Pay Day!

He is the giver of grace is the fountain of grace is the conduit of grace is no one, but Jesus Christ is not Confucius. It is not Mohammed. It is not Krishna is not Mary is not Joseph Smith is not become solely for the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the one you want to came seeking to save those who are lost comes through and only through this one who said I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father Jesus Christ is the same South. In fact, most things, especially things of any value are costly. That's part of the reason why many people struggle with God's offer of salvation. How is it that the most precious thing of all eternity in heaven with God could be free and that really be true, we don't have to pay anything for the most important thing of all, will look at that question today. This is wisdom for the hearts with our daily Bible teacher Stephen Devi today. Stephen is concluding his series called delivered from the kingdom of sin with this lesson. He's calling payday was late summer of 1914, when Ernest Shackleton left England with 27 other men. Their goal in life was to cross Antarctica on foot.

They set sail on a ship named endurance and their plan was to disembark at some point and literally cross Antarctica as a team on foot. By January 1915 when her ship was just 100 miles away from Landon that point where they were going to disembark. I have read that the ship became trapped in ice. They were quite prepared for the conditions of that area and that ice pack in which they were literally stock which sort of grew around the ship carried them further and further away from land. Shackleton and his crew lived on the ship stuck fast in that ice for eight months. They lived on that ship until the ice snapped that boat apart like it was an old rotting limb.

Then for five more months. They lived on the ice pack with supplies they had salvaged from that ship for more than one year. You can imagine. They lived on that floating prison allies, barely surviving floating helplessly along the next spring when the ice began to thought melted around them. Shackleton and a few men were finally able to set sail on a couple of lifeboats that they had saved before the ship they were on sunken. They eventually reached a nearby island called South Georgia and a few months later, Shackleton was able to return and rescue every one of those men. He never accomplished his goal of crossing Antarctica on foot. In fact, not much later he would die a 46-year-old man of a heart attack on the island of self Georgia one author that I was reading made this comparison between Shackleton's ice pack, and sin. Three of them actually one sin will take you further than you ever wanted to go second.

Sin will cost you more than you ever wanted to pay third. Sin will keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay. I found it interesting that while Shackleton was a prisoner on that island device recorded this conclusion and I quote the ship is pretty near her and and what the ice gets the ice keeps what the ice gets the ice keeps you could worded this way. What sin gets sin keeps and that has been the message of Romans chapter 6, you are either enslaved to sin. And if you belong to sin and you die and send unconfessed as an unbeliever, you will belong to sin forever, but those who come to faith in Christ are now enslaved to God and those who die in Christ belong to Christ forever look back at Romans chapter 6 verse 21, where Paul says therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed for the outcome of those things is death, but now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God you derive your benefit resulting in sanctification and the outcome is eternal life.

Throughout this letter as I'm sure you're aware Paul is been contrasting different things he's talked about two different ways. He's talked about two Gospels he's talked about to Adam. He's talked about to Masters. He's talked about two kinds of slavery and he's also talked about to kingdom. When now in the verses we just read. He's giving several more contrasts and he begins by talking about two benefits of life in general to fruits that that's the literal word used in verse 21. Therefore, what benefit card upon literally what fruits were you then deriving the little part of verse 22, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God you derive your card upon you derive your fruits, which is eternal life. Ultimately, so Paul is contrasting two kinds of fruit. There is the fruit of sin. Verse 21 and there is the fruit of salvation.

Verse 22 the fruit of sin. Verse 21 is death. The fruit of salvation.

Verse 22 is eternal life by the way we read it rather quickly, but you may see a word here that is all but disappeared from the consciousness of our culture in this country.

