This devotional is part of the 25-Day Advent Series “The Wonders of His Love.” Follow along with us as we grow in grace through the Christmas story by subscribing or bookmarking the home page above!
Day 14 Scripture: Romans 6:20-23
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“The Lord’s love for us all is just so beautiful, and it breaks my heart how much He loves us and how so many of us do not know Him or do not try. And I want to do my part in making sure there aren’t people who don’t know Him because they don’t know how to start.
I have this overwhelming desire to share the gospel, and another, scarier desire to live a crazy and uncomfortable life not knowing where, or when, or how, but saying YES to Jesus without knowing the costs.”
I wrote that passage to my now-husband on July 12, 2015 – just a few days after realizing I had been born again (John 3).
My flame for the Lord burned red hot, as I consumed every biblical resource I could get my hands on. I finally understood the basics of true eternal salvation, and I wanted to know all I could about this Savior who died for me.
But with this love for my Lord came a newfound love for people.
Suddenly, people I never cared about became priorities in my life. I never had a desire to travel, but if God wanted me to go to the ends of the earth with the gospel, I was ready! I became more aware of people’s needs, my heart reached out to the homeless and hurting.
More than anything, I wanted them to know this gospel that set me free.
Disgusted with Sin
“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But 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, ESV)
How can the good news be rejoiced over if we aren’t aware there was bad news to begin with?
How can we be thankful for a Savior when we didn’t realize we were dying?
The answer is: it’s not possible.
In order to truly understand the beauty and gift of the gospel, we need to become acutely aware of the filth in our flesh.
In his letter, Paul writes that – without the righteousness of Christ being credited to you by faith – the result of all sin is death.
Every lie, every thought of hatred, every time you’ve intentionally hurt anyone, all of the dark thoughts, desires, or actions – even the earthly consequences we face have no comparison to God’s eternal wrath that will be poured out for unrepentant unbelievers.
I know this sounds harsh, but without recognizing our dependence on Christ we will never truly appreciate the free gift of salvation only He can rightly give.
From Sinner to Sanctification
The worse the bad news is, the better the good news sounds to weary ears.
When I first became a believer, my awareness of all my sin kept piling higher, higher, higher as I realized my moral standards were incredibly lower than God’s.
But that is why the gospel was so sweet to me from day one.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Romans 6:22, ESV)
Oh, what a contrast it is to be a slave of God and not to sin! The former leads to eternal life, freeing us from the latter’s demise. The latter, what we deserve, but the former, what God has graciously given – not because we earned it, but because of His great love and mercy.
I truly believe the more we’re aware of the beauty of this gift of the gospel, the more we’ll bear the fruit of sanctification.
The former sin becomes disgusting, and we see it for how destructive it truly is. The new heart God gave us can’t bear to live yielded to our old flesh.
Despite remnants of our former self waging an internal war within our heart, as time goes on God graciously sanctifies us more to His likeness.
And as we become more holy through the trials and sufferings we face here on earth, we gain greater credibility when giving our living testimony of faith in Christ.
Giving the Gospel
It is inevitable that the more we recognize our sin, the more we are grateful for the gift of salvation through our Savior Jesus. And the more we are grateful for eternity with Him, the more we will want to share this good news with the world.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, ESV)
Friend, there are many people who reject the gospel, the Bible, even the existence of God Himself.
But to think there are people – not just halfway across the globe, but in your neighborhood – who don’t believe because they haven’t yet heard, is completely heartbreaking.
It’s heartbreaking, and it should be unacceptable as far as we can help it.
Faith comes from hearing, and God has given you not only this gift of eternal life we don’t deserve, but the single greatest purpose we could ever have on earth: to love all people and share the gospel.
You don’t have to be a mature, seasoned believer to love the gospel with a life-changing passion.
You don’t have to have a Bible degree to share the redemptive story of Christ with your neighbors.
You don’t even have to start with the entire globe – just ask God to open your heart to whoever it is he wants you to share the best news we could ever hope for. His Holy Spirit will guide you throughout it all.
Questions for the Heart:
- Take time to confess your sins and celebrate the incredible gift of the good news of Jesus!
- Does thankfulness for the gospel – for Christ – fuel your faith?
- Who could you actively share the gospel with this day, this season, this upcoming year?
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About the Author
Emily Myrick is a Midwestern gal following Jesus and falling for her husband. She loves to show sisters in Christ like you how to apply the Bible to your life, become a better wife, and create a beautiful home to love + serve others in.
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