Tag: Finance

And Forgive Us Our Debts

Forgiveness is an issue central to the Christian faith. After all, Jesus’ primary mission through his life, death, and resurrection, was to bring forgiveness; a forgiveness that would repair the relationship between humanity and God. 

In the Lord’s Prayer of Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus teaches us how to pray, and in doing so teaches us to ask for forgiveness from God. After asking for ‘our daily bread’, that is, our needs, we are also taught to ask for God to ‘forgive us our debts’. 

To be clear, what Jesus is not teaching us here is that God will forgive our financial debts. So often we use the term ‘debt’ in a financial sense. This is the way the word is typically used today. Perhaps unfortunately for you, after praying this prayer you will still have your financial debts to pay. The mortgage will still be there, the car loan still needs to be paid this month, and the credit card bill continues to stack up. 

But this idea of financial debt gives us an illustration of the position we find ourselves in. We are in debt to God. 

We may ask, why am I in debt to God? 

Well, the Bible teaches us that we are in debt to God because of what is called ‘sin’. Essentially, we have disobeyed, fallen short, and rejected God in our lives. In doing so we find ourselves in debt to God. As Romans 3:23-24 says, 

“The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Here we find the Apostle Paul highlighting how great our sin is, therefore how great a debt we have, but also how great a God we have who freely gives his grace to those who believe.

I am well aware this is not easy teaching to accept. To understand our need for forgiveness means we need to understand and accept our own wrongdoing toward God. And considering the hardness of life and injustice in our world there are times we are tempted to blame that on God himself. 

Yet, what God has done is actually grace. And that grace comes through the person and work of Jesus Christ. You see, forgiveness is achieved because Jesus has paid the debt we couldn’t pay. His death on the cross was the payment for our debt and covers all sin–past, present, and future. It is not through saying this prayer that brings forgiveness, through prayer we come recognising what has already been done for us–God has forgiven our debts through the death of his Son. 

In preaching on Ephesians 4:32, Charles Spurgeon remarks about forgiveness,

“[God] not only forgave us at the first all our sins, but he continues daily to forgive, for the act of forgiveness is a continuous one. I have sometimes heard it said that we were so forgiven when we first believed that there is no need to ask for further forgiveness; to which I reply—We were so completely forgiven when we first believed that we ought continually to ask for the perpetuity of that one far-reaching act, that the Lord may continue to exert towards us that fulness of forgiving grace which absolved us perfectly at the first, that we may continue to walk before him with a sense of that complete forgiveness, clear and unquestioned. I know I was forgiven when first I believed in Christ; and I am equally sure of it now: the one absolution continues to ring in my ears like joy-bells which never cease. Pardon once given continues to be given. When through doubt and anxiety I was not sure of my pardon, yet it was still true; for he that believeth on him is not condemned, even though he may write bitter things against himself. Beloved friend, catch hold of that, and do not let it go. Divine pardon is a continuous act.”

It is hard to understand the need for forgiveness from God if we don’t recognise our own brokenness and sin. And it is hard to understand grace because it is so undeserved. But amazingly, it is done. The call for us is to believe. 

And so when we pray this prayer, when we pray for God to forgive us our debts, we are to come with a humble heart, being self-aware enough to know our own brokenness and need for God.

This continues our series in the Lord’s Prayer. More posts can be found at the following:

6 Reasons Not To Buy Books In 2019

On my bookshelves sit over 800 books. On my Kindle sits around 250. I haven’t read them all.

Granted, some of these books are more reference material for when required. I have plenty of commentaries and Bible dictionaries that help in Bible study or preaching preparation. However, I also have a lot of books related to the Christian faith which I haven’t read. Last year I went through a spate of buying a number of books but knew I wouldn’t be able to read them for another few months.

So this year is the year of not buying books. Instead, I have given myself a goal of reading the many books on my shelves that are unread. Yes, that’s right, I’m not going to buy a single book this year.

For some people this might be easy, very easy. It would help if one didn’t read. But, for someone like me who enjoys perusing secondhand book stores, or picking up a bargain from the Christian bookstore, then it is a significant challenge.

6 reasons not to buy books in 2019

This personal challenge is exactly that, a personal challenge. I’m not here to rope anyone else into this challenge. I just know I have enough books on my shelves that can and ought to be read. In contemplating this challenge, however, I have six reasons why I won’t be buying a book in 2019.

First, I have enough books to read without having to buy any for 12 months. 

I did just say this. I know, I can’t believe I said this myself.

There are books on my shelf that I haven’t read. They should be read. They’re good books, recommended by others or bought for a particular purpose. At some point it is worth saying, “I have enough”. I have enough books to keep me reading and achieve my goals for 2019. With this being the case there isn’t a need to buy more from a pragmatic point of view. I have books to read, this will be sufficient.

Second, I don’t want to waste money. 

Books cost money. I have a finite supply of money. Spending money on books that I don’t need right now because I have enough reading material for the moment seems logical. I don’t want to waste my money on books that I won’t read for a number of months, or possibly years!

The other side of this is all the money I have already spent. The sunk cost of the books I have on my shelves. If I don’t read them and they just sit there then this is also wasted money. The financial drivers of the reading endeavour do play into this decision of not buying a book in 2019.

Third, I want to know what I need and what I don’t.

There are books on my shelves that have sat there for years. One would think that if they haven’t been read by now, like 10 years unread, then it might be worth giving them to charity. However, I’m sure there are gems on my shelf that I’m unaware of. It would benefit me to read them, no doubt. There are also some terrible books on my shelf, no doubt. These don’t need to be read as thoroughly as others but they still need to be taken off the shelf and evaluated.

In essence, I don’t know what is in some of these books and I would like to know what’s in them so that I can use them, learn from them, grow in some capacity or make the decision to get rid of them. I want to know what I need to keep and what I don’t need anymore.

Fourth, I need to make space.

Another practical reason for reading the books I already have is that I need to make space for others. While I won’t add to them this year, my bookcases are packed. There is little room for new books. Therefore, in reading more of my own books, and deciding to part with some of them, I will help my bookcases by freeing up space. Of course, doing something for a bookcase is not really truthful, it is so I can buy more in coming years. There are ulterior motives.

Fifth, I can bless others with books I don’t need. 

I know a few avid readers and a number of theological students who could benefit from some of the books I don’t need. Giving books away to people I know, with books that I believe would benefit them, helps them as much as it helps me. And while saying good-bye to some books sounds like a sad proposition, if it helps others then that’s great.

Sixth, of many books there is no end. 

As the write of Ecclesiastes reminds us, and all good students, at the end of his book of wisdom,

“Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12)

There will always be books, and in coming years I will no doubt buy more. And while being surrounded by books somehow makes me feel more intelligent than I really am there can be a weariness that comes from it. Although, apparently it is a good thing to be surrounded by more books than you can ever read. In any case, I’ll keep reading, and learn to be a little less precious about my own collection and learn to enjoy them for what they are.