"He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross." - Colossians 2:14-15
When we receive a fabulous gift, what do we do? Well, first, we get really excited. We stare at it. We show it to everyone. We start using or wearing it. We just have that great feeling that someone cared enough to give us this gift. Then, in most cases, after a few days, weeks or months, the new wears off and even if we still use it, the gift has lost its pizazz.
Unfortunately, this is also true with a lot of Christians. At first, we're so excited, we want the world to know. Then time passes and life happens. All of the sudden, we take for granted the incredible gift we were given when Jesus died for our sins. It's not that we don't care anymore, but we have spoken about it so routinely that we might not comprehend the full scope of this gift.
You see, it's as though all of our sins were listed on a writing board. And then Christ came along with a cloth and erased them forever. It's as though they were never even there. On that board, somebody put a receipt that says, "PAID IN FULL." And Christ did it all. For you. For me. Our sins have been nailed to the cross; they've been taken care of. Nothing more is needed for forgiveness other than our accepting this amazing gift.
Are you guilty of becoming a routine Christian? Today, ask God to forgive you and renew His Spirit within you. Or have you not yet claimed the liberating forgiveness of knowing that Christ has paid the full debt of your sins? If that's you, claim it today. Let Christ give you a "paid in full" clean slate. It's your choice. Accept His gift through faith – do it right now.
