“Be You Thankful” (Col 3:1-17)

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also you are called in one body, and be you thankful” (vs15).

The Lord died so that His elect would be saved, and now, the Father sends the Spirit of conviction to teach us Christ.  Left to ourselves and human power, we’d go to hell because sin is so strong and beloved by us, that we’d choose the wrath of God over salvation, by choosing sin and our lusts, instead of Christ.  Yet, in love, God pre-planned His elect to be saved, so He convinces us of truth inwardly, so that the promises, power, warnings, and rewards are BELIEVED, and thereby Christ is honored, flesh’s defeated, and salvation is sure.  God isn’t commanding and warning merely, but He WRITES the gospel upon the heart, so that we KNOW it is true and live thereby - (Heb 11:1) “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.”

We are helpless, but we’re taught by God our help is in Christ, that looking to what we have in Him - forgiveness, redemption, precious promises - produces thankfulness in us, as we receive so freely - “Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col 3:1-5).

We know by CONVICTION that we must live godly, that Christ can’t save and leave us in sin, so rather than die over transgressions so dearly loved, we rejoice with thankfulness that God has intervened to break the spell of sin.  It wouldn’t be “thankfulness”, if it was something that we did or contributed to. But, being nothing, and yet saved, the Lord WORKS in us a thankful heart, as we think on Christ, our new life, and live for Him.

We are to be thankful, holy, kind, meek, and forgiving - “forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye“ (vs13). We live to honor the Son who does all for us, so we bear His image in our daily life, repenting from sin - “lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds“ (vs9).  We know the DANGER we’ve been saved from, so we know it is right to thank God with our lives, and He gives us power to do what human will-power cannot, to actually believe that weak as water, He is my strength. I have a new mission, and I’ll obtain joy and peace, as I receive mercy again continually.