“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister….” Colossians 1:19-23

It was the plan of God the Father to send His only-begotten Son into the world, a true man, to establish peace between God and man by shedding His holy and precious blood upon the cross for the sins of the whole world. And that is what Jesus has done through His death and resurrection. He took the sins of all mankind upon Himself and paid in full the just punishment, atoning for the sins of all, that we might be reconciled to God. His resurrection is proof that God accepted His sacrifice as full payment for mankind’s sin.

The people of Colosse, as well as you and I, were at one time separated from God and alienated from Him in our minds because of wicked works. Instead of loving God and gladly and willingly seeking His perfect will, we were in rebellion against Him and went our own way, desiring and doing what we deemed to be pleasing and best for us.

But even while we were yet in rebellion against our God and Maker, He gave His Son to redeem us, pay the price for our sins and win our reconciliation (cf. Rom. 5:6-11). The Colossians — and all believers today — are reconciled only “in the body of His flesh through death.”

And why did Jesus die for our sins, and the sins of the world? Why did He pay the price for our reconciliation and the reconciliation of all mankind? That He might present us “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.”

Jesus died on the cross and paid the just punishment for your sins and mine — indeed, for the sins of the whole world — that He might present us to Himself without sin, unblameable and unreproveable in His sight! Jesus paid the penalty for your sins and mine that God might pardon and forgive us and that we might be presented to the Father free of all sin and guilt.

How are we reconciled and forgiven? How can we be presented holy and righteous and unblameable in His sight? Through faith in Jesus! This pardon and forgiveness, this reconciliation won for us by Christ Jesus, becomes our own simply by believing the Word of God which promises to us reconciliation and forgiveness through Jesus’ blood shed for us on the cross! That is how the believers in Colosse were reconciled and became saints in God’s eyes, and that is how you and I can be reconciled and presented holy and righteous before our heavenly Father.

It is as Paul says: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.” The Holy Spirit worked faith in the Colossian believers’ hearts and He continues to call us to faith in Jesus yet today. It is “faith of the operation of God” (Col. 2:12) because it is God the Holy Spirit who creates such faith in our hearts through the preaching of the Gospel.

Jesus, God the Son in human flesh, atoned for the sins of all by His innocent sufferings and death in our stead. He reconciled the Colossians, and He reconciles you and me, by paying in full upon the cross and then bringing us to trust in Him for pardon and forgiveness. In Jesus, there is reconciliation and forgiveness. Through faith in Jesus, we can be presented before God the Father holy and without blame.

Trust in Jesus — He has done it all and we are complete in Him! Believe what God tells you in His Word. By the working of God’s Spirit, trust that through faith in Jesus, no matter how great your sins have been, you have forgiveness and life in God’s eternal kingdom. Trust that in Jesus you are indeed counted by God as “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.”

O Jesus precious Savior, thank You for going to the cross and shedding Your holy and precious blood to redeem me and make me acceptable and righteous in Your sight. Grant me faith to trust in You for pardon and forgiveness, and preserve me in that faith unto life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from King James Version of the Bible]

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 14:12 (cf. Prov. 16:25).

This verse appears in two places in the Book of Proverbs (the verses are identical in the Hebrew) and that, perhaps, should draw our attention to the truth expressed by these words: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

What does it mean? People think they are doing right and walking in the right way but they are wrong! Instead of leading to life eternal, the end result of their path in this life is death and eternal damnation!

And, how true this is! People are convinced that they know God and are walking in His ways when, in fact, they have formed an image of God in their minds which is inconsistent with the God who has revealed Himself to mankind in the Bible.

Thus, so many assume that God just loves and accepts everyone as they are and would condemn no one to hell — except for, maybe, the worst of criminals. They think that the way to be acceptable to God is through love and tolerance of the views and lifestyles of others — except, maybe the views and lifestyles of Bible-believing Christians, whom they regard as unloving and intolerant.

And their way seems right to them. It fits their way of thinking and their views regarding God.

“But the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Instead of receiving in faith the life that God offers and gives through faith in the Son, Christ Jesus, they are on their way to eternal death and damnation while thinking they are on the path of life.

And, of course, this is a danger for all of us. We are convinced we are on the right path, that we are headed to eternal life and joy in heaven, but are we? The only way to know is to compare our views about God and our lives to His revelation in the pages of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are infected and corrupted by sin and easily deceive us, but His Word “is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Ps. 19:8; cf. Jer. 17:9).

The Bible teaches that God’s commandments are good and right and reveal His will for us (Rom. 7:12). The problem is that we fail to keep them as He requires (Rom. 7:10ff.). As the Bible says, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Eccl. 7:20).

And what does the Bible say of God? It teaches us that He is a just God who punishes sin but also a merciful God who forgives transgression and sin when we repent and look to Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for pardon and forgiveness.

God Himself says, “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Ex. 20:5-6; cf. 34:6-7).

In Psalm 130, we read: “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared … Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (3-4,7-8; cf. Ps. 32:1-5).

The Bible calls upon all to “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19; cf. Luke 24:46-47).

