The Wages of Sin

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

(Romans 6:23)

Meditation

We are all doomed and going to hell! Not one of us stands a chance on our own. We will all die to this life and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire…without the cleansing blood of Jesus. How do we comprehend eternity? We only have our own lives and the lives of other people as a reference for the passage of time. Eternity is forever, which is a very long time. We cannot wrap our minds around something as big as that. If I’m going to spend eternity somewhere, I want to spend it with Jesus. Eternity in hell is the punishment I certainly deserve, but God sent his only Son to pay my penalty. All I had to do is confess Jesus as the Lord of my life, repent of my sins, and be baptized. Now I’m assured of eternal life with Christ. I now live my life in Christ Jesus to the best of my ability. I fail regularly but I take strength from the Lord to return to a righteous path.

We don’t get to choose whether some action or thought is sinful or not. We’re given the descriptions of right and wrong in scripture. We don’t get to decide the severity of a sin. Are some sins worse than others? The punishment for any sin is death, and there is no changing that. We don’t get to decide who’s going to heaven and who’s going to hell. The Father in heaven is the only judge. Our sins will be measured by the ultimate power of the created universe. When we’re standing before the Father on Judgment Day, he isn’t going to ask us to explain why we didn’t submit to his Son, Jesus. He already knows the answer. He points us to his right or left side. If we’re saved, we go to the right.

Everyone sins no matter how good they are. We all like to compare ourselves against everyone else in the world. The standard to be used by God will be himself and he is complete perfection. No one, no matter how good they are, can stand up to that scrutiny. Not even a Billy Graham or a Mother Theresa can have this blessed assurance without coming first to Jesus. No matter how big or small the sin is the consequence is hell. The temptations all around us, from living in this world, make it easy to sin whether we’re a born again believer or not. As a believer, we simply confess and ask for forgiveness all is well again. If we've accepted the free offer of salvation and cleansed in baptism our sins are forgiven and eternal life is ours!

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, how great is your promise to rescue us from the grave? There is no other promise made by you or anyone else that is as important. We are assured of eternal life if we submit ourselves to your will and plan for our lives. We are all vile sinners and deserve the punishment of death. We do not deserve your mercy and grace, but you give them to us freely, without cost to us. You take our burdens and fears, replacing them with the hope of eternal life with you. We wouldn’t want to live forever if we couldn’t be with you. It would be meaningless and hollow. We cannot say the words that will adequately express our gratitude for the sacrifice of your son, Jesus. He paid the price for our iniquities with his own blood, paving the way for us to stand before you in his righteousness. Please continue to forgive us as we stumble and fall back into wickedness. Restore us to a right standing in your eyes. Help us to listen for the Holy Spirit’s guiding influence, so we can continue on the righteous path. We love you and bow in awe of your mercy and grace. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen!