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Unpaid Debts

 

Romans 1:14-15 - I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 

So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

As Christians we have some spiritual debts that, in one sense, can never be fully repaid. In the above verse we read that the Apostle Paul said he was a debtor to every lost soul to tell them the good news of the Gospel. “I am debtor,” he admitted, and he tried to do everything possible to pay that debt. 

What would you think of a person who had the means to save another person’s life but refused to act? Or a lifeguard who was strong enough to save a drowning child but refused to jump in and save the child? We would call those persons cowards or maybe even murderers for their inaction. Thinking of that, what would you call a Christian who knows God’s gracious plan of salvation, but refuses to share it with a lost world of people? Paul says, “I am a debtor, I must carry the Gospel to the lost.”

We learn that we are also debtors to the Spirit in Romans 8:12-13 - Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

The Apostle Paul makes it clear that we are not debtors to the flesh, but we are debtors to the Spirit. But how quick we are to take care of the flesh and ignore the Spirit. Think about where you would be if the Holy Spirit had not convicted you of sin. Suppose He had not opened your eyes to the Truth of the Word of God. Suppose He had not imparted saving faith to your heart. You would still be lost.

How do you pay debt to the Holy Spirit? By keeping His temple clean, being sensitive to His leading and not grieving Him, by studying the Book He wrote about Jesus Christ and by yielding ourselves to Him to be used to tell others of His saving grace.

Do you have unpaid debts in your life?

From “Thoughts for Men on the Move.” By Warren W. Wiersbe