When Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb, the man came walking out alive, but still wrapped in grave clothes. He was breathing, standing, restored… yet he still smelled like death. That’s when Jesus gave a powerful command to the people standing around: “Loose him, and let him go.”
Lazarus didn’t need resurrection again, he needed removal. He needed to take off what belonged to the grave and step fully into what belonged to life.
And church, that’s where a lot of believers live today. We’ve been raised with Christ. We’re saved, forgiven, sealed, but we’re still dragging around some stinking grave clothes. Old habits. Old attitudes. Old desires. Old ways of thinking that don’t belong to this new life we have in Christ. We’re alive in Christ, but we smell like the dead.
That’s why Paul writes Colossians 3, not to tell lost people how to get saved, but to tell saved people how to live like they’ve been raised. He doesn’t say, “Try harder.” He says, “Since you’ve been raised with Christ…” live differently. Think differently. Dress differently – spiritually speaking.
Colossians 3:1–17 is a wardrobe change for the redeemed. It’s a call to strip off what belongs to the old life and put on what reflects the grace of the new life. So, today’s message is simply this:
Take off your stinking grave clothes – and put on your grace clothes.
Because when you’re united with a risen Savior, our focus, our fight, and our fashion of life should look like heaven, not the grave.
OUR FOCUS – HEAVENLY THINGS (v. 1–4)
Because believers have been raised with Christ, our lives now move in a new direction with a new focus. Paul’s words, “If then you were raised with Christ,” are not a question but a declaration of reality, this is who we are. Our position has been radically changed: we have been raised with Christ in His resurrection power, our lives are presently hidden with Christ in God for security and identity, and one day we will appear with Christ in glory. That truth shifts the aim of our hearts and minds. Paul is not calling us to escape the world or relocate physically to heaven, but to redirect our desires, values, and priorities toward where Christ is seated in authority.
There’s an old hymn that goes, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
Paul is saying when our focus is fixed on heavenly things, earthly distractions begin to lose their grip, and eternal realities take their rightful place. Knowing that our future is bound up with Christ gives us strength to live faithfully in the present. So, the question becomes deeply personal: what truly dominates your thoughts and drives your decisions: temporary routines or eternal realities? When you remember who you are in Christ and whose you are, it inevitably changes how you live here and now.
OUR FIGHT – THOSE STINKING GRAVE CLOTHES (v. 5–11)
Because we now belong to Christ, the Christian life also involves an ongoing fight against earthly sin. Paul’s command is strong and unmistakable: “Therefore mortify—put to death—your members which are on the earth” (v. 5). This is not a call to manage sin, excuse it, or keep it on life support, but to strip it off like stinking grave clothes that no longer belong on someone who is alive in Christ.
Paul names the enemy clearly, beginning with sensual sins that corrupt the heart and body: sexual immorality, impurity, uncontrolled passions, evil desires, and covetousness, which he exposes as idolatry because it places something other than Christ on the throne. He then turns to social sins that poison relationships and destroy witness: anger that simmers, wrath that explodes, malice that seeks harm, slanderous speech, filthy talk, and deceit. These are all marks of the old self, not the new one.
The good news is that the old self has already been put off, and the new self is continually being renewed in the image of Christ. Because of that, earthly labels and divisions lose their power; what defines us now is Christ alone. The challenge is honest and unavoidable: what are you tolerating that Christ has already declared dead? Real victory comes when we remember that the old life no longer fits our new identity, and we fight sin not to become alive, but because we already are.
OUR FASHION – GRACE CLOTHES (v. 12–17)
Having put off the old grave clothes, Paul now calls believers to intentionally put on a new wardrobe that reflects their identity in Christ. He grounds this command in who we already are, “the elect of God, holy and beloved” (v.12), reminding us that obedience flows from identity, not the other way around. Christianity is not merely about killing sin; it is about replacing it with Christlike character.
Paul then lists the garments of grace that are to mark our daily lives in verses 12-14: compassion that feels deeply for others, kindness that acts generously, humility that thinks rightly of self, meekness that displays strength under control, and longsuffering that bears patiently with one another. These virtues are stitched together by forgiveness, modeled after Christ’s forgiveness of us, and crowned with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Paul tells us in verse 15 and 16, as this wardrobe is worn, the peace of God is to rule our hearts like an umpire, governing our responses and relationships, while gratitude becomes the natural tone of our lives. At the center of it all is the Word of Christ dwelling richly within us, shaping our worship, our wisdom, and our walk. When Christ’s Word fills the heart, worship overflows in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and every action—whether spoken or done—is brought under the authority of His name.
The result is a community where Christ is visible, peace is evident, and thanksgiving is constant. So, here’s my question to all of us: do people see Christ in the way we speak, forgive, and serve? Truth is, a life saturated with Christ will always produce peaceful hearts and thankful lips, because whatever we do, we do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Church, Lazarus walked out of the tomb alive, but he didn’t take those grave clothes off by himself. Jesus looked at the people standing around and said, “Loose him, and let him go.” In other words, resurrection life was real, but freedom required obedience. Life had come, now the grave had to be left behind.
And that’s where many believers are today. Alive in Christ, but still wrapped up in things that belong to the old life. Still carrying habits, attitudes, bitterness, lust, pride, anger, or unforgiveness that Christ never intended us to keep wearing. We’ve been raised, but we haven’t fully undressed. We’ve been given grace clothes, but we’re still clinging to grave clothes.
Paul reminds us in Colossians 3 that because we are risen with Christ, we are called to live like it. We fix our focus on heavenly things. We fight earthly sin without compromise. And we fashion our lives with the character of Christ. Not to earn salvation, but because salvation has already been given. The grave is empty. The Savior is alive. And the clothes of death no longer fit the children of God.
So, the questions are simple, but it’s searching: What are you still wearing that smells like the tomb? What has Christ already declared dead that you’re still holding on to? Today is not about shame, it’s about freedom. Jesus didn’t raise Lazarus so he could limp through life wrapped in burial rags. And He didn’t raise you so you could live bound to what He already conquered.
Invitation
Here’s the invitation this morning. If you are a believer, raised with Christ, but the Holy Spirit has put His finger on grave clothes you need to take off – this is your moment. Don’t manage it. Don’t excuse it. Lay it down. Bring it to the cross. Let the risen Christ loose you from what no longer belongs to you.
And if you’re here today and you’ve never been raised with Christ, if you’re still in the grave of sin, guilt, and separation from God, the good news is this: Jesus still calls the dead to life. Just like Lazarus, He calls your name. Salvation doesn’t begin with changing clothes; it begins with receiving life. If you will repent, believe, and trust in Christ alone, He will forgive you, save you, and make you new.
Whether you need life for the first time, or freedom as someone who is already alive, the invitation is the same: come to Jesus. Take off your stinking grave clothes, and put on your grace clothes.
And Paul says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Amen.
Fighting for My Pea Patch 