4Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, (Romans 2:4-5)
Thoughts: We owe God a debt of gratitude for life. But instead of gratitude, we give God pride, selfishness, thoughtlessness, sexual immorality, greed, and other sins. So instead of worship, we think we are doing God a favor just by not being as evil as we could be. We are in debt and, instead of paying it back we pile up more and more as if we have never ending credit. Christ is the only one with infinite resources from His divine worth to pay off our debt to God. Today Greece cannot pay its debt to the European Union. The longer it faces debt, the worse the debt gets. Ironically the EU is owed and the EU is prolonging and enhancing the debt. Greece needs someone with enough resources to step in- or those with the resources to forgive enough debt for them to make it. We cannot pay our debt to God and no mere creature can pay it for us. Yet God cares and sent Christ to bring hope and reconciliation.
Q & A 12
Q. According to God’s righteous judgment we deserve punishment both now and in eternity:
how then can we escape this punishment and return to God’s favor?
how then can we escape this punishment and return to God’s favor?
A. God requires that his justice be satisfied.1 Therefore the claims of this justice
must be paid in full, either by ourselves or by another.2
must be paid in full, either by ourselves or by another.2
Q & A 13
Q. Can we make this payment ourselves?
A. Certainly not. Actually, we increase our debt every day.1
Q & A 14
Q. Can another creature—any at all— pay this debt for us?
A. No. To begin with, God will not punish any other creature for what a human is guilty of.1Furthermore, no mere creature can bear the weight of God’s eternal wrath against sin
and deliver others from it.2
Q & A 15
Q. What kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for then?
A. One who is a true1 and righteous2 human, yet more powerful than all creatures,
that is, one who is also true God.3
1 Rom. 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:17
2 Isa. 53:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26
3 Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Jer. 23:6; John 1:1
2 Isa. 53:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26
3 Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Jer. 23:6; John 1:1
Prayer: Thank you God that you, whom we owe, pay off our debt out of your great and infinite worth and love.
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