Read: Colossians 1:21-23

Last Sunday, Pastor Jason Finley preached from Colossians 1:15-20 on what it means to behold and exult in Jesus Christ, our Savior. This Sunday, Ryan Heard will lead us to remember our identity in Christ and continue in the faith from Colossians 1:21-23. As you prepare your heart for our corporate gathering, let these words from Milton Vincent move you to joyfully surrender to Christ’s righteousness and then do whatever this righteousness directs you to do.

Heart Preparation 

The righteousness of God, credited to me through Christ, is not merely something I rest in, but it is also the premier saving reality by which God governs me. According to Romans 6, when I obeyed the gospel call I was both declared righteous and “became a slave to righteousness” at the same time. Quite literally, the righteousness that God credited to me became my master on the day I was converted! And now I am daily called by God to surrender the members of my being as slaves to do whatever this righteousness dictates.

That I would be called to present my members as slaves of this imputed righteousness implies that my justification has something to say to me by way of directing me how to live my life each day. What it directs me to do is to be holy; and what results from my obedience to its rule is sanctification, or holiness of life. Hence, it could be said that ‘sanctification’ is merely the lifelong process wherein I joyfully surrender myself to God’s imputed righteousness and then do whatever this righteousness directs me to do. Indeed, God has clothed me with His righteousness. Now He wants this righteousness to master me.

The more I exult in the reality of my justification in Christ, the more I position myself to experience the full governing force of its sanctifying power in my life. And the more sanctified I become, the more I experience the full breadth of eternal life that God has given to me in Christ.

“Enslaved by Christ’s Righteousness,” in A Gospel Primer for Christians, by Milton Vincent

Song List for Sunday

1. “Joy Has Dawned,” by Keith and Kristyn Getty
2. “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear / Glorious,” by Paul Baloche
3. “O Come All Ye Faithful,” by Chris Tomlin
4. “Exult in the Savior’s Birth,” by Matt Boswell
5. “Joy to the World / Our God Saves,” by Paul Baloche