Colossians 2:6-8
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Dear Friends in Christ,
The theme of the day is confirmation. If you would have chosen to attend the late
service you would have noticed 13 young people wearing white robes sitting in the
first two pews. And for many of you, if
you grew up in the Lutheran church, it would have brought back memories of your
own confirmation. That is good, because confirmation is worth
remembering.
It also raises an interesting question. Is confirmation an event, or a process? Is confirmation something we do once, or is
our faith something we need to be “confirmed” in again and again? I think we would all agree that confirmation
is not an end in itself, but the beginning of a growing, continuing relationship
with God.
So we must all consider ourselves “continual confirmands.” Which means this text, originally chosen for
the confirmation class of 2006, is equally relevant and important for each of
us. Regardless as to whether our
personal confirmation event was 2 or 20 or 50 or 70 years ago, the Apostle
Paul, writing to a group of “continuing confirmands” in the ancient city of
CONTINUE TO LIVE IN HIM
And as we work our way through this text for new confirmations, Paul explains
1. Why we are to do this
2. How we are to do this
3. What we’re up against
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him…” This verse tells us why we are to live in Him. The answer: Because we know that Christ Jesus is Lord.
Whether as a youth or an adult, confirmation was a spiritual
And who is He? He is our Savior, our Redeemer, our constant Companion and our best Friend. He is our light in darkness, our port in life’s storms, our refuge from trouble and our provider of everlasting life.
That’s quite a bit.
And that’s why continuing to live
in Him is not hard, because we’ll never find anyone who loves us more than
Jesus did. He’s got the nail holes to prove
it. We know what it took to make us His
own and take away the sins that at one time blocked us from heaven. Many of us in catechism at one time learned
the term “vicarious atonement,” meaning Christ as our substitute (“vicar”) made
us “at one” with God through his death on the cross. Jesus paid the ultimate price and made the
ultimate sacrifice. In the words of the
catechism, He saved us “not with gold or
silver, but with his holy precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and
death.”
That’s why we are to live in him – in the strength and promises and joy that only He can provide. Paul now goes on to tell us how to go about this. “So then, just as you received Jesus Christ as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Did you catch that at the end? At the foundation of the Christian’s life is thankfulness. In particular…
Thankfulness for sins forgiven. Thankfulness for God’s constant and abiding
presence in our lives. Thankfulness for
the opportunity to pour out our hearts to Him in prayer. Thankfulness that we know the answers to the
big questions in life, and that we have a purpose and meaning in life. Thankfulness even for the negative things and
the times of uncertainty because they often keep us closer to God than when
things are going right…
Why is this? Why is it that we are blessed so richly? There
is only one explanation. Grace. Grace is God’s undeserved love and mercy
which He so richly showers on each of us.
And the natural response to understanding grace is “thankfulness.” As an old
cliché goes, “thanksgiving translates into thanksgiving.” “Continue
to live in him” through a life marked by “thankfulness.”
As well as a life marked by continued spiritual growth. Paul tells us to be “rooted,” “built up” and “strengthened in the faith as you were taught.” This can only happen by staying close the Word of God. Paul is talking about continuing, personal Christian education. Bible reading, for example. He’s encouraging us to either develop or continue in a regular devotional life. He’s talking about consistently making use of the means of Grace that your church provides through a regular habit of worship and communion attendance.
In the Book of Romans, Paul puts it this way: “Faith
comes through hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of
Christ.” We can’t get physically strong unless we regularly get food
and exercise. The same thing applies
spiritually. We must regularly be fed
with Word and sacrament, and we must regularly strengthen our faith through the
spiritual exercise of Bible reading and worship. If we don’t, we can lose what we have. Perhaps I’m preaching to the choir. But then again, so was Paul when he said “let him who thinks he stands be careful
lest he fall…”
In the next service, I will be stressing this point with the confirmands. I’ll also be letting them in on how pastors feel on Confirmation Day. Pastors consider Confirmation Day to be a bittersweet occasion. On the one hand there is great joy as we watch young Christians take this big step in their spiritual lives. But on the other hand, there’s also a hint of sadness.
