Good News to Share (Col 1:21-29)

Today I gave the last talk for the year, wrapping with Colossians 1. I feel like this talk had some promise, but it sort of only came together. I think I didn't so much as teach the passage as repeated the passage, and I wish I painted a better picture of the Gospel story, to show how good the news is. But below is more or less what I said. At the 10 the theme linking wasn't so good, and at the 4:30pm I fumbled a bit.

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Welcome to church over this summer break. As we finish this year, we are wrapping up our series in Colossians 1. This has been a great little series, and this chapter would be worth a re-read. It has been about prayer and encouragement, it has been about Christ over creation and salvation and today it is about the Gospel. “Gospel” is a bit of a Christian word, and it simply means good news.

We are wired to share things with others. When we see or hear something good we like to include others in on it. This the bread and butter of all social media. Young kids frequently grab their parents attention to point out things they find interesting. In most WhatsApp chat groups, there is always that one person who floods the chat with memes they find funny and want to share it with the rest of the group. We love to share good things with others.

And as Christians, we have good news to share. That is essentially our mission. This mission is exactly why Paul wrote to the Colossians. Even though he had never met them personally, he heard from Epaphras how they heard the Gospel and believed. Paul thought this was tops, so he wrote this letter in which he keeps talking about Jesus. As Christians we have experienced something that is good in Jesus and so we should want to drop Jesus into our chat with others.

In our passage today, we will see that the news we have is about our present and future condition, it is about our inclusion in God’s plan and the news is about Jesus our Christ.

So that is our structure: our condition, our inclusion and our Christ.

Our condition

The passage today starts off quite frank and negative. Paul tells this church in Colossians

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. (Colossians 1:21 NIV)

Paul points to the churches past. They were once alienated from God. That is they were far from Him, they were separated from God, they were estranged and distant from Him. And that wasn’t a neutral thing. They weren’t God’s friend, they were enemies to Him. In their minds they didn’t want God at all. They ignore Him, they avoided Him, they didn’t acknowledge His existence and you could tell they were like this because of their behavior. Paul calls them evil. They were doing the opposite of good.

You can tell generally tell when a line is crooked, especially when placed next to a straight line. And God is that ultimate straight line. He is the standard of good, and so when we ignore Him, and don’t pay attention to His standards and when we go our own way, far from Him, we move away from the good. We become crooked and forget or ignore His standard.

This isn’t just a thing for those in Colossae, everyone apart from God are in these categories. Everyone wants to do their own thing, ignoring God; and so live separated and opposite lives to God. This is the natural state of all people. That sounds rough right? No one wants to hear they are evil, but the passage goes on to some very good news

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Colossians 1:22 NIV)

But now; Paul turns from talking about their past condition to their present condition. But now, they are holy, without blemish and free from accusation. Now because of Jesus, they have been reconciled to God. They are no longer enemies, they no longer can be accused of being evil. They are in a new condition, because of what Christ has done for them.

He went through death for them. He did this, so that they can be friends again with God. He died to rescue and save them from their ways that were leading them further and further away from God.

Because Jesus died in their place the debt for their sins has been paid. God now sees them as holy, or pure. They are spotless; no one can now accuse them of being enemies and evil. No one can say they are not forgiven. Because of what Christ has done, they are completely forgiven and right in God’s eyes.

This is the good news for everyone, not just for this ancient church. We were all lost, we were all in rebellion to God, but through Christ, the creator and savour of the world, He has made us right. We are now found, we are now made right, we are now friends with God.

This is the basic message of Christianity. It isn’t about doing good, it isn’t about giving money or visiting certain holy places, or saying the right things. It is about Christ. Christ is the one who did the good, Christ is the one who was given up and died on our behalf. Christ is the one who came down to us, to help save and restore us to God.

This is life changingly good news and we can invite all people to come to Him. All people can get on this and be brought close to God, they too can have their guilt removed and be clean and free from any accusation. Would you like this? As Christians we want all people to trust in God’s forgiveness, in His goodness and in His ways to live.

