Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 334

November 30;     Colossians 2:13;       180/260(III);        ‘Dead No More’

Colosians 2:13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins.

We were dead spiritually, separated from the Lord because of our sins.  Our spirit was ‘dead’ a heart of stone as Ezekiel called it.  God the Father, because of our desperate need, sent Jesus to not only redeem us from our sins and sicknesses, but to change our sinful nature to a godly nature.  The Bible clearly teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ, who never sinned, took our sins upon Himself on the cross.  When we hear the gospel message and believe what Jesus did for us, we are born again, alive with Christ.  Just as death means separation in the Bible, life means united with.  Our sins were forgiven by God, forgotten by God and cleansed forever.  We now become the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ.  Righteousness means the ability to stand in the presence of God the Father without guilt or condemnation as if sin never existed.  Jesus set us free from the condemnation of the devil, accusing us of our past sins, telling us we are not worthy to receive any of God’s blessings or do the work of the ministry.  This is not true, as satan is a liar.  God is our Father, the Bible tells us that He loves us as much as He loves Jesus (John 17:23).  Once we understand the incredible love of the Lord for us and everything that was done so that we can be forever with the Lord, the Lord believes our gratitude and love for what He has done for us will help us decide that we no longer desire to live a sinful life.  We were dead because of sin, now because of Jesus we have eternal life.