Verse 21 he talks about the benefit you derive from the things of which you are now what you are now Shane again. There is an implied contrast between the conscience of the world which is not ashamed of sin and the conscience of the true believer who has developed this God-given blessing called shame sin. In fact, one of the greatest evidences of true conversion is when a person stops being an advocate of sin and becomes ashamed of sin. Romans chapter 1 in our study revealed the downward digression of a society, a perverted society ending with the climactic characteristic of a culture that literally stopped fast to sin when society as a whole defends and applauds and approves of sin in the center when it applauds deviant behavior when it brags about tolerance for perverse acts when it justifies inventions of sin when it encourages manifestations of pride and ego when it gloats about its infidelities and selfishness is an brutalities when greed becomes good when deceit becomes acceptable as long as you do not get indicted when materialism becomes the new religion and possessions become the new gods made of wood and stone and plastic and chrome and shingle lands. CON fabric pulse summarizes that society enslaved to the kingdom of sin by writing although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

They stand on the sidelines and applauds sin. They cheer on the center the world. Paul implies knows they are guilty, there is that God give an intuitive sense of knowing good from evil but enslaved people cannot admit anything other than that they are free and not guilty lest their guilt penetrates their shield of unbelief anything, but something that would cause them to bend their knee before their creator God.

Paul wrote to the Philippians that the unbeliever actually glories in his shame. He writes their end is destruction there. God is their appetite and their glory is in their shame the exact opposite of being ashamed that they know there is shame they sense it, but hide from it. They run from it and how their frantic pace into unsatisfying sin rushes on and on and more and more in the sin which only produces more and more guilt one actress who made daily headlines with her lesbian affair with another actress until she later left that woman and married a man she confided to a reporter not long ago she had been abused by her father. From the time she was a toddler to around 12 years of age tragic story. She said I have done a lot of things in my life to get away from what happened to me drinking, smoking, drugs, promiscuity, whatever. Then she said this, I did anything I could to try and get the shame out of my life. But how tragic that she ran into more and more sin, which produced more and more shame she only added to it, but all the while her friends in the press send. The culture we live in in the tabloids and the interviewers said that everything you're doing is great and rides an acceptable and sophisticated and progressive God, the prophet Jeremiah describes his culture as having lost, quote the ability to blush the word of God. By the way, never says run from shame. It doesn't even say run from guilt. It teaches us to accept it and run to the cross to run somewhere run their find and running there, you discover that God brings you to life. Those who have Artie been brought to life, you find that fresh sense of forgiveness.

You pray like Ezra who experienced revival never prayed something like this. Oh my God I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to you for my iniquities arisen above my head and my guilt is grown even to the heavens. After that, he is able then to say this wonderful text of prayer in verse eight, but now for a brief moment. Grace is been shown from the Lord our God to leave us and escape to run and tend to give us a peg in his holy place that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving, so good. You admits you confessed it and you discover fresh forgiveness in life. Ladies and gentlemen, regardless of what the world will tell you to run from, and try to cover up and try to ignore the truth is, never underestimate the power of godly shame.

It is one of the evidences of true life you are ashamed of sin, you repeatedly go to the Savior, finding him forgiveness you parents as your raising young children, especially as part of your instruction, your intuitively doing this you say to that child, you are not being what ashamed of the world was a never say that you're going to destroy yourself in what you say what you did.

Shame shame shame right teaching them that which will take them great distances toward purity as they learn to feel shame for impurity, sin. But the world is innocent in their own eyes. I couldn't help but think of that repeated tale evidently true as reported in the Christian century by a man named Lloyd Stefan about how when King Frederick the second and 18th century king of Prussia was visiting on one occasion a prison Berlin.

He was visiting a holding cell work prisoners had been put as they were being matriculated into the prison system having receiver sentences, and he happened to be visiting. Then it was filled with men, and he was passing by all the men clambered at the bars for his attention and they all protested their innocence. They all gave them the reasons the jury, the judge, the circumstances where innocent.

Oh great Canyon and they tried the their best to convince him and but over in the corner was one prisoner sitting on the ground with his knees drawn up to his chin, seemingly oblivious to all of the commotion and the king noticed him, and finally the king went over and looked in at him and said what are you in here for, and the man said, armed robbery, Your Honor. And the king said, are you guilty and the man said absolutely I am guilty and I deserve my punishment the king then turned and gave an unusual order to the guards. He said release that guilty man I don't want him in jail corrupting all these innocent men good. Likewise, the one who admits his guilt and shame and says, in effect, oh great God.

