How to Get Out of Debt

Luke chapter 7, a meal together is always, or can, no it's not always, that's a wrong

Luke 7 · chapter mention

statement.

A meal together can be a wonderful time.

It can be miserable too, but there are several different reasons why somebody will invite

you to lunch or to invite you to dinner.

Have you ever been in a situation where somebody invited you to lunch or invited you to dinner

and you really didn't know why you were going?

You didn't know the real reason why you got invited?

I want to warn you that it's not always what it appears and you can lose your appetite

over wondering why you were invited to start with.

Sometimes people invite you for a ketchup meal, you know, just want to catch up.

We haven't seen each other in a while.

I had a buddy of mine that I grew up with that invited me on what I thought was a ketchup

meal a few years back and I found out he was selling something.

Somebody's always got something in the trunk, you know, but anyway, he was selling something.

He was trying to convince me to buy food in bulk to the point that if I bought enough,

they'd give me a freezer.

I thought, I don't think I need that much food today.

Let's just eat lunch, okay?

That's a little bit different than the old meat truck that I debated about driving in

college to get by one summer and making the rounds door to door.

Some people just want to catch up and some people want to win you over and that's exactly why

he invited me because he wanted to win me over and make a little money off of me and that's

what he was doing.

Other times people want to invite you over just to find out some information.

You know, you eat whatever's on the dish and then you get down to the real dish afterwards.

Tell me more.

I want to know.

And then sometimes it could be a dressing down.

They want you on their own turf to tell you their problem with what you're doing.

So Jesus was invited to eat dinner with Simon.

Now, don't get you Simons mixed up.

This is not Simon Peter.

This is instead a Pharisee named Simon.

And I don't think he caught Jesus by surprise.

Well, I'll be honest with you.

I know he didn't.

But whatever his motive was, he appears that he invited Jesus out of curiosity.

Jesus was making an impact.

Rumors were spreading.

People were excited and other people didn't like it and the message had got out.

And at this point, the message was that whoever Jesus is, he is a powerful man.

He is changing people's life.

There's something supernatural about him.

And they couldn't really define what all that meant, but there was something supernatural about that.

And as a Pharisee, as one of those chief priests and elders, as the religious aristocracy,

he's looking at this and seeing what's happening.

Now, is God speaking to him in his heart?

Maybe.

But the reality is, what he led Jesus there for was to try to get him somewhat in a trap.

But in the midst of this dinner, something else happened.

Now, I want you to understand the context.

When a treasured guest comes to visit a nice house of another, in this culture, it was quite a greeting.

I mean, whereas we answer the door with a handshake or a fist bump or whatever,

they opened the door and greeted guests with a kiss.

I'd wake you up.

Somebody invited you over to dinner, wouldn't it?

They didn't take their coat.

They had a servant wash their bare feet or wash their sandaled feet.

And then another may, in really nice places, may anoint their head with oil to refresh you, to bless you.

You can tell a nice restaurant.

When you go to the restroom, I always check the restroom if you want to know if the restaurant is really nice.

Just a little secret.

But when you go in the restroom, if they have mouthwash or cologne, men, I don't know what the ladies have,

but men, if they have that on the counter, you're paying way too much for supper.

I can tell you that.

And the difference in who rich folk are and us are normal folk,

if people take you to a good restaurant and they get an appetizer and dessert, that's rich folk, you know.

If you get both, sometimes you splurge and get one or the other, but that's rich folk.

But the anointing of the head with oil was kind of like that mouthwash in the bathroom.

It was kind of like that cologne, but it was, of course, a lot more personal.

Apparently, none of that happened when Jesus entered this house.

But folks knew he was there.

It was not odd in that day for those who would not be invited to such a dinner as this to come by.

Houses had openings for windows.

And it was not odd for people who would be passing by and hear of big folk eating together

to just see what it was like and to stick their head in the window

and to watch what was going on as the meal.

