Forgiveness of our sins

30/07/2009 by John Marsden.

Colossians 2:9-15For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 

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, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Paul’s concept of forgiveness was big.  Forgiveness didn’t just mean that Jesus died on the cross as a sin sacrifice, so that we get forgiven but continue to live broken lives.  To Paul, forgiveness meant that Jesus died in our place and then rose again to triumph over all our enemies.  In that triumph, Jesus not only forgives our sins, but He also destroys the power of sin in our lives, freeing us from its grasp.

Paul’s concept of Jesus as our forgiveness was all-consuming.  We are now the circumcised of God, we were buried as dead men in baptism, we were crucified with Christ, and we have been resurrected toward righteousness with Him.  Jesus being our forgiveness means that our whole life is transformed through Him.

Circumcision – Marked for God

“In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ.” – Colossians 2:11

1. In the Time of Abraham…

“You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.” – Genesis 17:11

• The first time the concept of circumcision shows up is when God spoke to Abraham and made a covenant with Him.
• What was the covenant that God was making with Abraham?
• The covenant they were making was that God would be Abraham’s God and Abraham and his descendants would be God’s special people.  In addition, God was promising that He’d give Canaan to Abraham’s people.
• The sign of circumcision was a physical mark that showed who the people of God were.  Circumcision was what showed the world that the Hebrews worshiped the true God.

2. Circumcised in Heart

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh’” – Jeremiah 9:25

• God’s covenant with Abraham was marked by a circumcision according to the flesh, but God expects more - a circumcision of the heart.
• God is not so interested in what our bodies look like or what we do to ourselves physically to look different from the world.  He’s interested more in our hearts.
• Before Stephen was martyred, he called the Jews, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts” (Acts 7:51).  God is after hearts that are marked by Him, hearts that are set apart for Him only.
• Through Jesus, our forgiveness for sin, we become circumcised in heart, by “putting off the sinful nature.”

3. We’re the People of God

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” – Ephesians 2:19

• At one point in time, the people of God were set apart by a circumcision of the flesh.  All the special privileges that went with being people of God were only given to the circumcised Hebrews.
• No one uncircumcised could dwell with the Hebrews (Genesis 17:14), take part in festival celebrations (Exodus 12:48), or enter the promised land (Joshua 5:2-3).
• Now, through Jesus, we are no longer the “uncircumcised,” but we become the people of God, circumcised in our hearts.
• Through what Jesus did, even those not circumcised in the flesh can know the living God and become His people.
• Now we are marked as the people of God not by an outward sign but by an inward change.

Have a great day.

John

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