I am deserving of anything but your grace discovers his release from the kingdom prison house of sin. Now Paul comes to the climax of his contrasts with one final all-encompassing statement. Verse 23 and I have to tell you this is an intimidating passage to come to as a preacher, teacher, where you begin what an incredible statement. I thought you know maybe auditor in the snow four-part series, but I could hear people saying no, please, we shall in chapter 6 and we will today by the wording start 21 words in the English language 19 in the Greek Charles Haddon Spurgeon called this that golden sentence worthy of being written across the sky. So true Paul says for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Look at all the contrast there you want to circle some of the words and draw a line to others as I have done wages versus gift sin contrasted with God to Masters death versus life. This great statement. As you can see is divided cleanly in the two sections, one is what we would call the bad news.

One the goodness Jonathan Edwards a few centuries ago, said the gospel is in fact bad news before it can be good news and he's right. The wages of sin is death. Paul pulls no punches with this little phrase the unforgiven center will be paid one day. In fact, the idea of this verse is that the unredeemed are actually being paid every single day with this great balloon payment payable at the end of life on earth. I get that idea from the word for wages, it's the Greek word up Sony was actually a reference to the daily food ration be rendered fish ration for the Roman soldiers they were paid every day. Just as all the other all the other laborers were in Paul's day, they were always paid at the end of the day so they got there. Fish ration money for just enough food for that evening and the following morning they would often be paid in salt. That was a valuable currency, and they could take it to the market and they could barter and sell and get food.

When that having been good soldiers we get from that customer phrase we use to this day that a man to be worth is what worth is compensation is salt go to be worth what he's paid so also they were paid on a daily basis and that's the idea. Here Paul is saying the unbeliever gets paid, as it were daily. Now, if it's true that after physical death, the word of God talks about the second death that is eternal separation that ultimate payment, which will last forever. Quality means that the unbeliever is paid a death like life daily. The one enslaved to sin will think about it. Pride puts relationships to death with it selfishness and arrogance lost puts to death virtue spreads like cancer destroying integrity addictions, whatever they may be with food or drink or drugs are ultimately self drawing, slaw kills opportunity NV destroys contentment. Greed destroys nobility sin is this great thief this master which never gives it always gets and what gets it keeps it has stolen God as it were from true religion. It has taken the supernatural out of Christianity is erased authority from the Bible. It is voted God out of education. It is erased morality out of literature is taken virtue out of arts ethics out of business fidelity out of marriage honesty from employment. Truth from politics creation from science and on and on and on. The wages of sin is death. Now everlasting hell, that's the bed ready for some good news is the latter part of the verse starts with the little word but changes everything but the gift the free gift of God is eternal life. So choose your master well will be sin of the Savior. You can choose your master, but you cannot choose the currency that they deliver. Sin will give you everlasting hell. The Savior will give you everlasting heaven. How you get this gift will Paul writes it is a free gift via free gift of God that is absolute insanity. Nothing is free.

You don't even get a free lunch right you can get a free lunch. How do you get a free heaven a free eternal paradise. Religion could never come up with this go around the world and their system is you want to be saved from whatever you do this do this do this and do this God has concocted the only system of faith where he says I have done everything for you. You just believe me. Did you notice that the same word wages doesn't appear in that latter section of verse 23. Why because you don't get into heaven as a paycheck. Heaven is not compensation you didn't earn it.

It's given to you. The only way you can receive is a free gift.

The little Greek word for gift is the word caress it's translated throughout the New Testament often as grace. You could literally render this phrase but the free grace of God is eternal life caress like it almost sounds like kids.

