Did you know Jesus died for the bad people too?

Ralph Estep Jr.
00:00:00

Have you ever felt like your financial past mistakes have defined you? Maybe you're carrying the weight of poor money decisions. Maybe you're carrying the weight of overwhelming debt. Or maybe it's even financial dishonesty. Today, we're going to explore how Jesus offers redemption even for our financial mistakes. And I'm going to share a powerful story that changed my perspective on financial second chances. And yes, I'm going to answer the question Did Jesus die for bad people too?

Announcer
00:00:34

Welcome to the Ask Ralph podcast, where listening to an experienced financial professional with over 30 years of experience can help you make sense of confusing questions, current headlines and industry trends about taxes, small business, financial decision making, investment strategies, and even the art of proper budgeting. Ask Ralph makes the complex simple by sharing his real world knowledge from a Christian perspective with all things financial.

Now here's your host, Ralph Estep Jr.

Ralph Estep Jr.
00:01:03

Well, thank you for joining me today. My mission today is pretty simple. I want to help you achieve financial freedom. And at the same time, I want you to grow deeper in your Christian faith. Now, if you missed yesterday's show, I talked about title insurance and why you need it. So be sure to check it out. It's crucial for anyone considering a property purchase or even if you're refinancing your home. So again, check it out if you missed it.

And I'm going to be honest with you. Today's question, if it doesn't move you, it should. And it comes from Michael in Tennessee. And this is what he wrote. He says, "Ralph, I'm writing this email with tears in my eyes. For years, I've been carrying a burden that feels too heavy to bear. I gambled away not just my savings, but my family's future. I maxed out five credit cards chasing the next big win that never came. The worst part? I borrowed $25,000 from my elderly parents' retirement fund, promising to pay it back quickly. That was two years ago, and I haven't repaid a dime. Last month, I recommitted my life to Christ during a powerful church service, but the weight of my financial sins feels crushing. Every Sunday, I sit in church feeling like a fraud. How can God forgive someone who's betrayed their own family's trust? How can I face my parents knowing what I've done? My wife tries to be supportive, but I see the disappointment in her eyes every time we have to decline our kids' requests for activities, we just can't afford. Ralph, I know I don't deserve a second chance, but is there any hope for someone like me? Can God really redeemed such terrible financial decisions? And if He can, where do I even begin to make things right?"

Wow. Michael, that is probably one of the most powerful questions I've received on the show. And honestly, Michael, I think it's a testimony. I think it's your testimony. And I can feel your pain, Michael. I can hear the shame in your voice. And I think you need to understand Michael, first of us, first of all. Many of us feel this way. And it perfectly illustrates how financial decisions have this deep impact. And the impact is both on our personal and spiritual lives. They just do.

And today's show is going to answer your question. Can you truly be redeemed and how do you do it? And spoiler alert. Here's the best answer of all Michael, yes, you are really redeemed. Now this show thrives on your questions, but today I want to ask you some questions. I've built a listener survey, and I want your honest opinion about the show.

And listen, this is only going to take you about five minutes. I promise no more than that. And here's the best part. For everybody that completes the survey, you'll be entered into a $250 Amazon gift card drawing. Now you get to the survey, it's really simple. You go to askralphpodcast.com/survey. And listen, your answers will make a difference.

They're going to impact and shape the show moving forward. Now to be entered in the contest, I need your survey completed by December the 10th at midnight 'cause come December 11th, we're going to make that drawing and somebody is going to be $250 richer maybe in time for the holiday season and listen, I would love to hear from you. That's why I'm doing a survey. I want you to be honest, I want you to be direct. Tell me about what your opinions are on the show. Again, that's askralphpodcast.com/survey. askralphpodcast.com/survey.

Now Michael, you know I always like to start things with scripture. And your message or your question today reminds me of a powerful verse, and it speaks directly to redemption. And it talks about new beginnings, and it comes from the book of Luke 19:9-10.

It says, when Jesus encountered Zacchaeus: he said "Today salvation has come to this house. For the son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Well, let's get into our discussion today and yes. Today, Michael, salvation has come to this house. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.

