.
For many years, there was a man named David, not his real name, who was known to be a faithful Christian. In fact, he was an elder of the church. He was the father of three grown-up children, the husband of a respectable and submissive wife. He was very effective in counselling and helping couples who were going through difficult times in their marriages. Young people, teenagers, would approach him for help whenever they ran into trouble. He was always the first person the pastor would speak to in church matters until one day, they found out that he was living an adulterous life and he was unrepentant, even till today.
Sadly, this was not the first nor isolated case. Some of us have known of pastors and church leaders who have succumbed to sexual immorality and left their families and ministries. If it can happen to church leaders, how much more ordinary lay Christians.
Beginning with “fornication” — the original Greek word for “fornication” is from where we get the English word ‘pornography’. The only sexual relationship God permits is within the marriage, between a husband and a wife. Anything outside of it is considered fornication: pre-marital sex, adultery, etc. It is a general term to describe all kinds of immoral sexual sins.
“Uncleanness”, or impurity, is a more general term than fornication. It goes beyond the act to the evil thoughts and intentions of the mind. Remember Jesus said: “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Though the physical act of adultery was not committed, it was already played out in his mind through his unclean thoughts. And God is able to say into the hearts and minds of men, and to Him this person has already committed adultery.
“Inordinate affection” means passion, and in this context, it is a reference to sexual passion. It is very similar to the next sin, “evil concupiscence”, which means evil desires. Sometimes both terms are used together, like in the case of 1 Thessalonians 4:5, “Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God.” It can be translated as, ‘Not in the passion of evil desires, even as the Gentiles who know not God.’
Perhaps the difference between these two terms is that inordinate affection refers to the physical side, and evil concupiscence refers to the mental side. Such behaviour is completely inappropriate for the believers.
Today we are living in an age whereby the world is desperately trying to promote these sins. Once an old grandfather told me that the young people in our time face greater challenges than the young people in his time. He said, ‘Today it is so difficult to watch a proper TV programme without something immoral popping up, whether in the show itself or through the advertisements. It is so different from my time.’
Isn't it true? The television shows are so filled with immoralities and perversions of all sorts. Not that they did not have immoralities in those days, but we are speaking of the frequency, the intensity, and the extent of it. Think about this: adultery and cohabitation are considered societal norms, something unheard of in those days. Gays and lesbians proudly declare their sexuality, and at the same time they are being praised for it.
We are living in such perilous times. But what is even more frightening is our ability to deceive ourselves. There are Christians who carry very large Bibles wherever they go and will engage themselves in deep theological debates, yet secretly they are living adulterous lives. There are Christians who project themselves as fundamentalists, but at home they are addicted to pornography. It is frightening because the delusion can be so deep that some do not even think it is inconsistent with what they profess to believe in.
Dear friend, there are some things in our lives that we must mortify, put to death. Whether it be some books or magazines we love to read, or some movies we love to watch, or some places we love to visit, websites that we will go into — anything that will lead us to immorality has to be mortified. There’s no room for compromise. Either your sin will eat you up, or you stem it out. Cut it out, put it to death. As the Puritan Richard Baxter said, “Kill it before it kills you.”
Proverbs 6:27 says, “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?”
Many Christians are like that. They say, ‘It is all right. Just relax a little bit and things will be all right.’ Can you take the fire, put it on your lap, and your clothes not be burned? Surely it will be burned. You cannot compromise with sin. Either you mortify it, or you will be burned.
We must be like Job, who said, “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” (Job 31:1)
The end of verse 5 says, “And covetousness, which is idolatry.” Here, “covetousness” is not just desiring to have more than what you have, but desiring to have more than what you ought to have, particularly that which belongs to someone else.
It is interesting to note that covetousness is mentioned at the end of the list of sexual sins. William Barclay, the Bible commentator, said, “Covetousness is the root of all sins. It is a sin with a very wide range. If it is the desire for money, it leads to death. If it is the desire for prestige, it leads to wicked ambition. If it is the desire for power, it leads to sadistic tyranny. If it is the desire for a person, it leads to sexual sin.”
