God Is Big Enough To Conquer My Sin Series

Colossian 2:11-15 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (ESV).

If you are ever in debt and can’t pay up, you will know just what trouble you are in because your creditor will pursue you until you do. The collection agents and then the bailiffs may be sent to track you down and extract by any means what you owe until your debt is cleared. For some people, there comes a time when what they owe is no longer manageable and they must declare bankruptcy. The debt is so high that they will never be able to pay, and just get further and further in debt.

Religion is the attempt to pay a debt to God. It is an attempt to perform work that might pay the bill owed. In ancient Colossi, the Colossians were dealing with a religious heresy which was a mixture of pagan philosophy with Jewish legalism. Not surprisingly, the Colossian false teachers, like the Judaizers Paul confronted in Galatia, were teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation. It was a religious work that would satisfy God.

Our sins are to God like a bad debt. Sin is an offense against God`s holy law. When we break that law, we incur a debt to the law. There is only one person who lived a perfect life that is able to pay. That person is Jesus Christ. He came to earth to be the final priest for His people. He lived a perfect life and He offered Himself for the debt of sin. That debt was the wrath of God. He paid for it with His life. When the father raised Him to life, He showed that the debt was paid in full. People have the choice to either trust in Christ as their representative to pay God`s debt or attempt to pay it themselves, and just get further and further in debt.

In Colossians 2:11-15, the Apostle Paul shows three ways how "God is Big Enough to Conquer our sin". In Christ, the debt of sin is fully paid, and we have: 1) Complete Salvation (Col. 2:11–12), 2) Complete Forgiveness (Col. 2:13-14), and 3) Complete Victory (Col. 2:15).

God is Big Enough to Conquer our sin, for in Christ we have:

1) Complete Salvation (Col. 2:11–12)

Colossians 2:11-12 [11]In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, [12]having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (ESV)

We will spend most of our time on this first point. It is significant that the action described in verses 11–12 is in the past tense (the Greek aorist): “you were circumcised” perietmethete); “having been buried” (syntaphentes); “having been … raised” (synegerthete). In other words, these are realities that believers already possess by virtue of their union with Christ…. There is no need to look for any (higher level) spiritual experience to supplement faith. The false teaching has nothing to offer that is not already theirs in Christ. (Patzia, A. G. (2011). Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon (p. 57). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)

Every Jewish boy from an orthodox home is circumcised on the eighth day after his birth (Lev. 12:2–3). It is the sign that he belongs to the covenant nation (Gen. 17:10–14). That sign, like all outward signs, such as water baptism, do not redeem from sin. Circumcision is a minor surgical operation in which the knife was applied to the flesh of the male child. Spiritually it signified death to the flesh, or a putting aside of the evil, corrupt, unregenerate nature of man. Unfortunately, the Jewish people became occupied with the literal ceremony but neglected its spiritual meaning. In trying to achieve favor with God through ceremonies and good works, they were saying in effect that there was something in human flesh which could please God. Nothing could be further from the truth. (MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 2003). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.). From the beginning, circumcision was used symbolically to illustrate the desperate need man had for cleansing of the heart. In Deuteronomy 10:16 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying “Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more.” Deuteronomy 30:6 adds, “Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.” God was always concerned with the heart. Performing the physical rite was an act of obedience that indicated a heart that desires to obey God but the physical rite itself did not please God without the heart obedience. True circumcision was understood eschatologically , since it served as the basis for the everlasting covenant (O’Brien, P. T. (1982). Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 44, p. 115). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).