Jesus Christ is the beginning, the middle, and the end to our salvation. There is no change or upgrade that can be done to Him.
In Colossians 2, after the apostle began this letter by expounding the marvelous salvation we have in Christ, he turned to an admonition for the believers to remain steadfast:
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7).
Now, why does the Christian need to hear this? Well, the concern is not really that the believer would stray from Jesus in this sense—rather, the concern is that we might add to Him and thereby cut down the significance of His work.
Countless teachers, then and now, will add to the gospel.
The message of Jesus’ dying love is too simple and it brings no credit to the Christian. As such, works get added onto the gospel of grace. Fascinatingly enough, people might even agree that you are saved by grace—but then say that you are kept by works!
Let us never be confused, salvation is 100 percent wholly God’s work. He saves us. He keeps us. He is the One who gets the credit. Good works merely factor into the equation as outward evidence that testifies to the fact that we are truly saved.
As such, Paul warned the church not to be taken captive by philosophy or empty deceit (Col. 2:8) and he also warned about those who would mandate certain practices of food, drink, or festivals (Col. 2:16). Even more, in Christ, all the fullness of deity dwells bodily (Col. 2:9). Therefore, there is no “fullness” or extra that someone may need. Jesus is the fullness!
He alone is the source and security of our salvation.
No external doings, rituals, or lifestyles of our own secure us. Our circumcision was made without hands by Jesus Christ (Col. 2:11). We were buried with Christ; we were raised with Christ—it is all through Christ.
In our salvation, He canceled our record of debts (Col. 2:14) that rightfully condemned us. More fully, the Greek word for “cancel” means:
“to remove so as to leave no trace, remove, destroy, obliterate.”[1]
The Lord Jesus obliterated our debts, our I.O.U.’s to God! They are nailed to the cross, paid in full! Now there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).
No enemy of the cross can accuse us, for Jesus put every demonic ruler and authority to open shame in His triumph through the cross and resurrection (Col. 2:15). As such, Satan as the accuser no longer has any material to work with! When he points to our sin, he now unwittingly points to the cross where our record was nailed.
Even more so, Christ, as a military commander, paraded every demonic power as a vanquished foe before a watching world in His resurrection (Col. 2:15).
As a result of all this, if we are in Christ we are saved, forgiven, redeemed, and made right with God and nothing can take away from that or add to it.
I am thankful today for His finished work and the wonderful assurance that my insurmountable debt was obliterated upon Calvary’s Hill. Let us then continue in Christ, just as we began. The whole of our salvation is found in Him.
[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 344.
Amen brother Josiah, what a powerful reminder from Colossians 2:6–7 that as we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so we must walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him. Truly, salvation is fully God’s work from beginning to end. As Ephesians 2:8–9 declares,For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast The finished work of Christ on the cross has canceled our debt completely, and we rejoice with Paul’s words in Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus Please also keep our Indian ministry in your prayers we are laboring to share the gospel in villages, to feed children in need, and to bring hope where there is poverty and darkness. I have tried to text you many times sir, and I humbly ask for your prayers and encouragement as we continue this work. May God bless you richly as you stand firm in Christ’s finished work.
‘…salvation is 100 percent wholly God’s work.’ Amen!