Debt Cancellation: The Beauty of the Cross

Happy New year Friends! 💃 💃💃

It is such a privilege to make it to a new year, with new opportunities awaiting us all by God’s grace! To kick start this new year, the Lord wants us to come to a deeper understanding of what He did for us on the cross. It is not breaking news that Jesus died for our sins, but do we really understand what it means?

Sit tight as you read and get a deeper understanding of what Jesus really did for you when he said ‘Tetelestia’ on that old rugged cross. I pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal to you the depths of love He has for you.

Yours in Christ,

Chidera. 

Colossians 2:13-14 says,

‘When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.’

What is Debt?

Debt is anything owed by one party to another.

What is Debt Cancellation?

Debt cancellation is when a lender agrees to relieve a debtor of his/her obligation to repay their debt. When a creditor cancels a debt, the debtor must no longer pay what they owed. This often happens when a creditor cannot or gives up on collecting the amount the debtor is meant to pay. 

We can pay off monetary debt when we become solvent enough to do so, but how do we pay off a debt in a currency we can’t buy? -Read that again.

Yes, we are all in debt, maybe not physically but spiritually. Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What kind of death?

Spiritual death. Simply put, this is separation from God, our life sustainer (Genesis 2:7). God cannot behold sin, and because we are all born sinners, we are all spiritually dead. (Habakkuk 1:13-16).

What is sin?

Sin is not just disobedience to God’s divine laws, but also not doing what you know is right (James 4:17). Whilst some of us may not fall into the first category, more than 80% of us fall into the second. May God have mercy on us all. 

However, that is not the definition of ‘sin’ I aim to discuss in this chapter. There is another type of sin, one which is not by actions, but by simply being born as a descendant of Adam and Eve.  

It is called the ‘original sin’, which King David spoke about in Psalms 51:5 "I was brought into this world in sin. In sin, my mother gave birth to me." Romans 3:23-24 says, ‘for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.’ 

I will simplify this with an analogy.

Say there was war in a country called ‘Eden’ and a man with his wife fled to an island. On this island they have children, and their children have children and so on. The story is passed down to every generation about how amazing Eden was before the war broke out. Suppose there is no means of transportation used to leave the island, those children will forever be stuck on that island until there is a transportation system that can bridge the gap between Eden and the island. No matter how much they long to visit Eden, they cannot, meaning that they must bear the consequence of the action of their fore parents, until a solution is provided.

From this analogy, the Garden of Eden was our home country, but Adam and Eve sinned, and we lost access to not just the garden, but God himself because we all became sinners, and He cannot behold sin. The war that broke out was their disobedience to God, and the children stuck in an unknown island are you and me. As discussed, we were all born sinners because of the sin of our first parents, signifying that we have a debt of sin. Having a debt of sin means that, because we are sinners, we must be die (separation from God) (Ezekiel 18:20-21) 

How can we repay this sin debt?

The only way we can repay this sin debt is by living a righteous life -which we cannot. 

This is because we cannot live a righteous life without dealing with our past.

From the analogy, it’s like telling one of the children born in the unknown island to live as though they were from Eden. This is impossible as the child may not fully understand how to live like Edenites if there is none dwelling in his midst to teach him their ways.

Additionally, it’s like trying to wash a stained white t-shirt to return to its original colour just by rinsing it in water. The stain may not be so pronounced, but it would still be there. 

That means that repayment of this debt was beyond us. 

Who then could pay off this debt?

Payment of this debt required a higher being. Someone that when the debt is paid off, we are certain that it is. It required the one who had the authority to forgive sins himself (Matthew 9:6). No one in the heavens, skies, earth or seas can do that apart from God. 

Why?

Because we are different from every other creation. Unlike every other creation, God created us with His own breath of life. So, the only person that can bring us back to life is the one who gives us breathe, life himself, Jesus the Christ (John 14:6).

Only Jesus could/can save us, and he had a choice to do so. 

I’m sure you guessed right, HE DID! He chose to cancel our debt of sin to give us HIS LIFE.

Even the physically dead cannot pay debts, let alone the spiritually dead, but our debt of sin was paid by this supernatural man.

Why did Jesus choose to die?

He did so for one reason, Love. John 3:16a says ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.’ Romans 5:8 says ‘But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ God knew that branches could/can never survive without the vine, and so, he made it possible for us to access the vine again by sending Him down to us. (John 15:1-4)  

Why did Jesus have to die?

Because whilst God is love himself, he is also a God of justice (1 John 4:16). Galatians 6:7 says ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’ He decreed that sin must be paid for, with death (Romans 5:20–21). But blessed are we because his mercy rules over judgement (James 2:13). He chose to justify us all by His grace.

What then is left for us to do?

Having read all that I have written, I just want to let you know that eternal life is only accessible to you when you surrender your life to Christ. You must lay down your life for the one that he has made available for you. That is how this divine exchange works. 

John 3:16 says ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’

Is it not lovely to know that, all you must do is to believe in Him (the one that loves you to death)?

Now we know what Jesus meant when he said ‘Tetelestia’. He meant that our debt was finally paid fully. 

Thank God for the cross!

If you’re interested in becoming born again, please say this prayer aloud wherever you are;

"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died and rose from the dead to save me. I repent from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Saviour. Amen."

 

💃💃💃💃 WOOOHUUUU!!!!!!

If you just said that prayer, then I’m so excited for you!! You officially have the first-class ticket to an amazing ride of the goodness of God with a sure guarantee of eternal life in heaven!

Congratulations.

Next Steps:

Please ensure you join a Bible-believing church around you so that you can grow in the knowledge of Christ.

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Bibliography 

Bible Gateway (1993) Bible Gateway. Available at: https://www.biblegateway.com/.