How could four BIG RED CAPITAL LETTERS stamped in the center of a yellow legal-sized document bring so much joy? How could one small word bring so much relief? The document was a loan contract sporting the word “PAID.”
In the fall of 1990, I bought my first car – my money, my responsibility, my payments, my car. It was a 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier. But you would have thought it was a Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, or some other exotic sports car.
I paid it off in four years even though I added the cost of an engagement ring to the note. This meant I had my car and my sweetie all tied up in one tidy little bank note. I still have the sweetie, but I got rid of the car years ago. Oh, I drove the wheels off of it – almost 200,000 miles over 12 years. We finally gave it to a charity. They came and got the car, give us a donation credit, then fixed it up and resold it.
When I had made the final payment, the bank sent me their copy of the contract with PAID stamped on it. This signified that they released me from my debt, I had me my obligation. And to signify that I now owned the car, they also sent the titled signed over to me. I enjoyed the car so much more after I satisfied the loan obligation.
A Bigger Debt Payment
Just before Jesus breathed His last human-bound breath, He cried out with a loud voice:
IT IS FINISHED! – John 19:30
“Finished.” Sounds like an ending doesn’t it? But in this case it was a beginning, a shout of victory. The word translated finished was a common commercial word of the day meaning “it has been paid.” Just like that bank note, Jesus declared the end of our obligation to sin and the beginning of a new and free life.
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But do we live in that reality on a daily basis? Do we allow the devil to falsely sell us on the idea that our sins still hang around our necks? Do we believe we still have several payments to make before satisfying our debt? NO, NO, NO, a thousand times NO!!!!
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When Jesus declared “it is finished,” He was declaring for all of the universe to hear that once and for all the payment for every sin had been remitted. He finally made provision to satisfy sin’s debt and to appease God’s wrath. Brothers and sisters, if you have received Jesus as your Savior you are absolutely and totally free and clear. You are the proud honor of a brand spanking new life. Take it for a spin, drive it around, it’s yours. Those olds sins of the past are gone. God has removed them as far from you as the East is from the West.
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Debt Free Living
Right now, declare your freedom from fear, guilt, low self-worth, and every other lie of the devil. Jesus Christ paid your debt and you stand FORGIVEN. Quit moping about defeated by your failures (past or present) and debilitated by your fears (present or future).
Jesus has freed you from sin’s punishment. He has freed you from sin’s power. And soon He will free us all from sin’s presence, PRAISE HIS NAME. You are no longer a debt holder, you are FREE