Colossians 2:6-15: a reflection

6As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, 7rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving. 8Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elemental spirits of the world, and not after Christ. 9For in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily, 10and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power. 11In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us. He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. 15Having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Paul describes the wonder of what God has done for us in Christ with a vivid image: the record of debt that stood against us has been wiped out and nailed to the cross. You were dead through your trespasses, he writes; but God made you alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our trespasses, wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us, nailing it to the cross. There was a record of debt against us, the record of our trespasses, standing as a charge against us; and God has wiped it out, cancelled it, nailing it to the cross of Christ. The debt we owed and could not pay has been cancelled in Christ; the charge against us has been taken away. This is the gospel: our debt cancelled, our trespasses forgiven, the record against us nailed to the cross. The record of debt against us was wiped out at the cross. God cancelled the charge against us in Christ. Our trespasses are forgiven; the debt is nailed to the cross. The charge against us has been taken away.

Notice the image Paul uses and what it means. There was a handwriting, a record of debt, standing against us, listing our trespasses as a charge we could not answer. We were, Paul says, dead in our trespasses. But God acted: he made us alive together with Christ, forgave us all our trespasses, and wiped out the record of debt against us, nailing it to the cross. The charge that stood against us has been cancelled, taken out of the way, fixed to the cross of Christ where it was answered once for all. This is the heart of the good news for us. We owed a debt of sin we could not pay; a record stood against us. And in Christ, God has cancelled it, wiped it out, forgiven all our trespasses. We are not left under the charge of our sins; the record against us has been nailed to the cross and taken away. To know our debt cancelled and our trespasses forgiven in Christ is our freedom. The record against us is cancelled; we are forgiven in Christ. God has taken the charge of our sins out of the way. In Christ our debt is paid and our trespasses forgiven.

That is worth resting in, for in Christ the record of debt against us has been wiped out and our trespasses forgiven, the charge nailed to the cross and taken away. We can feel the weight of our sins as a debt we cannot pay, a record standing against us, a charge we cannot answer; but God has forgiven us all our trespasses in Christ, wiping out the record of debt against us and nailing it to the cross. Our debt is cancelled. When you feel the weight of your sins against you, remember that in Christ the record has been wiped out and nailed to the cross. Rest in the truth that in Christ God has forgiven us all our trespasses, wiping out the record of debt that stood against us and nailing it to the cross, taking the charge out of the way; for we can feel the weight of our sins as a debt we cannot pay, a handwriting standing against us that we cannot answer, and know ourselves dead in our trespasses, but God has made us alive together with Christ, cancelling the record of debt against us and fixing it to the cross where it was answered once for all, so that we are no longer left under the charge of our sins, our debt paid and our trespasses forgiven in Christ, and when we feel the weight of our sins we can rest in knowing the record against us has been wiped out and taken away at the cross.

Lord, Paul describes the wonder of what you have done for us in Christ with a vivid image: the record of debt that stood against us has been wiped out and nailed to the cross. You were dead through your trespasses, he writes; but God made you alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our trespasses, wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us, nailing it to the cross. There was a record of debt against us, the record of our trespasses, standing as a charge against us; and you have wiped it out, cancelled it, nailing it to the cross of Christ. The debt I owed and could not pay has been cancelled in Christ; the charge against me has been taken away. This is the gospel: my debt cancelled, my trespasses forgiven, the record against me nailed to the cross. Show me the image Paul uses and what it means. There was a handwriting, a record of debt, standing against me, listing my trespasses as a charge I could not answer. I was dead in my trespasses. But you acted: you made me alive together with Christ, forgave me all my trespasses, and wiped out the record of debt against me, nailing it to the cross where it was answered once for all. This is the heart of the good news for me. I owed a debt of sin I could not pay; a record stood against me. And in Christ, you have cancelled it, forgiven all my trespasses. I am not left under the charge of my sins. Let me rest in that, for in Christ the record of debt against me has been wiped out and my trespasses forgiven. When I feel the weight of my sins against me, a debt I cannot pay, help me remember that in Christ the record has been wiped out and nailed to the cross, Lord, taken out of the way, so that my debt is paid and my trespasses forgiven, and I can rest in knowing the charge against me has been taken away at the cross.