Perspectives

Let’s start this month’s discussion with Scripture to excite our soul and inspire our imagination. Something that will give us hope beyond the grave. The thought behind this is to show that Christ has done all that needs to be done and there is no need to bring in another way for us to go to heaven.

Colossians 2:13-15 … 13) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,  14)  having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to cross.  15)  And having disarmed the power and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them  by the cross (NIV)

Time and time again we hear folks talk about how God will judge us after we die. Look at the first half of verse 13. What is he saying? He is saying that before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour we were all spiritually dead in our sins. In fact we had no more power than a dead person either to overcome sin or to atone for it. Then he goes on to say that our sinful desires were not yet cut away. But look at the last half of the verse … When we came to Christ He set us free from our evil desires. He gave us a share in the very life of Christ. Jesus Christ by his death on the Cross has freed us both from the power and consequences of sin. Now here comes the best part … He forgave all our sins. He did not save some so that He could pester and threaten us later, He did not do that; He liberated us completely.

In verse 14 we are told that Christ blotted out the charges against us. Some may say, how can that be, we were very bad, rotten through and through. However, we need not worry because He took all our sins. That huge pile of sins that were written on His list; He took that list and wiped it clean. When we a take a sponge to clean a mirror or another surface we wipe all the smudges off the surface, we do not leave some for a later day; we make sure it is clean and that is what Christ did with our sin. God, in His mercy, destroyed the record of our sin so completely that it was as if it never had been; not a trace remained. He took the list of sins, the blame and completely destroyed every trace. 

In verse 15 we are told that God took away Satan’s power to accuse us of sin. God showed to the whole world Christ’s triumph at the cross where our sins were taken. On the cross of Christ the indictment or charges against us were themselves crucified. They were executed and put clean out of the way, so that it was never to be seen again. It shows how completely God in His mercy destroyed the condemnation, the blame that was against us.

One thing we must remember; not to let others confuse our thinking about our faith in Christ, our faith, our joy that we have found in trusting Jesus Christ. There are some in this world who have a philosophy, a viewpoint, a belief, an attitude that is totally against what Scripture teaches. Their theories, their assumptions, their wrong and shallow answers built on human thoughts and ideas, but let us think instead on what Christ has said … “For in Christ there is all God in a human body.” That means we cannot add or take anything away. We have the whole lot when we accept Christ, and when we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with God’s grace through our union with Christ. He is after all the highest ruler over all that there is or have ever been.

One final thought: It was through what His Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to Him, all things in heaven and on earth. Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with God for all by His blood. You and I were once far away from God. We were His enemies and hated Him and were separated from Him by our evil thoughts and actions, yet now He has brought us back as His friends. He has done this through His death on the cross, and now we stand there before Him with nothing left against us… nothing left that He could criticize us for. So sleep well, do not let others spoil or hinder your faith in Christ. For it is by believing in our hearts that we become right with God, and when we tell others with our mouth about our salvation the Holy Spirit will fill our heart with assurance, and we will know we are Christian.  

Would you pray this prayer with me … “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that peace, joy and happiness that will fulfill my hearts desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honour Your Name.” Amen