Free Grace?

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

God hates sin. The scriptures are clear that God and sin cannot co-exist. Therefore, with God as the ultimate judge, a price has to be paid for that sin. The payment, or wage to pay for this sin is death. But through Jesus, we are given the gift of grace.

This verse is often misunderstood however. Jesus did not render the price for sin unneeded or unnecessary. He just made sure that we didn’t have to be the ones to pay it. The idea of “free grace” threatens to cheapen the courage of the gospel. Sure, the grace is free for us. But the only reason it comes to us at no charge is because Jesus paid the full price on our behalf. He paid the wage for our sin with his death, and through his resurrection he also shared with us the gift of eternal life. That’s the gospel.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for your Son. Jesus, thank you for paying my debt. Thank you for paying the wage for my sin. And thank you for the gift of eternal life that you allow me to share in. I know thisis not something I deserve, and I am grateful and humbled by your life every day.