If we continue on in our sinful ways, the end result is death, spiritual and eternal. If, by the grace of God, we repent and look in faith to the perfect life and innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus in our stead, the end result is God’s pardon and forgiveness and His gift of life eternal! “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

What does all this mean for you and for me? The answer is quite clear:

1) Don’t assume you are on the right path. Rather, examine your faith and life in the light of Holy Scripture that you might know the truth and see your sinfulness and your need for a Savior.

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Cor. 13:5).

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24).

2) Don’t assume you are righteous and acceptable to God because of your belief in God and your Christian life, but acknowledge and repent of your sins and place your faith in the blood of Christ shed for you to atone for your sins and the sins of the world.

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:7 — 2:2).

3) Don’t assume you can maintain your faith and life apart from God’s means but continue in His Word and Sacraments that the Holy Spirit may continue His gracious working in you and preserve you in the true faith unto life everlasting.

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:14-15).

In regard to the Lord’s Supper, Jesus commanded His disciples: “This do ye…” (1 Cor. 11:25).

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

God graciously grant to you a right knowledge of the truth that you may repent of all sins and evil and trust in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for pardon and forgiveness. Amen.

The Confession
I now ask you in the presence of Almighty God, who searcheth the heart: Do you truly acknowledge, confess, and lament that you are by nature sinful and that by omitting to do good and by doing evil you have in thought, word and deed, grieved and offended your God and Saviour, and thereby justly deserved His condemnation? If this be the sincere confession of your hearts, declare it by saying: Yes.

Answer: Yes.

Do you truly believe that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and that all who believe on His Name receive the forgiveness of sins? Do you, therefore, earnestly desire to be delivered from all your sins, and are you confident that it is the gracious will of your Heavenly Father, for Christ’s Sake, to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness? If so, confess it by saying: Yes.

Answer: Yes.

Is it your earnest purpose, henceforth, to be obedient to the Holy Spirit, so as to hate and forsake all manner of sin, to live as in God’s presence, and to strive daily after holiness of heart and life? If so, answer: Yes.

Answer: Yes.

Let us humbly kneel, and make confession unto God, imploring His forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord.

O God, our Heavenly Father, I confess unto Thee that I have grievously sinned against Thee in many ways; not only by outward transgression but also by secret thoughts and desires which I cannot fully understand but which are all known unto Thee. I do earnestly repent, and am heartily sorry for these my offenses, and I beseech Thee of Thy great goodness to have mercy upon me and, for the sake of Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to forgive my sins and graciously to help my infirmities. Amen.

The Absolution
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, hath had mercy upon us and, for the sake of the sufferings, death and resurrection of His dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, forgiveth us all our sins. As a minister of the Church of Jesus Christ, and by His authority, I, therefore, declare unto you who do truly repent and believe in Him, the entire forgiveness of all your sins in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

[On the other hand, by the same authority, I declare unto the impenitent and unbelieving, that so long as they continue in their impenitence, God hath not forgiven their sins, and will assuredly visit their iniquities upon them if they turn not from their evil ways and come to true repentance and faith in Christ ere the day of grace be ended.]

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven: Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

The Collect for Peace
O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels and all just works do proceed, give unto Thy servants that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey Thy commandments, and also that by Thee, we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen

The Benediction:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:15-18

Who is Jesus Christ? The Apostle Paul answers that question in unmistakable terms. Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” In other words, if you desire to know God, know Jesus, for He is God Himself in human flesh.

The Gospel of John (1:1,14,18) states of Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth … No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

Jesus is the firstborn of all creation – not in the sense of being created, but in that all was created by Him and for Him, and He is the inheritor of all. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Again, the Gospel of John says (1:3,4): “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

Jesus is before all things, for in the beginning He was. He is the great “I AM,” Jehovah God in the flesh (cf. Ex. 3:14; John 8:58).

Jesus is the head of the body, the church, for He loved the church and gave Himself for it – suffering and dying upon the cross for the sins of all – that He might present the church (all who have faith in Christ) to Himself, “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Col. 1:22; cf. Eph. 5:25ff.).

Jesus is the firstborn from the dead because He died for the sins of all and rose again from the dead on the third day. He is firstborn because all who trust in Him for forgiveness and life will also be raised up with glorified bodies on the last day to live and reign with Him forever in His eternal kingdom.

Paul’s point to the Colossian believers and to us? Jesus is indeed God Himself in human flesh, being miraculously conceived and born of the Virgin Mary, and we are complete in Him. He is our creator and He has accomplished our salvation by His innocent sufferings and death in our stead. As He rose from the dead on the third day, so He will raise up on the last day all who trust in Him and grant them life everlasting in His heavenly kingdom. Christ Jesus is our life and hope! We need look nowhere else!

O dearest Lord Jesus, Son of God and Son of man, thank You for creating us and giving us life; and thank You for redeeming us with Your holy and precious blood shed for us on the cross that we might be granted forgiveness, new life and a place with You in Your eternal kingdom. Keep us steadfast in You. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]

“Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.” Psalm 19:12-13

So many times, we do not even see or understand that we have sinned. We don’t recognize our faults and don’t realize that we are unclean before our holy God and deserving of nothing but His eternal wrath and punishment.

