Colossians 1:9-14, Part 2

Thus we cannot function as Christians unless we understand salvation, and part of this means to acknowledge the contrast between the condition of the Christian and the non-Christian. On this point, Scripture portrays the two as standing in opposite extremes, and it uses various ways to explain and emphasize this. In our passage, Paul states that the believers share an inheritance in the "kingdom of light" under Christ, and that while they were still unbelievers, they were under "the dominion of darkness." The contrast between the Christian and the non-Christian, therefore, is as the difference between light and darkness.

The ways that Scripture uses the contrast between light and darkness suggest that the metaphors apply to at least four major areas of differences between Christians and non-Christians – the ethical, intellectual, existential, and eschatological. Ethically, non-Christians are evil and filthy people. Intellectually, they are stupid and irrational people. Existentially, they are restless and miserable people. Eschatologically, they are condemned and doomed people. In contrast, because of the grace of God and the work of Christ, Christians are righteous, enlightened, joyous, and redeemed.

Of course, non-Christians deny these differences, even claiming the opposite on some points. We expect unbelievers to think this way – if they agree with us on the above, they would believe the gospel and become Christians. However, although Scripture is clear on these contrasts, the most scathing attacks against those who affirm them come from those who claim to be Christians. Perhaps some of them are only Christians in name and not in reality. Perhaps some of them are embarrassed by the biblical faith. But since these contrasts constitute the very foundation of the gospel – the very need and reason for it – faithful believers must not compromise on these points.

Those who deny the nature and degree of these differences also deny the necessity and magnitude of the work of Christ, and thus deny the Christian faith. Therefore, we must denounce as traitors and imposters all those who dilute or reject these contrasts. Many of them are spiritual prostitutes who lie in bed with the enemies of the faith in exchange for some tokens of kindness and respect. Since the genuineness of their profession of faith must be doubted, certainly there should be no place for them in positions of church leadership. The stubborn and outspoken ones should be excommunicated from the church.

Since we were once non-Christians, our present understanding of non-Christians is at least in principle also our perception of our pre-conversion condition. That is, if we are consistent, what we think about non-Christians now is also what we think about our pre-converted selves, or what we were before we became Christians. Therefore, to the extent that we are "soft" in our view toward non-Christians, we are also soft on our past selves. And to the extent that we are soft on our past selves, we belittle and devalue the work of Christ, through which our redemption was secured. It follows that to think or speak of non-Christians as less evil, filthy, stupid, irrational, restless, miserable, condemned, and doomed than Scripture describes them is tantamount to a personal rejection of the gospel. He is as one who tramples the Son of God underfoot and insults the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29).