I Owe You

(0:00 - 0:13) Real Life presents the Jack Hibbs Podcast. With intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints, and impact our culture. The love of the world says things like this, Love is love. (0:13 - 0:19) That is a stupid statement. You don't even know what you're saying when you say that. Love is love. (0:19 - 0:26) God is the only one that is able to define love. Listen, He's not the creator of love. The Bible says He is love. (0:26 - 0:49) He is love! You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to Jackhibbs.com slash podcast. Today, if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled life in Christ, then make sure you leave us one of those five star ratings. To us, that's like saying amen or yes. (0:49 - 0:57) Then that rating will encourage others to listen. Now open your hearts to what God's word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. (0:58 - 1:15) Leviticus chapter 19, verse 18. Please write it down. Leviticus 19, 18 says, You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (1:15 - 1:21) And look at the because. This is the why. I am the Lord. (1:22 - 1:30) God says you are commanded to love one another. And we're going to talk about that today. And I'm going to warn you right now. (1:32 - 1:50) I cannot, I must not pull any punches. Because this sermon here, this message, this text, that's before us, demands that we address what is known as church discipline. It's in the Bible, but it's rarely ever practiced. (1:50 - 1:59) Because, I think, for the fear of man. So, for example, this church is packed out right now for a service. There's a chance, and I'm not being cute about this. (1:59 - 2:20) There's a chance that if I'm true to the word of God this morning, you may not come back next week because you won't like it. Because you might get hit right between the heart over some of the things that are brought up here today. And yet God will be saying to you right now, I'm hitting you right now with my spiritual paddles. (2:21 - 2:41) Clare, boom! To drive home a truth to you that I love you and I want you to depart from this particular thing of this or that. And I also have commanded you to love. And so today, I think there's going to be a lightning rod of division between the Christian and the pretend Christian. (2:41 - 2:55) The Christian and the almost Christian. And there's going to be, I think, a great awakening in our own hearts over this. God says, you will love your neighbor as you do yourself. (2:56 - 3:14) Why should I do that? Because I'm the Lord. If there was ever justification for the word, because it's coming from God. You will do this. You're my kid. You're my child. And you will do it because I am the Lord. (3:14 - 3:27) And then it's 1 John 4, verse 18. 1 John 4, 18 and 19 says, For there is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out all fear. (3:27 - 3:50) Casts out fear. Because fear involves torment. Wow, think of this for a moment. Are you loved? If you're really loved, it's void of torment. If you're really loved, it is not a terrifying situation or experience if you're really loved. But he who fears has not been made complete or perfect in love. (3:50 - 3:55) We love him. That is God. Because he first loved us. (3:55 - 4:13) Foundation. Love. Mark it down. Church number 1. It's this. I owe you. And it's this. Verses 8-10. And it's I owe you love. It's obvious. That's where we begin. I owe you love. And we see it in verse 8. It says, O no one anything except to love one another. (4:13 - 4:20) For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. So write this down if you would, please. Verse 8 is this. (4:21 - 4:31) I owe you the law of love. And it's this. As a Christian, don't raise your hand, don't make any movement. (4:32 - 4:47) If I say, if we say, we are Christians, it's a huge statement. To say we're Christians is to say, I'm a Christ follower. I wish people would stop saying that they're Christians. (4:49 - 4:58) Isn't that a terrible thing to say? I wish people would stop saying that they're Christians just to make things clear. And I wish we would adopt this. I'm a Christ follower. (4:59 - 5:15) Because I think if we move from Christian to Christ follower, we might lose some of the chaff that has muddied up the witness of being a Christian. So many people assume they're Christians because they have an American passport. Well, I was born in the Bible Belt. (5:15 - 5:23) I must be a Christian. Christian by assumption. Christian by religion. (5:24 - 5:39) And God knows nothing of it. What would be the criteria that would expose the reality or the truth that if you're really a Christian or a Christ follower, is it church membership? Is it how much you serve? Is it how much you pray? Is it how much you give? No. None of it. (5:41 - 5:56) What qualifies you and what causes you and I to be confirmed in our profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is if I am loving. Biblical loving. Not the love of the world, which is sick and perverse. (5:57 - 6:03) The love of the world says things like this. Love is love. That is a stupid statement. (6:04 - 6:11) You don't even know what you're saying when you say that. Love is love. God is the only one that is able to define love. (6:11 - 6:16) Listen, he's not the creator of love. The Bible says he is love. He is love. (6:17 - 6:33) What comes from him is from his very nature, his core. The very God of the Bible, he says of himself, God is love. And that love covers the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. (6:33 - 6:43) Did you all hear me? Listen. Genesis to Revelation. And what do you see with God from Genesis to Revelation? Exposes the very love of God. (6:43 - 6:59) Well, what about this big event? What about the flood? He flooded the whole world, and who knows how many billions