In Christ Alone

Dear Mosaic Family,

As we continue our study of the Book of Colossians, we find that Paul, after praising the church at Colosse (or Colossae, if you prefer) for their faithfulness and praying for their continued discernment and wisdom, goes into arguably the most complete and definitive description in Scripture of exactly who this Jesus is that they serve. Why did he feel the need to do that if the church was doing so well?

Remember, the purpose of Paul’s letter to the Colossians was that the church was beset by heresies that had wormed their way into their practice of Christianity and threatened to dilute the wholly sufficient power of the Gospel in their lives. When John taught us a couple of weeks ago, he used a word - syncretism - to describe how the Colossians had blended their Christian faith with elements of other religions and cultural practices, and what was emerging wasn’t “the way, the truth, and the life” that existed in the person of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s purpose in the passages of Scripture we will examine this Sunday was to establish Jesus Christ as the first, last, and everything of the Christian faith - no additives, preservatives, or natural colors and flavors needed! We’ve spoken often in this church about the sufficiency of Jesus and that there is no “Jesus and” or “Jesus plus” - it is “Jesus, period,” and Paul states it with emphasis in Colossians 1:15-20.

Lest you think we are more discerning and wiser, and therefore immune to the heresies which plagued the Colossians, I invite you to consider how the church in America has adopted syncretic tendencies that date back centuries, and how we must reclaim “solus Christus” - “in Christ alone,” manifesting first in our hearts individually, and then corporately as we interact with one another and the community in which the Lord has placed us.

I can’t wait to share this message with you! I pray you are safe and healthy, and we will see you this Sunday, whether in person or online!

Ron Miller