When we paid off our mortgage, for some reason, we did not burn the mortgage papers, as is customarily done in celebration. Maybe we were afraid we’d burn the house down, which would be painfully ironic.
Celebration or not, paying off that huge debt was a relief. The burden of paying that monthly combination of principal, interest, tax, and insurance hovered over us like a Kodiak bear just waiting for us to make a false move. It was good to know that the house was now ours and we no longer had to lean on a lien until payment was made. The words “PAID IN FULL” on that contract glowed like neon lights.
There are consequences for not owning up to the money you owe. Depending on who the debt is owed to and the size of the debt, the penalty can be financial, material, or even legal. In rare instances, the debt could be forgiven, or a benefactor could step in and pay the debt for you. In any case, someone pays.
While most debts are taken on willingly and consciously, there is a debt we all incur, excluding no one. It is the debt owed to God for not living up to his standard of holiness. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
The penalty for non-payment of the debt we owe our Creator is steep: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Don’t get caught up in the penalty and miss the words after “but.” Sin does not pay enough to satisfy the debt, but that debt can be forgiven.
“And when you were dead in trespasses … He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13–14).
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4–6).
It is finished—but it is only the beginning
Not only can the sin debt be forgiven—it will be replaced with riches beyond comparison. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
One of the largest debts most people incur is their home mortgage. Buying a home involves checking out the neighborhood, pricing the home, hiring movers, and going into debt. Before going to the cross, Jesus made a statement that no real estate broker can match: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:2–3). All those heavenly details are covered for eternity! The only cost is repentance and accepting Jesus as Lord. And, who could ask for a better landlord?
What is our guarantee?
“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30). The words “It is finished” mean “paid in full.” PAID IN FULL was written across our IOU with the blood of Christ.
Won’t you go to Jesus Christ today and accept his offer of forgiveness? He paid your debt of death on the cross and offers you his life in return (Colossians 3:4)—if you will take it.
