Sermons on Colossians 2:6

Colossians 2:6 Interpretation:

Embracing True Freedom Through a Relationship with Christ(ZChildren's Church School Lit) reads Colossians 2:6 primarily as a corrective to legalism and an invitation into a life of freedom in Christ, arguing that Paul’s exhortation to “continue to live your lives in him” means that faith in Jesus—not adherence to Jewish dietary laws or ritual traditions—must shape daily life and worship, and the sermon uses the child-focused metaphor of “history his story who story God story” to show that receiving Christ is the starting point for a continuing relationship that provides daily guidance, strength, and the priority of faith over forms of worship.

Perseverance: The Key to Faith and Victory(Koke Mill Christian Church) interprets Colossians 2:6 as a summons to steadfast, sustained discipleship—“you must continue to follow him”—framing that continuing as the same call to perseverance taught in Hebrews, and the sermon develops an extended race/run metaphor (throw off weights, run with endurance) and contrasts condemnation versus Spirit-given conviction to explain how believers practically “keep on” following Jesus amid trials rather than quitting.

Shaping Our Future: Purpose, Gratitude, and Growth(Pastor Rick) treats Colossians 2:6 as tactical advice—he zeroes in on the phrase “keep on” and translates it into six daily habits (e.g., keep my life clean; keep my eyes open; keep my purpose firm; keep my heart grateful), interpreting “continuing to live in him” not as a one-time decision but as long-term formation: the sustained, habit-driven pursuit of God’s five purposes for life that produces tenacity and resilience.

Enduring Hard Times: Habits for Spiritual Resilience(Pastor Rick) likewise centers on the “keep on” language but adds a linguistic and pastoral nuance—he links continuing in Christ to disciplined practices that make one a usable vessel (confession, cleansing, vision, imitation), offers a brief lexical note on the Greek of confession (homologeo as “speaking the same” i.e., agreeing with God), and gives step-by-step, practical metaphors (clean vessel, clear conscience, vision as catching God’s wave) to show how “living in him” is maintained through intentional spiritual habits.

Embracing Our New Identity in Christ(HighPointe Church) interprets Colossians 2:6 as an invitation to live out the radical union that the preacher calls “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” insisting that the phrase “walk ye in him, in him” signals a qualitatively different New Testament reality than Old Testament language about “walking before/after/with” God — here Paul describes mutual indwelling and oneness, so the practical thrust of Colossians 2:6 is not moral performance but embodying a new identity (born of the incorruptible seed) that already lacks nothing in Christ; the sermon frames this as a warfare of two natures (the unredeemable old natural man vs. the new spiritual man), locates sins as products of the old nature (not the new), and urges continuing to “walk in him” by renewing the mind and living from positional truths (e.g., “I am complete in Christ”), all to show Colossians 2:6 as a call to persistent, identity-shaped discipleship rather than piecemeal religious add-ons.

Hope Arrived: Jesus, Our Anchor and Foundation(Hopelands Church) reads Colossians 2:6–7 as a pastoral exhortation: having accepted Jesus as Lord, believers must “continue to follow him” so that their lives are rooted and built up in Christ; the preacher emphasizes the domestic metaphors (roots, building, anchors) and the practical outcome promised in the verse — growing faith and overflowing thankfulness — contrasting life with Christ (steady, purposeful, filled) against life without Christ (tossed, empty, searching), and insists Colossians 2:6 functions as a summons to sustained, anchored discipleship that secures hope as a Person (Jesus) rather than a vague idea.

Christ Our True North: Content, Competent, Complete, Crowned(Valley Independent Baptist Church) takes Colossians 2:6 as the hinge between initial reception of Christ and lifelong orientation to him, reading “as ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” as Paul’s command that Jesus’s lordship must shape the believer’s whole navigation of life; the sermon uses the “True North”/compass metaphor to argue that Colossians 2:6 centers Christians on Christ as an unchanging orienting point, warns against substituting philosophies and traditions that point like a false compass, and (notably) draws on the Greek semantics of completeness/telos to argue that Christ is both the grounding root and the ongoing source that fills and perfects believers as they continue to walk in him.

