SERMON SERIES · BELIEFS AND BEHAVIOR

Aim Small, Miss Small

Most people ask how close they can get to sin before it counts. Paul tells the Colossians the opposite question. Put it to death. Then put on the new identity Christ has already given you.

I am no longer that person, because Christ is in me.

WHAT THIS SERMON IS ABOUT

Slay the Sin. Seize the Identity.

Most of us have been taught to manage sin. Trim the edges. Set a few guardrails. See how close we can get without crossing a line. Colossians 3 will not let us live there. Paul says put it to death. Stop negotiating. Aim small, miss small. The reason is not legalism. The reason is that you have already been given a new identity in Christ, and the old wardrobe does not belong to you anymore.

The text is Colossians 3:5-11. Paul lists two categories of sin. The first is the sin of lust: sexual immorality (porneia in the Greek), impurity, lust (pathos, a craving for more), evil desire, and greed, which he calls idolatry. The second is the sin of relational toxicity: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language. One category corrupts your soul. The other category fractures the church. Both have to go.

Justin works the passage in two moves. First, slay the sins of lust, because they numb the heart the way an Arctic wolf numbs its tongue on a frozen blood-soaked blade until it bleeds out without realizing it. Second, slay the sins of relational toxicity, because most of us are not going to wreck the church through a public moral failure. Most of us are going to wreck the church through a tongue we never bridled. The aim instead is to assume the best, consider the other person’s perspective, share in Christ’s sufferings, and take the plank out of our own eye first.

The verse that anchors it all is Colossians 3:10. You are being renewed in the knowledge according to the image of your creator. Your handprint is His now. You have a new last name. The freedom is not in gritting harder. The freedom is in finally saying, out loud, I am no longer that person, because Christ is in me. Valor Church is an expository, Bible-teaching church in northwest Arvada, Colorado, serving Westminster, Broomfield, Five Parks, and Candelas. Sundays at 10am at Excel Academy, 11500 W 84th Ave.

A new church plant in NW Arvada.

Sundays at 10a at Excel Academy. Expository preaching, real community, a clear next step.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

A 7-DAY DEVOTIONAL

Go deeper with this message all week.

Seven days of Scripture, reflection, and prayer drawn from this sermon. One a day. Read it in five minutes. Carry it the rest of the day.

DAY 1

Aim Small, Miss Small

Colossians 3:5

Paul does not say manage your sin. He says put it to death. The question is not how close you can get. The question is how far you can run. Pick one thing today you have been flirting with and name it for what it is.

Prayer
Lord, give me the honesty to name it and the courage to put it to death.

DAY 2

The Wolf and the Blade

Colossians 3:5

An Arctic wolf licks a blood-coated blade until its tongue is numb and it bleeds out tasting its own blood. That is what a small repeated sin does. It does not feel deadly. That is the point. Small does not mean safe.

Prayer
Lord, wake me up before I bleed out without knowing it.

DAY 3

Wrath Is Not Random

Colossians 3:6

Paul says God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient. The warning is not that one failure damns you. The warning is that a life pattern reveals where your identity actually lives. If Christ is your identity, the pattern will not last. Repentance will keep showing up.

Prayer
Lord, show me where my pattern is honest about my heart.

DAY 4

The Old Wardrobe

Colossians 3:7-9

You used to live in that. You used to dress like that. Paul says you have a new wardrobe now. Why are you reaching back into the closet of who you used to be? Every time you return to lust or rage you are putting on clothes that no longer fit.

Prayer
Lord, help me stop dressing like the person I was before you saved me.

DAY 5

Put Down the Sword

Colossians 3:8

Anger. Wrath. Malice. Slander. Filthy language. These are not personality. These are weapons. In most conflicts we either grab a sword to win or a shield to hide. Paul tells you to drop both and pick up grace.

Prayer
Lord, in my next hard conversation, help me drop the sword.

DAY 6

Assume the Best

1 Corinthians 13:7

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. Most relational damage comes from the worst possible reading of someone’s words. Try the best reading first today. Maybe they were tired. Maybe they were carrying something you cannot see.

Prayer
Lord, slow me down before I assume the worst.

DAY 7

I Am No Longer That

Colossians 3:10-11

You are being renewed in the image of your creator. The deepest freedom over a recurring sin is not a better strategy. It is a truer sentence. I am no longer that person, because Christ is in me. Say it out loud today.

Prayer
Lord, write that sentence over my life until I believe it.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

For your small group, family, or personal reflection.

Where in your life have you been asking ‘how close can I get to sin’ instead of ‘how far can I run from it’?
Which of the sins Paul names in Colossians 3:5 hits closest to home: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, or greed?
Of the relational sins in verse 8 (anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy language), which one shows up most in your home, work, or church relationships?
When conflict comes, do you tend to grab a sword (fight to win) or a shield (shut down and flee)? What would picking up grace look like instead?
What symbol or daily reminder could you put in your pocket, on your wrist, or in your phone to anchor your identity in Christ this week?
Who in your life has been hurt by your words, and what would it look like this week to own your part and seek reconciliation?
Finish the sentence honestly: I am no longer ____ because Christ is in me. What needs to be in that blank?

Want to work through these with others? Small groups at Valor meet throughout the week. Find a Group

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions people search for. Here are honest answers.

How to know if a church is a good church?

Look for expository preaching that lets the Bible set the agenda, a plurality of qualified elders, clear gospel teaching, baptism by immersion of professing believers, and a culture where the hard parts of Scripture are not softened to be palatable. Valor Church preaches through whole books of the Bible verse by verse, which is exactly what this Colossians 3 message is part of. Plan your visit and see for yourself.

What are the characteristics of a biblically-based church?

Expository preaching, qualified elders, the Bible treated as the inspired authority on every question it addresses, baptism and the Lord’s Supper practiced as Christ taught, and a clear path to grow in the faith over decades. Valor is built on these. We are an expository Bible-teaching church in northwest Arvada, Colorado.

How do I find a local church to help me become a Christian?

Find a church that preaches the Bible plainly, that explains the gospel clearly every week, and where the people will sit with you in your questions without pretending. If you live in NW Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, Five Parks, or Candelas, we would love to walk this with you. Talk with a pastor or come this Sunday at 10am.

How do I become a Christian step-by-step?

It starts with honesty about sin, belief that Jesus died and rose to forgive it, and a turning of your life toward him as Lord. The next step is to be baptized as a public sign that your old life is dead and your new identity is in Christ. We would be honored to walk through this with you in person. Come this Sunday or talk with a pastor first.

List local congregations that prioritize expository preaching.

Expository preaching means the preacher works through the text of the Bible verse by verse and lets the Bible drive the sermon’s point, rather than picking a topic and stitching verses to it. Valor Church in northwest Arvada is committed to expository preaching as our default. This Colossians 3 sermon is part of our verse-by-verse walk through the book.

GOT QUESTIONS?

Talk with a pastor.

Whether you are wrestling with what you just watched or with what life is throwing at you. A pastor will reach out within 48 hours.

TALK WITH A PASTOR

JOIN US SUNDAY

Sundays at 10a in NW Arvada.

Excel Academy, 11500 W 84th Ave. Come as you are. A friendly face will save you a seat.

PLAN YOUR VISIT