Jesus Paid It All: Why I Owe Him My All

In 1865, a woman named Elvina Hall sat in church while her pastor prayed. And prayed. And kept right on praying, for quite some time.

Her mind began to drift.

You and I would all love to say that when a prayer runs long, our minds drift to spiritual things. In Elvina’s case, that is exactly what happened. She didn’t start daydreaming about anything trivial. She began to think about the cross: about the Christ of Hebrews 9, who appeared once for all to deal with our sin.

“For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:26)

She had no paper of her own. So she opened the hymnal to the flyleaf, that blank page at the front, and started writing. By the end of the service she had a poem of seven verses, and she handed it to her pastor to look over.

Here is what she didn’t know. Earlier that week, the church organist, John Grape, had given that same pastor a tune he had written with no words to go with it. The pastor went to his office, laid the two side by side, and saw they fit. That is how “Jesus Paid It All” came to be.

You can see God all over that.

The refrain carries four words I cannot get away from: All to Him I owe. That is not poetry to me. It is a fact. I owe Him my very being. And honestly, the words of that hymn, and my own words too, feel inadequate to say how much.

If you are saved, you would agree with me. You owe Him your all. But here is the question I want you to carry through this whole article: is that reflected in what you do?

Without shedding of blood is no remission

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22) “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)

Every person ever born owes the Lord Jesus everything. Most do not understand that. Many die every day lost in their sins, false professors among them. They refuse His love, His sacrifice, and His mercy. They go immediately into a devil’s hell, where they wait in flaming torment for the final judgment and the lake of fire.

But those who have humbled themselves in repentance and cast themselves by faith on the Lord’s mercy are pardoned. They are forgiven the crime of being a sinner, converted to Christ, and adopted into the family of God.

And so all to Him I owe, and all to Him we owe.

Jesus paid it all because He wanted to

This one is mind-boggling. Nobody forced Him.

“But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” (John 14:31)

He went to the cross because He chose to go to the cross.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17) “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

What was the joy set before Him? He knew that paying it all would open the door for you and me to repent and trust Him as Lord and personal Savior. We would be born again, pardoned of all our sin, and brought into that inner circle of fellowship with the Father. The joy before Him was to present us to the Father as children of the King.

And He didn’t do it for Himself. When the high priest went in to make atonement for Israel, he was making atonement for his own sins too.

“Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.” (Hebrews 7:27)

When Christ presented His own shed blood at the mercy seat in heaven, it was not for Himself. He had no sin, and He could not commit sin. He did it for you and for me. The innocent had to die for the guilty.

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” (Galatians 3:13) “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

The danger of a familiar cross

I realize most of this is familiar to you. That is the scary part.

We get too familiar with it. We take for granted what He did on the cross, and that carries over into a life of routine. We slip into church mode and forget who He really is.

Let me ask you plainly: are you reading your Bible every single day? If you are not, shame on us. Get right with God. He deserves the first fruits of your day. And I don’t mean checking a box: good, I had my quiet time. We owe Him real devotion and real time.

Is He precious to you?

So many people who are truly converted miss what God has for them for the rest of this life. They act as if they have the fire insurance checked off, and that is the end of it. Routine steals what devotion would have found.

Did He forgive you a little or a lot?

Remember the woman in Luke 7. She came to where the Lord was eating in a Pharisee’s house. She fell at His feet, washed them with her tears, wiped them with the hair of her head, and anointed them with ointment from an alabaster box. And the Pharisee sat there thinking.

“Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.” (Luke 7:39-40)

Oh, He’s going to talk to me. It didn’t turn out so well for Simon. The Lord told him of two debtors, one forgiven much and one forgiven little.

“And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.” (Luke 7:42-43)

Then the Lord turned it on him.

“And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (Luke 7:44-47)

That woman couldn’t have cared less what anybody in that room thought. She was humble, she was grateful, and she was pouring out her devotion at His feet.

So I ask you, and I ask myself: when you trusted Christ through repentance and faith, did He forgive you a little, or did He forgive you a lot?

He forgave a lot. So He ought to be loved a lot.

Why would God create a man He knew would fall?

Our Lord knew, before He ever created man, that man would fall into sin. He knew He would have to die to provide a way of escape from eternal damnation. So why do it?

I believe He created man for a couple of reasons. First, for companionship and friendship. Second, He knew what that ultimate sacrifice would accomplish. Adam was created perfect and had no sin until he sinned, and the same was true of Eve. But the cross paves the way to something better than Eden. It gives not just life, but eternal life, without ever again the possibility of falling.

Yes, this old flesh still sins. But the new creature in Christ has that seed in him.

“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:9)

We don’t reach sinless perfection until we graduate to glory. And here is good news: I am not going into heaven looking like this.

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:53)

Now think about the cost individually for a moment. The cross was the only way the Father could be justified in forgiving you, simply by your repentance from sin and faith in His Son. It was the absolute only way. That tells you how serious God’s holiness is.

When it comes time to cast people into the lake of fire, there will be no weeping on His part. The time of Jesus weeping will be over. That will be judgment. The weeping will be ours, as we stand witness and watch people we loved in this life perish.

You say, that’s tough. I know it is. But that was you and me before we were converted.

When Christ saved you, He saved you from a lot.

He paid it all because the Father commanded it

He did it out of His great love for man. But He also did it out of His great love for the Father.