It would be odd in our culture, but in reality, in that day,

sometimes they'd even come in and sit along the walls and just listen and watch.

That may have been the case here regardless.

For whatever reason, a woman with a reputation of disrepute came on the scene

and our passage talks about what she did.

Talks about the host's reaction to what she did

and the parable that Jesus shared to share truth with them.

It's found in Luke chapter 7, beginning in verse 36, and it says this.

Luke 7 · chapter mention

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him.

And he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table,

and behold, a woman of the city who was a sinner.

When she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house,

brought an alabaster flask of ointment,

and standing behind him at his feet weeping,

she began to wet his feet with her tears

and wiped them with the hair of her head

and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

Now, if you don't understand the seating arrangement here,

they had very low tables and pillows around those tables,

and they ate like your mother told you not to.

They would eat laying on one elbow and one hand

and bring it to their mouth very close to the plate,

and their legs lay behind them.

If somebody was next to them, they would be kneeling down beside them.

That's why when Jesus talks about a man being in Abraham's bosom,

that's what it's talking about.

He's laying his head right here.

They're eating together.

They're in the same presence.

So Jesus' feet is back behind him,

and this lady comes in and anoints his feet.

Now, when the Pharisee, in verse 39,

who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,

is this man were a prophet?

If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman

this is who is touching him, for she's a sinner.

So at this point, he feels like he's got Jesus in a pinch, you know?

Either he has received the attention of a lady with a bad reputation,

therefore impure himself, because he would entertain such,

or either he didn't even know what kind of woman that was,

so he was not, therefore, a prophet.

He had him.

The whole meal had paid off.

It was worth it, you know?

His curiosity was solved.

But wait.

Jesus is on the scene.

It says in verse 40,

And Jesus answered,

saying to him,

Simon, I have something to say to you.

And he answered,

Say it, teacher.

He said,

A certain moneylender had two debtors.

One owed 500 denarii, and the other 50.

When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both.

Now, which of them will love him more?

Now, what he's saying is, on a common laborer's wage,

what he's saying is that one man is getting two years of his salary of debt forgiven,

and the other is getting about two months of debt of what he makes in two months forgiven.

Who do you think is more appreciative?

And Simon answered,

The one, I suppose, from whom he canceled the larger debt.

And Jesus said,

You have judged rightly.

And then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon,

Do you see this woman?

I entered your house.

You gave me no water for my feet,

but she has wet my feet with her tears,

and wiped them with her hair.

Which means she brought down her hair in public,

which is inappropriate,

and wiped his feet,

thought to be because of where they walked and who they walked behind,

the next man's donkey,

the most disgusting part of the body.

You gave me no kiss,

but from the time I came in,

she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

You didn't anoint my head with oil,

but she's anointed my feet with ointment.

Therefore, I tell you,

her sins, which are many,

I did know,

her sins, which are many,

are forgiven,

for she loved much.

But he who is forgiven little,

loves little.

And he said to her,

Your sins are forgiven.

Then those who were at the table with him

began to say among themselves,

Who is this?

Who even forgives sins,

and he said to the woman,

Your faith has saved you.

Go in peace.

In the story that I want to focus on

for the next few moments,

Jesus compared the state of one's soul

and their sin to a debt.

So let's just stay with that story, okay?

As he compares that,

let's unpack that,

and then find out how

to get out from under it.

Now,

as I prepared this,

I couldn't help but think of the irony

that I would be preaching a sermon to you

on how to get out of debt

when I just signed a contract

for a house in Picken, South Carolina,

the land of inflated housing.

But praise the Lord,

I signed a contract.

So,

we're getting there.

But this morning,

I speak of a different kind of debt.

First,

acknowledge your debt.

Because if our sin is a debt,

we're all in debt.

Having debt does not bother everybody.

Some don't mind debt.

It don't bother them.

Now,

I realize that people's got more than I do,

need some debt for tax purposes and all that.

I'm not talking about that stuff.

I'm talking about people who

dread seeing the bill come in the mail.

