The Gift of Life

Understanding that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8), the next stop along the "Romans Road" is Romans 6:23, which says plainly, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The contrast is a life with God over against a life of sin. It is the gift over against wages. It is eternal life over against death, which is spiritual separation from God.

On the one hand, there is the old life of sin. It has its wages which is death, or separation from God—a just compensation for a life of sin and rebellion against God. Left to its own devices, a life of sin soon turns into an eternal separation from God in hellfire and brimstone. The term "wages" (v. 23a) is found mostly in a military context and refers to the pay of a soldier. Again, these are wages that are well earned by our sin.

On the other hand, there is the new life which we experience through faith in Christ—a life of righteous living in fellowship with God. This life is a gift from God to all who believe, with its final reward, eternal life. Again, this life comes as a free gift from God. It cannot be earned in any way. It is God's gift of grace to all who believe and receive Him by faith.

Jesus Christ is God's only way from sin to righteousness, from eternal death to eternal life. When you trust Christ, you begin to experience this new life, a life that is totally transformed by Christ. It is a life in which the old life of sin is done away with. It is a life in which you live by faith in Christ who indwells you by His Spirit and leads you into a life of righteousness—His righteousness.

It shouldn't be hard to decide which is the better way to go. Yet so many people feel that their old life of sin is unshakable. They find it impossible to break away from sin. Somehow it seems to them that their obligation to righteous living is optional and, therefore, their faith is tentative.

However, for the believer, the exact opposite is true! You do not have to go on sinning. You do not have to treat your new life of righteous living in Christ as a good thing if you can get around to it. Rather, by faith in Christ you must live a righteous and holy life. You must live a life that is triumphant over sin in the power of Jesus—a life of faith, where Christ lives His life in and through you. Your new life in Christ demands it!

Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matt. 16:24-25). Jesus calls you to Himself, so that He might inwardly transform your life into a life of righteousness—into a life that follows after Jesus each and every day. He calls you to let Him transform your old life into a new life that is completely Christlike. He calls you to give up your old life of sinfulness for His holiness. He calls you to trust Him and let Him transform your life. Amen.

Christ Died for Us

Last week we learned from Romans 3:23-24 that you can be made right before God, but not on your own terms or by your own power. There is nothing you can do to make yourself righteous before God. It is all of God and nothing of you. That is where the next verse along the "Roman's Road" picks up the argument and expands on the truth.

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This truth is at the heart of the gospel message. We can't earn our way to heaven. There is nothing we can do that would get us past "the Pearly Gates," so to speak, and gain us entrance into heaven. Salvation is all of God and none of us.

God didn't send His Son to dangle salvation in front of us that we might grasp for it and fall short. He sent His Son to save us. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." In the original Greek, to "have" means to "hold" or "possess." Eternal life, and all that it includes, is something believers possess. It is secure in Christ.

To fully understand this truth we need to look at the verses leading up to Romans 5:8, the immediate context in which this truth stands. Verse 6 says, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." "In due time" (v. 6b), or "at just the right time" (NIV), "when we were still powerless" (v. 6a, NIV), "Christ died" for us (v. 6b). We were "ungodly" (v. 6b) and unable to help ourselves. We had no hope of salvation. We couldn't save ourselves, so God took care of it for us "at just the right time" (v. 6b). This was the greatest manifestation of God's love in all of history.

God's great love is demonstrated in the fact that Christ died for "the ungodly" (v. 6b). By contrast Paul notes in verse 7, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die." The point is this: rarely would a person sacrifice his own life to save the life even of someone seen to be of upright character, though Paul concedes that on a rare occasion perhaps someone would "dare to die" for one thought to be "good" (v. 7b). It is even less likely that anyone would sacrifice himself to save someone who is known to be evil. Yet that is just what God did. He died for the "ungodly" (v. 6b), and in that we find our security.

That brings us back to the heart of the matter in Romans 5:8—"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This is the main point. It was for "sinners" that "Christ died" (v. 8b). He died for people who were neither "righteous" (v. 7a) nor "good" (v. 7b). He died for the "ungodly" (v. 6b)—for "sinners" (v. 8b). He died for you and me when we were helpless sinners. God loves you; Christ died for you. That is the bottom line.