Building the Church on Christ: Foundations and Challenges(Ligonier Ministries) picks up Colossians 2:6 in a pastoral/discipleship thrust, interpreting “continue as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord” as an exhortation to ongoing sanctification: conversion is a beginning, and Colossians 2:6 describes the trajectory believers must follow — continuing to live as a holy, yielded people under Christ’s lordship — so the sermon treats the verse as a pastoral rule for the Christian life (keep walking in the manner you first received him) that ties personal holiness to communal discipleship and the Beatitudes’ sequence of spiritual formation.

Colossians 2:6 Theological Themes:

Embracing True Freedom Through a Relationship with Christ(ZChildren's Church School Lit) presents the theological theme that Colossians 2:6 functions as an anti-legalist manifesto for the church: the core theological claim is that union with Christ replaces ritual observance as the locus of identity and obedience, and the sermon emphasizes pastoral theology for children—faith yields freedom from being judged by external practices and directs believers to rely on Christ for daily strength.

Perseverance: The Key to Faith and Victory(Koke Mill Christian Church) develops a theological distinction between condemnation (the enemy’s tool) and conviction (the Spirit’s tool) tied to continuing in Christ, arguing that ongoing discipleship (Colossians 2:6) is sustained not by self-effort but by living under the gospel’s forgiveness (Colossians 2:14; Romans 8:1) so that believers can persevere through trials rather than be immobilized by guilt.

Shaping Our Future: Purpose, Gratitude, and Growth(Pastor Rick) frames Colossians 2:6 theologically as an injunction to form a purpose-driven identity anchored in God’s eternal purposes; the novel facet is treating “continuing in Christ” as the matrix for cultivating tenacity and resilience via the church-shaped rhythms (worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, witness), thereby making sanctification a strategic, goal-oriented process rather than only devotional piety.

Enduring Hard Times: Habits for Spiritual Resilience(Pastor Rick) emphasizes a sacramental-practical theology: ongoing union with Christ requires regular cleansing (confession) so God can use a person, and the sermon’s fresh theological angle is that moral/psychological resilience is directly tied to spiritual practices that remove impediments (clean hands) and make one available for God’s purposes.

Embracing Our New Identity in Christ(HighPointe Church) emphasizes the theme of union and identity: Colossians 2:6 is read theologically as testimony to “Christ in you / you in Christ” (a New Testament mystery), and the sermon develops the unusual facet that the core Christian problem is not (primarily) moral failure but a misperception of identity — believers must replace performance-based identity with the reality of being begotten by incorruptible seed, and so the theological contour of Colossians 2:6 is existential union (positional truth) that reliably shapes practice.

Hope Arrived: Jesus, Our Anchor and Foundation(Hopelands Church) highlights the distinctive theme of hope-as-person and anchored hope: Colossians 2:6–7 is not only about moral imitation but about being rooted in a Savior whose arrival secures a hope that acts like an anchor (Hebrews 6:19), so the verse is used to press a living, objective hope (Jesus himself) over subjective or wishful hoping.

Christ Our True North: Content, Competent, Complete, Crowned(Valley Independent Baptist Church) develops the theme of Christ as the full and sovereign center (telos) of salvation and life: the sermon’s unique theological angle reads Colossians 2:6 together with Paul’s claims about Christ’s fullness to teach that believers are not only converted but “complete” and being perfected by Christ, and that this completion also subordinates all rival authorities (principalities, philosophies) to Christ’s supranatural lordship — sanctification is thus presented as being rooted in Christ’s finished, ongoing work.

