WHAT JESUS DOES FOR US PART 1

JESUS FORGIVES OUR SINS

COLOSSIANS 1:13-14.

Colossians 1:13-14 (HCSB) - ¹³ He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

INTRO:  We are starting a six part Easter series, entitled, “What Jesus does for us.”  Today’s sermon is entitled, “Jesus forgives our sins.”

The American Civil war was a military conflict between the Union and the Confederate States of America . It was a war that lasted four long years, from April 12, 1861 to May 26, 1865. The Civil War is sometimes called the War Between the States or the War for Southern Independence. While the war took more than 600 thousand lives and destroyed property valued at $5 Billion dollars, it also brought freedom to some 4 million slaves.

Nearly two thousand years ago, on a hill outside of the Jewish Capital of Jerusalem, another victory was one. This was a victory in which the life of one paid for the freedom of millions. His name was Jesus and He gave His life to set the captives free from slavery to sin.

Our text this morning deals, then, with this reality, that Jesus died for you and me. He died to set us free. In our Scripture text, Paul encourages the Colossian Christians to remember all they are and have in Jesus. He reminds them of the truth that his found in Jesus, as opposed to the heresy being taught by the false teachers who had infiltrated the church.  Paul points out four things every believer has received from God, through Jesus.

Notice, four things Jesus did for us:

1. He rescued us – deliverance from the authority or domain of darkness.

Colossians 12:13a (HCSB) - He has rescued us from the domain of darkness…

A.  This word, “rescue,” is the same Greek Word in Matthew 6:13 that is “deliver.”

Matthew 6:13b (HCSB) - deliver us from the evil one.

B.     In 2 Peter 2:9 we see that God is able to rescue (deliver) the godly out of trials.

2 Peter 2:9a (HCSB) - then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials…

C.     The Greek word means to draw to oneself, as a lifeguard would reach out to someone who was drowning and draw someone to themselves, so as to rescue them from the raging waters of a river.

D.     One hymn writer put it this way, “ I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more, but the Master of the sea, heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I. Love lifted me, love lifted me, when nothing else could help love lifted me.”

E.      You see, like the slaves before the Civil War, we too were slaves to sin.

John 8:34 (HCSB) - I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.

1.      Everyone apart from Christ is a slave to sin. 

2.      People outside of Christ, those who do not know Jesus cannot escape the slavery of sin.

F.      But the good news is, those who are of Christ, He has removed the shackles of sin off of us.

G.     Now as Christians, we have the freedom to make a choice whether to sin or not, where before we did not have that choice.

2. He reestablished us – to remove us from one place and situation to another.

Colossians 1:13b (HCSB) - …and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves…

A.     The word, transferred in Greek means, to physically move someone or something from one place to another.

1.      A good example:  After I’m done preaching this sermon, I am going to move my Bible from this sanctuary to the church office.

2.      I’m completely going to change rooms.

B.     That is what Christ has done for us.

1.      He took us from stinking, sinking sand and placed our feet on the Solid Rock (Himself).

2.      He took us from under the authority of sin into His Kingdom (authority).

3.      He changed our citizenship.  He changed the rooms that we were in.

C.     How did He do this?

3.   He redeemed us – By buying us back.

Colossians 1:14a (HCSB) - in whom we have redemption,

A.     God created us and gave us life, but because of Adam’s sin, we are all born with a sinful nature, and that sinful nature betrayed us.  We thereby became a slave to sin.  It was a slavery that that we could not redeem ourselves out of, or purchase or buy our freedom.

B.     We needed someone to pay the price.  Jesus did.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (HCSB) - ¹⁸ For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things, like silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.

1.      The price had to be a perfect blood sacrifice, without defect of blemish.

2.      Only Jesus Christ could pay that price, by offering up His own blood.

3.      With that blood He bought us back from the slavery into which our sin had sold us.

4.      That is what it means to be redeemed.

C.     Since He redeemed me, released me from sin slavery, I am His.  I belong to Him.

4. He released us – to forgive, erase, to send our sins away.

Colossians 1:14b (HCSB) - ... the forgiveness of sins.

A.     When you and I place our trust in Jesus, asking Him to forgive us of our sins, here’s what He does.

1.      He applies the blood of Jesus to our hearts.

2.      Those sins that have stained and marked us are erased by His blood.

Psalm 103:11-12 (HCSB) - ¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. ¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Isaiah 53:4-6 (HCSB) - ⁴ Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. ⁶ We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.

CONCL:  There is an old hymn that says, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

That is what Jesus did for us.  Forgave our sins, cast them far from us and Him and gave us the ability to flee temptation and sin.

We are no longer slaves to sin.  But free to serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Next week we are going to see that Jesus opens our eyes.