
Our Condition
“What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” —Romans 3:9-11
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” —Romans 3:23
“For the wages of sin is death” —Romans 6:23a
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.” —Matthew 18:23-25
Time for a Little Bible Math
Let’s take a look at what 10,000 talents worth of debt really looks like!
1 Talent =
1 Denarius =
So…
10,000 Talents =
If the average lifespan of an individual in America today is 79 years, that would mean that if a person continually served for their full time on earth, they could pay off
The moral of this story: You can’t pay for this debt! That is our condition.
Self-Awareness Check: Who Are We?
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” —Romans 7:24
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” —Luke 7:36-48
Who do you identify with the most in this story? Simon the Pharisee or the Woman?
Jesus says, “Whoever has been forgiven little, loves little.” Is there anyone who has been forgiven “little”, really?
Even one sin enslaves us to an impossible debt because the price that had to be paid for our freedom could not be paid in talents or dollars or gold or euros, etc.
“You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God —1 Peter 1:18-21
Our Response?
- Acknowledge your
- Stop trying
- Accept what
- Let