The kiss of God where he stoops over the penitent sinner who is come to him, placing his faith in his son and he is it were kisses with everlasting life free gift of God, the grace of God, not wages but grace how well that's why the verse ends with this critical phrase notice. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Keep friends. He is the giver of grace is the fountain of grace. He is the conduit of grace. It is no one but Jesus Christ. It is not Confucius. It is not Mohammed. It is not Krishna. It is not Mary. It is not Joseph Smith. It is not Buddha it comes solely through the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world, the one who came to seek and to save those who are lost comes through and only through this one who said I am the way the truth and the life.

No one comes to the father except by he is the conduit of grace. The bestower of grace.

Jesus Christ is the theme of this grand statement salvation. I would back into this letter and noticed how Jesus Christ is the theme throughout just for the sake of time, let me read you some of the statements.

Paul is already made and how it ties directly to Jesus Christ the gospel of God is been delivered through the power of Jesus Christ resurrection from the dead.

Chapter 1 verse four God's grace is through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Chapter 3 verse 24 God is the justifier of the one who comes by faith in Jesus. Chapter 3 verse 26 we are counted as righteous.

Having been raised in Jesus our Lord from the dead. Chapter 4 verse 24 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 5 verse one while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him.

Chapter 5 verse nine. Those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ. Chapter 5 or 17 even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Chapter 6, verse 11, and I hear verse 23 we have eternal life through Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is salvation in no one else right. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be have to be saved. There is something about that name because it is that name which represents the saving plan of God for the second person of the triune God.

Jesus Christ, you deny him and you die now and forever you accept him and you live now and forever the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jim Davis a professional veteran parachutist was involved in a dangerous sport called base jumping that's leaping off fixed objects like towers, skyscrapers, cliffs. It was while base jumping that she felt her death a couple of years ago I read about it. She and others were jumping off a 3200 foot high granite cliff and Yosemite Park in California. The tragedy is she and the other jumpers knew the base jumping was illegal and Yosemite Park logged in recently adopted because there had already been six deaths in the park at that particular cliffs they were there protesting that law jumping in protest and ironically they were jumping to prove that the sport was entirely safe so they ignored the wall. They ignored the warning and Jim Davis paid with her life in her purse. She failed to open. She fell for nearly 20 seconds with her husband filming. Joe all the way to the bottom you can ignore the law of God that there is a coming day in the coming judgment as you freefall through life. You can say I don't feel any pain. I will ignore the warning and I will ignore him. You're still falling. You have yet to land in this day of judgment upon the unbending unwavering, unmerciful holy justice of God, because then he will be on verse sin will take you further than you ever wanted to go. It will keep you longer than you ever want to stay, cost you more than you ever wanted to pay what you do about the Philippian jailer came to Paul you know the earthquake released Paul and Silas, and he said to them. Sirs what must I do to be saved. Religion would say to these 10 things and come back and check in with.

He said simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Exercise your faith in this person called Jesus Christ. You will be saved and the answer hasn't changed a few years before the death of the apostle Paul. He rewrote the answer again in this letter, any run it this way, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You ignore him. You violate him. You refute him to disbelieve him and face eternal hell you accept him. You trust him you embrace him you believe in him and you face eternal heaven believe in him. My friend and that coming pay day you will not experience the final wages.

The final payment that last forever of sin, you will experience the heavenly reality in this place called, you will live forever in the kingdom of our Savior having been delivered even at that moment from the very presence the stench the temptation and the power delivered forever kingdom for those who by faith believe the message of the gospel.

The coming pay day will mean heaven and an eternity of joy in the presence of God, and I hope that's true of you today this is wisdom for the heart with Stephen Devi.

The lesson you just heard is called payday. It's the final lesson in a series from Romans six, entitled delivered from the kingdom of sin. We've taken Stephen series and put it together into a set of CDs. If you'd like to have this series in your library of Christian resources, please call us today. We can help you over the phone and get this resource out to you.

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Again, write to us at wisdom for the heart PO Box 37297, Raleigh, NC 27627 next time Stephen begins a brand-new series through portion join us for that here on wisdom for the heart