LOVE! Our Greatest Debt – Sermon 28 December, 2014

LOVE! Our Greatest Debt
Romans 1: 1-17
“I am a debtor both to Greeks and to non-Greeks, both to the wise and to the foolish — hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Roman 1:14-15
We come to the end of the year 2014, and we take an account and inventory. We find some satisfaction in knowing that we have met all deadlines, legal requirements and financial as well moral obligations during the past year. Some of us may be disturbed over the fact that we have financial obligations hanging over us that we must meet during the New Year.
As individuals we like to pay our debts; but there is a debt that many of us have without being aware of it. It is our greatest debt, because “the goods received” are priceless.
1. We are debtors to God.
We have received many blessings in the past years and especially in the year that we have come almost to the end of. I am sure that you will agree with me when I say God was with us all the way through, though we had some difficult, painful and distressing moments and days. We agonised over the loss of dear ones, had pain and needed care and fell ill and needed much prayer. But regardless of all these things, God was with us always.
In this respect we are debtors to God.
A. For the material blessings of life. We have to look around us to see the evidence of God’s generosity. God has been generous to us in many things like providing to us more than what we needed, giving health and strength to continue our life journey, giving real hope to look to the future, courage and audacity to continue our mission.
B. For the hope that is eternal within us. It cost something to bestow this eternal hope. It cost him the life and death of his Son, Jesus Christ who became a man to die for our sins, that He was buried but rose from the dead, that He is now in heaven waiting for God’s command to return to earth to judge the living and the dead, and that His Kingdom will be forever and those who believe in Him will be with Him forever!
2. We are debtors to those who have gone on before us.
Our Christian faith is based on the witness of those who have kept the faith and passed the flame to us with the expectation that we too keep the faith and follow in the steps of all those who have believed.
A. We are indebted to those who have suffered so that we might know the way of truth. Irrespective of the challenges they obediently believed in the One who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and became a living example before us to help us to continue in the Christian faith.
B. Many people have given their lives so that the gospel might be proclaimed to us to keep up the Christian faith. Those were the faithful followers in the early church and all those since that time have declared the good news that salvation is possible only through Christ. At times it had been dangerous to keep the faith and to proclaim salvation, but they have done that being obedient to the One who has called them to do so.
C. We are spiritually in debt for the ministry of our immediate spiritual fathers who brought the blessings of God into our lives. The church in the last twenty centuries has faced persecution and oppression, but their great courage persevered in their endeavours to minister, teach and disciple obeying to Christ great commission.
3. How can we meet our spiritual obligations?
As we acknowledge that we are debtors to God and to those who have gone before us, we should realise that we have the obligation to meet as the members of the church today.
A. Paul believed that the rich blessings of God placed him under an obligation to share those blessings with others. It is not enough to acknowledge that we are in debt, but we have to act now to meet our obligations. For Paul it was clear that he was called for a spiritual obligation to serve the Lord and spread the gospel to all, including the Greeks and the non-Greeks. He considered spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ his spiritual burden which put him under obligation. Similarly we as Christians should feel the same way and feel the spiritual obligation to do our part in the spreading of the Gospel.
B. We can attempt to meet our spiritual obligation in a number of different ways.
1. We should love Christ warmly with all our heart, and with complete loyalty.
2. We should put forth a persistent effort to be obedient to the Great Commission by giving our personal testimony.
3. Our talents, time, and financial resources should be dedicated to the cause of Christ and for the salvation of lost men and women.
We face a new year of responsibility and opportunity. We have a heavy debt to God and a continuing debt to a lost world.
Let us determine today to be faithful.
Let us determine today to face the new year with zeal, enthusiasm and with determination to pay our spiritual debt of love to God and to all those, whether they be Christians or non-Christians, who cross our path during the coming year.
As Paul later writes in his letter to the Romans:
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law”. (Romans 13:8)
Paul urges the believers to feel indebted to one another the love, which is perfectly embodied in the life and sacrifice of Jesus. Christ had also exhorted his disciples to love one another as He has loved them unconditionally.
Let us resolve that with God’s grace and help, we will have the obligation to love our neighbours as ourselves.
LOVE is our greatest debt. Let’s keep this in our minds.

Krikor Youmshajekian