Colossians 2:8-15 (NRSV) See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
If you have sat in on the Life with God class, at some time or another you have heard me ask about whether you know the date of your death. Our first inclination, obviously, is to say no. What is often identified as a “trick question” is actually a question that deals with the reality of those who are “in Christ.” Scripture says we have two natures, the old and new. The new is now empowered to live.
“You were buried with Him in baptism. You were raised with Him through faith in the power of God. When you were dead in your trespasses and sins, God made you alive together with Him, when He forgave us our trespasses and erased our record of sin.”
So the date of our physical death is still known only to the Lord. But the date of our brokenness from God, our spiritual deadness, our eternal death, which “modern” humans avoid by not thinking about it, was dealt with when we were baptized into the power of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our death died.
AND YET: We can talk and think as if we are poor miserable sinners who cannot help ourselves. Or we can talk as if we are doing just fine and have no need to consider our sinfulness. Those are two sides of the coin of our old sinful nature. Our new life in Christ, our new nature, stimulated and strengthened when we hear the proclamation and read the Scriptures, when our Lord’s very body and blood feed us, all serves to loosen our hearts to love as we have been loved. If the problem is really severe and we cannot “beat the rap,” but Christ took it on Himself when He died, we will find Him guiding us to yearn to be holy and perfect, practicing up for eternity! Such peace, as we live our eternal life here, comes nowhere else.
Pastor Tom Trapp, Mission Pastor
Walking the Emmaus Road with the Risen Lord
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XVI, Number 10, May 2015)