“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” (John 8:29)

It was always about the Father, always exalting the Father. That is love, and that is devotion.

Look at the second Psalm.

“I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” (Psalms 2:7-8)

On the surface, David is most likely writing about himself, and the Lord would give the heathen into David’s hand. But look a little deeper. The Father gives His Son for the heathen, the Son asks, and because of His sacrifice the Father gives the heathen to the Son.

Think about that one. And guess who the heathen are.

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)

That’s us. Man doesn’t like to look at himself that way, but that is exactly what we were. It was the realization of how ungodly we were before a holy God that brought the fear of God on us, and that fear brought us to the place where we would repent.

“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

When the fear of God grips your soul, the only thing you know to do is cast yourself on the mercy of the court before the Judge of all the universe. And what does He do? He points you to the cross.

Pastor, you don’t know what I’ve done. I don’t have to know what you’ve done to know that Christ paid for it. He shed His precious blood not only for the sins you committed, but for the very sinner you are.

Jesus paid it all because you could not

We could not, and we cannot, pay for our sins. We are condemned, unclean sinners deserving eternal damnation.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23)

Many years ago my wife and I were visiting with a pastor’s wife, not from around here. I asked her to share her testimony. She said, “Oh, I’ve always been a good girl.” She would not back away from it. And I thought, oh my soul, I wonder if she is even saved.

You will not get to heaven by being good.

“They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:12)

You know who is good? God is good. And there is a resurrection coming.

“And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:29)

Then who can be saved? When you repent and trust Christ, you are made good, not by your own goodness but by the goodness of Christ.

“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)

When the Lord looks down, He does not see you. He sees the blood of His Son, which has covered and taken away all your sins.

You might think I’m passionate about this. I am, because I know what He did for me. Compared to God, we are a big zero, nothing more than a worm in His sight. And look what He came to do for people like that.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” (Luke 4:18)

Every phrase there describes the lost condition. The poor are the poor in spirit, those who see themselves as unworthy. The brokenhearted are those whose hearts sin has broken. The captives are not only those in jails, but everyone in captivity to some sin, or in turmoil in their own minds.

We hear a great deal these days about the troubles of the mind, and I have preached on God’s way of dealing with them. But let me tell you something. It is still the Lord Jesus Christ who saves from sin and breaks the hold that sin has on people.

Still Him.

Do you want victory? Have you been born again? Then you already have it.

I owe Him my all, period

I owe Him my all. Period. Full stop.

I owe Him my love, my living, and my life.

Listen to Paul tell King Agrippa what happened on the Damascus road.

“At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” (Acts 26:13-15)

I guarantee the color went out of Paul’s face right there. But then the Lord said this:

“But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” (Acts 26:16-18)

Now look at what Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

That pretty well covers just about everybody. And then come four words: such were some of you. Washed. Sanctified, which means set apart. Justified.

This is why children raised in church are sometimes the hardest to get saved. Mom and dad came out of the world and raised them to stay out of it. But they never really learned what it is to be a sinner. They may never have taken part in the world’s activity, but in God’s eyes they are no less sinners than those who did. And the danger is that they come to Christ believing they have been forgiven little.

Here is something I want you to ponder. If you’ve been converted, do you ever wonder where your life would be today if you had not found God, or rather, if He had not found you?

My wife and I talk about that. What would our life be like if Alice Anderson had never walked into it? What would our relationship with our sons be like?

Alice worked behind the counter at the grocery store. I would tell my wife I was going in to purchase some things, and we’ll just leave it at that. And I’d say, “I hope the church lady’s not working today.” I’d come back out. “Was she in there?” “Yep.” All she ever did was talk about praise the Lord and magnify the Lord. I called her a Jesus freak.

Several years ago I got to see her again, and I thanked her. I don’t know if I’ll see her again in this life. But after the Lord, she will be the first person I hug in heaven. I’m serious. She was open to being used of God that way. She never liked compliments. When I tried, it was always, “Oh, Jim, praise the Lord.” But I believe there is one compliment she is going to hear.

“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21)

“I didn’t ask Him to”

There is an attitude out in the lost world, and I pray it isn’t yours. Christ died for me on the cross? I didn’t ask Him to. He didn’t have to do that for me. I don’t owe Him anything.

There’s a part of me that wants to grab a man like that by the shoulders and shake him awake. I’ll confess, I had a moment right there.

Years ago we were passing out tracts at the regatta, and one man refused his with a blasphemous little line. I’ll clean it up for you. “The Lord and I have an understanding. I don’t mess with Him, and He doesn’t mess with me.”

I walked away silently and prayed for God to have mercy on that man. Because if he dies lost in his sin, he will hear his own words for all eternity. He will remember the day he said he didn’t owe God anything.

All to Him you owe

Elvina Hall’s pastor prayed too long, and her mind wandered straight to Calvary. She wrote seven verses on a blank page, and the church has been singing her refrain ever since.

It is true for everyone who has ever drawn breath. If you are lost, you owe Him your all, and today He is offering to pay what you never could. Cast yourself on His mercy.

If you are saved, you know the debt better than anybody.

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;” (Hebrews 2:3)

So I come back to the question. Did He forgive you a little, or a lot?

Then love Him like it.

He paid it all.

What are you holding back?

Adapted from a message preached from Hebrews 9:19-28.