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On the top of your service sheet you read the following words:

"Jesmond Parish Church was consecrated on 14 January 1861 as 'a church in memory of the late Rev Richard Clayton ... in which evangelical truth shall be declared', which would 'form a central point for the maintenance and promulgation of sound scriptural and Evangelical truth in a large and populous town.'"

But you ask, "why?" The answer is that some people were afraid of drifting spiritually. Let me explain. In the early part of the 19th century Richard Clayton had built and established St Thomas' Church in Haymarket where he ministered for 20 years. The church grew remarkably, based as it was on a biblical ministry. It had a great effect on the whole city. Then Clayton died, unexpectedly, aged 56 on 8 October 1856. His friend, G.T.Fox, from St Nicholas, Durham, was aware of problems a foot.

On Sunday 19 October 1856 Fox preached a funeral sermon in which he warned the congregation in these words: "The day may not be far distant when within the walls of St Thomas' you shall no longer hear the plain message of gospel truth."

And true to that warning in a very short space of time a successor to Clayton was appointed who did not have Clayton's biblical basis. So key members of the congregation decided action was needed. They knew that the church is not a building but people and unlike the Old Testament temple does not have to be in one place. And they wanted to ensure that a biblical witness was maintained in the city and to ensure that the body of Christian people Clayton left behind was ministered to.

So on 10 November, just a month after Clayton's death, a private meeting was held and a resolution was passed to establish [I quote] ... "a church in memory of the late Rev Richard Clayton ... in which Evangelical truth shall be declared."

There was then a public meeting ten days later when money was pledged and at that meeting one of the resolutions was this: the money was: "to erect a church, which ... will form a central point for the maintenance and promulgation of sound scriptural and evangelical truth in a large and populous town."

So the Founders of this church wanted to avoid drifting spiritually.

But what are the marks of that drift? In a word - Jesus Christ is diminished. Invariably non-biblical teaching diminishes Christ. Invariably non-biblical teaching diminishes Christ. Something else is given priority - rituals, new forms of so called spirituality, human ideas, political correctness, priestcraft - anything. And Jesus Christ is no longer centre stage.

This morning, therefore, I want us to think about resisting the temptation to spiritual drift and to do that by looking at the Church at Colosse. At Colosse the problem was religious syncretism or relativism. Some people seem to have been saying: "You must not say that Jesus is the only way. No! you must say that adherents to other religions and philosophies are all on a journey that will get them there in the end."

What was happening? Jesus Christ was being diminished. And he still is, when people say that there are many roads to God and Christ is not the only way. And how did our Anglican Forefathers think about this at the time of the Reformation? They tell us in Article VIII:

"They also are to be had accursed that presume to say, That every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that Law, and the light of Nature. For holy Scripture [here it quotes Acts 4.12] doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men [and women] must be saved."

How this truth needs to be heard today - that Christ is not just "one among many" but the "one and only" as the NIV puts it. So let's now look at Paul's letter to the Colossians. And this morning I want us to look especially at chapter 2 verses 6-7. Let me read verses 6-7:

6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

And I want to focus on verse 6 and first, the words, JUST AS YOU RECEIVED CHRIST JESUS AS LORD (6a) and secondly, the words, CONTINUE TO LIVE IN HIM (6b).


First, JUST AS YOU RECEIVED CHRIST JESUS AS LORD (6a)

Paul was concerned that there were many traditions (or views) going around about Christ. The details of these traditions we can only guess. But what is absolutely clear is that Jesus Christ was being diminished. Some of these teachings involved rituals and asceticism; others philosophy; and there was a New Age version that involved the worship of "angels". Paul will have none of it. No! He knew about these "traditions". He knew that there was a "diversity" of views. Does he then say: "Aren't our shared insights so good? Let's, therefore, affirm one another in what we are all teaching."

No! He did not. Once my wife and I were having a meeting for people of other faiths - they were students. There was a distinguished speaker who had been a missionary in Egypt but was now an academic. Some of the Muslim students had brought along one of their Imam's. This Muslim cleric then started talking very heatedly with the speaker. I shall never forget the way one of the Asian students tried to pour oil on things. He made quite a long speech and said something like this:

"No! We must not contradict one another. For the world is like a garden. And the religions of the world are all like flowers. Some are very beautiful and some are more ordinary. But together they give off a great fragrance - that is the wonder of it all."

A number of others agreed. But the Christian speaker and his Muslim interjector knew that they were not complementary but fundamentally opposed. And Paul knew that all these views in Colosse were not part of a glorious garden of religious insights that were meant to complement each other. He says rather (verse 8 of chapter 2):

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

These other views were "hollow" and "deceptive". They were based on "human tradition" and "this world" - not "on Christ". That is why Paul is insisting that these Christians don't "move on" (or "journey on" as the jargon today is). He wants them to "go back" - to remember what they were taught at the first - that genuine Apostolic tradition on Christ - which today, of course, you have in the Bible. It couldn't be clearer:

Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord [continue to live in him].

That is so important. You are not to be committed to any Christ - the Christ of your imagination or your dreams or your musings or your hopes or any other Christ. No! You are to be committed to the true and real Christ, the Christ as taught by the Apostles who knew him and were taught by him - the Apostolic tradition on Christ that you have in the bible. That is why you must be a biblical Christian. What then is that Apostolic tradition and the "Christ Jesus" the Colossians had received? Well, let's look at what Paul is saying in this epistle.

First, he makes it clear that Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, was (and is) also the divine Lord - God the Son.

1.3 says that God is "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ".

1.13 says Jesus is "the Son [God] loves."

1.15 says Jesus is "the image of the invisible God."

1.19 says "God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him."

