If you would, open your Bibles
to Colossians chapter 2. I am certain that all of you
have done this before. You're going about your daily
routine. working in the house, driving to work, working in the
office, whatever. And suddenly, something that
has always been there, nothing has changed at all. But all of a sudden, something
catches your eye that you've not noticed before. It's there. It's always been
there. Whoa, hadn't seen that before. That's the best way I can describe
what happened to me when this scripture was read recently.
Colossians 2 beginning in verse 13. And you, being dead in your sins,
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it." As this scripture was read recently
during a service, and it was just in the scripture reading,
there was no message from it, but as it was being read, the
thought occurred to me, look, just look what God has done for
us. As I imagine you know, the congregation
in Kingsport has just moved into a building that we've been working
on for almost three years. And it's a time of rejoicing. For several months, it's been
a common idea, if not the exact phrase, look what God has done
for us. Look at the building He's provided
us. Look at the work He's provided
us. The ability for us to do this. The honor of getting to
work on building this house. And at a time of rejoicing, when
things are up, when everything's going good, it's easy to say
it. It's easy to hear it in God's
people. It's easy to hear it in the world. Everything's good. I got a promotion
at work. Isn't God good? But what happens when the heartbreaking
news comes? When those tidings come that
the full weight of the knowledge that we walk through the valley
of the shadow of death falls on us. Heart-wrenching news comes. When we're finally able to get
away from those who have come to comfort during those times
of bad news, when we're able to get into our closet, when
we're able to bow in prayer, What brings us comfort in those
times? That time of sorrow, that time
of fear, that time of uncertainty, and you're able to, the groanings of your heart go
forth. Do you find it as I have, that
everything becomes peaceful? It becomes calm. It becomes sure. When those things are so heavy, I look back at what the Lord
has done for me and what He's done for His people. What He
did for Israel. What He did for me. What He did
for me yesterday. and all the promises that He
has given. And I can say, just look what
the Lord has done for this sinner. Look what the Lord has done for
His people. Listen to our text again. There's
just one sentence. It's in three verses, but it's
one sentence. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven
you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, nailing it to His cross, and having spoiled principalities
and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. Who is it that has quickened,
forgiven, blotted out, and triumphed? Look back in verse 10. And ye are complete in Him, in
our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the head of all principality
and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the
operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. God has done
all of this. He has quickened, He has forgiven,
He has blotted out, and He has triumphed. And He did so in our Lord Jesus
Christ, who is God, manifest, made known, in the likeness of
sinful flesh. God has done all this. Who did
He do this great work for? Verse 13 starts with, and you. Who is you? Am I included as a you? Are you included as a you? To prevent any confusion, God
inspired Paul to define you, Father, and you being dead in
your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh. Now we have the
defining moment. Am I included in this word you? While I was writing this, I had
a a good long pause here. Am I included? Am I dead in my
sins? Is my flesh uncircumcised? Am I cut off from God's people? In considering that, considering
my state, am I dead in my sins? I thought back to my younger
years before Christ was revealed to me. I grew up under the sound of
the gospel. You've got three here that look
like they're privileged to do so. May the Lord keep them. And from a very young age, I
was taught all men are sinners. We have all sinned in Adam. We are all guilty before God. And I believed it. I gave acknowledgement. All of that is true. But I justified myself. I acknowledged that I bore the
sins of Adam. So it's his fault that I am what
I am. Those little sins that I commit,
those things that I do, just little white lies. There's nothing
to them, right? But they're not really my fault. Adam made me. You can't be held
responsible for that, right? The good news of this gospel
isn't for those who are justifying themselves. The good news of
this gospel is that person dead in your sins. Mine, not Adam's. These are my sins. Those sins
I personally commit. The sin that I commit being a
direct result of what I am. In my flesh, I am dead, spiritually
separated from God, without the ability to come, without the
ability to decide, without the ability to live. My sins have
separated me from my God." Not Adam's. Mine. Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son,
the Good News of the Gospel, came into the world to save men
and women who are just like me. dead in my sins." In short, the
Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. In saving a sinner, what did
our Lord do? What's included when we say the
Lord Jesus Christ had mercy on this sinner and saved me? What did He do? I'm going to
give us the answer from our text and then we'll delve into each
one more closely. What's included when Christ saves
a sinner? That sinner is quickened together
with Him. Forgiven of all trespasses. The handwriting of the ordinances
are blotted out. What has Christ done for a sinner
that He saved? Verse 13, And you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened,
made alive. In this shell of flesh, mine
and yours, dwells an eternal soul. I thought back to Lazarus being
dead and buried in his tomb, lying there for four days. He
was in a cemetery. Our equivalent of a cemetery. A cemetery. Go to a cemetery. Most of them today are kept well
manicured. They're clean. Somewhat peaceful. Generally
there's a shade tree and maybe a park bench to sit under. It's
almost a park-like setting. A place of refreshment. But none of us go there for that. We know what's just under the
ground. Rotting corpses. Our future. That body of Lazarus had no life
in it, just decay and corruption. What a picture of my soul by
nature. I keep this outside looking as
well as it can be kept. My wife works hard on that. She
makes sure my clothes match and everything's in order. But inside, in my natural estate,
in that soul that I inherited from my father Adam, is deadness
and decay. And oh, thank God that He confines
it He restricts what our nature is. The world at large, He doesn't
allow us to reveal what we are, generally speaking. Nobody wants to be close to this.
