After discussing a Christian’s relationship with human government, including paying taxes, Paul moves on to discussing money owed to one another. He says we are to owe no one anything but the debt of love. The word for ‘no one’ and ‘anything’ are actually the same word in Greek, which makes this pretty all-inclusive. We are to be in debt to nobody, no one, or nothing (e.g. financial institutions or credit card companies) for money, property, or the like. No doubt, this is a radical statement, especially in today’s culture. According to Ramsey Solutions, 77% of Americans have at least some type of debt. The total personal debt in the U.S. is 17.5 trillion, and the average debt per adult is nearly $67,000, around $6,500 of that being from credit cards. With the inflation rate of 19% since 2020, this is not a good time to be in debt. I would not say going into debt is a sin, because Jesus Himself permits lending to others at least in some circumstances in Matthew 5:42. However, the Scriptures have a lot to say about money, and staying out of debt is one such admonition. The Lord said through Solomon, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7) This says then that one of the keys to financial prosperity and freedom is not going into debt if at all possible. Most financial advisors (including those from Christian organizations such as Ramsey Solutions or Crown Financial) see an exception for a home mortgage. The idea is that buying a home is an investment because real estate tends to appreciate over time when other property does not. For example, a brand-new car loses about 20% as soon as you drive it off the lot. So, if you finance a vehicle at 50 thousand, it’s only worth 40 thousand once you leave the dealer, meaning you are already upside down on it. This is just the principal, then you have to pay the interest on top of that, which at a 7% interest rate, comes out to $9,404 over 60 months. This means you will pay almost 60 thousand for a vehicle that is only worth 40 thousand. So, as we can see, the math is not in our favor when it comes to going into debt, especially when it is for our own personal pleasure.
Rather than going into debt, however, we should be obligated to love one another, for this is the true fulfilling of the law. This love, again, is the unconditional love with which God loves us. If I really love my wife, I will be faithful to our marriage vows. If I love my neighbor, I won’t murder him or steal his belongings. I won’t lie to him or about him, and I won’t covet his things. These are only five of the 10 Commandments, but all the Commandments are summed up in this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is the second of the two greatest commandments that Jesus gave for which He said hangs all the law and prophets. Love does no harm to its neighbor (anyone with whom we encounter in our daily lives), and therefore is the fulfilling of the law. Sometimes, we get so caught up in rule-keeping, we forget the why behind the rule. God is love. He doesn’t say sin is bad because it is forbidden, but that it is forbidden because it is bad. Sin hurts me, and it hurts those around me. Therefore, the Lord does not want us to sin. If I love God and my neighbor as I ought, I will not sin either, and I won’t need a law to tell me not to do so.
Because of the time, Paul calls believers to awaken out of sleep. As believers it can be easy at times to just go along for the ride. We become lazy and dull to spiritual things, and can drift into a carnal or backslidden state. However, our salvation (future glorification) is closer now more than ever. The night is over, and the day is at hand. If we truly believe Jesus is coming soon, this should motivate us to clean up our act if we have allowed sin into our lives, and really begin living for the Lord. We need to cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light (Ephesians 6:10-18). The imagery is that of changing clothes. As a follower of Jesus Christ, we should act decently as people do in the daytime. The works of darkness Paul mentions here are revelry and drunkenness, lewdness and lust, and lastly, strife and envying. Revelry is boisterous drunken merrymaking. Lewdness speaks to desiring sexual immorality (the forbidden bed), and lust here means not caring what people think about their sexual sins (they are shameless).
Finally, we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This phrase also appears in Galatians, and speaks to our new nature we receive at salvation. There is both a positional and a practical application of this: we are to, day-by-day, moment-by-moment, choose to walk in this new nature, and make no provision for our flesh (sin nature). The sin nature will be as active as we allow it to be. In Galatians it also states, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Gal 5:16-18) So then, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ is to walk in the Spirit, and to walk in the Spirit is to love one another, fulfilling the law. Again, we do this by being transformed by the renewing of our minds through the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.
In closing, how are we doing as it relates to debt? There are organizations as I mentioned earlier like Ramsey Solutions or Crown Financial that can assist you in getting on a budget, getting out of debt, and building wealth for the future. How are we doing in loving our neighbor? How many problems would we solve relationally if we would just love one another as Jesus said to? Love works no harm to our neighbor. Are we sleeping spiritually? Are we coasting through our Christian walk and lapsing into sinful behavior? Jesus is coming back soon, so let’s put off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ by forsaking sin and walking the way He wants us to. In the next chapter Paul will discuss Christian liberty, and some of what he has to say may challenge us a bit.
Additional Links
A Proven Plan for Financial Success - Ramsey
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