God`s Plan for Debt Elimination

He talked about freedom. He talked about the freedom we see demonstrated in that video clip – freedom from sin’s penalty and the feeling of hopelessness that comes from being trapped and condemned with no hope of salvation.

I think that video clip is a great explanation of the basic concepts of salvation. We find ourselves in a hole we can’t climb out of. Then there are obvious references to world religions and their attempts to bring release from the hole. Finally we see Jesus coming down into the hole, and lifting us out. It’s a great telling of the gospel.

Many, and I pray all of us, can relate to that story – I pray that everyone in this room has found deliverance from the despair of human existence apart from God. If you have not, Jesus wants to give you that release today.

But “salvation” was not the only freedom that Andrew talked about last week. He spoke about the freedom that we can have in Christ here and now – not only the freedom of forgiveness of sins, and the hope of eternal life “one day in heaven,” but of a life of freedom and victory TODAY – freedom from guilt and shame, freedom from the weight of a guilty conscience – the burden of sin and failure – freedom from the bondage of sin. We are all going to occasionally stumble, and slip up, but we can experience the amazing truth that we are forgiven and free from the weight of that sin. We not only have eternal life after we die free from the punishment for sin – we have abundant life while we live – free from the bondage of sin.

Now, to be sure, that freedom is not a license to sin, where we deliberately go out and sin as much as we can (if that’s the case then we need to check our definition of salvation) – but it is a liberty from sin’s penalty both now and forever.

Many of us, I trust, have been lifted from that hole – set free from the despair and hopelessness of sin and death, but many of us still find ourselves in another hole – one that is filled with misery and anguish, the cause of depression and divorce – it is the pit of debt, and while many of us will quickly acknowledge the ability of Jesus to free us from the pit of sin and death, we somehow have convinced ourselves that He has nothing to say or do about the abyss of financial ruin that much of the church finds itself in. But in fact God does have much to say about debt – on holding debt, repaying debt, and taking on new debt. Today we are going to address this critical issue head-on.

Roy Smalley sent me an incredible figure this week: "Your Money magazine estimated that in 1997, Americans charged an average of $3 million A MINUTE between Thanksgiving and Christmas." $3 million of credit card debt every minute of every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas! It’s simply mind-boggling! But the sad fact is that many of us were participants in that statistic back in ’97, and in the ten years since, that figure has risen uncontrollably.

Many of us are drowning in debt. We are addicted to living beyond our income, and the only way to continue to live the way we are is to keep piling on more and more debt.

The fact is that God wants us to be out of the pit of debt just as much as He wants us to be out of the pit of death. Christ has promised us life, and that more abundantly! He wants us to be free from all the bondage of this world, including the bondage of debt. But regardless of what some TV preachers will tell you, He wants you to get out of the pit the old fashion way – by being wise and faithful with your money. He’s not going to magically erase your electric bill or pay your mortgage simply because you asked him to, or because you sent someone $777 on the 7^th day of the 7^th month of the 7^th year of the 21^st Century! No – He wants you out of debt, He wants you to avoid debt, and He wants you to get their through disciplined, faithful, wise stewardship.

God wants His people to be in a position where they aren’t engulfed in debt.
In Deuteronomy 28:12, we read of God’s intention for the people of Israel:
“The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations BUT WILL BORROW FROM NONE.”

God apparently has NEVER wanted His people to live in a constant state of debt. In fact, He asked Israel to set their economy up on a 7 years cycle. In Deuteronomy 15:1-3 God commanded His people:
“At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you.”

God was so intent on his people not being in long term debt, that he commanded them to allow no debt to extend beyond 7 years. Why? Because God desires for His people to be FREE – not in bondage.

Did you know that the Bible describes debt as slavery? Proverbs 22:7 says, “The borrower is the servant of the lender…” The Hebrew word translated “servant” had as its primary meaning, “slave.” If you owe – they own…your creditors own your car, your home, your camper, your boat, until you pay them off. And if you are using debt to pay for your basic living needs, then those creditors own your life! When we are in debt, we loose the freedom to decide where we are going to spend our money, because we’re legally and spiritually obligated to pay those debts. No wonder we feel like were in bondage – we are!