Now Michael, let me start by saying this and anybody else who feels trapped. If you feel stuck by your financial past. I'm going to tell you a story about a client of mine from 20 years ago. And I'll say his name is James. Like I said, he came to me 20 years ago. I was really starting off of my career in the first 10 years of my career, because yes, I've been doing this over 30 years. And he was one of those meetings that I will never forget. I can still remember him came in. He sat in front of me in my office. He sat in the chairs in front of me. I looked at him, his hands were trembling. Honestly, I, to be, I thought he was getting ready to break down.

I wasn't sure what I was dealing with. You picture me sitting here. He's trembling. He's got this manila folder. He's like grasping, like clutching on to it. And there was papers coming out from all directions of that. And he said to me, he said, Ralph, this folder is filled with bank statements and bounced checks. And I'm thinking, oh, what am I getting ready to get myself into now? And Michael like you, he had hit financial rock bottom. So I looked across the desk and I said, okay, well, what can I do to help with? What can I do to help you? And he started to sob. And let me just tell you, what he said next is something I will never forget. He said, Ralph, I've embezzled $157,000 from my church's building fund to cover my gambling debt.

He had just said it. I was at a loss for words. I honestly didn't know what to say. I started thinking, did I hear him right? Did he just tell me he stole or embezzled $157,000 from his church's building fund? Did he just confessed that to me? I was captivated. And I carefully listen to his raw voice. And he went on to share how his addiction had spiraled out of control. He said Ralph, it started as an innocent poker night with just some friends getting together.

But over time, Ralph, it grew to high stakes gambling. He shared with me. He said, Ralph it consumed every thought I had day and night. Let me tell you he was addicted. He told me he had just lost his home in foreclosure. His marriage was on the verge of collapse. His three adult children barely spoke to him. And listen, all that was terrible. Yes. But here's the worst part. When he said this to me, I honestly didn't know what to say. He told me, he said, I feel completely disconnected from God. He said Ralph, I've strayed too far to even find redemption. I had no words at that moment. I just didn't. I sat there in shock. He was asking me for help. He was asking me for a lifeline. And to be totally honest with you, I felt completely overwhelmed by the situation.

So you might ask Ralph, what did you do? Well the whole time he's talking to be honest with you, I was quietly praying to God for wisdom. Well, even while he was sharing his thoughts, I was asking God for help. I'm thinking, God, what do I say to this guy? Like, do I call the police? What is the thing I do? And I just though and meditated that, and as he spoke, the Lord put Jeremiah 29:11 in my mind.

And it basically says God has plans to prosper us, not harm us. And I thought, okay, I could use that. That's something I could use. That's profitable. So I said to James, I said, James, here's the deal, dude, you've got to take some transformative steps right now. And I've dealt with fraud investigations. I've even dealt with church fraud investigations. So I said to James, I said, this is not going to be easy.

But the next thing I said to him, I said, James, here's the thing you need to understand. I reminded him God has unfailing love for you. Even when circumstances feel like they're beyond savings. To be on saving, even when you feel like those circumstances are beyond savings.

So, you know, Ralph, how was I to put together a plan? So here's what James and I decided to do. We developed three steps. And James took these three transformative steps that revolutionized his life. And I want to share with those with you today, because if you're facing a similar crisis or you're feeling the same way as James does, here's some things that you could do, and I'm going to tell you up front, none of these are easy. They're just not. This isn't going to be solved overnight.

And let me tell you now, also the other side of this. There are consequences to your actions. And there were consequences to James' actions. But let me break down these three steps. Number one step. Confession and transparency. James voluntarily confess to church leadership. He went to them and said, here's what I've done.

This is what I did. I took $157,000 from the church building fund. He went to them. He confessed it. The next thing that James did was he turned himself into the police and into the authorities. He opened up all the financial records to investigation. He shared it all. He shared it with his family and he held nothing back. He was completely transparent and provided a complete confession. And that's really the first step. Confession and transparency.

