Matthew Sermon 79 — One Lord, One Kingdom, One Victory

What does it mean when a person comes to Christ? Big picture, it means that they have been delivered from the power of darkness, conveyed into Christ’s kingdom, and forgiven of their sins through His blood (Col 1.12-14). These three things go together, says Paul—you either have all, or you have none. But that is not the way we evangelicals typically think. We would say that we have been forgiven of our sins, but entering the kingdom—that awaits the return of Christ. Paul, however, does not give us that option. To come to Christ at all is to be conveyed into His kingdom. That is the upshot of what Paul told the Gentile converts in Colossae 2000 years ago, so they could understand what had happened to them. So, modern evangelical, I have a question for you: “Have your sins been forgiven through the blood of Christ?” (Say, “Yes.”) That means you have been conveyed into the kingdom of the Son, and that means the kingdom is here. In fact, it was “here” for the Colossians 2000 years ago. If you aren’t in the kingdom, then your sins aren’t forgiven, and you aren’t saved. Now, notice that I did not say that you aren’t saved unless you understand and believe that you are in the kingdom. I said, you aren’t saved unless you are in fact in the kingdom. Fortunately, our salvation does not depend upon us mastering these theological truths; it depends upon these theological truths mastering us. Having said that, Paul thought it important for the Colossians to understand these things. Don’t you think it is important for us, too?