“Free Gift”

Text: Romans 5:6-15

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          Every time I get a sales flyer in the mail, or look at one online, I’m always attracted to the ones that say FREE GIFT. We all want something for free. Something we don’t have to pay for. But generally, when you look a little closer, the fine print says with purchase. What seemed like such a good deal to begin with now has a catch. A price. The good fortune we thought we had for a moment doesn’t seem quite as good anymore.

And we all need and want a little good fortune now and then. We think it’s good fortune to retrieve or regain something that was either lost or nearly lost. If we’re on a ladder and almost fall off we experience relief in finding our footing at the last second, or if we actually do fall and are spared serious injury, we thank God and consider ourselves fortunate. We relate to parables such as the lost coin and rejoice for finding what was lost as God in his grace rejoices in finding us. We breathe a sigh of relief when relationships are rekindled and restored; we’re glad to have good health return and when broken limbs are mended; we’re happy just to make it home again after being away longer than we wanted to be. It may be, however, that all of this means we’ve forgotten that when it comes to what’s most important in life, the Lord intends to bless us beyond, way, way beyond, what we’ve lost! Our Heavenly Father desires that we would see the good fortune He provides. And the free gift only He can give. One that’s truly without price.

And we need it, because the reality is that we’ve lost more than we can ever imagine. Romans 5 reminds us that “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” It’s one of our worst nightmares for a catastrophic situation to come upon us and for us to be helpless to do anything to prevent it. That’s what Paul reminds us of when he talks of our utter helplessness when it comes to sin. Like an unstoppable disease, death spread to us all. We all feared this in the temporal realm as we witnessed the spread of illness these last few years. How much more should we fear the eternal illness of sin that knows no bounds and appears to be unstoppable. The death this affliction brings is both physical and spiritual. The perfect life that was lost as a result of Adam’s fall into sin is something that can’t be recovered on this side of eternity. It’s like we’re helpless to avoid all the trespasses that so easily ensnare us. Think of all the times you fall into specific sin.

On account of our sin we’re disobedient children by nature and separate ourselves from God. Consider all that we lost: in Adam we once walked with God and were in His image of perfect righteousness, but through Adam, the image of God was lost. Not that our physical image is different than Adam and Eve’s were, but rather that we no longer possess that perfect righteousness as we have moved ourselves away from God.

Where the Bible says “because all sinned,” it means that when Adam lost the image of God, we did too, because it was as if we were right there in the garden of Eden sinning against God before any of us were ever born. We could complain about how unfair that is, but we forget that Adam was perfect and without sin, so why do we think we would have done any better? We can’t blame the fall on Adam, or Eve, because we would have done exactly the same thing. In addition, we know that sin spreads every time a baby is born. A child inherits his parents’ spiritual disease called “sin” as surely as many babies “unfairly” inherit physical disease. Some find it hard to look into the face of a baby and see anything other than purity, but the truth is that underneath that sweet exterior lies a nature incapable of doing what God demands. A sinful being like the rest of us.

As a result of all this sin, we lost the good relationship within ourselves, with others, and with God. And as people longing to find a way to recover what’s been lost, we wonder if there’s some way to get back what Adam and Eve once had. God, knowing the desires of His people, promises one to come who would be like Adam, the first man, yet without sin. Just when it looked like all was lost in Adam, we hear of the Savior. And we’re told that Adam was “a type of the one who was to come.”

In 1 Corinthinas 15 Paul speaks of “the first man” and “the second man.” We can relate to both of them because they both bore our flesh. We know what was lost – innocence and perfection – through the first man, so could it really be that what was lost could be regained through the second man? If this is true, wouldn’t that be enough to fill us with joy and great relief?

God desires to give us more, “much more,” even than we lost. Paul says, “But the free gift is not like the trespass.” This “free gift” is God’s grace, his love and mercy and wonderful blessing! The “trespass” was bad, but it came only from a man; the “gift” comes from God! If the trespass by a mere man, Adam, could do so much harm, how much good could come from the gift of God? There’s just no comparison between that which comes from Adam and that which comes from God. Adam’s trespass is completely overshadowed and swallowed up by God’s gift! In fact, God’s gift of grace in Christ is overflowing. Or as Paul puts it, “the free gift of grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”

There was a father who, as a former U.S. Marine, was tough as could be. In raising his children, he never lost that hardened and tough demeanor. Sometimes the discipline the children received was reminiscent of what one might expect to hear from a drill sergeant! But there was more to this tough ex-marine than his hard exterior. All his children knew that if they ever got into trouble, their dad would eventually restore them into his good graces. Even more than that, their dad would eventually do something that went beyond restoring them: he would come up with some gift, some surprise, some act of incredible generosity. He always did, because the father loved his children.  He would always do more than just bring them back to where they were before. This is an example of a father who shares much in common with our Heavenly Father.

Not only has God restored what we lost through Adam, but through Christ’s death on the cross we’ve also been given an overflowing life through Christ, who is risen! This new life is abundant and eternal through the forgiveness of sins won for us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus does more than simply give us back the life we lost through Adam,
because he also gives us Himself, the Life of God that is overflowing!

This life is Christ’s life.  It’s stronger than sin and death, and it’s in you who are in Christ. It’s the free gift that requires no purchase. That has no strings attached. It’s the free gift that doesn’t hide a disclaimer in the fine print. It’s free. To us. Because the price has already been paid. And the promise you have is that you will always remain in the overflowing free gift that is the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.