Gospel Growth in Us (21 Days of Prayer #2 & Centered #10)

Are you familiar with the phrase the clothes make the man?

When I asked that on Sunday morning, not many hands went up — though I suspect more people know it than were willing to admit it.

The idea behind it is that what you wear determines who you are. And I’ll say plainly: that’s rubbish. You can’t put on a suit and suddenly become president of the United States. Your income, your likability, your leadership capacity shouldn’t be determined by whether you’re wearing a t-shirt or a tie, a power suit or a sweatsuit.

And yet the phrase has been around a very long time. Longer than I realized.

I always thought it came from Mark Twain, who famously wrote that clothes make the man, and that naked people have little or no influence on society. But it turns out Twain wasn’t the first to put that idea on paper — though I think the second half was all his.

Shakespeare included a version of it in Hamlet. But even he wasn’t the originator. About five hundred years ago, Erasmus — a Dutch philosopher and Catholic priest — wrote it in Latin. And he wasn’t originating it either. He was apparently quoting an ancient writer named Quintilian, who wrote around AD 70 about Homer’s Odyssey and used the phrase there.

That ought to give us pause. If someone five hundred years ago is quoting someone from fourteen hundred years before that, who is in turn quoting a poet writing before the birth of Jesus, there must be something behind it.

Clothes don’t make the man. But we have to acknowledge that they do affect the perception of the man.

The Suit

Years ago when I lived in Cedar Rapids, a guy in our church found out we were heading off on this church planting journey, and it made him curious. He wanted to know more about what it all meant. So we went out for lunch — and because I only knew him casually, I asked some questions to get to know him.

He’d started his career in marketing at a large aerospace company in town. Then a friend of his was launching a home building and construction business and needed marketing help. At first he was going to moonlight and help out on the side, but he eventually realized he should do it full time. So he left the corporate job and went to work marketing for the new construction company.

Within a year or two he realized he’d be more effective in his job if he had his real estate license. So he studied, took the exam, and passed — with no plans to actually work as an agent. It was just to do his marketing job better.

Then his mom and dad found out their son had a real estate license, and they asked if he’d help sell their house. You don’t say no to mom and dad, so of course he helped. Then his brother wanted help. Then a friend. Then someone from church. Then friends of friends.

Pretty soon he realized he couldn’t do both the marketing job and this new side hustle. So he quit marketing and went full time as a real estate agent.

Now here’s the part that stuck with me.

In marketing, he wore polos in the spring and summer and a button-up dress shirt without a tie in the fall and winter. But as a real estate agent, he felt pressure — an expectation — to wear a suit. So every day he started wearing a suit and tie.

Three Days, Three Surprises

He told me that one day he walked into the video store. Yes, that’s how old this story is — this is pre-Netflix, or maybe the era when Netflix mailed you DVDs.

His family was notorious for forgetting to return their rentals on time, so they were always paying late fees. He walked in and said, “This is late — what do I owe?”

The guy behind the counter said, “Ah, don’t worry about it.”

“No, seriously. What do I owe?”

“No, really. Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.”

And this was before stores started dropping late fees to keep customers. So he figured the guy was just being nice, and walked out.

A couple days later he was at a restaurant and something went wrong with the food. The manager came out, apologized, and comped the entire meal for him and whoever he was with.

Now he’s starting to think: something is going on. Twice in two days I’ve been treated differently than normal.

Then about a week later — I think he was at the DMV — he walks in and there’s a long line. He’s standing there waiting when someone up front says, “Oh, sir, I can help you up here.” And he gets to skip everyone.

He doesn’t actually know whether the people in line were waiting for something else and that clerk simply happened to be free. But he’d started sensing that people were treating him differently because of the suit.

When he wore polos, he paid the fines. When he wore the suit, he got treated better.

I don’t tell that story to encourage you to wear a power suit to get out of your next parking ticket. I tell it as an illustration: what you wear affects how others perceive you.

If you go around in a cutoff denim vest and leather pants, people will probably assume you ride a Harley and aren’t planning a run for Congress. If a woman wears a beautiful white gown, people will assume she’s headed to a wedding and not to run a marathon. And if you wear a sweatshirt on a Sunday, people assume it’s either your day off or you’re a pastor trying a little too hard to be relevant.

What you wear affects the perception of others.

Now, you’re not here for fashion advice from me — so clearly something else is going on.

Just as your physical clothes affect how others perceive you, so do your spiritual clothes. And today we’re going to hear Paul tell us what to wear spiritually, because it affects how people perceive you — and how they perceive the church.

A Sermon Mashup

Open your Bible to Colossians 3.

Have you heard of a musical mashup? It’s where you take two songs from completely different genres, sometimes different eras, and discover they share similar chord progressions — or that the melody of one sits perfectly over the chords of the other. So you combine them and create something new.

