Lesson 15: Let No Debt Remain Outstanding
Question 1
Welcome back to the course, we are excited to continue with you and hope and pray that you are receiving the love and wisdom found at the cross.
What does the gospel have to do with money and finances? For the believer the gospel gives us our eternal perspective so we can manage money which is temporary, as is our time on this earth, “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:17). As believers, we live in a foreign land so we are considered to be ‘foreigners’ on earth with temporary treasures because our home is heaven and our treasure is Jesus, “we have this treasure in jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). We are mere ‘clay pots,’ but in these clay pots we hold a priceless Savior who purchased and redeemed us with His precious blood, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Friend, if the gospel is what is needed for our new lives now and our eternal home in heaven with Christ, then the gospel should become the model of how we see our money and finances here on earth. For example; we should provide for our families as Jesus provided the way for us to be part of His heavenly family. We should save as Jesus saved us from hell and harm from the evil one and is now preparing a place for us. We should find rest from our work as Jesus rested in the grave from His. Believers are to multiply as we bring more disciples into the Kingdom of God by sharing the hope found in the message of the cross. And we should give as everything has been given to us, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3).
Come with us as we look at five topics that you will be sharing together for the rest of your married life, we hope you find these helpful:
Providing
Saving
Resting
Multiplying
Giving
Providing: Working for a return was God’s plan from the beginning and prior to the fall of man. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden” (Genesis 2:15-16).
So like Jesus we are to be providers, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).