Colossians 3:5
Verse
Context
Put On the New Self
4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.5Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
Sermons
A.W. Tozer
J. Vernon McGee
Compilations
John Piper
Chuck Smith
Paris Reidhead
Winkie PratneySummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Mortify, therefore, you members - Νεκρωσατε· Put them to death: the verb is used metaphorically to signify, to deprive a thing of its power, to destroy its strength. Use no member of your body to sin against God; keep all under dominion; and never permit the beast to run away with the man. To gratify any sensual appetite is to give it the very food and nourishment by which it lives, thrives, and is active. However the body may suffer by excessive sensual indulgences, the appetite increases with the indulgence. Deny yourselves, and let reason rule; and the animal will not get the ascendency over the rational man. See the notes on Rom 6:11, etc. Inordinate affection - Παθος· Unnatural and degrading passion; bestial lusts. See Rom 1:26, Rom 1:27; and the notes there. Evil concupiscence - Επιθυμιαν κακην. As επιθυμια signifies strong and vehement desire of any kind, it is here joined with κακη, evil, to show the sense more particularly in which the apostle uses it. Covetousness, which is idolatry - For the covetous man makes his money his god. Now, it is the prerogative of God to confer happiness; every godly man seeks his happiness in God; the covetous man seeks that in his money which God alone can give; therefore his covetousness is properly idolatry. It is true his idol is of gold and silver, but his idolatry is not the less criminal on that account.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Mortify--Greek, "make a corpse of"; "make dead"; "put to death." therefore--(See on Col 3:3). Follow out to its necessary consequence the fact of your having once for all died with Christ spiritually at your regeneration, by daily "deadening your members," of which united "the body of the sins of the flesh" consists (compare Col 2:11). "The members" to be mortified are the fleshly instruments of lust, in so far as the members of the body are abused to such purposes. Habitually repress and do violence to corrupt desires of which the members are the instruments (compare Rom 6:19; Rom 8:13; Gal 5:24-25). upon the earth--where they find their support [BENGEL] (Compare Col 3:2, "things on earth"). See Eph 5:3-4. inordinate affection--"lustful passion." evil concupiscence--more general than the last [ALFORD], the disorder of the external senses; "lustful passion," lust within [BENGEL]. covetousness--marked off by the Greek article as forming a whole genus by itself, distinct from the genus containing the various species just enumerated. It implies a self-idolizing, grasping spirit; far worse than another Greek term translated "the love of money" (Ti1 6:10). which is--that is, inasmuch as it is "idolatry." Compare Note, see on Eph 4:19, on its connection with sins of impurity. Self and mammon are deified in the heart instead of God (Mat 6:24; see on Eph 5:5).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Mortify therefore your members,.... Not your bodies, as the Ethiopic version reads, nor the members of the natural body, but of the body of sin, indwelling sin; which as a body consists of various members, which are parts of it, rise out of it, and are used by it, as the members are by the body; and intend the sins of the flesh, or sinful actions, which are generally performed by the members of the natural body, in which the law of sin is, and by which it operates; so that the mortification the saints are here exhorted to, in consideration of having a spiritual life in them, and a hope of eternal life in Christ, from whence the apostle argues, is not a mortification or destruction of the body of sin itself, or of the being and principle of it in the soul, where it is, and lives, and dwells, and will as long as the saints are in this tabernacle, but of the deeds of the body, or of sinful actions, as to the life and conversation; and signifies a denial of them, an abstinence from them, and a non-performance of them; See Gill on Rom 8:13. These members, or deeds of the body, or acts of sin, are called "your": for as the old man is ours, the vitiosity of nature is what we bring into the world with us, and is rooted and incorporated into us; so the actions that flow from it, and are done by it, are not to be ascribed to God, nor even to Satan, but they are our own actions, and which are performed by the members of our mortal body, or by the faculties of our souls: and are, which are on earth: or earthly; are concerned about earthly things, the things of the world, worldly lusts and pleasures, which rise out of earthly mindedness, and incline unto it, and are only what are done here on earth, and will have no place in heaven. The particulars of which follow: fornication; the sin of uncleanness committed by single persons, or out of the state of marriage, and which the Gentiles did not account sinful: hence so much notice is taken of it, with a censure, and so often, by the apostle, in almost all his epistles, and dehorted from, as a sin against the body, as what disqualified for church communion, and was not to be named among the saints, who should be dead to that, and that to them, as to the commission of it. Uncleanness; of every sort, all other impure actions, as adultery, incest, sodomy, and every other unnatural lust; all which should be abstained from, and never committed by those who profess to be alive unto God. Inordinate affection; which may intend the passions, or first motions of sin, stirred up by the law, and which work in, and operate by the members of the body, and bring forth fruit unto death, and therefore to be opposed by such as have a life in Christ; and also those vile affections, which some in a judicial way are given up unto, and prevail with those who are effeminate, and abusers of themselves with mankind, and which are to be abhorred and denied by all who are heirs of the grace of