SERMON: Once Alienated Now Anchored | Colossians 1:21-23

Topic: Salvation, the Gospel
Text: Colossians 1:21-23
Takeaway: Once you were alienated from God, but now you are anchored in Christ.

TENSION

Years ago, I met this guy who was the last person I ever thought would become a Christian. 

He was the kind of guy who, when you went over to his place, there was a bottle of whiskey on the counter next to a stack of X-rated magazines and some cigarettes. He didn’t hide his sin; he bragged about it.

But one day, I find out that he met a girl, she invited him to church, next thing you know, he becomes a Christian, cleans up his ways, goes to church every week, marries the girl, and is a dedicated father raising his kids in a Christian home. 

What?! How does that happen? Only God. 

And this story isn’t new. Most people in this church have a similar story or know somebody like this.

You can be skeptical of Christianity all you want, but you cannot deny that there is something about the message of Jesus Christ that has transformed the lives of millions of lives over thousands of years. Former addicts who are now free. Former killers who are now gentle.

And this power that changes lives is what we are going to explore today, as we continue walking through the book of Colossians.

Let’s open our Bibles to Colossians chapter 1. 

TEXT

We’ll be in verses 21-23 today, but let’s make sure we are getting our passage in context. To understand what we’re talking about today, you have to know what comes before it all about Jesus. 

Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV) 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

And that brings us to our passage today, where Paul shifts the subject from “he” (Jesus) to “you”. 

So knowing what Paul just said about Jesus, the preeminent, creator and ruler over all things, for whom all things were created. What does that mean for you and for me? 

Colossians 1:21-23, 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Let’s break this down. Paul shows us three realities: (1) Who you were, (2) Who you are, and (3) Who you must be.

(1) WHO YOU WERE

1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds

Before Christ saved you, this is who you were. 

You were once: (a) “Alienated” – What does that mean? We aren’t talking about space aliens or illegal aliens here. Alienated means isolated, outcast, turned away. 

This is talking about your relationship with God. Sin separated you and me from our creator. Sin broke the relationship. 

It is a rebellion against God. It is like a black stain on our souls that keeps us from entering the holy and pure kingdom of God. 

So we are like exiles, outcasts, wanderers, who, though we long for our home in heaven, must scrape by in this broken earth that can never satisfy this ache in our souls for home.

And, Paul says, not only were we once alienated, we were also…

(b) “Hostile in mind” – Those are strong words. We were not just skeptical, but antagonistic in our thinking. 

The sin in our hearts makes us hate God. We are enemies of God. We want to do what we want on our terms, not his.

Romans 8:7 says, “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

Before you knew Christ, your mind is set on fleshly, sinful things. It rebels against God and his laws. Before Christ changes your heart, you cannot see it. 

This is why sometimes Christians will have such a hard time understanding those who do not believe. Your mind is different.

Perhaps you have encountered someone who is hostile towards God. You try to reason with them, but it only makes them more upset with you. Maybe they get belligerent, upset, call you names, or even get violent. Why is that? Because their minds are hostile towards God. 

And this was you, and this was me too. Don’t forget your life before Christ!

And not only were you once hostile in mind, but Paul says, your hostile thinking led to doing evil deeds.

(c) “Doing evil deeds” – Corrupt thinking leads to corrupt behavior. 

The hostile mind internally, leads to evil actions outwardly. 

Now you might be thinking, “That sounds a bit harsh. Evil? Really? I know I’m not perfect, but I’m not evil.”

When we think of evil, we think of murderers. Genocidal dictators like Hitler. But ourselves, evil?

Think of it this way: Do you always do good all off the time? Yes or no? No. 

So if you don’t always do good all of the time, that means you don’t do good some of the time. What is the opposite of good? It’s evil. You might say, “Well, no, I do bad, but not evil.” It’s the same thing. We just like to dress it differently in our minds so we don’t feel so bad.

We are born this way. You might say, “Now wait a minute. How can a baby be sinful? They’re so innocent.” 

When a sinful father and a sinful mother make a baby, do you really think they would somehow turn out different from their parents? 

I’m sorry, but cats don’t make puppies; it’s kittens every time. So why would sinners produce anything else? Sinners produce sinlets.

We are sinful creatures from birth. Our hearts and minds are selfish, prideful, deceitful, murderous, adulterous, idolatrous, and always scheming new ways to sin. 

Sin isn’t just about what you do; it’s a heart condition.

Can we stop pretending that people are natural good, born with good hearts, and pure minds but are somehow corrupted by the outside world? 

The Bible says it is the exact opposite. We are natural wicked, born with sinful hearts, and hostile minds that bring us to corrupt the outside world!

So that was our condition—alienated. But praise God, Jesus came to save us . The story doesn’t end there. 

(2) WHO YOU ARE

1:22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

Notice who does the action here: Jesus does. 

We cannot save ourselves. It was God who took the initiative. We were alienated, but he loved us so much that while we were still sinners and enemies of God (hostile and evil), he sent his one and only son, Jesus, to take our punishment and give us grace. 

We were once alienated, but Christ came and reconciled us.

“Reconciled” means to restore a relationship to harmony. Once we were estranged from our relationships with God, but now Christ has reconciled us. We have been restored into God’s family, adopted as his children. 

That’s amazing! 

Now, why does Paul say, “In his body of flesh”? Why make this distinction? 

Earlier, Paul talks about the supremacy of Christ and his divine nature and power. But here, Paul switches and emphasizes Christ’s humanity. This is important. Jesus was fully divine and fully human. And because he was fully human, he could be the perfect substitute for us. If he was not in flesh, he could not have taken our place. 

