Paid My Debt

Paid My Debt

NATIONAL DEBT:

If you ever get to go to NY city you will see a huge billboard showing you a national debt and how it's increasing daily. The debt is currently 36 trillion and climbing.

• Though that debt is enormous, that debt cannot compare to our sin debt. The debt for the sins we have committed against God.

• Some would say, I have not sinned against God.

Sin is anything that falls short of God's plan. So, whether it harms us or someone else, every sin is ultimately against a holy God.

Romans 3:23-24 (AMP) 23 since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are being justified [declared free of the guilt of sin, made acceptable to God, and granted eternal life] as a gift by His [precious, undeserved] grace, through the redemption [the payment for our sin] which is [provided] in Christ Jesus,

A. Since we have all sinned, we all have a debt that needs to be paid

B. SIN LEAVES DEBT, SIN LEAVES DEBT

C. So, remember whenever you see sin, you find debt

D. Vision on the screen

E. PROP OF DEBT ON SCREEN

F. For example, when a person incurred a debt that they could not pay, what would happen was that the person to whom they owed it would write out their debt listing how much they owed, or maybe just certain things that they owed for. And then the person who had incurred the debt would have to sign at the bottom. And they would nail that, or place that on the doorpost of their house so that everyone who walked by, or everyone who came to see them would, would know that they are in debt.

G. Now they usually placed that on papyrus and the ink that they used did not sink in.

H. It sort of laid on the surface, and it could be erased with a sponge in such a way that you could erase all of that and there wouldn't be any trace that it was anything there or ever had been there.

I. Or, it may be on the other hand, they had another way of canceling it out or indicating that it was cancelled. And that is by driving a nail through that certificate of debt.

I want to share a short story of how Jesus describes this debt that we owe

FORGIVENESS

MATTHEW 18:21-27 (AMP) 21 Then Peter came to Him and asked, "Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? Up to seven times?"

A. Remember, sin correlates to debt

22 Jesus answered him, "I say to you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven.

A. Jesus is simple saying, stop counting

23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the accounting, one who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him.

A. 10,000 talents, 10,000 talents, 10,000 talents

B. A talent, a unit of weight for gold or silver, [73 lb]

C. Silver is currently $38 a ounce, $608 per lb, 73 x= $44, 384 per talent, 10,000 x44,384= Total debt $443,840,000

D. It is a tremendous amount of money, which is worth about 160,000 years' wages!

E. The key point here is that, the debt is impossible to pay, just as our sin debt is impossible to pay

25 But because he could not repay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made.

A. Here's Jesus connecting the message to each of us

26 So the slave fell on his knees and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.' 27 And his master's heart was moved with compassion and he released him and forgave him[canceling] the debt.

John 3:16 (AMP) 16 "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Psalms 8:4-8 (AMP) 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

The Unforgiving Servant

Matthew 18:28-35 (AMP) 28 But that same slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began choking him, saying, 'Pay what you owe!'

A. A denarius was a Roman silver coin weighing about 4 grams, a day's wages for a common laborer or soldier (Matthew 20:1–2).

B. A day wages

C. So, he was forgiven for 160 years of wages and he won't forgive 100 days of wages

D. He was so ungrateful and unmerciful.

29 So his fellow slave fell on his knees and begged him earnestly, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' 30 But he was unwilling and he went and had him thrown in prison until he paid back the debt. 31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and they went and reported to their master [with clarity and in detail] everything that had taken place. 32 Then his master called him and said to him, 'You wicked and contemptible slave, I forgave all that [great] debt of yours because you begged me. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave [who owed you little by comparison], as I had mercy on you?' 34 And in wrath his master turned him over to the torturers (jailers) until he paid all that he owed.

A. The question we must ask ourselves, are we that person, who has been forgiven much and can't forgive

Lamentations 3:22-23 (AMP) 22 It is because of the Lord's lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, Because His [tender] compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness.

• The servant who did not forgive his fellow servant who owed him a hundred denarii was finally thrown into prison. This parable teaches us about how we, who have received such tremendous grace from God, should treat our brothers and sisters.

35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to [every one of] you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."

