Should Christians live like they are in debt to Jesus? Is this assumption helpful or hurtful? In this video, Pastor David Platt explains that Jesus is not a businessman expecting us to pay him back, but one who longs for relationship with us. While it is good to be thankful for Christ’s sacrifice, Pastor Platt warns against this becoming a desire to pay him back. As much as we try, we will never be able to pay Jesus back for his sacrifice. Instead, we find that Christ longs to live in us as a co-laborer for his glory.
- Gift, Not Transaction
- Monotonous Religion vs. Meaningful Relationship
- Being Co-Laborers for Christ
Watch Full Message of The Secret to the Christian Life
You Are Not in Living debt to Jesus
See, we are not living in debt to Jesus. Don’t use that language. The least I can do for Jesus is this or that, or I just want to pay Jesus back for all that He’s done for me. Listen, Jesus is not a businessman looking to do a business deal with you. There is no way you could ever pay Him back, and that’s the point. It’s the beauty. Jesus has not asked us to pay Him back. He has saved us by His grace, not in exchange for our best works. He saves us by His grace, and then He comes to live within us, which means we are not living in debt to Jesus, we are living in dwell by Jesus. That’s a very different way to live. The Bible teach us that Jesus is in you. You are in Him. Jesus is with you. You are with Him.
All throughout the New Testament, we see these promises. “I will be with you. You’ll be with me.” Which means to follow this, Jesus died for meaningful relationship with you, not monotonous religious motion from you. Amen. Amen.
You do not “owe” Jesus
Do you hear the language here in Galatians, “The one who lives in me, loves me, and he gave himself for me.” So Jesus has not saved you for a life of monotonous religious motion in His name. Don’t do it, it’s not Christianity. And so many are settling for it like it is. It’s not. Jesus has saved you so that you might live in loving relationship with Him.
The Christian life is the overflow of the love of Christ for you and the life of Christ in you. And in this relationship, Jesus works with you to accomplish His will in you and in the world. Oh, there’s so much we could talk about here, but during my time away recently, I was so struck by the phrase working with Jesus. We read it in our Bible reading.
Working with Jesus
I was reading it one day, Mark 16:20. It says, “The disciples went out and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them.” That so stuck out to me. That was after Jesus has ascended into heaven. It says Jesus was working with them, my co-laborers. 2 Corinthians 6:1 says, “We worked together with them.” That’s just totally transformed my perspective the last month. Jesus is working with me. With me, you. Every facet of my life, all day long, I just want to work with Him. I want to work with Him. I want Jesus to lead me, guide me, direct me every single moment of every single day, like right now, and preaching and talk with people afterwards. I just want to work with Jesus. This is a Christian life.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