Today I’m doing a sermon mashup.

Last November we finished at verse 11 of Colossians 3 in our series called Centered — our verse-by-verse walk through the book. The plan was to do 21 Days of Prayer, then Vision Sunday on January 22nd, and then return to Centered on the 29th to finish Colossians over the following month.

But as I was preparing these 21 days and thinking through the three Sundays involved, I realized that what we were scheduled to cover on January 29th fits perfectly with what we need to hear right now.

So today is a mashup. We’re taking what should be the tenth message in Centered and combining it with the second message in this Gospel Growth series — because there’s something you need to hear as an individual follower of Jesus, and something we need to hear as a church.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12–17)

The Tux Goes Back

Before we started Riverwood, I was the young adult pastor at a church — which meant I did a lot of weddings and very few funerals. I liked that ratio.

I did premarital counseling with almost every couple whose wedding I officiated. So when I stood on that stage in front of a bride and groom, I wasn’t standing before a random couple performing a service. I was standing before my friends. It was always a joy.

And I remember one wedding where I used Colossians 3 as my text.

I knew the groom was going to look fantastic in his tux. I knew the bride was going to look absolutely gorgeous in her dress. I knew the friends and family filling that auditorium were going to be decked out.

And I also knew the tux would go back to the rental store. That the gown would probably end up bagged and stored, eventually passed to a daughter or a friend. And that both of them would go right back to their everyday clothes.

But what Paul describes here isn’t rental wear. He’s telling us to put on spiritual clothes.

What We’re Told to Wear

What does he want his followers — described here as “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” — to wear?

Compassionate hearts. Kindness. Humility. Meekness. Patience.

The Layer Underneath

We’re in the throes of Iowa winter right now, and my wife is always cold. She wears what she calls her warm wear pretty much every day. When you see her, she almost always has one or two layers underneath that you can’t see.

Last night I was brushing my teeth getting ready for bed, and she said, “By the way — were you planning to use your long underwear tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Good. Because I’m wearing them right now.”

She’s simply always cold, and always looking for another layer.

Paul tells us in Galatians 3 and Romans 13 that if you follow Jesus, you are to put on Christ. He is your underclothes. The gospel is the first thing you put on — because it keeps you from being cold-hearted and makes you warm-hearted.

And out of that warm-heartedness, that Christlikeness, you can wear compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Work Clothes

When you wear these, you’re not only attractive — they’re like your Sunday best, but meant for every day — you’re also equipped. They’re work clothes. Notice what they enable you to do.

Verse 13: they help you bear with one another.

You’re to help carry other people’s burdens. Whether in your church, at work, at school, with friends, with neighbors. When your heart is filled with this kind of clothing, it becomes far easier to step in, love, serve, help, and carry someone’s burden.

But he goes deeper. It isn’t only bearing burdens. He also says that if one has a complaint against another, we are to forgive each other — and he names the motivation: as the Lord has forgiven you.

Because you’ve put on Christ. Because the gospel is the first thing you’re wearing. The gospel shows you that a perfect, holy God has forgiven your sin. So you should forgive your fellow sinners for their sin against you.

God does not want you trapped in your own private prison of bitterness. He wants you set free. If God — God — can forgive you, you can forgive someone else.

Now, forgiving them doesn’t mean there are no consequences. Forgiving means you’re trusting God to be a better judge than you are.

When you refuse to forgive someone, you’re essentially saying, “God, You’re pretty smart and pretty wise, but I don’t think You’ll get this one right. I’m going to have to be the judge here.”

When you forgive, you’re saying, “God, I trust You to do with them whatever is right. Because if You could forgive me, I’m going to trust You to help me forgive them.”

The Overcoat

There’s one more thing to put on, in verse 14: “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

This is your overcoat. This is the piece that makes you most iconic, most memorable. People can see this coat from a distance and know it’s you.

So let me ask you what I asked on Sunday morning. If I got the chance to talk to your close friends, your coworkers, your classmates, and asked them to describe you in one word — what word would they use?

Knowing many of you, I think we’d hear “nice.” Some of you would get “funny.” Some “reliable.” Some might be described as a good listener, though that’s technically three words, so that’s cheating.

But would any of them use the word loving?

I’ll be honest with you. I think the vast majority of people in my life like me. They respect me. I don’t know how many of them would actually reach for the word “loving.”

And yet if we’re going to be followers of Jesus who live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loved — if we’ve put on love over everything else — that’s what people will see and notice and feel. It shapes their perception of us, of the church, and of Christ Himself.

So put on love over all of it.

Armor, Too

These clothes affect how others perceive you. They function as work clothes. And I think they also function as armor — they protect you.

