But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22, 23 (NIV)
Everyone loves having a birthday party because gifts are fun to receive. However, you somewhat earn your birthday gift. After all, you labored living a whole extra year to have friends and family come over and give you a present for what you earned. Now, I know this seems a little harsh, but truly those birthday gifts are really birthday wages.
But what about a gift that you didn’t deserve or didn’t expect. Not like the flowers your husband brought you after he forgot to make the dinner reservations. He was paying to make up for something.
I’m talking about receiving something of value and you didn’t earn it, deserve it, much less expect it.
You and I have earned death because of our sin. Just like the bill to your cable company, you and I have an outstanding invoice for our sin.
However, there has been someone who has given you and I a gift that we didn’t deserve or earn. Because Jesus died and rose from the grave we are given an invitation to receive a gift of eternal life.
You can’t earn it. You definitely don’t deserve it but all we have to do is receive it.
Just open our hearts, as a child would open his hands to receive his birthday present, and receive Jesus gift of saving you.
To receive this gift has a response. When you receive the free gift of life, you become dead to sin. To be free from our sin is to now be a slave to God.
When we receive the gift of God’s salvation through Jesus’ life and death, we we receive Jesus’ holiness. A holiness that we can’t achieve on our own, but one that Holy Spirit works in us and forms in us.
The result of a holy life is eternal life. The result of trusting in Jesus is receiving his free gift of holiness that gives me eternal life.
My next step:
Receive Jesus gift and let it earn my holiness to give me eternal life. The. Allow The Holy Spirit to make me dead to sin and alive in Jesus.