Category Archives: Debt

Bible, Debt, Obedience, Obligation, Payment, Scripture

UNDER OBLIGATION

ROMANS 1:14

“I am under obligation both to Greeks and to the uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish.”

Have you ever owed someone something that you know you could never pay back? Maybe they paid off a debt you owed (that has happened to me). Maybe they did an act of kindness to you during a very low time in your life. Owing a debt can feel overwhelming at times, whether it is financial, spiritual, emotional or physical. But, as we will see in today’s verse, being a debtor isn’t all bad.

Paul says he is “under obligation” to reach the Greeks and uncultured (that would have definitely included me, lol). The literal Greek reads, “a debtor I am.” The word used here is used six other times in the New Testament. We will look at a couple of those. The word is opheilétēs. HELPS Word studies says, it is “someone under obligation to pay back (discharge) a debt.” The debt Paul felt was his debt to Jesus for forgiving him and rescuing him from the penalty of sin. He now had the obligation to take that message to those who needed to hear it.

APPLICATION

Opheilétēs is used in Matthew 6:12 where it is part of the Lord’s prayer. “‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’” We learned this prayer as a child, didn’t we? But how many of us are really living that? How many of us forgive as Christ forgave? I know, it’s hard. But we are commanded from the very lips of Christ to do it.

In Matthew 18:24, we see this word used again. This is the story of the man who owed the 10,000 talents. “’And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.’” The point, of course, was this was a debt that could never be repaid. The same is true of us. There is nothing we can do to repay the debt we owe Jesus for dying for us. You may have heard it said, “We owed a debt we could not pay. He paid a debt He did not owe.”

Are you grateful your debt has been paid? Then you are under obligation, you are indebted to Christ. What does He require of you? Deuteronomy 10:12-13 gives us a pretty clear picture. “12 ‘And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?’”

Father God, I owe You my life and to You I give it. Take it and use it for Your glory. 

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Damnation, Debt, Heaven, Hell, Scripture

CERTIFICATE OF DEBT

COLOSSIANS 2:14

“having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

My wife and I have a home mortgage. I assume most people either have one themselves or have had in the past. This mortgage legally binds us to pay off a debt to the mortgage holder. If we fail to pay our monthly payment, we risk the loss of our home. My dad always told me to make sure I always paid my home loan because you got to have a roof over your head. That’s good advice.

This “certificate of debt” Paul refers to in today’s verse is a lot more serious than my home loan. This debt was one I could not pay, and the consequences of nonpayment was damnation. The enemy is constantly accusing us, is he not? But thanks be to God, He sent His Son Jesus to pay a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. I love how Paul ends this verse – “having nailed it to the cross.”

APPLICATION

The Greek word translated as “certificate of debt” only occurs right here in today’s verse. It is the Greek word cheirographon which “refers to a handwritten document, particularly a legal or financial document such as a certificate of debt or a bond. In the context of the New Testament, it is used metaphorically to describe the record of debt or the legal demands that stand against humanity due to sin.” (Strong’s Lexicon)

Satan held the certificate of debt in his greedy, little hands, just waiting to claim our soul for hell. But Jesus took care of that debt. All we have to do is surrender to Jesus, claim that freedom from debt and live eternally with Him in heaven. Satan cannot stand that, but he is powerless to undo that contract we have with Jesus.

So, if we have such a gift from Jesus, what should we do with it? Should we hoard it and not share it with anyone? Or should we tell everyone we meet about it? Unless they hear from someone about the freedom they can have in Christ, Satan will claim them. None of us want that, even for our worst enemy. Share the good news of your cancelled debt today.

O Lord, You have released me from the penalty of sin through the payment of the debt I owed. Praise Your holy name

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Advice, Bible, Debt, Payment, Rescue, Scripture, Sin

DECEIT OF DEBTS

HABAKKUK 2:6

“‘Will all of these not take up a song of ridicule against him, even a saying and insinuations against him and say, “Woe to him who increases what is not his—for how long—and makes himself rich with debts!”’”

I really hate debt of any kind. I know it is hard to avoid it, especially when you are buying a home. Most people don’t have that much cash. I am trying to pay off my home as quickly as I can. Debt deceives you into thinking you have more than you really do.

God speaks the first of five “Woes” here. The Hebrew word recorded by Habakkuk for “debts” is only used right here in all the Bible. Some translations translate it as “thick-clay.” It is weighty. It slows you down. Debts are one thing God warns about here.

APPLICATION

Don’t go and say Carl said all debt is bad. I am just saying we need to be careful. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender.” That’s pretty plain, isn’t it? Sometimes we cannot avoid debt. Medical bills pile up after a lengthy illness. As I mentioned earlier, buying a home usually requires debt. Just be careful.

But aren’t you thankful that the one debt that we could never repay was paid for by Jesus. You may have heard the saying, “I owed a debt I could not pay, and He paid a debt He did not owe.” Jesus rescued us from a certain damnation. We could never pay the debt of sin which was on our life.

I am debt free spiritually. I owe nothing to the wrath of God. He is satisfied with the shed blood of His precious Son. There are so many around us who are drowning in debt spiritually. They have no hope. No banker on earth can satisfy that debt – only Jesus. Let’s share with them God’s plan for debt relief.

Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.

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