The Handwriting. Colossians 2:14. The written requirements are a record of God’s laws we've broken, revealing our sins. Our consciences remind us that our debt of sin to God is more than we could ever repay. We are spiritually bankrupt by nature, and without the ability to settle what we owe, we are condemned to an eternal separation in the lake of fire. As hopeless debtors, we all need a Savior. No matter who we are or our status in life, everyone who has never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord is “Out of Christ without a Savior… like a ship without a rudder on a wild and stormy sea.”
They weren't just general statements written by God's hand. Each word was carefully crafted to form the Decalogue. No one could mistake what God intended to communicate. Those words were carved in stone and would not fade. But even more than those, every word I speak—especially the ones I carelessly spoke before I knew the Lord—is known to God. If not faced or removed in some way, they must be confronted and dealt with, even though God is a God of love.
Sin in any form is disobedience to God. To know what is right and not do it is just as sinful as knowing what is wrong and doing it anyway. When people face their sins, acknowledge their guilt, and take responsibility for their own sins, they will repent and seek the Lord with all their hearts. Those who do so will be saved when they call on the name of the Lord. He has paid their sin debt in full, and that payment is ratified to each person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God knew our helplessness before such a holy law, so with love, He sent His Son to draw every person to Him. He was willing, in grace, to be lifted on the cross of judgment so we could be brought to Him. His name was written above Him so everyone could see the value and virtue of the One who was crucified there. Only He could remove all charges against us, and He was willing and able to do so when He took our place on the cross.
When we personally believe in Him, our debt to those “ordinances” is canceled, and we become “Debtors to mercy alone,” with a debt of love we gladly accept and embrace. We will love our Savior forever; “we love Him because He first loved us” and gave Himself for our sins. We have a new start with God and a new life in Christ that will never be taken away. Our IOU has been canceled forever.
Now engraved upon His hand are the names of those who came to Him in faith at Calvary, where He took our blame for us. He knows each one and, with lifted hands, intercedes for us before God. The handwriting of ordinances that once condemned us is now forever gone. No wonder we humbly worship the One who took our place. It is natural for us to praise Him for His redeeming grace. No wonder we glory in the cross where the saving work for our redemption was accomplished. No wonder we want to praise our Lord - that condemnation is gone.