Keep this flesh over it. Close it in. Don't let it out. If it comes out, decay, destruction,
deadness. That's all it's going to bring. One day, outside that tomb of
Lazarus, a man came, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he didn't stand outside that
tomb and knock, saying, Lazarus, will you please let me in? Will
you please accept me into your heart? Lazarus, now if you'll
take the first step, I'll take you the rest of the way. He came
to that tomb and he gave command, Lazarus, come forth. Immediately, life came into that
body, and it was made known that life was there. He that was dead
came forth. We who by nature are dead in
our sins, when Christ, our salvation, comes and gives command that
we live, like that dead body of Lazarus, our dead soul is
quickened. and life is revealed. Now, as if it isn't enough that
we go from death unto life, but listen, and you, being dead in
your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened
together with Him. Generally speaking, my family,
we try to go out as a family once or twice a year on a vacation.
And after the vacation, people like to know what you did. Where'd
you go? And we'll tell the story. And
sometimes during that story, a part comes up that somebody
will go, where were the kids while you were doing whatever? And generally, it's getting a
little harder now, they're getting older and doing some things on
their own, but generally speaking, it's always been, oh, they were
with us. They were with us. They accompanied,
went with us. They were part of the activity.
They were protected. They were secure. They were with
us. They were included. They weren't
left behind. We sinners that God has chosen
to visit in mercy are quickened together with our Lord Jesus
Christ. Well, how was he quickened? Verse
12. buried with Him, buried with
Christ in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from
the dead." Our Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. He
was quickened by God and with Him. We are raised, we are quickened
by God with Him. How effective? How long lasting is our quickening? Lazarus, when he was raised,
was one day returned to the tomb. He had to be returned. He laid
down His life again. That body had to be laid down. Is our Lord Jesus Christ, is His resurrection truly effective? Is He going to return to the
tomb someday? In Hebrews 7.25, we read, He
ever liveth. And in Revelation 1.18, our Lord
says, I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive
forevermore. One day, this shell of flesh
will be laid down. When my soul departs this body,
this flesh is going to be left behind. But that soul within
that God has quickened with His Son, with our Lord, will never
die again. As He lives, so do I. So do we that are in Him. The statement with Him, what
a statement of comfort. Parents, when our children come
to us and say, may I go wherever? One of the first questions that
comes out of our mouth is, who are you going with? It's going to make a difference
on my answer. Where are you going? Who are you with? Makes a big difference. Who I'm
with. Children, your mom or your dad
says, go get from the room at the end of the hall, that long
dark hallway, that dark room at the end, that terrifies you
from going into it. There are monsters in there.
We know it. But when you go to your mom and
dad and say, will you go with me? And they say, yeah, I'll
go with you. The fear is gone. Mom and dad
are with me. Everything's OK. Child of God. Our Heavenly Father has quickened
us together with our Lord Jesus Christ. He is with us. What comfort when we can grasp
it. Oh, it goes away so quickly.
But when He comes to us again, He says, I'm with you. I'll never
leave you. I'll never forsake you. The sinner God has saved is quickened
together with Christ, and all trespasses have been forgiven. Who have we trespassed against? We all know David's words so
well, against thee. Thee only have I sinned. In Adam we rebelled against God,
and in our flesh We chase those things that are opposed to God. False religion, our natural religion. We don't have to sit under a
false ministry. We make this one up. It comes
from within us. It declares, God owes me. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed
Pearl Harbor. If we were to take those actions
of Japan and liken them to the fall of man, and take the approach
that false religion takes, that our religion, our natural religion
declares will bring us into God's favor, We would have a scenario
that after bombing Pearl Harbor, Japan would have contacted the
United States and would have said unto them, we will accept
you, we will love you, we will allow you into our hearts, and
we will forgive you if you give us health, wealth, and security. even in our natural state, no
one would say that's the right course of action. The offender
telling the offended what the offended will do to accept that rebel nation. It doesn't
work that way. You and I have sinned against
God. But for the saved sinner, we
are quickened together with Him. And we have been forgiven all
trespasses. There's not one that the Lord
hasn't taken care of. In Christ, God has quickened
us together with Him, forgiven us of all trespasses, and verse
14, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing
it to His cross. The handwriting of ordinances
has been blotted out. Reading that word handwriting
brought certain scriptures to my mind. Moses receiving the
law written by the hand of God. Our Lord in the temple stooped
down and wrote in the dust. And in Daniel 5, King Belshazzar
threw a great party. There was eating, drinking, general
merriment, And in revealing the only thoughts he had of God,
Belshazzar ordered the golden vessels of the temple that had
been captured to be brought in so that he and his guest could
use those golden vessels to drink out of. And Daniel 5.5 says,
In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over
against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the
king's palace. And the king saw the part of
the hand that wrote. Eventually, Daniel was called
to give an interpretation of the writing that was on the wall.