life, and expectants of an heavenly one. Evil concupiscence; so called to distinguish it from that natural concupiscence, or desire after things lawful and necessary, and which is implanted in nature by God himself; and from that spiritual concupiscence or desire after spiritual things, and that lusting against the flesh and carnal things, which is formed in the heart of a regenerate man by the Spirit of God. It is the same with , "the evil imagination", or corruption of nature so much spoken of by the Jews. This here is what is forbidden by that law, "thou shalt not covet", Exo 20:17; and includes every fleshly lust and inordinate desire, or every desire after that which is not lawful, or does not belong to a man; as what is another's property, his wife, or goods, or anything that is his; and so very naturally follows, covetousness; an immoderate love of money, the root of all evil, an insatiable desire of having more, and of having more than a man's own; and is enlarged as hell, and as death is not satisfied, but still craves more, without making any good use of what is possessed: which is idolatry. The covetous man, and the idolater, worship the same for matter and substance, even gold and silver; the covetous man lays up his money, makes no use of it, as if it was something sacred; he looks at it, and adores it, and puts his trust and confidence in it, and his heart is so much set upon it, that he neglects the worship of the true God; and indeed no man can serve God and mammon. Some think, that by this rendered "covetousness", is meant, that greedy desire after the commission of all uncleanness, and impure actions, which were perpetrated by the followers of Simon Magus in their religious assemblies, and under the notion of worship, and as acceptable to God, and therefore called idolatry; and which ought not to be once named, much less practised, among the living members of Christ. Moreover, such filthy actions were performed by the Gentiles in the worship of their deities.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
The apostle exhorts the Colossians to the mortification of sin, the great hindrance to seeking the things which are above. Since it is our duty to set our affections upon heavenly things, it is our duty to mortify our members which are upon the earth, and which naturally incline us to the things of the world: "Mortify them, that is, subdue the vicious habits of mind which prevailed in your Gentile state. Kill them, suppress them, as you do weeds or vermin which spread and destroy all about them, or as you kill an enemy who fights against you and wounds you." - Your members which are upon the earth; either the members of the body, which are the earthly part of us, and were curiously wrought in the lower parts of the earth (Psa 139:15), or the corrupt affections of the mind, which lead us to earthly things, the members of the body of death, Rom 7:24. He specifies, I. The lusts of the flesh, for which they were before so very remarkable: Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence - the various workings of the carnal appetites and fleshly impurities, which they indulged in their former course of life, and which were so contrary to the Christian state and the heavenly hope. II. The love of the world: And covetousness, which is idolatry; that is, an inordinate love of present good and outward enjoyments, which proceeds from too high a value in the mind, puts upon too eager a pursuit, hinders the proper use and enjoyment of them, and creates anxious fear and immoderate sorrow for the loss of them. Observe, Covetousness is spiritual idolatry: it is the giving of that love and regard to worldly wealth which are due to God only, and carries a greater degree of malignity in it, and is more highly provoking to God, than is commonly thought. And it is very observable that among all the instances of sin which good men are recorded in the scripture to have fallen into (and there is scarcely any but some or other, in one or other part of their life, have fallen into) there is no instance in all the scripture of any good man charged with covetousness. He proceeds to show how necessary it is to mortify sins, Col 3:6, Col 3:7. 1. Because, if we do not kill them, they will kill us: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, Col 3:6. See what we are all by nature more or less: we are children of disobedience: not only disobedient children, but under the power of sin and naturally prone to disobey. The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies, Psa 58:3. And, being children of disobedience, we are children of wrath, Eph 2:3. The wrath of God comes upon all the children of disobedience. Those who do not obey the precepts of the law incur the penalties of it. The sins he mentions were their sins in their heathen and idolatrous state, and they were then especially the children of disobedience; and yet these sins brought judgments upon them, and exposed them to the wrath of God. 2. We should mortify these sins because they have lived in us: In which you also walked some time, when you lived in them, Col 3:7. Observe, The consideration that we have formerly lived in sin is a good argument why we should now forsake it. We have walked in by-paths, therefore let us walk in them no more. If I have done iniquity, I will do no more, Job 34:32. The time past our lives may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, Pe1 4:3. - When you lived among those who did such things (so some understand it), then you walked in those evil practices. It is a hard thing to live among those who do the works of darkness and not have fellowship with them, as it is to walk in the mire and contract no soil. Let us keep out of the way of evil-doers.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
3:5 So put to death: Our death to this life (3:3) must be made real in the way that we live day by day. • a greedy person is an idolater: Greedy people pursue the objects of their greed—money, sex, power, possessions—in the place of God, with the hope of finding satisfaction in those things.
Colossians 3:5
Put On the New Self
4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.5Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
The Great God of All Creation
By A.W. Tozer3.5K44:51Character Of GodPSA 40:16JHN 3:16ACT 13:36PHP 3:13COL 3:5COL 3:22HEB 13:8In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of four things for spiritual success. The first is to magnify God and continually proclaim His greatness. The second is to modify the flesh, meaning to resist and overcome sinful desires. The third is to simplify one's life, focusing on what truly matters and eliminating distractions. And finally, the fourth is to serve one's generation, following the example of Jesus and David who served God's will and fell asleep in peace. The preacher encourages the audience to pray, seek God, and be a servant to others, emphasizing the significance of these four principles for a successful spiritual life.
(Exodus) Exodus 20:3-7
By J. Vernon McGee3.4K05:13ExpositionalEXO 20:2EXO 20:17MAT 6:33COL 3:5In this sermon, the preacher discusses the negative impact of the liquor industry and how they downplay the harm they cause by emphasizing the taxes they pay. He highlights the various gods that people worship in today's society, including the bottle, sex, and money. The preacher emphasizes the importance of not having any other gods before the Lord and warns against taking the Lord's name in vain. He explains that the Ten Commandments are divided into two categories: man's relationship to God and man's relationship to others, and focuses on the first four commandments related to man's relationship with God. The preacher argues that idolatry is not limited to physical idols but also includes covetousness and anything that one gives themselves to in abandonment.
What Guys Think About Modesty by c.j. Mahaney
By Compilations3.2K08:23PSA 51:10ROM 12:21CO 10:13GAL 5:16EPH 5:3COL 3:51TH 4:31TI 2:91PE 3:31JN 1:9
This sermon addresses the daily battle against sin and temptation faced by men, emphasizing the need for women to understand and support their struggle for purity. It highlights the importance of modesty in both men and women within the church, creating a sanctuary free from distractions and temptations. The message calls for a commitment to purity and modesty, recognizing the power of the Gospel to provide forgiveness and transformation.
Sex and the Single Person
By John Piper3.0K43:07SexMAT 7:62CO 12:21EPH 5:3EPH 5:19COL 3:5HEB 10:25REV 9:21In this sermon, the speaker addresses the issue of enslavement to worldly desires and emphasizes the need to be free from such bondage. He highlights the prevalence of sexual temptation in society and offers counsel for those who struggle with it. The speaker encourages individuals to guard their eyes and ears from inappropriate content and to consciously redirect their desires towards Christ. He emphasizes the importance of using our bodies to glorify God and not to yield to sinful passions.
(Through the Bible) Esther
By Chuck Smith2.2K1:09:141SA 15:22ROM 8:8ROM 8:132CO 5:17GAL 2:20GAL 5:24COL 3:5In this sermon, the speaker discusses the story of Esther from the Bible. He begins by explaining the background of the story, including the king's unsuccessful adventure against Greece and his return home. The king decides to hold a beauty contest to find a new queen, as he misses his previous queen, Vastai. The speaker emphasizes the importance of obeying God's command to put our flesh to death and not making provisions for our sinful desires. He also highlights Esther's complete commitment to God, as she gathers the Jews to fast and pray before going to the king, saying, "If I perish, I perish." The speaker encourages the audience to have the same level of commitment in their own lives.
(So Great Salvation - Part 5) Victory 1
By Paris Reidhead2.1K45:34ROM 6:61CO 10:132CO 5:17GAL 2:20COL 3:5
This sermon emphasizes the importance of finding victory over temptation by understanding the concept of being crucified with Christ and applying it to daily struggles. The speaker shares personal experiences and insights on how to overcome sinful tendencies and habits by reckoning oneself dead to sin and embracing the power of the resurrection life. The message encourages practical application of biblical truths to experience true victory in Christ.
