Romans 6:23

AMP – For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.]

NRSVUE – For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

VOICE – The payoff for a life of sin is death, but God is offering us a free gift – eternal life through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King.

God’s Gift of Eternal Life

The consequence of sin is death. We have faced this curse since the start of humanity. We have been under the curse of physical death and deeper judgment of separation from God. We are all human. We all have earthly bodies. One day, our earthly bodies will cease to function. Once they do, we will find ourselves in a place that will either guide us to the gates of Heaven or the eternal separation in a void of nothingness. God’s holiness cannot treat our sinful behavior lightly. Paul shows us that all people are guilty of sin, but we can find forgiveness through a relationship with God.

God’s gifting us eternal life. It’s God’s gift of grace, given to those who cannot rescue themselves from sin and death. We find ourselves in need of rescue when we can recognize that God is the only way to cleanse us of our sinful desires and temptations. We find forgiveness, reconciliation, resurrection from the grace, and an endless relationship with Him. Our lives will not end when our physical lives are over, but we will raise from our resting place and into a new, holy form heading to Heaven.

All this happens through our relationship with Jesus. It was He that lived a sinless life, died an atoning death, and resurrected back to life so that we can receive something outside of our means. He is the one that delivers us from judgment. He is the one that takes our sins, and paid the consequences of them. Those who have a relationship with Him are delivered from the consequences of sin, so that we can live a life of restoration that lasts for eternity.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How do you understand God’s gift of eternal life? Was it taught to you in a transactional mindset or a love-first mindset?

The Goal of Mercy and Repentance

There is nothing that you or I can do to work for God’s grace. This may be a hard realization for some of you, but it’s reality. God’s new covenant, through Jesus, removed the necessity of our works to receive any of His gifts and promises. The New covenant is built through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We must come to a place that we recognize, “I cannot life like this anymore.” We will recognize that our behaviors, our decisions, our mindsets, and more are no longer serving us in a way that is benefiting us.

When we come to this recognition, we may feel like our lives are going to fall apart. Things will be different. Things may get uncomfortable. Things may get uncomfortable. People that we may have considered safe, may walk away from us. These things can happen, and we must recognize that these changes that God is guiding us towards are positive even when they don’t feel it in the moment. Forgiveness looks like recognizing that our past behaviors and mindset were harmful and went against God’s goal and plan for us. God’s goal is for us to worship Him with all parts of who we are (mind, soul, body, and strength) and to love our neighbors as Christ loved us. None of us are perfect with this. None of us will be perfect at it, but God asks us to be always progressing. The more we recognize where we have fallen short on, the more we can go closer with God. This happens through asking for God’s forgiveness, and then repentance. Repentance is our way of turning from our past behaviors and turning towards new paths. Paths that lead us to actions of love, compassion, justice, and mercy. Paths that helps us deeply care for others as we wished to be cared for. Paths that give us courage to stand up for what’s wrong in the world through God’s justice-first mindset and will for the world.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Reflect on what came to mind when you thought about asking God for forgiveness and seeking repentance. What does that look like for you?

God Loves You

This conversation reminds me of why Jesus came to the world, found in John 3:16

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life.

God loves us so much. God’s love is not just shown through His compassion, but His decision to rescue humanity from the eternal consequences of sin and death. The Father gave His Son, who He loves eternally, who shares in His divine nature, to the world. Jesus came to us willingly, taking on a human body to take on the consequences of our sin and reconcile humanity so that a relationship with God is possible. This reconciliation is open to all people that trust in Jesus Christ – who He is, what He does, and why He did it. Our saving faith acknowledges Jesus was crucified, died, and was resurrected through the power of God alone. Sin will try to separate us from God, often through judgment. God will not force us to believe in Jesus, which means our choice to believe or not is up to us. We may not know what the truthful answer is. When we do, it’s pointless to question it. So, we have to make the decision when we can. For those that believe in Christ, there will be eternal life. Eternal life is understood as the restored knowledge of and fellowship with God through Jesus. It starts when we accept our relationship with Christ and completed when we are brought into God’s kingdom.

I am not going to sit here and write out why you should turn to Christ right now. I am not going to sit here and explain that you’ll “go to hell” if you don’t accept God into your life. All I will say is this. I made a decision almost 13-14 years ago to commit my life to following the teachings of God. I no longer wanted to play the role of a Christian, but wanted to have my life circle around what it means to be a follower of Christ. Since then – life hasn’t been the easier (granted I turned 18 at the time), but still. I watched God walk with me through caring for my grandpa until his passing. I watched God walk with me through the highs and lows of my dream job as a Youth Director. I watched God walk with me through the highs lows of college, all the way through graduation. I watched God walk with me through relationship and friendship turmoil, commitment, connection, and break-ups. I watched God do a transformative work in me to move towards a more compassion and intentional ministry mindset compared to an event-filled one. I watched God change me and transform me through the past 14 years to becoming the person I am today – one that cares deeper, listens closer, fights louder, and works to ensure that God’s grace and mercy is shared to all people and in all circumstances. I am not perfect. I am not the best. I will not please everyone I meet. I know that God loves me as His child, seeks the best for me through our lives, and is with me through the celebrations and through the stress. If you asked me if you should, I think so just based on the work He’s done in me. I will not tell you to do it. I will not force you to do it. The decision rests with you, and the only one’s who matter in that decision is you and God.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What do you think? How have you been approached in achieving a relationship with God? Has it been a positive experience or a negative one?