And part of that writing said, Thou art weighed in the balances
and art found wanting. That's the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us. The handwriting that was contrary
to us. The handwriting that my flesh,
my natural person, tried to whitewash, tried to paint over, tried to
subdue, and could not do it. That's the handwriting that only
the Lord Jesus Christ can blot out against us. God is holy and
just. While men may sin or offend against
another man, and the offended man may forgive the offender
as a matter of due course. God is not man. The question
must be addressed. How can God be just and justify
a sinful man? Verse 14, blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross. How can God be just and justify
guilty sinful men? He, God the Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ, came in the likeness of sinful flesh. He took up His
law and He kept it in absolute perfection. He obtained as a man the righteousness
required to stand before the Holy God. Then His hour came,
and He went to His cross." Earlier we looked at that term, your
sins. I am dead in my sins, not another. It's my sin, my guilt. The handwriting of ordinances
is against me. not Him. That cross, that cross that was
prepared for Barabbas, that cross that I personally deserve to
hang on, that was my death, not His. Examine Him. Look at the Lord
Jesus Christ. Examine Jesus of Nazareth. Measure Him against the law.
Measure Him against all of Scripture. He lacks. He wants for nothing. The handwriting wasn't against
Him. But as the Lamb, without spot
and without blemish endured the death that went through Egypt
on the first Passover so that none in the houses of Israel
perished. Our Lord and Savior bore our
burden to His cross. He took mine and made it His
own. We are quickened together with
Him. We walked with Him as He went
about doing good. We suffered with Him as He endured
the scourging and the beatings before He was crucified. We were
crucified with Him. We are buried with Him. We are quickened together with
Him. He loves us and He gave Himself
for us and because He bore our sins, because He made them His
own, because He went to His cross to suffer, shed His blood and
die, He has by Himself blotted out with His own precious blood
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us. Look finally at verse 15. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. Or rather, from the center margin,
triumphing over them in himself. There at Calvary's cross, man
stood and we declared, we will not have this man to reign over
us. Having crucified him, we took
down his body and we sealed it in a tomb and we said, that's
it, we're done with God's Son. We put him away. on the third day. Because he
finished the work, because the law and justice of God were satisfied,
God raised him up, having loosed the pains of death, because it
was not possible that he should be holding of it. Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, and he shall not fail. He triumphed over them and Himself. I pray that the Lord will make
these words a blessing and an encouragement to us. May we never
grow tired or cease to wonder at what God has done for us. Let's close by reading the text
one last time. And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way. nailing it to His
cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in Himself. Let's bow together and we'll
dismiss in a word prayer. our Father, our Merciful, our
Gracious, our Holy Heavenly Father. Lord, how thankful we are for
Your written Word, for the words of Christ that we have, that
You've provided us. And oh Lord, how thankful we
are that they're not just text, But they're the words of a living, holy, righteous man. A man, our Lord and Savior, Christ
Jesus, who sits at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Thank You for giving us this
hour of worship. Thank You, Lord, for what I pray
You sent Your Spirit and met with us that we didn't meet in
vain, that, Lord, You enabled us to see Christ lifted up, lifted
up and behold just a glimpse one more time of His glory. Oh,
Father, keep us coming to You Keep us looking and pleading
and bowing and clinging to Christ and Christ alone. Father, thank
you for this congregation. Thank you for this work that
you've raised up. Lord, I pray your blessing upon
it. I pray I'll cause it to grow. cause it to grow in numbers,
but, oh Lord, cause it to grow in the grace and knowledge of
Christ, every one present here. And Lord, not for this congregation
only, but for all those congregations throughout the world that you've
raised up, that you've sent your Spirit to a man that you've anointed
to be their pastor. Lord, how thankful we are for
them. Lord, keep your hand upon them. Oh, we know that they're
men alone. And without you, they will fail. But Lord, you provide
and watch over them, care for them. Give us grace to pray for
them and pray for one another. Lord, be merciful to us. Be gracious to us. Do it all
for Christ's sake. Forgive us of our sins. For it's
in the Lord's name we pray. Amen.