We moved on to number two. And that's restitution and responsibility. Now $157,000 wasn't something that James is going to be able to cut a check for. He was in dire straights. Lost his home, his marriage is on the verge to collapse, his kids aren't talking to him. He doesn't have extra money.

But here's what James did. He said, here's what I'm going to do. He said this to the church elders. He said, I'm going to give you this money back over 10 years. And for James at man, he went out and got three jobs. He just had to do it. He wanted to meet that obligation. He wanted to make restitution. He wanted to own the responsibility.

He sold everything of value that he owned. If I remember correctly, he had some collections of this and that, he sold them. He didn't get a lot of money from it, but he said, I can't keep these things knowing that I've got this debt over my head. And for 10 years, he lived on a bare bones budget to maximize repayment. And I think he ended up paying it off in about eight years and he actually added interest to it as well, because he said, listen, I need to be responsible for what I did. And then the third tier to this. And I think almost this is the most important part. And that is accountability and growth.

So one of the things that James did was he joined gambler's anonymous. He knew he had an issue. He knew he had an addiction. He wasn't going to be able to do it himself. Yes. He was a prayerful guy. He put it in God's hands, but he also needed that accountability. So he joined gamblers anonymous. He found a Christian financial mentor. He attended weekly counseling sessions. And he even participated in a church small group focused on financial stewardship. That was his accountability.

That was his growth. So again, those three things. Confession and transparency. Restitution and responsibility. And then accountability and growth. And I'd love to tell you that overnight James found complete peace. But he didn't, that's just not the reality. The transformation didn't happen overnight. Look, I was along the road with him. There were setbacks. There were tears. There were times when he thought he wasn't going to be able to get past it. There were moments of doubt.

But I respect James because he remained anchored in scripture. He repeat particularly remembered Romans 8:28. Knowing that God works all things together for good for those who love Him. He held tight to that even during the setbacks, during the tears, during the moments of doubt. He remained at anchor that in the scripture. And like I said, that was over 20 years ago. So you might be asking, where is James today?

So think about this today, 15 years after our first meeting of my office, James' stories come full circle. He's repaid every penny he stole plus interest. He's rebuilt his relationships with his family. He tells me my marriage is stronger than ever and my children now look to him as a role model of redemption and integrity. Think about that. There is redemption. He runs a small successful business consulting firm.

He's a little up there in age now, but he's still doing it. And guess what he does. He helps companies implement ethical financial practices. See, that's that moving forward piece. But here's the most beautiful part.

He found his calling. James now leads financial literacy programs in prisons and rehab centers. Because he can speak to truth about that. He's taken his darkest moments and turned them into a beacon of hope. All of those struggling with addiction and financial shame. So he lived it. He can go into the prison. He can go into these rehab centers and look people in the eyes and honestly say, dude, I've been where you are. And here's how I recovered from it.

Here's the redemption. And think about it. Jesus consistently sought out those who society deemed unredeemable. That's what Jesus did. Think about Matthew. He's a tax collector known for financial corruption. He became one of Jesus' closest disciples. Or consider Zacchaeus, who after encountering Jesus, pledged to repay four times what he had stolen. Isn't our God awesome? Michael, I hope you can learn from James. And I'm going to share some practical steps with you in just a few moments, but first, let me ask you this. And it's kind of a weird segue, but look, we're in the holiday season. And a lot of people are losing sleep wondering how they're going to afford everything on the holiday list this year.

Are you tired of starting every new year buried under a mountain of holiday debt or those credit card bills just looming and just growing and growing and growing.

And you're thinking. Oh, man. I really want to create magical Christmas memories, but I don't need this financial stress, Ralph. And so many people struggle with the same thing. It's just the truth. So I'm going to encourage you. I'm going to encourage you to discover peace of mind with my free surviving the holidays without going broke guide. I wrote this for you.

