"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
(Colossians 1:13-14 ESV)
As we visit with others, and as we search our own heart, we find a belief that is held in common. We generally think of ourselves as good people. And we think of ourselves as a deserving people.
Although we realize our weakness and imperfection, we believe that we’re, by nature, righteous. We believe that our intentions are generally good. And we believe we’re, for this reason, deserving of God's blessings.
We believe that we enter into the world in this state. We believe we enter this world in a state of innocence. We believe we begin this life as children of light. And we believe that, by nature, we are children of God.
This, however, is not the case. And we see this as we look at the passage above. Paul, in this passage, tells us that we were of the domain of darkness.
This, you see, is the state into which we were born. We were born in sin. We were born in a state of condemnation. We entered this world desiring not the things of God, but the pleasures of the flesh. And we naturally pursue not righteousness, but the satisfaction of our cravings and lusts.
As Paul makes plain, it’s from this that God has saved us. He delivered us from the domain of darkness. And he transferred us to the kingdom of his Son.
In Jesus, Paul says, we have redemption. In him we have the forgiveness of sins. And these blessings are found nowhere else.
This is the work of God, from first to last. Our character and deeds play no role in it whatsoever. It is an undeserved blessing lavished upon us by God.
We, then, must look only to Christ for the salvation that he alone can provide. We must trust only in the salvation he provided for us by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave. And we must in no way seek to take even the smallest credit for the blessings we’ve received.
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