• We are all sinners who are lacking in many ways, and are being made perfect together. In the process, we may experience discord with our brothers and sisters or become jealous of them, because of the dregs of our sins committed in heaven and our impurities from the world. However, if we realize the forgiveness of sins we have received from God, the mistakes or faults of our brothers and sisters are really nothing. All the mistakes and faults of the brothers and sisters, who have received God's promises through the new covenant, are always forgivable. When we cover up the faults of our brothers and sisters with a broad mind, we can ask God to forgive us as well.

Matthew 6:12 (AMP) 12 'And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].

• The only way you could pay off a sin-debt is by righteous living. And no one can live a righteous life apart from Jesus Christ. And when Jesus Christ comes into a person's life, you don't have to pay it off. God has already taken care of it. And so the issue is how do we deal with this sin-debt that we have?

• And that's what this message is all about. And the title of it is "The Cross: A Debt Paid in Full". And I want you to turn if you will to the book of Colossians. I'd like for us to read just a couple of verses in this second chapter of Colossians. Paul is talking about what God has done for us and this is a wonderful book because it magnifies the Lord Jesus Christ from beginning to end. And in this second chapter here's what he says beginning in verse thirteen:

The Certificate of Debt - Nailed to the Cross

Colossians 2:13-15 (AMP) 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through the cross.

A. Recognize that the "debt" refers to the legal and moral obligations we failed to meet due to sin. This debt was insurmountable by human effort.

B. Emphasize the significance of the cross as the place where our sins were decisively dealt with. The cross is not just a symbol of suffering but of victory over sin.

C. Realize that because our debt is canceled, we are free from the condemnation of the law. This freedom should lead to a life of gratitude and obedience to God.

D. Encourage believers to live in the reality of forgiveness, not allowing past sins to hold them back, as they have been nailed to the cross.

E. Use this understanding of debt cancellation as a powerful aspect of sharing the Gospel, highlighting the complete work of Christ on the cross.

Discussion Questions

1. The U.S. national debt is $36 trillion, yet the message says it "cannot compare to our sin debt." Why is sin debt so much greater than financial debt? What makes it impossible to pay?
2. The illustration describes ancient debt certificates nailed to doorposts for all to see. How does this visual help us understand both the public nature of our sin and the public cancellation of it at the cross?
3. In the parable, the servant owed 10,000 talents (160,000 years of wages or $443 million). Why did Jesus use such an impossibly large number? What does this reveal about the magnitude of our sin against God?
4. The forgiven servant refused to forgive a debt of 100 denarii (100 days wages). Compare 160 years to 100 days. How does this ratio help us understand the absurdity of refusing to forgive others?
5. Jesus said to forgive "seventy times seven" times, essentially saying "stop counting." Why is it so hard to stop keeping score of others' offenses against us?
6. Matthew 6:12 says "forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors." This is scary—we're asking God to forgive us the same way we forgive others. How should this change our approach to forgiveness?
7. Lamentations 3:22-23 says God's mercies are "new every morning." If God gives us fresh mercy daily, how can we justify withholding forgiveness from others for past offenses?
8. Colossians 2:14 says the certificate of debt was "nailed to the cross." The nailing signified cancellation. What emotions does this image of your sin debt being nailed to the cross evoke?
9. The notes state: "Encourage believers to live in the reality of forgiveness, not allowing past sins to hold them back." What past sin still haunts you? How does "PAID IN FULL" change your perspective?
10. The unforgiving servant was turned over to "torturers" until he paid his debt (which he could never pay). How does unforgiveness become a self-imposed prison that tortures us?

Reflection

Challenge: This week, identify one person you've been withholding forgiveness from. Calculate the "debt" they owe you compared to the infinite debt God has forgiven you. Then, as an act of worship for your cancelled debt, release them completely—no more keeping score.

Key Takeaways

SIN LEAVES DEBT

• Every sin creates a debt that must be paid
• Our debt is impossibly large (like 160,000 years of wages)
• We cannot pay it through our own effort

CHRIST PAID THE DEBT

• The certificate of debt was nailed to the cross
• Jesus said "It is finished" (PAID IN FULL)
• We are completely free from condemnation

FORGIVEN PEOPLE FORGIVE

• We've been forgiven 160 years—we must forgive 100 days
• Unforgiveness imprisons and tortures us
• God's mercy is new every morning—ours should be too

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