"The Incomparable Redemption that Jesus Gives" (Colossians 1:13-14)

Our passage says, "For He rescued 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." Let me begin by saying that the redemption that Christ provides is without equal in quality or extent! It's matchless! It's unparalleled, and beyond compare! Let's examine our passage and find out why. To be forgiven by God, we must understand our desperate state and grab hold of God's only solution! In other words, our desperate condition is that if we're not in "the kingdom of His beloved Son" we're under the hard, oppressive control of "the domain of darkness" with no ability to rescue ourselves. Apostle Paul describes our condition before being in Christ as "helpless" (Romans 5:8). We were not capable of doing anything to help ourselves. God's only solution to our condition is described by the phrase "redemption, the forgiveness of sins" which we get through faith in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:4; Acts 26:18). The phrase "the domain of darkness" is very descriptive of the need to be rescued. In the Scriptures, "darkness" represents several unfavorable conditions. In Ephesians 4:18, it refers to "spiritual ignorance." In Colossians 4:3-4, it refers to "spiritual blindness." In Romans 13:12, it refers to the deeds of "carousing and drunkenness" "sexual promiscuity and sensuality" and "strife and jealousy." In John 3:19-20 it refers to "sin" as well. But even worse, the Bible teaches that there's a malevolent, murderous, monstrous being behind the spiritual ignorance, blindness, and sin. His name is Satan and darkness represents his realm as seen in our passage! So the Bible pictures the world apart from Christ as desperate and without hope. Here's the heart of the matter. There's no middle ground! You are either in the kingdom of Christ, under His lordship, or you are in the domain of darkness, under the oppressive and hard control of Satan! I'm talking about relatively good people. Many who are faithful to their mates, love their children, hold down jobs, and are good neighbors. They're not breaking any laws, and many of them attend places of worship along with Christ followers! But they're still in the domain of darkness! If these relatively "good" people do not see their true condition as God sees it, they'll be content to continue living as they do, not aware that their condition is eternally dangerous. The redemption that comes from Christ opens the eyes of sinners to see their desperate condition! What about you? Be encouraged!