Building the Church on Christ: Foundations and Challenges(Ligonier Ministries) brings out a pastoral-theological theme: Colossians 2:6 frames sanctification as the continuation of reception, i.e., the principle that conversion’s initial reception must be lived out as a steady path (walking under Christ’s lordship), and the sermon links this to meekness, moral formation, and the pastor’s role in shepherding people who must “continue as received” rather than drift into nominal Christianity.

Colossians 2:6 Historical and Contextual Insights:

Embracing True Freedom Through a Relationship with Christ(ZChildren's Church School Lit) explains the first-century Colossian context briefly but pointedly, noting that Paul wrote to communities pressured by false teachers who insisted on following Jewish dietary laws and religious traditions; the sermon uses that cultural-historical moment to show why Paul’s “keep on living in him” is aimed at removing ethnic/ritual burdens and establishing Christ-centered identity and practice.

Embracing Our New Identity in Christ(HighPointe Church) draws a contextual-linguistic contrast across salvation history by surveying Hebrew/Septuagint prepositional usage — the preacher contrasts Genesis’ “walk before,” Deuteronomy’s “walk after,” and the Old Testament “walk with” (Noah/Enoch) with the New Testament’s “walk in” Christ, interpreting that shift in prepositions as historically significant: the NT’s “in” language indicates union and mutual indwelling unavailable in earlier covenant experience, so Colossians 2:6 is historically located as a distinctively New Covenant reality.

Christ Our True North: Content, Competent, Complete, Crowned(Valley Independent Baptist Church) supplies Roman-era context for Colossians: the sermon explains how Colossae’s world was saturated with imperial cults, multiple local gods, and temples to Caesar so Paul’s phrase that Christ is “head of principalities and powers” must be heard as a counter-imperial claim; in that first-century setting Colossians 2:6’s call to walk in Christ asserts Christ’s supremacy over the spiritual and political claims of empire.

Hope Arrived: Jesus, Our Anchor and Foundation(Hopelands Church) situates the New Testament arrival of Christ against Israel’s background expectations — the preacher reviews the accumulation of OT prophecies (Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah), the 400 years of prophetic silence, and Israel’s persistent longing so that Colossians-era exhortations about living in Christ are rooted in a long prophetic-historical hope fulfilled in Jesus and thus shape how a first-century or post-exilic audience would hear “continue to live your lives in him.”

Colossians 2:6 Cross-References in the Bible:

Embracing True Freedom Through a Relationship with Christ(ZChildren's Church School Lit) links Colossians 2:6 to the surrounding Colossian argument (the sermon refers to the later admonitions in Colossians 2:16–19 about dietary laws and religious observances), explaining that those verses forbid letting human rules supplant Christ and that Paul’s larger point is freedom in Christ rather than conformity to external regulations.

Perseverance: The Key to Faith and Victory(Koke Mill Christian Church) groups multiple passages to build the interpretation of Colossians 2:6: Hebrews 11–12 (the heroes of faith and the race imagery) are used to model perseverance; Romans 8:1 (“no condemnation for those in Christ”) and Colossians 2:14 (Christ “canceled the record of our charges”) are cited to neutralize guilt that would cause quitting; 1 Corinthians 10:13 (God provides a way out of temptation) is appealed to show believers are not left alone in trials; each reference is marshaled to encourage running the race with endurance and to explain how forgiveness and Spirit-led conviction, not condemnation, fuel the continuing life in Christ.

Shaping Our Future: Purpose, Gratitude, and Growth(Pastor Rick) deploys many cross-references to turn Colossians 2:6 into a discipleship framework: Isaiah 26:3 (peace to those who “keep their purpose firm”) supports the “purpose as anchor” theme; Psalm 33:11 and Hebrews 6:17 are used to argue God’s plans endure, giving tenacity; Romans 15:4 and Hebrews 12’s relationship to Hebrews 11 are drawn on to show scripture’s endurance and the examples that cultivate perseverance; Romans 6:13 and Acts 13:36 are appealed to connect moral surrender and serving God’s purpose in one’s generation, thereby building a network of proof texts that “keep on following” is lifelong purpose-driven discipleship.