Though most of the time covetousness may be about material things like money, do you realise that when you look at a woman in a magazine — for that matter, a man also applies to the woman— and lust after the person, you are coveting someone’s wife, daughter, or sister. You are coveting the sensuous relationship. It is all about coveting. It is idolatry because you are putting your trust in a person or a material thing and making it your god. Whatever you put your trust in, you worship.
It is a reality. Essentially, you are putting your desires above God, and it is idolatry. Covetousness is extremely dangerous to the church, to the believers, all of us. Because most of the time, people think that it is not that bad. ‘He’s just covetous or greedy, that’s all. He’s not that bad a person.’ There’s a saying: if a man is drunk with wine, you kick him out of the church. If he is drunk with money, you make him the leader. Often times it is the successful covetous person whom we honour, admire, look up to, and want to be friends with. That is just how dangerous it is.
III. Why Must We Mortify?
Finally, why must we mortify? Look at verse 6: “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.”
There are serious consequences because God will react against sin. For this reason, the unbelievers will face the full force of His eternal wrath. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” In fact, according to Romans 2:5, the Bible tells us that the unbelievers are storing up wrath for themselves.
Here Paul was not warning the Colossian believers that if they sin, the moment they sin, they will face the wrath of God. Believers will not face the wrath of God. As 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
What Paul meant here is that believers, saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, should not participate in those kinds of sins that characterise those who would face God’s eternal wrath. Although believers have been delivered from God’s wrath, they are still subjected to His discipline. Hebrews 12:5 says, “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”
The unbeliever will experience God’s eternal wrath. The believer will experience His loving discipline, which is necessary for us when we sin against Him. Either way, all who pursue sin will suffer the consequences.
Verse 7, “In the which ye also walked sometime, when ye lived in them.” We used to walk in those ways. It was the life we used to live in the past. We were walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, that is, Satan. We were the children of God’s wrath.
But since we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have died with Him. And the same power that raised Jesus from the dead has raised us unto life. We are the new man in Christ if we are true believers.
Therefore, we must live in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in us. We are different. In a sense, Paul was saying, to a certain degree, you know how it was to live in sin. You know what it meant to carry the guilt of your sins, and ultimately the judgment you had to face because of your sin. You know, because you were delivered from it. So do not return to it.
It is like taking a hammer, knocking on our hands, feeling the pain, the swelling, crying out, and then using some ointment to apply on the wound — it took some time to heal. Will we then put our hands under the hammer again? God forbids. Common sense tells us it is foolish. You import this illustration into the spiritual realm. It is foolishness to return to something that we have been delivered from.
We are not teaching sinless perfection. No man is. We fall from time to time. But believers must not and cannot live in habitual sins.
Most of us have walked into airport terminals before, and sometimes we see the passenger transportation jeep approaching from all directions. It has a flashing light, a loud beeper to tell the people that it is approaching. But yet it is not uncommon to see people walking straight into the path of the jeep. Often times the driver has to slam his foot on the brakes. People are not blind, deaf, or deranged. But why do they still ignore the lights, beeping, and warning signs?
The expert said that in a busy airport, the senses of most people can become so overloaded by all the lights, beeping, and warning signs that the signals are no longer effectively activating the brain. The same is true about us.
We are living in a world that is so deeply immersed in sinful entertainment, worldliness, immoralities, and materialistic pursuits that our hearts and minds are becoming immune to all the warning signs as given in the Scriptures.
How then can we live a pure life, mortify, and put sin to death? Allow me to end by giving you some practical applications.
The Spirit of God indwells in us
Firstly, we must be mindful of the reality that as believers, the Spirit of God indwells in our hearts. No one is greater than the third Person of the Trinity, and He is dwelling in us. Can you fathom that thought? Would you then involve yourself in fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, concupiscence, and covetousness? God forbids.
