I Am a Debtor

Q: What does the Bible say about being a debtor to God?

The Bible teaches that believers are debtors to God due to His grace and love, compelling them to share the gospel with others. In Romans 1:14, Paul expresses that he is a debtor to both Greeks and non-Greeks, emphasizing the obligation he feels to share the gospel. This notion of being a debtor reflects an understanding of our unpayable debt to God for His grace, which transforms our lives and equips us to spread the good news of Christ's salvation. It is a recognition that we owe God our very existence and the calling to preach His gospel and serve others as a response to His overwhelming love. Furthermore, this debt is not merely a burden but a joyful responsibility. The gospel, entrusted to us, has the power to change lives, mend relationships, and provide hope and purpose. When Paul states, 'I am a debtor,' he acknowledges both the grace he has received and the importance of sharing that grace with others, reinforcing the idea that we are called to be conduits of God's love and truth, enriching the lives of others through the message we proclaim.

Q: How do we know the gospel is true?

The truth of the gospel is verified through scripture, the transforming power it holds, and the historical evidence of Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection. The validity of the gospel is rooted in its foundation within the Scriptures, specifically the testimonies found in the New Testament that document the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul emphasizes in Romans that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, indicating that its truth is not only theoretical but practically evident through the lives transformed by faith in Christ. The significant historical account of Christ’s resurrection serves as a cornerstone that substantiates the claims of the gospel. Additionally, the impact of the gospel throughout history, seen in the lives of believers who have been transformed and the church’s growth despite persecution, serves as further testimony to its truth. The gospel offers hope, establishes unity among believers, and guides them toward righteousness and holiness, demonstrating its divine origin and transformative power in the lives of those who believe.

Q: Why is preaching the gospel important for Christians?

Preaching the gospel is essential for Christians because it fulfills the Great Commission and transforms lives through the power of God. For Christians, preaching the gospel is vital as it aligns with the Great Commission given by Christ to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, where they are called to make disciples of all nations. It is through the proclamation of the gospel that individuals are introduced to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, leading to the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The act of preaching serves not only to share God's love but also as a means to fulfill the divine calling placed upon believers to be ambassadors for Christ. Moreover, the importance of preaching is reinforced by its role in the edification of the church. As believers hear the truth of God's Word, they are encouraged in their faith, grounded in theology, and equipped for good works. Through faithful preaching, churches grow in unity and strength, and believers are inspired to live out the implications of the gospel in their daily lives, reflecting God's glory in a world that desperately needs hope and redemption.

Q: How does God's grace make us debtors?

God's grace makes us debtors as it instills in us an obligation to share His love and salvation with others, having received so freely ourselves. The concept of being a debtor due to God's grace is a central theme in Paul’s letters. He articulates that believers owe everything to God, who has graciously given them salvation and righteousness through faith in Christ. Being a debtor highlights the understanding that salvation was not earned by our merit but is a gift that demands a response. Our gratitude for this unmerited favor compels us not only to live in obedience and worship but also to actively share the gospel with others, as they too need the grace that we have received. Additionally, this sense of indebtedness is not burdensome but rather a profound joy and privilege. It fosters a community characterized by generosity, love, and witness, reflecting the heart of Christ in our interactions with others. As we recognize our debt to God and to those around us, we become motivated to live as servants of the gospel, ensuring that others have the opportunity to experience the same grace that has changed our lives.

