Free and Forgiven

Celebrated children’s television host Fred Rogers was also an ordained Presbyterian minister. When he was dying of stomach cancer, he often read Matthew 25 where Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats. “Am I a sheep?” he would ask his wife, Joanne. She would reply, “Fred, if anyone is a sheep, then you are.”

Sometimes it can be difficult to believe that we are fully accepted by God. As Paul finishes his prayer to the Colossians, he celebrates this important truth. Paul affirms that it is not our efforts, but God “who has qualified you to share in the kingdom of his holy people” (v. 12). We have been qualified to share in this inheritance, not because we measured up to a particular standard or because we have fulfilled all the requirements but because of what God has done for us in Christ.

Paul echoes language from Israel’s deliverance from Egypt when he describes the salvation Christ achieved. Just as Israel was enslaved to a foreign kingdom and then redeemed through the mighty acts of God and brought to the Promised Land, we too have been redeemed from the “dominion of darkness” and “brought into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (v. 13).

Paul concludes his prayer by affirming these life-changing truths. We have been redeemed (v. 14). Imagine the joy a slave would have upon being released! That is the image here. This redemption is nothing less than the “forgiveness of sins” (v. 14). Sin, which once held us under its power, has now been broken. Nothing stands between us and God. No wonder Paul encourages the Colossians to give “joyful thanks to the Father” (v. 12).

Pray with Us

Pray for our Admissions department staff who work diligently year-round counseling prospective students and processing hundreds of applications. Chelten Carter, Deborah Moreno, Christopher Toland, and Elizabeth Powell are in our prayers today.

BY Ryan Cook

Dr. Ryan Cook has taught at Moody Bible Institute since 2012. He earned his bachelor of arts in Bible and Theology from Moody and his master of arts in Old Testament from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He has worked in Christian education and served as a pastor in Michigan for seven years. During his time as a professor at Moody, he earned his doctorate from Asbury Theological Seminary. He now lives with his wife, Ashley, and their three children in the Chicagoland area.