Becoming a Spiritually Authentic Person - Part Two

How many of you like to watch birds? I have here in my hands a well-thumbed copy of a little book called Roger Tory Peterson’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America. This is a compendium of all of the birds of North America. It contains a wealth of information in a concise format that you can take out into the field with you - that’s why it’s called a Field Guide.

This Field Guide puts all the birds of North America into several categories, and it describes them on the basis of two things: what they look like, and how they behave: their appearance and their activity. Just by knowing those two things about a bird—what it looks like and what its habits are—you can tell what kind of bird it is.

Now I got to thinking—wouldn’t it be good if we could do the same thing with people? Especially in the area of spirituality. Because there are many people out there who claim to be one thing spiritually, but on closer inspection they turn out to be something totally different. Wouldn’t it be good if we had a field guide for spiritually authentic people?

You remember the story of Rev. Jim Jones—how he preached love and peace and harmony and built a dynamic church in San Francisco. But then he led his followers to South America, where they ended up committing mass suicide in the jungles of British Guyana.

Or what about the Rajneesh—that spiritual guru who was popular awhile ago out on the West Coast? He preached love and sacrifice and service, but he lived in a mansion and drove around in a Rolls Royce while his followers begged for donations on street corners.

Spiritual authenticity isn’t just an issue among the far-out cults; it’s an issue in the church as well. Author Philip Yancey, in his book “The Church: Why Bother?” tells how he grew up in a fundamentalist Bible-believing church in the southern United States. He went to Sunday School and memorized the Bible and sang the great hymns of the faith and heard Gospel sermons every Sunday in that church. But he also remembers that one Sunday a black man showed up at the church and was rudely turned away at the door because his skin was the wrong color.

Wouldn’t it be good, in the midst of all of the noise and the confusion, if there were some way to identify who is spiritually real and who is not? Wouldn’t it be good if there were a Field Guide to Spiritually Authentic People?

Well guess what! There is. And it is found in the book of Colossians, chapter 3. What we have in Col. 3:12–17 is a Field Guide to Spiritually Authentic People. There are identifying characteristics—distinguishing marks—of a person who is in touch with God and who is a true follower of Jesus Christ.

The people in the church at Colosse were having the same problem that we’re having today. They lived in a spiritually confusing world, just as we do. There were a lot of competing religious viewpoints out there; and a lot of teachers claiming to have the truth—just like there are in our world today.

And the question they were asking is the same question we find ourselves asking: Who is real? How can you tell who is really in touch with God? Who is really following Jesus Christ? And Paul helps us answer those questions in verses 12–17.

Now remember with the birds, we discovered that there are two things you need to know in order to identify a bird:

1. what it looks like—its size, its color, the pattern of its plumage, etc.

2. how it acts—what it does, how it flies, how it eats, its habits

In the same way, there are two things that identify a spiritually authentic person:

3. An outward change of conduct that makes you look different

4. An inward change of character that makes you think and act different

Let’s look at these things together:

Colossians 3:12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Now you’ll notice that Paul begins with a “therefore”—that means that the truth that he’s going to give us next is going to be based on truths that he’s already given us.

Perhaps you’ll remember a couple of weeks ago, as we studied the first 11 verses of this chapter, we saw that Paul gave us a word picture of what it means to be a Christian. You become a Christian by placing your trust in Jesus Christ And when you do that, you receive a new life. You are born again spiritually. You become a “new you”. Your old self dies and your new self becomes alive to God. Colossians 2:13 describes it:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

2 Cor. 5:17 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

But there’s still a problem. If the “old me” is dead, why do we still sin? Why do we still struggle with a bad temper, or with lustful thoughts, or with bad habits? Very simple: those behaviors are the baggage that’s left behind from our old self. They’re like a spiritual hangover from our old way of life.

Now here’s where Paul’s word picture comes in. He says that we should think of those old behaviors as though they are a set of clothes—a dirty, filthy old set of clothes.

Remember the story of the prisoners who were liberated from Auschwitz? The first thing they needed to do when they were liberated was to take off their old concentration camp uniforms—filthy, stinking, lice-infested—those uniforms which marked them as prisoners and slaves. And that’s the word picture that Paul gives us here. In verses 9–10, he says…

You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

As Christians, the Lord has given us a new wardrobe to wear. And we need to put on our new clothes. Look at v. 12…

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

A Christian is somebody who is putting on a new set of clothes—we’re all dressed up, because we have someplace to go. Why do we put on our new wardrobe? The answer is in verse 12—because we are God’s chosen people, holy, and dearly loved.

Suppose that you were to receive an invitation to a formal dinner at the 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa. The Prime Minister has requested the pleasure of your company at a big diplomatic reception for some visiting head of state. What would you wear?

Would you show up in blue jeans and a t-shirt? I don’t think so. Would you wear dockers and a sweater? I doubt it. You would wear your absolute best outfit. You might even go rent a tuxedo or a beautiful gown for the occasion. Why?

