Qualified to go to heaven.

 

Colossians 1:12: Give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the believers in the kingdom of light.

 

We have been qualified by God to receive an eternal inheritance in the kingdom of light. We have been made legitimate heirs of the kingdom of God. Only heirs receive an inheritance, and we have thus been included to be eternally safe – with our God.

 

We know what Christ did to qualify us as heirs of God’s eternal light. Col 1: 14 says “in whom [Christ] we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”.

The work Christ did for us can be summed up in the two words found in this verse. The words are redemption and forgiveness.

 

Redemption comes from the word "redeem" that literally means to buy back someone, for example, by having the ransomed paid that sets us free. It means that we were bought back by God who gave his only Son as a ransom for us.

 

Jesus Christ, Redeemer, and Saviour did this for us.

 

He made us and he bought us. We are twice his.

He redeemed us by paying the penalty for our sin on the Cross. He died there in our place. He took upon himself our sins. He was our substitute. He purchased us by giving his life as a sacrificial ransom when we were still sinners. And because we have been bought by his blood, we do receive the forgiveness of our sins.

 

We have been qualified for our inheritance as God’s children, because we have been delivered from the penalty of sin.

 

Because of what Christ did on the Cross we are set free from both the penalty and from the guilt of sin. We can breathe a grateful sigh of relief. The burden of sin has been lifted. We are no longer guilty before God. Christ has taken our guilt away.

We are going to heaven! Praise be to God!