“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors.” – Romans 8:12

As God’s creatures, we are all debtors to Him—bound to obey Him with all our heart, soul, and strength. Having broken His commandments, as every one of us has, we became debtors to His justice, owing a debt so vast that we could never repay it.

But of the Christian it may now be truly said that he owes nothing to God’s justice, for Christ has fully paid the debt His people owed. For this very reason, the believer owes all the more to love. I am a debtor to God’s grace and forgiving mercy, but I am no longer a debtor to His justice; for God will never demand payment for a debt that has already been settled.

When Christ cried, “It is finished!” He declared that every obligation His people owed was forever erased from the book of record. Divine justice has been completely satisfied. The account is closed, the handwriting against us has been nailed to the cross, the receipt has been issued, and we are debtors to justice no longer.

Yet because we are free from that debt, we now become debtors in a far deeper and sweeter sense. Christian, pause and think. How much you owe to divine sovereignty! How great is your debt to God’s undeserved love, for He gave His own Son to die for you. Consider what you owe to His forgiving grace—that after countless failures and repeated offences, He still loves you fully and freely. Think of what you owe to His power: He raised you from spiritual death, preserves your life in Christ, keeps you from falling, and enables you to continue, though surrounded by enemies on every side.

And what do you owe to His unchanging nature? Though you have changed again and again, He has never changed once. You are deeply indebted to every attribute of God. To Him you owe yourself, and all that you have. Therefore, present yourself to Him as a living sacrifice—this is nothing more than your reasonable service.

Recent Posts from GospelBells Radio …