In my relatively limited years as a student of theology and a pastor, I have learned a lot. Some things I learned in the classroom, some things I learned on the job, and some insights have just sort of emerged as I study different parts of the Bible in different contexts and from different perspectives. Over the years, though, one of things I’ve learned is most difficult to explain and teach is this idea of salvation as a free gift of God. What I believe and what I understand the Bible to say is that salvation through Jesus Christ is a gift without price. There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve God’s salvation. But, of course, if we are to receive salvation through Jesus Christ, we have to accept that gift, which means that technically we ARE doing something; namely, making a decision. And then once we are saved, our lives are transformed by Christ and we *should* be living in a new way, which again means we are doing something; in this case, living differently. So you can see, as you sort of follow my train of thought, how difficult it is to explain that God offers us this free gift; a gift without price, a gift of which we are not deserving, a gift, in fact, which there is nothing we can do to deserve it.
Well, this morning, as we continue our journey through the epistle to the Colossians, we come to this incredibly dense passage that you heard a few moments ago. There’s a lot going on here, but the underlying message the writer is relaying centers around this gift of salvation. The writer has given us probably one of the most complete descriptions of what Christ accomplished on the cross, and what his sacrifice means for all humanity in all times and places. Here is this man, who is also fully God. He is over every ruler and authority. Once, we were no people, we were dead. But we have been buried with him through baptism, and thus raised to new life through faith in the power of God. When we were dead because of the things we had done wrong, God made us alive with Christ. He destroyed the record of debt we owed, and everything working against us. “He canceled it by nailing it to the cross.” And at the same time, he disarmed the rulers and authorities and exposed them to public disgrace. Sure, it may have all happened at a certain time in a specific place, but what the writer wants the Colossians and all people to know is that this sacrifice is for us, too. All the authorities and rulers that might try to take over your life are included in the ones shamed by the triumph of God in the cross of Jesus. It’s already done. We don’t have to do anything!
This is our gift! This is our salvation! We don’t have to do anything, all we need is to be plugged in to Christ, the author of our salvation! I think we have so much trouble comprehending this message and this idea because we are so independent-minded and individualistic. We live in this “dog eat dog” world where nobody does anything for anybody unless they will benefit the most. We are taught that rewards have to be earned, and that debts have to be repaid. Society tells us that if we receive a gift, we must give one in return. And, of course, there’s that ever present economic principle, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” And our lives are structured by these principles, these powers, just as life in the ancient middle East was structured by Roman and other pagan powers.
It’s really no wonder it’s hard for us to fully comprehend what Jesus did when he died on the cross; how he somehow saved us in that moment. Here is something that happened thousands of years ago, long before we—or even our grandparents—existed. It happened when a group of people living in the context of a society that doesn’t even exist anymore nailed a man to the cross. They thought they were shaming that man and all he stood for, but because of who he was, something entirely different happened. They were shamed, the rotten powers that would put to death an innocent man. But not just those powers, somehow, mysteriously, Christ’s work extends backwards and forwards to all time. All evil powers are brought to shame in light of the cross, and because of that, those of us in all times and all places are freed from those powers and forgiven of the sin that came when we lived under such worldly power. The sin died with Christ on the cross, and with Christ, we are raised to new life. This is God’s gift to us, because God loves us so much.
Author and speaker Brennan Manning has an amazing story about how he got the name "Brennan." While growing up, his best friend was Ray. The two of them did everything together: bought a car together as teenagers, double-dated together, went to school together and so forth. They even enlisted in the Army together, went to boot camp together and fought on the frontlines together. One night while sitting in a foxhole, Brennan was reminiscing about the old days in Brooklyn while Ray listened and ate a chocolate bar. Suddenly a live grenade came into the foxhole. Ray looked at Brennan, smiled, dropped his chocolate bar and threw himself on the live grenade. It exploded, killing Ray, but Brennan's life was spared.
When Brennan became a priest he was instructed to take on the name of a saint. He thought of his friend, Ray Brennan. So he took on the name "Brennan." Years later he went to visit Ray's mother in Brooklyn. They sat up late one night having tea when Brennan asked her, "Do you think Ray loved me?" Mrs. Brennan got up off the couch, shook her finger in front of Brennan's face and shouted, "What more could he have done for you?" Brennan said that at that moment he experienced an epiphany. He imagined himself standing before the cross of Jesus wondering, Does God really love me? And Jesus' mother Mary pointing to her son, saying, "What more could he have done for you?"
The cross of Jesus is God's way of doing all he could do for us. And yet we often wonder: Does God really love me? Am I important to God? How could God care about me? But those questions surface in our brains because we’re not plugged into God’s power through Jesus Christ; because we get caught up in the snares of this world, and try and save ourselves, and all that happens is we end up on a dead-end road, defeated an disappointed. But God in Christ Jesus has already defeated all these worldly powers, he has stripped away everything that might ever threaten us. And he says, “Look, I’ve got this. You just have to trust me.” Isn’t that amazing?
We go through our lives thinking we have to do “this, that, or the other.” We think we have to “earn” our keep and make ourselves worthy. But really all we have to do is accept this gift that is offered to us; a gift that nullifies the powers that enslave us and raises us into this glorious new life.
And not only does Christ's sacrifice free us from these powers, but he also takes away all our past sin that was a result of living according to worldly trappings. That’s the other really amazing thing about Christ’s sacrifice, as the writer of Colossians reminds his readers. Not only are we freed, we are offered forgiveness, even for past mistakes. And we don’t even have to redeem ourselves, Christ has already done that, we just have to "plug in" and accept the forgiveness that he offers.
A few years ago, there was a woman in California who began having visions of Jesus. Jesus would come and sit next to the woman and it was almost as if she could talk to him. Well, the visions persisted, and the woman became concerned that there might be something more she needed to be doing, that perhaps God was trying to tell or something. And so she went to the priest. She sat down in his office and explained what had been happening. The priest listened intently, but as we all know, visions are complicated things, and the priest didn’t really know what to make of it all. So the priest just said, “Here’s what I want you to do. Next time you have one of these visions of Jesus, I want you to call me immediately.” The woman was anxious, of course, to bring this all to some sort of resolution, so she returned home prepared to call the priest the next time she had another vision of Christ. Sure enough, a few days later, Jesus came and sat near the woman again. As soon as Jesus left her vision, the woman picked up the phone and called the priest to tell him about her latest vision.
Again, the priest listened intently as she shared the details about where she was and what she was doing and how Jesus was dressed and so on. Then the priest said, “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. Next time you have a vision, I want you to ask Jesus what I confessed in my last confessional.”
Well, the woman agreed and a few weeks later, she had another vision of Jesus. Except this time, she talked to him. “Jesus,” she questioned, “What did the priest confess in his last confessional?”
Jesus looked at the woman and without a moment’s hesitation he replied, “I’ve forgotten.”
I've forgotten...Ages before we even entered this world, God had a plan for how he would offer life to all people. Long before he knew us, or all the countless mistakes we would make, Christ threw himself over all the powers that threaten to take our life because he loves us so much. He gave his life for us. The work is done, the mistakes are forgotten. We are offered new life in Christ, and all we have to do is get plugged in. Because Christ is all we need.
Will you receive this amazing gift? Will you plug-in to Christ's power alone? Will you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior?
