Most Read Bible Verses---#21---Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 (NIV)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This singular verse summarizes the difference between an unbeliever and believer, between a life of without Christ versus a life with Christ, and between the results of sin versus the results of receiving God’s free gift. 

Paul’s use of the word “wages” is very interesting.  Wages in the Greek literally means “a soldiers pay”.  Wages is something that is earned through effort.  A person’s efforts to lead a life of sin earns that person’s entrance to eternal death.  Death is a sinful person’s compensation for choosing to live a life of sin. 

The word for sin “harmartia” means “to miss the mark”, “to wander from the law of God, to violate God’s law”.  Jack Sequeira published seven categories of sin[1]:

·  A deliberate act against the law of God (I John 3:4)

·  A mental consent to a temptation or a sinful desire, the sin of coveting (Romans 7:7,8)

·  Unbelief, a deliberate rejection of a Biblical truth (Romans 14:23)

·  Neglect of known duties or opportunity (James 4:17)

·  Doing the wrong thing out of ignorance (Leviticus 5:17-19)

·  Our sinful natures, which we inherited from Adam (Psalm 51:5; Psalm 58:3)

·  A law, principle, or constant force, dwelling in our sinful natures (indwelling sin in the flesh). This makes us slaves to sin. Therefore, holy living, in and of ourselves, is impossible (Romans 7:14, 20-23)

The person who chooses, either purposefully or ignorantly, to live the sinful life, God gives him what he deserves, what he has earned---eternal death.  Such a person has earned the right, granted by God, to live eternity in hell.  The word “death” here is “thanatos” that means not only physical death, but also future misery in hell, with hell being a region enveloped in think darkness.  Why would anyone, if they truly under-stand the literal meaning of this first part of Romans 6:23, choose the wages of sin? 

Contrast something that has to be earned with something that does not have to be earned, but is a free gift.  The gift of salvation, the gift of eternal life is never something that you can earn (Ephesians 2:8-9).  You simply need to accept it if you are willing.  Isn’t it such a strange theological truth in this one verse that God will give you what you want and deserve, or will give you what you want and don’t deserve?  It’s your choice.  Remain in your sin and you earn death.  Choose to believe in God’s gift of salvation, Jesus Christ, and you don’t have to earn anything, you receive eternal life.  The gift of eternal life comes through belief in Jesus Christ our Lord.  That’s what the Bible teaches and affirms over and over again—John 3:16, John 17:3, Acts 4:12, I John 5:11-13. 

I like what the Life Application Bible writes about Romans 6:23 and I will summarize it:  “You are free to choose between two masters, but you are not free to manipulate the consequences of your choice.  The currency of sin is death or the currency of Christ is eternal life.  What choice have you made?  Eternal life is a free gift from God.  Consider the foolishness of someone who receives a gift given out of love and then offers to pay for it.  The appropriate response to someone who offers a gift is graceful acceptance with gratitude.”  

Have you gladly received God’s free gift through Jesus Christ and, if so, do you live your life with gratitude every day?  Does your life demonstrate a thankful heart for receiving something free that is so wonderful that you could never deserve or earn on your own?  Offer another thankful praise to the Lord Jesus Christ for what He was willing to do for you to receive this eternal free gift. 

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[1] E.H. (Jack) Sequeira,”Biblical Definition of Sin”, www.jacksequeira.org/sindef.htm

Most Read Bible Verses---#22---Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah 40:28-31 (GN)

The Lord is the everlasting God….He never grows tired or weary….He strengthens those who are weak and tired.  Those who trust the Lord for help will find their strength renewed.  They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak

The 1981 movie, “Chariots of Fire”, was based on a true story of a Christian Olympic sprinter from Scotland.  Hollywood awarded the best picture of the year Oscar to this Christian-based movie.  One segment of the movie showed Olympic athletes winning and losing races while in the background this Scottish sprinter was speaking the words of this passage from Isaiah.  I used a clip of this movie in one of my guest sermons at Stones Crossing Church when preaching on Isaiah 40:31 some years ago.  I was amazed that so many people that day had never seen or even heard of the movie.  It is definitely recommended to rent and watch, a great family movie with a wonderful Christian message. 

