Sin = Death


For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Romans 6:23)

Meditation

Have you ever heard someone say what’s wrong for one person is not necessarily wrong for another? Usually, the next words out of their mouths are, “Judge not!” I have always known there is a difference between right and wrong, good and evil, but in my rebellion, I wasn’t very good at practicing what was right or good. Even though I knew I was doing wrong, I decided to follow the crowd and do what they were doing. I bought into the lie of “free sex” with multiple partners. The lie was, as long as everyone knows there’s no emotional attachments, nobody gets hurt. That was so wrong! I know I got hurt, but more importantly, I hurt several others. That was just one of the sins God should condemned me to death for; there are many others.
Despite what I wanted to believe, or what the secular world wants everyone to believe, there are NO gray areas when it comes to sin. A lie is a lie, stealing is stealing, and murder is murder. They are all wrong and they are all sins, punishable by death. Whether we’re saved or not, we all know in our hearts when we’ve done something wrong. I would justify my sins by telling myself everyone does it, or there are a lot of people much worse than me; I’m not so bad. That’s exactly what Satan wanted me to believe. He wants me to compare myself against other sinners and thereby find myself innocent. However, God does not judge me against other fallible people, he judges me against his perfection, and I am found guilty.
Whether I’ve told a little white lie or committed a vicious murder the penalty is the same; death. Just one sin is all it takes to be condemned to hell for eternity. My sins were many, and much worse than a little white lie. The amazing thing is Jesus has already paid the penalty for my sins when he died on the cross. He didn’t suffer and die to save good people, but to save the wretched sinners, like me. He doesn’t care what we’ve done, there is no sin too great that he won’t forgive. It’s only when we humble ourselves and turn to him that we can have a path to the Father. All we have to do is take Jesus up on his free offer of salvation. He’s already done the work and now he stands with his arms wide open waiting for us to come to him!




Prayer Time

Heavenly Father, you are so merciful. There is nothing we can do on our own to be worthy of your love and forgiveness. It was your plan, from the foundation of time, to offer your only Son as a sacrificial lamb, to pay the price for our sins. Without his sacrifice, we have no hope for salvation. If we do not make Christ the Lord of our lives, our ultimate and final destination is eternal punishment in Hell. We pray for those who think they’re not that bad, that their sins are not that great, or that they’re not sinners at all. They are deluded and actually following Satan’s plan. Please, soften their hardened hearts, so they’ll be willing to listen to the gospel message. Father, fill us with your Holy Spirit, give us the boldness to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Give us a heart like Jesus, filled with love for the lost. Make us zealous to bring as many people to heaven with us as we can. We love you, Lord, and we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen!

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