A Free Gift

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:23

"The wages of sin is death."  Such a very powerful statement Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans.  Think about the word 'wages' for a second.  When I think of wages, the first think that comes to mind is my compensation, what I receive or am paid for my work.  I receive my wages because I have earned them.  The same can be said for sin in our lives.  The wages, or what we earn from committing sin, is death.  Death is the penalty for which our sins must be paid.

I think Paul could possible be talking about two kinds of death:  the physical and the spiritual.

First, the physical.  Death entered into this world because of sin.  Because Adam and Eve were deceived in the Garden of Eden and rebelled against what God had told them to do, a curse was put on all of humanity (Romans 5:12).  Since that fateful day, death is something we face everyday.  Of course we may not be in danger of death everyday but the fact remains that at any moment, you could die.  Each second that passes by is another second closer to your end.  Each breath you take is one less breath you have on this earth.

Now the spiritual.  As I mentioned, wages are earned.  We have earned spiritual death and an eternity in hell because of the sins that we have committed.  None of us are perfect and all of us have broken the commandments of God (Romans 3:23).  Because the God of the universe is perfect, he requires perfection.  And anyone who falls short of perfection cannot spend an eternity in His presence.

As ominous as the first part of the verse, the second half brings a hope that no other religion can bring.  All other religions of the world are works based, meaning they believe that man has the ability to earn his salvation.  But think about that for a moment:  could you ever do enough good in your life to outweigh the bad?  On the other hand, Christians believe that salvation can only be a gift from God.  We could never reach the perfection that God requires.  So God, in all of His perfection and love, gave His son as sacrifice for our sins.  All other religions say "Do", Christianity says, "Done".

When Jesus was nailed to the cross, He experienced a separation from the Father, taking on the punishment that you and I deserve.   He did it so that you wouldn't have to live out eternity paying for your sins.  Jesus took and paid your punishment on the cross.  Paul calls Jesus "the gift of God."  Gifts are not earned.  Gifts are given.  But the person who the gift is intended for does not have to receive it.  There is always an option to reject the gift.

Jesus was God's gift to us.  He was the final payment for all the sins we have committed and will commit.  And as Paul says in this verse, if we receive this free gift, we will be given eternal life in heaven.  We won't be held accountable for our sins because Christ paid them for us.

All you have to do is receive this free gift.  It is that easy.  Will you receive God's free gift?