Forgiveness of our Sins (2)

31/07/2009 by John Marsden.

Baptism – Buried As Dead Men  “…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” – Colossians 2:12 1. The Baptism of John

“I baptize you with water for repentance.” – Matthew 3:11a

• Circumcision was the sign that God gave Abraham to mark his descendants as the people of God.  Baptism in water, in a lot of ways, is a modern counterpart.
• What is water baptism a sign of?
• When we are baptized in water, we are saying that we’re done living our old way of sin.  We allow ourselves to be “buried with [Jesus]… and raised with Him through faith.”  Also see 1 Peter 3:21.
• Baptism is the ultimate sign of Jesus as our forgiveness of sin.  Just as Jesus died and rose again, we die to our own wills in order to live for His (Matthew 16:25).

2. Baptism in the Holy Spirit

“…after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” – Matthew 3:11b

• Water baptism is a sign that we are dying to our old way of living, but when we become baptized in the Holy Spirit, we get filled with the power to live the new way that Jesus showed us.
• When we’re baptized in water, we are immersed in water as a symbol of washing away our former way of life.  When we’re baptized in the Holy Spirit, we allow Jesus to immerse us in His Spirit, so that we can have the power to live for Him.
• People were baptized in the Holy Spirit during the early days of the church (Acts 1:5, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 8:17, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 19:1-7).  Jews, Gentiles, men, and women were all baptized in the Holy Spirit.
• You can be baptized in the Holy Spirit too (Joel 2:28-29).
• If you want to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, to live a life of holiness and power before God, just ask Him and He’ll fill you (See Mark 1:8 and Luke 11:13).
• Because Jesus is our forgiveness for sin, we get to be filled (immersed, baptized) in the Holy Spirit, in order to live the new life Jesus promised us.

Crucifixion – Canceled the Debt  “He forgave us all our sins” – Colossians 2:13b 1. Our Passover Lamb

“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” – 1 Corinthians 5:7

• When Jesus was crucified, something amazing happened - He took our place and died for our sins.  He became our Passover lamb, our sacrifice for sins.
• Here’s a tricky question about an ancient Hebrew custom - what was the point of sacrificing a lamb on Passover?
• The Hebrews sacrificed a Passover lamb so that their sons would be spared when God killed all the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 11-12).  Instead of their children dying, a lamb was killed.
• When Jesus died on the cross, He died in our place.  We were the firstborn that were supposed to die (because we’ve all sinned), but because Jesus gave up His life, God saw His blood instead of ours and spared us.
• Jesus is our total forgiveness.   Just like God completely spared the children of Israel, He completely spares us from sin.  None of the children of Israel were “sort of saved,” and neither are any of us who believe that Jesus is our savior.

2. He Became a Curse

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” – Galatians 3:13

• Jesus being our forgiveness means we’ve been redeemed from the curse of the law.  When Jesus hung on the cross, he set us free from the curse of the law.
• When God gave the Hebrews His laws, He expected them to obey.  When they wouldn’t obey, they’d fall under the curse of the law.
• The same goes for us.  If we vow to live according to God’s laws and fall short, we fall under the curse of the law.  See Galatians 3:10 for more.
• The only way to be set free is through believing that Jesus became a curse for us and has set us free from the power of the law.
• Jesus is our total forgiveness – He sets us free from sin, sickness, pain, torment, destruction, guilt, condemnation, and all the other curses of the law that result from our disobedience.  None of this would be ours without Jesus’s death on the cross.

3. Our Debt Is Canceled

“…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.” – Colossians 2:14

• When Jesus was crucified, he became our forgiveness by canceling our debt.
• Have any of you ever owed somebody money and had the debt canceled?  Or have you ever hurt someone and felt obligated to make it up to them, only to have them forgive you and cancel the debt you owed?
• Jesus canceled all the debts we owe God for our disobedience.
• In the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35), Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who canceled the insurmountable debt that one of his servants owed to him.
• Our debts before God are huge, insurmountable, but through Jesus’ death on the cross, they are canceled.  See Hebrews 7:27.

Have a great day knowing you are completely forgiven.

John

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