If you are in Christ, you are a debtor. What, exactly is a debtor? It is someone who owes something to someone else. You may say, "Of course! I owe everything to Jesus!" While you may feel grateful to Jesus, do not confuse that with being a debtor.

Believers are not debtors to Christ. We have been given a gift; the gift of salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). A gift, by definition is not something that must be repaid. So, it is not that believers are debtors to Christ, but that we are grateful for all He has done.

The Apostle Paul told the believers in Rome that he was a debtor: "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. (Romans 1:14). 'Under obligation' means 'debtor'. On the surface, that seems a little odd. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, hand selected by God to this apostleship, receiver of direct revelation from Jesus himself, in debt to Greeks and barbarians?

There are 2 ways to become a debtor. One way is to take a loan. It doesn't matter what it is; time, money, services, etc... The loaner expects a return on their commitment. The second way is to receive something on behalf of someone else. If you have something that belongs to another person, you are a debtor to that person until you deliver the goods.

This is what Paul means when he says he is a debtor. He has been given something, and that something is the Good News of Jesus Christ. But, it does not belong to him exclusively. He has been entrusted with it to deliver it to the Gentiles.

Christians are the same. We have been entrusted with the Good News of Jesus Christ. To us has been given the greatest of all love; that Jesus Christ laid down His life for the ungodly, that He was buried and gloriously rose again! In one sense it is a gift that is ours. We do not need to repay, it, nor could we ever do so. But, in another sense it is not ours. It is to be distributed freely without distinction to everyone.

Because of what Christ accomplished through His death, burial and resurrection, we who are in Him have a responsibility to every man, woman, boy and girl to introduce them to the Gospel. We are debtors to them.