A Debt Paid in Full
Mounting national debt. Over a trillion dollars worth owed
to China. A slow-growing economy. Thirty years ago, who would have ever thought
this could be possible in the U.S.? No, I’m not getting political here, only
pointing out that as the national debt surpasses $17 trillion, the average
citizen finds it hard to imagine how we will ever repay that debt--and
downright depressing.
Numerous radio commercials and online ads will tell you the
end of the world is coming . . . or practically. They say their book or CD has
the answer to avoid the approaching economic cataclysm. You pay the author or
speaker a small, reasonable amount and they’ll give you a foolproof method for
becoming rich and avoiding tragedy. Really? Do you think any of those offers come
with an ironclad guarantee? Absolutely not!
There’s only one debt ever paid in full with an eternal
guarantee! As we went over this in Bible study on Thursday, I thought about how
unlike the national debt, Jesus’ provision for His people is. Jesus’ death on
the cross, as a perfect sacrifice for our sin, paid our debt in full! We only
have to humble ourselves and realize there’s nothing we as humans can do to
earn salvation for ourselves. Jesus sealed the deal by proving He could
overcome death by His resurrection power.
Jesus would rather that none would perish. He would rather prepare
a heavenly home for you to live with Him in eternity, because of His mercy and
grace, rather than owe a debt you can't pay and be judged on that basis. However, you have to trust in Him and receive this gift. Unlike a credit
card, His gift can’t be cut up. Unlike cash, it can never be devalued. But you
can throw away the chance of a lifetime and eternity by not receiving this
precious gift.
The thought that my sin has been forgiven and its debt settled
for all eternity humbles me. That Jesus would love me before I loved Him and
provide me with this security makes me very thankful for what I don't deserve. And yet, I’m not sure
I’ll ever be able to comprehend just how precious it really all is.
Romans 3:22-28 (NLT) tells us about our shortcomings and the
hope we are given through Christ:
We are made right with
God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who
believes, no matter who we are.
For everyone has
sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved
kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when
he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the
sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus
sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was
being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,
for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present
time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and
just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in
Jesus.
Can we boast, then,
that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is
not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with
God through faith and not by obeying the law.
(Image of U.S. currency in the public domain. Found at Wikimedia Commons.)