"For" (v. 8b) means "on behalf of." Christ died on your behalf. God's love, poured out at the cross of Christ, shows again that you are eternally bound to the Savior when you trust in Him. Amen.

All Fall Short

Last week in Romans 3:10 we saw firsthand the total depravity of mankind. In fact, the first two chapters of Romans and the beginning of the third chapter decribe in great detail the fact that "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3:10). In these verses, we see clearly the doctrine of the total depravity of man. In fact, up until this point the Book of Romans has been right down depressing as we have been shown a clear picture of who we are without Christ. Oh how glad I am that God loved me so much that, despite who I was, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in my place on the cross, that I might be forgiven of my sin and have life in His name—life abundant and life eternal.

Certainly all who do not know Christ stand condemned in their sin, facing an eternity totally separated from God in the fires of hell, where they will be tormented forever without end. Oh what a horrible thought! This should be enough to spur on those of us who do know Christ to take Christ to our friends and neighbors who do not know Him. No friendship is worth saving, if it means failing to snatch a friend from the fires of hell.

Continuing on with the "Roman's Road" gospel presentation, Romans 3:23-24 clarifies all of this for us: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." These verses declare that you can be made right before God, but not on your own terms or by your own power. There is nothing you can do to make yourself righteous before God. It is all of God and nothing of you.

God, by His grace, out of His love for you, provided the way to righteousness—Jesus Christ. Only through Him is God's righteousness imputed, or bestowed upon you. When you trust in Jesus and His death on the cross, God places the righteousness of Christ upon you. Then, when you stand one day before the Throne of Judgment, you are justified before God because He will see the righteousness of Christ in you and you will enter into His kingdom forever—all because of God's grace. This is God's great gift to you.

"Sin," or specifically, "sinned" (v. 23a) means "to miss the mark." "Justified" (v. 24a) refers to the idea of "declaring the righteousness of someone." It refers to being made right before God. You are justified—made righteous—as a free gift, by grace, "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (v. 24b).

A gift is something given freely, unearned and unmerited by the recipient. "Grace" (v. 24a) not only reveals God's righteousness, but actually gives His righteousness to those who trust in His Son. "Redemption" (v. 24b) carries the idea of delivering by means of paying a price. It was commonly used of paying a ransom to free a prisoner from his captors or paying the price to free a slave from his master. Only Christ Jesus, who was without sin, could pay the price for your salvation. Only through faith in Christ are you saved and made righteous before God. Amen.

None Righteous

There are several verses of Scripture, all in Romans, that when strung together in order from the earliest verse to the last, form an excellent and clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This presentation is often refered to as "The Roman's Road." Over the next several weeks we will consider each verse in detail concerning its meaning.

Romans 3:10 says, "As it is written: 'There is none righteous, no, not one.'" It is a reference to Psalm 14:1 and 53:1, which are nearly identical. The full text of Psalm 14:1 reads: "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good." Romans 3:10 might also refer to Ecclesiastes 7:20 which says, "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin."

Righteousness is one the major themes in the Book of Romans, appearing more than 30 times. And so Paul begins by speaking of man's unrighteousness. His first charge is that your character in not Christ-like. The word "righteous" (v. 10a) refers to being right before God. It refers to being what God created you to be.

Even people who do not believe in Christ can do individual acts that are morally right. But that is not what Paul is talking about here. He is talking about your inner character. No one has ever lived who is righteous by God's standard, except for Jesus Himself. No one is righteous before God and Paul makes his point by adding, "No, not one" (v. 10b).

Paul's point is that not one of us can truly live up to God's standard of righteousness. However, as he will make clear later in this letter, you can become perfectly righteous when the righteousness of Christ is imputed to you. When you trust Christ by faith for your salvation, God places the righteousness of Christ on you. He looks down upon those who trust Christ and He sees, by His grace, the righteousness of Christ. As far as salvation is concerned, in God's eyes, you possess either perfect righteousness in Christ or complete sinfulness apart from Christ. It all depends on your faith, or lack there of.

Apart from faith in Christ you can not possibly measure up to God's standard of righteousness. The natural man is incapable of doing what is truly upright and good by God's standard. Thus, apart from Christ, "There is none righteous, no, not one" (v. 10). Amen.

He Came to Give Us Abundant Life

Hebrews 2:16-17 says, "For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." Christ came to save men, not angels (v. 16). That is why he was "made like His brethren" (v. 17a).