Dreams in Flames - Part 2
By Winkie Pratney1.6K1:14:24PRO 4:23ISA 53:6MAT 5:3MAT 16:24ROM 13:141CO 6:18EPH 5:3COL 3:51TH 4:31PE 2:11In this sermon, Winky Prattley speaks on the subject of Dreams and Flames, Part 2. He starts by sharing a powerful testimony of how a group of kids gave their lives to Christ after hearing the preaching of the word. He then turns to the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew, emphasizing the importance of living a pure and holy life. Prattley encourages the audience to turn away from temptation and to introduce Jesus into their thoughts and desires. He concludes by referencing a letter from Ann Landers about staying out late and emphasizes the need for real help and a change in mindset.
Battling the Unbelief of Covetousness
By John Piper1.5K33:29PSA 46:1PSA 119:36MAT 6:33COL 3:51TI 6:6HEB 13:5In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of contentment and warns against the desire for wealth. He highlights that the love of money is the root of all evils and can lead people astray from the truth. The preacher encourages believers to focus on righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness, and to fight the good fight of faith. He urges listeners to put to death covetousness and to be content with what they have, trusting in God's promise to never leave or forsake them. The sermon concludes with a warning that covetousness can ultimately destroy the soul.
(Clip) How to Remove Weight and Sin
By Shane Idleman1.2K07:19PSA 55:22PRO 3:5MAT 11:28JHN 4:14GAL 5:1PHP 4:6COL 3:5HEB 12:11PE 5:7
This sermon emphasizes the invitation of Jesus to come to Him with our burdens and find rest, illustrating the need to cast our cares, sins, and distractions upon Him. It highlights the importance of releasing the weights we carry, both physical and spiritual, and surrendering them to Jesus to experience His light yoke and easy burden. The message encourages letting go of worldly distractions and vices to find true nourishment and rest in Christ.
How to Overcome Addictions
By Jim Van Gelderen1.1K55:54MAT 5:16ROM 6:141CO 10:132CO 2:14EPH 4:22COL 3:51PE 2:12The video begins by describing a documentary where a camera was placed on the bottom of a Blue Angels jet, giving viewers the sensation of flying in the jet. The speaker then shares an anecdote about his daughters witnessing two teenagers getting sick while watching the documentary. The sermon then transitions to discussing the importance of knowing the right facts before making decisions, using the example of the debate over whether the country should have gone to war in Iraq. The speaker emphasizes the need for factual information in order to make informed decisions and applies this concept to the importance of knowing the transforming power of Christ in our lives. The sermon concludes by introducing Romans chapter 6 as a passage that confronts and challenges listeners, offering insights into the actions that God calls us to take in our faith.
New Covenant - Superior to the Law - Part 6
By Zac Poonen1.1K09:46PSA 51:10MAT 11:11MAT 11:282CO 5:17GAL 5:1EPH 4:22COL 3:5HEB 8:13JAS 4:7
This sermon emphasizes the challenge of transitioning from the old covenant to the new covenant, highlighting the difficulty in letting go of ingrained traditions and mindsets. It stresses the need for believers to be radical in their commitment to embracing the new covenant, even if it means going against societal norms and traditions. The message urges individuals to be spiritually violent in overcoming hindrances and fully embracing the blessings of the new covenant.
(Clip) Deny Yourself
By John Piper91804:59MAT 16:25MRK 8:34MRK 8:36LUK 9:23JHN 12:25ROM 8:13GAL 2:20PHP 3:8COL 3:5
This sermon emphasizes the call for self-denial in pursuing satisfaction in God, highlighting the need to deny oneself, take up the cross, and follow Jesus to find true life. It explores the concept that self-denial is not to limit pleasure in God but to prevent seeking pleasure elsewhere, combating the corruption of the human heart. The message stresses the ongoing necessity of self-denial to avoid being consumed by worldly pleasures and to embrace Christian joy through renouncing lesser goods for greater ones.
You're Dead to Sin, but Still at War
By Tim Conway68603:33JOS 1:9ROM 6:11EPH 6:12COL 3:51PE 2:11
This sermon emphasizes the believer's call to actively fight against sin, highlighting the need for a determined will based on the truth of being dead to sin in Christ. It stresses the seriousness of the spiritual battle, urging believers to relentlessly combat sin in their lives and not show any mercy towards it, drawing parallels to the Israelites' conquest of Canaan. The message underscores the command to think rightly and the necessity of embracing a mindset that acknowledges being dead to sin.
