The Debt We Could Not Pay

Read Romans 6:19-23.

Each soul has inherited a spiritual debt from our first parents. It’s in our genes, in our DNA. We have all inherited an eternal death sentence and only confirm its justice through our clear rebellion against our holy God, and the consequence of our sin is death (see Romans 6:23). If this were the end of the story, I would be hopelessly depressed. But thank God, it’s not. Although we owe a debt that could never be satisfied by our good works, good conduct, or best effort, God sent His Son. On the cross, Jesus shed His divine blood to ransom all who come to Him in repentance and faith.

No one forced Jesus to go to Calvary—not Judas for money, not the priests out of envy, not Pilate out of cowardice. God the Father delivered Him out of His love. Jesus went voluntarily out of love for you and for me—love for all who name the name of the only Savior and Lord. Only the perfect, sinless Son of God could redeem imperfect, sinful people. He was sinless in His nature, character, and conduct.

On the cross, Jesus atoned for our sins—He satisfied the justice of the Father (see Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). God is a righteous, holy, perfect God, and He demands perfection of His creation. But none can obey perfectly, so we owe an insurmountable spiritual debt. The natural consequence of our inability to pay that spiritual debt is judgment and wrath.

Preachers avoid the subject of the wrath of God because the moment wrath is mentioned, people think of someone who is out of control, malicious, and vindictive. But God’s wrath is never vindictive and always predictable. It is provoked by evil alone. And while God’s wrath demands judgment for sin, His love satisfied that justice through the gift of Jesus. His love provided a means of atonement—a free gift of grace for all who receive it in faith.

At Calvary, Jesus both satisfied God’s justice and redeemed us from our slavery to sin. Every one of us is born enslaved to sin, and everyone needs to be set free. Redemption by the cross means that freedom from sin is yours if you ask for it. Jesus has broken the chains of sin and made us free not to sin. May we live in the freedom that Christ has secured through His precious blood.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for paying my infinite spiritual debt on the cross and setting me free from sin. Empower me by Your Spirit to live righteously for You and Your glory. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.