Daily devotion – Putting it all into application – for holy living.
Colossians 3:5–8 – “Put It to Death”
Colossians 3:5–8
“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.”
From Doctrine to Doing – Paul’s pattern in his letters is clear—first comes doctrine, then the call to action.
Ephesians: Three chapters of doctrine, followed by a call in Eph 4:1 – “Walk worthy…”
Romans: Eleven chapters of doctrine, then in Rom 12:1 – “Present your bodies a living sacrifice…”
Now, in Colossians, we too reach the point of practice:
“Therefore put to death your members…”
We know this:
We have died to sin’s penalty.
But sin’s power still battles within, trying to rule our flesh.
Romans 8:13 – “If you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Put to Death – What Does It Mean?
Greek: Nekrosate – to kill, execute, mortify.
It’s a command. A decisive action.
We are to treat these sinful desires as dead, no longer powerful.
This is not passive—it’s war!
These sins do not bring life. They bring death.
The Sins to Kill (Col 3:5)
Fornication (Greek: porneia) – sexual immorality of all kinds. Selling the body for lustful gratification.
Uncleanness – moral filth. Perverse thinking, jokes, fantasies.
Passion (pathos) – desires that stir sexual impurity. Cultivated appetites for lust.
Evil Desire – cravings that are twisted by sin’s nature.
Covetousness – greedy hunger for more. Material or sensual. Paul calls this idolatry.
“Covetousness is idolatry” – Because whatever you trust in, you worship.
Many modern Christians wouldn’t be caught in open sexual sin, but are silently ruled by materialism—the respectable sin.
Old proverb: “If a man is drunk with wine, we kick him out of the church; if he is drunk with money, we make him a deacon.”
Why Must We Kill These?
Col 3:6 – “Because of these things the wrath of God is coming…”
God’s Wrath is not random or unfair.
As A.W. Pink writes:
“It is God’s eternal detestation of all unrighteousness… It is the holiness of God stirred into action.”
The unbeliever faces the full weight of God’s wrath to come:
Romans 1:18 – Wrath against sin is already revealed.
Romans 2:5, 8 – Wrath is being stored up.
But, 1 Thessalonians 1:10 – “He has rescued us from the coming wrath.”
As believers, we have been delivered.
So, why would we return to the very things that provoke God’s judgment?
This Was Our Old Life (v. 7)
“In which you once walked…”
This was who we used to be.
We hated it!
That’s why we came to Jesus—to be rescued!
Romans 6:1–14 – “Shall we continue in sin? By no means!… We are no longer slaves to sin!”
We now live in the newness of life.
But we still have the old body—our “members”—and Paul says: Put them to death.
How Do We Do This?
By the Holy Spirit – not in the flesh.
By choosing to say no, and treating sin as powerless.
By replacing sin with righteousness – present your body as an instrument of holiness (Rom 12:1).
By remembering who you are – you are a new creation in Christ! (2 Cor 5:17)
Jesus’ Words on Radical Action (Matt 5:29–30)
Jesus said, “If your hand or eye causes you to sin, cut it off…”
Not literally, but decisively.
The real problem is not the hand or eye, but the heart.
We’ve been set free from sin’s power.
But we must live like it.
Kill sin before it kills you.
Don’t play with fire and think you won’t get burned.
Proverbs 6:27 – “Can a man scoop fire into his lap and not be burned?”
Final Challenge
What sin do you need to kill this week?
What desires have you excused or allowed too long?
“Therefore, put to death your members…”
Because we’ve been made alive in Christ, let us walk in the power of the Spirit, presenting our bodies to God for His glory.