(Clip) Let Go and Let God?
By Tim Conway65404:43EPH 1:19EPH 2:6COL 3:5HEB 11:1JAS 2:17
This sermon emphasizes the active aspect of abiding in Christ, highlighting the need for believers to take action in faith rather than passively waiting for God to work. It draws parallels from biblical examples like David facing Goliath, Moses parting the Red Sea, and Peter walking on water to illustrate the proactive nature of the Christian life. The message underscores the call to put to death earthly desires and sin without delay, urging believers to trust in the power of God that raised Christ from the dead and now works in their lives.
Hungering for Righteousness in Our War Against Lust, Part 1
By Mike Bickle281:03:58Spiritual WarfareRighteousnessPSA 19:11MAT 5:6MAT 7:14MAT 16:24LUK 4:13EPH 6:12COL 3:52TI 2:20JAS 4:21PE 2:11Mike Bickle emphasizes the necessity of hungering and thirsting for righteousness in our battle against lust, highlighting that this internal war requires our active cooperation with God's grace. He explains that while we have a part to play in denying ourselves and making quality decisions, we must also seek divine help through prayer and fasting to overcome the temptations that arise. Bickle stresses the importance of preemptive prayer, urging believers to ask God for strength before facing temptation, rather than only seeking forgiveness after falling. He warns against the dangers of complacency and encourages a proactive approach to spiritual warfare, reminding us that true victory comes from a deep connection with God and a commitment to purity. Ultimately, he calls for a serious commitment to self-denial and the pursuit of holiness as essential to experiencing God's presence and power.
The Longings of Our Hearts Must Be Examined and Moderated
By Thomas a Kempis2ROM 8:51CO 10:31GAL 5:24PHP 2:13COL 3:5Thomas a Kempis emphasizes the importance of aligning our desires with God's will, warning against selfishness and urging us to be earnest doers of God's will. He cautions against being driven by desires that do not honor God, reminding us to discern whether our actions are for His glory or our own benefit. Kempis advises exercising restraint in pursuing desires, resisting temptations, and disciplining the flesh to be in submission to the spirit, even if it requires force and chastisement.
The Exceeding Great Reward
By Henry Law1GEN 15:1MAT 16:24PHP 3:8COL 3:5REV 21:4Henry Law preaches on the profound truth that believers find constant peace and joy in Christ, who is the source of all happiness. Through the example of Abraham's obedience and surrender to God's calling, Law emphasizes that true Christians are called to relinquish earthly desires, self-righteousness, sinful habits, and worldly attachments to fully embrace Christ as their exceeding great reward. He highlights that in Christ, believers receive immeasurable blessings, including God's protection, wisdom, righteousness, sympathy, intercession, and eternal life, making Him the ultimate reward and treasure in whom all joy and fulfillment are found.
Star Wars ‘The Phantom Menace’: An Ultimate Idolatry?
By Art Katz0IdolatryConsumerismEXO 20:3MAT 6:24COL 3:51JN 5:21REV 18:3Art Katz addresses the pervasive influence of the Star Wars franchise and its associated marketing, expressing concern over the idolatry it represents in modern society. He critiques the obsession with consumerism and the detrimental effects it has on spirituality and community values, urging Christians to reflect on their engagement with such entertainment. Katz calls for a collective repentance and a rejection of the idolatrous culture that prioritizes profit over faith, warning that the current state of society may be a precursor to divine judgment. He emphasizes the need for parents to guide their children away from these distractions and to seek a deeper connection with God.
Just a Barley Loaf!
By George Warnock0MAT 7:5JHN 9:28ROM 2:17ROM 2:23COL 3:5TIT 1:16JAS 1:22JAS 4:16REV 21:8In this sermon, Marvin Vincent and other biblical scholars delve into the meaning of the Greek word 'bdelusso', which signifies a strong detestation for something abominable. The verb 'bdelusso' is used to depict turning away from a stench in disgust, especially in a moral or religious sense. The Jews, who had a history of idolatry, developed a strong abhorrence for idols, even Roman coins with images of emperors claiming to be gods. The sermon also explores the concept of idols, which are anything that takes precedence over the True God, including material possessions and desires.
