 What I'm going to say is going to bother some people. It's true and accurate, but it's still gonna bother some people. Whenever we talk about the gospel, whenever we talk about salvation, we have a tendency to make it more difficult than it needs to be. I mean, think about it. When we're covering it, when we're describing it, we sometimes inadvertently give a lot of extra detail to something and to the person that's listening, they may think that there's a long laundry list of things that need to be accomplished before they can be saved. And so when we ask this question, why do we give the gospel? We give so because people are on their way to hell, and there's a way for them not to go to hell. In other words, their salvation is offered. Well, why would they be going to hell? Because of sin. And so my statement to anyone, and here it is, I want you to pay attention to this, that we aren't necessarily sent to hell because of sin. No, I know that sounds crazy, but let's hear me out. We are sent to hell. People are sent to hell because of the debt that's incurred by sin. Are you with me? Why do I say that? Well, because even believers do sin. Paul sinned, Peter sinned, and it's not that sin that will send them to hell. It is an outstanding debt that has been incurred that has to be paid for and also accepted by faith. That's how a person becomes saved. That's where salvation is achieved. By faith on the fact that Jesus paid a debt owed to the Father. Let's look at some scriptures, and then I wanna make an even bigger point that is guaranteed to bother some people. And Colossians two starting in verse 13 says, and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, look what he says, God made alive together with him, having, here's a key word, having forgiven us all our trespasses. How so? By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands that he set aside, nailing it to the cross. The point that Paul is making here is that there was a debt that was owed to God. Our sin incurs a debt that must be paid, and God has determined that the payment of debt would be blood, not just any old blood, but in this case, in this regard, a superior blood, that is the blood of Jesus, and that debt was canceled having been nailed to the cross by Jesus. Now, to make it even more clear, and I'm gonna make my point, Jesus makes a statement in John chapter 19, on the cross, he makes a statement, very famous statement, but I think we don't quite get it. He makes a statement, he says it is finished. Well, the word that's used there in verse 30 is the Greek word to telestide. It's the perfect tense, meaning that this is a completed action from the past that has, in this case, current and really ongoing ramifications. Now, we use this term to telestide if you were to go and just look at old records in that culture, you would see this term to telestide stamped on deeds of sales on anything where there's a financial transaction, meaning that there is nothing else owed. There is no debt left to be paid. Going along with what I'm saying, God has determined that there is a debt owed by all of mankind, a debt that we cannot pay. Once the debt is paid, the question then is, why would a person go to hell? Well, if that debt has not been paid and accepted, well, in our case, the debt has been paid. So, if a person is a believer and let's say that person commits a sin, not living in sin, but commits a sin, is there a debt that's still owed? No, there is no longer an outstanding debt, which is why the writer of Hebrews makes this statement. He states in Hebrews chapter 10, let's go to verse, let's start in verse 16. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declare to the Lord that I will put my laws in their hearts and write them in their minds. Then he adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Why, where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. What does that mean? That means the way this system of atonement is set up is that there would be blood that would be used as, you've heard this term before, propitiation or expiation, a payment, which is the debt that's incurred. There is a payment for this sin. This offering of blood is given to make a payment for this sin. Once this offering is made, then God considers the debt to be paid and them to be justified. The problem was under the old covenant, though, the blood that was used, the animal sacrifice that was used, including the scapegoat, as well as the priest, they were insufficient. And so the justification lasted for one year. They had to do it year after year after year. But in this regard, after there is a payment of debt, according to this writer, there is no longer an offering of sin. That's what he says. He says, where there is forgiveness of these, and in this case, what Christ has done, there is no longer an offering of sin. And if there's no longer an offering of sin, that means there's no debt that's paid, which is why Jesus makes this statement to tell us die. It is finished. The debt has been paid. And Paul states that the cross is where the debt was canceled and nailed to the cross, which is why we can say that we have been justified. Also used in financial transactions to say that a person is now in right standing and cannot be treated as unrighteous. And so real simple, the gospel is a debt is owed. The debt has been paid. And if accepted by faith, then that debt will be applied to your account and never will there be another debt at it. So if a person who's a believer happens to sin, he does not incur a debt, the debt has been paid. Now, the problem with that is there are some people who just simply will not accept that. That's fine. They'll go through the rest of their life doing the heavy lifting, lifting something that's one, they can't lift. And two, that's not even needed to be lifted. God has done that already. All the details have been taken care of. This is an all expense paid trip and you're still coming out of your pocket to pay for things that have already been paid for. There are just some