Some people really don't care, I think.

It's been said that nobody spends money

quite so readily

as those who are hopelessly

and comfortably in debt.

Some folks today,

and this is an idea that's growing way too fast,

believe society owes them something.

And it don't matter how much you owe.

And that same mentality carries over

into what they think of God,

that somehow God owes them something.

So,

in order for him to forgive a debt,

that's no big deal.

It isn't really a priority anyway.

I wasn't worried about it anyway.

And that's like this Pharisee.

The Pharisee didn't think that he had any sin debt,

or at least he didn't have much.

I mean, this is not only a churchgoer.

This is a church leader.

It's so easy to point out outward sins.

He didn't have many of those.

Because if he had,

he wouldn't have been a church leader anymore.

So he didn't have those outward sins.

It's a whole lot easier to point at somebody else's sin.

To realize our own sin debt is not easy.

However, Scripture tells us

that if we don't acknowledge our sin debt,

we will never be forgiven of it.

1 John 1 verse 8 says,

1 John 1:8

if we say that we have no sin,

we deceive ourselves,

and the truth is not in us.

John says in verse 10,

if we say we have not sinned,

we make him, being God, a liar,

and his word is not in us.

So if you're a Christian,

and you don't acknowledge

that you have an ongoing sin debt,

because this is not only speaking

to those who have not received Christ,

of course we must ask God

to forgive us of our sins,

acknowledge our sins,

confess our sins before him to be saved.

But once we're saved,

if we as Christians don't acknowledge

the ongoing sin debt in our life,

it is dulling the blade of our effectiveness.

Hebrews 12, 1,

after that wonderful chapter

of that hall of fame of faith

of all those folks

that lived so strong for the Lord

and trusted him in difficult circumstances,

after that in Hebrews 12, 1,

it talks about how the sin

that so easily encumbers us

and entangles us

as one entangled

in a race

where they're trying to

get out of a hurdle or something.

By the way,

if you missed Cindy McLaughlin

this weekend,

you need to look it up.

She ran the 400 meters

in whatever games those are.

How many games we got?

You know, I don't know what,

but anyway,

in the world games,

she ran the 400 meter hurdles,

beat the world record by a second,

which may not sound like a lot,

but what's the race?

They said,

if you lined up, folks,

ladies,

in the 400 meter race

without the hurdles,

she'd come in seventh in the world

without the hurdles,

but she had the hurdles.

It was amazing,

and I'll tell you why she did it,

because nothing encumbered that lady.

She was not entangled in any way.

She just whooped them.

Y'all know what that means?

She just whooped them.

She let nothing come in the way,

and don't you ever think

that you can run

your Christian life

free of hindrances

and have sin in your life,

because when sin is present

and not acknowledged,

you are limiting

how God will use you.

I know he can do all things

that he wants to do.

I'm telling you,

if you have sin in your life,

you'll hinder what God

will do in you

if you don't acknowledge it,

and that makes a difference in you,

but that also makes

an eternal difference

in the lives of those

that you ought to be influencing

and that you ought to be reaching,

because if your sin hinders you

from being everything

that you need to be for God

and hinders your conversation with God

and hinders the conviction

in your heart

that you need from the Lord

in your life,

if you've got sin

that you are harboring

and holding on to

and getting in the way,

you're not as sensitive

to how the Spirit leads.

You're not making the impact

of influencing

and reaching the world

that Christ has called us to,

and eternity is hanging

in the balance for some folks,

and God has called us

to be light,

and in order for us to do that,

we have to realize

the debt in our own life

and get it taken care of.

I want you to notice something.

I want you to notice the question

that Jesus asked in verse 44,

because you can easily pass by it.

He said,

do you see this woman?

Because Simon didn't really see her.

I mean,

she was standing there,

yeah,

but he didn't see her accurately.

I'll tell you what he saw.

He saw a guilty,

loose,

heathen woman,

and that is not what she was,

because what she was

was a broken woman.