of people perished. Act of love. Well, what about the book of Revelation when he comes back and fire? Act of love. (7:00 - 7:08) Just because you and I don't understand it doesn't mean he has lost his love. He cannot lose love. His love doesn't go up or down. (7:08 - 7:14) Isn't that wonderful? It doesn't diminish. It can't go any higher. He's the perfection of love. (7:15 - 7:30) And the Bible tells us here for you and I to owe no man anything except to love them. Now, technically, this is an accounting term. It's actually words of accounting and math. (7:30 - 7:55) And when it says, owe no man anything, the word is on your record keeping, on your ledger, make sure that there's a zero balance in the area of owing people whatever you owe them. Now, let me explain this. You have probably heard this as I have heard this that this pertains to money. (7:56 - 8:01) Oh, this is a financial thing. Owe no man anything except to love them. And people, watch this, people. (8:01 - 8:16) Listen, there's financial advisors that are in the Christian world that will tell you. Now, this verse here in Romans, it's telling you that you're to owe no man anything. They don't finish the rest of the verse which says, except to love one another. (8:16 - 8:31) Don't owe anyone anything, meaning you can't listen. Now, are you listening? It doesn't mean that you cannot take out a loan to buy a house. It does not mean that. (8:33 - 8:40) But people want it to mean that. But it doesn't mean that. Listen, I say this safely. (8:41 - 8:57) It doesn't mean you can't own a credit card. It's not what it means. It doesn't, listen, in fact, throughout the Bible, there is great knowledge and wisdom in the Bible about paying your debts. (8:58 - 9:07) Did you know that? In fact, watch this. To pay your debts, the Bible says we need to be faithful to be paying our debts. The Bible is no fan of bankruptcy. (9:09 - 9:34) There's areas where yes, bankruptcy is a law within the United States of America and it is, and actually, I don't know if you know this, but the founding of bankruptcy was based upon redemption. To redeem you out of your slavery and have you start over again. Now, look, you and I live in an age because it's lawless, people use bankruptcy as a mode of operating their lives and their financial life as a tool and that is corruption. (9:35 - 9:51) I just want you to know that it's lying. When it says, oh no man, anything except to love them, it, again, it doesn't mean that you cannot get involved in what is known as a secured loan. Many of you in this room, you don't own your home. (9:52 - 10:07) You have a home, well actually, the bank owns your home. You live in your home that you call your home and this is important, you call it your home and you say so by faith. You say so by commitment. (10:08 - 10:42) You signed a piece of paper, did you not? You said, I am going to make payments to the bank to pay back this loan and I signed it and God expects you and I to make those payments. It's a very important thing. It also means this, when you and I as a believer sign or say, remember in the old days, I tell you what man, my dad was big on this and he did not mess around, plus my dad was scary and you didn't want to mess around anyway. (10:44 - 11:03) My dad could care less if you signed any piece of paper because my dad's old farm boy experiences this, anybody can hire the right attorney to make that signature go away. Think about that for a moment. Listen, you and I live in a new world. (11:03 - 11:13) In early America, you lived like my dad lived. You shake on it. My dad was not a Christian, thank God he died a Christian. (11:13 - 11:32) He didn't grow up as one, but my dad would tell us, shake on it or if you said you would be there or if you said you would do it, do it. He said, I don't care how much you have to suffer to keep your word, you do it. Listen, that's Biblical truth. (11:33 - 11:59) I didn't know my dad was teaching this Bible, neither did he. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Keep your word and when you say to your son or your daughter or to your mom or your dad or to your boss or to your employees, unless some overwhelming issue mitigates what has just happened, and by the way, if it does, share it with them. (12:00 - 12:15) You got to keep your word. And when you stand before God in a wedding and you exchange your promises before God, the Bible says, keep your word. And the Bible tells us right here that we're to owe nobody anything but love. (12:16 - 13:31) So for those of you who have been told you can't make payments on anything, you got it, that's not true. Now I have to insert this, this is not a financial seminar, but paying on your home is a good thing. There are certain financial advisors, I get it, I know where they're coming from publicly, they can't say what they really practice privately, let me explain. It's not that they're hypocrites, it's that they can't trust people to actually discipline themselves. There are certain financial advisors in the Christian community, for example, that will say, you can't, I don't even want you owning a credit card. They're very, very popular and they're extremely wealthy people also. They don't need credit cards. But here's the truth of the matter, and this has nothing to do with the Bible study except to give you just some, I think, Holy Spirit wisdom. If I'm going to go buy a battery for my brand new 1963 Ford pickup, which all of you are, all of you are like, that's it? It's going to fall apart any moment. That's why I bought it. It's an act of mercy. It's a rescue truck. (13:34 - 14:36) Everybody's asking me, are you going to fix it up? No. It's going to remind me about my life and what Jesus did for me. And so if I buy a new battery, if that battery is $100 and I have $100 cash in my pocket, or if I have a