Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon.
Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2010.
“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors.” Romans 8:12 (KJV)
As God’s creatures, we are all debtors to Him. We are indebted to obey Him with all our body, and soul, and strength. (Mark 12:30) All people have broken His commandments, and so we are debtors to His justice. We owe God a vast amount which we are not able to pay.
But Christians do not owe God’s justice anything, for Christ has paid the debt His people owed. For this reason the believer owes his debt instead to love. I am a debtor to God’s grace and forgiving mercy; but I am no debtor to His justice, for He will never accuse me of a debt already paid.
Christ said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) and by that He meant that whatever His people owed was wiped away forever from the book of remembrance. Christ has fully and finally satisfied divine justice. The account is settled! The handwriting is nailed to the cross! The receipt is given! And we are debtors to God’s justice no longer.
But because we are not debtors to our Lord in that sense, we become ten times more debtors to God than we were before to His love. My friend, pause and ponder for a moment. What a debtor you are to divine sovereignty! How much you owe to His love, for He gave His own Son who died for you. Consider how much you owe to His forgiving grace, that after ten thousand sins against Him, He loves you as infinitely as ever.
Consider what you owe to His power, how He has raised you from your death in sin, preserved your spiritual life, kept you from falling, and though a thousand enemies have attempted to divert your path, nevertheless you have been able to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23)
Consider what you owe to His unchanging nature. Though you have changed a thousand times, He has not changed once. You are as deep in debt as you can be to every attribute of God. To God you owe yourself, and all you have. And for once, what a wonderful debt to owe! Yield yourself therefore “as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
Question: How have you been living out your debt of love to God as a “living sacrifice” this week?
You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2011/01/12/cs_debt-to-your-lord/
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