WHAT DEBTS SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED ABOUT?
BIBLE READING: Romans 1:8-17
KEY BIBLE VERSE: I have a great sense of obligation to people in our culture and to people in other cultures, to the educated and uneducated alike. (Romans 1:14)
WE OWE CHRIST A DEBT OF GRATEFUL OBEDIENCE.
By “people in our culture and people in other cultures” Paul meant the Greeks and non-Greeks. Paul also refers to “educated and uneducated” people. What was Paul’s obligation? After his experience with Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), his whole life was consumed with spreading the Good News of salvation. His first obligation was to Christ for being his Savior, and his second was to the entire world. This is why he proclaimed Christ’s salvation to all people-both Jews and Gentiles, across all cultural, social, racial, and economic lines. We also are obligated to Christ because he took on the punishment we deserve for our sin. Although we cannot repay Christ for all he has done, we can demonstrate our gratitude by showing his love to others.
BIBLE READING: Romans 13:8-14
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God’s law. (Romans 13:8)
WE OWE A DEBT OF LOVE.
Why is love for others called a debt? We are permanently in debt to Christ for the lavish love he has poured out on us. The only way we can even begin to repay this debt is by loving others in turn. Because Christ’s love is infinitely greater than ours, we will always have the obligation to love our neighbors.
HOW SHOULD WE REPAY OUR DEBTS?
BIBLE READING: Proverbs 3:21-35
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.” (Proverbs 3:27-28)
THE WAY IN WHICH WE REPAY ANY KIND OF DEBT IS A MARK OF CHARACTER.
To delay doing good is inconsiderate and unfair, whether it is repaying a loan, returning a tool, or fulfilling a promise. Withholding destroys trust and creates a great inconvenience. Be as eager to do good as you are to have good done to you.
DEBT, GOD’S WORD ON
HOW DID JESUS CHRIST PAY THE DEBT FOR MY SINS?
Romans 3:25 . . . God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.
Romans 5:9, 11 . . . Since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgment. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God-all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.
Our sins left us in debt to God. But Jesus Christ paid that debt through his death on the cross, making us right with God and pure in his sight.
WHAT SHOULD I OWE OTHERS?
Romans 13:7-8 . . . Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and import duties, and give respect and honor to all to whom it is due. Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that!
We should pay our debts in a timely manner because it is important to honor our commitments. This isn’t saying we can never have home mortgage or car payment, but that when payments are due we must pay them respectfully and honorably.
WHAT IS THE DANGER OF BECOMING INVOLVED IN ANOTHER’S DEBT?
Proverbs 6:1-4 . . . My child, if you co-sign a loan for a friend or guarantee the debt of someone you hardly know. . . .you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy.
Proverbs 17:18 . . . It is poor judgment to co-sign a friend’s note, to become responsible for a neighbor’s debts.
Proverbs 22:26-27 . . . Do not co-sign another person’s note or put up a guarantee for someone else’s loan. If you can’t pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you.
If you co-sign a note, be absolutely sure you can repay the entire debt if your friend defaults on the loan. Otherwise, you will be putting yourself and your family at risk.
IN WHAT OTHER WAYS SHOULD I BE CAUTIOUS REGARDING DEBT?
Proverbs 22:7 . . . Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.
Be careful! Debt can cause us to be owned by those to whom we owe.
Psalm 37:21 . . . The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.
To owe and purposefully not pay is wrong; to give away what we do not owe pleases God.
PROMISE FROM GOD:
Hebrews 13:5 . . . Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.”