credit card in my pocket that gives me points, I ain't using my cash. I'm going to use my credit card because I'm going to pay it off at the end of 30 days. I'm not going to let those people charge me interest. I'm going to make money from them. Don't use a credit card unless you can make money using their credit card. Use their money, not yours. Does that make some sense? Get your battery. Don't pay any interest, but get points and you're making money. Does that make sense? It's so simple. And if you operate that all your life, I've had the honor of doing that. My dad told us at the age of 18, this is what you do. You just turned 18, you're going to get a credit card right now. And this is how you're going to use it. (14:36 - 15:16) Wow! Amazing! Now some people will say, don't say that. It's all wrong. It's wrong. Not everybody can handle that kind of freedom. But when the Bible says, owe no man anything, do not become indebted to them on anything that causes your relationship to be on edge. Because when you owe something to somebody, there's a little division between you. You don't even say so. Oh, but we're Christian brothers. Yeah, but you know what? I owe you money. And you know that they know that you still owe them money. And it's there. You can feel it. (15:16 - 15:24) Nobody says it, but you can feel it. And the Bible says, nope, don't do that. Don't do that. (15:24 - 15:29) But, however, here's what you owe one another. Love them. Love them. (15:30 - 15:58) The Bible tells us in Galatians chapter 5, verses 13 and 14. For you, brethren, have been called to liberty. Wow! Only do not use your liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Listen to verse 14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word. Even this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (15:59 - 16:06) This is not an option. See? Listen. This is why next week there'll be less of you here, and I'm fine with it. (16:07 - 16:32) Stop playing the game. If you are not struggling to love people more, can I get an amen on this? Aren't you and I struggling to love people more? Here's the beautiful thing about it. I'm struggling to love people more because I know I should love them more, and so I'm asking God to help me to love them more when before I was a Christian, it was, I not only hate them, I am so happy to hate them. (16:33 - 16:40) They make me sick. I can't stand them. And they just fell off the end of the pier, and I was the one applauding. (16:43 - 16:55) That's how we used to be. And then God loved us, and He changed our heart, and His love for us made us grateful. And then God says to us, now that I've loved you, you go love other people. (16:56 - 17:34) And so when we read this, to love your neighbor as yourself, you don't have to ask who's my neighbor. Remember that young man who said, Jesus, who's my neighbor? And of course, he went on to speak of the great announcement of the Samaritan, where that man did not know that wounded man that was on the ground. The point was, this man, who was a Samaritan, not a Jew. Listen, he was a Samaritan. He's a half-breed, despised by the Jewish people. Jesus said, a Samaritan came along on the road and helped this poor man that was near death. (17:35 - 18:25) And that was a slam against those who thought they were loving their neighbor by themselves keeping the law. Meaning this, Jesus said that you think you keep the law because you tithe every bit of mint and every bit of herb and every bit of harvest that you have and you give it to God and you study your scriptures and you pray so much and you think you're loving God by keeping the law like that and you let someone suffer? Somebody in your life is hungry? You walk by and you see a man that is on the road and Jesus said you walk around the man so you don't get near him and then you say you love God Jesus said you do not know God you don't love God. It's impossible. (18:25 - 20:45) That shocks us because we think good works are important, right? Listen, good works are important when they're in their place. Did you hear that? Good works are important when they are in their place. If you put good works ahead of loving God, you're messed up because you will trust in your good works and you're going to say things like this God you got to let me into heaven because I've done a bunch of good things and you've never loved God first when you love God first and do good things then those good things are accepted because why? They're packaged in love They're packaged in love How many things do you and I actually enjoy? So for example have you ever had a better, let's say you go to a pizza place and the service is amazing we just had this happen I'm actually speaking reality to you. Lisa and I went to California Pizza Kitchen the other day and we had this, we loved this, there's a particular pizza there that's just incredible, we had it but I was distracted I was distracted because the waiter was so good I told him, you're amazing He was so good and I said Lisa you've got to leave this guy a huge tip You know what I didn't have my wallet Man we're scrounging around, she's going through her purse I'm going through her purse, we're just pulling out coinage, we're getting stuff We couldn't find enough We wanted to give the guy everything You want to know why? There's better pizzas in the world It didn't matter It was him Look, he made such an impression on a Sunday morning, I'm talking about him right here, right now When something's packaged in love, man that goes a long way Well there's better this, there's better that, but is it wrapped in love There are people who pray longer than we do, there are people who give more than we do, there are people who witness more than we do, there are people who knock on doors more than we do But they don't love God first We must love God first.