Maranatha Baptist Church
Easter
  • It Was Finished Upon That Cross

      • Psalms 118:1-4ESV

      • Psalms 118:5-8ESV

      • Psalms 118:9-12ESV

      • Psalms 118:13-16ESV

      • Psalms 118:17-20ESV

      • Psalms 118:21-25ESV

      • Psalms 118:26-28ESV

      • Psalms 118:29ESV

  • Christ The Lord Is Risen Today (Easter Hymn)
  • Worship Christ The Risen King

      • Colossians 2:1-2ESV

      • Colossians 2:3-6ESV

      • Colossians 2:7ESV

  • This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. And yet
    I’ve often thought of this text as being the Millenial’s dream text. Millenials are my generation… thirties to mid forties. Many of us took on way more college debt than we could imagine before we were even old enough to rent a car, or even really knew the value of a dollar. But we were told that we had to go to college to get a job, and we had to take students loans to go to college.
    When it comes to students loans there is a bit of guesswork in how much you take out. It isn’t like a car loan where you only take out what you would need for the expense of the car, or a mortgage.
    What happens is that students get a general idea for how much they are going to need for a year - when they apply for their loans. But in many cases, students request a loan larger than the mere cost of tuition. So when the loan is issued, the loan company sends the money to the financial aid office, the college then applies that to their upfront education expenses. So it covers housing, tuition, meal plans, academic expenses, student fees, parking passes, etc. then whatever is taken out in excess of that amount is put in the students account with school. This can be used to purchases textbooks, or other school expenses not included in tuition. At some point, students will get issue a refund check for the excess amounts. This is where the problem happens.
    When an 18-22 year old student takes the maximum amount of financial aid - and they get issued a refund check hits and all of a sudden they have 10 grand that they weren’t expecting… what do they do?
    Some make wise decisions and hold on to it for the next semester, or use it for life expenses when their program is too rigorous for them to have a job - others, however, go and buy alcohol, tattoos, gaming systems, engagement rings, and other non-education related items.
    And while some colleges did provide counseling ahead of time to protect students from making bad financial decisions… this doesn’t mean people listen…
    This is part, though not all, of the reason for why we have a student debt crisis. It is why the election bargaining chip of student loan forgiveness has been the suggested in the previous few elections.
    Imagine being in the shoes of someone in my generation, but specifically one of those people who knows that they amassed more debt than they needed to pay for their education, and then spent the excess on foolish things, with mountains of debt - $200,000 and your degree was in Gender Studies and someone were to walk up to you and say “I’ll forgive that debt.” How would you respond?
    Most people would respond with “what work do I need to do?” But what if the response is you don’t have to do any work… it has already been done. The only stipulation is that you have to acknowledge and honor the one who is offering the forgiveness for the rest of your life, and to tell others what he has done for you - but that doesn’t earn the forgiveness, it just your end of the bargain. How would you respond?
    Honestly, you would be foolish not to take it.
    And here in our text for this morning, we see exactly that happening. But with something much more serious than student debt, and a penalty much more damning than delinquency or bankruptcy when you cannot pay.
    For our visitors, we have been reading through the book of Colossians. In Colossians, the apostle Paul is writing to this church in the city of Colossae to correct errant views about Jesus and guide them in correct living.
    The outline of Colossians as a letter is:
    Who is Jesus?
    What has Jesus done?
    How then should we live?
    In our text for last week, we learned that Paul identifies the church as being a place of encouragement, that the church members should be knit together in love, and that in Jesus is all wisdom and knowledge.
    That leads us into this text, because Paul’s goal here in Chapter 2 is to reinforce proper teaching about Jesus so as to prevent them from being deceived by false doctrine. And in verse 9-15, Paul is writing of the Spiritual Blessings that are found in Christ.
    Dwelling of the Holy Spirit, Regeneration, Sanctification, Forgiveness,
    Colossians 2:9–10 ESV
    9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
    In verses 9-10, Paul is proving two statements.
    Jesus is God.
    Jesus is King.
    By stating, that in him the whole fullness of deity dwell bodily, Paul is speaking of Jesus’ divinity. And he is repeating what he previously said in Colossians 1:19. Each person who looked upon Jesus was looking at God in human flesh. And stemming from that Paul is asserting that those who believe in Jesus has been given his Spirit, and filled in him.
    The second statement comes from him asserting that Jesus is the head of all rule and authority. Jesus is King of Kings.
