THE PORTRAIT OF A CHRISTIAN
4 October 2009
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Colossians 4
7. Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.
8. I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.
9. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
10. My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)
11. Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.
12. Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
13. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
14. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
15. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
16. After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
17. Tell Archippus: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord."
18. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
-- at the turn of the twentieth century, Oscar Wilde published his only novel -- a book called, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" -- this novel tells the story of a young man named Dorian Gray who is so beautiful and so perfect in his appearance that an artist asks to paint a portrait of him
-- as the artist works on the portrait, Dorian becomes convinced that he is truly so beautiful and so perfect that nothing else matters except maintaining his beautiful appearance and fulfilling all of his wants and desires, no matter how sinful or how debauched they might be
-- realizing that one day he will begin to get old and his beauty will fade, Dorian cries out, expressing his desire to sell his very soul in exchange for maintaining his appearance -- Dorian's wish comes true with a unique twist -- as he grows older and falls into sin after sin, his external appearance never changes but the portrait that the artist painted changes and displays the true appearance and nature of Dorian's heart
-- throughout the years, Dorian would gaze at the portrait which served as a reminder of the effect of his actions upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form or through a sign of aging -- so, while Dorian remained as beautiful and youthful as ever on the outside to those around him, the portrait showed the true picture of who he was on the inside
-- although Wilde's work was considered innovative and cutting-edge in his day, it really wasn't -- it was as old as the Bible itself -- it really reflected the message and the warning of the Bible to the people of God
-- Christ's harshest criticisms were reserved for those people in His day who were very much like Dorian Gray -- people who presented one face to the public while looking very different in their hearts and their souls
-- in Matthew 23:25-28, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and warned them of this trait in their lives -- "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! -- You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. -- Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
-- "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! -- You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. -- In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
-- Jesus didn't condemn the Pharisees because they looked good on the outside -- He condemned them because their beauty was truly only skin-deep and merely covered up the ugliness of their hearts and souls
-- as our Bishop is so prone to say, God loves beautiful people -- but He's more concerned with beauty on the inside than beauty on the outside
-- Jesus repeatedly warned His followers and us not to follow the path of the Pharisee -- not to look good on the outside while being dirty and unclean on the inside
-- unfortunately, we've gotten it wrong -- we put far too much emphasis on external appearances in this country -- our advertisements and our media and our culture all tell us the same thing -- what matters most is what's on the outside -- if you look good on the outside, then you are worthy of praise and adoration
-- however, the Bible says something different -- it says that what makes a person truly attractive to others is not your external appearance but the condition of your heart and soul
-- to follow Christ -- to live according to His word -- means that you become beautiful on the inside -- and if you do that, your outside will begin to reflect the true beauty that lays within
II. The Portrait of a Christian
-- as some of you know, I recently have been dabbling in genealogy again -- and I managed to get some photographs and portraits of some of my ancestors from the 1800's -- it is amazing to see similarities in physical appearance that have been passed down throughout the generations from these people who went before
-- I thought about those pictures this week, and I realized -- maybe for the first time -- that they really don't tell me who my ancestors were -- they tell me what they looked like on the outside -- but they don't tell me who they were -- they don't tell me whether they were attractive to the people around them for more than their external appearances -- they don't tell me if people in their day were drawn to them because their hearts were made pure in Christ
-- I couldn't help thinking about Mother Teresa -- she was certainly not the most attractive woman in the world -- her life ministering in India to the untouchables and the downcast in that country had taken its toil on her -- she would never be included in People Magazine's annual list of the 50 most beautiful people in the world
-- yet, I am certain that she was on God's list of beautiful people -- not because of her external appearance -- but because of her heart -- and everyone knew it -- people were drawn to her -- they wanted to be around her -- because they could see what was on the inside -- they could see the beauty within
-- as I reflected on all of this, I wondered what my portrait would show the world if I was Dorian Gray -- what would people see if they gazed on a picture of my heart and soul rather than a picture of my external appearance? -- would they be drawn to a heart that reflected the goodness and righteousness of Christ Himself? -- would they see a picture of beauty? -- or would they be repulsed by a picture of ugliness and wickedness and sin?
