God canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
COLOSSIANS 2:14
Mike Tyson was once the greatest boxer in the world.
Nicknamed “Iron Mike” for his devastating power, at age twenty, Tyson catapulted to international fame and fortune in 1986 by becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history.
By the late 1980s, he was commanding $30 million per fight, living an extravagant lifestyle, and buying mansions, exotic vehicles, expensive jewelry, and even pet Siberian tigers. Once, he bought a gold chain encrusted with 80 carats of diamonds, worth $173,706. Over the course of his career, Tyson earned approximately $400 million. That’ll buy you a lot of Siberian tigers.
Unfortunately, though, wild living and poor financial choices caught up with him. In 2003, Tyson filed for bankruptcy, claiming $23 million worth of debts. Amazingly, even with all his earlier riches, he had come to a place where he owed more than he earned. He faced a debt he could not pay. Kind of like us.
WHAT’S IT MEAN?
No, the debt you owe has nothing to do with money. (At least, let’s hope you aren’t $23 million in the hole.) The debt we’re talking about is the accountability for sin that everyone faces before God.
Like racking up unpayable bills, all humans have piled up a massive debt of sin. We have disobeyed our Creator countless times in thought, word, and deed.
Worse yet, we can’t reconcile this debt on our own. We are spiritually bankrupt. Broke. Penniless. Busted. As they say in the financial world, we are “in the red” of debt. We need someone’s help to “get in the black” of the profit column.
That’s where the red of Jesus’ precious blood comes in! When Jesus sacrificed himself, God nailed the power and guilt of our sins to the cross to die along with his Son. Jesus paid sin’s terrible price (death) for us.
Now, through faith in Christ, our incalculable debt of sin is erased. We owe nothing more to God for our transgressions. Every word of unkindness, act of disobedience, blatant lie, fit of anger—every single sin—is forgiven. Believers are debt free and rich in Christ!
(Just don’t buy any Siberian tigers.)
NOW WHAT?
Take a few moments to thank God for canceling the record of charges—sin’s debt—against you.
DID YOU KNOW?
Jesus told a parable describing God’s forgiveness of the great debt of our sin in Matthew 18:21-35.
Excerpt From: The One Year Devotions with Jesus by Joshua Cooley