I Am A Debtor

Romans 1:14-17
"I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith."

I read these verses today and Paul's words really hit me. Paul truly lived his life as a debtor...but a debtor of what? Love. He lived his life as if he owed everyone love. True love. Love that can only come from Christ. Guys, there is only one way to love someone, and that is to share the ultimate love of Christ with them. Do you understand that we owe it to people to be ready at all times to preach Christ? Does it sink in that we are to be like Paul, unashamed to proclaim Christ to anyone and everyone that he came across? Christ loves us so much that He died on the cross and paid OUR price for sins. It was completely undeserved and now we must live as debtors of that love. We are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and minds but that is much easier when you are reminded of the debt that He paid for you. So now Paul says he is a debtor to the Greeks, Barbarians, the wise, and the unwise...to everyone! There isn't anybody out there that doesn't fit that criteria. You owe it to the most hard hearted of people to share Christ with them and offer reconciliation of their sinful separated lives with a Holy God. You owe it to your co-worker and your family. I owe it to my teammates and to my coaches and strength coach. I owe it to the person that sits next to me on the plane. I owe it to everyone, and that is regardless of the response that I get. I am called to share the Gospel, the Good News, and it is up to God to do the work. The power lies within the Gospel, not me and not you. The Bible says it right there in those verses. "It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes!" You never know when one of God's elect is sitting right in front of you and is waiting to hear the Word of God so that they may believe it! This is what John Calvin started to realize as he would preach on Sundays: there are some people who hear the Word and fall asleep in boredom and there are those that are on the edge of their seats yearning to hear more. Why is this, he came to ask....BECAUSE it is a work of God in someone that allows them to believe the Gospel and to hear it and be born again. And it is us that God uses to deliver that message. Paul makes it very clear in those couple verses that it is our job to bring the Good News to people, regardless of the circumstances. As debtors to Christ, it is love that we must show the world. And what better way to love someone than to tell them the truth?

I pray that the Lord will give us boldness to be unashamed of the Gospel of Christ and to realize that it is the power of God unto salvation. These few verses from Romans were a great wake up call for me today, as well as an encouragement. I pray they were the same for you. The just shall live by faith. Take that in, and God bless.