Did you ever receive a gift coupon in the mail or in an email only to find out that you have to jump through hoops to obtain it? We received a gift coupon for a lovely weekend getaway but we had to sit through a few hours of a sales presentation in order to get the weekend getaway. The whole point of this is the fact that there was a gift awaiting us but we had to go there and do something to receive it.
It isn’t that way with salvation, my friend. There is nothing that we can do to earn this gift of salvation from God.
~Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
This blesses me so much! I did not not have to wait until I cleaned up my life in order for Christ to die for my sins. Christ died for my sins while I was yet a sinner. I once gave the plan of salvation to a co-worker at my job. She told me that she needed to clean up her life before she could get saved because God would not want her the way she was. My response to her was that Romans 5:8 says that Jesus Christ already died for her sin even before she could clean up her life.
Cleaning up your life can no longer be used as an excuse. In fact, this concept is just another way man can say he is working his way to Heaven. If you could clean up your life enough to have salvation, then Christ’s gift is no longer a gift. Salvation then, in your eyes, becomes a wage from work that you have done on your own. But the Bible says:
~Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our gift from God goes beyond our comprehension. We tend to try to “humanize” this gift. But God is not human and His love for us goes beyond mere human words and thoughts.
~2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
There aren’t enough words to describe God’s love toward us and the gift that He has given to us.
What is this gift?
~John 3:16 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.
Jesus Christ is this unspeakable gift. What Christ did for us is unbelievable! He died for people He was not related to or was even close friends with. How many people would you die for? Surely you would die for your family, or even a good friend. But would you die for that homeless man you pass on your way home from work?
For those of you who are interested in reading about Christ’s crucifixion as it is viewed by those of the medical profession, click here. It brings tears to my eyes every time I read it.
Christ gave Himself, His very body and shed His own precious blood so that God’s demand of payment for sin would be satisfied. God is Holy, my friend. He demands that payment (restitution) be made for sin. Just as you would have a price to pay if you committed a crime, so does God require a payment for all sin. God is a just God. He cannot allow sin into Heaven and, therefore, requires that payment be made in full.
Christ fulfilled this payment. It would be just as if I went to court and stood before the Judge for all of my horrible sins. The Judge states that I deserve to die and I am now sentenced to death with no possibility of parole. My Attorney, Jesus Christ, goes before the Judge and says,
Father, I died on the cross and shed my own blood so that Kate does not have to go to hell. She has accepted me as the only payment for her sins and her penalty and death has been paid by Me.
It is at this point, at my salvation, that the Father (the Judge) says,
Kate is free from my judgment of hell because her sins are covered by my Son’s own blood and He has paid a great price for her with His own life!
My friend, if you are not a repentant born-again Christian, please read these words with all sincerity of heart!
~Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
~Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
~Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
~1 Timothy 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
~Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
If these verses bring conviction to your heart, please know that you can turn to Jesus Christ right now and be one of those that has been purchased by Jesus Christ with His own blood. There is nothing you can do to earn this gift. It is a free gift from God. But you do have to accept that precious Gift. Acknowledge to God in prayer that you are a sinner in need of salvation. Confirm to God that you are repentant. That means that you sincerely desire to turn away from your sins and follow Him. Acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven and that you accept His gift and His work on the cross for your salvation.
Now, may we all be able to rejoice with the Apostle Paul!!!!
~2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
Maranatha - Awaiting Christ's Return 