Enduring Hard Times: Habits for Spiritual Resilience(Pastor Rick) aggregates practical biblical references around Colossians 2:6: Psalm 139:23–24 is recommended as the diagnostic prayer to reveal hidden sin that blocks continuing in Christ; 2 Timothy 2:21 is quoted to show God uses “clean” vessels; 1 Peter 3:16 and Romans 12:9 are used to argue a clear conscience and integrity make you resilient; Philippians 4:6 and Colossians 4:2 are cited to link prayer-plus-gratitude as means to “keep on” in trials; these passages are applied to furnish the step-by-step habits (confession, vigilance, gratitude) that enable ongoing life in Christ.

Embracing Our New Identity in Christ(HighPointe Church) connects Colossians 2:6 to a web of passages — Colossians 1:27 (“Christ in you, the hope of glory”) is cited as the doctrinal backbone of union; Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 10:4–5 are used to call for mind renewal against worldly strongholds; 1 Peter 1:3 and 1 John 3:9 are marshaled to explain new birth language (“incorruptible seed”) and the non-practicing-of-sin in the born-again spirit; Galatians 2:20 and Colossians 2:9–12 are brought in to explain co-crucifixion and co-resurrection (baptismal symbolism), and 2 Corinthians 11:3 is quoted as a pastoral warning about corruption of mind — each passage is deployed to show that Colossians 2:6’s “walk in him” flows from Christ’s indwelling, positional union, and the consequent necessity of renewing one’s mind and living from that identity.

Hope Arrived: Jesus, Our Anchor and Foundation(Hopelands Church) groups Luke 1:31–32 (Gabriel’s announcement to Mary) and John 1:14 to show that the Word becoming flesh is the fulfillment of OT promise; the sermon cites Isaiah 7 & 9, Micah, and Jeremiah to show the prophetic accumulation behind Israel’s hope, then ties Colossians 2:6–7 to Matthew 7’s rock/sand analogy (foundation) and Ephesians 4 / 1 Peter 2:9 / Hebrews 6:19 to show practical results (rootedness, identity as chosen possession, and hope as anchor) — these cross-references are used to move from prophetic expectation to the concrete, Christ-centered life Colossians 2:6 calls for.

Christ Our True North: Content, Competent, Complete, Crowned(Valley Independent Baptist Church) situates Colossians 2:6 with multiple passages: Colossians 2:9–12 (fullness, circumcision without hands, baptism as burial/resurrection) and Colossians 1 (Christ as firstborn and head) are read to show Christ’s sufficiency; Philippians 2 and John 1 are used to argue 100% God/100% man; Romans 6 and Romans 10:9 are invoked for the forensic/declarative aspects of conversion leading into a life “walking in him,” and Hebrews 2:9 and the Pauline use of teleios/teleos are explained to show how Paul understands completion/perfection and “paid in full” language — together these cross-references expand Colossians 2:6 from an ethical imperative into a theology of baptismal union, Christ’s supremacy, and the believer’s new status.

Building the Church on Christ: Foundations and Challenges(Ligonier Ministries) links Colossians 2:6 to the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) and the sequence of spiritual formation the Beatitudes describe (poverty of spirit → mourning → meekness → hungering for righteousness), using that progression to show how “continue as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord” is a call to ongoing, Christ‑shaped formation; the sermon thus treats Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount as a practical complement to Paul’s Colossians exhortation, showing that walking in Christ is the steady outworking of reception and conversion in daily discipleship.

Colossians 2:6 Christian References outside the Bible:

Enduring Hard Times: Habits for Spiritual Resilience(Pastor Rick) explicitly cites Augustine, summarizing his observation that “the confession of bad works is the beginning of good works,” and uses Augustine’s patristic insight to bolster the sermon’s practical catechesis on confession: Augustine’s point is presented as historical-theological support for the claim that naming and agreeing with God about sin (homologeo) is the necessary start of spiritual renewal and usefulness for God’s purposes.