-- the picture of a Christian should be one of internal beauty and holiness and righteousness -- it should reflect the very nature of Christ -- and it should be obvious to those around them
-- in this passage from Paul's letter to the church at Colosse, he paints for us a picture of such a man -- he draws for us the portrait of a true Christian
-- before we turn back to this passage, let me give you the context -- scholars believe that Paul typically did not write his own letters -- meaning that Paul did not put pen to paper -- but would dictate the letters to the churches while a scribe would write them down
-- and that's just such a beautiful picture in my mind -- this letter to the church at Colosse was written while Paul was a prisoner in Rome -- and I can see him pacing around his home there -- chained to a Roman soldier -- pouring out his heart and preaching to an invisible audience while the scribe recorded every word that Paul uttered
-- most scholars believe that Paul would take the finished letter in hand and would read it to himself again -- making sure it was accurate and captured his thoughts for the various churches -- and when he was satisfied, he would add a final closing to the letter in his own hand -- putting pen to paper as he greeted and encouraged individuals in the church that he knew
-- that's exactly what we see here in this letter to the Colossians in verses 7-18 of Chapter 4 -- here Paul gives messages specifically to people in Colosse and Laodicea that he personally knew and mentions by name several others who were helping him in his ministry
-- there's one person listed here that I really wanted us to focus on this morning because I thought it was such a wonderful picture of a true Christian
-- if you would, look back at verse 12 and let's see what we can learn about Paul's friend, Epaphras
12. Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
13. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
-- Epaphras is mentioned several times in Paul's letters -- both here in Colossians and in the letter to Philemon -- Paul calls Epaphras his dear fellow servant -- his fellow prisoner in Christ -- someone who was with Paul in Rome and who ministered with Paul and to Paul in that place -- someone who obviously meant a great deal to Paul
-- Paul writes here that Epaphras was "one of you" -- now that has a couple of different meanings
-- first, Epaphras was one of them because he was from Colosse -- he was their own -- he could be trusted
-- you know it means something when someone is "one of you" -- it gives them a little more credibility -- a little more respect -- let me give you an example -- a few years ago at work, we were needing to get access to the farmer's land north of the base -- there was a flock of birds that was roosting on his property and they were a hazard to our planes and we wanted to go on his property and chase them away -- so the guy that we hired to specifically work on bird problems like this went to the farmer's house and knocked on his door and was abruptly turned away -- the farmer refused to talk to him
-- so he called me and asked me to go with him -- I went and we knocked on the farmer's door and when he opened it, he gave us that look -- that one that says, "I don't trust you and I don't want to talk to you" -- but when I started to talk to him, his demeanor completely changed -- he realized we were kindred spirits -- he asked me where I was from and when he found out I was from Adel, we started comparing notes and turns out that we had friends in common -- and before long, I had secured permission to go on his land -- not because I'm a smooth-tongued devil or because I had a persuasive argument -- nope, it was simply because I was one of his own -- I was a local farmer boy who happened to work for the Air Force and so he trusted me
-- that's what Paul's saying here when he says that Epaphras was "one of you" -- Paul had never been to Colosse -- he had never met most of the people in the church there -- but he says, you can trust me because I know Epaphras -- he's "one of you" -- he can vouch for me and my message
-- now, like I said, that phrase has another meaning, too -- Epaphras was one of them in position -- he was not an apostle or prophet -- he was not a professional minister -- he was not an ordained elder -- he was simply one of them -- just an ordinary saint who followed the example of Christ
-- now there's important lesson there to realize as we look at this portrait of a true Christian -- the most effective ministers are not the professionals -- the people who touch lives and really make a difference in the world are not the pastors and prophets -- not the ordained elders -- but the common, everyday man and woman who sit in the pews on Sunday mornings and who follow the teachings of Christ
-- remember that it was professionals who built the Titanic -- it was an amateur who built the ark -- God doesn't want to use you because you are a professional -- He wants to use you because you are one of them -- you can speak with credibility and with truth because people will trust you -- this means that you don't have to travel to Papua, New Guinea, or the Honduras or anywhere else to be an effective minister of the gospel -- all you have to do is minister to the people around you -- to the people that you know -- that's what Epaphras did and that's why we know his name today
-- Paul writes that Epaphras was a "servant of Christ Jesus" -- because he was one of them, he cared about them and ministered the gospel of grace to them -- in Colossians 1:6-7 Paul says that the church of Colosse was started because of Epaphras -- scholars believe that Epaphras founded the church while Paul was ministering in Ephesus -- it is likely that Epaphras was converted in Ephesus and brought the gospel with him to Colosse
-- Epaphras served Christ by ministering to the people he knew in three distinct ways
-- first, he was an evangelist -- in Colossians 1:6, Paul writes that the church of Colosse heard the gospel from him -- he didn't keep his faith private, but he shared it with those he loved
-- you know, I've heard people say that God didn't call them to be an evangelist or that they spread the message of Christ through their actions -- that may be true in one sense, but at some point, you have to open your mouth -- at some point, you have to tell them what you believe and why you are doing what you are doing