But there is more to it than that. Yes, Jesus came to redeem us, glorify us, sanctify us, and give us eternal life, but the writer of Hebrews gives yet another reason why Christ became a man. He also came to help us when we are tempted.

In Hebrews 4:15 we are told, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." He felt everything we feel. He experienced every aspect of life and temptation that we experience. There is nothing you can experience that Jesus has not also experienced, yet Jesus was without sin. That is why He is "merciful and faithful" as our High Priest (v. 17b). He came to turn away God's wrath from us. That is the meaning of the word "propitiation" (v. 17c).

He also came to give us aid. "For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted" (v. 18). He knows when we hurt. He knows when we are weak. He knows when we are tempted. He is the God we can go to no matter what we are going through. He is the One who will bring you through to other side. He is the One who will give you strength for the journey of life.

In John 10:10 Jesus says, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Jesus came to give us abundant life. He came to aid us in living the Christian life to the fullest. Only as we live by faith and allow Jesus to live His life through us can we truly experience the Christian life as it was meant to be. It is indeed a most exciting life! Once you begin to experience the life Christ has for you, you will not want anything to ever get in the way of your fellowship with Him.

Billy Graham once said, "The greatest moment in human history was not when man set foot on the moon, but when the infinite and eternal God set foot on the earth in Jesus of Nazareth" (Bruce A. Demarest, Jesus Christ: the God-Man, The Victor Know and Believe Series, [Victor Books, a division of SP Publivations, Inc.: Wheaton, Illinois, 1978], 39).

That is ultimately what Christmas is all about. Christ becoming man that we might have life, both eternal and abundant. Amen.

He Came to Give Us Eternal Life

Hebrews 2:14a says, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same." To "partake" or to "share" appears twice in this verse. These are actually two different words in the original Greek text.

The first means "to share" in the sense of having fellowship, communion, or partnership with someone. It refers to having something in common with others. All human beings have "flesh and blood" (v. 14a). In this way we are all alike.

The second word means "to partake," and is the idea of taking hold of something that is different in nature or is not naturally of your own kind. That is what Christ did for us.

By nature we are "flesh and blood" (v. 14a), but not so for Christ. He left the glory that was His in heaven and willingly took hold of something that was different, something that was not naturally His. He was not by nature "flesh and blood" as we are, yet He became as we are in order to die in our place and give us eternal life.

Why did Christ become man? "That through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (vs. 14b-15). Jesus came not only to conquer Satan's weapon, sin, but to destroy the power of Satan, which is death.

People fear death because God requires it because of our sin. When a sinner dies apart from Christ he spends eternity apart from God's presence in hell. That is why Christ had to become a man. He went through death for us and came out the other side of death through the resurrection, thereby conquering death for us. And so, through His resurrection He gives us eternal life.

As a result, we need no longer fear death because death simply releases us into the presence of God. When you trust Christ for your salvation, He gives you eternal life. Jesus simply leads us into one side of the grave and out the other side into eternal life. That is why "Jesus... was made a little lower than the angels" (v. 9a). That is why Jesus became a man—to give you eternal life. That is what Christmas is all about—Jesus became a man to die for you and give you eternal life. Amen.

He Came to Give Us Sanctification

Hebrews 2:11 says, "For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren." Jesus came to redeem us and to lead us to glory. In the meantime, He came to sanctify us. He came to set us apart as His brethren. He came to restore the relationship between God and man.

To sanctify means "to set apart" or "to make holy." "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (Heb. 10:14). We therefore stand before God in Christ as one who is pure just as God is pure, as one who is righteous just as Christ is righteous, and we are called His brethren because we, through faith in Him, share in His righteousness. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

Through Christ's death on the cross, sin's mastery over us was broken and His eternal righteousness was placed on us. We are "fellow heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17) because He has made His holiness our holiness. The righteousness of Christ not only makes us holy but makes us His brethren.

While positionally we are righteous in Christ, as believers who are human we still experience sin. And so Christ came to sanctify us. Through faith in Him we can begin to experience His righteousness in our life right now. Slowly, through practicing what we believe—spending time in the word daily, praying at every opportunity, spending time together in church—we can become more like Christ. We can begin to become righteous just as He is righteous. He came to give us sanctification—to make us like Himself. Amen.