Notice verse 15: “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”

When you wear this kind of clothing, you have peace. That doesn’t mean everything is perfect and problem-free. Your life may still be chaotic, with all sorts of things happening around you. But there’s an underlying peace — because you’ve got the warm wear of the gospel underneath, you’ve put on compassion and kindness and the rest, and over it all you’ve put on love. And that lets peace rule in your heart and mind.

And notice the last phrase: “And be thankful.”

As the great theologians of VeggieTales put it, a thankful heart is a happy heart. If you want to be happy, find things to be thankful for. When you can point to all the things in your life you’re genuinely grateful for, you’ll find yourself happy.

But that kind of happiness comes from a thankfulness rooted in Christ — because you’ve put on these clothes and allowed God to wrap His character, His righteousness, His very self around you. So that when people see you, they sense the love of God. They see Jesus.

So if you long to see gospel growth in you, ask and pray for God to give you these spiritual clothes — to fill you with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience; to enable you to bear with one another and forgive others, because over all of it you’ve put on the love of Christ.

But I Left Something Out

I agree with everything I’ve just said. But I’ve left out something critical.

Flip back to the very beginning of the letter.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. (Colossians 1:1–2)

On Sunday morning I asked the room a couple of questions.

First: who wrote this letter?

Within milliseconds a few people called out, “Paul.” Exactly right — and exactly the same mistake I made. Who else wrote this letter?

Timothy, our brother.

Then I asked: who is it written to?

Someone said, “The saints.” It was a bit muffled, so I asked them to say it again. “To all the saints.”

Wait. Who?

“To all the saints and faithful brothers.”

Hold on. You mean this isn’t written to the pastor of the church? It isn’t written to the elder board, or the deacons? It isn’t written just to one guy, or to a couple of individuals?

This is written to all the saints and faithful brothers and sisters at the church in Colossae.

Because if that’s true — and it is — then the words of Colossians 3 aren’t only for individual followers of Jesus. They’re for the church.

It isn’t only you who is to show compassion. It’s us, as an entire church family, showing compassion to people.

It isn’t only you showing kindness because God was kind to you. It’s us as a church being marked by kindness.

It’s us as a church showing humility, putting others’ needs before our own. It’s us being meek. It’s us being patient. It’s us being marked by love.

To see that, each of us individually needs to wear these clothes and experience this gospel growth. But it also has to become a mark of the whole church.

How to Pray This Week

Which is why, as we move into the second week of our 21 Days of Prayer, we’re shifting. Week one we prayed for our own individual growth. Now we pray for us as a church.

If you’re doing the daily devotionals with us — whether on paper, digitally, or by email — this week’s readings were all written by our elders, our staff, and some of our partners. I had so much fun editing them, and I was genuinely impressed. I think you’ll be blessed by them.

As you read them, you’ll see ways to keep growing personally. But what I’m asking you to do is take each of those and pray it for the entire church family.

If you’re part of Riverwood, please pray that these things would become true of us. They are true in many ways already — and we can still grow. We aren’t there yet.

If you’re not part of Riverwood but this reached you somehow, pray these things for your own church.

And If You’re Not a Follower of Jesus

I know this whole message has been focused on who we as followers of Jesus should be — the character we should have, and what that means for the church and the spiritual clothes it should wear.

But as you’ve listened, maybe you’re realizing this is the life God is calling you to.

Which means believing the whole seemingly crazy story of the gospel: that a triune God sent the second member of the Trinity down to earth, that He left His throne in heaven to take on human flesh, that He lived in a sinful world and became the only person ever to live a sinless life — and that because He loved us so much, He went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. And by paying it, we are forgiven and brought into relationship with God.

If you’re realizing that’s true — and that God wants to clothe you with compassion and humility and kindness and grace and patience, and cover all of it with love — then take a moment right now to pray. Ask God to bring you into His family, to change your heart, and to begin clothing you with these things, so that as you put on Christ you might live like Jesus lived and love like Jesus loved.

A Prayer

Heavenly Father, help us as individuals to be people who wear these spiritual clothes — compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and love.

But God, I pray You’d do more than that. I pray these would be the very words people reach for to describe Riverwood Church. I want to see my church family keep growing in these ways. Thank You for the people You’ve made part of this family — the ways You’re growing them, the ways they serve You, the ways they serve one another.

Would You keep growing us spiritually? Grow us in Your gospel. Grow us in understanding and knowledge. May we treasure You above all things as You transform us into the image of Jesus, so that we live the way He did — with compassion and kindness and humility and all of it. May that be what we’re known for, because of Your work in us through Your Spirit.

God, if there’s anything I said that wasn’t of You, graciously let us forget it. But anything that was from You, anything You really want each of us to take hold of — let it ring in our hearts and heads through this week, this month, through this year, and through the rest of our days.

May You be glorified as You turn us into these people, clothing us in these spiritual clothes — and may we find great joy in it. In Jesus’s name I pray, amen.