Also, one of the false teachings in the early church was called gnosticism. It was a belief that the spiritual was good, and the physical was bad. But here Paul combats this, emphasizing that Jesus had a body of flesh, just like ours. So things aren’t bad just because they are physical and not spiritual. There are many physical things that God created for our good, and we are free to enjoy them and praise God for them.

Now notice, Jesus reconciled us in his body, “by his death”. How does death reconcile us?

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Death is the wage we are given for our sin. It is the payment we owe. When God created the world, death was not in the design. Death came only after sin. It is a curse of sin. 

So by living a perfect, sinless life in his fully human body of flesh, Jesus Christ was not owed death. But he willingly took the false accusations and died a criminal’s death as the only truly innocent man to ever live. By this, he paid the debt that we owed. He took our punishment.

And why is this so important? Look at the next part of the verse: 

We are reconciled so that he could “present you holy, blameless, above reproach”. How is this possible when we are anything but these things?

Through our faith in Christ, he takes our sin, but he does so much more than that. He not only pays the debt we owe, but he also gives us more than we could ever earn. 

At the end of our lives, we will all stand before God in judgment. What a terrifying day that will be! Can you imagine? 

Before the righteous judge, we have nothing to stand on. But if you trust in Jesus, he will stand for you. He covers you with his righteousness. So that despite the mountain of your sin before you, God only sees Christ. And he will welcome you in.

We were once alienated, hostile, enemies of God who were headed for judgment, but now in Christ, we are reconciled, forgiven, adopted children of God who will be presented blameless and holy before him. This is why I worship Jesus!

We were dead, and now we are alive! We were lost, and now we are found! We were condemned, and now we are forgiven! We were slaves and now we are free! We were alienated, and now we are anchored in Christ!

So what do we do with this? How should we live? That’s what Paul tells us next. 

Who you were was alienated, who you are is reconciled, and now he explains: 

(3) WHO YOU MUST BE

Everything we just said is the gospel, which means the good news. There is no greater news than that. And if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, it is absolutely true about you if…

1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

You must continue in the faith. Remain stable and steadfast. Don’t shift from the gospel that you are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. Don’t add to the gospel that you are saved by anything else. It is a gift of grace from Christ alone. 

Now, this is something that trips a lot of people up, because it can sound like Paul is saying you can lose your salvation. 

We have all known people who we thought were believers who have walked away from Jesus. It is painful every single time. 

I remember seeing it for the first time when I was in junior high. We went to a church camp, and I invited a bunch of friends to come along. One guy did, and he heard the gospel presented one night, and he came forward to give his life to Christ, and when we came home, he was on fire for Jesus. But people started to mock him. The difficulties of his life were back. And before long, he was back to his old ways, no longer going to church. It’s like a punch to the gut.

Some may show signs of faith, but it does not last. So did they lose their salvation, or did they never have it to begin with? That’s the debate. And you can come down on different sides of it and still be a Christian. 

“But Brandon, what do you think?” Thanks for asking. I firmly believe the Bible teaches what theology nerds call “The Perseverance of the Saints,” meaning that you cannot lose your salvation because you did nothing to earn it in the first place. 

Who reconciled you? It was Jesus. And Jesus will not lose any who are his. 

John 10:27-28, “27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Romans 8:38-39, “38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. If you could lose your salvation, you probably would, but you can’t, so you won’t. 

Now, that doesn’t mean you can go on living however you like and forget all about Jesus. If you do that, I would doubt the genuineness of your faith. Rather, we affirm our belief by steadfast faith in Christ. But we don’t have to fear losing our salvation. 

But what about people who seemed to be genuine Christians who walk away from their faith? 

The Apostle John addressed that in 1 John 2:19. He says, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

Genuine saving faith is enduring faith. Those who lose their faith either never truly had it, or they have it but are drifting through a dark valley, and God is not finished with them yet. 

So Paul concludes with a warning. If you are genuinely saved, you must hold fast to your faith. And it also comes with a promise. Christ is your anchor. The storm may toss you, but it can’t take you.

If we truly believe in him, he will not let us go. No matter the storm of life, our hope and our future is secure in our anchor. He will not fail to save all who are his. 

There is no better news than this! It is so freeing. We have nothing to worry about. Do you believe it?

TAKEAWAY

So here’s what Paul is telling us today: Once we were alienated, but now we are anchored in Christ.

There have been some dark times in my life when I was doubting God and frustrated with the church. I was done. But God wasn’t done with me. He let me go through a storm, but then he pulled me out. And I realized that life with God was far better than running from God. 

Maybe some of you are similar today. You are a prodigal son who has run from God, but God hasn’t run from you. 

Maybe you are someone who has never stepped foot in a church before, but somehow you find yourself here today wondering, “Have I been wrong about God all this time? Is he real?” God brought you here today for a reason. He is knocking on the door.

If you don’t believe, will today be the day that you begin or maybe begin again? 

Call out to God. Pray right now and ask for his forgiveness. He will save you. You don’t have to stay alienated from God. You can be reconciled and anchored today.

And if you already believe, the challenge is will you remain steadfast and stable? If you have genuine faith, I know that you will, even if you’re in a dark season of wrestling with God right now. There’s no promise it will be easy, but it will be worth it. And it will be easier if you quit trying to do it alone and join one of our groups at church so you can lock arms with other brothers and sisters who are doing this with you.

Confess whatever sin you need to confess to him today. Let go of whatever is holding you back. You don’t have to be alienated and hostile anymore. In Christ you are reconciled and anchored to a sure salvation. 

May our story be the same as Paul says of the Colossians: once you were alienated, but now you are anchored in Christ.

Hold fast to Christ, and you may see that he has been holding fast to you all along.