Orthodoxy Before Orthopraxy (A Quick Refresher)

If you’ve been hanging with us through this series in Colossians, you already know the golden rule of how we are studying this letter: Orthodoxy before Orthopraxy. Right thinking and right believing must lead to right living. You have to get your mind anchored in who Jesus is before you can walk out what He’s called you to do.

Paul is writing this letter from a prison cell around AD 60-62. He’s showing us that when Christ is truly preeminent in your life, you can actually rejoice in the middle of your suffering. But how is that possible? He explains it by revealing a mystery.

The Mystery Revealed: Christ in You

In Colossians 1:26-27, Paul drops a theological bombshell: “…the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

To the Jewish people reading this, this was radical. Up until the veil was torn, the presence of God resided in the Tabernacle or the Temple. You had to go to a specific place to experience it. Paul says, No, the presence of God now dwells in YOU. To the Gentiles reading this, it was completely shocking. They were considered outcasts—people with no hope, no lineage, and no right to the table. And Paul says, This is for you, too. God went on a rescue mission for the outcast.

But here is the danger for us today: What was once radical and shocking has just become familiar. We’ve heard it so many times that it doesn’t move us anymore. If your faith has just become “familiar,” it’s no wonder you aren’t bringing your “one more” to church. It should never become small to you that the Creator of the universe saved you and put His Spirit inside of you.

We Proclaim a Person, Not a Trend

So, what do we do with this mystery? Verse 28 gives us the playbook: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Notice what we are called to proclaim: HIM. We don’t proclaim a philosophy, a political stance, a cultural trend, or a personality. And we certainly don’t proclaim “self-help” or “positive vibes.” Positive vibes don’t move mountains; faith in Jesus Christ moves mountains.

The Word of God acts as both a mirror and a map. It corrects us and confronts us in our sin (the mirror), but it doesn’t leave us there. It shows us how to get from where we messed up to where God is calling us (the map). And the ultimate goal isn’t just to get a big crowd on a Sunday, or to get you hyped up and excited. The goal is maturity. We want you to grow up in Christ so you can boldly make Him known to the world around you.

Anti-Earning, But Not Anti-Effort

Paul wraps up the chapter in verse 29: “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”

Let’s just be honest: this thing called Christianity is hard work. Paul uses words like “toil” and “struggle,” which carry the intensity of an athlete leaving everything on the track. You cannot be lazy and call yourself a Christian. God is absolutely anti-earning (you can’t work your way to heaven), but He is not anti-effort.

I heard Tim Tebow say something recently that messed me up. He said, “I don’t want to show up to heaven well-rested.” When God calls me home, I hope He finds me exhausted on the battlefield because I leveraged everything I had for His glory.

But here is the beautiful balance: effort is required, but dependence is essential. We do the hard work, but we do it “with all HIS energy that powerfully works within me.” You don’t have to do it in your own strength. The power source is already inside you.

Lord Jesus,
Forgive me for the times I have let the radical, shocking truth of Your salvation just become “familiar” to me. Reignite the awe of knowing that the “hope of glory” actually lives inside of me. Break me out of my spiritual laziness and give me a hunger to mature in Your Word. Help me to use it as a mirror to correct my heart and a map to guide my steps. Give me Your energy to toil, to struggle, and to serve out loud. I don’t want to show up to heaven well-rested; I want to leverage everything I have for Your glory.
Amen.

Take a hard look at your week: Are you relying on “positive vibes” to get you through, or are you depending on the very real power of Christ in you? Share this post with someone who needs a reminder of the radical grace they carry, or drop a comment below about how God’s Word has been a “map” for you recently. However hard the work gets this week, remember: at ONE Church, No ONE Walks Alone.