God’s Best

Colossians 2:1–3, 6

You know, the devil would try to keep you from getting saved. And, if he can’t keep you from being saved—but, if he can’t keep you from being saved, he will try to keep you from discovering God’s best. Paul did not want Christians to miss God’s best.

vv. 2-3     I want you to know all—not some, but all—the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are in Christ. What a tragedy if you miss it! God has treasures, and all of the treasures are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Christ is in you, if you are saved. But, wouldn’t it be a tragedy, if you knew Christ, and did not know what you have?

Most of the diamonds in the world come from South Africa—do you know how they were discovered? They saw little boys playing marbles with shiny rocks, and these little boys were playing with diamonds—incredible wealth—but to them, just pretty rocks. I wonder if there are some of us like that who are playing marbles with diamonds. We don’t understand what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Colossians 2:6).

The way to know these treasures of wisdom and knowledge is to walk in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, you expect Paul to say something very complicated, but the Bible says, “[God] preserveth the simple” (Psalm 116:6). And, you know, it doesn’t have to be complicated to be deep. Every now and then, we hear a preacher preach, and somebody will say, “Well, you know, he really must be intelligent—I didn’t understand a word he said.” Just because a river is muddy, it doesn’t mean it is deep. And, Paul is talking here in very simple terms. He is talking about something that we all can understand. You see, the faith, really, is not so high that you have to get up to it. As a matter of fact, sometimes it is so simple that some of us never get down to it. “As you have received the Lord Jesus, so walk ye in Him” (Colossians 2:6). A wise person said that the Scriptures are shallow enough that a little child can come and get a drink without fear of drowning, and yet deep enough that the scholars can swim it and never touch bottom. I love that. That is true about this passage of Scripture. “As you received the Lord Jesus, so walk ye in Him” (Colossians 2:6).

Now, who doesn’t want you to learn this? Well, the devil doesn’t want you to learn it. Go back up to chapter 2 and verse 4—Paul says, “And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words” (Colossians 2:4). Then, look in chapter 2, verse 8— again, he says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Satan is a smooth talker. Satan does not want you to understand what I am going to teach you tonight. As a matter of fact, if you are not careful tonight, the devil will draw away your mind, entice you, and keep you from concentrating and listening. He does not want you to discover your treasure. Now remember, Paul talks about the treasures in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“in him” (Colossians 2:6). Now, it doesn’t say, “walk with Him”; it doesn’t say, “follow after Him.” It says, “walk in the Lord Jesus Christ.” That is a little strange; it almost sounds awkward. How do you walk in a person?

There are three simple things I want you to see.

I. The Boundaries of the Faith-Walk

If I were to tell you to walk in this building, that means the boundaries of your walk are this building. That means you are not to get outside of this building. This building is to be the element and the atmosphere of your walk. Now, what does this mean to you spiritually? Spiritually, Jesus Christ is to be the boundaries of your life. Spiritually, you are to be closed into Him and His will, and that’s all. You are to walk in Jesus—in Jesus. He is the boundary. Now, if you are a person who is very selfish, if you are not a spiritual person, the first thing your mind said to you, when I said, “You are to walk in the Lord Jesus Christ; He is the boundaries, He is the circumference, of your walk,” your natural mind said, “Hey, don’t fence me in.” That’s the natural mind: “Don’t fence me in; I don’t want to be fenced in.” And, the natural mind says, “You know, that would be dull—just to walk in Jesus. To be fenced in, to be hemmed up—how dull that would be!” Well, if you think that is dull, go back again to verses 2 and 3: “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2– 3). Now, you call that being hemmed in? And, you are saying, “Don’t fence me in”? That would be like a minnow being hemmed in by the Atlantic Ocean. No, you are to walk in the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is nothing, nothing—absolutely nothing—worth having outside of Jesus Christ—nothing. You are to walk in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if you are not careful, you can get out of bounds and get outside the element that you are supposed to walk in. Now, how does God keep you in bounds? How do you know when you get outside the boundaries? Well, there is a referee who will tell you when you are out of bounds.

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15).

Do you see that?—the word rule, there, is the word for “referee.” “Let the peace of God [referee] in your hearts.” So, that’s the way God keeps you in bounds.

When a player steps out of bounds, the ref blows the whistle. Now, that’s what the Holy Spirit will do for you. When the devil allures you, you don’t have to go, because there is nothing out there that you need.

Ill—invisible fence for pets.  ZZZZT!

Now, folks, there is a spiritual fence around all of us. And, if we are walking in the Spirit, we’ll know when we are out of bounds. God the Holy Spirit will blow the whistle. Now, if God the Holy Spirit doesn’t blow the whistle, it’s because either you are not saved or you are so deep into sin and so far away from Christ that you can’t even hear the Holy Spirit of God. You need to be very sensitive. So, that’s the boundaries of the walk.

