Colossians 1:21

And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,

'AND YOU' -i.e. the current members of the Church at Colossae.

'BEING IN TIME PAST' -Before they became Christians.

'ALIENATED' -526. apallotrioo ap-al-lot-ree-o'-o; from 575 and. derivative of 245; to estrange away, i.e. (passively and figuratively) to be non-participant: -alienate, be alien.

Points to Note:

1. God often reminds Christians of their former past (Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:11; 1 Peter 4:1; Titus 3:3). The Bible is honest, 'And he does not disguise the truth when he describes their past condition.' (Eadie p. 77)

2.. clear passage which teaches that the non-Christian is alienated from God. There is no salvation outside of Christ. Even the good "moral" non-Christian is lost (Acts 10:1; Acts 11:13).

'AND ENEMIES IN YOUR MIND' -'To God, in the active sense' (Vincent p. 475) 'Active sense here..hostile' (Robertson p. 482) 'a conscious antagonism' (O'Brien p. 66). These people were not merely the objects of God's wrath, but like so many people, they opposed God in their mind (Romans 1:18).

Points to Note:

1. This infers that alienation from God isn't ultimately linked with ignorance. This infers that the heathen world knew. lot more about God, ethics, truth, right and wrong, morality, etc...then they would have cared to admit (Romans 1:32).

2. God's truth is so clear, it is so clear that certain things are wrong (Galatians 5:19), that even non-Jews, even people who had very little if any contact with the Scriptures, still had to violate their consciences, and turn their mind to worthless thoughts in order to engage in. life of sin (Ephesians 4:17).

3. What you allow yourself to think and become convinced of is critical. For wrong thoughts eventually lead to hell, if not challenged and corrected. Men and women start their departure from God in their own minds (Proverbs 4:23; Mark 7:20).

4. Which reveals that genetics doesn't stand in anyone's way to depart from some sin. People who can't seem to change their lives are the same people who are refusing to change their minds, i.e. which is the first step in repentance. It's not the actual act of sin that has. hold on that person, rather, it is how that people perceives that sin in their own mind, i.e. they have convinced themselves that they can't enjoy life without it.

5. And it is so easy to get "bent out of shape" in our minds. We are constantly faced by situations, if approached with the wrong attitude, could make us bitter against God, resent His restrictions, challenge His authority, or blame Him for our suffering. Christian, be oh so careful in what frame of mind you allow to yourself to dwell. The difference between ending up in Heaven or Hell is at times as simple as what you chose to believe and what you chose to reject.

6. Various things about God cause the self-centered to get angry: (a) The accusation that they are indeed. sinner (Romans 3:23). (b) That they must humble themselves to gain salvation, i.e. that salvation cannot be earned, merited or deserved. (c) That God is the center of the Universe, not themselves. (d) That God demands. total repentance and commitment (Luke 14:26 ff). Instead, we often want. religion we can play at on the weekends, something that we can dabble in now and then.

'IN YOUR EVIL WORKS' -Hostility to God eventually finds an avenue of visible expression. You cannot 'have something against God' for long without it manifesting itself in your speech or conduct. You can tell when somebody resents God.

Points to Note:

1. Sin doesn't happen in. vacuum. Evil deeds happen when we have. wrong or bad attitude. Sin is proof that something is astray in our hearts. We can't simply say, 'I don't know what came over me'. And neither can we excuse the habitual sins of others by saying, 'But they really do have. good heart.' Everyone can have. good heart, but as long as one remains in sin, they are demonstrating that. good heart is something they lack.

2. Our own deeds do say something very insightful and honest about us (Ephesians 5:5; Titus 1:16 '..but by their deeds they deny Him.')

3. It was even God's will that the sacrifice of Christ would reconcile former sinners, men and women who had been hostile to God in the past (Romans 5:6).