A Debt Never Paid

DEBTORS TO LOVE

The greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all that we are; and the second is like unto it, love our neighbors as ourselves. While there is probably no one reading this who doesn’t know the command to love, who of us is not continually falling short? We fall short in that we do not love perfectly and in that we never get to the point at which we have loved enough. It is a debt we can never pay.

Paul makes this point by comparing love with other debts. We owe taxes, rent, utilities, etc.; and sometimes frivolous, fleshly induced debts. We understand financial debt. It is possible to live life in such a way that these kinds of debts are paid in full. In fact, the exhortation of Paul in Romans 13:8 is to owe no man anything. That is often where folk end the quote. To do so misses the point almost completely. Debt-free is good, but is not good enough. You must love!

After pressing the saints with paying up all that is owed in the context of life and legal relationships, he adds this powerful conclusion: Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. This exhortation is a transitional statement that allows him to expand upon details of how love is expressed. Of course, he quotes the law, which includes the last half of the ten commandments.

Love is a debt that can never fully be paid. To pay a debt implies retirement of the debt. It is no longer in force. We are no longer bound to it. Love will forever be a necessary rule in the lives of God’s people. One cannot love today and not love tomorrow. If the sun rises tomorrow, love is still owed. We can never stop loving.

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul defines and illustrates love in numerous ways. He then speaks of faith, hope and love as three fundamental cords of the Christian life. Faith and hope will pass away, but love will continue in this life and forever. Let brotherly love continue!  We must have and depend upon the Spirit of Christ to enable us to fulfill this commandment. While it is not easy while in this flesh, it is desirable and doable for the those walking in the Spirit. To such, His commandments are not burdensome!

Should Church Members Be Concerned?

 SOURCE OF JOY OR GRIEF?

According to Romans 14:12, we will all one day give an account of our lives to God. This is a serious motivation for living life carefully. While the believer is not under condemnation because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, there is  indication in Scripture that our life choices will still have some impact upon us on judgment day.

The word account in Romans 14:12, is also used in Hebrews 13:17. God is exhorting saints toward obedience and submission in relation to those whom He has appointed to watch over their souls. Considering other Scripture that uses similar language, it is almost certain that He is specifically referring here to the relationship of saints and elders in the church. Have you placed yourself under the leadership of elders in a church who are committed to watch for your souls? Saints will give account to God for their attitudes and responses to those whom God has placed over their care in the church.

Yet, in Hebrews 13:17, elders are specifically singled out as the ones who must give account. This knowledge governs the nature of their care. This accounting is presumably before the Lord. It may be in prayer, implied in the word watch, used with prayer by Jesus in Mark 13:33. Or, it may be a final day accounting. In either case, there are two possible emotions the elders might have as they give account of the believers under their care: joy or grief.

Your attitude and relationship toward your elders in your church affect your elders in one way or another. One is good and the other is unprofitable for you. When your elders experience joy in their care for you because you are responding with obedience and submission, God is pleased. When your elders experience grief because you are resistant to their leadership or are making choices that ignore their spiritual oversight, God is not pleased. You are responsible to manifest your submission to God by bringing joy, not grief, to your elders. Obeying and submitting to the ones you see are tangible expressions of your surrendered attitude to the One you cannot see.

It is true, elders may sin in lording over church members. Such attitudes and actions of elders will be dealt with by the chief Shepherd. Trust that matter to Him, and if necessary humbly address this sin with your elders.

If you have a heart to please the Lord you must be concerned about the affect of your attitude and actions upon your elders. When you obey and submit there is joy, both in the elders and you. However you flesh out the meaning of unprofitable, it is obviously not desirable for you, and is dishonoring to Christ. Avoiding this conclusion is simple, though it may not be easy: obey and submit to those who have the rule over you. This is Christ’s order for His churches.

Humble yourself before the Lord and purpose to bring joy and not grief to your elders. If you must err, err on the side of obedience and submission, trusting the Lord as you pray for those appointed to lead.

DON’T BE AN ACHAN

Do you remember the judgment that fell upon the children of Israel because Achan took of the accursed thing? God had instructed Israel not to take of anything from Jericho for personal use. The gold, silver, brass, etc. were to be deposited into the treasury of the LORD (6:19). Achan took some for himself. The consequence was felt by the nation as they were defeated in their attack against Ai. The anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel on account of the sin of Achan in the accursed thing (7:1).

God spoke to Joshua and the nation as if they all were accountable. Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled (deceived) also, and they have put it even among their own stuff…neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you (7:11,12). The sin of one affected the whole. The whole was held accountable.

It is very difficult for our individualistic mindset in the Western world to process how the sin of one can be in any way linked to anyone beyond that one. But God obviously sees the link. As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive is a basic theological truth revealed by God. But I don’t see that to be the truth to be gleaned from the account of Achan.

At every level of life there are relationships which are affected by our actions. No person is an island unto himself. Whether speaking of family, society, workplace, nation or church, the sin of one affects the whole in some way, small or great. Achan’s sin, called Israel’s sin, is given to us in part to remind us how significant our individual choices are before God in relation to others. Sin committed and tolerated in one life will affect more than just that life. God is calling our attention to the significance of the sin of the individual in relation to the whole.

Paul recognized this as he spoke of the church as a body. Each member affects the whole. He compared the sin tolerated by the Corinthian church in one member to a little leaven leavening the whole lump (1Cor 5:6). The church is affected by and is responsible to deal with sin in the camp.

Shouldn’t this thought produce personal carefulness and lives of obedience? To make decisions in life as an autonomous, unaffiliated human being is to miss a bigger picture that is important before God. Your actions are not just about you. In relation to the church, sin in your life (secret immorality, idolatry, unbelief, etc.) could be a reason for God’s judgment or withholding blessing. The church must not tolerate it if known. You need to confess it and repent. May each of us take seriously the impact that our individual lives and choices has upon the church.  Don’t be an Achan!