Colossians 2:13-15
Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses. God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross. After disarming the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ.
Dear Heavenly Father,
The guilt we have from our sins is so overwhelming, and on our own, there is nothing we can do about it. We cannot work off sin’s debt because, as we do, our pride in how great we are is refilling our debt. We cannot compare our debt pile to someone else’s pile; it’s still there. We cannot ignore our sins, thinking that if we do, they will just go away. And we cannot decorate our sins like the world does, calling them something other than what they are. Saying that our sins are just the way of the world, or they are just little sins that don’t matter. Everyone will be accountable for their sins when their life ends. You tell us in your word, each sin is equally damning, and we are responsible for everything we have done. This was the legal demand you put on us as part of living in your world, creating your world, your rules. You demanded perfection from each of us. So, we have two choices: we live perfectly as your law required (not happening), or we need to find another way. Your message today brings so much comfort. This is the other way; before we could do anything about our sins, you already removed them. Before faith started to work in us while we were dead in our sins, you erased the record of our debt. Because we could not achieve what you would have us do, you sent your Son to be nailed to the cross and to take every one of our sins with him to that same cross. Through Christ, we have a victory over sin, death, the devil, and the world. It was a public display of triumph. Our sins and guilt are removed forever through faith in Christ. Salvation is already ours. Amen.
Pastor Roger Emmons
If Christ has already forgiven your sins, why would you want to do it on your own? He has already won.