Several of the great countries in our world are falling deeply into debt.
The U.S.A. is 15 trillion dollars in debt, which, spread out evenly over 315 million Americans, comes to $50,000 for every person in the country (or per capita).
The United Kingdom is a whopping 9.3 trillion dollars in debt, which equates to $153,000 of debt per capita.
The massive debt in France is 5 trillion dollars, which divides out to $78,000 of debt per capita.
Germany is over 5 trillion dollars in debt, or about $60,000 per capita. The list goes on almost interminably.
The money owed by these countries is staggering. Carrying all this debt will undoubtedly make life miserable for the generations to come as they see their hard-earned wealth drained away to pay off money they didn’t borrow.
These figures are so gigantic that they are mind boggling, but there is a debt which is even more staggering. You should know about it. Each one of us has incurred a terrible debt because of sin. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” and “The wages of sin is death” are two verses from the Book of Romans. The death spoken of in the second verse doesn’t merely refer to physical death where the soul is separated from the body, but also to spiritual death where the soul is separated from God, the source of all goodness, for eternity. The “death” spoken of in the second verse is a horrible thing. It is what will happen to every man and woman when their debt of sin goes unpaid.
What’s more is that there is no way a person can discharge this debt by their own efforts. “By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight” (Romans 3:2020Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20)).
Since man incurred this terrible debt, it was just that man should pay for it. And man did pay for it. God became man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and came to the earth. For three and a half years He walked through the countryside of Israel preaching wonderful truths and performing miracles on the sick and lame. Then He let Himself be taken by cruel hands and be crucified on a cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem. Three days after being buried He arose from the grave. He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs before ascending into heaven, which is where He now is. As man He could suffer death. As God His work would have an infinite value to cancel the debt of sins.
The infinite value of the sacrifice made by the Son of God has the power to cancel out the debt of the entire world if they would only believe on His name. If you want to be free from the debt of sin, you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). When a sinner puts his faith in the Son of God, the infinite value of His death at Calvary is placed on his account and the debt of sin is completely canceled out.
Some people act like they have nothing to worry about because of sin. They think that if there is a God, He must be as indifferent to sin as they are. But they are wrong. God hates sin. He loves the person who has sinned but hates their sin. God is patiently waiting for them to repent and return to Him. They mistake His patience for indifference. But if they don’t ever change their ways, they will pay for their sins throughout the endless ages of eternity in hell. God doesn’t want anyone to perish in that awful place. He wants all to come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
I don’t know exactly what will happen if countries continue to pile up enormous debts. But I do know what happens when a soul who has piled up a load of sin brings it to the Lord Jesus Christ. They find forgiveness, peace and the hope of heaven.
For a world of lost sinners, the best news they could ever hear is that faith in the Son of God can cancel out their terrible debt of sin! Hear it, and believe it, so that you might be forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life. “Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live” (Isaiah 55:22Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. (Isaiah 55:2)).