Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Galatians 3:13
What shall a country do when prisons overflow with convicts? It is said that England, by the year 1789, had deported to Australia 160,000 people with prison records. Some had been imprisoned because they couldn't pay their debts. In the new world they could get another start.
Spiritually speaking, all persons since the time Adam and Eve fell into sin have been in need of forsaking the past and starting life with a clean slate. All had made many debts by their sins against God's moral law, the Ten Commandments. Saint Paul states that "the written code, with its regulations" (Colossians 2:14), was against them. We were all head-over-heels in debt. And none of us could ever make restitution for our wrongdoing. Jesus made this clear in His parable of a man who owed his employer 10,000 talents. Even if his wife and children were sold into slavery, he could never repay. This is the situation of every sinner in relation to a holy God.
How does God deal with His debtors? He has a better plan than to export them to Australia. He doesn't want to banish them from His sight or to exile them to a planet where living conditions would be severe. Instead of sending them away to work out their own salvation, He sent His Son into the world and made Him the consummate Debtor in behalf of us all. With the price of His own blood, Jesus Christ paid for all our debts and set us free. No second payment, either by the Savior or by us, will ever be demanded. The written code is fulfilled, and the debts are canceled. This is what faith in the merit and mediation of Jesus Christ does.
The apostle states what the Christian's response to God's grace should be: "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness" (Colossians 2:6). Surely this is also how we react.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I want to live under You in Your kingdom and serve You. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: 2 Chronicles 36 Daniel 1-2 Titus 1
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