Read Hebrews 10:1-18
We live at a time when debts seem to be a part of life. The national debt can be in the trillions and beyond our comprehension. Personal debt can be devastating. Credit cards that enable instant gratification make possible debts that can take a lifetime to pay off. Debt can ruin a person’s reputation, relationships, career, future, etc. to the point it destroys them. But our greatest and most devastating debt is not financial, but spiritual.
Debt simply means you owe someone something. Spiritual debt means the One you owe is God. Every time we substitute our will for God’s we miss His mark of holiness. Scripture calls it sin. Sin costs! The price is high, very high, too high! Forgiveness is the only thing that “pays off” our sin debt. According to Hebrews 9:22, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” The fact is: someone or something pays with their life for our willful choices.
To make sure God’s people understood this truth, God instituted it in His ordained pattern of worship. Over the centuries millions of innocent animals paid the price for sin. Blood flowed in vast amounts, and God did not take pleasure in a single drop. God was and is NOT a blood thirsty God. These sacrifices made Him sad, not glad. The necessity broke His heart. He didn’t need it. They did. Over and over again His people needed to see that sin costs. The innocent lamb, bull or dove paid with its lifeblood for man’s willfulness.
The problem was that the sacrifice did not make a permanent difference in their lives. Sacrifices were made over and over and over again because it did not “make perfect” (complete). It was never enough. At best they were simply catching up. However, man’s sinful nature kept adding more and more debt. What was needed was a permanent solution. Something only God could do for us. God is Spirit (John 4:14) and you cannot nail a spirit to a cross or sacrifice it on an altar. The Lamb of God needed to be flesh and blood, thus Jesus came as a human. Every aspect of His life, from birth to resurrection, had to fulfill Scripture to the very letter. Only by Jesus willingly dying for our willfulness could the debt be fully paid. “By that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (vs. 10)
The payment Jesus made with His life was and is and always will be enough. He paid more than we owe! He paid such a huge price that we cannot accrue a debt large enough to ever exceed what He paid. He only asks one thing of us: acknowledge our debt and willingly hand it to Him. If we do, He will lovingly stamp “PAID” on it with His blood.
Making It Personal
Forgiveness and salvation are freely given, but must not be exploited. Daily you must choose one of the following:
1) Abuse the grace that cancelled your debt by doing what you want when you want regardless of what God wants simply because ALL if forgiven.
2) Be consumed with trying to pay God back.
3) Live out the dynamics of gratitude where all you do, say, even think are an expression of love and a desire to please Him.
Take a moment to make a conscious choice and commitment.
For many of us this good news is old news. Why is it important to renew our grasp on this good news?
There are many for whom this good news is new news. They remain overwhelmed by a sin debt they cannot pay. How does your own experience with the grace of God motivate you to share this good news with others?
Through the Day Challenge
Journal how you and/or others were impacted by the good news of God’s amazing grace today.
