Colossians 1:13-14
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
The same thing that happened at the mention of the Father, happens when Paul mentions the Son, he is reminded of what Christ has done and who Christ is. This description of Christ goes on for the next several verses even into the first few verses of chapter 2. All of this is an outpouring of Paul's thankfulness. It would do us well to get carried away in thanksgiving from time to time, look at the example set before us in these verses. Through this thanksgiving, Paul reminds us who we are serving, so it has been in our times of thanksgiving. Whether privately in prayer or in a testimony service at church, as people stand one by one to thank God for what he has done, we are reminded of who he is, and even certain aspects of God are revealed to us in all that he has done.
The two things mentioned in verse 14 are redemption and forgiveness, which aren't really two but two sides of the same blessing, actually, this epistle shows us that there is one singular blessing in the life of a Christian, and that is Christ himself. But in Christ, we received all there is to receive, Notice where these blessings lie, "In whom." Redemption and forgiveness are found nowhere else or in no one else, it is in Christ alone that these blessings are found.
We see that redemption is through his blood. Some have said that his blood was not necessary and that the bible equates blood with death. I want to say this is an ignorant statement, no matter the education of its promoters. The Bible puts a premium on the Blood that was shed for you and me, Hebrews 9 tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Jesus could have come and lived a perfect life but had he not shed his blood to cover our sins we would be just as lost as if he had never come. He shed his blood, like the sacrificial lambs in the old testament, they not only had to be spotless but they had to die and their blood had to be put on the mercy seat to atone for the sins of Israel. Jesus was spotless and he had to die and his blood has atoned for the sins of his people not for a year, or even a thousand or million but his eternal blood has eternally atoned. Now we can sing that famous line from Exodus, "When I see the blood I will pass over you." We have redemption through his Blood, even the forgiveness of sin." Of all the blessings we will find in Christ, there are none any greater than this, "The forgiveness of Sin."
We are in danger of underestimating the brevity of this statement because we often underestimate the brevity and destruction of sin. When we consider how great a sinner we are and how great the destruction of sin is, then we can better appreciate this blessing of forgiveness of such a thing. Sin separates man from God, Sin pays us in death, sin ruins, sin gave birth to fallen man who gave birth to murder, idolatry, perversions of all sorts, and all the evil in this world are a result of sin. These are the effects of sin but even worse than the effects of sin is the punishment of sin. Eternal separation from God, in hell. Hell is such a terrible place that Jesus told us it would be better to pluck out our eyes and cut off our limbs than to go there. The rich man cries from the pit in Luke 16, warning more than just his brothers not to come to that place. Sin gives way to physical death and eternal death. This is the sickness Christ has remedied by his Blood. Sin's grip has lost its controlling power over the life of the believer, in Christ, we have died to sin, according to Romans 6. Death does not mean total annihilation but separation; it is in that way that we have "Died to Sin." Sin has lost its grip and now we have been given power to "Yield ourselves to God" [Romans 6:13]. Sin is more horrible than all the world's diseases; its symptoms and end. Sin is more terrible than all the wars fought past, present, and future. Its death count has reached the trillions and its wake of carnage and effect on the world cant be compared.
As terrible as sin is, it is no match for the grace of our Lord Jesus, "Where sin abounded, Grace does much more abound" [Rom 5:20]. Sin has been defeated by our Lord, and it is through him alone that a man can have redemption and forgiveness of sin, we are no match for sin, no philosophy has ridden men of their sinful natures and sinful acts, they may have curbed them for a time, but in the end, they died sinners. While on this earth, Jesus would always go right to the root of an issue instead of dealing with the symptoms. He preached against adultery by chopping at the root of lust, He preached about murder by a swing at the root of hate. We see him doing the same thing in dealing with sin, He doesn't aim at any one disease of man but at the root cause of death and separation from God, sin. He dealt with the root; if the root dies, the fruit dies. Sin has no more power over those who are in Christ, the penalty of sin, death, has no more power over those who are in Christ!
Forgiveness of sin opens the door to every other blessing we will read of. Not only in this Epistle but in reality as well, it is the forgiveness of Sin that affords us a place in heaven, it is forgiveness of sin that ushers in peace and joy and assurance, it is impossible to know all the benefits that are annexed to this one truth alone," Forgiveness of sin." All sin, past, present, and future; actual sin, original sin; our sins and the sins of our fathers, in Christ not even a shadow of sin will be brought against us in the great judgment day because it has been forgiven. By whom? Not a man but the judge of all the universe has forgiven us. No creature, not even Satan himself can bring an accusation of sin, not because we no longer sin but because our sins are forgiven. David came to this realization in Psalms 32:1-2
"A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile."
David had come to the same realization that Paul is now revealing. David was a great sinner by man's standard but he had been forgiven of all sins. Before he lay down with Bathsheba, before he killed her husband, or before he ever fled Israel and joined the army of Philistines there had been a fateful day. Maybe somewhere in the pasture as a lad he had come to trust in the Lord, at which point all the small sins of his youth and all the large sins of his adulthood and all the sins of his fathers and all sin in any shape, form, or fashion had been removed from him by grace through faith in the promise of God, Jesus the soon coming Messiah. It is by this same Jesus that our sins, like David, Abraham, Samson, Jacob, Paul, and so many others are forgiven. Thanks be unto Jesus "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins!"
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