The Ever-Increasing Debt

I learned something this past week. Oftentimes we preachers will say something along the lines of “Since Christ has given you so much, how could you not do __________ in return?” The insinuation, of course, is that by doing whatever goes in the blank, we are paying back to God a small portion of the debt we owe. We admit, of course, that we will never be able to repay God for all He’s done. We admit that we will never out-give God. But nevertheless, the hint is dropped that we are to give, serve, etc. in order to “pay God back,” even if only slightly. I myself have preached some variation of this thought in the past. It sounds very Biblical at first. However, I am now convinced that this is false. The Bible teaches us that we do not serve God in order to “pay Him back” for all He has done and given us. Instead, the Bible tells us that when we serve God, we do so out of grace. In other words, the very act of serving God is such an undeserved honor that it is only by God’s grace that we can do it. Second Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” Friends, we will never do anything that causes God to owe us anything. Neither will we ever do anything that causes us to owe God less. John Piper said “Good deeds do not pay back grace. They borrow more grace.” The next time you do anything for God, just remember, your debt just got bigger, not smaller. That’s what the Christian life is all about…going further and further in debt to God’s grace.