Skip to content ↓

A Debtor, an Enemy, a Criminal

Here is one more little nugget I pulled from R.C. Sproul’s The Truth of the Cross as I read through it last week.

Early in the book he spends some time discussing the human condition and as he does so he uses three biblical concepts: debtors, enemies, and criminals. The Bible describes each of us in these terms. What Sproul does here, and this really helped it hit home for me, is show how it is always the Father who has been offended and the Son who intercedes. We have committed crimes against God and are, thus, justly termed criminals. The Father stands as Judge, passing the just sentence of death. But Christ stands between us and the Father, acting as substitute. Our sin puts us in debt to God so that we are debtors to Him. God is the creditor who demands repayment, but Christ stands in as surety. And sin puts us at enmity with God, making us His enemies. He has been violated by our sin, but Christ intercedes as mediator, opening the way between man and God.

Sproul breaks this down into the following simple table:

Sin As…ManGodChrist
DebtDebtorCreditorSurety
EnmityEnemyViolated OneMediator
CrimeCriminalJudgeSubstitute

He concludes with these words: “Christ, then, is the One Who made satisfaction. By His work on the cross, He satisfied the demands of God’s justice with regard to our debt, our state of enmity, and our crime. In light of the facts of God’s justice and our sinfulness, it is not difficult to see the absolute necessity of the atonement.”

What a great Savior! And what a blessing that today is the Lord’s Day and we can use this day to return praise to him for all he has done.


  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (May 15)

    A La Carte: The clever move of Leo XIV / People expect church to be churchy / Don’t let TikTok disciple your kids / Playing God with children / Overcoming barriers to hospitality / Real men sing / and more.

  • Is This Really a Good Idea

    Is This Really a Good Idea?

    Would it be okay if we engage our imaginations a little bit today? Though it’s not the standard fare of this site, how about we try it and see how it goes?

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (May 14)

    A La Carte: Could scrolling become the new smoking? / Are children a blessing? / Expository preaching: The new golden calf / A tale of two prayers / How moms can care for women experiencing infertility / Book sale / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (May 13)

    A La Carte: She and I / The ruthless elimination of sloth / Do we need to see ourselves represented? / How do I leave my sin at the foot of the cross? / Is your family calendar built on faithfulness? / and more.

  • Does Prayer Change Things?

    Throughout Scripture God commands prayer consistently and pervasively. There’s no denying that it’s essential to Christian living. But does prayer really change things? #Sponsored

  • What Does Trouble Do

    What Does Trouble Do?

    To live is to experience trouble. There is no path through this life that does not lead through at least some kind of difficulty, sorrow, or trial—and often through a cornucopia of them. This being the case, we rightly wonder: What does trouble do? Though we may not see an answer in the immediate circumstances…