Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Welcome to a brand spanking new series called Freedom! I am so excited about this series because we’re going to talk about money. There are so many preachers who are scared stupid when it comes to talking about money. I’m not one of them. And here’s why…every time we teach God’s truth about money, it sets people free.

In Luke 4, Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, NIV)

Jesus’ mission was to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and to release the oppressed. He didn’t just come to set us free from the power of Satan. He didn’t just come to release us from the oppressive grip of sin on our lives. He came to set us free from EVERYTHING that holds us captive.

In our culture, the #1 slavemaster is money. Our culture has some seriously jacked-up ideas about money, and if we follow them, we’ll find ourselves enslaved. Jesus came to break the chains and set us free.

Let’s pray and then we’re going to listen as the Lord speaks his truth about money into our minds, hearts, and lives. And as we experience his truth, Jesus is going to fulfill his mission. He’s going to set us free.

We have been sold a pack of lies. We have had so many myths uploaded into our brain by our culture. A lot of us have bought into these lies to the point where the truth of God is just going to sound crazy. Some of you are going to hear God’s truth today and you’re going to think that it’s just insanity. Because you’ve bought into the lies of our culture.

Specifically, you’ve bought into the lies culture has sold you about debt. If you fully buy into what our culture teaches us about debt, then you’re not going to like this message today. It might even make you mad.

But you do have another option. You have the option to stop listening to what our culture is teaching and start listening to what the Word of God says about debt. And if that’s the option you choose, then freedom is in your future.

Here is God’s truth when it comes to debt. “…the borrower is the slave of the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7b, ESV)

That’s not what you hear in our country today, is it? You hear that debt is the gateway to happiness and freedom. It comes in the form of car payments and credit cards. Debt is the way that you can park that sweet car in your driveway today. That little plastic card in your wallet is the way that you can eat at restaurants, buy clothes, take vacations, and do all kinds of other stuff that you couldn’t afford otherwise.

Culture says that debt is the gateway to living the good life. The Bible says that the borrower is the slave of the lender. Jesus said in Luke 4 that his mission was to release the oppressed and proclaim freedom to the prisoners. Some of you can’t fully experience the freedom of Christ because you’re a slave to Visa.

The average American household credit card debt has increased 167% in the past 17 years. And that’s only going to go up because the average American household receives six credit card offers every month.

The average balance for a card-holding household is over $9,000. And even though we’re carrying those ridiculous balances, 45% of American cardholders make only the minimum payments.

Overall, American households spend over $412 billion on credit card charges every year.

We are out of control in this country…because we’ve bought into the lie. The lie is that debt is the way to be happy. It will set you free to live the good life. The reality is that the borrower is the slave of the lender.

Some of you are drowning in a sea of debt. You’ve got a car payment, or even two car payments, and it’s killing you. Some of you are carrying balances on one, two three, four, even five credit cards. Let me ask you something…do you feel free? I mean, if debt is the way to be happy and free, is that what you’re feeling as you carry these card balances month to month? Do you feel free? Or do you feel like a slave? The borrower is the slave of the lender.

Now look at this. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Matthew 6:24, NIV)

You can’t serve two masters. Either you will serve God or you will serve money. And if you’re drowning in debt, guess which master you’re serving.

Jesus said you can’t serve two masters. The borrower is the slave of the lender, so if you’re enslaved to a creditor, you can’t truly call Jesus your master. You are enslaved by a different master.

That’s the Biblical picture of debt. It’s a far cry from what we’ve been taught as Americans, isn’t it?

I want to introduce a young couple to you if you don’t already know them. This is Josh and Marie Young. Josh is a deacon here at Amelia. A year and a half ago, Josh and Marie found themselves in a financial mess. They had a significant amount of debt and they were sinking deeper into debt every day. As they looked at their financial state, they knew that they couldn’t continue down this path any longer. They made some very serious lifestyle changes, and today, a year and a half later, they have paid off all their debt except their home mortgage. I’ve asked them to share a little bit with us about their journey to become debt free.

• Josh/Marie Young Interview (listen to audio above)
  

Some of you may have been listening to Josh explain what he and Marie have done in their life and you may be thinking, “Well, it’s different for them. They’re a young couple. They don’t have kids. They don’t have all the expenses that I have. They don’t understand what it’s like to be me. It’s nice for them, but I could never do that in my own life.”

Let me be lovingly blunt with you…if you keep making excuses like that, nothing will ever change. We do a financial series every year here at Amelia. If you keep making excuses like this, you’ll be in even worse financial shape when we do our money series next year.