The Mischief of Sin
By Thomas Watson0EXO 16:31JOB 15:16PSA 39:9PRO 8:13JER 23:24ROM 2:5EPH 2:4COL 3:51TI 1:131JN 1:7REV 16:9REV 21:27Thomas Watson preaches about the mischief of sin, highlighting God's mercy in saving Christians from persisting in sin and the consequences of unrepentant sinners storing up wrath for themselves. He emphasizes the destructive nature of sin, its link to punishment, and the need to avoid pride, covetousness, and immorality. Watson also discusses the cleansing power of Christ's blood, the importance of repentance, and the eternal consequences of sin. He urges believers to use the Word of God, prayer, and mortification to overcome sin and emphasizes the need to fear the consequences of sin and avoid secret sins that lead to destruction.
Professional Sports–idolatry
By Allan Halton0EXO 20:31CO 10:142CO 6:16COL 3:51JN 5:21Allan Halton challenges the congregation to reflect on the difference between a Christianity that coexists with worldly idolatry, like professional sports and entertainment, and a Christianity that completely separates from such pursuits. He contrasts the modern acceptance of bringing Jesus into these idolatrous arenas with the powerful revival in Wales in 1905, where the love of God so captivated hearts that people abandoned former idolatrous activities. Halton emphasizes the need to discern the idolatry present in professional sports and entertainment, urging believers to come out from among them and be separate, as temples of the living God.
The Certainty of Death
By Samuel Davies0ISA 3:10EZK 33:8MAT 20:161CO 6:92CO 11:2GAL 4:20GAL 5:19COL 3:5REV 21:8Samuel Davies preaches a powerful sermon on the certainty of death, emphasizing that all individuals, whether righteous or wicked, will face physical death. He highlights the distinction between the death of the wicked, filled with terror and eternal separation from God, and the death of the righteous, which leads to eternal life and joy in the presence of God. Davies urges the congregation to reflect on their own mortality, to seek salvation through repentance, faith in Jesus Christ, and a transformed life. He warns against self-deception and presumption, stressing the urgency of preparing for eternity.
The Proof That I Was Pardoned
By C.H. Spurgeon0RepentanceForgivenessPSA 51:10MAT 5:8ROM 6:12CO 5:17GAL 5:24COL 3:5HEB 12:1JAS 4:71PE 2:241JN 1:9C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes that true forgiveness from God requires a genuine desire to be rid of all sin, warning against the hypocrisy of excusing personal sins while condemning others. He illustrates that one cannot expect peace with God while clinging to any form of iniquity, as true repentance involves a willingness to forsake every sin, not just the ones that are socially unacceptable. Spurgeon urges believers to confront their 'pet sins' and to seek complete cleansing, recognizing that while we may fall into sin, we should not love or excuse it. The honest-hearted sinner longs for purity and cannot be content until all sin is eradicated from their life. Ultimately, the pardoned individual desires to worship God alone, free from the idols of sin.
Epistle 399
By George Fox0JHN 1:3ROM 8:21CO 12:131CO 15:33GAL 5:22EPH 4:4COL 3:5TIT 2:12JAS 1:27George Fox emphasizes the importance of living a life unspotted from the world, bridling our tongues from evil words, and denying the spots of the world through the grace of God and the spirit of truth. He warns against greediness, earthly mindedness, and covetousness, which are considered idolatry and spots of the world. Fox urges Christians to avoid following the lust of the eye, the pride of life, and the lust of the flesh, which are contrary to the pure undefiled religion before God the Father.
