Colossians 2:14

A certificate of indebtedness is a legal document. So sin is not just morally wrong but also incurring debt that must be paid.

To understand the certificate of indebtedness, we must understand what transgression means.

It means we went beyond our boundaries and have caused damage, which we must pay for because we followed our will rather than God's will.

What are these decrees? They are God's declaration against sin; for example, the payoff of sin is death (Romans 6:23). God has decreed that specific things will accompany sinners, as sin is an affront to his holiness.

The judgment of death on sin is a necessary corrective to restore the cosmic order violated by disobedience to God. God’s way is right, and there must be consequences if we go wrong. Otherwise, how would it prove that the way of submission to him is right?

Sin is the violation of the terms of our existence as creatures, which is to bring him glory. Sin does not give him glory. To bring him glory is what it means to be his image, to reflect him (Genesis 1:26-28). To be in his image means we are aligned with him. We cannot reflect him and contradict him at the same time. So, to the extent that we are not bringing him glory, we are in debt. There is a debt of glory we are owing him.

Remember the one who was indebted to the king in a parable of Jesus and did not forgive his fellow; he was tortured till he could pay it (Matthew 18:21-35). That is why man’s life is a tortured existence in sin and its consequences, but Jesus frees from that.

In that parable, there was sin - indebtedness - and the decree against it, which is torment in an enclosed location. The decree is opposed to him (it adds to his problem) because he entered into debt because he was poor, and being in prison removed the possibility of him ever paying the debt. But Jesus paid our debt, and we are free to go. Hallelujah!

Again, the idea that we should give him glory is embedded in the words God used when God created man. Creating man in his image is not just like a photocopy machine, but someone that would reflect God's glory; that is our commission; anytime we do not do that, we are in debt.

When Jesus was born, angels said, "Glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:14)." That is, someone is now on earth who will give glory to God. And “on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased” because Instead of torment, we now have peace with God (Romans 5:1).

The point is that we cannot sidestep the repercussions of our own sins AND we cannot pay our spiritual debt incurred because of disobedience. Hence, Christ must nail our certificate of indebtedness to the cross.

This figure of speech is a powerful visual of what happened to the decrees that are contained in our certificate of indebtedness; it is the end of the judgment on us because Jesus took on the judgment. Do you understand?

Remember that the Bible says all have sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). We fall short of the terms of our existence to display God's full glory. That is why Jesus said he was on earth to give glory to God as the last Adam (John 17:4, 1 Corinthians 15:45).

Again, all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), we have not manifested the glory of God, which is living in submission to him and reflecting his holiness and reflecting his glory through the life of obedience, but instead, we have sinned and come short of reflecting his glory, his grandeur, and prestige as his dutiful creatures who should do his will no matter what.

For the decrees to be opposed to us means they are not going anywhere; they are not something we can come out from under by ourselves. Christ paid the debt, and now we can walk freely without the need for debt payment; how does that feel?

Let's examine the phrase “nailing it to the cross.” Instead of violence to be directed at you because of our indebtedness to give glory to God, Jesus was nailed to the cross as the wrath of God was poured on him (Isaiah 53). He was nailed to the cross, and not just that, remember, he said my God, why have you forsaken me (Matthew 27:46)? So there was something eternal happening at that moment; the son was being removed from the presence of God, escorted out as it were in handcuffs, while we were to come into the presence (Hebrews 4:16).

Remember Barnabas, who was a murderer, was let go as Jesus was being led to death? You are that Barnabas who has not reflected God's glory because you are not perfect and can't be, and God demands perfection. But he showed you mercy because of the shed blood of his son; as it is written, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22).