The Free Gift

I’ve been here, in London, for almost two weeks now. Time has flown by and the Lord has worked magnitudes in that short time. The Lord has spoken, largely through His Word, where He has lead me to both Ezekiel and to Romans. It is Romans that I feel He wants me to press on this afternoon. Ezekiel will come later, when the time is right.

The Holy Spirit led me to Romans right before I arrived in London. I have continued to read through the heavy and dense material as I sit in these cultural London cafés.

The Spirit has continued to press on me that we – human, man, flesh – live in sin. We are surrounded by sin. We are consumed by sin; habits, addictions, small & large. We are sin, plain and simple. Since the Fall, humankind has been riddled by sin.

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned… For as by one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners… (Romans 5:12a & 19a).

How many of us today told a lie? How many of us cheated on a test? How many stole some money, a song off the Internet, or some food from your roommate? Men, how many of us lustfully looked at a woman? Women, how many of you gossiped or “told a friend about another friend’s problem?”

Men, we sin. Women, you sin. We all sin. Whether we like it or not, mankind are slaves to sin, to our selfishness. At times we can’t help it, and at other times, we choose to sin. We are not “good people” and believing such is a lie straight from the slippery lips of satan. Of course we all are capable of doing good, but that doesn’t make us good at our core. We, as humans, choose to do the selfish, the prideful, and let jealousy, and let anger take control. We let sin take control.

But there is freedom from sin. There is freedom from ourselves. There is freedom, period.

The freedom is found in Jesus Christ. My friends, that sin that we all do, that sin that we all are, it keeps us from being united with God. (God, the creator of the Universe we live in, that we study trying to find Him in – which, isn’t going to happen. You can’t define the creator by His creation. You can see Him in it, but not entirely.) The sin we are, keeps us from being united with God. He doesn’t want to be separated from us. He wants us. He wants us to want Him, and more so, God wants a relationship with us; much like a friendship but much sweeter.

“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:24&25).

You see, God wants us so bad that He sent His Son. Himself in the flesh, Himself in man form, so that Jesus could choose to sacrifice Himself on the cross for us, for our sin. For the very thing that we are, that we do. Sin, being a wedge between man and God, has now been lifted because of Christ. Because He - being sinless - loves you (and me) so much that He died a brutal death for the crap that we choose to do, the sin we choose to do. He died for, and to that sin, but He then rose from the clutches of death, taking power over sin and over death. He wants to give that power, through the Holy Spirit, to you! He wants freedom for you!

The bottom line is this: “For when you were slaves of sin… what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death” (Romans 6:20&21). Friends, some of you are still slaves to sin, to yourselves, doing your will in life. Yeah, it seems harmless but take a second, look, and stop faking to yourselves. This is real life and there are real choices to make. Build your own kingdom – meaning, go to X college, study Y amount, get Z as a job, and make tones of money with which you can make the earth a better place. The earth, just like you and I, the money we make, and all in this world, will one day perish; one day be no more. Can’t you feel that there is something larger then you beckoning for you? That something is more like a someone, and He is the Almighty God.

“But God shows His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God loves you. He wants, He’s jealous for a relationship with you, and He wants to show you a life that is abundant in Him. Jesus said “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy (sounds like sin…). I came that they (those who receive Him) may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). God wants the best for you, and that’s Himself in your life as intimate as humanly possible.

All of you reading, that don’t know Jesus, know that I’ve prayed for you to receive His love, not just a title or a lifestyle, but Him, completely. And that His Holy Spirit would fill you, fill that void you feel, the depression you feel, and the brokenness you feel. That you would surrender to Him, and experience the passion and completeness of the Savior, Jesus Christ. I’ve prayed this for you: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Romans 6:22). That you would be set free from the strangle hold of sin and its death grip. Freedom only comes through Jesus, through confession that we are sinners, and genuinely praying to receive the Holy Spirit, making Jesus Lord of our lives. Let Him in. Allow the Savior and God of the universe to flood your soul; to heal you, to breathe a breath of fresh air into your dying body. Let Him take your hopes, your worries, your life, and let Him be what you’ve been longing for, a Savior.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Receive the gift freely given — but cost Jesus sweat, shame, blood, pain, and death — done out of His love for all of us.