You are empowered

Romans 6:23 reads, "for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Leading to this text, Apostle Paul is sharing the truth of what it means to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. One of the things that come to mind when I think of wages is a currency that has to be earned before I can receive it. Essentially, for me to be able to earn a wage, I must work. Today's lead text tells us that the wages of sin is death meaning the works of sin lead to death while the gift of God of eternal life in Christ Jesus is free. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "by grace we have been saved and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast".

What does this mean? - Firstly, that we are deeply loved by God which is the reason He sent His One and Only Son to die for us so that we could be reunited with Him holy and blameless without sin. It also means that by our own strength and works, we would never be able to save ourselves from sin if not for the grace of God in Christ Jesus that we receive by faith. Romans 5:20 reads, "...But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful grace become more abundant." The reason God's grace becomes more abundantly available with sin is because grace operates best under faith and not man's actions or 'good deeds'. Everything about the flesh is unpredictable whereas everything about the spirit is predictable. The Bible in Romans 8:14, "for as many are led by the Spirit of God, those are the sons of God."

Apostle Paul gives an example of his actions that in his human understanding were not worthy of God's grace but thankfully God does not judge matters the way man does. Apostle Paul mentions he was an insolent man, who persecuted the church and a blasphemer but nevertheless, he received abundant grace with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 13-14). If good works could save man from the sin that was introduced into the world when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit then Jesus Christ would not have come to die for us in the flesh in order to condemn the sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3).

As much as the law and Ten Commandments of Moses was good, it did not have the power and wisdom of God found in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:24) to make us dead to sin thereby providing us with right standing and eternal life with God.

Friend, may this encourage you to relax because no good deeds or work is too good to earn you God's favour and mercy. God has already provided all the love He has to give you found in His One and Only Son Jesus Christ. At the same time, may your life be empowered with the understanding that no sin is too great to disqualify you from God's free gift of grace in Christ Jesus which grants you eternal life and access to all of God's promises.

All you have to do is to receive this grace by faith through confessing with your mouth that, "Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could be made whole and free from the power of sin, death and condemnation. I receive Jesus Christ as my LORD and Saviour today and forever more." Amen. Thank you LORD.