Thank God she was a freed woman,

and she was a forgiven woman,

and ironically,

what he saw in himself

was wrong too,

because he saw himself

as righteous and well off,

but because he didn't see

his own debt,

he was still shackled

and indebted.

It could be

that we can't really understand

the state of others

until we understand

the state of ourselves,

and when we understand

the state of our own situation,

we realize

we don't have a lot of time

nor a lot of place

to be pointing fingers

at other people.

We got enough

in our row to hoe

without worrying

about somebody else's,

or as Jesus put it,

the log is too big

in our eyes

to be worried

about the speck

in somebody else's.

I want you to notice

what Jesus seems to point out.

He does not spend,

and I'm talking more

than just this story,

he does not spend

near the time

pointing out

the blatantly wicked

who are obviously

against the things of God.

Instead,

Jesus goes about

and kind of goes after

the pseudo-faithful,

those who like to point out

the sins of others

and ignore their own.

And the reality is

that when you look

at the sins

that Jesus named

and pointed to,

it was often the sins

that are less seen.

That's why he spoke to them,

so the people would see them.

Jesus focused on

the sins of the mind.

Jesus focused on

the sins of the heart.

That's what he spent

his time teaching about.

Those sins of the mind

and the heart

that even most

godly-looking folks

may be dealing with.

I'm sorry.

I didn't do it.

Jesus did it.

He's messing with us.

Folks,

we are all in sin debt.

Second thing

is the debt we owe

is a debt

that we cannot pay.

Just like the debtors

in this story

that could not pay,

we can't pay.

Be clear about something.

We often think

that canceling our debt

and canceling our sin

allows us to escape

without any consequences.

And that is not true

at all.

If you have stolen,

there are consequences

to your theft.

Because one person

is without what they had

and you need to be charged

for it.

The breach has happened.

Even if you pay it back.

You know,

I walk down here

on the floor

and I get a little bit

too close to Kevin

and he gets nervous

and jumps up

and slaps me in the face.

We'll work all that out

after church

and I'll forgive him

and forget it.

But I'm telling you,

I'm going to be more careful

to come back over here

this time, you know.

I'm coming on this side

next time.

Because the reality is,

yeah,

the sin can be forgiven.

And the Lord will forget it

but there's a breach

that's happened.

I mean,

if you murder somebody,

that person is dead.

They're not coming back.

They're dead.

And however sorry you are,

you can't bring them back.

You can be forgiven

but the consequences

of that murder

is that somebody died.

If you lie,

somebody is deceived.

There's a trust

that is broken

and the consequences

remain in that.

Lives are affected

by that.

However,

when we ask God

to cleanse us

and we repent

of our sin,

he removes the sin debt

from us.

We're okay with the Lord

but let's don't get

so comfortable with that

that we miss the fact

that our sin causes

so many hindrances

in our life

that we cannot be casual

even though we know

we serve a good

and faithful

and forgiving God

that will cleanse us

when we repent.

And 1 John

will eat your lunch

about that particular matter.

We may still deal

with the trail

that our actions

or our thoughts

have left behind

but God removes the debt

and our guilt spiritually

but that will not happen.

That cleansing

does not come

when we are merely

watching out

for ourselves.

You see this clearly

with the two thieves

on the cross.

As Jesus hung

on what I believe

was Barabbas' cross

there were two thieves

probably a part

of Barabbas' gang

of thieves

hanging on each side

of the Lord.

And Luke chapter 23

Luke 23:39

verse 39

says one of the criminals

who were hanging

railed at him

saying are you not

the Christ?

Save yourself

and us.

But the other

rebuked him

saying do you not

fear God

since you are

under the same

sentence of condemnation?

And we indeed

justly for we are

receiving the due

reward of our deeds

for this man

has done nothing wrong.

Now I'm going

to tell you something.

When Jesus

and I know Jesus

had innate knowledge

that we don't have.

One reason

is because he had

a sinless relationship

with the Father

which would make

a huge amount

of difference.

