Erased and Taken Away – January 18, 2023

Read: Colossians 2:6-15

God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:14

Erased and Taken Away

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Imagine a list of every single sin you committed. On that list there is a section for all the times you worried about something instead of trusting God. It’s followed by another section for all the times you got distracted and didn’t listen to God’s Word. A detailed record of every mean thing you ever thought and every hurtful thing you ever said about your parents, your brothers and sisters, your classmates.

How long would that list be? How sad would it be to read through it? How guilty would you feel after reading it?

Don’t worry! In our reading, we hear the good news that God has gotten rid of that list. The apostle Paul uses two different pictures to describe what God has done to the list of all the sins we’ve committed.

First, he tells us that God erased the record of our sins. How big would an eraser have to be to get rid of so much writing? There’s no eraser in this world big enough to do it.

Instead, God erased the list of all our sins through the blood of Jesus. The blood that Jesus shed while he was hanging from the cross was so precious and so pure that it was able to wash away every sin ever committed by every person who has ever lived.

Second, the apostle Paul tells us that God took that list of our sins and nailed it to the cross. Jesus took every one of our sins away from us, and he put them on himself. He took the blame and the punishment for everything we’ve done wrong. When they nailed Jesus to the cross, it was like they were nailing your sins to the cross.

Psalm 130 says, “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness.”

In Jesus, all your sins are forgiven. Erased. Dead and gone. God doesn’t remember them. He isn’t angry with you because of them. He won’t punish you for them. Thank you, Jesus!

Closing Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for carrying all our sins to the cross and washing them away with your blood. Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

• Is it easy or hard to forgive other people? Why?
• Why did God forgive you all your sins?

Questions for Elementary Age Children

• Do the math. How many sins do you commit in a minute? An hour? A day? A year? A lifetime? How does that help you appreciate how much God has forgiven you?
• If God has forgiven you so generously, what does that mean for the way you forgive others?

Questions for Middle School and Above

• Go through each of the Ten Commandments and consider ways that you have sinned against each one.
• How does God give you a fresh start each day? How can you make the most of it?