Becoming a Brand New Person Through Christ Alone


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Becoming a Brand New Person Through Christ Alone “Colossians: Together for Christ” Colossians 2:11-15

June 17, 2018 BIG IDEA Your salvation does not need to be supplemented by ritualism or self-denial. You are complete in Christ. He is sufficient. He can make you a brand new person!

THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE Context: False teachers in Colossae were teaching that Christ was not sufficient for salvation. They taught that rituals and ceremonies were needed too. But Paul said no. Christ is all we need. Colossians 2:11-15 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

MAIN IDEAS Christ is the key to becoming a new person. It isn’t about what you do—it’s about what you believe. It comes down to believing three points of truth regarding what Jesus has done for you to make you a new person:   

You are saved by Christ alone. You are forgiven by Christ alone. You gain victory through Christ alone.

Ridgewood Church www.myrwc.org

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DISCUSSION & APPLICATION 1. You Are Not Saved by Ceremonies or Outward Acts, But by Christ Alone Colossians 2:11-12 – In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. The backdrop of this letter is Paul’s concern that the Colossians not be led astray by false teachers. Apparently, along with their erroneous theology that Christ was not sufficient for salvation, errorists were teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation. Circumcision was originally used by God to symbolize a covenant relationship with Israel. Christ’s entrance into our world changed that. He makes us new. We are grafted into the promises of Israel. Salvation isn’t accomplished by outward symbolism but by the Lord’s activity in our heart. Baptism has replaced circumcision as an outward sign of our relationship to God. Romans 6:3-4 – Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. a. Why do people drift toward legalism regarding their relationship with God?

b. Have you been baptized? Why or why not? Talk about the importance of baptism in the life of the believer (v. 12).

2. You Are Forgiven by Christ Alone Colossians 2:13-14 – And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Ridgewood Church www.myrwc.org

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The theological truth regarding your spiritual restoration is thick in these two verses. Paul’s description would have been easily understood by his readers. Before you can appreciate forgiveness, it’s important to understand the extent of that forgiveness. The truth is: you’ve been brought back from the dead. But you were raised with Christ because your debt of sin was cancelled on the cross. John MacArthur: “Paul says here that God has wiped off our certificate of debt, having nailed it to the cross. Not a trace of it remains to be held against us. Our forgiveness is complete.” Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. a. Christianity is the only religion in the world that doesn’t ask us to work our way to God. What does it ask us to do? Read Ephesians 2:8-9 (above) for clues.

b. Now would be a good time to thank Jesus for paying the ultimate price that you may be forgiven of sin. When you walk in the knowledge of forgiveness, you can be a brand new person.

3. You Can Gain Victory Through Christ Alone Colossians 2:15 – He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Christ has won total and complete victory over the forces of darkness. You can choose to walk in freedom and victory, or you can choose to remain stuck. But the truth of the matter is: your Lord and Savior already put satanic entities to shame. Galatians 6:14 – But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Ridgewood Church www.myrwc.org

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a. The picture in Colossians 2:15 is of a Roman general parading his captives down a main thoroughfare of Rome. Satan has been humiliated in this same way. All of his work to dethrone Christ failed on the cross when Jesus exclaimed: “It is finished!” What does this truth mean to you today as you battle sin and struggle to find victory?

The practical outworking of this truth is breathtaking. We can understand the importance of baptism (Acts 22:14-16), that we have been brought back from the dead, that forgiveness is complete and final (Psalm 32:1; Isaiah 1:18; 1 John 1:9), and victory is ours. b. What will you do in order to make sure others can gain a saving relationship with Jesus Christ?

PRAY Lord, this is amazing stuff. I can’t believe how freeing it is to know that I am absolutely and totally forgiven. I owe you a massive debt of gratitude, yet it was you that paid my debt. Thank you. Please empower me to make this amazing message known. Amen.

DIG DEEPER For further study this week: 

“Jesus Paid It All” – a blog from Jonathan Parnell: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/jesus-paid-it-all



Justified by Faith Alone – a book from R.C. Sproul (Crossway)

NEXT WEEK’S BIG IDEA Avoid legalism, which obscures the grace of Christ – Colossians 2:16-17

Ridgewood Church www.myrwc.org

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