Because you’ve been chosen—you’ve been honored with an invitation. And you have been set apart—you’re special. Everybody in Canada isn’t going—just you and a select few. And that shows that you are special—the Prime Minister has asked you to be there.

In the same way, we put on our new clothes as Christians because:

1. We’ve been chosen by God—the Bible says elect from before the foundation of the world.

2. We’ve been set apart - that’s what the word “holy” means. It means special, unique. Not common or ordinary.

3. We are dearly loved. We are the apple of God’s eye.

So that’s why we wear our new wardrobe. But what do we wear? Well, there’s a list of our new clothes in verses 12-14

1. compassion - the KJV uses the term “bowels of mercies” because the ancient Greeks used to think that your inner emotions were located in your bowels. Come to think of it, maybe they are—if you’ve ever felt that feeling in the pit of your stomach.

A spiritually authentic person is a person who cares—who feels for the needs of other people.

2. kindness - you not only feel for the needs of others, you’re prepared to do something about it. As followers of Christ, we should be known for our kindness to others.

You want a good biblical example of kindness? Look at what David did for Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was Jonathan’s son. Jonathan was King Saul’s son. Both Saul and Jonathan were dead, so Mephibosheth was the next member of Saul’s dynasty in line for the throne. But Saul’s dynasty had been replaced by David’s. David was the beginning of a new dynasty—one that would lead to the Messiah.

Now in the ancient Middle East, if you were the ranking member of a dynasty that had been overthrown, you were as good as dead. Your goose was cooked.

But what did David do to Mephibosheth? Rather than eliminating him, David invited him into his house, let him sit at his table, and treated him as part of his family. That’s kindness. And that’s how a follower of Christ needs to act.

3. humility - a spiritually authentic person is humble, not proud, not puffed up, not always going around looking for recognition and appreciation.

4. gentleness - the KJV calls this meekness, and sometimes we confuse meekness with weakness. But that is not what meekness is.

This word in Greek means “power under control”. The Greeks used the same word to describe a soothing breeze. But a soothing breeze that is out of control is a whirlwind. The Greeks also used this word to describe a healing medicine. But too much medicine, or the wrong kind of medicine can kill you. So the picture of meekness, or gentleness, is power and strength under control.

Spiritually authentic people are gentle—they don’t throw their weight around, or impose on others, or act in controlling or manipulative ways.

5. patience - KJV - longsuffering. The Greek word is “makrothumia” and it means “long burning”, or literally, long-tempered. A spiritually authentic person can put up with provoking people or situations without blowing up like a keg of dynamite.

6. forbearance - “Bear with each other” (v. 13). This means to hold up under someone or something. This is when we take into account each other’s weaknesses and failings, but love each other anyway. We forbear one another in love.

7. forgiveness - this goes one step beyond forbearance, this is where we actually release someone who has offended us, or hurt us, from that burden of responsibility.

Forgiveness is one of the hardest things you’ll ever be called upon to do as a Christian.

8. Love - Paul says in verse 14: “over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” Love is like a belt, which holds the whole wardrobe together. If you have love, you will be doing all these things.

So these are the clothes that we are to put on.

Remember when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? He called out to Lazarus, and Lazarus came out of that tomb. He had been dead for four days, but now he was alive. Do you know what his sister Martha said to him when she saw him come out of that tomb? She said “Brother, you look like death warmed over!”

That’s because of what he had on. Do you know what he was wearing? He was wearing the grave clothes that his family had wrapped him in. And he looked terrible in that outfit, because live people aren’t supposed to be wearing grave clothes.

That’s why Jesus said “Take off the grave clothes”. And what did they put on him? They put on a suit of new clothes. And that’s a tremendous picture of what ought to be happening in the our lives. We ought to be taking off the grave clothes—those old behaviors that were part of our old self which is dead. And we ought to be putting on the grace clothes that God has given us to wear.

So this is the outward change of conduct that people should be able to see in our lives that will identify us as spiritually authentic followers of Jesus Christ.

But there is an inner change that takes place as well—a change of character. And this is another mark of a Christian. Look at verses 15–17…

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We have seen earlier in Colossians that having a relationship with Jesus Christ is absolutely central to becoming a spiritually authentic person. So it’s not surprising that each of these inner changes that take place in our character will center around Him.

The first inner change that needs to happen is that…

1. The Peace of Christ rules in my heart.

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

If I am a follower of Jesus Christ, if I am a spiritually authentic person, I am going to be a person who is fundamentally at peace in the very center of my being. There isn’t going to be turmoil, there isn’t going to be conflict, there’s going to be peace. And it’s a peace that has two dimensions: vertical and horizontal.

The vertical dimension is peace with God.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Because of what Jesus has done for me on the cross, my relationship with God is now characterized by peace. I am not at odds with him, I am not afraid of him, I am not somehow “on the run” from him. God and I are at peace. There’s nothing between us.

And because I have peace with God, I can have peace on the horizontal plane:

• peace with other people

• peace about my circumstances

• peace within my family

• peace in my feelings about myself

And this peace is to rule in my heart. The word “rule” is an interesting word. In ancient Greece, it was used to refer to the official who presided at the Olympic games, who interpreted the regulations, and who kept score. In our modern world, we would call such a person an umpire, or a referee.

