Thursday, March 23, 2023
In Colossians 1:22, Paul says, “Now he has RECONCILED you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, WITHOUT BLEMISH AND FREE FROM ACCUSATION…” (Emphasis mine) Instead of requiring us to fill every nail hole caused by our sins, God points us to the cross, where the nail holes are in the hands of our Savior.
Jesus took our shame — every nail — to the cross. Paul says in Colossians 2:13-14, “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” NIV.
At the cross, our slate is wiped clean and condemnation is eliminated. All charges against us, even the ones we make against ourselves, are dismissed. Our blemishes are fixed and our shame is taken away. In God's sight - and in the sight of all who understand what Jesus accomplished in His death - we are holy. There is no guilt or shame at the cross!
THE CROSS RECONCILES ALL PEOPLE EQUALLY
There is an old saying that is based on a solid truth: “The ground is level at the foot of the cross. There are no plush seats, no VIP passes, and no skyboxes.” And in Colossians we read, “God was pleased through Christ to reconcile to Himself ALL THINGS, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”
Are only good people able to be reconciled to God? Is reconciliation only for those who are good at heart, trying their best, and not too far gone? No! Not by any means. Jesus said, in Luke 5:31-32, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Are only religiously astute people able to be reconciled to God? Must they be like many of us, coming from a good home, knowing a lot about the Bible, and inclined to do what is right? Listen to what Paul tells us, in Ephesians 2:13-17, as he writes to gentiles raised in a pagan culture, “But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ. 14 For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. 17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from Him, and peace to the Jews who were near” NLT.
Are only privileged people able to be reconciled to God? Must they be rich, attractive, smart, or successful? No! In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul pointed out that the cross was not as much for the rich and powerful, or wise philosophers, as it was for common people. Many in the early church were slaves.
Continued tomorrow