Made Holy and Blameless Out of God’s Happiness
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Colossians 1:19–23 Read More
It says in Romans that even while we were sinners, Jesus died for us. It’s a little mind-boggling, but entirely possible for a being that exists outside of the limits of time. When we consider how many sins we committed before 30 AD (none, even for you old guys) and how many sins Jesus died for (EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!), we can see that something more powerful than time is involved here. That moment of reconciliation between us and God happened on the cross when Jesus died for our sins AND the moment you believed it and by faith took on that reconciliation.
When Jesus died on the cross, it wasn’t an accident or a failed plan. There are numerous prophecies that were fulfilled from the Old Testament when Jesus died in that way. Even the way people looked at Him, the way His bones were still intact and the fact that He was hung up and not stoned or poisoned or beheaded fulfilled prophecies. He did this on purpose so that we could be made clean, free from sin, and joined to Him.
Now that our sins have been forgiven, we are “holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.” If you let this down into your soul, it changes a lot of things! Bret said on Sunday “Conviction translates into action.” Pray today that we would grasp more than ever the fact that Jesus has made us holy and blameless and above reproach before Him. Being certain of that is what helps us act in such a way that we continue in our faith. We can be stable and steadfast Christians as we become more stable and steadfast in the fact that Jesus completely saved us.
Jesus wants to be close to us. He wants to draw us closer to God with every activity, thought, circumstance, and interaction with others. The good news of God’s self-sacrificing love is for everyone in all of creation, and if you are reading this, you are included in that. The fullness of God acted and brought about your salvation. The pleasing activity of God was to bring you back together with Him for all time. Let that be our prayer and foundation for our actions today.
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