There are so many approaches and angles one can take in writing about this Isaiah passage.  Today I’d like to focus on the metaphor of the eagle that Isaiah uses.  The eagle describes the person who puts his/her trust in the Lord.  The eagle is the national bird of the United States.  Why?  Because it is big and strong and flies high and fast.  For example, it can fly over 40 mph and swoop at 100 mph.  Did you know?

·  The eagle is noted for great strength and perseverance (Ezekiel 17:1-3)

·  The eagle is noted for its far-sightedness (Job 39:27-29)

·  The eagle rises above the world of pollution (Obadiah 1:4, Jeremiah 48:40 and 49:16)

·  The eagle is noted for its longevity (Psalm 103:5)

So, the person who puts his/her trust in the Lord is like the eagle and has the same characteristics as the eagle (“they shall rise up with wings as eagles”).

Did you know that eagles know when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?  It will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come.  When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm.  While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.  The eagle doesn’t escape the storm; it uses the storm to lift it higher.  It rides on the winds that bring the storm.

God, through Isaiah, compares those who wait and hope in Him to eagles.  You are blessed with that gift from God that enables you to ride the winds of the storm, whatever the storm is (e.g. sickness, tragedy, failure, disappointment).  You can soar above the storm.  It all depends on the way you handle our storms.  And the way we handle our storms depends on who controls our minds and the strength and depth of our faith.

May these words give you great encouragement as you begin a new year!

Most Read Bible Verses---#23---Isaiah 53:1-6

Isaiah 53:1-6 (NLT)

Who has believed our message?  To whom has the Lord revealed His powerful arm?  My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him.  He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.   We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way.  He was despised, and we did not care.  Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down.  And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins!  But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.  He was beaten so we could be whole.  He was whipped so we could be healed.  All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.  We have left God’s paths to follow our own.  Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.  

Isaiah 53 is known as the Suffering Servant chapter of the Bible.  The Suffering Servant passage actually starts in 52:13 and continues through 53:12.  These words were written over 700 years before Christ was born.  How can Jewish people not believe that this passage refers to Jesus Christ?  They might believe that these words refer to the Messiah or some believe that they refer to the nation Israel, but they do not believe that this is a prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. 

So much of what Isaiah wrote here is referenced in the New Testament--

·  Who has believed our message?  John 12:38

·  He was despised and rejected.  Luke 18:31-33

·  He was despised and we did not care.  John 1:10-11

·  It was our weaknesses He carried.  Matthew 8:17

·  We thought His troubles were a punishment from God.  John 19:7

·  He was pierced for our rebellion.  Hebrews 9:28

·  He was crushed for our sins.  Romans 4:25 and I Corinthians 15:3

·  He was beaten so we could be whole.  Hebrews 5:8

·  He was whipped so we could be healed.  I Peter 2:24-25

There may not be another Old Testament chapter whose verses are more quoted or referred to than Isaiah 53.  Therefore, it is one of the best-loved and most often quoted chapters of the Bible.  For example, the famous example of Philip witnessing to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8---what was the eunuch reading that caused him to ask Philip questions?  Isaiah 53 (see Acts 8:27-33). 

This is the only passage of Scripture where Jesus Christ is described physically.  He was not beautiful or majestic or attractive.  He did not look like artists’ portraits or the actors (e.g. Jeffrey Hunter, Max Von Sydow, Jim Caviezel, etc.) who have played Him in movies. 

Isaiah 53:6 is a well-known memory verse.  All human beings are like sheep who have strayed away.  All human beings, because of original sin, naturally will abandon God to follow our own pride-filled ways.  It was God the Father Himself who chose to have all our sins to be cast upon His Son, Jesus Christ.  He became the sacrificial lamb for us.  Isaiah prophesied this hundreds of years before all this took place.  Amazing.

Reflect on all that God through Jesus Christ has done for you if you are a believer.  Think carefully about how much God loves you to allow His Son to be beaten, scourged, cut, nailed, and pierced so that you can be saved from your sins and be re-connected to God and be part of His kingdom forever.  And, if you are not a believer, a passage like this either will impress upon you the need to be saved or further turn you off from the gospel.  Where do you stand?  Your life forever depends on your decision.