There are about 18,000 people who live in this valley. Apart from Christ, they are enemies to God, but God wants all people to not perish, but to be forgiven. God wants all people to know that they can be pure and spotless, free from any accusation. Christ died for the people of Lanyon Valley. This is good news for all people.

And so, this message is available to all, but the truth is not all eventually will accept this good news. Paul says this is for everyone

if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians 1:23 NIV)

This news isn’t just an intellectual idea, but something you have to continue to hold on to. And all those who stand in this message and do not move from it, all those who continue to hope in the message of Jesus will be saved.

Christianity is all about Christ, and what He has done for us, but we still have a responsibility to do something; and that something we have to do is to not move. We continue in the faith by not moving away from this hope, or from the message of the Gospel. Paul warns this church to stay where they are. To keep trusting in Jesus, in all the ups and downs in life.

There will be hard times, there will be distractions. In the parable of the four soils, Jesus said some will not continue in the faith. Some will not build deep roots and so when hard times come they will fall. Some will get strangled by the worries of life, or by riches or by pleasure and they will not grow (Luk 8:13-14). But we are to be planted in Jesus. We need deep roots in Christ. All those who are planted, will hold on the message of the Gospel. And all who continue, we can say with confidence, as night follows day, in the end they will be found without fault or blemish in God’s eyes.

Not only will some not continue in the faith, but some will actually be hostile to the faith. Paul is experiencing this when He writes this letter, as he is in prison for declaring this good news.

Our inclusion

Paul preached a message of inclusion and this turned the religious systems on its head. It said that your genetics doesn’t make you special. It said your behaviour doesn’t earn you a place in heaven. It said that you were bad, but Jesus took your punishment for you, and this gracious offer is available to everyone who can see that they are not perfect and in need of rescue.

And so Paul, in prison, was willingly suffering for this message because it was true. He had seen the risen Jesus. Death didn’t hold Jesus down. Because of Jesus, Paul knew that his previous ways of trying to live by his own efforts was rubbish. Paul was willing to suffer for this message because it helped build up the Church; and all those in Christ are part of a body that belongs to Jesus.

Paul preached a message of inclusion which in the past was a mystery that had now been revealed.

the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:26–27 NIV)

“Mystery” here is about something that was hidden but is now public knowledge. Like the production of a new movie, for a period of time it is under wraps, but when the time comes, the marketing team wants everyone to know about the new blockbuster. God had chosen the Gentiles, those who are not Jews, to be included in His plan and receive His riches which is Jesus. It was a mystery, but now it is known.

In the Old Testament there are hints and allusions to the whole world being saved by God, but they didn’t quite know how. Through Abraham all nations, not just one, would be blessed. The whole nation of Israel was to be a kingdom of priests, meaning they were to mediate God to the rest of the nations. The prophets would speak of how all the nations would one day worship God, but the plan wasn’t quite known. But now, this mystery of inclusion is known.

Not only are the Gentiles included into God’s plan, but they are including into God. God doesn’t just look at those who trust in Him as blamless and pure. He doesn’t just say “they are mine” He also says “they are home”. Christ dwells in His people. This is why Paul was willing to suffered for God’s church, because they are God’s people. They are people who Christ is in. So Paul serves the church in any way he can.

So as you look around this room and see believers, know that they are holy and blameless to God, and that Christ is in them.

Christ, the firstborn over creation, the one who made everything and who holds all things together. Christ, the beginning and the end of all things. The one who conquered death, is in us.

How might that change your idea in what is happening here at church? Or how you relate to the people in this room? New Year's is coming up, people start to think what big plans they might do in 2026. Where does your connectedness to church fit in with this? How might you serve the church next year? What might that look like, knowing that as you serve those in our community, you are serving those who have Christ in them.

With Christ in us, He is helping to transform us, He is helping us to stand firm in the Gospel, so that in the end we will be completely restored and in the presence of God for eternity.

All peoples are all included by God. God is not just God over one nation. God doesn’t dwell in certain temples around the world, God dwells in all beleivers all over the world. And we have a hope that we will be with God in glory. 