    It is important to remember those two titles as we work through this text. As these two titles are necessary to understand the work that Jesus has done that is explained in the rest of this text.
    ________________
    One of the first acts that is mentioned is the filling of the Holy Spirit, as Paul mentions that the one who is all the fullness of deity indwelt bodily, has also given his Spirit to dwell in his followers.
    Following that act, in a related manner, is the reference to a circumcision made without hands. Which if you’re not familiar with this text - that might sound rather bizarre.
    However, this statement brings back to the beginning of the Bible. Where the mark of the covenant that given to Abraham in Genesis 17 is circumcision. The physical descendants of Abraham were given the sign of circumcision.
    The abridged version of that covenant is that Abraham would worship the Lord, walk before him, live blamelessly and that the Lord would multiply Abraham’s family greatly - that he might become the father of a great multitude of nations. And that The Lord God would be God to his offspring as well.
    Now I could spend our whole morning, speaking of how the Old Testament sign of circumcision points to the New Testament sign of Baptism… but I wont. The cliff notes of that are that the goal of the physical sign of circumcision in the Old Testament was that it would be an external sign of an internal commitment. We see elsewhere in the Old Testament that the ultimate goal was the circumcision of the heart, not merely the circumcision of the flesh.
    Deuteronomy 30:6 ESV
    6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
    (Deut 10:16, Jeremiah 4:4)
    When the Old and New Testaments speak of the circumcision not made with hands that is here done by Jesus - it is referring not to a removal of flesh - but rather it is referring to a removal of a heart of stone (Ezekiel 36). It’s another one the ways that the Bible speaks of being born again.
    it is a removal of sin, and the removal of the desires of the flesh and being given a new heart and new desires in Christ.
    Those who are born again by the work of the Holy Spirit are given a new heart, new desires. Paul in verse 12 writes:
    Colossians 2:12 ESV
    12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
    And in this verse, we read of the reason that we gather and rejoice in Jesus this morning. Because God raised him from the dead. That tomb that he was laid in doesn’t hold Jesus body.
    The tomb is empty.
    He is risen.
    And that’s an incredible truth… but Paul is doing more than just celebrating that Jesus is risen from the dead. That’s amazing on its own - Jesus died. Jesus is risen. AMEN.
    But Paul takes Jesus’ death and his resurrection - and applies to the Christian.
    If you have faith in Jesus, and have responded by obedience to Jesus in baptism - you have been buried with Christ, you have been raised with Christ.
    In our baptism we are connected with the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is why there is a true beauty in witnessing the baptism of new believers. As they are lowered into the water, we identify with Jesus’ death, and as they are raised we identify with his resurrection.
    While it is implied by the burial language in verse 12, Paul removes all doubt by what he writes in verse 13.
    Colossians 2:13 ESV
    13 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,
    EMPHASIZE YOU and HIM.
    Outside of Christ, all of us are spiritually dead. The non-Christian is spiritually dead - unable to please God.
    Sin brings death. And because of sin, we are spiritually dead. This means that there is nothing good in us. As Romans 3 states we did not seek God, we were not righteous, as Paul states in Colossians 1 we hated God, and again in Romans 5 - we were at enmity with God. Our spiritual state before God outside of Christ is dead. 
    We are unable to save ourselves, we are unable to please God.
    As it is, we are all in a lot of trouble.
    After all of this discussion of what we receive in Christ, Paul turns around to really focuses on what we bring to the table… which is sin and death.
    Trespasses and uncircumcision - two disqualifying acts. 
    Trespasses - sins, areas in which we have transgressed against God’s law. 
    Uncircumcision - he is not referring to disobedient Jews, he is referring to gentiles. Who are condemned both by their exclusion from the covenant as well as their sin. If you think back to the Old Testament several times the phrase “Uncircumcised Philistines” is used as an insult concerning the people of Philistia, David refers to Goliath as this in 1 Samuel 17. It was a way in which David was declaring “You Goliath, are not of the chosen, marked people of YHWH. You worship false God’s like Dagon. And the true God YHWH will conquer.” And Paul here is using this in a similar fashion. You were not God’s people… Not only were you sinners, but you were idolatrous and lost. 
    And yet in even in our trespasses and sins and worshipping of things other than God, the Lord did not leave us there.
    Following all of this bad news… there is good news.
    Colossians 2:13–14 ESV
    13 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.
    Verse 13 - God made us alive. v12 - God raised Jesus from the dead.
    The God that raised Jesus from the dead, is the one who has made us alive. 