I wrote this to help you get through the holidays without going broke. And in this guide, I'm going to tell you about a proven budget system that actually works. It works if you put it into place and put it into motion. I'm going to share some smart shopping strategies to slash your costs. I'm going to talk about ways to create magical memories without maxing out credit cards. I'm even going to show you some tips for teaching kids gratitude in what I called is gimme more world. Some adults have that give me more attitude as well. Maybe we can work on them as well. But the center of this is how to keep faith and family at the center of your celebration. Listen, don't let January's credit card bill steal that holiday joy. All you got to do.

Download your free guide now. Go to askralphpodcast.com/christmas. I'm going to encourage you to do this and make this your most meaningful and dare I say, affordable holiday season yet. Your stress-free holiday season starts here. Go to askralphpodcast.com/christmas. Again, that's askralphpodcast.com/christmas. And I promise you some practical steps I recommend for financial redemption and here they are.

Number one thing. Acknowledge the past. You got to take full responsibility for your past decisions. I'm not talking about, you're not, maybe you're not that person that embezzled something. That's not what I'm talking about here. If it's eating at you, if you've made mistakes in the past, first of all, take full responsibility for this past decisions. Write them down, document all your debts and financial obligations and seek professional financial counseling. There are people like me and others who can help you get back to where you need to be, but you got to start by acknowledging the past and then putting it all down on pen and paper.

It's not emotional at that point. It's just facts. Second thing. No matter how big or small it is, make a restitution plan, develop that repayment plan. Maybe it's credit card debt, contact creditors to arrange payment terms. Make amends with family members. Maybe you're one of these guys that's always borrowing money from family members. Make amends, develop that repayment plan and figure out a way to get them back to being whole. And then the third thing, build new habits.

Learn from the past, make that restitution, be honest. But then build new habits, create a biblical budget. I talk about that on the show all the time. Establish accountability partnerships, find those people that can mentor you. Find those people that can hold you accountable. Maybe that means you join a financial support group at your church and maybe your church doesn't have one and well, here's an opportunity.

Create one. Go to your pastor and say, listen, I would love to create a financial support group here at church, because let me let you in on a little secret. Churches are filled with people who are struggling financially. That's why I do my show.

And maybe your church needs that financial support group. And maybe you're the person to lead it. You don't have to be an expert. There are great resources out there. There's people like me. There's other people that can help you guide that. Number four thing. Can't stress this one enough. You got to guard your heart.

Study, biblical financial principles regularly, practice gratitude for God's provision. Listen, if you really want to change the dynamic of your life, flip the script and start thinking about gratitude. Think about how much you have. It's so easy to get focused on what you don't have. It's so easy to get stuck in that quagmire of, I wish I had this.

I wish I had that. Stop doing that and just look at the gratitude for what you do have. One of the best ways to do that, and I've seen it impact people's lives is start serving others with your resources. Then you realize just what you do have. Remember. Your past financial mistakes don't define your future. Let me say that again. Your past financial mistakes don't define your future. Just as Jesus offered new beginnings to those who sought Him, He offers you a fresh start in your financial journey.

Let me ask a prayer right now. "Heavenly Father, we thank You for being the God of second chances. For those struggling with financial shame and regret, we ask for Your wisdom and guidance. Help us to trust in Your redemptive power and to make choices that honor You with our resources. Give us the courage to face our financial past and the strength to build a better future. I asked this in the precious holy name of Jesus. Amen."

I know today's show was rough. But I think, I hope, I pray that you got from it what I was trying to say. Yes. Jesus died for bad people too, but you don't have to remain bad. You can be redeemed. Now tomorrow I'm going to change a subject completely. I'm going to talking about retirement planning a bit, and we're going to talk about how much cash should I keep on hand once I retire. You don't want to miss these practical insights for securing your financial future. And as I close today, remember this. My passion is to help you achieve financial success. I want to see you live out your dreams.

I want to see a grow in your faith. That's the whole point of today's show was growing in that faith. Together, we can master your finances from a Christian perspective. I know we can do that. Let's work together. So as I always end the show, stay financially savvy out there and God bless you, and may he bless you abundantly. I asked this again in Jesus' name.

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00:22:15

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