Monday, October 16, 2006
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
GRACE = FREE GIFT
How do you get your paycheck? Is it direct-deposited? Is it a paper check? Is it cold hard cash? Whatever way you get your paycheck, it's what you've earned. You got out of bed. You went to the office or the shop or the field. You gave your time and effort and you deserve to be compensated for it.
Now, look at the passage above. Sin means we've treated God badly. Sin means we've treated each other badly. The passage above tells us what our sin-work has earned for us, the paycheck of death. The Bible reveals to us that this death we've earned through our sin-work isn't just physical death, it includes eternal death and separation from God. If we really comprehend what this means, this isn't a paycheck we'll look forward to cashing.
But here's where the grace of God comes in. God the Son took the wages you earned by your sin and switched them with the wages HE earned by His perfect life. When the Holy Spirit created faith in your heart, this undeserved gift was placed in your hands. Eternal death was replaced with eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. There's a gift you don't take back to the store!
A gift is free to the person who receives it. But a gift isn't free for the person who gives it. A better gift often means a higher price for the person who bought it. When it comes to our free gift from Jesus, this couldn't be more true. The price He paid was so huge that it doesn't even fit in our minds! Now that's amazing grace!