But he's also God

hanging there.

But when a man

is hanging on the

cross dying

and he says

what scripture

just said he says

my soul

something's happened

in that old boy's life.

When he's hanging

on the cross

in agony

and says

we are indeed

just

for we receive

the reward

for our deeds

but this man's

done nothing wrong

and Jesus said

oh and he said

Jesus remember me

when you come

into your kingdom.

And Jesus

goes on to say

today you'll

be with me

in paradise.

My point is

the first man

just wanted down.

He just wanted down.

The second one

wanted to be changed.

And it is the one

that loves God

that's forgiven

and the forgiven

ones are the ones

that love God.

The unforgiven

really do not

love God.

But it's not a matter

that we can solve

ourselves because

we can't pay it back

and we can't

make it go away.

We can't retrace

our steps

that we have

already committed

and changed

what has already

been done.

It is a debt

that we cannot

pay.

Now before I ever

get to my next

point you need

to get the fact

that we're all

in sin debt

and it's a sin debt

that we cannot

pay.

We cannot pay.

But the good

news is

and that's why

I'm here today

is because of

the good news.

You got to

understand the

bad news

to get to

the good news.

And the good

news is

the debt

that we cannot

pay

can be

canceled

today.

Praise God.

Because once

we do acknowledge

our sin debt

before the Lord

it is a relief

to know

that we can

be free

from it.

Because 1 John

1.8 and 1 John

1.10

in between those

two is 1 John

1.9

one of my

favorite passages

and that is

that we confess

our sins

he's faithful

and just

to forgive us

of our sins

and to cleanse

us from

all unrighteousness.

Now confession

means we're

agreeing with God

on what it is.

Not you know

Lord I might have

done something

a little over here

and you know

I mean to

ain't no big

deal but I need

to go ahead.

No no no

it is a big

deal.

Because as I

shared last

week your

little sins

that you think

are little

sins are the

same sins

in your life

and my life

that sent

Christ to the

cross.

So they're

all huge.

Because they

cause a debt

we can't pay.

Confessing is

agreeing with God

on the weight

and the magnitude

of that sin

and if we

I love this

passage because

it says he's

faithful and just.

that means that

if he

he's willing

but unable

if he was

willing but he

wasn't able

he'd be good

hearted but we'd

still be in the

same mess.

And if he was

not willing but

was able

he'd still be

hanging over our

head.

But the

scripture says

that when we

agree with him

on the state of

our debt

that he is

willing and

able to

forgive us

of our sins

and what I

love is the

last part

and cleanse us

from all

unrighteousness

that's because

if I ask you

to write down

your sins

on a sheet

of paper

and you got

honest enough

and weren't

worried about

your neighbor

enough to

actually write

down everything

you could think

of it would

still be

incomplete.

I could give

you a week

to do it.

It would still

be incomplete

because we've

got so good

at sinning that

we can't even

keep up with

all we've

done wrong.

So I love

that last part

because not only

does he forgive

us of our sins

that we confess

to him but he

cleanses us

from all

unrighteousness.

If he could

but would not

or was not

willing we

would be

in a mess

but thank God

he can and

he will

and we can

be clean.

Old hymn

says this

he paid a

debt he did

not owe

I owe a debt

I could not

pay I needed

somebody to wash

my sins away

and now I sing

a brand new

song amazing

grace Christ

Jesus paid a

debt that I

could never

pay.

Our sin debt

is only

canceled through

the shed blood

of Christ.

It is the

cross of Calvary

and our surrender

to his cause

and his kingdom

that brings

that.

So who do you

think has the

greater debt

in this story?

Is it the one

that knew she

was guilty of

great and

grievous sins

or is it

the one

that has

not confessed

the sins

of the heart

and the sins

of the mind?

It may

surprise you

when you see

what Christ

points out

so very

often.

