What a gift! What a life!

Paul summed up this section of his letter with this great statement of the faith. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We all used to be slaves of sin. We presented ourselves to sin because we thought there was some benefit to doing what we wanted to do. However, we discovered that the wages sin paid were not what we expected or were hoping for. When we held out our hands expecting to receive life, instead, we got death. That’s all that sin has to offer for our service. But what a contrast it is to present ourselves to God for His service! There we were, dead in sin, when faith came to us. Our eyes were opened, and we exulted in God. We discovered we were justified before God through the finished work of Jesus Christ. We found ourselves ushered us into the presence of God, united with Jesus, dressed in His righteousness, and at peace with God forever. And it is all a free gift of God. We didn’t have any good in us to recommend ourselves to Him. We couldn’t and didn’t do anything to earn it. Incredibly, remarkably, we passed from death into life eternal by the glorious grace of God. If you have received eternal life freely from God, then I encourage you to share His life with everyone you meet today and everyday until He returns. The natural and simplest way to do that is to love them as He has loved you. Freely give as you have freely received through Jesus Christ. He is your Lord, and He has given you this commandment and committed your heart to it. “Love one another as I have loved you.” What a gift! What life! Can you think of someone who might be encouraged by today’s podcast? I hope you’ll pass it on. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com