Freely Forgiven

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” - Romans 3:23-24

Most of us are skeptical of anything that is said to be free. Experience has taught us that such offers are usually too good to be true. We have learned that nothing is ever really free. One way or another, you end up paying for it. While this attitude might be wise when dealing with earthly matters, we must be careful not to let it creep into spiritual matters.

God’s Word is clear in Romans 3:24. If you have placed your faith in Christ, you have been freely forgiven, “justified freely” as Paul put it. To be justified means to be made right with God forever. Sin made us enemies of God, but in Christ is the free gift of reconciliation with the Father…which means no more enmity or separation.

Notice this forgiveness is offered, “freely by His grace,” not because of anything we do.  We aren’t justified because we are convicted of our sins, sorry for our sins, or because we resolve to live for Christ. In fact, it’s the other way around. Because we experience forgiveness and are made right with God as a free gift, then we are able to truly repent and turn to Him in faith. We don’t give our lives to Him first. He gave His life up for us so that we could follow Him into His death to receive new life.

This new life - one marked by forgiveness – is free. It’s not a gimmick…it is the real deal.  Famous singer/songwriter Sam Cooke wrote a song entitled, “The Best Things in Life Are Free.” In this song, he sang:

“Flowers in spring

The robins that sing

The sunbeams that shine

They’re yours and they’re mine.

Love can come to everyone.

Best things in life, they’re free.”

I agree with Sam Cooke. The best thing in life is free…only it isn’t a thing. He’s a Person, and His name is Jesus.

Father, I confess today that I could never be good enough to deserve Your forgiveness and grace in Christ. And because of that, I'm so grateful that Your forgiveness is offered freely to me. Please help me to, by Your grace and for Your glory, extend the same forgiveness to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.