Turn to Romans chapter 1. This week the Lord blessed a
family in our church with a new son, Gary and Kathy Faulkner.
They have a fine little boy born just two or three days ago, Andrew
Cody. We give thanks for that. I know
they are grateful. Now let me read verse 11, Romans
1. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles
writing to the church at Rome, assures them of his desire to
visit them, to preach the gospel among them. He says in verse
11, I long to see you. that I may impart unto you some
spiritual gift to the end that you may be further established
in the faith of Christ. Then in verse 13, he said, I
would not have you ignorant, brethren, oftentimes. I have
intended to come, I purposed to come, I made plans to come
to visit you and to preach to you, but I was let hitherto,
I was hindered. I was not permitted. Now, how
would Paul be hindered? He wants to go to a place and
preach. He desires to go there. They
want him to come, but he couldn't go. Well, sometimes the Lord
hinders his servant from going to a certain place. I read that
to you from Acts 16, if you'd like to read it again. Paul determined
to go to several places. He was not permitted of the Lord
to go. Acts 16, verse 6. And when they had gone through
Phrygia and the regions of Galatia, they were forbidden, hindered
of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. And they would
come to Mysia. And they determined to go to
Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not. There were two places
Paul wanted to go, and God didn't let him go. Sometimes Satan hinders
men from going to certain places by divine permission, of course.
But he has that power by divine permission. I'll show you that.
in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2. Brother Groover had a visitor
one time, a well-meaning friend, relative. Brother Groover lives
in MÃ©rida, and he preaches in different pueblos outside of
Merida and the whole country of the Yucatan. And they got
in the truck that night, Walter and Betty and this friend and
his wife, and they left Merida, and the roads are rough and dark
and dangerous, and they drove through one pueblo and drove
through another and drove through another and drove through another
and kept driving out on the rough road, and finally they came to
where he was going to in a little church established out there
in one of the Pueblos, and his friend leaned over the front
seat and said, Walter, why don't you establish these churches
closer to Metta and you won't have to drive so far? Walter said, I have to go where
God sends me. I have to go where the sheep
are. I have to go where God directs me to preach the gospel. And
that's true of Paul here. There's a place where God wants
him and a place where God wouldn't permit him. God uses various
means to take your servant where he's supposed to go, to preach
to whom he's supposed to preach. 1 Thessalonians 2. Listen. Wherefore,
we would have come unto you, even I, Paul, once and again,
but Satan hindered us. We were going to come down to
Thessalonica, but we were hindered. So in verse 13 of Romans 1, Paul
said, I don't want you to feel like that I'm neglecting you,
and that I don't want to come down there and preach. But I
purposed to come, I determined to come, but was not permitted,
I was hindered. Why did he want to go preach
to them? Look at the next line, that I might have some fruit
among you. that I might have some fruit
among you also even as among other Gentiles." Now, what is
the fruit of a man's ministry? What was Paul talking about here,
the fruit, that I might have some fruit among you like I have
among other churches? Well, it's threefold. The fruit
of the ministry is threefold. First of all, it's the conversion
of sinners. calling out of God's elect, we
preach the gospel. God teaches us the gospel and
gives us the gift to preach the gospel and entrust us with the
gospel, and we preach the gospel. And men and women believe the
gospel. Some believe, some don't believe,
but some do. And they're brought to Christ.
You please God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. And when we, I preach, Paul said,
and you believe. And that's fruit. That's fruit
of a man's ministry. Then secondly, the edification
of believers. I'd like for you to turn in your
Bibles to Ephesians 4. This also is the fruit of the
ministry. Edifying believers. Strengthening believers in the
word of God. Grounding, establishing believers. in the truth, Ephesians 4 verse
11. And he gave some apostles, some
prophets, some missionaries, evangelists, some pastors and
teachers. Why? For the perfecting of the
saints. The word perfecting is the maturity
of the saints. For the work of the ministry,
not only to bring men to Christ, but to edify the body of Christ. to establish believers on the
Word of God, till we all come in the unity of the faith and
of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a mature man, unto the
measure, the stature, the fullness of Christ. that we henceforth
be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with
every wind of doctrine done by the slight of men and cunning
craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Paul said,
I want to come and preach that men might be converted and that
those who are converted may be established, grounded in the
word of God. might grow up in Christ, that
they be not like children that are prey to every voice, every
strange character that comes around in the name of religion.
But verse 15, but speak in the truth in love, that you may grow
up, grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
