Our Absolute Forgiveness in Christ

Colossians 2:11-15

The night I told my Dad about receiving Christ.

Saved from the righteous consequences of my sin.

Righteous because they are the just result of MY rebellion against God’s authority

Consequence is DIVINE punishment for my rebellion

Today, I hope you choose to make the same choice I did to accept the terms of His forgiveness

So, today as we look at the idea of our Absolute Forgiveness in Christ, we will see it expressed in three ways in this passage

Absolute Salvation - vs. 11-12

Man’s attempts

Muslims believe in a completely determinate will of God that dictates the actions and decisions of all men. Thus if Allah wills that a person commit more good deeds than bad, he or she will enter into heaven. A devoted follower of Islam can assure their entrance into paradise by martyrdom.

A total of 36,000 Sadhus (Hindu holy men) were part of the estimated crowd of 40 million attending the two month Kumbh Mela festival in India in 1991. A missionary in South India explains the purpose of the ritual bathing in the river, "They come for forgiveness of sins and salvation. Some thousands come stark naked--some of them rolling on the rough roads for miles, believing the festering sores on their bodies would earn them salvation...Hundreds have kept one arm lifted up for years until the arm gets shriveled with dry gangrene...others have stood on one leg for years, hanging on to a suspended sling while sleeping...all these are done to appease angry gods."

7,000 Protestant youth from many denominations were asked whether they agreed with the following statements: (1) "The way to be accepted by God is to try sincerely to live a good life." More than 60% agreed. (2) "God is satisfied if a person lives the best life he can." Almost 70% agreed. (3) "The main emphasis of the gospel is on God's rules for right living." More than half agreed

The Jewish focus was on being a Jew, symbolized by circumcision.

These scriptures show that salvation is an external act

The first step is to learn complete dependence upon God

God is the one who is the effectuates salvation

Ephesians 2:8–9 NASB95

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Salvation is the result of God’s action in the life of the individual.

This only makes sense, by the way, because it is God that we have sinned against and who we stand guilty before.

Imagine if you have hurt your spouses’ or best friend’s feelings by your choices and then you went to them and said, “I have done _____ and _____ and _____ and so you now HAVE to forgive me and reset the relationship to what it was before.” They would be justified in saying, “No. You have done wrong and before our relationship can be restored, this is what you must do.”

How arrogant of us to think that once we have rebelled against God we could somehow determine the terms by which we would be saved from the consequences of sin.

Baptism is an outward sign that we have SURRENDERED THE CONTROL of the remainder of our lives to God

No longer can we ask “Do I want to or feel like it?”

Surrender to the will of God means the only question that matters is “Is this something that God wants me to do?”

It means a willingness to embrace HIS terms instead of our own

TRANSITION: And so, when someone recognizes their need for forgiveness, God’s expectation is that they accept His terms, total surrender. When I did that I received a salvation from the consequences of my sin. That brings me to the next thing we seen in our passage today.

Absolute Forgiveness - vs. 13-14

It is amazing to think that the consequences of our actions are no longer a future that is ours but, as they say in infomercials, “Wait, that’s not all!” Not only are we saved from the consequences of sin, we are also forgiven for the debt that the sin has created.

If you have ever found yourself in debt to a friend, you know how uncomfortable life is with them until you have paid off that debt and it is no longer between you.

Each of us has a debt

A man called the police and reported that all of his wife's credit cards had been stolen. Then he added, "But don't look too hard for the thief. He's charging less than my wife ever did."

The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.

Boudreaux was once boasting to his buddy Thibodeaux, "We got a whole room full of furniture from France that goes back to Louis the 14th." "That's nothing," replied Thibodeaux. "We've got us a whole house full of furniture from Sears that goes back to Harry on the first."

In order to be valid, a debt instrument must list four things, the lender, the borrower and an amount owed. Further it must contain an acknowledgment of the debt by the debtor.

There is in heaven books which contain the deeds of our lives

When Christ Jesus said, "It is finished" (John 19:30) that statement meant that the penalty for all sin was paid in full. The word translated "it is finished" is the Greek word “tetelestai. ” That word was used in several ways. It was used to stamp "paid" upon a receipt and it was also the stamp put on a criminals charges once they had completed their sentence. A "tetelestai" was nailed to the door of their house proving that they had indeed paid in full for their crimes.

Our debt was paid in full as it was nailed to the cross

TRANSITION: So, when God brings Absolute salvation to our lives, it comes with the added bonus of Absolute Forgiveness. When I surrendered my life to Jesus that night, the weight of all of my sin debt was nailed to the cross and it no longer was hanging over my head. Let me tell you what that feels like, let’s look at verse 15!

Absolute Victory - vs. 15

When a Roman general won a victory, a triumphal procession made its way through the streets, with the successful general leading the way. His army followed, singing songs of conquest and reveling in the victory. Brining up the rear would be the defeated king and his warriors, subjected to public ridicule and paraded for all to see.

The victory we have in Christ is complete, even though Satan has not conceded his defeat ... yet.

We do not have to mope around feeling sorry for ourselves or punishing ourselves because of our sin. The victory has been won!

Conclusion

In the 14th century, Robert Bruce of Scotland was leading his men in a battle to gain independence from England. Near the end of the conflict, the English wanted to capture Bruce to keep him from the Scottish crown. So they put his own bloodhounds on his trail. When the bloodhounds got close, Bruce could hear their baying. His attendant said, "We are done for. They are on your trail, and they will reveal your hiding place." Bruce replied, "It's all right." Then he headed for a stream that flowed through the forest. He plunged in and waded upstream a short distance. When he came out on the other bank, he was in the depths of the forest. Within minutes, the hounds, tracing their master's steps, came to the bank. They went no farther. The English soldiers urged them on, but the trail was broken. The stream had carried the scent away. A short time later, the crown of Scotland rested on the head of Robert Bruce. The memory of our sins, prodded on by Satan, can be like those baying dogs--but a stream flows, red with the blood of God's own Son. By grace through faith we are safe. No sin-hound can touch us. The trail is broken by the precious blood of Christ.