people who just are not going to receive that. But that's fine as long as they still name the name of Jesus, they do so kind of unknowingly trying to keep things, thinking that they have sinned. Now, and that's the point that I want to get to. Here is a statement. You may have heard this before. The lady doth protest too much, me thinks. This is a statement, a quote from Shakespeare in the play Macbeth. What that means is there are people who will make statements loudly and continually to kind of cover up that they might actually be guilty of it. Quick story. When I was in prison, there are two things that people don't like in prison. This just is what it is. They don't like snitches and they don't like sex offenders. And what always happens is there's going to be somebody on the compound who is saying all these nasty things, these mean things, these hateful things towards sex offenders and people who snitched. The funny thing is though, the people that seem to scream the loudest and the most often, oftentimes are people who are guilty of the very same thing that they say. They say, hey, why is that important? Why am I saying this? And why does it have to do with Shakespeare? Well, there are a lot of people who claim and talk a lot about people who sin, who always have other people sin in mind. Makes you wonder, what sins are you possibly covering up for? Now, I agree, sin is bad. And we as Christians, we should call out sin and we should make sure that sin is not named among us, but there are just some people who are constantly pointing out other people's sin. And it makes you wonder, is it because they are also so grieved by their own sin, though they don't want anyone to know about it, that they'll quick to point out other people's sin and that is a reason for them, they can't be safe. Why? Because if I struggle with sin and I know I love the Lord and I'm struggling with sin, I've got this issue with porn. I've got this issue with lust. I've got this issue with anger. I've got this issue with greed. Whatever it is, I've got these issues that I'm struggling with and I know I'm just barely holding on. That person can't be saved, not like I am. There's a passage that I think kind of goes along with this and this is when Jesus is at the Pharisee Simon's house and he speaks about this woman who comes and who is just showering Jesus with love. Look at the story that Jesus says. He says, Jesus says in Luke chapter seven, verse 40 says to Simon, I have something to tell you. And he answered, say it teacher. He said, a certain money lender had two debtors, one old 500 Denari and the other 50. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt. Interesting, the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more? Simon answered, the one I suppose for whom he canceled the larger debt. And he said to him, you have judged rightly. Then turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from that time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you her sins, which are many are forgiven for she loved much, but he who was forgiven little loves little. There are people who just simply think that they have not made as much of a mistake and who want to promote other people's sin as the reason why they cannot be saved or cannot be saved any longer. And it does make you wonder, and it does harken back to Shakespeare, the Shakespearean quote, it makes you wonder, are these people protesting so much? Is it because they have sin? I often wonder that there's no way to prove that, but there have been people who you have seen call out sin over and over. And granted, we should call out sin, but remember, weren't we saved from our sin? Aren't we the ones who are also guilty of sin and then may turn around in some cases hypocritically look at other sin as though they can't be redeemed or they must have lost their salvation? They said they're a Christian, but they're not saved. And so it makes you just, it brings that into mind, but there are these people who understand how badly they've sinned. Now obviously Simon and other people know, hey, I've sinned, even the Pharisees, they know, they know they put on this front as though they have not sinned, as though it's not that bad. And so for them, it's easy to tell you that if you were sinful and then you became a believer, now you're no longer a believer because I see your sin. And since I see your sin, you can't be saved. What else are you doing? What other sins do you have in the background that we don't see? Which is really kind of sometimes called for, I hope you don't see the sins that I have in my background. I hope you don't see what I've got going on. And that's kind of the ugly little secret that a lot of profess believers have. But the fact of the matter is, for even for the person who is looking at other people's sin, even for the person who is struggling with their sin, even for the person who has acknowledged their sin and loves the Lord all the more because all of those sins have been forgiven. The debt has been paid for all of those sins. The fact of the matter is the debt has been paid. And we don't have to keep worrying about how much a person owes God, how much of a debt was incurred. Cause the fact of the matter is Jesus out of his own mouth said, Tetelestai saying that the debt has been paid in full. There's nothing else left. And that's why Paul says that he canceled the debt having nailed it to the cross. So don't let someone come back and tell you if you know for a fact, if you know for a fact that you have placed your faith in Christ, don't let anyone come and tell you that you have incurred or possibly will incur another debt. That becomes, in my opinion, blasphemous to say that that's what the right of Hebrews is getting to. People who have trampled underfoot the blood of Christ to say that it is insignificant or not significant enough or have not been not worthy enough to pay the debt that the father has required to say that his blood didn't pay it in full. That, my friends, is a problem, but we know better. Amen.