Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2004 : July 25, 2004
Gospel Blinders Let Us Truly See
Pentecost 8
You are cruising down the freeway. You're on your way home from another day of work. You have one goal in mind -- get home. But there's a problem -- it's rush hour. Everybody's trying to get home at the same time. It almost seems like someone is playing a cruel joke on you every day -- every time you have to be driving home, everyone else in the state of Wisconsin is driving home, too. But you are a savvy driver. You know which lanes to be in so you don't get slowed down too much. You exit the freeway making good time. You almost laugh to yourself as you are the last one through a yellow light because all the other saps behind you got caught.
But then you see it -- the thing that rush hour drivers dread most: brake lights in front of you in every lane to the horizon. It must be an accident. If you get caught sandwiched between cars in front and behind, it'll take 10, 20 or who knows how many more minutes to get home. Your mind races. Then you see your chance. You make a clever move and take some side roads and leave everyone else back by the accident, while you make it to your destination. Another day; another dollar.
You find out later as you're watching the news that the elderly lady who was in the accident ended up dying because no one stopped to help her.
Are we so wrapped up in our own lives that we don't see the needs of others, both physical needs and spiritual needs? That certainly can happen to us from time to time, and if we're not careful, it can be the regular way that we live our lives -- only being concerned for ourselves and not others. It makes me think of blinders in horse-racing. Do you know what blinders are? They're small pieces of leather that are used in horse-racing -- attached to the horse's bridle on the outside of their eyes so that they can't see much of anything except what the jockey wants them to see. Without the blinders, horses would be very hard to control and sometimes wouldn't ever get to the finish line, and would impede other horses as well by bumping into them.
Doesn't it seem that the people in this world have blinders on? They are concerned mainly about themselves and neglect others in the process. But that worldly attitude rubs off on Christians as well, doesn't it? It sounds a lot like the Good Samaritan that Jesus talked about -- except we're often the one who passes by on the other side. It's like we're wearing blinders. We're blind to the needs of many hurting people around us.
If we are to be the Christians God has called us to be, then those blinders have got to go. In their place we need to wear gospel blinders. Paul tells us today that Gospel Blinders Let Us Truly See our salvation from God and our obligation to God in our lives.
The Apostle Paul was writing this letter to Christians in a town called Colosse. They were going through a tough time when Paul wrote to them. In fact, their pastor, Epaphras, had come 1300 miles to talk to Paul about the problems in the congregation. What a joy for the Christians in Colosse to find out that Paul had been and was continuing to pray for them. Why was Paul praying for them? Verses 3 and 4 tell us: "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus." Paul was praying to thank God for the salvation God had given to the Colossians. In other words, Paul was thinking of others -- that's astounding when you realize where Paul was at this time. He was under house arrest in Rome for preaching God's gospel message. He was there for two years. Could you imagine being held as a prisoner for two years? Paul could have focused on his troubles and how tough he had it, how he wasn't able to go anywhere or do much of anything without having his guards with him every step of the way. But Paul wasn't wearing the blinders of this world that cause you to focus only on yourself. Paul was wearing gospel blinders -- he was able to see clearly his whole reason for living. He said, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Christ was everything to him. Bringing glory to his saving, Triune God was what his life was all about. And if he died, so much the better! Then he got to go the heaven and see Jesus face to face. Paul had focus. Paul had gospel blinders on -- the blinders of the gospel made him blind to everything that would take his focus off of Christ and the finish line of heaven that Jesus had won for him. That's why he could write to the Christians in the city of Corinth, "When I came to you…I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)
Do we have that same focus? On one side we see Jesus and his cross. There we see what Jesus did to save us from our sins -- gave us his own perfect life unto death so ours could be saved. The blinders of the gospel tell us that Jesus is all we need. Nothing more; nothing less will get us into heaven. But in our lives we have the enemies of the cross trying to keep us from that complete focus. This world and our own sinful selves want us to think that there are more important things in this life than Jesus. That's what the Colossians were being told by some false teachers -- in addition to Jesus you need to do things to get to heaven; in addition to Jesus, you need to know certain secret things to get the heaven. Then Jesus gets put on the backburner in our lives, and before you know it, you aren't focused on Jesus at all.
