Colossians 1:21

After Paul wrote about reconciliation and peace with God in the previous verse (Colossians 1:20), he needed to show why it was a necessary action on the part of God. God had to be the initiator of peace and reconciliation through the giving of His Son on the cross.

Why? Because of sin, the natural state of man is alienation from God and hostility towards Him, which are expressed through sinful behaviors. Here, Paul is saying that although there can be a myriad of reasons people give for why individuals behave badly, he traces it to a mindset or thinking pattern that is positioned to be an enemy of God.

Even a person who is outwardly good has thoughts in their mind that are contrary to God. That is why the psalmist prayed, "May my words and my thoughts be acceptable in Your sight" (Psalm 19:14). Similarly, one of the Ten Commandments deals with the thoughts of the heart, specifically the part about not coveting (Exodus 20:17).

John said that if we claim we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). Also, Paul said that in him, in his flesh, nothing good lives (Romans 7:18).

Basically, they are saying that there is no redeeming quality about man. That is why Jesus said that no one is good, except God alone (Mark 10:18). Elsewhere, the scriptures say that there is no one righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10). Realizing this emphasizes the idea that there is no other way but Christ. Without Him, we are lost, in darkness, and without life.

Paul wrote that we are dead in offenses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), and we are covered in darkness (Isaiah 9:2). Having a feeling of remorse is not enough to save us; salvation is in Christ alone (Acts 4:12). And according to the Reconciliation and peace with God come through Jesus, through His blood.

Christians were like everyone else: alienated from God. It does not matter the level of religious observance, the religious title, or the devotional state; the unbeliever is in a state of alienation from God, regardless of any outward behavior that you see.

Jesus came to expose religious pretension when He told the religious leaders of His day that they are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead bones and everything unclean (Matthew 23:27). Essentially, He was saying that whatever we see outside is a cover-up for spiritual ugliness.

Jesus also said we should not judge according to external appearance (John 7:24). We all have the tendency to judge by the external, hence this famous statement from God to the prophet Samuel in the Old Testament: "People look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

Because the Christian, before new life in Christ, was also alienated from God and hostile in mind towards Him, the response to salvation is unbridled praise to God (Hebrews 13:15).

We understand that someone who is alienated from God and actively hostile in mind towards Him would not, at the same time, seek God to perhaps find Him. God has to find us. There is no other way.

God had to come down. Isaiah was the one who wrote, "Oh, that you would tear apart the sky and come down" (Isaiah 64:1). And He did. He came down; that is what we call the incarnation—God becoming man.

God came down on Mount Sinai, but that was terrifying, and the people said they couldn’t stand the fire and thunder (Hebrews 12:18-19). But the incarnation is described this way: "He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick until He brings justice to victory (Matthew 12:20)."

No wonder the people did not accept Him; they were expecting thunder, but they saw one who would not argue or shout. They expected fire, but they saw someone who wouldn’t break a bruised reed.

That was why Jesus said the religious leaders should not judge Him based on appearance.

This shows that you may not be able to conclude with your eyes alone that someone is hostile to God. The opposite is also true. Outward appearance is not the final judgment on righteousness.

The religious leaders in the time of Jesus were hostile to Jesus, who is God. But they presented as the opposite, as being on God's side. They are representatives of all of us, the best of us, those who have all the credentials as religious bigwigs, people that everyone else looks up to.

Jesus recognized the various religious activities that they engaged in, including studying the Scriptures (John 5:39). But He said they would not come to Him (John 5:40). They are comfortable behind the words they could shift its interpretation and application or ignore as they would. But when confronted with the living breathing word, they were disoriented.

Essentially, it does not matter what we do, even good things; without coming to Christ, we remain alienated from God and hostile to Him.