ROMANS 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Hands down the greatest gift, Jesus Christ, the messiah, Emanuel- God with us. It sounds strange when you say someone is a gift, but if you put it into perspective, it's not that uncommon for someone to be a gift. I know my wife is a gift from the Lord, and my children are a gift from God so a person can be a gift.
The bible said Jesus is a gift given to every person in this world, for all ages because God loves us. Jesus was God's only son that willingly came to this earth and paid a debt that he did not owe, but one that we could not pay. God placed the sins of the entire world on his son when he died on the cross, and his precious life was given in place of mine. He died so that we can live.
When we accept Jesus as our savior, God's gift to humanity, we receive eternal life. If salvation is a gift then it is something that we can not earn nor work for because if we earned it, it would no longer be a gift. Christians aren't going to heaven because we joined a church, or performed some good work, if that were possible then salvation would not be a gift. Any act that would merit salvation removes the possibility of Jesus being a gift to mankind. Gifts are paid for by the giver not the person who receives the gift. The fact that salvation is a gift opens the door to every person who has ever lived. Anyone can receive a gift but not everyone can purchase a gift.
When I was in first grade at Christmas time our class drew names and I was out of the class that day, however, my teacher placed my name in the drawing. When we went to the Christmas party another student bought me a present, but I didn't have a gift to give in return. It was so embarrassing that someone had purchased a gift for me, and I had nothing to give in return.
Shouldn't we feel like this about salvation that God has given us such a great gift that we should have something to give in return. What does he want from us? Everything. The bible said a reasonable gift is to present ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice. When we use our hands for his service, it's a gift to God, and when our voice speaks for Him, it's a gift to the Lord. God's gift to us is life, our gift to God, we give our life back to him.
Pastor Ken Smith
Comments