Introduction
When the costly battle of Iwo Jima was won, there were still around 3,000 Japanese troops on the island. The island was won, there was no possibility of Allied defeat, yet the fighting continued for days. In fact, the last Japanese soldier surrendered six years after the victory. This is a small picture of a wonderful spiritual reality. When Jesus Christ died on the cross and then rose again, He defeated Satan, sin, and death – completely. The war is won. There is no possibility of a reversal. Yet we continue to fight temptation and sin every day. Until Jesus returns, we continue to fight, and sometimes it feels like things go back and forth. When we look at the big picture, though, we realize that we are only closing up a finished victory. Colossians 2:11-15 speaks of this victory and the four ways a Christian has victory over sin through Christ. Remembering these realities of sin’s defeat will give you power in your fight against sin every day because, if you are a Christian, you have won, will win, and you can’t lose. Learn more about this glorious reality from Colossians…
Observation
Pray
Before studying this encouraging passage, pray and ask God to help you understand it not only for others, but for yourself and your own life.
Read Focus Verses
Read Colossians 2:11-15 see what it says about a Christian’s relationship to sin.
Context
Read these verses in the context of verses 8-15 to see more about the nature of Christ and how that relates to this passage.
Circumcision
What does this circumcision without hands do in a believer’s life?
Buried and Risen
What does verse 12 say is a picture of being buried and rising with Christ?
Forgiven
When God forgives a person, what does He change about them according to verse 13?
Blotted Out
What is blotted out in verse 14?
How?
What did God do with that record of sin and its debt such that it is cancelled?
Triumphal Show
What has Christ made an open show of in verse 15?
Keywords – Sin and Flesh
You can see that the words denoting sin and the flesh are critical to understanding this passage. By highlighting them you’ll be able to see a Christian’s relationship to them.
Defeated
Mark the words denoting sin and the flesh in Colossians 2:11-15.
Interpretation
Structure
This passage is written with the results first and the reason last, so let’s begin at the heart of the passage and work our way to the response we should have. Who is it that wins this victory for Christians?
Blotting Out
The Bible speaks many times of records being blotted out – completely obliterated. Notice the parallel between Isaiah 44:22 and Colossians 2:14.
Nailed to His Cross
Verse 14 speaks of the record of our sins being nailed to Christ’s cross. Reflect on that glorious thought in the middle verse of “It Is Well with My Soul.”
The Enemy
We are introduced to the same enemy mentioned in Colossians 2:15 in Ephesians 6:12.
No Power
Notice what Romans 8:38-39 says about the powerlessness of these dark enemies.
An Open Show
When a Roman General would return from victory, he would bring the captured army’s generals with him. This would be part of his homecoming parade to show the Roman citizens that the enemy had been completely vanquished. Why is that picture used for what Jesus Christ did to the world, the flesh, and the devil which He conquered on our behalf?
Sin’s Wages
To better understand the power of verse 14, read Romans 6:23.
His Cross
Why did Jesus Christ have to die to pay the debts we owe so that they could be blotted out?
Baptism
Verses 13-14 of today’s passage speak of the picture of baptism and how it symbolizes a Christian’s relationship to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His victory over sin and death. Romans 6 expands on this theme. Read verses 3-12.
Symbolize
How does baptism symbolize a Christian’s relationship to sin through Christ?
Risen
Romans 6 emphasizes that through Christ’s death and resurrection a Christian is dead to sin and alive to serving God. Colossians 3 speaks of the same theme. Read the first 4 verses to see the beginning of this thought.
Mindset
On what is a Christian’s mind to be set?
Circumcision
In Genesis, God commanded Abraham that all the Israelites were to be circumcised as a sign of the covenant God had made with them that made them His special people. But not everyone who was physically circumcised was a believer with eternal salvation. So in Deuteronomy 30:6 God promised that one day He would circumcise their hearts spiritually by cutting away the sinful flesh.
Results
According to this verse in Deuteronomy, what is the result in someone’s life when God takes away the old man?
Your Own Words
You’ve seen that a believer has victory over sin in four ways: 1. Christ’s conquest on the cross 2. Being dead to sin in Christ 3. Having new life through Christ’s resurrection 4. Putting off the old man and having the heart purified. How would you explain this passage to someone who asked you what it meant?
Application
Are You Sure
Are you so sure that your sins have been blotted out and that you are free from the power of death and sin, that you can say “It is well with my soul” no matter what is happening around you? Is there something in your life that needs to change?
Living Free
If you are a Christian, in what ways do you need to begin to live like sin is defeated and you are free from it, having conquered it through Christ?
Wrapup
Closing
We hope this study has helped you understand the four ways a Christian is free from sin.
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