It reminds me of how I was brought up. My mother always wanted me to be a member of the Clean Plate Club. I had that so drilled into me that to this day it just kills me to leave any food on a plate. In fact, this last week I was at a restaurant and I was too full to eat all my fries, which someone else had even paid for, and I was all bent out of shape because I left food on my plate. It was killing me! As you can see, I need help! But how bent out of shape do I get when I miss an opportunity to share Jesus with someone? Does my life come to a screeching halt if I miss an evening devotion with my kids? Probably not. And I'm sure it's the same with you. We can lose our focus of what life's all about. It's about what happened 2000 years ago on some planks of wood that were tied together so someone could be hung from them -- someone named Jesus. Jesus didn't lose his focus even once. Not only did he always obey his heavenly Father, but he also served his neighbor perfectly as well. And that neighbor is you and me. Jesus walked up that hill outside Jerusalem and allowed his blood to pour out so you and I and the whole world could have that blood cover over every single time we've been more concerned about other things instead of how we should serve God and our neighbor. I couldn't leave the table unless every scrap of food was wiped clean off my plate. Jesus didn't lay down his life until every single sin of every single sinner was wiped off our slate before God. That's why Paul says in verse 7 that God "has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
So Christ's love in living and dying in our place has removed our earthly blinders -- now we see our salvation, now we see what life is all about because we have gospel blinders on -- we see Jesus.
But an amazing thing happens when we have Jesus so much in focus as we wear those gospel blinders. Suddenly, we become keenly aware of others around us. But they aren't distractions to us -- we still are focusing on Jesus -- but as we do so, we are able to see our obligation that we owe to God in living for him as we serve him and others.
So Paul has another prayer for the Colossians. What was he praying for now? Verse 9 tells us he was "asking God to fill [them] with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Paul knew that their knowledge of Christ was small -- they needed to grow mature in their faith instead of being tossed here and there by every kind of false teaching. So he directed them to God's Word. This is God's will for us -- to know that we are saved and then to "live a life worthy of the Lord and ... please him in every way." How do we please God? Paul mentions several ways.
First, "by bearing fruit in every good work." The devil tempts us to say: "Hey, I'm forgiven, so now I can live my life how I want -- for myself." God says, "No!" You no longer live to serve yourself; you now live to serve God and others. We were bought at a price -- the price of the holy and precious blood of God himself. That understanding will keep us following God's will. We will say, "Hey, I'm forgiven, 'I died to sin; how can I live in it any longer?' " (Romans 6:2)
Secondly, Paul says we please God by "growing in the knowledge of God." But the devil will tempt us to say: "I know everything in God's Word. It's boring. I've heard it all hundreds of times. So why should I have to get into his Word at home or at church?" God says, "No!" And we want to see all the wonderful ways God blesses us through the study of his Word. Only a fool would say he knows everything in God's Word. With gospel blinders on, we want to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever!" (2 Peter 3:18)
What's the result? Paul says we will be "strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience." The devil will get you to say, "I can get through life on my own." God says, "No!" You can't just have a passing acquaintance with God's Word and think you're set to meet any difficulty. What happens when your life is turned upside-down by a family member committing suicide or you yourself struggling with a sinful addiction. Suddenly making it to worship every once in a while and not really listening when you're there doesn't cut it. But with the gospel blinders on, we see that as Christians we are "qualified...to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." A new creation. Holy in God's eyes. With that knowledge you can face anything this world and the devil himself and your own self can throw at you -- not trusting your own power, but armed with the power of God which is yours through faith. We will say, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)
What a change in attitude we have as Christians. Instead of living for ourselves, we now live for Christ who died to save us, and we live to serve others for whom Christ also died. Christ's love has removed your self-centered blinders. You're wearing gospel blinders. Now live in Christ's love. Amen.
