Forgiven part 1
I want to spend this Rant series looking at another "insider term" that I think we kind of misuse. Forgiveness. I think it's so important that we understand this, because it's kind of a central theme to this "Christian life." So what I want to do is drop a little bit of Scripture and then spend a few days really unravelling it. Colossians 2:13-17, "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." Let me say it like this: Do you know WHY there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (those who know that Christ is in them)? Because you are forgiven! There's nothing to condemn! I know that I think a little bit differently about things like death and hell, but I always kind of wondered... if "the wages of sin is hell" (which is NOT what the Bible says, by the way. It says the wages of sin is death), but all of our sins are forgiven... how would we "get" to hell? And I know people will say "heaven" is for those that accept Jesus and "hell" is for those that don't--like there's a cosmic elevator that takes you to your final destination--but look at what our passage says: Jesus blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us. God wrote the 10 Commandments with His finger. That's the handwriting we're talking about. The same law that defined sin, and gave it it's power... was nailed to the cross. Because it was contrary to us. It (the Old Covenant) was the government of condemnation. It (the Law) demanded perfection without being able to produce it, and left us with a guilty sin conscious. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. Dead in our sins and the uncircumcision of our flesh. We were the walking dead. God told Adam that on the day that he ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil he would surely die. And that's exactly what happened. Fast forward to the cross--and when I say "the cross" I'm speaking of the entire experience of the Six Steps to the Throne--where Jesus brought us OUT of death and INTO life. Where, at the appointed time, all of our sins were forgiven. Not so that we could escape a coming punishment--Jesus said God judges no man, but commited all judgment to the Son--but so that we could escape the bondage that we were already in! So we could stop looking at ourselves as anything other the righteousness of God in Christ. A bride without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. Forgiveness is so important because it frees us from that idea that we are anything less than God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased!