The Gift of God
Salvation from sin is a gift we receive through faith. It is a supreme gift of God’s grace and mercy. It is forgiveness of our sins. It is the gift of life with God. This gift keeps giving, never ending.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Sin
What is sin? It is anything that is wrong (not right) before God, whether it be our words (or our silence), our thoughts (or our thoughtlessness), our actions (or our inaction).
James 4:17
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
1 John 5:17
All wrongdoing is sin …
Sinners
We are all sinners. No one is immune.
Romans 3:10-12
As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
… There is none who seeks after God .
… There is none who does good, no, not one.”
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
A Sinless Savior
A sinner needs a Savior, because the penalty for our sin is both spiritual, and ultimately, physical death, separated from God. God gave us a sinless Savior, who lived a righteous life we could never live, who suffered unjustly and died in our place as our substitute, so we could be forgiven and given eternal life.
Matthew 1:21
” … you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hebrews 9:22
… without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Death & Resurrection
Jesus, the Son of God, died on a cross at the hands of, and for, sinners, but He was raised to live and reign forever, seated at the right hand of the throne of God!
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day …
Repentance & Faith
Repentance is turning away from sin and self. Faith (belief/trust) is turning to God. Both are necessary for salvation. Both are gifts from God, just like the salvation they produce. Both can be expressed in a simple prayer.
Romans 10:13
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Luke 18:13
… ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
Many Other Gifts
Salvation from sin and eternal life come with other gifts, some immediate, some developed over time, and others yet future. For example: Peace with and from God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, adoption into the family of God, heaven (and eventually, a new earth and a new heaven), a new resurrected body, righteousness, deliverance from hell, and deliverance from even the presence of sin. The Bible tells us!
Greatest!!
God is the greatest Giver. Jesus is the greatest Gift. Recipients of this Gift have the greatest gratitude.
2 Corinthians 9:15
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Janice Powell – jkptt78@nts-online.net