The Mortifying of Your Darling Sins
By Thomas Brooks0Spiritual WarfareMortification of SinPSA 51:10MAT 5:29ROM 8:131CO 9:27GAL 5:24PHP 3:13COL 3:5HEB 12:1JAS 4:71JN 1:9Thomas Brooks emphasizes the necessity of mortifying our 'darling sins' rather than merely hiding them. He argues that overcoming a single significant sin brings far greater joy and peace than the fleeting pleasures of sinning. The true joy that comes from conquering sin is pure, lasting, and noble, contrasting sharply with the corrupt and diminishing joy of indulging in sin. Brooks warns that those who choose to dally with sin will face separation from God and the consequences of their actions, ultimately leading to torment. He urges Christians to actively seek victory over their most cherished sins to experience a life filled with divine joy and peace.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Mortify, therefore, you members - Νεκρωσατε· Put them to death: the verb is used metaphorically to signify, to deprive a thing of its power, to destroy its strength. Use no member of your body to sin against God; keep all under dominion; and never permit the beast to run away with the man. To gratify any sensual appetite is to give it the very food and nourishment by which it lives, thrives, and is active. However the body may suffer by excessive sensual indulgences, the appetite increases with the indulgence. Deny yourselves, and let reason rule; and the animal will not get the ascendency over the rational man. See the notes on Rom 6:11, etc. Inordinate affection - Παθος· Unnatural and degrading passion; bestial lusts. See Rom 1:26, Rom 1:27; and the notes there. Evil concupiscence - Επιθυμιαν κακην. As επιθυμια signifies strong and vehement desire of any kind, it is here joined with κακη, evil, to show the sense more particularly in which the apostle uses it. Covetousness, which is idolatry - For the covetous man makes his money his god. Now, it is the prerogative of God to confer happiness; every godly man seeks his happiness in God; the covetous man seeks that in his money which God alone can give; therefore his covetousness is properly idolatry. It is true his idol is of gold and silver, but his idolatry is not the less criminal on that account.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Mortify--Greek, "make a corpse of"; "make dead"; "put to death." therefore--(See on Col 3:3). Follow out to its necessary consequence the fact of your having once for all died with Christ spiritually at your regeneration, by daily "deadening your members," of which united "the body of the sins of the flesh" consists (compare Col 2:11). "The members" to be mortified are the fleshly instruments of lust, in so far as the members of the body are abused to such purposes. Habitually repress and do violence to corrupt desires of which the members are the instruments (compare Rom 6:19; Rom 8:13; Gal 5:24-25). upon the earth--where they find their support [BENGEL] (Compare Col 3:2, "things on earth"). See Eph 5:3-4. inordinate affection--"lustful passion." evil concupiscence--more general than the last [ALFORD], the disorder of the external senses; "lustful passion," lust within [BENGEL]. covetousness--marked off by the Greek article as forming a whole genus by itself, distinct from the genus containing the various species just enumerated. It implies a self-idolizing, grasping spirit; far worse than another Greek term translated "the love of money" (Ti1 6:10). which is--that is, inasmuch as it is "idolatry." Compare Note, see on Eph 4:19, on its connection with sins of impurity. Self and mammon are deified in the heart instead of God (Mat 6:24; see on Eph 5:5).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Mortify therefore your members,.... Not your bodies, as the Ethiopic version reads, nor the members of the natural body, but of the body of sin, indwelling sin; which as a body consists of various members, which are parts of it, rise out of it, and are used by it, as the members are by the body; and intend the sins of the flesh, or sinful actions, which are generally performed by the members of the natural body, in which the law of sin is, and by which it operates; so that the mortification the saints are here exhorted to, in consideration of having a spiritual life in them, and a hope of eternal life in Christ, from whence the apostle argues, is not a mortification or destruction of the body of sin itself, or of the being and principle of it in the soul, where it is, and lives, and dwells, and will as long as the saints are in this tabernacle, but of the deeds of the body, or of sinful actions, as to the life and conversation; and signifies a denial of them, an abstinence from them, and a non-performance of them; See Gill on Rom 8:13. These members, or deeds of the body, or acts of sin, are called "your": for as the old man is ours, the vitiosity of nature is what we bring into the world with us, and is rooted and incorporated into us; so the actions that flow from it, and are done by it, are not to be ascribed to God, nor even to Satan, but they are our own actions, and which are performed by the members of our mortal body, or by the faculties of our souls: and are, which are on earth: or earthly; are concerned about earthly things, the things of the world, worldly lusts and pleasures, which rise out of earthly mindedness, and incline unto it, and are only what are done here on earth, and will have no place in heaven. The particulars of which follow: fornication; the sin of uncleanness committed by single persons, or out of the state of marriage, and which the Gentiles did not account sinful: hence so much notice is taken of it, with a censure, and so often, by the apostle, in almost all his epistles, and dehorted from, as a sin against the body, as what disqualified for church communion, and was not to be named among the saints, who should be dead to that, and that to them, as to the commission of it. Uncleanness; of every sort, all other impure actions, as adultery, incest, sodomy, and every other unnatural lust; all which should be abstained from, and never committed by those who profess to be alive unto God. Inordinate affection; which may intend the passions, or first motions of sin, stirred up by the law, and which work in, and operate by the members of the body, and bring forth fruit unto death, and therefore to