    God made us alive. Note the passive language of this here. God made us alive. When we were dead, God became a man lived a perfect sinless life of obedience, died the death of a criminal that we should have died in order that we might be forgiven all of our sins. 
    All of our sins. 
    There is enough grace in Jesus that even those that have committed the foulest of sins can find salvation through faith in Jesus. All of our sins. 
    Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. 
    So even those who may never find forgiveness from those they have offended on earth, those who society could never forgive, can find forgiveness of ALL their sins. This is what is so amazing about grace that God himself has more forgiveness than we can fathom. 
    Record of our debt - this is not a metaphor for the laws of the Old Testament. Rather it is a statement of our guilt before God. You as a creation, owed the creator obedience. Yet you chose to rebel instead.
    I began by using the illustration of student loan debt forgiveness as an illustration for the weight of our sins being forgiven.
    All illustrations fall apart when pushed too hard.
    No one is calling for anyone’s death for their failure to pay their student loan replacements - which is the due punishment for sin.
    However, it is still much greater than that. Jesus didn’t just rip up our bill, so we no longer had to pay it. He didn’t just make it go away, or less the amount. Jesus took the entire penalty of non-payment and cancelled what we owed by taking the penalty for forbearance upon himself.
    Jesus does not tell us “you’re good, you get a get out of hell free card.” Jesus takes the penalty for himself - Jesus is punished as if he was the one who committed the sins.
    He cancelled the record of our debt with it’s legal demands.
    At the fear of over doing it with the student loan illustration, I want to point back to that one more time. Because of the reality of how much better the gospel message is.
    Even though my wife and I have paid off our student debt - there is still this occasional fear that we have that we have been forgetting to pay, or we have the occasional dream that we receive a student loan bill from navient or eli lilly and it’s compounded so much interest that we never pay it back. For some people that is their reality.
    Spiritually, it is everyone’s reality. Your sins have created a debt so large that you cannot repay it.
    But for the Christian, there is nothing left to pay. Jesus has paid it all. Jesus’ death pays what we owe in full. Our debt is gone.
    So there’s no place for us to further condemn ourselves. There’s no place for Satan to further condemn us. There’s no place for anyone else to further condemn us.
    There’s no need for guilt of believe that you should have worked harder, or done better because it is all Jesus. Now Jesus expects righteousness from his followers… from the text that we read last week as you received Christ so walk in him.
    Most of this text has centered on the privileges that Christians receive in Christ because of his death. But that’s not the only thing that happens in Jesus’ death and resurrection. In this Jesus also demonstrates himself as a conquering King. Not only conquering over sin and death. But also over spiritual forces.
    Colossians 2:15 ESV
    15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
    The world is not just stuff. There’s a whole spiritual realm of angels, demons and spiritual forces that we do not see - but even the evil spiritual forces at work are subject to King Jesus.
    Jesus made a mockery of them. For a short while, Satan probably felt victorious following the death of Jesus. But Jesus didn’t stay dead. On Sunday he rose - the offspring of Eve crushed the head of the serpent as Promised in Genesis 3. Putting him to shame and triumphing. As Jesus said on the cross it is finished. 
    They need seek no other source of grace. 
    You have everything you need in Him. Those who have placed their faith in Christ have been Filled, given a new heart, buried, raised and made alive and forgiven. What wonderful blessings and promises we receive in Christ Jesus. 
    Jesus triumphed and forgives those who have faith in him of all their sins. 
    Take aways:
    Have your sins been forgiven in Christ? Or do you still bear the weight of your sins? If you are not in Christ repent that you may be forgiven.
    Your sins are an offense to a righteous and holy God. They have created a separation between you and God - the penalty for that sin is death. But Jesus takes the place of those who believe in him. He lived the perfect life that is necessary to please God. Yet he takes our sins upon himself, and gives us his righteousness.
    Reflect on the privileges that we receive in Christ.
    Reflect on the joy of being raised with Christ.
    Reflect on the significance of all our sins being forgiven in Christ.
    That is what we get to reflect on when we come to the table today. 

      • Colossians 2:9–10ESV

      • Deuteronomy 30:6ESV

      • Colossians 2:12ESV

      • Colossians 2:13ESV

      • Colossians 2:13–14ESV

      • Colossians 2:15ESV

  • Behold The Lamb

      • Colossians 2:8–15ESV

Maranatha Baptist Church
info@mbcglobe.org
http://www.mbcglobe.org
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