So let’s talk about what to do. You heard Josh explain some of the steps they took on their path to freedom from debt. What about you? Where do you start?

First things first, you stop spending money you don’t have. You can’t get out of a hole by digging out the bottom. If you’re in a pit of debt, they first thing you have to do is stop digging.

This is so practical, but it is also so spiritual. Because ultimately, this is a heart issue. Josh said that he and Marie used to spend money they didn’t have because they thought they deserved stuff. They deserved a nice night out. They deserved a new car. They deserved all this stuff even though they didn’t have the money for it.

The way to get out of debt is to realize that the Bible doesn’t command us to have an attitude of entitlement. It commands us to have an attitude of sacrifice and self-control.

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24, NIV)

Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians, “let us be alert and self-controlled.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6, NIV)

Self-denial and self-control are foundational principles for following Christ. And they are the polar opposite of our debt-ridden culture believes.

To get out of debt, you have to have a heart that is willing to deny impulse buys. You have to learn to live on less. Your kids will have to learn to live on less. You have to have a heart that is self-controlled enough to avoid spending money you don’t have. Just because MasterCard tells you that you can afford it doesn’t mean that you can afford it. If you don’t have the money in your hand, then you can’t afford it! Credit card companies make billions of dollars from people who can’t deny themselves, who must have instant gratification, who don’t have enough self-control to keep from getting exactly what they want right now. You can get mad at me if you want to, but if you’re mad that I would say this, I will guarantee you that you are not financially free. You are a slave and you have resigned yourself to the fact that you’ll always be a slave. You don’t have to be a slave, but you are choosing to be a slave.

If you want to be free, it starts here. Self-denial. Self-control. Stop spending money you don’t have.

To really change your situation, you have to be honest about your situation. If you don’t honestly evaluate where you are, you’ll never realize God’s freedom in your finances.

The Bible says, “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds… (Proverbs 27:23, NIV)

This is incredible common sense wisdom from the Scripture. Know the condition of your flocks. Give careful attention to your herds. In other words, honestly evaluate your financial situation. Quit lying to others. Quit lying to your spouse. Quit lying to yourself about the state of your finances. Maybe you’re in a mess, but until you’re ready to honestly admit that you’re in a mess, nothing is going to change.

The Bible says in Galatians 6, “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.” (Galatians 6:3-5, NIV)

There is so much godly wisdom about money in these verses. Honestly evaluate where you are. If you think you’re really something financially when you’re not, the Bible says you’re lying to yourself. Quit comparing yourself to other people. Stop competing with other people. Be honest about your own situation, and start carrying your own load. In other words, take responsibility for your own situation.

That means sitting down, putting in the time and work, and making out a budget. That’s right. You make out a budget every month.

Nicki and I do this in our family. We put every single dollar in a category. We write it out. Then we live it out.

If you’re unwilling to budget your money, then you’ll never gain control of your money. I know some people who make a lot of money who have tons of debt. Huge credit card bills. Simply because they refuse to budget their money. They refuse to honestly realize how much is coming in versus how much is going out. And that means that they consistently overspend. Hello Visa bill.

A written budget is the wise, godly way to gain control of your spending. If you’re not willing to do this, then you know that debt hole you’re in right now? It will be deeper this time next year. I promise.

Calvin Coolidge said, “There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means.”

Dave Ramsey put it even more simply: “Act your wage.” Follow the Biblical pattern of honestly realizing where you are financially. Have a heart committed to self-denial and self-control. Start living within your means. You are not entitled to have more than you have now. You can work hard and earn more in the future. But you’re not entitled to have something right now that you can’t afford right now.

I know some of you are hating my guts right now. That’s ok. You can be mad. But turn your anger into action, not excuses.

The book of Proverbs says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” (Proverbs 12:1, NIV)

You can take the wisdom of Scripture that you’ve heard today and develop a plan of action. The Bible would call you wise. Or, you can just be mad, pout around, and ignore the course correction that God has laid out for you. The Bible would call that stupid.

• Stupid people refuse to acknowledge they have a problem!

• Stupid people refuse to adjust their lifestyle–at all!

• Stupid people say a budget is too restrictive.

• Stupid people keep making bad financial decisions…and are always affirmed in their bad decisions by other stupid people.

• Stupid people refuse to swallow their pride and admit that they are in a financial hole.

How about, instead of stupid, we choose wisdom?

The borrower is the slave of the lender. It really is that simple. For a lot of us, it’s time to break the chains of slavery and develop a plan to climb out of the pit of debt. It won’t be easy. And it won’t happen overnight. But if you commit to following God’s Word in your finances, he will set you free.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: debt, Freedom!, money