The Debt

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”

 

            A whole lot of people struggle with credit card debt, but at least that debt can be paid down slowly and eliminated. We carry a debt that we cannot pay and that is the debt owed to God for our sin. According to God we were/are dead in our sins. For those of us who accepted His gracious gift of forgiveness through salvation as afforded to us by the blood Christ shed on Calvary’s cross, we are no longer dead but rather alive. The ember that exists in everyone has been fanned into a flame by God’s Holy Spirit and we are now free from the shackles our sin held us in. The debt has been removed, paid in its’ entirety. A big PAID IN FULL has been stamped on our account.

 

Psalm 103:12 “… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

            The sins that we have committed, when forgiven, are never remembered against us again. In Micah, the prophet speaks of God having compassion on the Israelites, hurling their sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). It has been lyrically referred to as the “sea of forgetfulness” *. Now God doesn’t forget our sins, for that would constitute a flaw in Him, but rather chooses not to remember them against us. He doesn’t hold our sins that have been covered in Christ’s blood against us ever again. We have been justified, which simply put means, “just as if I’d never sinned”. What joyous news! However, we mustn’t allow His grace to become a cheap thing to us by living as we please after our debt has been removed. We should feel compelled to praise Him and live according to His precepts, for no one else can pay our debt.

            Treating the debt as if it doesn’t exist, thus negating the payment necessary in our own minds creates a façade that everything is well with us when nothing could be further from the truth. Just as the creditors will come knocking on your door for that credit card debt that goes unpaid, so God will require payment someday. Don’t miss the chance of a lifetime to live for Him who paid the debt you could never in a million years pay yourself. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* Phrase taken from the song “Sea of Forgetfulness” by Seven Day Jesus.