A Gospel Illustration

Imagine a woman who had recently been laid off. She had spent her last penny. To make matters worse, she had a life-threatening medical procedure in two weeks, and it would cost $1,000.

She was overwhelmed with distress.

When a few of her friends invited her on vacation, she hesitated—and rightly so. She had no money, and her friends knew nothing of her desperate circumstances. She was a private person.

Still knowing it was wrong, she found a place willing to cash a $1,000 check. With the money in hand, she reluctantly told her friends she would join them.

At first, she thoroughly enjoyed getting away from her troubles. But the wrongdoing behind that bad check weighed on her conscience. What would she do? I’ll deal with it when I get back, she thought.

Upon returning home, the inevitable happened. The check bounced, and she was charged a $1,000 insufficient-funds fee.

Utterly devastated, she began sobbing uncontrollably. What was she going to do?

She knew her only hope was to plead with the bank. And that is precisely what she did, but to no avail. She had knowingly written a check she could not cover. There would be no mercy that day.

As she walked toward her car, a gentleman approached her.

“I heard your story while I was in the bank,” he said.

Still sobbing, she managed to mutter something unintelligible. Little did she realize that this man was about to show her extraordinary mercy.

“I would like to help you,” he said gently.

With a bewildered look, she replied, “What did you say? You want to help me? Why would you do that? I’m guilty! I was wrong to write that check!”

She was absolutely right. She was guilty! But so are we all (Romans 3:19–20).

The compassionate gentleman simply replied, “Come back inside with me.”

So she followed him, more curious than ever.

He opened the door for her and led her to the teller station, where a man was waiting.

“How can I help you?” the teller asked.

The gentleman replied, “I would like you to transfer her $1,000 in debt to my existing account. I will take responsibility for it.”

The teller looked at him in disbelief, but he completed the transaction.

The woman could only stand there, humbled yet excited by what was happening.

“Okay, here is the proof of your transaction. Thank you,” he said.

The woman could hardly believe what was happening; in tears of joy, she stood there, humbled and overwhelmed by what this stranger had done for her.

With tears of gratitude, the woman thanked the gentleman. But as she turned toward the door, assuming he was following her, he said, “Wait a minute. We’re not finished yet.”

She and the teller both turned toward him, puzzled.

“You still don’t have any money, do you? I overheard you say earlier that you needed $1,000 for a life-threatening medical procedure.”

Their expressions of amazement deepened.

The gentleman then turned to the teller and said, “I would also like you to deposit this $1,000 in cash into her account.” He remembered the words of Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

It was a Christmas bonus check he had received from the school where he worked as a janitor. He had cashed it while listening to her story.

“Wait! You’re doing what?” the astonished woman asked.

The teller completed the transaction.

She could hardly comprehend what had just happened. Not only was her $1,000 debt paid in full, but she now had another $1,000 in her account to cover the procedure that could save her life.

Who could imagine such great love and rich mercy (Ephesians 2:4)?

As they walked out of the bank, she finally asked him why he had done this for her.

And this was his answer:

What just happened inside the bank illustrates what God has done through His Son, Jesus Christ.

“When the teller transferred your debt to my account, I became responsible for paying it.” In a similar way, God imputed the sins of the elect to His Son, Jesus Christ, who bore the penalty for those sins through His death on the cross.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us…” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

But this illustration represents only one essential part of the gospel.

“You needed more than your debt removed. You also needed money deposited into your account so you could pay for the procedure that would save your physical life.”

‘Notice that you did absolutely nothing to earn or deserve that money. I freely deposited it into your account.”

“Likewise, the gospel involves more than the forgiveness of sins. God also imputes His righteousness to the accounts of His people when they believe in the person and work of His Son. They receive a righteousness they could never earn or produce.”

As Paul said, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“Without this perfect righteousness, no one could enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus Himself said, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20).

“Do you see? The gospel has two essential aspects: the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of God’s righteousness.”

“In short, God imputes His righteousness to the accounts of the elect when, through the work of the Holy Spirit, they believe in Jesus Christ, thereby justifying them by grace. This important term, justification, is expressed in the noun “acquittal” (not guilty of the charges) and the verb “to declare righteous.”

She was so speechless that she forgot to get his phone number.

A few weeks later, she spotted him at the grocery store. He asked how her procedure went. “It went very well, thanks to you,” she smiled. He had been praying for her, both spiritually and practically.

“After that day at the bank, I went home and began reading my Bible, especially the verses you mentioned.

“I was absolutely floored! I had never been taught these things in church. I finally understood that I needed more than forgiveness. I needed the very righteousness of God. Through the Holy Spirit’s work, God opened my eyes to the truth, I believe.”

The gentleman’s proclamation of the gospel had saved her spiritual life. He knew nothing else could change her eternal address. His generosity had also helped save her physical life. They are more than friends now. They are brother and sister in Christ!