Paid in Full

Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins so you don’t have to remain a slave to sin. Jesus didn’t die for only a few people, he died for all of us, Jesus doesn’t love just a few people, he loves all of us. But do we know that Jesus loves us so much he died on the cross a shameful death just because he wanted us to live a life free from sin, a life filled with joy, peace, favour and fulfilment and everything that the world cannot offer?.

People keep looking for all these things in the world but the world can never offer them these because it is incapable of providing them, it can only provide a copy but not the real thing even though it is wrapped up nicely like it is the real thing it really isn’t. This is why many people are sad , and  mental health issues is on the increase, some are killing themselves , some act like they have it all together  but they really don’t, some who have been in Christ are not exempt. Christians who know Jesus and have even walked with him are falling into the same trap. The other day I heard that a Pastor killed himself, apparently he had been depressed for a while, this is very sad.

Jesus paid it all in full so why are we not able to access the full benefit of that which he paid for?  

A man was owing a bank 100 billion dollars, his life was miserable because anytime he made any money, the bank took it to offset some of his bill, he couldn’t spend his money the way he would like to spend it, he was in bondage because he practically lived and worked for the bank. One day a man comes to pay the sum in full, he gets a call from the bank ‘Mr. Bee I have got some great news for you, someone who loves you very much just visited the bank, he knew all about your debt problems and has paid everything off for you in Full.’ Lets see how different people react to this and liken it to how they react to the finished work of Jesus Christ.

First Reaction; The man rejoices and is happy about the news but it is short lived. The following days he is still living like he is in bondage, whenever the bank calls him he still gets very scared, sometimes when they knock on his door he would still runaway or tell his child to tell them that he is not at home. His debt has been fully paid for but he is still behaving like he is indebted to the bank because he didn’t really understand what happened so he didn’t believe.

This is exactly how a lot of us behave we don’t understand nor believe the finished work of Jesus on the cross. There is no true joy, peace, love, fulfilment without Jesus, we need to accept the finished work of the Cross and let his blood wash away all our sins so that we can start afresh with him he is waiting and is desperate to start afresh with us because he loves us.

2^nd Reaction: Unlike the first man, this man was very thankful to the man who paid his debt in full, he praised him and worshipped him, but he didn’t change his ways but kept doing as he has always done before, spending money anyhow and not planning appropriately, he ended up falling into a much deeper and greater debt than he was before.                                                                            

This is what happens when we accept Jesus into our life but our lifestyle doesn’t change we are still the old way and still do the old things we used to do. If you have been delivered from the bondage of Satan but still involved in the same practise that landed you in bondage the first time, your case after will be worse than it was before if you don’t change. Matthew 12: 45” Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first”

3^rd Reaction: The man was very thankful for the kind gesture, but he didn’t desire to have any relationship with the man who paid the debt, he knew exactly what to do in his own strength to stay out of debt for the rest of his life. So he decided to put things in order, he did a lot of calculations and computations, like a monthly excel sheet to capture his expenses so that he does not overshoot on his budget, he read books on finances and delaying gratification and became skilled at managing his finances he did very well and it made a significant change in his finances. But life happened to him suddenly he found himself in an unplanned, unbudgeted, unforeseen circumstance, he became ill and had to spend all the money he had on hospital bills. The money he tried so hard to keep he lost.

When we work in our own strength we can never really get far no matter how far it seems we are getting. But when we surrender all to God he takes over and when he takes over a life he makes that life more beautiful than that life can and could ever be.

4^th Reaction: He was thankful to the one who settled his bill and recognised that without the man he would never have been able to pay off such a huge debt. He was fully aware of what the man had done for him that whenever the bank call he spoke with boldness and even warned them never to call him again because status had changed. This man took a step further to show his gratitude he decided to work for him all the days of his life not because he was forced to do so but because he felt that is the only way to fully show his gratitude for what the man had done for him. The man who paid the debt in full however said to the man “if you truly want to serve me then go and look for others like you who are in debt and bring them to me, I have an abundance like a river that can never run dry, and I want to help others like you”. The man begins to search for people who are in debt telling them they don’t have to be in debt because there is this man he knows who has an abundance of wealth he calls it a river that can never run dry and he wants to settle the debts of anyone who is in debt and cannot payback. And the man brings many people to this man who settles all debts and the man said to the for the man “well done thou good and faithful servant’

Jesus paid in full for our sins that we may have eternal life and in accepting this gift from him we also agree to his terms. What are his terms? John 15; 4-5 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches, he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing”.

5^th Reaction: Lastly, the man was very thankful to the man who paid his debt in full and recognised that without the man he would not have been able to pay his debt ever and so he asked just like the man in number 4 to work for him all his life, and the man told him the same thing “if you truly want to serve me then go and look for others like you who are in debt and bring them to me, I have an abundance like a river that can never run dry, and I want to help others like you”. But this man went about his normal business not really taking what the man said seriously and will even occasionally tell others about his own story and how he was delivered from debt, but he will not ask to find out if perhaps they are in debt and need it paid in full, sometimes he will casually tell people about the man but not do a follow up so he didn’t win any soul.

Many who have been delivered are not telling others about Jesus and how they can also get their own deliverances God is relying on us to help share the good news to others so it is our duty to share the goodness and the love of Jesus with everyone who needs to know. It is also the great commission given to us by Jesus to make disciples baptising them in the name of the father son and the Holy Spirit.

Which one of these reaction describes you?  Trust that Jesus paid in full for your sins and receive Jesus Christ and his offer of forgiveness today.