Session 6

The Beauty of Canceled Debt

From Prepare the Way

Have you ever owed someone a significant amount of money? Whether it’s a mortgage, student loans, or credit card debt, that monthly bill can feel like a heavy weight. 

What if you woke up tomorrow to find that your entire debt had been paid? Everything you owed was wiped clean in an instant. Erased. Gone. Everything would change, right? 

As believers, sometimes we forget that a debt much bigger than a mortgage or student loan has already been paid on our behalf. We forget the magnitude of our debt — and the sacrifice it took to pay it. 

In Colossians, we see that before Jesus’ sacrifice, we were separated from God. It actually says we were “dead” in our sins. Dead people can’t bring themselves back to life, and people who have been cast out of God’s presence can’t do anything to come near to him. But Jesus took all of that debt upon Himself on the cross, paying everything we owed and bringing us back to life in Him! 

Look at the reality of our lives now. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).

We had a debt, and through Jesus, it’s gone.
Every broken thing – nailed to the cross.
Every sinful thought – nailed to the cross.
Every unkind action – nailed to the cross.

God didn’t just forgive “humanity” generally. He forgave you specifically. He didn’t just forgive the sum total of our sins, but the grotesque details of each individual one. He knows every lie you’ve told, every time you’ve cheated, and every time you’ve had an unkind or impure thought. He knows — and He forgives each and every one.

There’s an old hymn called “Jesus Paid It All,” and its refrain says,

“Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.”

You and I were stained — dead in our transgressions, hopeless in our sins. But through God’s steadfast love, Jesus paid it all to wash those sins away and bring us into a relationship with Him.

When we look at our lives in light of what Jesus has done for us, it becomes much easier to release control, submit to a life of obedience, and practice generosity. We owe God everything. It is a gift to live our lives for Him, because He gave His life for us. 

This is why the vision of NewSpring is to see everyone everywhere in an everyday relationship with Jesus. It is the best news we could ever receive, and we want to be people on mission with this message for the rest of our lives. 

• Write a prayer of thanksgiving to God for canceling your record of debt