THE DEBT WAS NAILED TO THE STAKE—NOT THE LAW
A Bible Study on Colossians 2:13–14
Yeshua paid the penalty for our sins. His sacrifice provides forgiveness; it does not give us permission to continue breaking Yahweh’s commandments. We obey because we love Him, and because He has given us new life.
1. What was nailed to the stake?
Read Colossians 2:13–14.
Paul begins with our condition: we were dead in our trespasses. Then he describes what Yahweh has done through Yeshua:
- Made us alive together with Him.
- Forgiven our trespasses.
- Canceled the written record that stood against us.
- Removed it through Yeshua’s death.
The subject is sin, forgiveness, and the removal of what condemned us.
The KJV calls what was removed the “handwriting of ordinances.” Other translations describe a record or certificate of debt. The Greek word cheirographon refers to a handwritten document, including an acknowledgment of indebtedness.
Paul does not call this document the Torah. His wording supports understanding it as the record of indebtedness that stood against sinners.
Yahweh’s law identifies our transgressions. Our transgressions bring guilt. Through Yeshua, the debt arising from those transgressions is canceled.
The debt was removed. That does not mean the commandments defining sin were abolished.
Related scriptures:
- 1 John 3:4: Sin is lawlessness.
- Romans 3:20: Through the law comes knowledge of sin.
- Romans 6:23: Sin earns death; eternal life is Yahweh’s gift through Yeshua.
- Colossians 1:13–14: In Yeshua we have redemption and forgiveness.
- Ephesians 1:7: Redemption and forgiveness come through His blood.
2. Yeshua bore our sins and their penalty
Isaiah 53:5–6 foretells that the suffering Servant would bear the consequences of our transgressions. The wrongdoing was ours; the suffering fell upon Him.
Isaiah 53:11–12 continues this theme: He bears the iniquities of many and intercedes for transgressors.
Peter applies this directly to Yeshua:
“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.”
— 1 Peter 2:24
Notice both parts:
He bore our sins so that we would leave sin behind and live righteously.
His sacrifice does not make disobedience harmless. It demonstrates the terrible cost of sin and the greatness of Yahweh’s mercy.
Related scriptures:
- John 1:29: Yeshua is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.
- Romans 5:6–9: He died for sinners, and we are justified through His blood.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3: He died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21: Through Him we may become the righteousness of Yahweh.
- Hebrews 9:26–28: He offered Himself to put away sin and bear the sins of many.
- 1 John 2:1–2: He is our advocate and the atoning sacrifice for sins.
3. Deliverance from the curse is not abolition of the law
Read Galatians 3:10–13.
Paul teaches that Yeshua redeemed us from the curse of the law by bearing the curse for us.
The distinction matters: the law’s condemnation of transgression and the law’s righteous instruction are not the same thing.
A pardon removes a person’s liability to punishment. It does not make the offense righteous or erase the standard that was broken.
Likewise, forgiveness of sin does not turn sin into obedience.
Paul describes the law this way:
“Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”
— Romans 7:12
The problem is not that Yahweh’s commandments are evil. The problem is that people break them.
Related scriptures:
- Deuteronomy 27:26: A curse accompanies failure to uphold the law.
- Deuteronomy 21:22–23: The background to Paul’s reference to hanging on a tree.
- Romans 7:7: The law identifies sin.
- Romans 7:13: Sin produces death through what is good.
- Romans 8:3–4: Yahweh acts through His Son so that the law’s righteous requirement may be fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit.
4. Yeshua did not come to abolish the law
Read Matthew 5:17–19.
Yeshua explicitly rejected the idea that His mission was to abolish the Law or the Prophets. He connected His teaching with doing and teaching Yahweh’s commandments.
To fulfill Scripture is to accomplish its purpose. Fulfillment cannot simply be assumed to mean that obedience has become unnecessary—especially when Yeshua immediately speaks about keeping the commandments.
Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, He brings obedience into the heart:
- Matthew 5:21–24: Address anger and seek reconciliation.
- Matthew 5:27–30: Address lust as well as outward adultery.
- Matthew 5:43–48: Love even your enemies.
Yeshua teaches obedience that reaches our motives, thoughts, and actions.
Related scriptures:
- Luke 16:17: Yeshua emphasizes the enduring authority of the law.
- Romans 3:31: Faith establishes the law.
- Romans 7:22: Paul delights in Yahweh’s law inwardly.
- 1 Corinthians 7:19: Paul emphasizes keeping Yahweh’s commandments.
- Psalm 119:142, 151, 172: Yahweh’s law is truth, and His commandments are righteous.
5. Grace saves us—and teaches us to stop sinning
Read Ephesians 2:8–10.