Like these teachers in the congregation, they're not satisfied just to
teach a boy or girl how to read. They learn to read, see, Jane,
run. Run, Dick, run. Well, they learn
that, but there's so much more to learn, isn't there? They can
read now, but we want to take them into the glorious, beautiful,
wonderful things of God's world. So we keep teaching them. Keep
teaching them, that's what he does. Thirdly, the fruit. Paul said, I want to preach to
you that I might have some fruit. The conversion of sinners, the
edification, establishment, grounding of believers in the word of God.
And then the growth and fruitfulness of believers. Oh my, that's so
important. How the preacher rejoices when
people are brought to Christ in faith. when they're grounded
and established on the Word of God. And then when you begin
to see labors of love, works of faith, growth in spirit and
attitude, love flowing among the people and from the people
to one another and here and abroad. Look at 1 Thessalonians 1. This
is what this is saying. 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 2 and
3, listen to it. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians
1, 2, I give thanks to God always for
you all, making mention of you in my prayers, in our prayers,
remembering without ceasing. your work of faith, your labor
of love, your patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in
the sight of God our Father. That's what he wanted to see.
The fruit of the Spirit manifested among those to whom he preached.
Turn one page over to 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 5 and 6. He says, for this cause, when
I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith. I wanted
to know your condition. I wanted to know what was going
on down there, lest by any means the tempter have tempted you
and our labor be in vain. Now, when Timothy came to us
and brought good tidings of your faith and your love, And that
you have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to
see us as we ought so to see you. Brethren, we were comforted
over you in our affliction and distress by your faith. Your
faith comforted me." See what he's saying? Paul said, I want
to come down there to preach to you. I purposed to come, I've
determined to come, but I wasn't permitted, whether by God, But
whether by the hindrance of Satan, I don't know. But I want to come
have some fruit among you. Some fruit among you, because
it rejoices my heart to see me and brought to Christ, established
on the Word, and grow in grace, and faith, and love, and joy. Now verse 14. For I'm a debtor. I'm a debtor. This man had gone all over that
part of the world preaching. He'd spent much time in prison. He'd been persecuted and abused
and harassed. But he said, I'm a debtor. I
want to go wherever God let me go and preach because I'm a debtor.
I'm a debtor. I'm in debt. Because of the grace
of God to me and the revelation of Jesus Christ to me and in
me, I'm a debtor. He said, I'm not my own. I'm
bought with a price. He said at the beginning of this
chapter, I'm a bond slave of Jesus Christ. I'm in debt. You see, I owed a debt I could
not pay. And he paid a debt he did not
owe. And that makes me a debtor. I'm
a debtor. I have a duty to perform, you
do too, as God's servant. I have an obligation to fulfill
as God's messenger, as you do. I have a story to tell. Good
news, glad tidings, a gospel to preach. I have a ministry to all men
everywhere. He said Greeks or Jews, barbarian,
Scythian, bond or free, wise or unwise, rich or poor, old
or young, I'm a debtor. Verse 14, I'm a debtor. I'm a
debtor to the Greeks and to the barbarians, to the wise and to
the unwise, because I've got something they need. I've got something they need
to hear. I have a gospel with which God
has entrusted me and given to me, and I'm a debtor. This gospel of the glory of God
which he has committed to my trust, if it's believed and if
it's received, it will put away all a man's sins. Did you know
that? All his sins. Put them away. Remove the curse.
Restore the following. Cleanse the guilty. This gospel
that God has given to me and with which he has entrusted me
will bring a man to God, accepted and a beloved. It will give a
person a good hope of eternal glory. It will unite husbands
and wives and parents and children and neighbors in love and harmony,
this gospel will. It'll form a family of believers,
a brotherhood of grace, and a brotherhood of love. This gospel will. This
gospel he's given to me and taught me and gifted me to preach will
destroy pride, malice, selfishness, and greed. This gospel will create
a new heart, a heart of love, a new nature, a nature of obedience. This gospel will give strength
to a man in his trials. It will give comfort in sorrow. It will give hope in death. This
gospel will bring joy in youth and peace in old age. This gospel
will produce fruits of righteousness, love, joy, peace, patience. I have a treasure in this gospel
that God has given to me, and I'm a debtor. I'm a debtor. Not too many days ago, in fact
just about nine days ago, I was standing in a chicken house
preaching the gospel. Ronnie and Dan and Don Bell and
I went up to a chicken ranch where Armando and Marta, a man
and his wife, had cleaned out the chicken house. They have
a chicken ranch, several of those long houses where they keep thousands
and thousands of little bitties until they grow up to be chickens
and sell them. They cleaned one out and they
invited all their neighbors and friends and relatives and folks
all around. They came from everywhere. There
was about 150 of them there. About as many as in this center
section this morning in that chicken house. And Ronnie preached
a good message, I got up and preached, had a little liberty
to preach the gospel. They sat and listened. And when
I got through preaching, there was an old man sitting there,
and he's the first convert of Milton's ministry in this community. Name's Jose. He's between 80
and 90. God has used him to witness to
a lot of people around there. That old man loves the gospel.
When I got through preaching, he got up and walked up to the
front. And he stood in front of those
people, his neighbors and friends and folks lived all around, come
from miles to hear the gospel. And he said, now folks, he said,
these men didn't come from Julian. That's just down the road. He
said these men didn't come from Tuxla, that's a little further
down the road. These men came from, and he didn't
know how far away, I know, he said they came from far, far
away to tell us about Christ, to tell us the good news, to
tell us about our Savior. Speaking in Spanish, Milton translated
it for us. He just kept going, tears in
his eyes, and then he broke forth singing. Between 80 and 90 years
of age. Oh, his heart was so glad. And
everybody's heart was glad. And everybody had a tear in his
eye. But I tell you, our gospel that we take, wherever God lets
us take it, it'll free the slave. It'll give sight to the blind. It'll give joy to the heart.
It'll save the sinner. It'll put away guilt. It'll make
a man glad and give him a hope of eternal life. I'm a debtor.
I got to go. Just got to go. Got to preach
where God will let me preach. And you have to, every time he
opens a door, to tell this good news. You see, because I'm in
debt. All my life, I have felt a strong,
strong, motivation to pay my bills, and
I know many of you that can't stand to owe something to someone
and can't pay. Can you? It just bothers me.
It bothers me. I don't know of anything that
bothers me more than having an obligation that I've made and
not paying it. I've got to pay it. I've just
got to. And that's where I feel about
this gospel. See, I'm in debt to the covenant
God, way back yonder before the foundation of this world. He
chose me. Back yonder before the war began.
This is the truth from which it all springs. Think for a moment
what we were. enemies, traitors, but God, who
is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were dead in sins, quickened us with Christ. Back before the
foundation of the world, God loved me and chose me, committed
his love toward me, in that while I was an enemy, Christ died for
me. He chose me. He loved me. He
quickened me. He gave me life. I'm in debt
to a covenant God. You are too. And I'm a debtor to my Master.
My Master loved me when I didn't love Him. And He came into this
world. He said to me what He said to
Jeremiah, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before
you came forth from your mother's womb, I had my hand on you. He
came into this world. was born of a woman, born under
the law, took on himself the frailties of my flesh, the habit
of a servant, walked this earth a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief, despised, rejected of men, and worked out for me
a perfect righteousness before his Father. And he went to the
cross of Calvary, and there he was wounded for my transgressions
and bruised for my iniquities, and the chastisement of my peace
was laid upon him, and his stripes set me free. And he went to the
grave and lay there three days, and then he arose and ascended.
And even right now, he intercedes for me. I'm a debtor. How much
I owe? How much I owe, Bridget, how
much I owe. How much I owe. I'm a debtor
to the Holy Spirit. He came and quickened me from
a dead spiritual state, gave me ears to hear. I didn't hear,
I wouldn't hear, I couldn't hear, I didn't want to hear. But He
gave me ears to hear. And he gave me eyes to see something
that I could never see apart from his divine intervention. I see Christ, the power and wisdom
of God. I see the beauty and glory of
the Redeemer. He revealed Christ to me and
the Holy Spirit teaches me and comforts me. I'm in debt to the
angels that hedge me about and protect me no matter where I
am, driving or flying or sailing or wherever His angels have charge
of me. I'm a debtor. I still owe a debt I can't pay. I tell you, I'm a debtor to the
past. I'm a debtor to Moses who wrote of Christ. I'm a debtor
to Abraham who believed when nobody else did. I'm a debtor
to Isaiah who, in conflict and difficulty and trial, remained
steadfast and wrote for me the book of Isaiah. I'm a debtor
to the apostles, all of whom were martyred but one. I'm a
debtor to old John sitting over there on the isle of Patmos,
exiled and deserted by all men. I'm a debtor to the ancient fathers,
Augustine and Luther and Calvin. who dared to stand up against
false religion and powerful religious rulers who gave their lives as
martyrs for the cause of Christ. I'm a debtor to Whitefield and
Isaac Watts who wrote hymns for me to sing and books for me to
read. I'm a debtor to Spurgeon who
dared to stand in his day for the truth. I'm a debtor. And I'm a debtor to the preacher
who came one day and told me about Christ. Oh, my. That's what Paul wrote to Philemon.
He said, Philemon, you owe me your life. I'm a debtor to that
man who wouldn't compromise the truth, that man who wouldn't
go along with the program, that man who cared not how big was
his parsonage or his car or his salary, but dared to buck the
religious trend and preach Christ and Him crucified. I owe that
