SATURDAY November 23, 2024

Your Trespasses Are Forgiven

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 2:13-15

False teachers who plagued the church of Colossae remained in bondage to the Law and the requirement of circumcision. Gentiles were alienated from God, but through Christ, they were brought near. When Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, the outward act of circumcision was not needed. An inward work was accomplished in people’s hearts (Romans 2:28-29).

False teachers were self-righteous. They needed to grasp the concept of God’s grace. Christ is our righteousness: For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are made righteous because Jesus took upon Himself our sin: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit (1 Peter 3:18 NIV).

We are made alive together with Him because of Christ’s sacrifice. To help you understand, everyone born physically into this world is also born spiritually dead. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are born again spiritually and made alive together with Him. We are forgiven of all our trespasses. The word all in your Bible means, not just some of your sins were forgiven; it means all of your sins––past, present and future.

Sadly, when a husband or wife, a son or a daughter yields to sin, there is a tendency to throw their failure into their face. Yet what happened in the past is done; they cannot change what happened. If they are sorry and repentant, it is all forgiven. God has cast their sins as far as the east is from the west and buried them in the deepest part of the ocean. He remembers their sin no more (Psalm 103:12; Micah 7:19; Isaiah 43:25).

Sin was conquered on the cross. Christ’s death is the foundation of our hope, the promise of our triumph.
~Billy Graham~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!