I Am Debtor
by Jarrod M. Jacobs
When the apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, he said, “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise” (Romans 1:14). What did that mean? How could he have been a “debtor” to them when he had not seen them yet (Romans 1:13; 15:22)? Put simply, being “debtor” meant that Paul was under an obligation to preach the gospel to the Romans (Vine’s p. 279). In the same sense that Paul said, “woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel” (I Corinthians 9:16), he also felt that urgency toward the Romans and planned on preaching there soon. As we study the Bible, we also learn that we are “debtors” today.
How are we “debtors”?
Romans 8:12 says that we are debtors to Christ to mortify (or put to death) the deeds of the body and not live after the flesh. Paul shows that when we do this, we will be alive spiritually (Romans 8:13). Paul’s letter to the Romans leaves no doubt that if we wish to be joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), then we become debtors to “mortify the deeds of the body,” and live for Christ. If we wish to please God, we must put off “our old man” of sin by being baptized for the remission of sins (Romans 6:3-6, 16-18; Colossians 2:11-12; 3:9; Mark 16:16).
As Paul was fighting the false doctrine of the Judaizers in Galatia, he said, “For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:3-4). This is a lesson many of our friends in the denominational world need to learn. When people try to justify their actions in worship by Old Testament teachings, they become debtors to do all the Law.
This is also a lesson those of us in the church need to learn. The Old Testament teaches us by revealing examples worthy of imitation, as well as revealing examples of folks whose actions we ought not to imitate (Romans 15:4). However if we cling to the Old Testament as the word by which we authorize our actions today, Paul said without hesitation that we can and will fall from grace because we have left the law of Christ and have become indebted to the Law of Moses.
We are debtors to God!
Think about it: God sent Jesus to die as a sacrifice on the cross for us (Romans 5:8; John 3:16). While we can never repay His great sacrifice, we are under an obligation to God to live our lives in His service (Luke 17:10; II Corinthians 5:14-15; Romans 12:1-2). Friend, give your life to God instead of wasting your life with Satan (Mark 16:16; James 4:7-8)! We owe Him that much!
