Cover to Cover Part 6

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Black Man Paid His Debt

Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Virginia in his book UP FROM SLAVERY: “I found that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three years previous to The Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his body; and while he was paying for himself, he was to be permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased.

“Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he went there. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some three hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands.

In talking to me about this, the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had given his word to his master, and his word he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom till he had fulfilled his promise.”

In his book Up From Slavery Booker T. Washington describes

The story of the Old Testament is the Story of God a promise.

The Bible tells the story of who God is and how He redeems His people through the provision of His Son.

The major theme of the Bible is the Kingdom of God.

That is why the first words recored of Christ in the first gospel written is found in Mark 1:14-15

Mark 1:14–15 ESV

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

When Christ announces that the kingdom is at hand he doesn’t mean that it is near but that it is here.

15

Matthew 1:1 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1–2 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Christ is God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.

2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV

20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Graeme Goldsworthy put it this way.

The coming of Christ transforms all the kingdom terms of the Old Testament into gospel reality.

Christ is the new Adam.

Romans 5:19 ESV

19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Christ is the new Temple.

John 2:19–20 ESV

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”

Christ is the new King.

Remember when Jesus heals Blind Bartimaeus who was sitting by the road serviving off the generosity of those that passed by. (, ESV)

Mark 10:48 ESV

48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Christ is the source of God’s blessing.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Revelation 22:1–5 ESV

1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

“True faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God’s fidelity to His Promises.” Francis Chan