The Old and New Testaments both talk extensively about avoiding debt, acquiring debt, paying debt and underwriting someone else’s debt. Here are a few basic principles:

Ø We are to avoid debt. I Corinthians 7:23 says, "You are bought with a price so don’t be the servants of men." We are to live within the limits of our income. Proverbs 13:18 warns us, “Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline.” Jesus said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?” (Luke 14:28) We are to calculate the cost, make sure we can afford it, then move forward.

Ø We are to pay our debts. Romans 13:8 says, “Let no debt remain outstanding…” Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrows and does not pay back.” I talk to people occasionally who say, “I’m not making payments any more…” on their house, car, whatever

Ø We are to avoid the debt of others. The Bible is pretty clear that we should not underwrite or co-sign on the debts of others. Proverbs 22:26 says, “Do not co-sign another person's note or put up a guarantee for someone else's loan.” I guess that’s pretty clear.

Ø We are to be thoughtful borrowers. Borrowing should be for the short term, not long; and should be the exception, not the rule. (Deut. 11:1-7)[ii]

OK, those are good guidelines for us regarding debt, but for many of us, it’s like giving instructions for locking the car doors after it’s been stolen. For most of us, as Americans, the question isn’t so much how to avoid debt, but how to resolve the debt problem we’ve already got. So let’s look at some Biblical principles for getting out of the pit of debt that we are already in.

1. PRAY. A lot of us miss this first, vital step. Oh, sure, we may pray over our debt, but “God, please pay my bills” doesn’t count! What we need to be praying is for God to give us the wisdom, insight and discipline to get out of debt. We pray that He will give us the strength to be good and faithful stewards with the resources He has given us. We pray for forgiveness for our poor performance in the past. And we pray that our creditors will be willing to work with us. Don’t minimize the power and effect of prayer! The Bible tells us to “not be anxious about anything, but pray about everything…” (Phil. 4:6)

2. DEVELOP A DEBT-FREE LIFESTYLE. We need to discipline ourselves to the point where the very thought of debt becomes repulsive. Many of us look on a credit card as “better than money!” But we need to look at credit cards and debt as a cancer in our lives – it will destroy our marriages, families, churches, business and our nation. I know that people say – I’ve said it – “You just can’t live in this world these days without a credit card.” But Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world…” Debt may be the American Way, but it’s not the godly way! We need to change the way we think – we need to develop a mind set that simply refuses to go into debt.

3. MAKE AN INVENTORY OF ALL DEBTS. Write down every debt you have, including the balance of the debt, the monthly payment and the interest rate.

4. MAKE AN INVENTORY OF ALL YOUR ASSETS. Make a list of all your stuff – is there something that could be sold to speed up your debt freedom day? This goes back to the mid-set thing - nothing you have in your attic, garage or up north is going to give you the pleasure and security that being debt-free is going to give you!

5. SET UP A BUDGET. A budget tells you what you have available to spend, where you are going to spend it, and when you’re done spending! You will make your purchases based on what you have to spend, not on what you want to buy!

6. SET UP A DEBT REPAYMENT SCHEDULE. There are a number of ways to do this, I recommend paying all you can on the smallest balance first – get it paid off, then move that payment to the next smallest. As you pay off each bill, apply that accumulated payments on to the next highest bill until all are paid off. You can find examples of this by searching “Debt Repayment Plan” on the internet.

7. CONSIDER EARNING MORE MONEY. An additional, part time job might be a viable option, but consider it carefully. How much difference will it really make if you have to pay an additional baby-sitter? Will it take you from your first responsibility to the Lord and your family? Tread carefully here!

8. CONSIDER A RADICAL LIFESTYLE CHANGE. If we are really serious about getting out of debt, are we willing to make some lifestyle changes? Smaller, cheaper car for a few years? Smaller home? Get rid of cable TV or internet?

9. DON’T GIVE UP! Our debt has been accumulating for years – it’s not going to go away in months…it will take years of disciplined hard work, careful planning and right thinking. A verse that I would recommend we memorize this week is important in this particular area, but can be applied to many aspects of our lives. It’s found in Galatians 6:9, from the Living Bible:

And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.

Some of us feel that way about our financial status. We feel like we are in a pit of debt that we cannot climb out from. But I believe that we can – by right praying, right thinking, right behavior.