Spiritual Balance Sheet: Do Your Liabilities
Exceed Your Assets?
1 Votes
We have talked about spiritual flim flam and spiritual foreclosure. Now, let’s talk about spiritual
accounting. When I took accounting in high school and in college, I learned that there were four
foundational financial statements that companies or businesses report. They are the Balance
Sheet, Income Statement, Retained Earning Statement, and Cash Flow Statement. Among the
four of them, the balance sheet is the only statement which applies to a single point in time of a
business’ calendar year. A balance sheet is often described as a “snapshot of a company’s
financial condition”. In terms of profitability, it shows exactly where the company is at any given
point in time.
A standard company balance sheet has three parts: assets, liabilities and
ownership/shareholders’ equity. The difference between the assets and the liabilities is known as
equity or the net assets or net worth. Net worth must equal assets minus liabilities. Assets are
owned economic resources or any thing, including cash, that the company owns that can be
converted into cash. Liability is an obligation of a company for something it owes.
Shareholders’ equity is money that it has as a result of shareholders investing in the company
usually in the form of stock.
What Does Balance Sheet Mean?
It’s called a balance sheet because the two sides balance out. This makes sense: a company has
to pay for all the things it has (assets) by either borrowing money (liabilities) or getting it from
shareholders (shareholders’ equity). This common language for the algorithm: Assets = Liabilities
+ Shareholders’ Equity
If company owes more than it has, the company is said to be in a negative position or as we know
it, bankrupt or broke.
Okay, now that we know the financial condition of when liabilities exceed assets, let’s transfer
that language to a spiritual perspective. Romans 3:12 says 12
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE,
TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT
EVEN ONE. “The spiritual algorithm for all of mankind is as such: Assets ≠ Liabilities, but
Assets < Liabilities. Since God is self-sufficient not needing money, what is the currency that
God values? What assets could man have to bring him out of the deficit position? Proverbs 10:2
says,”Ill-gotten gains do not profit,But righteousness delivers from death.” We know that we
are not innate righteous according to Romans 3:23. That verse says “for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God
is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” In the spiritual sense, our liabilites are our sins
since they cause us to fall short of the glory or expectation of God. We do not have any share
holders as we account for our own sins. Our good, no matter how much we think we do, does not
out weigh our bad which is our sin.
In fact, that’s the point of today’s text. In Ezekiel 19, that is essentially what God is telling the
people. He has examined their Balance Sheet. Their liabilities exceed their assets. They are
SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT. Romans 6:23 tells us that the consequence of being spiritually bankrupt
is DEATH; that is a spiritual separation between man and God. There is no amount of money or
capital that man could raise to balance the equation. For mankind, that is our position before
Almighty God. We are spiritually broke. We have nothing to offer God because of our sin. Since
we know that righteousness delivers from death, how does one obtain righteousness as an asset?
Again, we need to look no further than the Word of God for that solution.
Hosea 2:19 “19 I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and
justice, in love and compassion.”
Romans 3:21-26 “21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to
which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22
This righteousness from God comes through faith in
Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23
for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, 24
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ
Jesus. 25
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to
demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand
unpunished— 26
he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the
one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
Romans 4 speaks of Abraham “21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had
promised. 22
This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23
The words “it was credited to
him” were written not for him alone, 24
but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for
us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
“27But God chose the foolish things of the world to
God says 1 Corinthian 1:27-30
shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the
strong.28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and
the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may
boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has
become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and
redemption.”
In Hebrews 11:6-7, God says, “ 6And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those
who earnestly seek him.
7
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his
family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that
comes by faith.”
Now matter where we looked, we see that righteousness is only obtained through faith in
Jesus Christ. How do we get to that point? We must exercise repentance. We must
acknowledge to God that He is right and we are wrong. We chose a different path; His path.
This is what God concluded Ezekiel 19 with as He, through Ezekiel, proclaimed to the people
who has chosen their own path and found that their liabilities exceeded their assets. They
were spiritually bankrupt. Again, here is the solution God provided for the problem they
created. Ezekiel 19:30-32 “30 “Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one
according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your
offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31
Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have
committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32
For I
take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!“
