The Debt

When he was an attorney, Abraham Lincoln was once approached by a man who passionately insisted on bringing a suit for $2.50 against an impoverished debtor. Lincoln tried to discourage him, but the man was bent on revenge. When he saw that the man would not be put off, Lincoln agreed to take the case and asked for a legal fee of $10, which the plaintiff paid. Lincoln then gave half of the money to the defendant, who willingly confessed to the debt and paid the $2.50! But even more amazing than Lincoln 's ingenuous settlement was the fact that the irate plaintiff was satisfied with it.*

Due to our sin, you and I are “impoverished debtors.”  We are like the servant who owed 10,000 talents (an astronomical amount of money) and was called before the king to settle the account in Jesus’ “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.”  (Please read the parable in Matthew 18:23-35.)  Unable to pay the tremendous debt, the servant pled for mercy. “The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go” (Matthew 18:27).  We also do not have enough resources to “pay” the debt for even one of our sins.  We need mercy.

But God loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16) 
to pay the debt for our sins.  “In Him we have redemption through His blood, 
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

The blood of Jesus removes the debt of those who will: believe in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), repent of their sin (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). The blood of Jesus continues to keep one’s record clean as he continues to live for the One who made His redemption possible (1 John 1:7).  As Jesus also taught in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, we must also be willing to forgive the debts of others (Matthew 18:38-35; see also Matthew 6:14-15).

When we accept God’s forgiveness on His terms, we are able to sing “a new song”:

“He paid a debt he did not owe
I owed a debt I could not pay
I needed someone, to wash my sins away
And NOW I sing a brand new song, “Amazing Grace.”
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.”

Won’t YOU allow the blood of Christ to cover the debt of YOUR sin by submitting YOUR life to Him in trusting obedience?  

– David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

* The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes by Clifton Fadimon according to http://elbourne.org/sermons/index.mv?illustration+4365

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