We live in an age of debt. Our government’s national debt now stands at almost $20 trillion. That’s $165,564 per taxpayer. In addition to that, the average American citizen has $56,137 in personal debt. Added together that’s a tremendous amount of debt, but it pales in comparison to our spiritual debt.
When we sin, we create spiritual debt. Not long ago I read about a student at Portland State University who owes $9,669 for 36 unpaid parking tickets including late fees and collection costs. The total cost of his parking tickets actually exceeded the value of his car. Every time someone sins, a debt is created. Imagine the cumulative penalty associated with every sinful thought that our minds have generated, every sinful word that our mouths have uttered, every sinful action that our hands have committed, and every sinful attitude that our lifestyles have displayed. That’s a lot of sin and a lot of debt.
Now imagine for a moment all the sins of all the people who live on this earth combined and catalogued. Imagine all the different kinds of sin which would be listed. Imagine how often each sin would be committed. Now consider the magnitude of the debt of all those sins added together. The Bible says that, “the wages of sin is death”Romans 6:23 (NASB95). So when we think about the world’s sin debt we are talking about death upon death upon death upon death. How can such an enormous debt ever be paid?
The fact is it is a debt that no person on earth could pay. It would take something priceless. It would take something of infinite value. It would take the most precious gift in the universe.
The good news is that Romans 6:23 (NASB95) goes on to say, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus paid it all.
“For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calvary’s Lamb.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.” - Elvina Hall
Paul described this awesome work of redemption with these words in Colossians 2:13-14 (NASB95), “When you were dead [bankrupt if you will] in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out 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.” Years ago after I paid off my first loan, the bank gave me a copy of my loan agreement with a red stamp on it that read, “Paid in Full.” When Jesus said the words “It is Finished” from the Cross He was announcing to every believer, “Your sin debt has been paid in full.” Your debt and my debt has been nailed to the Cross.
No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB95), “He made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus Christ became our sin payment. “Paid in Full” was written across our bill in the very blood of Jesus. That’s the wonder of the Cross.
Bro. Shep