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The Love Debt

Words of Faith Final

The Love Debt
Words of Faith 11-16-2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Romans 13
    [8] Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
    [9] The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." [10] Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

   The life transformed is actually one of perpetual indebtedness.  Transformation itself places us in debt but not in the worldly sense. We are forever indebted to God for His work on our behalf. As believers, we are to focus on this debt and not be distracted by other worldly debt. For this reason, we are not to leave worldly debts outstanding.
   This does not mean that we are never to incur debt. No, sometimes debt is necessary. If we were never to incur debt, the Lord would not have said, "Do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you" (Matthew 5:24). Rather, the admonition is to pay our earthly debts according to terms on time and not allow them to become a distraction or a bad testimony.
   The debt Paul wants us to focus on is the perpetual debt to love one another. Above everything else, we owe this debt because of our salvation. We love because He first loved us, but we also love because it was commanded. Because we owe God everything, our very life, we owe Him this command that sums up most of the Law. The command to love God sums up the rest of it.  
   Love that is demanded or commanded-- or "owed" or obliged-- is never quite the same as the love that simply pours from the heart. That is why transformation is so important. Unless we invite the Lord to transform our hearts, we cannot love with authenticity.  
   Trying harder is not the solution. Only when we have been born of God can we love authentically (1 John 4:7-8). It is only in the transformed heart that the love of Christ in us can fulfill the demand of the Law. The only thing we can do is choose to surrender to that love.

   Lord, Your love overwhelms me. I find myself in perpetual debt to You. Transform me. Cause Your love to so abide in me that the Law of God is completely fulfilled in me. In Jesus' name.          

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2021 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.