Cherishing the Old Rugged Cross 1.2 Our sins are forgiven (vv.
20-22a)
TEXT: COLOSSIANS 1:19-23
Proposition—We cherish the old rugged cross for
what it conveys to us about now and the future.
MAIN POINTS
1 What does the cross convey to us about
now?
(vv.19-22a)
1.1 We’re loved by God (v.19)
What happened on the cross at Calvary
was absolutely crucial because of Who
Christ is. It reveals God’s heart.
God the Father is so pleased to have all of
His fullness dwell in Christ (v.19)—the word
“fullness” literally means “with which some-
thing is filled,” and it conveys the idea that
God’s total nature and power dwell in Christ
Jesus—God’s love and power.
The pleasure of God is to love us in spite of
our rebellion. And this is reflected in total in
Christ Jesus and the cross on which He
suffered the cruel death.
We fail. We’re miserable. Regrets and self-
incrimination drive us to discouragement
and despair. “The cross breaks through and
we’re forgiven,” says one pastor.
Sins do just that—make us “alienated (se-
parated)” from the loving God, and the re-
sult is that we become enemies in our mind
by the wicked works (v.21).
But the purpose of God’s fullness in Christ
was reconciliation, a word meaning to bring
back to complete harmony and original
love.
God did just that through Christ—“having
made peace through the blood of [Christ’s]
cross” (v.20).
What does that convey to us? Through the
Lord’s shed blood on the cross, our sins,
which separate us from our relationship
with the loving God, are forgiven. Much
more, God brings us back to complete har-
mony and original love with Him. It’s as if
we’d never sinned or rebelled, we’d never
turned away.
 Looking at the cross today, this is exactly
the message God has always wanted to
convey to us.
2 What does the cross convey to us about the
future? (vv.22b-23)
2.1 We can be emotionally mature
Knowing we’re loved and our sins are for-
given is a good start in life. But we need to
be emotionally mature to meet with all the
challenges ahead in life. The cross conveys
to us that we can be just that.
We become secure through the stabilizing
power of our unchanging standing. The
cross did just that—“to present (us) holy,
and blameless (without blemish or spot),
and irreproachable (free from accusation) in
God’s sight (presence, somewhere beside
or near)” (v.22b).
Not only are we loved and forgiven, but also
exonerated of any charge. Pronounced not
guilty! What a security and assurance that
Christ has attained for us on the cross!
There is, however a danger that we may fall
back into self-justification or self-incrimina-
tion. So we have to keep our focus on the
cross—“continue in (stick with) the faith”
(v.23). We’re “grounded and steadfast” on
the immovable foundation of Christ.
God’s love in Christ on the cross was a
here and now, once for all, always and for-
ever, rock-solid, secure assurance.
2.2 We have the hope of the gospel (v.23)
All of this is culminated in hope if we “are
not moved away from the hope of the gos-
pel…” (v.23), the gospel of the cross!
Hope is an emotion that’s grounded on in-
tellectual conviction that God is faithful, all-
powerful that He intervenes and secures for
His people. Hope and Resurrection go hand
in hand. The cross and the empty tomb
form the foundation of the gospel on which
we have our hope.
Life is tough. But the Lord God who died
and rose again can make all things work to-
gether for good to those who loved God, to
those who are the called according to His
purpose (Rom. 8:28). And more than that,
we have the assurance of eternal life!
CONCLUSION
2/4/2010 at Carmel