Romans 6:23

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 6:23

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

Paul wrote this in order to finalize a section where he was writing about the difference of being slaves to sin and slaves of righteousness.  Before we are saved, we are slaves to sin.  This word translated slave is the Greek word doulos, meaning slave or bondservant.  We obey our sinful desires which is counter to obeying God.

When we accept Christ as savior, accepting the work Christ did on the cross, then our old man who was a bondservant to sin dies, which then releases us from our bondage to sin, and because of the resurrection we are a new creation, being a new man who has no ties to sin, and we now are slaves to righteousness.

Now, there are two ultimate endings based on our decision.  Let’s look first at our former life.  We read in a couple verses up, “Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.” Romans 6:21.  This is simple, if we remain in in our former life, not accepting Christ as our Savior, the “final result” is death.  There can be no other.  For we have nothing we can do to be declared righteous before God.  Only the work of Christ provides it.

Now, let’s look at our new life in Christ.  Paul said in the next verse, “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” Romans 6:22.  The “final result” of accepting Christ is first, a new life focused on holiness since the old is gone.  However, even better, this life will be eternal, everlasting, never ending.  I would say this is infinitely better then if we remained separated from Him.

Now, to the focus verse.  Look at what is said.  “Wages of Sin” and “Gift of God”.  Wages are defined as something we earn by the works we do.  Therefore, if we do not accept Christ, the old man will get what he earned, what he deserves.  That being death.  However, if we do accept Christ, we earn / deserve nothing.  However, we get a “free gift” from God.  And that is eternal life in Him.

So, we either get what we earn, which is death, or what we do not earn, which is eternal life.  I’ll take what I did not earn.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Ephesians 2:8

Verse of the Day Devotion: Ephesians 2:8

“For by grace, you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” – Ephesians 2:8 

The Jews in Jesus’ time truly believed that by following the law completely, they would be saved.  They believed that as long as they did exactly what the law required, including the blood sacrifice for any sin they should commit, they would be good enough to be saved.  However, it is clear from our focus verse plus the next that this is not the case.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9.  We can do nothing to make right our rebellion.  Salvation is through grace alone.  Our works have nothing to do with it.

Unfortunately, too many live their lives as though this is still true.  They go to church simply because they believe they must.  They read the bible because they believe this is what a Christian is expected to do.  They say a prayer before every meal and bedtime because that is a tradition they have grown up with.  Also, when they think about whether they are saved, they think about what they did and do, not who they serve.

I remember a Pastor friend who was preaching one Sunday morning and he said the following which has stuck with me since I heard it.  “We do not go to church because we have to, we go because we get to.  We read the bible not because we have to, but because we get to.  And we pray not because we have to, but because we get to.”  These are things we do to fellowship with the one who saved us through His death burial and resurrection.  It is not by what we do, but what He did, and because we accepted this, we GET to fellowship with Him.

Again, let’s look at what James said.  “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? “James 2:14. Our works are the sign of the faith we have.  If we truly have given our lives over to Him, then we will desire to do the things He wants us to.  We do them not to be saved, but because we are saved.  Because we truly love Him.  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”  John 14:15. Also, remember James’s wording. “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” James 2:17. So, summing this all up, Faith by itself, without the works to show the reality of our faith, is not true faith.  But also, works by themselves, without the faith in the works Christ did on the cross, are simply deeds alone with no reconciliation with God.

In closing, Paul lays out how salvation is attained.  “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Romans 10:9-10.  Works has nothing to do with it, they are simply the proof of our salvation through faith in Christ and His works.  Let us change our thoughts if we place works as a means rather than a sign of our acceptance of the grace God has for us.  Moreover, let us help those who believe works are relevant to our salvation understand what the bible actually says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9.  There is much freedom that comes from realizing that salvation is a gift of God we accept through faith alone.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

1 Peter 4:10

Verse of the Day Devotion:  1 Peter 4:10   

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” – 1 Peter 4:10

In this verse, Peter is telling Christians that God has given each of us at least one special gift for us to use in His service.  He does not list the types of gifts so we cannot tell if he is speaking of a specific gift or simply the gift of the Holy Spirit, which we know all Christians receive.  But whatever that gift is, it is given to us in order to serve the Church, meaning those who are Christians. 

And it is important though to remember we cannot control how God has distributed them out.  We can pray that God will give us certain gifts, but ultimately He is the one who decides how they will be disseminated.  And there are various spiritual gifts.  Paul said, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-5.  God chooses which gifts we will receive and what we will do in ministry.  What is important is that we all are given gifts for the purpose of serving God and the church.

And there are two different type of gifts.  The first, as seen in 1 Corinthians are the spiritual gifts.  These are stated as manifestations of the Spirit.  These being the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and the word of knowledge through the Spirit.  To some the working of miracles. To others the gift of faith, which is the special gift whereby the Spirit provides Christians with extraordinary confidence in God’s promises.  An example of this may be those in places of persecution in countries which are adamantly against the Christian faith. And to some prophesy and  distinguishing of spirits, to some speaking in tongues, and to some the interpretation of tongues.  And these are needed gifts, or God would not give them today.  Some believe that tongues has ended, however the scriptures do not say anything like this, therefore we must be careful here.  God will provide any gift He deems necessary within the Church.

And second, some gifts He gives us are not any of the above but are important in His service.  For instance, the gift of public speaking or of  organization.  Maybe the gift of consolation or being able to understand what people are going through more than others.  These can be gifts that He gives us through interactions with people He has put in our path.  Sometimes He will give us natural gifts in order to serve His people, such as the gift and desire to cook, or clean, or caring for those who need care from another. Or possibly physical things such as Bibles to spread throughout the world, or food to give to Christians who are starving. Sometimes the gift can be a desire given to us for filling God’s peoples need. And in Ephesians, we see He gifts the Church with what is needed for the Body of Christ to grow in the Lord.  These gifts include but are not limited to prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. 

 In closing, God disperses His gifts as He chooses, for the benefit of the Body of Christ, and to help them be a witness to those who are not Christians, helping them become followers of Christ.  And the purpose of these gifts is to serve God and the Church  according to His calling to us.  Use the gifts you know God has given you.  If you are not sure what your gifts  are, pray that God will show you and follow His guidance.  As we get closer to the return of Christ, these gifts will become even more important in order to reach the lost and strengthen Christians in their walk. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.