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“But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:15-17 ESV)
When we as humans are born into this world, we are born with sin natures in the image of Adam, the first man created by God, who was the first man to sin against God (along with his wife Eve). So, because of this one man’s sin, sin came into the world, and therefore all died. So not one of us is righteous outside of genuine walks of faith in Jesus Christ. And since all have sinned, we all fall short of attaining God’s divine approval in our own flesh natures.
[Rom 3:9-26; Rom 5:12-19; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49; Eph 2:8-10]
So God the Father sent his only begotten Son Jesus Christ to the earth to be born as a baby to a human mother, conceived of the Holy Spirit. So when Jesus Christ walked this earth, he was fully God and fully human, but without sin. And God the Father sent Jesus (God the Son) to the earth ultimately to be our sacrificial lamb to die on a cross for the sins of the people of the whole world so that we might be saved out of our sins.
[Isaiah 53:1-12; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 26:26-29; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 17:25; Jn 1:1-36; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:24,58; Jn 10:27-33; Jn 20:28-29; Rom 5:8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 9:5; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 11:23-32; 1 Co 15:1-8; 2 Co 5:15,21; Eph 4:17-24; Php 2:5-11; Col 2:9; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 1:8-9; Heb 2:14-15; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 John 3:4-10]
So, what is the “free gift” of God? Well, we read in Ephesians 2:1-10 that it is the grace and mercy and love of God towards us sinful humans, and it is our faith in Jesus Christ, and it is Jesus’ blood sacrifice for our sins so that we can be saved out of our lives of slavery to sin and now live holy lives, pleasing to God, no longer walking in sin, no longer living according to the passions of our sinful flesh, but so we can walk in obedience to our Lord.
But God’s grace, our faith, and our salvation are not of our own doing, so we don’t get to determine what they look like. God does. For God’s grace, our faith, and our salvation are all from God, and they are all gifted to us by God, and our faith to believe in Christ is persuaded of God and perfected by Jesus Christ, so all three are going to align with God’s expressed will and purpose for our lives, as his followers, and won’t be of the will of humans.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]
For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works,” the good works which “God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Titus 2:11-14 and Ephesians 2:10).
And by faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness. So we are no longer to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For is sin is what we obey, it leads to death, but if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are what we obey, that leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (Romans 6:1-23; cf. Ephesians 4:17-24).
And what is justification? To be justified by his blood is to be conformed to a proper standard (upright) which meets with God’s divine approval. And we are not approved of God if we are still walking in (living in) deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord, especially if we are then calling him “Lord,” but we are not doing what he says. For if that is what we do, Jesus said that we will not enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he will say to us, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23).
And to be reconciled to God means that we decisively change from living in sin and for self to now following our Lord in obedience to his commands. We change from being enemies of God, from being in opposition to God, to now being in fellowship (partnership, agreement, participation) with God and with his will and purpose for our lives. And being redeemed means being rescued from what enslaved us so that we can now honor God in all that we do. For we are saved out of living in sin to now walking in obedience to God (see Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-24, et al).
And what is righteousness? It is not just a status that we wear. It is the divine judicial approval of God, which refers to what is deemed right by the Lord after His examination, i.e. what is approved in His eyes. And the Scriptures make it quite clear that if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord, and if we do not walk in obedience to his commands in holy living – in his power, strength, and wisdom – then we do not have his approval, and we are not righteous in his sight, and we do not know God, we are not born of God, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
