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Our debt to God is
far more immense than anyone can know. What
you see on the surface is only the tip of
the iceberg! Whether we admit it or not, we
all sin every day in thought and deed.
1 John 1:8-10 says, “If we say we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a
liar, and his word is not in us.”
We
have a debt to God that we can never repay.
But that is not the end of the story, God
intervened to save us from our debt to Him
by sending His Son in human flesh to redeem
us from the curse of the law. To redeem
something was the action of regaining or
gaining possession of something in exchange
for payment, or clearing of a debt.
Colossians 2:13-17 says, “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, 14
by canceling the
record of debt that stood against us with
its legal demands. This he set aside,
nailing it to the cross. 15 He
disarmed the rulers and authorities and put
them to open shame, by triumphing over them
in him. 16 Therefore let no one pass
judgment on you in questions of food and
drink, or with regard to a festival or a new
moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of
the things to come, but the substance
belongs to Christ.”
“The Bible refers to sin by using a
variety of Hebrew and Greek words because of
the different meanings attached to each
word. Sin appears in many forms, from
deliberate wrongdoing and moral evil to
accidental failure through weakness,
laziness or ignorance (Exod. 32:30;
Prov. 28:13; Matt. 5:22,28; Rom. 1:29-32; James 4:17). But the most common
characteristic of all sin is that it is some
kind of violation against God (Ps. 51:4;
Rom. 8:7). It is the breaking of God’s
moral precepts. It is lawlessness and
rebellion against God’s absolute holiness
(Isa. 1:2; 1 Jn. 3:4). Literally it
means, the ‘missing of the mark’, that ‘mark’ being the perfect standard of God’s
will (Deut. 9:18; Rom. 3:23). It is
unbelief because it rejects God’s revealed
truth (Deut. 9:23; Ps. 78:21-22;
John 3:18-19; 8:24; 16:9). It is ungodliness
which makes a person guilty before God
(Ps. 1:5-6; Rom. 1:18; James 2:10).”
[1]
Because we were all sold into
slavery because of our sins, God took the
initiative to buy back our freedom so we
could be a peace with Him and have eternal
life.
There are many
passages in the New Testament that refer to
Christ’s sufferings on our behalf as the
ransom, or price paid for our redemption by
His death. Christ secured, or purchased our
redemption with His own blood on the cross
(Acts 20:28; Rom. 1:1; 3:24-25; 6:18-23;
1 Cor. 6:19-20; Gal. 3:13; 4:4-5;
Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14-17; 1 Tim. 2:5-6;
Titus 2:14; Heb. 9:12; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 5:9).
What is our record of debt in the book of
Colossians?
In the
Greco-Roman world, the “record of debt”
(Greek: cheirographon) was a written note of
indebtedness. The Mosaic Law put us in debt
to God because of our sin, and because of
that, we are all under the sentence of death
(Rom. 3:23; Gal. 3:10; James 2:10; Matt. 18:23-27;
Rom. 6:23). God in His
mercy resolved this problem for everyone who
puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ
by taking our note of indebtedness and
nailing it to the cross (Eph. 2:1-5; 5:14;
Luke 15:32; John 5:21; 1 Jn. 3:14;
also: Luke 9:23; 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Cor. 5:21;
Rom. 6:23; Isa. 53:4; Eph. 2:11-16;
Heb. 9:28; 12:2; Gal. 2:20; 3:13; 1 Cor. 1:18; 2:2;
Rom. 4:25).
Christ purchased our freedom from bondage to
sin and death, and the Old Covenant law with
His own blood (Gal. 3:13; 4:5).
The Colossian Church had some false teachers
who were insisting that believers had to
bind themselves with the outward observances
of Judaism, such as the Jewish dietary
restrictions and Holy days. Sabbatarians
argue that since Paul calls the Sabbath
“a shadow of the things that were to come”
in Colossians 2:17, he could not be referring to the
seventh day Sabbath of the Decalogue.
Shadows are not solid or permanent, they
only exist because some real object has cast
the shadow. The Old Covenant ceremonies were
merely shadows of something else, Christ is
the substance (Heb. 8-10). Now that He
has come, the Old Covenant ceremonies have
no further use (Col. 2:16-17; Rom. 14:5-12;
Heb. 8:5-13; 10:1). We are
warned not to judge anyone over those
issues. The phrase “a festival or a new moon
or a Sabbath day” refers to the annual,
monthly, and weekly holy days of the Jewish
calendar (1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:4; 31:3;
Ezek. 45:17; Hosea 2:11). The
weekly seventh day Sabbath is clearly meant
because Paul had already mentioned the
ceremonial festivals and new moons and would
have no reason to repeat himself.
The Jerusalem Council:
The Mosaic Covenant and the covenant
sign of circumcision were discussed in Acts 15 and deemed unnecessary (Acts 15:1-5; 15:28-29). The Apostles said that forcing
the Gentiles to keep the Mosaic Covenant
would be like placing a yoke of bondage
around their necks (Acts 15:10; Gal. 5:1). Sabbath-keeping was not discussed
because it was not a requirement for
Christians who live under the New Covenant.
The New Covenant made the Law of Moses
obsolete. In Romans 10:4, Paul tells us that
Christ is the end of the Law. Galatians 3:17
says the law came 430 years after the
promise was made with Abraham, and that it
was added to the Abrahamic Covenant of
circumcision. John 1:17 says, “For the law
was given through Moses; grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ.” It is wrong when
people say the laws of God can never change.
The Old Covenant law was only meant to last
until the “seed should come.” In Christ, the
seed has come (Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:16).
According to the Book of
Hebrews, the law had to change before Christ
could establish a new priesthood (Heb. 7:18-22). The law that had to change and
come to an end was the law of commandments,
written on stone tablets (2 Cor. 3:4-11;
Rom. 7:1-8]. Each covenant had
its own legal code. The New Covenant is
clear, Christians are not under any of the
laws of the Mosaic Covenant (Acts 15:1-28;
Rom. 6:14-15; 7:1-6; 2 Cor. 3:4-18;
Gal. 3:15-4:7). The only laws
Christians are required to keep are the laws
given in the New Covenant, not a mixture of
laws from both the Old and New Covenants.
Everyone owes God an unplayable debt for
violating His laws, the record of debt that
stands against us (Rom. 2:14-15; 6:23;
Gal. 3:10; James 2:10; Matt. 18:23-27). Christ died in our place to pay
off our record of debt so that our sins
could be forgiven and we could have peace
with God.
All you have to do to have
eternal life is accept Christ’s offer of
forgiveness to be reconciled to God. If you
haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord
and Savior, there is no better time than the
present.
(For further study: “Food
and Drink” Lev. 11; Rom. 14:3, 10, 13, 17;
Heb. 9:10; “Feasts and Festivals” Lev. 23:2;
Deut. 16:1-17; Ne. 8:9; Ps. 42:4; “New moon
celebrations” Num. 28:11; “Sabbath days”
Lev. 23; Exod. 20:9; 31:17; Rom. 14:1-12;
Gal. 1:6-9; 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4; Eph. 2:11-16; Heb. 4:1-12).
References:
1. see: The AMG
Concise Bible Dictionary: Sin.
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