We Are Debtors!
Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:15-22; Psalm 116:1-8,12-14
Scripture Text: Romans 8:10-12 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
[11] But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also
quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. [12] Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Introduction:
In a sermon by Charles H. Spurgeon (The Christian-A Debtor, 1856), he states that Christians are indeed debtors in many ways.
**To the Christians of the past - i.e.,
-- Saints - who were faithful to God and His Word even when it cost them their very lives.
-- Pilgrims - who sought out a country where they could preserve the freedom to worship God and spread His Gospel.
Spurgeon: “They tell me, that they of old maintained the truth, and preached it, in the midst of fire and sword—that they bore death in defence of the cause of God, that they might hand down his holy word inviolate to us!....Is not this Bible opened and read by us all, the gift of their self-denying faithfulness? Is not the free air we breathe the purchase of their death? Did not they, by bitter suffering, achieve our liberty for us?
And are we not debtors to them? Shall we not, in some degree, repay the immense debt of our obligation by seeking to make the future also debtors to us, that our descendants may look back and acknowledge that they owe us thank for preserving the Scriptures, for maintaining liberty, for glorifying God?”
**To Christians of the present -i.e.,
-- Billy Graham, Ray H. Hughes, C.H. Spain, Wade H. Horton - who have continued, in present times, to preach the whole truth of God’s Word.
-- Christian laymen, i.e., Jay Sekulow, Don Wildmon, James Dobson, and others who have given their lives to the cause of preserving our Christian freedoms.
Spurgeon: “We see, in many a land, the proudest dynasties and tyrannies still crushing, with their mountain-weight, every free motion of the consciences and hearts of men. We see, on the other hand, the truest heroism for the right, and the greatest devotion to the truth in hearts that God has touched.”
Hebrews 11:32-40 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: [33] Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, [34] Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. [35] Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance;
that they might obtain a better resurrection: [36] And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: [37] They were
stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; [38] (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. [39] And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: [40] God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
** To the future generations.
Spurgeon: “If we, the children of God, are not valiant for truth now, if we maintain not the great standard of God’s omnipotent truth, we shall be traitors to our liege Lord. Who can tell the fearful consequences to future generations if we now betray
our trust....If we suffer orthodoxy to fail, or God’s truth to be dishonored, future generations will despise....our name....Stand up ye warriors of the truth, stand up firmly, for ye are debtors to the future, even as ye are debtors to the past. Sow well,
for others must reap. You are fountains for coming generations; O, be careful that your streams are pure. May the Spirit of God enable you so to live, that you can bequeath your example as a legacy to the future.”
** To the poor (especially the Godly poor).
Spurgeon: “Charity to the poor is a debt. We are not at liberty to give or to refuse. God requires us to remember the poor, and their poverty is a claim upon our generosity. But in the case of the believing poor, their claim upon us is far more binding, and I beseech you do not neglect it...."Brethren, we are debtors;" what I have is not my own, but God’s; and if it be God’s, then it belongs to God’s poor. What the
wealthiest man has is not his own, but God’s, and if it be God’s then it is Christ’s, and if Christ’s, then his children’s; and Christ’s children are often those who are hungry, and thirsty, and destitute, and afflicted, and tormented. Take care then of that class,
brethren, for we are debtors to them.”
** To our God, most of all!!
Spurgeon: “I owe nothing to the past, I owe nothing to the future, I owe nothing to the rich, and nothing to the poor, compared with what I owe to my God.”
What has the Lord done for you lately?? Has He forgiven you of your sins; filled you with His Holy Spirit; healed your body; supplied your needs; protected you and your loved ones; blessed you with a loving family and loyal friends; etc.??? What has the Lord done for you??
We are indebted to the Lord for His everlasting mercy, His grace, His eternal love, His marvelous power, and His immutability!
Now, what have you done for Him?? As the Psalmist meditated on the blessings of the Lord in his life, he realized that he was deeply indebted to God for all His goodness to him. Therefore, he cried out, Psalm 116:12 “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?” He then proceeds to answer his own question and to declare what he must “pay back” to God.
Render (Web. Dict.) = 1. To pay or give back; to return. 2. To give for use or service.
For the purpose of this sermon, it means, “To give back to God that which is already His that it may be used for His service and glory.”
Matthew Henry: “From hence we see how much it is our duty to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
While the Psalmist expresses a desire to "render to God”, Jesus tells us that we are obligated to “render unto God the things that are God’s.” In other words, we must return, or give back, to God those things in our lives which already belong to Him.
There are certain things in our lives that actually belong to God, but He has put the
disposition of those things in our hands.
Matthew 25:14-15,19 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. [15] And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey....After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
...For instance...
I. Your Soul Belongs To God.
Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Matthew Henry: “As to eternity, every man was, is, and will be dealt with, as his conduct shows him to have been under the old covenant of works, or the new covenant of grace.”
Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
1 Cor. 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? [20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
A. If our soul belongs to God, what are we to do with it?? Give it back to Him.
Psalm 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.
Matthew Henry: “Our best is unworthy of his acceptance; yet we ought to devote ourselves and all we have to his service.”
B. The destiny of your soul has been placed in your hands!! Have you “rendered” it to God??
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
II. Your Life Belongs To God.
Matthew 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
A. This Scripture implies that our ability to do anything for God (time, talent, treasure, etc.) is actually a gift from Him.
Matthew Henry: “Our best is unworthy of his acceptance; yet we ought to devote ourselves and all we have to his service.”
1 Tim. 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust,...
1 Tim. 6:20 [Living] Oh, Timothy, don’t fail to do these things that God
entrusted to you.
1 Peter 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
1 Cor. 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
B. We must faithfully “render unto God” all our time, talents, and treasures.
III. Your Love Belongs To God.
1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
A. God gave His love to us. We should “render” our love to Him.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Rev. 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
IV. The Tithe Belongs To God.
Leviticus 27:30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.
Deut. 26:12-15 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be
filled; [13] Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy
commandments, neither have I forgotten them: [14] I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given
ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. [15] Look down
from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
A. The tithe is the Lord’s, but the disposition of it is in our hands!
B. Tithing and giving is God’s perfect plan for providing for the needs of the ministry of His Word and ministering to the needy among us.
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it.
C. The tithe is the Lord’s. Are you “rendering” to Him that which is His??
Conclusion:
Spurgeon: “All we can do for God is but a trifling acknowledgment of an infinite obligation;...Though we cannot pay all, we can at least acknowledge the debt.”
We owe the Lord!! More than we can ever repay!! Let us “render unto God the things that are God’s”, then we can expect His blessings upon us.
