BALANCED BELIEVERS

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another…” – Colossians 3:16a

God’s Divine Design is for us to be BALANCED BELIEVERS by means of His WORDS: “Let the WORD of CHRIST dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col.3: 16-17). Much of life is about maintaining balance. Footballers balance offense and defence; and athletes, speed and strength. Families try to balance between income and expenses. Our health demands finding the balance between diet, exercise and rest. There must also be balance in our Christian life, for example, between Faith, Hope, and Love (1Cor.13:13).

The first two chapters of Colossians deal with right thinking – knowledge and understanding; the last two chapters with application. The two go together. We’re urged to be stable and balanced in our Christianity. What the church and the watching world needs, are authentic, stable, balanced Believers. Verses 16 & 17 present the characteristics of a well-rounded or complete Christian.

Balanced Believers hear, read, know, and understand the Word, allowing its message to saturate, dominate, and direct their living. To dwell means “to feel at home.” We must have such a relationship with God's Word that it feels at home in our life or we feel at home with it. The Bible should be at the heart of our existence. We draw our direction from and find our comfort and strength in it. Being saturated in the Word helps us know the truth, recognize error, find answers to difficult questions, and practise the truth.

Balanced Believers engage in mutual ministry. We are to "teach and admonish one another with all wisdom." As interdependent and sharing believers, we’re responsible to help each other grow in knowledge and understanding. Contrary to the ways of the world, we are to teach and be taught; admonish and be willing to be admonished; involved, not isolated. The Church is like a growing body with interdependent parts and functions, working together to be effective. It’s a matter of giving and receiving.

Balanced Believers flow in the Spirit of Joy. We’re to admonish one another through “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” We must be a joyful, singing body, always celebrating grace, using music anchored in God’s Word to teach, worship, and encourage.

Balanced Believers reveal Christ and honour God consistently in all areas of life: “And whatever you do in WORD or DEED, do ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (v.17). “Word or deed" takes in everything in life! All we do or say – everything that passes our lips, even in unguarded moments – must glorify God. The world is watching! Our Christianity must influence every area of our life: How we conduct business; the entertainment and hobbies we engage in; how we spend money; how we serve in church; how we respond to the needs of others and to those who offend us.

Let’s briefly examine Six Portraits of the Balanced Believer revealed in 2 Timothy 2. The believer as a:

SON: “You therefore, my SON, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (v.1).

Faithful SERVANT (Faithful Witness): “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (v.2).

Good SOLDIER: “You therefore must endure hardship as a GOOD SOLDIER of Jesus Christ…” (vv.3-4).

Disciplined SPORTSMAN: “And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (v.5).

Diligent SOWER (Farmer): “The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops” (v.6).

Diligent STUDENT: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a WORKER who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (v.15).

The world will never believe what we say about Jesus until they see how we DO what we say. The world and the devil’s kingdom are watching our WALK with God, our WORK for God, and monitoring our WARFARE. All we DO and SAY can and must glorify God!