Colossians 3:Christ Our Motivation

Colossians 3

English Standard Version (ESV)

Put On the New Self

3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is,seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christwho is your^[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:^[b] sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming.^[c] 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸ But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self^[d] with its practices ¹⁰ andhave put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.¹¹ Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,^[e] free; but Christ is all, and in all.

¹² Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness,humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ 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.¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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.

Rules for Christian Households

¹⁸ Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives, anddo not be harsh with them. ²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.²² Bondservants,^[f] obey in everything those who are your earthly masters,^[g] not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. ²⁵ For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

Chapter 1 talked about how Christ saves us. Chapter 2 discussed how to avoid adding our own salvation to Christ's great work. Chapter 3 about what we should rid ourselves of and how we should behave when motivated by Christ. Our sin nature draws us to save ourselves, yet does not ask us to cast off the sins that weigh us down. How strange we are to forget about what causes our need for salvation. I can think of sins just from yesterday that I felt bad about for only just a moment. I need to repent of all the sins that Paul lists: "sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry...anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth."   I need to honestly confess my sin to God. I am a new creation in Christ and I am not tied down by my earthly perceptions. Before God it does not matter what family I come from, who loves and values me here, if I am beautiful or ugly, smart or educated. What matters to God is that I am motivated by love Him. Then will come peace. Then will comes a love and sweetness towards others, myself, and towards God himself. Paul then breaks away and gives specific messages to different people within the church. I need to remind myself, though, that just before this he had been talking about how human judgment was of little concern; however, our different roles in life have different ways that love of Christ is shown. If you are a wife, you need to be motivated by Christ's love to submit to your husband just as you submit to God's rules. We are first serving Christ, but that does not let us off the hook from loving and serving others. 
Jesus, I thank you for advocating for me before the Father. I thank you for helping me be worthy of love despite my sin. Help me to cast of the sins that separate me from You and the Father. Please keep guard over my tongue, my mind, and my actions so that I don't sin against you and others. Father, keep your works for me ever at the forefront of my mind. Amen.