“But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge… … Therefore, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another” (Colossians 3:8-16). The Christians at Colossae are told by Paul that since they had been converted and delivered from their former state, they must change the way they live. They must separate, remove, and put all their sinful habits at a distance, shedding them as filthy garments for there is more to do after we obey the gospel. There are things we have to put off that are an absolute necessity and there are things required for us to put on to replace the filthy. After that, he says there are also some things to do. THINGS TO PUT OFF—(verses 8-9) Our old man of sin died with Christ and our filthy rags must remain buried in that watery grave. We have been raised with Christ from the dead and are new creatures. “…we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). This is just one list of things that Paul said to leave buried in the grave. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). THINGS TO PUT ON—(Verses 10-14) Having been born again we “have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge”. It is not enough to remove our rags and be washed clean. The new man needs new clothes. The church at Laodicea had been washed but continued to remain naked. Jesus said, “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev 3:17). They had put off but didn’t put on. They thought they needed nothing but baptism. So how do we hide our nakedness? “Let us rejoice, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints” (Rev 19:7-8). Paul wrote, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love…”. “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed” (Revelation 16:15). The wise keep their garments unspotted from the world, but being human we will get some spots on our garments. Thankfully our robes come with cleaning instructions and John tells us how. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say 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” (1 John 1:7-9). We are held responsible for keeping our robes clean. THINGS TO LET IN—(verses 15-16) We are to let in “…the peace of God” and Paul tells us how this tranquility finds its way into us. “…Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” because those words replace all our fears of condemnation with a blessed peacefulness. John wrote these beautiful words, “I write these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life” (John 5:13). It’s not a guessing game to keep us frightful. It’s an assurance that gets us through the bad times in life so we can deal with our illnesses, our approaching death, and the loss of our loved ones. “…to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). THINGS TO LET OUT—(verse 16) “…teaching and admonishing one another”. The things that we have let in should in return be let out to others. We are all vessels open at both ends. One end receiving and the other end pouring out but for something to flow out, it must first be filled. Men who are empty vessels are incapable of teaching because they have nothing to flow out of them. “Always being prepared to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15) Every Christian should be well enough acquainted with the first principles of Christianity to be able to teach anyone that asks. We have been taught to teach others. How monstrous to keep the gospel to ourselves!