Salvation is Yahweh’s gift. We cannot purchase forgiveness through commandment keeping, religious observance, or good deeds.
But Paul does not stop with salvation by grace. He explains that we are created in Yeshua for good works.
Good works are the fruit of salvation, not its purchase price.
Paul also directly answers the claim that grace permits continued sin:
“Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!”
— Romans 6:1–2
And again:
Romans 6:15–16 teaches that being under grace does not authorize sin. We are called to obedience.
Related scriptures:
- Titus 2:11–14: Grace teaches us to reject ungodliness and live righteously.
- Romans 6:11–14: Sin must not reign in our bodies.
- Romans 6:17–18: Those freed from sin become servants of righteousness.
- Titus 3:5–8: Salvation comes through mercy, and believers should devote themselves to good works.
- James 2:17–18: Living faith expresses itself through action.
6. We keep His commandments because we love Him
Yeshua makes the connection plainly:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
— John 14:15
Love is more than a declaration. It changes how we live.
John 14:21–24 connects loving Yeshua with keeping His words. John 15:10 connects abiding in His love with obedience, following His own example of keeping His Father’s commandments.
John later writes:
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
— 1 John 5:3
We do not obey to make Yahweh owe us salvation. We obey because we love the One who first loved us.
Related scriptures:
- Deuteronomy 6:4–6: Love Yahweh wholeheartedly and keep His words in your heart.
- Deuteronomy 10:12–13: Loving, serving, and obeying Yahweh belong together.
- Matthew 22:37–40: Love for Yahweh and neighbor is the foundation on which the Law and Prophets depend.
- Romans 13:8–10: Love does no harm to a neighbor and fulfills the law.
- 1 John 2:3–6: Knowing Him is demonstrated by obedience and walking as Yeshua walked.
- 1 John 4:19: We love because He first loved us.
- 2 John 6: Love means walking according to His commandments.
7. The New Covenant writes the law within us
Read Jeremiah 31:31–34.
Yahweh’s promise of a New Covenant includes both forgiveness of sin and His law written upon the heart.
These are complementary promises:
He forgives our disobedience and changes us so that we desire obedience.
Hebrews 8:8–12 repeats Jeremiah’s promise. Hebrews 10:15–18 again joins inwardly written laws with the forgiveness of sins.
Ezekiel 36:26–27 adds the promise of a new heart and Yahweh’s Spirit, enabling His people to walk in His statutes.
The New Covenant addresses the rebellious heart that breaks the law.
Related scriptures:
- Deuteronomy 30:6: Yahweh promises to change His people’s hearts so that they love Him.
- Psalm 40:8: Delight in Yahweh’s will is associated with His law within the heart.
- Romans 8:7–9: The flesh resists Yahweh’s law; His people need His Spirit.
- Philippians 2:12–13: Yahweh works within His people to produce both desire and action.
8. Read the rest of Colossians 2 carefully
Colossians 2:8 warns against captivity through human philosophy and tradition. Verses 20–23 address human commands and regulations associated with severe treatment of the body.
Verses 16–17 discuss judgments concerning food, drink, festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths. Believers differ over how these verses apply to observance. They deserve careful study in their own context.
However, verse 14 itself does not say that the Torah was nailed to the stake. Its immediate context concerns trespasses, forgiveness, and the cancellation of what stood against us.
Likewise, the chapter’s criticism of human regulations should not automatically be applied to every commandment Yahweh gave.
Related scriptures:
- Mark 7:6–13: Yeshua distinguishes human traditions from Yahweh’s commandments.
- Colossians 2:6–7: Believers should walk in Yeshua, rooted and established in Him.
- Colossians 3:5–10: Paul commands believers to put away sinful practices.
- Colossians 3:12–14: Their new life should display mercy, humility, forgiveness, and love.
9. Forgiven people are called to faithful obedience
Yeshua’s mercy calls us into a changed life.
1 John 1:8–9 teaches us to acknowledge and confess our sins. 1 John 2:1 explains that the purpose is that we should not sin, while assuring us that we have an advocate when we do.
Obedience does not mean claiming we have never failed. It means repentance, faith, and a continuing willingness to walk in Yahweh’s ways.
Revelation 14:12 describes the saints in terms of both commandment keeping and faith in Yeshua.
These belong together:
Faith trusts His sacrifice. Love responds in obedience. Repentance turns us away from the sins for which He died.
The message of Colossians 2:13–14
Our sins created a debt we could not discharge. Yeshua gave Himself for us, and through Him Yahweh forgives our trespasses. The record standing against us is canceled.
THE DEBT WAS NAILED TO THE STAKE—NOT THE LAW.
We do not keep Yahweh’s commandments to earn His love. We keep them because we love Him.