man. I'm a debtor. And I'm a debtor to the present.
This world's in darkness. This world is blind, being abound
by religious traditions, sin, and unbelief, and slavery to
false religion. And I have the key to set them
free. I do. You do. We do. I have a dispensation of the
gospel of Jesus Christ committed to my trust. That's why I get
these fellows and head for Mexico. Why we send missionaries to Africa. Why we're going down to Tortola
later this month to preach. Because I'm a debtor. We arrived in Mexico, sent by
you. I go. God enables us to go, opens
the door, uses you to send us and pray for us. But we arrived there on Saturday,
and that night immediately we drove out to Calcutta. And Don
Bell and I preached, Milton translated. That old place was plump full.
The whole day in, I stood a tune on the saxophone. Milton played
the guitar. We had a time. One man said,
I've seen a saxophone, but I've never heard one play a hymn. They sang the same songs we do,
many of them, At the Cross, Rock of Ages, There's a Fountain,
Come Thy Fount, When I See the Blood, Are You Washed in the
Blood? And boy, we sang them all over Mexico. Dan playing
that saxophone rolling across the hills. And then Sunday morning
we got up and went out to Cal, where Jose's been pastor
19 years. Nineteen years ago, I sat out
there in that little church and held his little boy, just born,
Wacho. Wacho is nineteen years old now.
They know me, they know you, they know 13th Street Baptist
Church. And Ronnie and I preached out
there. And then Sunday night we went
over to Yobain where Retilio, that church is over 20 years
old, 24, 5 years old. Retilio's been pastor there nearly
20 years. Big crowd. And Brother Dan and
Brother Don Bell preached. And we sang and worshiped God.
People heard the gospel and rejoiced. Then we drove across the mountains
and on Wednesday night, We went up to the chicken ranch, where
I told you about a minute ago, where Jose gave his testimony. And people came from miles. And
this dear lady, see, it's against the law to have religious services
in your home. Everything we do down there is
illegal by Mexican law. But she dares to take a chance. And she invites her friends,
and they all come up and just fill the yard, fill the chicken
house, and invites us to preach the gospel. This is the eighth
meeting she's had out there, and always that big crowd of
people. Some of them hearing the gospel for the first time
in their lives ever hearing the gospel of Christ. And Ron and
I preached out there. And then we went up to the ranch.
That's a long, hard drive, just 92 miles, but takes four hours,
up in the mountains. And they had a service Friday
night. And I was sitting out there on the patio with my Bible.
Now, you talk about something that'll put pressure on you as
a preacher. I'm there to preach that Friday
night, and they've invited people from everywhere. I'm sitting
there and here comes about 20 people walking up the hill. I
can see them right now. That man with the glasses, you
know, and the punch over his shoulders and leading that little
boy and his wife walking beside him and all these other people,
they have walked four hours to get to that service. Walked four
hours. Some of those women carrying
babies, 18 of them. walked four hours. I'm a debtor to preach the gospel, not with
wisdom of words, not with enticing words of man's wisdom, not to
impress people or try to be clever. They came to hear about Christ.
They walked four hours. They stopped. Dan and Ronnie
had gone up to the coffee place where they grow coffee, it's
through the jungles, and they saw those 18 people out there
taking a bath in the creek before they came to the service. They
brought their go-to-meet-and-close with them, and they washed the
children and everything, cleaned up, come to the service. And
Don and I preached that night in the open air about 175 people
there. Some people drove a truck. They've
got two trucks. One truck broke down so they
all piled in one, about a three-quarter ton truck with 40 people in it.
Wasn't there that many? In the back, packed in there
like sardines. And that group that walked four
hours, I said, are they going to walk home in that jungle tonight?
She said, no, they're going to stay here and spend the night.
I'm going to feed them breakfast. They want to hear you all preach
in the morning. So that night, they slept out on the concrete. They all had their little pads,
little old rolled up, like you had in kindergarten when you
took your nap. They had these little rolled up pads. And they
lay out there and slept in the open air, waiting to hear the
gospel one more time. One more time. And then after
the service, they got on the trail back home. Well, going down there and whatever
it takes to send us or whatever it takes to go and to support
these missionaries, we discharged a little of our debt, didn't
we? But I'm still a debtor. I never get it paid. I'm a debtor. And then we came down, and I'll
tell you something interesting. We came down and, oh, that Saturday
morning, Ron and Dan preached. I never heard two better sermons
in my life. In fact, they were so good that
Milton told both of them, said, I want those sermons repeated
Sunday morning and Sunday night at Houlihan in Tuxla. They were
so clear and powerful. Psalm 51, and he preached on
Cain and Abel. Sacrifice of blood. And then
we preached in Houllion that night in Tewksland. And Monday
morning, we left for Meredith and we drove up the mountain,
about two hours from Tewksland. And Milton said, I want Brother
