The Responsibilities of the Christian | Pastor Aaron Gray

Paul grounds Christian activity in Christian identity. Colossians 3 begins with what is already true: those who belong to Christ have died with him, have been raised with him, and have their lives hidden with Christ in God. Death entered the world when humanity chose to be its own lord, but Christ took on flesh, lived without sin, died in the place of sinners, and rose from the grave. Christians therefore do not serve a dead founder. Christ is alive, and his people are dead to sin but alive in him.

The text also makes safety and belonging central to this identity. A life hidden with Christ is not a life protected from every sickness, loss, or tragedy, but it is a life whose eternal future cannot be touched. Christ is not an add-on among political labels, school colors, jobs, preferences, or personalities. Christ is life. The basic identity is simple: dead, raised, safe, and held by Jesus.

Paul then moves from identity to activity. Personal devotion means ruthlessly putting sin to death rather than making peace with it. Sexual sin, covetousness, slander, anger, lying, and every other kind of heart-level yuck belong to the old self. At the same time, the new self must be put on like a uniform: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love. God does the heavy lifting, but each Christian must take ownership of spiritual growth. Nobody else can read the Bible, pray, forgive, or fight sin on somebody else’s behalf.

The church also requires intentional community. The New Testament’s many “one another” commands cannot happen from a distance or behind a screen. Smaller groups give believers space to teach, admonish, bear burdens, forgive, and be known without shame. Larger gatherings give the church a picture of God’s grandeur, as Scripture is read, Christ is praised, and a whole congregation lifts its voice. Worship is not mainly about getting something out of it; it is about bringing a sacrifice of praise to the Lord.

Paul’s language about work and inheritance also opens into cheerful generosity. Money belongs to God before it ever lands in anyone’s account. Giving supports gospel ministry, cares for the household of faith, reaches outward in mercy, and should be sacrificial enough to be felt. The tithe provides a helpful guideline, but cheerful generosity cannot be reduced to reluctant math. A generous Father frees his people from fear and greed.

Finally, courageous mission belongs to every Christian, not only public leaders. Prayer asks God to open doors, while gracious speech makes the mystery of Christ clear. If Christ has died, risen, and promised to come again, that news cannot remain private. New identity flows into new activity: personal devotion, intentional community, gathered worship, cheerful generosity, and courageous mission.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Identity comes before Christian activity. Christian obedience does not create a place in God’s family. Christ gives his people a new identity first, then calls them to live from it. Dead to sin, raised with Christ, hidden in God, and held by Jesus, believers do not work for acceptance but from acceptance. [04:26]
• 2. Put sin to death ruthlessly. Sin is not something to manage politely or keep around as a harmless weakness. Paul’s language calls for serious warfare against lust, greed, anger, slander, lying, and whatever still belongs to the old self. The same hands that put sin to death must also put on compassion, meekness, patience, and forgiveness. [16:52]
• 3. Community requires intentional nearness. The “one another” commands require more than attending a room full of strangers. Christians need a smaller circle of people who can see real life, speak truth, bear burdens, and offer grace. Awkwardness and shame often make isolation feel safer, but isolation cannot produce the kind of love the New Testament commands. [23:50]
• 4. Generosity breaks fear’s grip. Cheerful giving reveals confidence that God, not money, secures life. Sacrificial generosity may mean feeling the cost, simplifying desires, or refusing the pressure to constantly have more. The point is not reluctant religious payment but joyful trust in the Father who has already given everything. [39:56]
• 5. The gospel belongs on every tongue. Courageous mission does not belong only to those with a microphone or a ministry title. Ordinary Christians carry the news of Christ into workplaces, homes, schools, and everyday conversations. Gracious words should be seasoned with salt, but love for the lost also makes the truth clear.
  
  ## [46:10]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:10] - A New Identity and the Question of Now What
• [04:26] - Identity Before Activity
• [05:10] - Dead With Christ
• [08:01] - Raised, Safe, and Hidden in Christ
• [12:05] - Five Activities of Christian Life
• [14:00] - Personal Devotion and Killing Sin
• [21:00] - Intentional Community and One Another
• [26:50] - Gathering in the Great Assembly
• [32:10] - Cheerful Generosity
• [44:14] - Courageous Mission to the Lost
• [49:49] - Living Out the New Identity

Bible Reading

Colossians 3:1-17
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, 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, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” [00:03]

Colossians 4:2-6
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” [44:14]

2 Corinthians 9:7
“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” [39:56]

Observation questions

1. In Colossians 3:1–4, what words describe what is already true of believers before Paul gives commands about how they should live? [05:10]
2. What kinds of old-self behaviors does Paul tell believers to put away, and what new-self qualities does he tell them to put on in Colossians 3:5–14? [16:52]
3. What “one another” activities are named in Colossians 3:14–17, and what place do thankfulness and singing have among them? [21:00]
4. In Colossians 4:2–6, what does Paul ask believers to pray for, and how does he describe their speech toward outsiders? [44:25]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Paul begin with believers being raised with Christ, dead to the old life, and hidden with Christ before calling them to fight sin and pursue holiness? [04:26]
2. How does the truth that a believer’s life is “hidden with Christ in God” give real security without promising an easy or pain-free life? [09:35]
3. Why are both parts of Paul’s instruction necessary: putting sinful practices to death and actively putting on compassion, humility, patience, and love? [17:48]
4. What does Paul’s call to cheerful giving show about the difference between generosity motivated by fear or pressure and generosity motivated by trust in God? [39:56]

Application questions

1. Which identity is hardest to remember this week: dead to sin, raised with Christ, safe in him, or knowing that Christ is life? What situation makes that truth especially important right now? [11:48]
2. Is there a specific sin that has been managed politely rather than put to death—such as anger, greed, lust, slander, dishonesty, or coveting? What would a more serious and practical fight against it look like this week? [17:17]
3. Which new-self quality—compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, or love—would most change a current relationship or conflict? What is one concrete way to put it on? [16:04]
4. Who are the few believers who genuinely know what is happening in life and have permission to speak truth with grace? If that kind of community is missing, what is one step toward intentional nearness that could be taken? [24:34]
5. How does the desire to “get something out of” gathered worship sometimes shape attitudes toward singing, listening, or serving? What might it look like to come ready to bring a sacrifice of praise and encourage others? [30:43]
6. What desires, purchases, or fears make cheerful generosity difficult right now? How might trusting God’s provision lead to one specific act of giving or simpler living? [43:53]
7. Who is one person in a workplace, home, school, or neighborhood who may need to hear the hope of Christ? What could it look like to pray for an open door and speak with both grace and clarity? [44:25]