Most of my Christian life, I wondered how someone dying so long ago could affect me now. I mean, how could a life put to death 2,000 years ago mean anything to me?
I understood what it meant to have Jesus die on the cross, but it still did not resonate with me. It was something that always was in the back of my mind. Everyone thinks they understand it. I was a real student of the Bible and it did not really make sense; I mean the logistics of it I guess.
One night, the Lord showed me in a dream what I needed to know. He laid out the definition and interpretation of debtor’s prison. Here is what He basically said. When there is debt, of any kind, it must be paid. Way back in history, if someone owed money and they could not pay it, or if they committed a crime and could not pay restitution, they were cast into prison. There would be a placard placed on the outside of the cell with their debt or crime written on it. Their family was to pay the debt to get their family member out. If that prisoner were to die while waiting on the debt to be paid, the next of kin would be cast into prison until the debt was paid. This would go on with more family members being cast into prison until the debt was completely paid.
When Adam sinned, he had a debt. As we all know, it was a debt that he could not pay. In Genesis 3:15, God declares war on Satan and in that is the first glimpse at the promise of a coming Messiah; one who could pay the debt. Jesus came and gave His life for a sinful world. The world is the people. His sinless life was the price to pay the debt for this people.
Where does it fit in with me? Well, since Adam is family, his sin, read that as debt, would have kept perpetuating down the line; it would have fallen on me to pay. Since I could not have paid it, I would have been cast into prison and was. By accepting the provision God provided for the debt, I am free.
Need more proof?
Here is the best part. While Jesus hung on the cross, He said seven very profound statements. The best was in John 19:30; “it is finished”. At first glance, He was pronouncing that the work was done as indeed it was. But when we study the words in the original language? “It is finished” is translated from one word, tetelastai.
The definition? “Paid in Full”!
Now, once someone would leave prison, they would carry the placard with them for the rest of their days. Why? In case someone would say that they were, or their family was, supposed to be in prison to pay a specific debt. The placard would have “paid in full” written on it and sealed by the government, which in that day would have been their king.
The next time Satan tries to remind you that you or one of your family should be in prison to pay Adam’s sin debt, show him the placard that Jesus gave you.
It is the Word of God and it says, “Paid in Full”!