And verse 18 of chapter 1 says:

he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

So, of course Jesus is in a different league, if I may put it reverently, to religious teachers like the Buddha or Mohammed, or to more secular thinkers like Plato or Marx or whoever you like to name. We are talking about God incarnate. Yes he was and is truly man. But he was and is also truly God.

Secondly, Jesus Christ is the Lord of Creation. 1.16-17 says:

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Do you see what is being said there? Jesus Christ was not only the co-creator of the Universe - he also is the sustainer of the universe. So without Christ there would be, literally, a universal disintegration and collapse of cosmic proportions. Imagine how terrible it must have been for the people on the floors into which those two jets crashed on the 11th September in New York. For them there was instant disintegration, collapse and death. Well, imagine something like that for the whole of the created order - for the whole cosmos. But it doesn't happen. Why? Because "in him [Jesus Christ] all things hold together."

Thirdly, Jesus is the "Christ" of the scriptures. The Colossians received Christ Jesus as Lord. "Christ" means the "anointed one" - the Messianic king whose reign the prophets looked forward to. He is now on the throne of the universe that he has created and will, as we were reminded last Sunday night, come again one day, in glory for his own people, and in judgment for those who reject him.

Fourthly, he, Jesus, is the man of Calvary - the sacrifice for sinners. If you read on in chapter 2 - verse 13, you read:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

Christ cancelled the death warrant against us "nailing it to the cross". Pilate had said that the crime Jesus was crucified for was being a subversive. So he nailed on the cross a notice saying: "The King of the Jews". Paul is saying that what could have been nailed to the cross was a notice that would have taken reams upon reams of paper. Imagine some enormous computer print out detailing the totality of all our sins - our sins of omission as well as of commission. In effect Christ was nailing that to the cross. It was for all that, that Christ was being crucified and for which he paid the penalty. And because the Colossians received Christ not only in their minds but in their hearts (so to speak) they experienced new life. For the true Christ was the Christ who was raised from the dead. In 2.12 Paul says you have ...

... been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

So that is the Christ the Colossians were not to drift from and you and I are not to drift from. Therefore, ... ...


Secondly, Paul says, CONTINUE TO LIVE IN HIM (6b).

What is it to "continue to live in him"? Literally translated that is "walk in him". The Christian life is a walk. And walking is not running. As a young boy I can remember the 1948 Olympics and the Olympic "walk". I remember it because the route of the walk passed the bottom of our road in North London.

I was totally bemused as I watched all the walkers - never having seen an athletic "walk" before. They were so focused, regular and rhythmical. And compared to the sprinters they were unspectacular. The Christian life needs to be something like that if we are going to "continue to live in him".

Notice that "continuing" (or "walking") is to be "in him". Those two words - "in him" - are at the heart of the Christian faith. For to be a Christian, yes, you must know that Christ is Lord and what sort of Lord he is; but there is to be a relationship with him. That is where, by his Holy Spirit, you get the strength for the walk. You are to be "in him". That speaks of union, communion, solidarity, or "togetherness" to use Jim Packer's word. To be a Christian is to be "with Christ" both now, as the Holy Spirit makes Christ real in the present, and for all eternity.

Is there anyone here this morning and you are not yet "in Christ" but still "outside Christ". Why not, in the words of Paul, "receive him as Lord" by faith this morning and be in him?

But you say "I am 'in him'. So what do I do to continue to live in him with all the pressures and temptations of life?" Paul says there are three things you need to work on.

First, verse 7: "be rooted and built up in him". You need to grow (spiritually) downwards and have strong roots. We bought two Christmas trees this year. One was a small one sold as a plant. We thought we might put it in the garden after Christmas for next year. But by last Saturday all the spines were dead and most had fallen off. So we took it out of the pot to see what had been going on. It looked as though the tree had originally been pulled out of the ground; and with many roots torn off put in new soil (in a pot) to be sold in a garden centre for a fiver - with dire results.

Some Christians are like that Christmas tree. They don't have consistent soil and their roots are damaged. That happens when, for example, they aren't established in a healthy Christian fellowship. No wonder they can't get nourishment. But Paul says you also need to grow (spiritually) upwards like a building. You then can become more effective for Christ. For both sorts of growing (downwards and upwards) you need the "means of grace" - bible reading, prayer and, as we heard in the Articles this morning, the right use of the sacraments.

Secondly, you are, verse 7, to be "strengthened in the faith as you were taught." You need to heed the warning about false teaching and false teachers; and you need regular good teaching.

And, thirdly, verse 7, you are to be "overflowing with thankfulness". That is one of the ways a number fail to "walk in Christ" or "continue to live in him". They seem to be growing down and up. They seek to keep true to the faith as they were taught. But with all the pressures and with all the opposition, sometimes they find it hard to be "overflowing with thankfulness". The opposite of being thankful is "moaning" or "grumbling" or "being negatively critical". But Paul says we are to be thankful. And a truly thankful person wants to share with others what they have been given. So a truly thankful Christian will want to tell others about Jesus Christ as Lord.

Yes, we are to be thankful for God's love in Jesus Christ. But we are also to be thankful for "all the blessings of this life". And this morning we are to be thankful for this church. There is so much to be thankful for. I personally thank God for the staff - they are simply such nice and faithful people. I thank God for the congregation - you are such nice and faithful people. I thank God for the teaching that I get from my colleagues and the bible studies. I thank God for this building (for all its limitations) and for Eslington House. Yes, we need to work at getting more space especially for youth and student activities. But what we have has served us and, with a squeeze, does serve us. So we need to be thankful. The old chorus is still spot on, whatever the level of its poetry:

Count your blessings,Name them one by one,And it will surprise youWhat the Lord has done.

I must conclude.

I do so by re-reading Col 2.6-7 and also 8.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.