Title: The 4 Principles of Behavior of Saints
Colossians (13) The Four Principles of Conduct of Saints
(Colossians 3:5-11)
1. A life of abandoning covetousness
'Greed' means 'to have more material than necessary without consideration for others'. The sleepers say “Why does it matter that I spend my money!” However, since all materials are God-given, if you do not know how to share and fill your stomach, you will end up in anger. Of course, to give up greed does not mean to turn away from material things and live life. If the saints turn away from material things, the material flows into the hands of those who use them incorrectly, so the saints must do their best to conquer the material realm. You just need to use the material well for good works that please God.
2. A life that seeks to abstain from sin
The Apostle Paul says that God's wrath comes as a result of sin (v. 6). Of course, just because God's wrath comes, it doesn't usually come down to lightning. Therefore, people cannot escape from habitual sins. However, leaving us alone in our sins like an abandoned child is one of God's great means of wrath. In such a situation, if there is no true repentance, the time will come and we will face a terrible judgment situation. That is why the Apostle Paul, as one who has been saved, enumerates six sins when he tells them to put off the fleshly sins of the earth (verses 8-9).
3. A life renewed with knowledge
When you become a new creature, you will be renewed in your knowledge, your thinking will change, your understanding of spiritual truth will be excellent, and your spiritual IQ will increase (verse 10). In fact, human knowledge, common sense, and perception are limited. If you give a great doctor of philosophy a trigonometric problem that a high school student can solve, there will be very few doctors who can solve it. No matter how great a scholar, his knowledge is limited. Don't put too much confidence in your own knowledge or brag about it. Also, how big is the difference in perception between people? That is why there are conflicts between classes, generations, and regions.
One day, a Hamgyeong-do man evacuated to Busan during the sixth century, but he saw something he had never seen before and asked. “Is this ignorant?” The people of Busan didn't know what 'mushigi' meant. “What is ignorance?” Then, the people of Hamgyeong-do did not know what ‘what is’ meant and asked again. “What are you ignoring?” There was a war of words because they had the same words and had different perceptions of each other. There may be many differences in such perceptions. Therefore, there should be no misfortune caused by excessive philosophical analysis of God with limited knowledge.
4. Life without discrimination
Anyone who accepts Christ can be reborn without discrimination based on race, ethnicity, status, civilization, or circumcision (verse 11). After all, the most important and best source that makes people happy is ‘believing in Jesus’. Therefore, believers in Jesus must not discriminate against others. There is no such thing as great enough to discriminate against others. Some people say, “I’m like this, and that person is like that!” But before you differentiate yourself like that, you must first carefully examine your appearance.