Why is this? Because if the past holds true, we know that some will remain very faithful to the vows they will make; and that brings joy to our hearts every time we see them. But others – for one reason or another and in a gradual way – won’t. It’s just a historical fact that many who have worn the white robes of confirmation eventually drift away from the vows they make. And after a while we don’t see them anymore. And that saddens us. Because we don’t want to see a single confirmand leave the fold.
In view of this reality, can I ask you to do something
today? Can I ask you to think of someone
in your confirmation class who you probably haven’t thought of for a long
time. Maybe a one time friend or maybe
someone you barely knew. Can I ask that
sometime today you say a prayer for them?
Pray that if they have remained faithful to their vows, they will
continue to do so. But if they have
strayed, pray that somehow, some way the Holy Spirit will rekindle the flame of
faith which once was there, and that they will return to the vows of faith and
faithfulness they once made at their confirmation?
Straying away happens because Christians are
challenged. In fact, we can count on
being challenged. This is why we must
remain strong and connected to Christ. In
the last verses of our text the Apostle Paul tells his confirmands what they
are up against. “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive
philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this
world rather than on Christ.”
The main point being made here is that any way of thinking or style of living which is not based on Jesus Christ as its foundation is to be considered hollow and deceptive. “Hollow” because there is no substance to it. “Deceptive” because it is intended to deceive; that is, to not tell the truth. And Paul warns us not to buy into any of it.
And you know who’s behind it in one way or another, don’t you? Satan, also known as the devil. The devil is a fallen angel, condemned to hell, whose single goal in life is to drag as many people down with him as possible. And he’s had thousands of years experience in how to do it. Today, more than ever, with the promises they are about to take, I will be telling the new confirmands that they will become a target for him. We don’t have to fear him – he’s been conquered by Christ. But all of us do need to be aware, and to be prepared.
He is a deceiver. And something he tries to do, especially with young people, is to make things that are very, very, bad, appear to be very, very good – or at least fun and exciting. One of his favorite tricks is to lead us to believe that our Christianity is really an obstacle in the way of having a good time. So he’ll try to convince us that we shouldn’t be so straight laced and uptight and hyper in trying to do the right things. He’ll try to convince us that we don’t have to take our Christianity nearly as seriously as I’m telling you today. He’ll try to convince us that real fun is just a sin or two away – and besides that, after it’s all over we can ask for forgiveness and everything will be back to normal between us and God.
Let me tell you a true story from my confirmation class days on how effective he can be at this. I’ve probably told you this story before, but it bears repeating. I went to Lutheran grade school and confirmation class with two buddies, Joe and Ricky. Good kids. Parents wanted what was best for them. Went to church, etc. After grade school we went to different high schools, so I kind of lost track of them.
The next I heard about Joe and Ricky was at the end of either their first or second year in high school. What I heard is that they had gone to a party. There was alcohol involved. They were tempted and they got drunk. Then they decided to do something wild. They stole a car and went for a ride. The ride stopped when Joe slammed the car into a telephone pole. He died that night. Ricky lived. But from what I heard of his injuries, I would guess he walks with a limp to this day.
Good kids. Went to Lutheran school. Went to church. Went to catechism class. Got confirmed. Wore the white robes and sat in front of the church just like you’re doing today. But that night Satan deceived them and convinced them that real fun could only come by abandoning what they had been taught all those years. They gave in. And their lives were changed forever.
I tell this story only to remind us what you’re up against. Temptations will come, you can be guaranteed. And not just to sixteen year old kids. Satan does his scouting reports on us and knows where we are most vulnerable. And that’s often where he’ll ever so discretely throw a temptation.
And that’s why we need to stay strong. Stay focused. Stay connected to Christ. Remember Jesus and His love for you. And we will be able to stand firm throughout the battles of life.
So, allow me to repeat once again the counsel that Pastor
Paul gave to a group of “continuing confirmands” in the ancient city of