When we read and study God’s Word, it reveals our sinfulness. The Holy Spirit, who authored the Scriptures, shows us what God desires of us and reveals to us that we do not measure up and have garnered the wages of our sinfulness — eternal death and damnation!

That is why David, in Psalm 19, says, “Who can understand his errors?” and prays that God would cleanse him from his secret faults — faults that he does not even see in himself and recognize.

This is also what we do in our general confession when we ask God to forgive us all our sins of thought, word and deed, both sins of omission and sins of commission. We ask God to forgive us all our sins for Jesus’ sake, those we know and recognize as sin and even those sins we do not know and feel in our hearts.

And, we are assured that God, for the sake of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Indeed, the Bible tells us: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (cf. 1 John 1:9). And this is so because “Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2).

Presumptuous Sins

David continues his prayer: “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.”

What are presumptuous sins? we might ask. These are those sins we know are wrong and contrary to God’s commandments and, yet, we willfully choose to go ahead and do them, presuming that God will deal with us in mercy and not condemn us for our wickedness.

John Bunyan (author of Pilgrim’s Progress) once referred to sin as “the dare of God’s justice, the rape of His mercy, the jeer of His patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of His love.” And this is a fitting description of presumptuous sins. Those who commit them treat the blood of Christ, shed for the sins of all upon the cross, as a common and worthless thing to be used as a license to indulge in the sinful desires of our flesh (cf. Heb. 10:26-31). Presumptuous sins are, indeed, the “rape of His mercy” in Christ Jesus!

And, of course, the Scriptures warn against them, telling us that, if we go on sinning wilfully after we have learned of Christ, we should not expect to receive pardon and forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice (Heb. 10:26-27; 2 Pet. 2:18-22).
Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

To the believers in Ephesus, he wrote: “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them” (Eph. 5:5-7).

To the churches of Galatia, he wrote: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21).

That is why David prays that the Lord would hold him back from following his own lusts and committing presumptuous sins. He recognized that His sinful flesh longed to plunge forward into sin and He needed God to hold him back from such sin and eternal ruin.

David adds, “Let them not have dominion over me.”

David knew well the dangers of presumptuous sin. Going against his knowledge of God’s commandments, he lusted after Bathsheba and committed adultery with her. Then, he tried to hide and cover up his sin and ended up murdering Bathsheba’s husband Uriah to do it. And, had God not sent Nathan the prophet to rebuke David and call him to repentance, he would have been lost forever (Read 2 Samuel 11-12).

Sin is deceitful and, once we give in to its desire, we easily become entangled and enslaved by it. We know it’s wrong to drink to excess or take mind-altering drugs but, once we give in, we find ourselves giving in again and again until we cannot stop. We know that sexual immorality, pornography and adultery are wrong but, once we give in just a little, we become addicted and enslaved. We know it is wrong to be dishonest in our dealings with others but one deception leads to another and another. We know we should take the time to hear God’s Word and worship and serve Him but, once we start neglecting to do so, it becomes easier and easier.

The apostle Paul wrote: “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Rom. 6:15-16).

Thus, we pray with David, “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.”

We ask God to graciously forgive all our sins — both those we know and those which are unknown to us — for the sake of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, and God pardons our sins for Jesus’ sake. And we pray that God would keep us back from following our sinful desires into presumptuous sins which so easily entangle and ensnare us and lead us away from Christ Jesus our Savior to our eternal ruin!

O gracious and merciful God, we have sinned in our thoughts, desires, words and actions. Some of our sins we know and recognize and others are known only to You. Forgive all our sins for Jesus’ sake. Cleanse our hearts and souls and make us acceptable in Your sight through the shed blood of Christ Jesus. Keep us back from presumptuous sins and do not let them gain the upper hand and rule over us. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:6-9

John the Baptist was sent by God to bear witness to Jesus Christ, God’s Son and the light of the world. John was “the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3). He did not seek to gain a following for himself but called upon all people to repent of their sins and trust in the Messiah and Savior who was about to appear. And John testified of Jesus, that He is God the Son and the Savior who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29,34).

As believers, we too bear witness to Jesus, the light of the world, that all might repent of their sinful ways and place their trust in Him for forgiveness and life everlasting (Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47)! We do not proclaim ourselves to be the light but Jesus, for only He is the light and life of men. We of ourselves cannot forgive sins or give life everlasting, but Jesus paid in full for the sins of the world when He suffered and died on the cross and rose again, and Jesus offers to all forgiveness of sins and the everlasting joys of heaven.

Jesus is the true light that shines upon the people of this world. By means of His Word, He reveals the sins and shortcomings of each of us and He offers to us forgiveness and life through faith in His name. As believers, we reflect that light and point others to Jesus that they too might know Him and trust in Him for life and salvation.

Dear Jesus, grant that we would not proclaim ourselves to be the light and seek to gain a following for ourselves. But, rather, grant that we would proclaim You to be the light of the world and the only Savior of mankind! Amen.

[Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible]