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Biblical Debtors, part 3

The Sabbaths and Jubilees apply on both earthly and the spiritual levels. So far we have focused mainly on the earthly (or “practical”) level—in other words, how Sabbath years and Jubilees relate to divine judgment upon those who incur debt to other men on account of sin.

But the law also applies in a more spiritual way to man’s relationship to God and to Christ. Instead of a man redeeming his near kinsman in the flesh, Christ too qualifies as a Redeemer, having come to earth in flesh and blood in order to be our Kinsman (Hebrews 2:16). This part of the divine plan was actually the main expression of the divine law and the nature of God Himself in that He paid the redemption price for the sin of the world as a whole.

When a man sins against his neighbor, the sinner becomes a debtor and the neighbor becomes his creditor. This law continues to be in force even today, regardless of how carnal minds wish that it had been put away. The carnal mind is resistant to accepting accountability and liability for sin, for it seeks an advantage over others and demands the right to sin without incurring any debt. Hence, carnally-minded theologians have insisted that the law was put away at the cross.

Jesus our Redeemer

Interestingly enough, the title Redeemer is not used in the New Testament. We only see the idea used in verb forms such as “Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed” (Titus 2:13, 14). The noun form is found in Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood.”

The Old Testament calls God a “Redeemer” many times: for example, in Job 19:25, “I know that my Redeemer lives.” Isaiah 59:20 is a messianic prophecy, saying, “A Redeemer will come to Zion.” Paul quotes this from the Septuagint in Romans 11:26, 27, saying, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

The most popular word in the New Testament is soter, “Savior,” which is a Greek equivalent to a deliverer.

The Old Covenant animal sacrifices were temporary solutions for the problem of sin-debt (Hebrews 10:1-4). These were types of something better yet to come, when the Lamb of God (Christ) would replace all animal sacrifices with a permanent solution to the world’s debt crisis (Hebrews 10:10, 14). The animal sacrifices covered sin but only the blood of Christ could actually remove sin and perfect the believer.

As a world’s Redeemer, Christ was required to have sufficient funds to purchase the debt note for every sin that had ever been committed and that would ever be committed in the future. So the underlying question is this: Did Christ have the funds to make this purchase? The answer lies in the value of His blood—that is, His very life. The biblical view is that His blood was priceless, so regardless of the size of the world’s debt, His blood more than covered the required cost.

A second question also arises: Did Christ have the right to purchase the debt of the world? Yes. As a near-kinsman, He had the lawful right to make the purchase. Had He come merely as a friend (perhaps in the form of an angel), the creditor would have had the option to sell or to retain the slave, even if the Redeemer had sufficient funds to make the purchase. But because He came in flesh and blood, He was “not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 3:11). Therefore, He was able to exercise His lawful right to redeem His brothers.

The third question is perhaps the most important: Did Christ actually want to redeem His brothers, knowing that it would cost Him His life? What was His motive? The answer is found in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world.” His was motivated by selfless love, not even waiting for the world to love Him first (Romans 5:8).

Paul, the Bond Servant of Christ Jesus

Paul introduces himself to the saints in Rome by saying, “Paul, a bond servant of Christ Jesus.” Paul had been a believer and was even an apostle of Christ. Was he not set free from the bondage of sin? Of course. But the law of redemption still required him to serve his Redeemer (Leviticus 25:53). Redemption did not give him the right to sin (Romans 6:1). It only freed him from a lawless slave master (sin) and made him a slave to a righteous Kinsman who issues a different set of commands that result in sanctification.

Paul personifies the two slave masters in Romans 6:7-22. Paul had been “freed” from the slave master Sin (Romans 6:7) in order to serve a new Master—Christ Jesus. Romans 6:18-22 says,

¹⁸ and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh [fleshly understanding]. For just as you presented your members [body parts] as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. ²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness… ²² But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

Paul understood the laws of redemption and therefore was able to explain the lawful basis of his redemption. He remained a slave after His conversion, but instead of serving sin (lawlessness), he was now required, as a slave of God and by the leading of the Spirit, to lead a life of righteousness. This righteousness was defined clearly in Romans 7:22, where he affirmed:

²² For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man.

Clearly, following the law of God is a sanctification process, though elsewhere Paul makes it clear that one is not justified by the works of the law. Justification is by faith alone, apart from works, but (as James tells us) if a man claims to be justified without obeying his new Master’s laws, he violates the law of redemption that requires him to obey his new Master. Paul agrees with James in Romans 6:1, where he asks,

¹ What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? ² May it never be!...

Becoming a believer did not give anyone the right to sin. The law of God, reflecting the nature of God Himself, is still the standard of righteousness. While some forms were altered in the change from the Old Covenant to the New, the moral principles remained unchanged.

Many Christians cast out the law and keep the Old Covenant, when they ought to be keeping the law and casting out the Old Covenant. Galatians 4:22-31 addresses this problem. Paul concludes that we must “cast out the bondwoman” (Galatians 4:30), not the law. Those who advocate for the earthly Jerusalem (“Hagar”) and pray that God will honor her son (children of the flesh) are showing evidence that they have pinned their hopes on the Old Covenant (Galatians 4:24, 25). These are often the same people who have cast out the law of God instead of concurring with it.