I recently read a small article out of a Christian “Chicken Soup for the Soul” kind of devotional. This kind of book is usually a mixed bag…take the good, leave the rest. Today, I came across one entitled “A Debtor,” by Steven Grose, from New South Wales and I can’t shake it.
My first instinct is to reject the concept of “debt” to God because it totally undermines the free aspect of his grace, and it also leads to a legalistic, joyless, works-filled life, in which we try (impossibly) to repay God. But as I read on, his article started to resonate with me, and opened my eyes to how the concept of indebtedness can work in the Christian life.
The article is based on Romans 1:14, “14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” This is such a weird way to talk about Paul’s ministry. Why would he say he is “under obligation?” Immediately, some thoughts come to mind:
- What is debt, anyway? Debt is my obligation to pay someone what is due to them…what is rightfully theirs. I have been in severe financial debt before, so this analogy really hits home.
- When we owe someone money, they are right in expecting it, whether they demand it or not. Debt has to do with *our* obligation, even if no one is asking for it, or even knows we owe it to them.
- What do we think of a man who borrows and does not repay? Or someone who shirks his responsibility to his own children?
- A debtor is always in state of humble servitude. He forfeits his rights in favor of the one he is indebted to.
Paul says he is indebted, not to God, but to the “Greeks and barbarians.” This immediately shatters any attempt to link indebtedness to our salvation through grace. So what could Paul possible have, then, that rightfully belongs to the Greeks and barbarians? How could he be indebted to them? The answer is in verse 15. ”So I am eager to preach the gospel to you.”
Paul does have something that rightfully belongs to Gentiles and barbarians and Romans: the gospel. Salvation does not belong just to Paul…it belongs to everyone for whom Jesus secured it. Not to share the gospel, in Paul’s thinking, would be like withholding payment on a debt, or defaulting on a loan.
Using “debt” terminology describes the tension of an unresolved urging. Imagine the feeling you get when the bills start piling up, the creditors start calling, you get “pink” letters in the mail, etc… This is not like a savings account, where you give out of your excess, whenever you are able to. Paul seems to be under pressure to get this done.
Now, I know someone reading this is going to start getting depressed, thinking this is a heavy burden. If you are feeling this way, remember that this is a joy-filled obligation (just like God commands us to be “cheerful givers”), because are paying this debt with something that God provides in the first place.
I remember when Mary and I sold our house, we had planned to settle some long-standing debts that were really weighing us down financially and emotionally. When we got the check from the title company, it was actually fun to pay those debts!
This may not be sound financial advice, but I never had so much fun writing thousand-dollar checks. There was great satisfaction in settling the account, and a joy in knowing the money wasn’t coming from our tiny, limited paychecks.
The obligation to share the gospel will never lift, because there is no end to the supply of God’s grace to save people of every tribe and nation. Without God’s unlimited storehouse of grace, this never-ending debt to the world is a terrifying and oppressive notion that will never make sense.
May we experience the freedom and the infinite joy of settling this debt. The deeper the better.
