“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”- {Col 2:13-14}
WHOSE CRIMES? –
During times of crucifixion it was common to write the crime’s the person had committed was put on the cross for all those who desired to be able to see and know why the person was being crucified! When Jesus was crucified there was no list against Jesus. Why not? He had no crimes He was guilty of! Well, someone may ask as they look at His cross, “Why is He on that cross then?”- Because of your crimes, my crimes- against Holy God! He CHOSE to take your place, embrace your guilt and willingly suffer your penalty which the LAW required so that you may not die in your sin and suffer eternal consequences of separation from God in an eternal Hell! It was my crimes, YOUR CRIMES that were been punished!
SIN ERASED-
“having canceled the record of debt.” Heaven had a record of your sins and mine, the Law found us guilty! Jesus canceled the debt – the I.O.U- we were incapable of paying for ONE SIN let alone the untold number that is ours and He did this by erasing it completely and irrevocably through His blood which alone was powerful to erase permanently and eternally! How much of your sin is now forgiven- erased? “ALL” There is no record of Heaven of any charge of sin against you that Jesus has not paid for and erased- NONE. In days when a scribe wrote there was no acid in the ink so the ink sat on top of the surface of what was written on, it did not penetrate and so a poor scribe wishing to reuse the material again would simply get a wet cloth and would erase the ink from the surface- it was GONE- NO TRACE and he could re write on the surface again. JESUS CHRIST THROUGH HIS BLOOD PERMANENTLY ERASED ALL- not a few, or many, or most, but ALL your sin which the LAW of GOD pointed to which you were guilty of. And ALL your crimes against God were erased through the Blood of Jesus Christ. Well did Paul say, “God forbid that I should boast in anything except the cross of Christ….” And as a result of the cross, Jesus “disarmed” which means stripped away- it was used of someone who defeated a foe and stripped away all their weapons from them….Jesus stripped away the weapons of satan from him so he no longer had authority over God’s people- none what soever!!!!- Col 2:15
AN EFFECT OF THE CROSS IS…
In Colossians 1:13-14 one evidence of spiritual GROWTH is the CONTINUAL attitude and action of giving thanks to God the Father for forgiveness. One Effect of the cross is the ever growing giving of THANKSGIVING to the Father for Forgiveness. When is the last time you have thanked Him for erasing your sin at great cost to His dear Son- through hanging on a cross and receiving the full wrath of God that your sins may be erased permanently! We must not take for granted what God took seriously. Now may be a good time to CONSIDER the CROSS and know, my sins, YOUR sins were the reason He was there! Cultivate the habit of thinking of the Cross of Christ and cultivate the habit of being increasingly thankful for Him!
THE CROSS; A TERRIBLE BUT WONDROUS THING…
The Cross was a Terrible thing, that it took the Son of God to bear my sin, your sin when He had committed none, but a wondrous thing to show God’s seriousness concerning sin and His serious commitment of love to us- that He would give up His Son, so that we may be right with Him and have “ALL” the charges against us paid in full- freed and brought into the family of God as a precious, indeed as Paul wrote in Romans 1:7, ″ BELOVED of God…” and “ACCEPTED in the BELOVED”- Eph 1:6 we truly are, because of the LORD JESUS- “Amazing love how can it be that Thou my God would die for me.”
“When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul,”- Isaac Watt