Embracing Our New Identity in Christ(HighPointe Church) explicitly cites the twentieth-century British preacher Alan Redpath—quoting his line that “the conversion of the soul is a miracle of a moment, but the manufacturing of a saint is the work of a lifetime”—and the sermon uses Redpath’s aphorism to frame Colossians 2:6 as a twofold reality: instantaneous reception (conversion) followed by lifelong workmanship (walking in Christ), thereby employing Redpath to illustrate Paul’s distinction between positional status and progressive sanctification.

Colossians 2:6 Illustrations from Secular Sources:

Perseverance: The Key to Faith and Victory(Koke Mill Christian Church) uses everyday, secular life vignettes to make Colossians 2:6 concrete: the pastor tells of meeting a man at a recycling center who considered quitting his life and returning home—this encounter illustrates how external circumstances tempt people to give up on commitments; he describes Noah’s ark dimensions (converted into modern feet to make the perseverance vivid) and his 120-year construction as an extended secularized image of endurance; personal anecdotes (friends quitting jobs, struggling marriages, the pastor preaching to himself in a mirror to regain resolve) are deployed as pragmatic analogies showing what “continuing to follow Christ” looks like in ordinary, non-theological contexts.

Enduring Hard Times: Habits for Spiritual Resilience(Pastor Rick) draws on secular and workplace imagery to illustrate Colossians 2:6: he quotes a gas-station slogan (“a clean engine has more power”) to parallel the sermon’s claim that a clear conscience empowers continued discipleship; he recounts a staff Zoom exercise listing 300 distractions (cell phones, news, Netflix, politics) to show culturally specific barriers to keeping one’s purpose firm; he cites an article from Harvard Business Review about imitation often beating innovation to argue the practical, non-idealistic point that continuing in Christ can include imitating successful practices—each secular illustration is described in detail to help listeners see how Colossians 2:6 is lived out amidst modern pressures.

Embracing Our New Identity in Christ(HighPointe Church) uses two specific secular/sports analogies to illuminate Colossians 2:6’s teaching on identity and formation: Michael Jordan is invoked to show the difference between what someone does and who someone is (Jordan “was the greatest player,” but that was what he did, not his identity), and the high-profile 1999 NFL draft trade involving coach Mike Ditka and running back Ricky Williams is recounted (Ditka gave up many draft picks to get Williams because “I wanted to make Ricky a Saint”) to demonstrate sacrificial investing in a player’s potential — the preacher parallels Ditka’s costly investment with Christ’s giving “all” to make believers saints, applying Colossians 2:6’s call to continue living in that purchased identity.

Christ Our True North: Content, Competent, Complete, Crowned(Valley Independent Baptist Church) employs detailed, technical secular metaphors: an orienteering/compass explanation contrasting True North (map/grid north) with magnetic north (needle drift), explaining declination and the real-world consequence of being hundreds of yards off after a mile if one navigates only by magnetic north; that technical image is then joined to a popular-culture reference — Captain Jack Sparrow’s compass from Pirates of the Caribbean that points to one’s greatest desire — to illustrate how uncorrected spiritual “declination” (desire-driven compasses) will lead believers away from Christ, while Colossians 2:6 calls them to orient life by Christ (True North) instead.

Hope Arrived: Jesus, Our Anchor and Foundation(Hopelands Church) uses contemporary cultural contrasts to make Colossians 2:6 concrete: the preacher contrasts the Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday cycle (gratitude quickly turning into consumerist chasing) with the rooted, anchored life Colossians 2:6–7 prescribes, arguing that cultural patterns that blow people “tossed to and fro” are precisely what Christ-centered, rooted walking seeks to correct — the secular shopping/cultural examples are used to dramatize the instability Christ cures when believers “continue to follow him.”