The Fourth Nail

Colossians 2:14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

How many nails were driven into the cross when Jesus was crucified? You probably answered, “Three...two through his hands and one through his feet.” But have you heard about the fourth nail? John 19:19 tells us, “Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

The fourth nail attached a sign to the cross to make it clear what legal demands had been violated requiring the criminal’s death. The sign was hung not to announce who was being crucified but rather to announce why he was being crucified. Pilate’s inscription falsely accused Jesus of challenging the authority of the king.

But Jesus, of course, was not guilty of any crime. He had no criminal record. But you and I did! By our sin we have failed to meet the legal demands of God’s law. Not only have we broken God’s law but sin within us actually makes us haters of God’s law. In our humanity we want to be the ultimate lawgivers. We don’t want anyone ruling us. We want to be king! That makes us guilty of challenging the King’s authority to rule us. The sign that should hang over my heads is, “Trent Griffith, the King of Himself.” That is the crime before God for which I should be crucified.

But when Jesus was nailed to the cross so was the record of your sin debt that stood against you with its legal demands. For those who have received Christ, we have assurance that our criminal record has been nailed to the cross. Every legal demand has been paid. Every crime has been pardoned. Our sin no longer stands against us. The debt has been canceled and God will never require more payment than the one Jesus paid.

What should you do when you are plagued with guilt over you sin? What should you do when you believe you have to do something to pay God back for the things you’ve done? What should you do when the devil accuses you of being unworthy of forgiveness? What should you do when you are tempted to dishonor God and willfully sin presuming on his grace that God will forgive you anyway?

Look at the cross. Remember the fourth nail. Jesus nailed your record of debt to the cross with him forever announcing to you and any accuser that you will never be treated as a guilty criminal. “This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

Grab and Release

Col 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Everything I ever needed to know about parenting I learned when I took the training wheels off Leah’s bike. At four years old she begged me to release her from the enslavement of those extra wheels that were slowing her down. I tried to convince her they needed to stay on for her protection but she persisted in demanding her freedom.

So one day I removed them and began the process of helping her gain her balance on two wheels. With one hand I grabbed the handle bar. With the other hand I grabbed under her seat while I ran beside her as she tried her best to multitask peddling, steering, and balancing. Occasionally, I would let go until she started to wobble. That’s when I knew it was time to grab. Finally, after multiple grabs and releases, I let go and she took off.

The secret to being a great dad is knowing when to grab and when to release. Dads who won’t grab discourage their children because they just are too busy grabbing other things. Their kids need the protection of a dad who is engaged in their lives. These dads have made the mistake of letting go way too soon. As a result, some kids end up in a ditch with some pretty nasty scars. Dad, if you won’t grab you can be sure there will be plenty of others standing in line waiting for the opportunity to grab hold of our kid’s hearts and steer them in a wrong direction.

Other dads won’t release. Overprotective dads provoke their children by controlling the choices of their kids. The older a child gets the less a dad can expect to control their behavior from the outside in. Many teenagers push back even harder against rigid rules. Dad, are you forcing compliance when you should be cheering from a healthy distance as a coach would from the sidelines watching his team execute the game plan they have practiced all week?

Wise fathers know it is the heart that controls behavior. You regulate behavior in your children by making continual investments in your child’s heart. You should ask your children to give you their heart as God’s Word shows us in Proverbs 23:26. “Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways.”

By the way, I forgot to teach Leah how to brake so if you happen to see a fatigued little girl circling your neighborhood, send her home, would you?

Grand Openings

Colossians 4:3-5 Praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

Imagine yourself standing in a long hallway with doors on either side. Some of the doors are closed and locked. Others are cracked. Others are wide open.

In a very real sense today you will walk down this hallway as you encounter people who need to know the mystery of Christ. For those of us who have received the message of the gospel the mystery of Christ is not mysterious. Colossians 1:26 tells us Jesus is “the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints.” As His saints it is our job to deliver the message of salvation by grace through faith to those who have yet to believe.

Some of our unbelieving friends are behind doors that are slammed shut and locked. Our job is not to kick down the doors with our persuasive arguments or winsome personality but to deliver the message to those who are open to hearing it. Only God can “open up to us a door for the word.” Our job is to pray that God would open the door by warming hearts, overcoming doubt, and creating a sense of need in our unbelieving friends.

But after we have prayed, “God, Open the doors!” God commands, “Open your mouth!” Our job is to make it clear to outsiders what God has done to purchase redemption and what he requires of those whom he will save. Some people are so concerned with getting the gospel out that they fail to get the gospel right. Others are so consumed with getting the gospel right that they fail to get the gospel out.

Ask God today to open a door for you to deliver the good news that salvation is available to all who will repent and believe. After you have prayed don’t be surprised to see a crack in a door that was previously shut. Don’t walk past it! Make the most of the opportunity that God has provided.

First get the gospel right. Then get the gospel out!