The Cancellation of the Cross
…having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14 NASB)
In the earlier years of our marriage, like most couples, my wife and I assumed some debt. Some of this accumulation of debt was done out of necessity and with more wisdom than others. Regrettably, none of these decisions were bathed in prayer because I wasn’t a Christian at the time. I remember however a strange behavior on my part. Rather than be appreciative of those who financed these debts, I held a spirit of resentment toward them. Isn’t that odd? To hold ill feelings toward the one(s) who would help me when I needed financial help. The source of my resentment was that someone held something over me. I owed them. (That’s pride and envy by the way.) The ill feeling was rekindled every month when the premium was due and so little of the actual debt was removed.
This is the underlying feeling we all had toward God at the time when He made us alive together with Christ. While we may not have been aware of this certificate of debt spoken of by Paul, we, while still in our unredeemed sin, hold a grudge toward God. Yes it’s true, even if now alive in Christ we don’t want to admit it. We resented God and just about everything about Him. We were also unaware and unappreciative of what He was doing for us even while dead in our trespasses and sins. He tells us so though Paul because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so (Romans 8:7 NASB).
We resented and were even hostile toward the Lord because we owed Him this debt. We were angry with Him over the guilt He would stir whenever some sin was revealed by the Spirit. We felt deprived by Him because His joy-killing Law restricted the lusts of our flesh. We held animosity against Him for how demanding His Law is and yet no matter how hard we tried, He was never satisfied. Aggravating all of this was the reality that our payments were not satisfying the mortgage against our souls.
For those of us who were once under the shadow of a home mortgage, there was that joyful day of celebration when the last of the monthly payments was made. Do you remember the relief, the joy, and the sense of freedom that day? What about when Jesus became your Redeemer-Savior who cancelled your certificate of debt on the cross? Do you recall the day when you became aware of your sin and your need for a Savior and Jesus pulled you in? Are the rigors of everyday life or the gravity of unconfessed sin pushing aside the memory and the sweet reality that your certificate of debt has been paid? If so, hear the Gospel’s Good news: He has made you alive together with Him having cancelled out the certificate of debt.
