The Free Gift - Day 209 Month 7-27 Week 30-6

Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)


2 Samuel 3:26-4:12, Proverbs 12:11-19, Ezekiel 14:12-15:8, Romans 6

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%203%3A26-4%3A12%2C%20Proverbs%2012%3A11-19%2C%20Ezekiel%2014%3A12-15%3A8%2C%20Romans%206&version=NASB1995

The Free Gift

So now that Jesus has died for our sins and we can be forgiven, does that mean we can go ahead and do whatever we want because it will have no eternal effect?  Paul asks exactly that question in Romans 6.

“Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1 and 2).

Paul goes on to explain this in greater detail, but the basic idea is straightforward.  If we have genuinely decided to follow Jesus, why would we want to continue living the same way we did before we knew Him?  If nothing else, gratitude should move us toward a different way of living because Jesus willingly died for us.

Does that mean we will stop sinning completely?

No. We are human, and we will still fail. The difference is that we recognize our sin, confess it to God, and continue growing as we follow Him.

We have now arrived at the second stop on the Roman Road to Salvation.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Whenever we fail to meet God's perfect standard, we sin.  Because God is perfect and we are not, we cannot make ourselves right with Him by our own efforts.  I could obey God's law as completely as I know how.  I could love God and love my neighbour just as Jesus taught.  Even then, I would still fall short of God's perfect standard.

If we cannot earn eternal life, God's answer is to offer it as a gift.  That is where Jesus' death and resurrection come in.  Jesus, who was without sin, died in our place so that we could receive eternal life.  It is something we simply cannot accomplish on our own.

The next stop on the Roman Road helps explain why this gift is possible.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

So far, the Roman Road looks like this.

  • All have sinned (Romans 3:23).

  • The wages of sin is death, but God offers the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23).

  • Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

So far we have learned that every one of us has sinned but we have a problem.  We have also learned that sin separates us from God and leaves us unable to meet His perfect standard.  WE need a solution. The good news and solution is Jesus died for us, and God offers eternal life as a free gift.

There is one more stop on this journey.  We will reach it when we come to Romans 10.  It will answer the question: How do we receive that gift? Hint: You can't earn it because it's a gift.

We will talk about that when we reach Romans 10.  In the meantime, if you are curious or would like to know now, send me an email.  I would be happy to give you a preview.

Have a great day!

Steve

steve.d.pauls@gmail.com


You can subscribe to this blog and receive an email each day or week.  Just visit the following link. https://follow.it/my-faith-view-from-here-daily-readings-and-thoughts?leanpub


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 15 - Week 3 Day1 Let Your Heart Rest

Today's reading Genesis 24:61 - End of 25 Psalms 14 Isaiah 12 - 13:5 Matthew 11 Thought for today (sorry but this is heavy) Today my heart is heavy.  I couldn't sleep well.  I figured that I may as well get up and do my morning reading and blog post.  So much is going on this world!  So much death.  So much war.  I long for what we read about yesterday of the eventual peace that will be in God's Kingdom.  In Psalm 14 from today's reading, we read "The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."  They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good...They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one. "  This is a Psalm of David, Israel's great king who God describes as a man after His own heart.  I think it's because David always wore his heart on his sleeve.  He was real and you see it in the Psalms he wrote.   My heart is heavy because...
Read more

Day 20 - Week 3 Day 6 The Rock

Today's reading (Bible in 1 Year) - If you have not read my introduction or blog from the beginning, I felt a strong motivation to read the whole Bible in a year and discover something new each day to share. Genesis 30:25 - end of 30 Psalm 18 Isaiah 17 Matthew 13:44 - end of 13 Thought for the day We have rocks!  We live on a rocky shore and our whole property is full of rocks.  You can't dig down more than 6" anywhere on our property and not find a rock.  It's very frustrating when you're trying to dig a garden or plant a tree.  Interesting though, they shift.  Every spring, my mower finds new rock locations.  During the winter freeze and thaw and freeze and thaw and freeze and thaw (that's how it is here), the rocks in the ground shift again and again.   There is one rock on our property that does not shift!  At the shore we have a lava rock outcropping.  It's goes out about 20 ft and and at high tide, you can touch the water from it. ...
Read more

Day 25 Week 4 Day 4 Green Pastures

Today's reading (Bible in 1 year) Genesis 36 Psalm 23 Isaiah 22:1-14 Matthew 17 Last evening, my wife, Sylvia, read a statement to me from a bishop in the Episcopalian church in New Hampshire.  He advised his Episcopal clergy to get their affairs and wills in order "because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable".  Sometimes, peacemaking puts one in the place where death is a possibility in the protection of the most vulnerable.  It's an ominous thing to think about. Today we read Psalm 23.  What a powerful Psalm to read in it's fullness but hopefully you just read it and I'll simply mention verse 4 where it says " Even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me " Did you hear that?   You are with me! On November 16, 2025 my mom passed away and went to be with Jesus, 2 days before her 98th birthday.  My mo...
Read more