When we receive gifts, we often do not think about the sacrifice made by the giver in order to gift that gift to us. We do not think about the time they spent purchasing the gift, the hours they worked to earn the money to purchase the gift, or the thing that they wanted to buy for themselves but put off so that they could gift us with the gift. The truth is, giving gifts requires sacrifice. Sometimes the sacrifice is small and insignificant. Other times, the sacrifice is great. Oftentimes, the greater the gift, the greater the sacrifice. In fact, the greatest gift we will ever receive, salvation, required the greatest sacrifice: the death of Jesus on a cross.
The apostle Paul often taught in the letters that he wrote about the high price that Jesus paid on the cross so that we could have eternal heaven with Him one day. He clearly explained it in a verse you might know well found in Romans 6. "For the wages of sin is death," he wrote, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (verse 23). According to Paul, sin results in death every single time. In His kindness and absolute grace, Jesus paid the ultimate price. He left heaven, came to earth, lived a perfect life, paid the price for our sins when He died a sinner's death on a cross although He had never sinned, and rose from the grave, conquering sin and death. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for you and me when he died on the cross that day. His sacrifice was the highest sacrifice anyone could ever make. He gave His life so that we could have life, the greatest gift.
Jesus' sacrifice was more-than-costly, yet His gift to us, salvation, Paul teaches, is free. We simply must take hold of it, much like we must open and accept any gift that someone gives us. The gift of salvation costs us nothing, but it cost Him everything. Let's revel in this unbelievable, costly gift of God that we have been given: salvation with Him in heaven forever.
While we may not fully understand the sacrifice Jesus made so that we could have salvation in Him, we can, and should, still acknowledge the sacrifice He made on our behalf. Take some time to go on a walk today and pray. As you pray, thank God for the unbelievable sacrifices made so that you could receive eternal life in heaven with Him one day.
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