be opposed by such as have a life in Christ; and also those vile affections, which some in a judicial way are given up unto, and prevail with those who are effeminate, and abusers of themselves with mankind, and which are to be abhorred and denied by all who are heirs of the grace of life, and expectants of an heavenly one. Evil concupiscence; so called to distinguish it from that natural concupiscence, or desire after things lawful and necessary, and which is implanted in nature by God himself; and from that spiritual concupiscence or desire after spiritual things, and that lusting against the flesh and carnal things, which is formed in the heart of a regenerate man by the Spirit of God. It is the same with , "the evil imagination", or corruption of nature so much spoken of by the Jews. This here is what is forbidden by that law, "thou shalt not covet", Exo 20:17; and includes every fleshly lust and inordinate desire, or every desire after that which is not lawful, or does not belong to a man; as what is another's property, his wife, or goods, or anything that is his; and so very naturally follows, covetousness; an immoderate love of money, the root of all evil, an insatiable desire of having more, and of having more than a man's own; and is enlarged as hell, and as death is not satisfied, but still craves more, without making any good use of what is possessed: which is idolatry. The covetous man, and the idolater, worship the same for matter and substance, even gold and silver; the covetous man lays up his money, makes no use of it, as if it was something sacred; he looks at it, and adores it, and puts his trust and confidence in it, and his heart is so much set upon it, that he neglects the worship of the true God; and indeed no man can serve God and mammon. Some think, that by this rendered "covetousness", is meant, that greedy desire after the commission of all uncleanness, and impure actions, which were perpetrated by the followers of Simon Magus in their religious assemblies, and under the notion of worship, and as acceptable to God, and therefore called idolatry; and which ought not to be once named, much less practised, among the living members of Christ. Moreover, such filthy actions were performed by the Gentiles in the worship of their deities.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
The apostle exhorts the Colossians to the mortification of sin, the great hindrance to seeking the things which are above. Since it is our duty to set our affections upon heavenly things, it is our duty to mortify our members which are upon the earth, and which naturally incline us to the things of the world: "Mortify them, that is, subdue the vicious habits of mind which prevailed in your Gentile state. Kill them, suppress them, as you do weeds or vermin which spread and destroy all about them, or as you kill an enemy who fights against you and wounds you." - Your members which are upon the earth; either the members of the body, which are the earthly part of us, and were curiously wrought in the lower parts of the earth (Psa 139:15), or the corrupt affections of the mind, which lead us to earthly things, the members of the body of death, Rom 7:24. He specifies, I. The lusts of the flesh, for which they were before so very remarkable: Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence - the various workings of the carnal appetites and fleshly impurities, which they indulged in their former course of life, and which were so contrary to the Christian state and the heavenly hope. II. The love of the world: And covetousness, which is idolatry; that is, an inordinate love of present good and outward enjoyments, which proceeds from too high a value in the mind, puts upon too eager a pursuit, hinders the proper use and enjoyment of them, and creates anxious fear and immoderate sorrow for the loss of them. Observe, Covetousness is spiritual idolatry: it is the giving of that love and regard to worldly wealth which are due to God only, and carries a greater degree of malignity in it, and is more highly provoking to God, than is commonly thought. And it is very observable that among all the instances of sin which good men are recorded in the scripture to have fallen into (and there is scarcely any but some or other, in one or other part of their life, have fallen into) there is no instance in all the scripture of any good man charged with covetousness. He proceeds to show how necessary it is to mortify sins, Col 3:6, Col 3:7. 1. Because, if we do not kill them, they will kill us: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, Col 3:6. See what we are all by nature more or less: we are children of disobedience: not only disobedient children, but under the power of sin and naturally prone to disobey. The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies, Psa 58:3. And, being children of disobedience, we are children of wrath, Eph 2:3. The wrath of God comes upon all the children of disobedience. Those who do not obey the precepts of the law incur the penalties of it. The sins he mentions were their sins in their heathen and idolatrous state, and they were then especially the children of disobedience; and yet these sins brought judgments upon them, and exposed them to the wrath of God. 2. We should mortify these sins because they have lived in us: In which you also walked some time, when you lived in them, Col 3:7. Observe, The consideration that we have formerly lived in sin is a good argument why we should now forsake it. We have walked in by-paths, therefore let us walk in them no more. If I have done iniquity, I will do no more, Job 34:32. The time past our lives may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, Pe1 4:3. - When you lived among those who did such things (so some understand it), then you walked in those evil practices. It is a hard thing to live among those who do the works of darkness and not have fellowship with them, as it is to walk in the mire and contract no soil. Let us keep out of the way of evil-doers.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
3:5 So put to death: Our death to this life (3:3) must be made real in the way that we live day by day. • a greedy person is an idolater: Greedy people pursue the objects of their greed—money, sex, power, possessions—in the place of God, with the hope of finding satisfaction in those things.