The Gift

If you’re reading this, it means it’s Resurrection Sunday. What a beautiful day to remember the ultimate gift we have received: salvation.

But many of us do not understand the depth of the gift God gave us through Jesus. I once heard a pastor in Atlanta say that when we receive accolades in the form of trophies, medals, degrees - we don’t return it to the awarding institution. I’d like to take his rationale a step further and say that we don’t seem to return worldly accolades, yet many people never receive much less receive and return the gift of salvation!! How sad. Scripture talks about this actually:

1 Corinthians 15:34 AMP

Be sober-minded [be sensible, wake up from your spiritual stupor] as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [of you] have no knowledge of God [you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths]. I say this to your shame.

When we look at scripture, we see that this gift was really in the making from the time of Genesis. Adam was the first man but there would be a man who would save us all! So that means that all along, God had a plan to reconcile us back to Him. It was never His plan for us to be separated from Him in life or in eternity:

1 Corinthians 15:21-24; 45-49 AMP

For since [it was] by a man that death came [into the world], it is also by a Man that the resurrection of the dead has come. 22 For just as [d]in Adam all die, so also [e]in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s [own will be resurrected with incorruptible, immortal bodies] at His coming. 24 After that comes the end (completion), when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after He has made inoperative and abolished every ruler and every authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign [as King] until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy to be abolished and put to an end is death….45 So it is written [in Scripture], “The first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual);” the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life]. 46 However, the spiritual [the immortal life] is not first, but the physical [the mortal life]; then the spiritual. 47 The first man [Adam] is from the earth, earthy [made of dust]; the second Man [Christ, the Lord] is from heaven. 48 As is the earthly man [the man of dust], so are those who are of earth; and as is the heavenly [Man], so are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthly [the man of dust], [j]we will also bear the image of the heavenly [the Man of heaven].

This scripture is so deep. But on the very surface, it is telling us that just as death (sin) came through Adam, so did (eternal) life through the resurrection of Jesus!! AND it does not just stop there! Just as we are made in the image of our parents, should we accept salvation, we will bear the image of Jesus! That should make you want to jump for joy!! Hallelujah!

But what does that mean exactly? This gift is not just any old gift. It’s not a gift you got and you put it in the back of your closet or your attic and you forget about it! In fact, a Sistee shared a good point about this: unlike worldly accolades, the gift of salvation is the one gift you didn’t have to earn. It’s not like you had to tarry for four years to get a certificate of salvation; you don’t have to come from a wealthy family; and you don’t have to be a part of an exclusive and secretive sect to get this gift! Should you accept salvation, you will have the opportunity to evade death (eternal death):

Hebrews 9:27-28 AMP

27 And just as it is appointed and destined for all men to die once and after this [comes certain] judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once and once for all to bear [as a burden] [e]the sins of many, will appear a second time [when he returns to earth], not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly and confidently waiting for Him.

So again, we are only required to die once from this physical body, but with true salvation, you should not be a candidate for Hell, Sheol, eternal death! Hebrews 6 tells us again how we accept and maintain our gift that the Lord gave us through Jesus’ death and resurrection:

Hebrews 6 AMP

The Peril of Falling Away

6 Therefore let us get past the elementary stage in the teachings about the Christ, advancing on to maturity and perfection and spiritual completeness, [doing this] without laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of teaching about washings (ritual purifications), the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [These are all important matters in which you should have been proficient long ago.] 3 And we will do this [that is, proceed to maturity], if God permits. 4 For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted and consciously experienced the good word of God and the powers of the age (world) to come, 6 and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace. 7 For soil that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces crops useful to those for whose benefit it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

Better Things for You

9 But, beloved, even though we speak to you in this way, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and of things that accompany salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown for His name in ministering to [the needs of] the saints (God’s people), as you do. 11 And we desire for each one of you to show the same diligence [all the way through] so as to realize and enjoy the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you will not be [spiritually] sluggish, but [will instead be] imitators of those who through faith [lean on God with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in His power] and by patient endurance [even when suffering] are [now] inheriting the promises.

13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, He swore [an oath] by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” 15 And so, having patiently waited, he realized the promise [in the miraculous birth of Isaac, as a pledge of what was to come from God]. 16 Indeed men swear [an oath] by one greater than themselves, and with them [in all disputes] the oath serves as confirmation [of what has been said] and is an end of the dispute. 17 In the same way God, in His desire to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable nature of His purpose, intervened and guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us. 19 This hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it]—a safe and steadfast hope that enters within the veil [of the heavenly temple, that most Holy Place in which the very presence of God dwells], 20 where Jesus has entered [in advance] as a forerunner for us, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

So Saints, go in peace! Don’t squander your gift, don’t sleep on it, and most certainly do not return it. Once you understand the DEPTH of what Jesus did for you, how could you even want to?

Isaiah 53:5-8 AMP

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing];

The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,

And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.

6All of us like sheep have gone astray,

We have turned, each one, to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]

To fall on Him [instead of us].

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself];

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before her shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

He did that, for you! We who sin, who have a desperately wicked heart (Jeremiah 17:9) - He did it for us. He did it for the many who ultimately won’t even accept Him!

Matthew 7:13-14 AMP

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it.

Live your life in such a way that you will get a return on your investment and make it into Heaven- be one of the few who accepts the complete and total gift. Pray this prayer of you are unsaved or need to recommit yourself to the Father:

Father God, I am a sinner, I know I have sinned against you. I know that I need to be covered by the Blood of Jesus Christ and I need to accept Him as my Lord and Savior. Lord, I ask you right now to hear and answer my prayer. I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I want to repent and walk in a new way. I want to receive my inheritance as a joint-heir in the Kingdom of God and in the Kingdom of Heaven. I want to be born-again Father God. I love you and your son Jesus Christ, and I want to have a personal, intimate relationship with you. I thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. (Selah Ministries: Interested in Salvation)