So very

often he

tells us

let's not

be concerned

let's don't

so concern

ourselves

with other

sins

as near as

much as we

do our

own

and let's

not only

concern

ourselves

with other

sins

as near

as much

as we

do

others

souls

because I

want you

to notice

Jesus was

more concerned

about the

unconfessed

sins

of the

Pharisee

than he

was

the

admitting

of her

many sins

as she

laid her

life out

before him

as she

laid her

reputation

out before

him

as she

put it

all on

the line

she could

have been

stoned to

death for

what she

did that

day

she laid

it all

out there

so he's

more concerned

about the

sin of the

fellow who

wouldn't

confess it

but he

was also

a whole lot

more concerned

and get

this now

with the

state of

her soul

than she

was all

the things

she had

done

wrong

only God

can cancel

sin

death

and that

only comes

through

Christ

and so we

have a job

to do

and that

job is to

acknowledge the

sin in our

own life

and ask

God

agree with

God on

it

and ask

God to

remove it

and repent

of it

repent

means 180

degree

I got

fired up

one time

when I was

young

preaching

and said

that's a

360 degree

turn

no

if it's

360 degrees

you keep

going in the

same direction

you're going

and it ain't

that

it's a

180

and second

job we

got

just go

tell somebody

that

go treat

them like

Jesus

would

care more

about your

soul than

you do

their sin

worry

more about

your sin

than you do

theirs

and when we

do that

we're on

track

you want to

know how to

get out of

debt

acknowledge

it

admit it

acknowledge

all of

it

turn

from it

and lay

it at the

feet of

the only

one that

can cancel

it

because you

know what

it's already

been paid

he's paid

for it

we just have

to admit it

and lay it

down

with every head

bowed and

every eye

closed

my burden

this morning

is

that there

may be

somebody

here

who's

never

acknowledged

that sin

before God

confess that

to him

and ask him

to come

into their

life

cleanse them

change them

save them

maybe you

think you

have

maybe other

people think

you have

that

and it'd

be

embarrassing

for you

to acknowledge

such as

that

well I

promise you

just like

that lady

left her

embarrassment

to the side

and dealt

with what

she needed

to do

in her

heart

you need

to deal

with what's

in your

heart

and what

God's

telling you

to do

maybe you're

here this

morning

and

you know

there's sin

in your

life

that you

need to ask

God to

forgive you

for and

to walk

away from

now's

the time

don't put

it off

you walk

out of this

room and

go on your

way

you'll forget

it

move on

now's the

time

get serious

with God

deal with

it

in any way

he tells

you to deal

with it

if that

means going

to somebody

go to

them

if that

means going

to the

altar

go to

the

altar

if it

means

standing

right

where you

are

and asking

God to

forgive you

and to

cleanse you

and to

make you

right again

do it

right where

you are

just do

what God

tells you

to do

maybe you're

here and

you have

done that

you know

that God

has forgiven

you

but there's

a matter

in your

life

you've

made a

personal

decision

for God

but you've

never made

it public

you've

never done

that through

baptism

and I'm

telling you

that's

not a

rite of

passage

it's a

hindrance

it's a

sinful

hindrance

to not

be

baptized

as a

believer

because it

is exactly

what Christ

not only

tells us

to do

but he

shows us

to do

so I

encourage you

to step

forward

and make

what was

private

public

maybe God's

leading you

to be a

part of

this church

you want

to join

us

in the

journey

join

hands

with us

invest

in us

let us

invest

in you

let us

grow

together

in the

Lord

it's

exciting

to be

a part

of that

God's

leading you

to do

that

we'd love

to guide

you

in that

process

I have

no idea

what God

is telling

you

I know

what he

told me

to say

but I

just know

you'll never

be satisfied

until you

be obedient

to him

so just

do what

he tells

you to

do

right now

Lord

Jesus

I love

you

and thank

you

for your

movement

of the

spirit of

God

in this

place

help us

to simply

be obedient

as you

speak to

our hearts

and lives

in Jesus

precious name

amen

stand

together