Get the Word out!

Wages

Nothing’s free. I know that this may not come as a shock to many people (although there may be a number of people who refuse to admit it sometimes), it’s a surprise to some. I imagine that it also depends on what we’re talking about. If it comes to merchandise, people are always looking for free stuff. But when it comes to many important things in life, nothing is free. If you choose to spend your time doing one thing, it will cost you the ability to do something else.

When we go to work, our time is worth money. The companies that we work for have to pay wages for our time and effort. Our time also costs us (as those in the U.S. know at about this time every year…). If we know that nothing’s free, then it is important for us to evaluate the worth of everything so that we don’t have to pay for something that is worthless to us. Unfortunately, we often find ourselves paying for things that we shouldn’t have done. There are also times that we just plain don’t want to admit that something is costing us because we enjoy it too much.

There is no place that this is more evident than when it comes to eternal life. Many people through the ages have deluded themselves into thinking that their lifestyles, choices, and actions are not costing them anything when they are. They have hidden their consciences in the ethereal emotions and fleeting pleasures of sin. Because they don’t see the cost of their actions, they don’t look for a solution to the problem. Unbeknownst to them, the debt continues to add up.

When the time comes and the account is reconciled, if the sin remains unpaid for, then the account holder will be responsible for paying for their sins. The payment for sins is a terrible thing. If a person is still in their sins when they die, they must spend eternity in hell as the just payment for those sins. Many people today scoff at this and say a loving God would never send someone to hell. I disagree. It is precisely because God is love that He sends people to hell. It must be remembered that God is holy, just, righteous, and perfect as well as loving, gracious, and merciful (contrary to many contemporary preachers). Because God must always act in accord with all of His attributes, He must punish sin. That is the just and righteous thing to do. Because God is holy and eternal, the only just punishment for sin is an eternal hell. But, because God is loving, He has made an alternate way for the payment of their sins. The cost of this payment was no less terrible. The alternate payment for sins required that God’s perfect Son Jesus die on a wicked cross, even though He was innocent. Jesus took the wrath of God on Himself so that those who repent of their sins and put their trust in Him alone as their Savior would be spared God’s wrath. Because Jesus is God, He is perfect and eternal. As the substitutionary sacrifice for sin, this means that the sacrifice that He made was able to pay for all sins once. He doesn’t need to die again.

Sin has a cost. The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23). Sin will be paid for either way. It will be paid by those being punished in hell or it will be paid by the blood of Jesus. I ask anyone who reads this to take some advice from Jesus Himself and count the cost. I know that when Jesus said this, He was talking about following Him, but I think that it could apply here too. Understand what the cost will be to you if you die in your sins. You will spend your days in eternal torment where the fire is never quenched and the worm never dies (Mark 9:48). However, if you will admit that you are a sinner and have transgressed the law of God (see Exodus 20); and if you will repent of your sins (turn away from them) and put your complete trust in Jesus alone as your Savior, the Bible says that you will be saved from the wrath of God and can know without a shadow of a doubt that you will be in heaven when you die.

I mentioned the cost of following Jesus and it would be unfair for me to present the truth without talking about what it will cost you if you receive the gift of salvation. If you choose to follow Jesus Christ, then your life will not be a bed of roses. There is no guarantee that you will be blessed, healthy, rich, famous, or have an easy life. There is a guarantee from the Lord Jesus Himself that you will be mocked, hated, ridiculed, and may even be beaten or killed for Him. All you have to do is look outside the US to see this is true. I pray that you understand that what your life may be like should not discourage you from receiving salvation. What your eternity will be like if you don’t will be infinitely worse than anything that you can face here on earth.

Please consider where you stand in God’s eyes. If you don’t believe that He exists, then ask yourself why. Is it really because you honestly believe that all of this came about by chance random processes? Is it because you really believe that you can work your way to heaven (whether it’s by the system in Islam, Catholicism, Hinduism, or Mormonism)? Is it because you really can’t reconcile the “problems” with Christianity? Or, is it because you are too attached to your sin and living life the way that you want it rather than sacrifice your self in order to admit the truth? Whatever the reason, God challenges it and says that if you are willing to honestly look at what His Word says and come to Him on His terms, He will reveal Himself to you (not audibly or visually) and you can know that He is real and His Word is true.

This is the most important thing that you can spend your time considering and it is my hope and prayer that you will take the time to do so seriously…