In any athletic event, the referee’s authority has to be supreme. From time to time, you hear of an athlete challenging the authority of a referee. What usually happens in cases like that? The athlete is ejected from the game, or suspended for a number of games, or perhaps even banned for life. The referee’s authority has to be supreme.

Does the peace of Christ have that kind of supreme authority in your heart? Or do you in effect challenge that authority by worrying, by being anxious, by complaining, and being discontent about things? One of the indicators as to whether the peace of Christ is ruling in your heart is how thankful you are. Paul says “and be thankful”. When there is peace in your heart, there will be thanksgiving on your lips.

The second inner change that needs to happen is that…

2. The Word of Christ dwells richly in my life.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

The phrase to “dwell richly” means to be “at home”—to literally have the run of the house.

I went to Montreal this weekend to visit my mother, and I stayed at my sister Barbara’s house. She was going to be out when I arrived, so she left the key in the mailbox. Even though she wasn’t there, she was willing to let me into her house, make myself a cup of coffee, and basically have the run of the place. Why? Because she trusts me. I’m her brother. She knows I love her and that I would never do anything to hurt her house or her belongings.

That’s the way it needs to be with us and the Word of Christ. We’re not only going to allow the Word of Christ into our lives, but we’re going to let His Word have the run of the house.

The Bible says that the Word of God is like a sharp sword that penetrates our lives, even to the discerning of our thoughts and motives. And there will be times when something I read in the Word of God will convict me—it’ll highlight something that needs changing. How I respond will indicate whether or not I’ve made the Word of Christ at home in my life.

Paul says something more here in verse 16. If the Word of Christ is dwelling in you richly, there will be two results…

2. You will be teaching others - Oh, you may not have the official role of a teacher. But others will be learning from you as they see how seriously you take the Word of God, and how faithfully you seek to obey it. You will be imparting the wisdom of the Word to them. You will be modeling it; and modeling is the most effective teaching method.

4. You will be making music - “as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God”. A Christian who is letting the Word of God permeate his life will be filled with music.

   Someone has said that the Christian life is all about three books - God’s book, which is the Bible; your pocketbook, which represents your attitude toward earthly possessions; and the hymnbook, which indicates how important worship and praise are to you. You may not be able to sing or play an instrument. But if the Word of Christ is dwelling in you richly, your life will be like sweet music for others to hear.

   • psalms refer to the Scriptures set to music

   • hymns are songs that we sing to the Lord

   • spiritual songs are songs that we sing to each other about the Christian life

The third inner change that needs to happen is that…

3. The Name of Christ is honored in all that I do.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

In the Bible, a name was a very important thing. A person’s name was thought to represent all that he was; all that he stood for. That’s why God frequently changed a person’s name, in recognition of some significant change that had happened to him.

Abram became Abraham; Jacob became Israel; Simon became Peter.

Now as Christians, we literally bear the name of Jesus Christ. So that means in whatever we do, we are reflecting on him. We are either bringing credit to his name, or reproach to it.

I remember working in a chemical plant in Montreal during the summers while I was in college. And one of the workers in that factory was a Christian. I discovered that because I saw him reading his Bible in the cafeteria one day.

And I discovered that all the other workers in the factory knew that this man was a Christian too. But they didn’t respect him, because they also knew that he wasn’t leading an honest life—he was fooling around on his wife, and was always borrowing money and not paying it back.

That man bore the name of Christ, but he brought reproach to that name.

A little while ago, I visited two women in the hospital. Both of them were Christians. One of them was full of anger and resentment about being there. She didn’t have a good word to say about the nurses or the doctors, and she complained the whole time I was with her.

The other lady was the complete opposite, and by the way, she was in much worse condition. She was bright and cheerful, praising the Lord. A smile on her face and a song on her lips. She even had a little songbook by her nightstand and she was using it to worship the Lord.

I ask you: which of those two Christians brought honor to the name of the Lord?

What about you and me? We bear the name of Christ. What do people think about Jesus Christ when they see us? If you were a non-Christian, and I were the only Christian you ever knew, would you want to become one?

A spiritually authentic follower of Christ is going to bring honor to the name of Jesus Christ.

Did you notice in all three of these verses - 15, 16, 17 - there’s gratitude?

v. 15 - And be thankful.

v. 16 - with gratitude in your hearts to God.

v. 17 - giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Next to love, I think that thanksgiving is the most important mark of a Christian.

So there you have it—A Field Guide to spiritually authentic people. You can tell a true follower of Christ by his outward change of conduct—he’s wearing the grace clothes, not those smelly old grave clothes.

And you can tell by his inner change of character.

1. He’s at peace, because the peace of Christ rules in his heart

2. He’s authentic because the Word of Christ is at home in his life.

3. He’s attractive, because he brings honor to the name of Christ in all that he does.

My prayer is: Lord, I want to be that kind of person.