The Certificate of Debt
Colossians 2:13-14 Amplified Bible
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross.
According to the Topical Lexicon, in Greco-Roman society, a person’s obligations were formally authenticated through a handwritten note that listed the debt and its stipulations– stipulations that were often binding. These documents were commonly preserved by being pierced with a nail to a public post when fulfilled, as a public testament that the liability was paid in full.
Ancient documents discovered in Egypt provided evidence of hundreds of such bonds, giving insight to a culture in which every unpaid account stood as a looming threat to a person’s freedom and estate.
The term “certificate of debt” in the Amplified Bible is also referred to as “handwriting of ordinances” in the New King James. In the Strong’s Concordance, “handwriting” translates to cheirographon (Strong’s 5498). It is something hand-written ("chirograph"), such as a manuscript, legal document, or bond. “Ordinances” translates to dogma (Strong’s 1378), meaning a law. In this case, it was a spiritual law.
When we were bound to death as a result of being ruled by sin, we were presented with an opportunity by the Lord. This opportunity was the gift of salvation, a gift that presented us with freedom from bondage and spiritual death. Receiving this gift also provides us with the security of a place in eternity with our Heavenly Father. The tremendous debt of our sin jeopardized our righteousness before God. However, our Father sent His son, who knew no sin to become sin so that we would be made righteous before the Father (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus took our place and paid our debt with His life so that we would gain life.
Jesus being publicly nailed to the cross represents the certificate of debt being nailed to a public post once the obligations were satisfied, serving as a resounding testimony:
Our debt was paid in full.
May we be humbled and our hearts moved to true repentance by the crucifixion of Jesus, the most selfless act of love towards humanity.