Our Christ

Our good news is about Christ. Through His death, He has made us holy in God’s sight. This message about Christ is huge, and invites us on a mission, to share it with others so they can experience this too. This might not be an easy task, but it is such good and important news, that sharing it might override our own comfort.

Paul finishes this chapter with

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:28 NIV)

See here, Paul isn’t moving from Jesus. He doesn’t want to stop talking about Christ. His goal in talking about Jesus is that all who keep hearing will be mature in Christ. All those who hear the gospel will be complete in Christ. There is no need to look elsewhere to be perfect in God’s eyes. Just stick with Jesus and you will be mature in Him.

And so this Gospel is great. But it isn’t a life of comfort. Post-Christmas time comes with the sentiment of comfort and relaxation. You can vege out and watch the cricket (if its on), or travel to the beach, or binge watch those shows you wanted to catch up on. Especially this week, it is a time for slowing down and a chance to get away. But the first Christmas was the opposite of comfort and relaxation.

God gave up His comfort and glory and came down to earth to be born in a manger. The manger smelled of animals, there wasn’t even a bed, it was a stuffy room in an already overcrowded city. And Jesus life didn’t get much easier after that. He was despised and rejected and hung on a cross. This wasn’t a comfortable story, but it is good news.

The Gospel is about Jesus. He is the hero who, leaves behind His riches and goes to a foreign place to saves a group of people from disaster. He sacrifices Himself, overcomes the enemy and comes back victorious. We are the benefactors of Christ’s victory. (I got the gist of this from Tim Keller)

And so now we have a great story to tell. Our lives are wrapped up in this great epic. We are called in and through this message. How can we not share this news with others who don’t know this story? It might not be comfortable but it is still good news.

Others can also be caught up in this story. All people can be included in this message. They can hear how they can be free from blemish and accusation in front of God. Others can know that Christ can come and dwell in them and transform them.

Getting this message out can come with a cost. Not all people might like to hear that they are enemies to God. Some may not like the radical forgiveness and mercy and grace offered and feel like they have to somehow still pay back or earn some sort of merit to be deserving.

If you say this message, you may lose reputation points with family members, or others you know. As you continue your life around this good news, you may make different spending decisions, and may not go on so many holidays in the summer. Despite all of that, the message is worth it, for this is the greatest story every told, and it changes people's condition before God for eternity.

So getting this message out sounds like effort and struggle and work. But there is one last verse in our passage. It says we are not alone in what we do.

Paul says, in trying to speak the gospel

To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:29 NIV)

Paul is working hard, but Christ is powerfully at work in Him. Christ is in Him, and helps him.The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in all who believe (Rom 8:11).

We are not on our own. Christ is at work in us. Yes, it can be scary to drop Jesus in to a conversation, we might not know where it will lead. We might not have all the answers. We might say something wrong or silly. Those can be fears, but know you are not on your own. Christ is powerfully at work in you.

Use your effort to promote the Gospel, but don’t depend on yourself, depend on God to work. His message is powerful, it has changed you from being an emeny of God to being His friend. It can do the same for others.

So as the new year starts, maybe you might want to think about how you can continue to not move on from the Gospel. How you could proclaim Him, trusting not in your own energy, but in Christ who works in you?

"Remeber our responsibility is not to win but to witness." (My Favorite Illustrations Evangelism/Witnessing)

How might you share the good news of Jesus in your chats next year? How might you continue in the Gospel and see how good the story is, so much that you want to share it with others, so much that you can’t help but not share something good with your friends?

Our condition and inclusion is in Christ. Let us not move from this message, but be moved to share it with others, so they too can know what Christ has done for them.

Heavenly Father,

We thankyou for the good news that we are no longer your enemies but your friend.

We thankyou for Jesus who died in our place so we are now without blemish.

Help us to continue in this good news, trusting that you are in and with us.

Thankyou for including all people in to your saving plan.

Help us to share this good news with others, so all people can be mature in Christ.

Help us to trust your power to work through us

So that more people can praise your name.

In Jesus, our Savour, Amen.