Mahan to preach up here in a home where I've been going for years.
There's one family, one family, a man and his wife, a 16-year-old
boy and a 13-year-old boy. And Milton goes every week and
preaches to them. Once in a while, they have a
visitor. But just one family, baptized believers. And I went
up there, and there's a village there, and they're not real friendly.
Milton told me, said they used to block the road on me, wouldn't
let me come up, until one day I drove up there in my van, and
they had all this corn piled up in sacks, and they were carrying
it up that mountain. And he told them, he said, put
your corn in here. And I'll take it up." And he
said, I made seven trips up that mountain with corn. And he said,
ever since then, they let me come in with no trouble. And
so we went to this home. There's this little barren home. This man used to be mayor of
the town. And the six of us men went in, and there was a man,
his wife and two sons, handsome family, handsome boys. And he
brought some more chairs in. He told you to sit light, didn't
he? Ronnie went to sit down in one of those little rickety chairs
and he said, sit light. So, or maybe it was day in Ronnie
and he said, sit light. But anyway, this is such a blessing. Now you're talking about up in
the middle of nowhere. This is nowhere's bill. And here
we are privileged and honored of God. To sit there, and I opened
my Bible, I sat in the chair, Milton sat beside me and translated,
and for about 45 minutes I talked to them about the Lord Jesus
Christ. It cost a little bit for us to
go, but it's worth every nickel of it. Just that one place. Talked to them about Christ. Oh, what a debtor we are. And
we've got some more preaching to do, some more places to go,
some more missionary support. These men, what's going on in
Africa astounds me, amazes me. What's going on in Mexico? We
preach to, these men will tell you, packed houses and packed
yards, didn't we? The gospel of Christ. But I delight
to do it, don't you? I'm a debtor. And then my last
point is this. I'm a debtor to a covenant God.
I'm a debtor to a redeeming Lord. I'm a debtor to a gracious Spirit,
Holy Spirit. I'm a debtor to the past, these
men who stood for the gospel. I'm a debtor to the present. I owe, how much I owe, to tell
you the truth. And I'm a debtor to the future.
Now listen to me. I look out here and see these
boys and girls. There sits Sarah and Leah, and these boys and
girls out here. Now listen to me. These children
out here and in other places are going to have what we leave
them, the heritage we leave them for what they're going to have. Now what are we going to leave
them? Are we going to leave them a
gospel compromised because we didn't have the nerve and the
grace and the grit to preach it? Or are we going to leave
them a pure gospel of God's grace? Are we going to leave them a
gospel perverted? Are we going to leave them a church in shambles?
When I come to the end of my ministry here and you men, are
we going to split this thing up, quarrel and fuss and argue
and you go your way and I go mine and leave these boys and
girls with a church in shambles? Or are we going to leave them
a church dedicated to the gospel, dedicated to the glory of Christ,
united, unified in fellowship? Huh? Or are we going to leave
them? Are we going to leave a fellowship
torn with schisms, folks going in different directions to satisfy
their own whims and wishes? Are we going to pass the gavel
down or whatever you want to call it, the mantle or whatever,
to the next man and back him and bless him? and help him,
huh? What are we going to do now?
You know, so many times when, well, I've seen it so often,
folks, you know, they just, they take lightly. Church division,
they take lightly. Well, I'll just quit. All right. But remember, you're a debtor
to these boys and girls not to quit, to forgive and to help
To keep this thing, endeavoring, you see what I'm talking about?
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. I'm a debtor.
Someday I'll walk out of this pulpit for the last time, and
somebody's going to walk in, and I want it to go on just like
it's going, for their sake. Huh? We've been blessed. Let's bless them. Let's bless
them. Are we going to leave them an
attitude of self and vainglory? We're going to leave them an
attitude of whatever is for the glory of God. That's what I'm
with. That's what I'm for. When old Paul wrote these words,
I looked at them yesterday. I am a debtor. I said, I am too. I am too. To all men, by God's grace. By
God's grace, you and I are going to discharge that debt to the
best of our ability. We're still old when we walk
away from here. We're still old. More than we can ever pay. But
we can be faithful, can't we? But I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
It's a power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes it.
For in that gospel, his righteousness is revealed. All right? What
are we? We're debtors. We're debtors. I owed a debt I could not pay.
He paid a debt he did not owe. All right, let's sing 431.

I Am a Debtor

What does the Bible say about being a debtor to God?

How do we know the gospel is true?

Why is preaching the gospel important for Christians?

How does God's grace make us debtors?

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I Am a Debtor

What does the Bible say about being a debtor to God?

How do we know the gospel is true?

Why is preaching the gospel important for Christians?

How does God's grace make us debtors?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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