SIN DEBT
Misunderstandings can show both the humorous side of poor communication as well as its disastrous cost. For example, a man got out of prison and he was so happy. Everywhere he went he kept shouting, “I’M FREE! I’M FREE!” A young and bewildered-looking boy heard him, scratched his head, and said, “So what, I’m four.” Now, imagine someone walking down the street, ecstatic and enthusiastic, shouting, “I’M DEBT FREE! I’M DEBT FREE!” What would you say? “So what, I’m poor.” Ridiculous! Who wouldn’t want to be financially debt free? But with so many people living in debt, regardless of how much money they make, it seems that they may not really understand the life that comes from financial freedom. Certainly, there are those who believe that they deserve to have “things”. Unfortunately, impulsivity, instead of reason, becomes the standard. Luckily, the United States government reigns supreme in responsible economics. (Ha! Ha!) Can anyone say “stimulus package”?
Dave Ramsey’s book, Total Money Makeover, is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in a debt-free life. It has worked for my family. He lays out a common sense approach to becoming and remaining debt free. (Notice that no one said a “get-rich” scheme.) The process of being financially debt free starts by HATING the pressures of debt more than the immediate satisfaction that comes from having things. It takes effort, drive, perseverance, and following a plan that is effective. Thankfully, it can be done – if you choose it. Scripture teaches that those who owe money become a slave, “the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). The apostle Paul said, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:7-8).
Yet, there is another debt that is impossible for you to take care of single-handedly. It is called a SIN DEBT. “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin’” (John 8:34). The SIN DEBT happens when we choose self over God and it is a debt of epic proportions. It is like being sentenced to life in prison without any possibility of parole. It is, also, like incurring so much monetary debt that you would have to sell yourself as a slave without the option of freedom. SIN DEBT IS AN ABSOLUTE BANKRUPTCY OF HOPE. You may have been in situations in life where you don’t feel any hope: sickness, bills, dead-end jobs, family, and drug addictions. But to be without hope of a never-ending life is truthfully the most demoralizing despondency imaginable. Do you HATE having SIN DEBT more than the short term, immediate pleasures that comes from sin? If you do, your SIN DEBT can be taken care of. Sure, it comes at a great cost. It comes from the cost of innocence – the innocence of Christ.
"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:4-8).
The ONLY satisfactory compensation that God accepts is a God payment (cf. John 1:1-4; John 12:45; 14:9; Acts 20:28; Colossians 1:15-20; 2:9; Hebrews 1; 9:12; 12). Jesus’ body and blood can take care of the penalty of our sin. He can do this by “canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17). If you try to pay it, you will be lost. If you let Jesus pay it, you will be saved (cf. the Book of Galatians).
The Lord’s humbled . . . John A. Reeves
Dave Ramsey’s book, Total Money Makeover, is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in a debt-free life. It has worked for my family. He lays out a common sense approach to becoming and remaining debt free. (Notice that no one said a “get-rich” scheme.) The process of being financially debt free starts by HATING the pressures of debt more than the immediate satisfaction that comes from having things. It takes effort, drive, perseverance, and following a plan that is effective. Thankfully, it can be done – if you choose it. Scripture teaches that those who owe money become a slave, “the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). The apostle Paul said, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:7-8).
Yet, there is another debt that is impossible for you to take care of single-handedly. It is called a SIN DEBT. “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin’” (John 8:34). The SIN DEBT happens when we choose self over God and it is a debt of epic proportions. It is like being sentenced to life in prison without any possibility of parole. It is, also, like incurring so much monetary debt that you would have to sell yourself as a slave without the option of freedom. SIN DEBT IS AN ABSOLUTE BANKRUPTCY OF HOPE. You may have been in situations in life where you don’t feel any hope: sickness, bills, dead-end jobs, family, and drug addictions. But to be without hope of a never-ending life is truthfully the most demoralizing despondency imaginable. Do you HATE having SIN DEBT more than the short term, immediate pleasures that comes from sin? If you do, your SIN DEBT can be taken care of. Sure, it comes at a great cost. It comes from the cost of innocence – the innocence of Christ.
"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:4-8).
The ONLY satisfactory compensation that God accepts is a God payment (cf. John 1:1-4; John 12:45; 14:9; Acts 20:28; Colossians 1:15-20; 2:9; Hebrews 1; 9:12; 12). Jesus’ body and blood can take care of the penalty of our sin. He can do this by “canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17). If you try to pay it, you will be lost. If you let Jesus pay it, you will be saved (cf. the Book of Galatians).
The Lord’s humbled . . . John A. Reeves