Once a mother suggested to a young daughter how to stop the advances of young men. The mother said, ‘Tell them, stop it. I’m a Christian, and I am a temple of the Holy Spirit.’ Her friends thought this advice was hilarious, ridiculous, and they made a mockery out of her. But little did they realise that the young girl was so filled with a sense of awesomeness that the Spirit of God was dwelling in her. And she went on to live a most godly and honourable life. Are you mindful of the Holy Spirit indwelling in you?
The Word of God is our yardstick
Secondly, we have the Word of God as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path to guide and lead us, without which we will be groping in spiritual darkness. We need the Bible as a yardstick. The more we are grounded in the Bible, the more we are able to overcome the sins and temptations of life.
A word of advice to all our young people: when you pray for life partners, do not be swept away by good looks, or fanciful words, or glamorous lifestyles, but look for someone who loves God and is grounded in His Word. That is the kind of person you want for a husband or a wife.
Seek counsel and accountability from godly believers
Thirdly, we need to seek counsel from our parents, pastors, elders, Bible teachers, or godly friends to develop accountability. When our brothers and sisters are not living their lives in a godly fashion, we must have the love and courage to tell them, to counsel them. For this reason, we have all the fellowship groups in the church, that we may have accountability and check one another whether the Bible is guiding our lives or the world is guiding our lives. We need one another to check for accountability.
Sometimes parents will say that the church is too strict or the young people are too rigid. Ask yourself this simple question: if your child cannot even stand for his or her conviction among believers in the church, how can you expect him or her to stand before the unbelieving world? The unbelieving world will show no mercy to your children.
There is no room for compromise
Finally, avoid even small compromises. Sin has to be nipped at the bud. Do not take sin lightly. Oh, it is just the way life is. It is just a friendly relationship, or it is just once. By way of illustration, it is like the flame on a gas stove. The flame will grow more intense when more fuel is injected. The only way is to stop the fuel and cut off the flame, however small it may be.
People who fall into very serious sins of sexual immorality often begin with just seemingly trivial things. I say seemingly because beneath it, it is very dangerous. They engage themselves in conversation with their colleagues who talk about their sinful adventures, laugh about it, hear all the things, watch the movies, surf the internet carelessly, and soon the flames of desire would burn out of control, and they will commit grievous sins.
The only way to stop it is to snuff the flames by denying the fuel. And in this case, do not even entertain them. The moment you sense something is wrong, flee and do not feel. Do not engage yourselves in anything unwholesome, unsavoury, or unacceptable in the sight of God.
Conclusion
For the believers, remember we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. We must not grieve the Holy Spirit. This is how we must live our lives. This is how we must honour God. And this is what we must do: mortify and put sin to death to the glory of God.
Let us pray.
Father in heaven, we give You thanks for reminding us, as we begin this new year, of the mortification of sin. Indeed, positionally, our old man has been crucified in Christ with Him. However, that positional reality must still be worked out in our practical life as we live in this mortal body, which can still be troubled by sin. Either we use our body as an instrument for righteousness, or as an instrument for unrighteousness.
And Thou hast taught us once again, reminding us through this passage because Thou lovest us and continues to love us. Thou wantest us to live a life of purity. Therefore, we must mortify or put sin to death. And we pray that we will not just hear, but we will apply. And we know that we are always in Thy presence. There’s never a moment whereby we can escape Thy eyes. And Thou, who art watching us, knowest our thoughts, our hearts, and our desires. And so we want to be in tune with Thee. We want to be conscious of the presence of Thee and the indwelling Holy Spirit in us. We want to obey Thy Word. Therefore, we need to read, study, meditate, and memorise the holy Scriptures.
Thou hast placed us in a church like this, not by chance, nor coincidence, but by Thy appointment, and all the fellowship groups are created that we may develop accountability one for another. And we ought to check on one another whether we are being led by the Bible or being led by the world. And we praise and thank Thee for how Thou hast given to us our parents, church leaders, Bible teachers, and godly friends that we may have. And we pray that we will be mindful of all this goodness. And we will not make even small compromises.
For we know that sin has to be nipped at the bud. There’s no room for compromise. Either sin will eat us up, or we stem it out. Mortify and put it to death. This is what we must do, and this is how we must live our lives to the glory of Thy precious name. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.