-- that's all that Epaphras did -- he told his friends and neighbors about the joy that he found in Christ -- about the salvation that Jesus' death and resurrection made possible -- and they responded and believed because they trusted him and could see it played out in his life -- after all, he was one of them
-- you don't have to be a professional to tell others about Jesus -- you don't have to know the plan of salvation from the Romans Road or the Four Spiritual Laws -- you just need to tell others what you believe and why -- maybe that's something that God is calling you to today
-- secondly, Epaphras was a teacher -- In Colossians 1:7, Paul says that the church at Colosse learned what it meant to be a Christian from Epaphras -- regardless of whether this means that Epaphras specifically discipled and mentored other Christians there in Colosse or whether he just showed them by example, the truth remains -- he taught them how to live as a true Christian in a pagan society
-- we teach people everyday, whether we mean to or not -- our words and our actions and our behavior paint a picture that instructs people on what we believe and what we hold important in our lives -- we need to be careful to make sure that we are leading people to Christ with our actions -- that we are teaching people how to obey the word of God -- rather than teaching them the wrong things
-- teaching others is something that Christ called all of us to -- whether professional or amateur -- whether clergy or laity -- in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus said to go and make disciples and to "teach them" everything that He had commanded us to do
-- Epaphras was a teacher of Christ -- and his lessons built the church at Colosse on a firm foundation
-- finally, Epaphras was a warrior -- Paul tells us here that Epaphras "wrestled" or "labored fervently" in prayer for the church at Colosse -- the Greek word that is used here is where we get our term "agony" -- it was used to describe wrestlers in the Greek gymnastic games who strained and struggled and wrestled with their opponents to overcome them
-- Epaphras wrestled in prayer for the Christians at Colosse -- not only did he speak the word of God to them -- not only did he teach them what it meant to be a Christian -- but he interceded on their behalf before the throne of God -- through his agonizing prayers, he fought against the rulers and the powers and the spiritual forces of evil that were coming against the church -- Epaphras stood on the front lines of a battle -- not a physical battle, but a spiritual battle -- he wrestled for the souls of men
-- specifically, Paul says that he worked hard for them and prayed that they would stand firm in the will of God -- that they would become mature and perfected in Christ -- growing more and more like Jesus every day -- and he prayed for their spiritual assurance -- that they would know beyond the shadow of a doubt that they belonged to Christ -- that Jesus was a real presence in their lives -- and that they had been saved through the death and resurrection of Christ
-- what a difference we see between the portraits of Epaphras and the Pharisees that Jesus rebuked -- the Pharisees put forth an image of beauty and perfection that was only skin-deep and that had no real impact on their world -- while Epaphras put forth a picture of a man who followed God -- a man who was beautiful inside and out -- who put his time and focus on the needs of others -- sharing with them the message of Christ -- teaching them what it meant to follow Jesus -- wrestling for them in prayer
III. Closing
-- I want to close by sharing with you a story from Eugene Peterson, the pastor who translated the paraphrase that is called, "The Message"
-- when Peterson was in seminary, he made the acquaintance of a German immigrant to New York who was an accomplished artist -- Peterson's friend hated Christians because of what he had seen them do in Germany during the time of Hitler -- he hated the church -- and he thought Christians were hypocrites -- all of them
-- "The Christians he had known had all collaborated with and blessed the Nazis -- the Christians he had known were responsible for the death camps and the cremation of six million Jews -- the Christians he had known had turned his beloved Germany into a pagan war machine -- [so] the word "Christian" was associated in [his friend's mind] with state church Christians who had been baptized and took communion and played Mozart all the while they led the nation into atrocities on a scale larger than anything the world had yet seen."
-- Peterson wrote that his friend made a partial exception for him and said that he wasn't all bad because they were friends -- one day, Peterson's friend offered to paint a portrait of Peterson as a present because of their friendship -- as he worked on the portrait, he refused to let Peterson see it until it was done -- when it was done, he let Peterson see it
-- it was not what Peterson expected -- the portrait that his friend had made was not what Peterson looked like on the outside but what his friend thought Christians looked like on the inside -- the eyes were flat and empty -- Peterson's face was portrayed as gaunt and unhealthy and unkind
-- Peterson kept the portrait and writes that he has it to this day -- he put in a closet and takes it out from time to time as a reminder of what he can become if he is not careful to follow Christ with his whole heart -- he looks at the picture and then he looks at his heart and tries to make sure that they do not match [Source: Eugene H. Peterson, Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 3.]
-- each and everyday, we paint a portrait of our hearts and our souls for those around us -- our challenge is to paint a picture with the brush of Christ -- to live our lives in such a way that those around us are changed for the better and are drawn to the Savior's embrace
-- as we leave here today, we have a choice to make -- we can either live lives like the Pharisees -- clean on the outside but dirty within -- or we can live lives like Epaphras -- clean and righteous and holy inside and out
-- I pray that we choose the path of Epaphras -- the path of Christ -- and that the picture that we paint for those around us brings them joy and peace for eternity
-- let us pray
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