II. The Beginning of the Faith-Walk

Now, here is the second thing I want you to notice: I want you to notice the beginning of the walk—the beginning of the walk. Look again, in verse 6: “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord” (Colossians 2:6). How do you begin the faith-walk? Well, you begin it by taking a step. As you receive Him, you take the first step. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step, but it doesn’t end there. You are to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Now, this is a personal encounter with Jesus—not some truth, not some doctrine, not some denomination. “As you have received Christ.”

Christianity has a creed, but it is not a creed. It has a code, but it is not a code. It has a cause, but it is not a cause. It has a church, but it is not a church. It is Jesus Christ. Churches today are filled with moral worldlings who have joined churches, had an experience with religion, have gone through a ritual, have subscribed to beliefs, but have never met Jesus Christ. And so, what does it mean? You say, “I don’t understand. I thought, if I believed right, I am saved—if I believed the plan of salvation.” No. You are not saved by the plan of salvation; you are saved by the Man of salvation. You can know the plan and go to Hell. You see, you receive the Lord Jesus Christ.

v. 6  “as you have received” what? “The Lord Jesus.” Does He have absolute control of your life? I mean, are you willing for Him to be the boundaries of your life? Look back at Colossians chapter 1, verse 10. We are talking about the walk—now, look: “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). When you leave this place, is your walk going to be a worthy walk?

When I married Kimberly, I did not get the marriage religion; I got Kimberly. When you get saved, you don’t get the Christian religion, you receive Jesus. Does that make sense? “As ye have received the Lord Jesus, so walk ye in Him” (Colossians 2:6). Can you honestly say, “I have opened my heart; I have received Christ as Lord; I have taken myself off the throne; I put Jesus Christ on the throne of my life”? That’s the beginning of the Christian walk. And, by the way, that’s what baptism is all about.

We are “buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12). When you give your heart to Jesus Christ, we baptize you. We immerse you, put you under the water, because that baptistry up there is a liquid tomb; it is a funeral tomb; it is a funeral service. The old person you used to be has died; this is your burial. The only mourner there is the devil, who hated to see you die. You are buried with the Lord Jesus Christ. His death on the cross had your name on it. His burial had your name on it. His resurrection has your name on it. And, you died with Him, are buried with Him, and risen with the Lord Jesus Christ. That means that there is a new life. He is the Lord.

The beginning, the boundaries…

III. The Balance of the Faith-Walk

 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Colossians 2:6). Now, in the Greek language, it literally means—the verb: “to keep on walking.” It is not a finished deal; it means, “to keep on walking.” Now, walking begins with one step, but walking is a series of steps. So, therefore, the Christian life is a crisis that is followed by a process. And, a journey of a thousand miles, I say, begins with a step, but it does not end there.

Finish.  And finish well!

Are you ready to do a little thinking? How did you receive the Lord Jesus? That’s the way you walk. “As ye will receive the Lord Jesus, in the same way, so walk ye in Him.” Now, how did you receive the Lord Jesus? You received Him by repentance and faith, right? That’s how you received Him. Therefore, how do you live the Christian life? The same way that you got it—by repentance and faith. You keep repeating the process that brought you to Christ. You don’t keep getting saved; but, as you receive the Lord Jesus Christ, that’s the way you walk in Him. Now, what is repentance? Repentance is turning away from self. What is faith? Faith is turning to Jesus. Now, as you receive the Lord Jesus, I turn from self to Him. Repentance and faith—that’s the way I walk the Christian life. Now, the way to live the Christian life is how you began the Christian life—in repentance and faith. Now, when you get saved, you don’t stop repenting, and you don’t stop believing.

[My salvation testimony.]  How I’d like to go back to that park where I heard the word and was convicted, and back to that bedroom nearby where I knelt and prayed to be saved.

And since then, I have learned a whole lot more about Jesus. And, I have done more repenting and trusting after I got saved than I did when I got saved. “As you receive the Lord Jesus, so walk ye in Him” (Colossians 2:6). And, the Holy Spirit of God will keep revealing more about you and more about Him. And, you walk the Christian life, seeing your bankruptcy and His treasure. You don’t want to miss the treasure; you don’t want to miss the riches; you don’t want to miss God’s best.

Ill.—don’t just take a stand for Jesus…take steps.  If you only take one step, you are left hanging, and off balance.  The problem with many people is they’ve stepped into Jesus and stopped.

Listen to what 1 John 2:6 says: “He that saith that he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Now, if you say that “I am abiding in Jesus,” you know how it’s going to show? You are going to walk like Jesus walks. And, people are going to see Jesus Christ in you. I ask myself this question, sometimes: “Would people—when they look at me— would they see Jesus?” Does your neighbor see Jesus? Sir, does you wife see Jesus in you? You are to walk as Jesus walked. “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). “As ye have received the Lord Jesus, so walk ye in Him” (Colossians 2:6).

We see here, in that verse, the boundaries, the beginning, and the balance of the Christian’s walk. Don’t miss out on God’s best!