First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi

And as we turn our attention this morning to verses 12 and 13, I want you to see that Paul is beginning now to draw some preliminary conclusions. He is applying at this point all that he’s been saying so far. Notice how verse 12 begins, “So then, brothers.” “So in view of everything I’ve been saying, given all of these glorious truths, brothers, here are the implications.” And he structures his encouragement and exhortations to us around two controlling metaphors. Do you see them in verses 12 and 13? First of all he says, “If everything I’ve been telling you is true, we need to understand that Christians are debtors.” That’s the first metaphor - Christians are debtors, verse 12, “So then, brothers, we are debtors.” Then secondly, the next metaphor he says, “If everything I’ve been saying is true, we need to understand Christians must not only be debtors, they must also be executioners.” Verse 13, “If by the Spirit