Colossians 2:13-15

(Colossians 2:13-15)

『And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;  And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 』

The Apostle Paul describes circumcision from the Old Testament in Colossians in connection with Christ. He said that Christ's circumcision is to take off the bodies of fleshly sins. Undressing means death in the Bible. When a person takes off the tabernacle of the flesh, he must wear the tabernacle in heaven. That is salvation. Christ's circumcision is to shed the old man. It means the death of an old man. And he said, ``Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 』 Christ's circumcision is the death of an old man, and baptism is the resurrection of the dead with Jesus Christ.

Abraham was the first to receive the promise of circumcision in the Old Testament. When did this happen to Abraham? In Genesis 12:1 God said to Abraham, ``Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee

Abraham obeys the Word of God. It is amazing. He leaves his hometown and goes to an unknown land, but this is not salvation, but only the beginning of salvation. But Abraham brings out his nephew, Lot. God told his relatives to leave, but Abraham did not obey God completely when he heard the voice of God. Human beings do not obey God's voice.

He is a thorough master. The beginning of salvation is to enter the path of repentance. In Genesis 13, he has a problem with his nephew Lot. In Genesis 13:8 『And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. 』 Those who repent do not quarrel to win. Envy and contention are physical evidence. So, Abraham leaves his relatives. And God said, "Cut the sacrrifice." After splitting the sacrifice, a fire descends from the sky and burns it.

And Abraham saves Lot from the war, and God lets Abraham meet Melchizedek, so he experiences a spiritual worship of sharing bread and wine. Still, Abraham does not change. In chapters 15-16, although God gave him many offspring, Abraham takes the slave girl Hagar instead of Sarah. He hears God's voice and finds a realistic alternative. We can see that humans still believe in God and live according to their own will.

Even at this level, the modern church declares that it has been saved. It is a lie. The Bible tells us to achieve salvation with a fearful and trembling heart. Even if you take the spiritual experience of meeting Melchizedek, it is not salvation. Abraham takes Hagar and gives birth to Ishmael. It was 11 years after Abraham left Haran at the age of 75. He turned 86. He disobeyed God and gave birth to Ishmael. It is the word of righteousness that is necessary for those who have weak faith.

It means to seek your country and righteousness first. Such a belief that cannot save the soul of another person is a false belief. It is necessary to save the souls of other dying people. Jesus raised disciples. Jesus said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Jesus said again, "If you are ashamed of me before men, I will be ashamed of you before my father and angels." This is God's justice. The initial beginning of salvation is to obtain righteousness. It was said that God considered Abraham's faith righteous. "When Abraham gets righteousness" is the basis for Abraham's salvation. Today's prayer is false. No one can accept God except the born again. To be born again, we must repent and return to God. Repentance is the death of an old man. Repentance is not about making mistakes and reflecting on errors every day, but taking off the old man (self). The old man doesn't die, but what will change from day to day repentance? If you don't repent, you won't be able to reach a born again faith. There is no salvation unless the fleshly old man dies on the cross with Jesus and comes into the covenant of death.

Thirteen years after Abraham gave birth to Ishmael, God said nothing to Abraham. When Ishmael turned 13, God said to Abraham, "I am the Almighty God, and you are perfect before me." God changed the name, "From now on, you are Abraham, not "Abram," and Sarah, not Sarai.

Ishmael was circumcised at the age of 13. After saying circumcision, God said to Abraham, "Abraham, I will give you a child next year." However, Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said, "I am 100 years old, and Sarah is 90 years old. How can we produce children?" This is the same way that the Israelites had a fleshly thought that was no different from the idea of ​​"going into the land of Canaan and dying."

Today, people continue to practice religion, not faith, because they live as owners according to their own habits. There is no time for God to intervene, so nothing happens. It is the life-like belief of Ishmael that leads this religious life. No matter what God says in the Bible, he lives in his own way. Ishmael cannot be Isaac. This is said in Galatians.

Ishmael must be taken out. Ishmael is an old man. Is my faith the life of Ishmael or the life of Isaac? Abraham tells God, "Let me live with Ishmael." Abraham had no intention of obeying God at all. There is no obedience to hearing the voice. If you do not take off your body of physical sin, you will have no choice but to choose Ishmael.

We cannot repent unless we realize that "every ego (old man) who has lived my way so far is the source of sin". In the church today, they are baptizing and receiving baptism without knowing the meaning of baptism. Baptism does not wash away sin, but the old man dies. It is said in 1 Peter 3:21.『 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 』

Most people say that if they are forgiven of their sins through the blood of Jesus Christ, they are saved. But this is wrong. Rather than forgiving sin, it is the fact that sin must die with Jesus Christ. Sin is not forgiveness, but death. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross has a ransom meaning. It is to buy us from Satan for blood. And we who believe in Jesus must also die on the cross with Jesus. It is only by dying with Jesus on the cross that we can achieve righteousness. The same is said in Romans 6:3-6.

The gospel of preaching other Jesus must be gone. It must be broken like Ishmaal. This is the content of Galatians. Faith like Ishmael is a false gospel. Ishmael is a harasser to Isaac. Ishmael is the faith that resists Jacob and helps Esau. Ishmael is not saved. We should consider whether we have the same faith as Ishmael. You can live by responding to God's Word, not responding to situations.

In Colossians 2:13『And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 』 Abraham did not obey God's command until he was 100 years old. After being called at 75, he lived a life of disobedience for 25 years. But he gets Isaac by obeying God. This result is in agreement with Colossians 2:13. The Israelites avoided the birth of the eldest son by the blood of the Lamb and crossed the Red Sea, but in the wilderness they became disobedient, complaining to God. Also, they went into Canaan as a spy, saw with a human eye, and spoke to the people, preventing them from entering Canaan. It is under the wrath of God. The Gospel is not love, but realization of being in wrath. So, the old man must die to live a new life. This is the gospel. It should be thought that only the new life born in the wilderness entered Canaan.