“You will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:26)
God is determined to make us pure, holy, and right, not allowing us to escape the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit even for a moment. When we ignore His conviction, an inevitable process begins, leading to an inevitable penalty. You might feel as if you’ve been “thrown into prison” and won’t get out “till you have paid the last penny” (Matthew 5:25–26).
Some might question, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” From God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. His purpose is to bring us out pure, spotless, and undefiled. The moment we are willing to let God change our nature, His re-creating forces begin to work. Understanding that His goal is to establish a right relationship with Himself and others, He will go to great lengths to help us take the right path. Decide to act now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”
Jesus’s teachings aim for our will and conscience, not just our intellect. Disputing the Sermon on the Mount with our heads dulls its appeal to our hearts. If you wonder why you’re not growing spiritually, ask yourself if you’re paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question comes with an “ought” behind it — the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.
Personal Insight
As we walk further in our faith journey, we sometimes avoid obedience by using wisdom as an excuse for not acting on God’s truth or commands. James 4:17 defines this as sin: “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” For instance, when we see someone on the street asking for money or food, we often ignore them, justifying our inaction with thoughts like, “If I give them money, they’ll just spend it on drugs,” or “Helping them for free will only make them lazier.” These excuses seem wise but are ultimately a failure to obey God’s command to help those in need. Instead, if someone asks for help, let’s offer to buy them food. Remember, Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”
Supporting Bible Verses
Matthew 5:25–26: “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Hebrews 12:11: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
1 Peter 1:6–7: “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Proverbs 3:11–12: “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
James 4:17: “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”
Proverbs 19:17: “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”
By understanding and embracing these principles, we can align ourselves with God’s will and experience spiritual growth and purification.
#My Utmost for His Highest
