Salvation is free. Following Christ will cost you something.
Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. He completely paid the full debt of sin off. There is no interest left, and no principal payments need to be made. The bank draft for our sin wages is marked in blood "PAID IN FULL!"
If you will receive the gift by faith in Christ, not only are you debt free but the loan company is closed forever. The great thing is all of this costs you nothing.
This is Salvation.
However, there is another side to the coin of salvation. It is LORDSHIP. When He freely offers you Salvation you can only receive it if you accept who He is. Jesus is Lord!
I describe LORD as
He Loves us.
He Owns us. because
He Redeemed us. now
He Directs our path.
On this side of the coin, there is a cost for us.
So I ask you today, what have you paid for His Lordship of your life?
Please understand He is Lord no matter what you do, but what have you surrendered to allow Him Lordship of your life?
Let's look at two verses that God took me to today to see an example of His Lordship and our cost.
Matthew 4:20 NASB1995 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Matthew 4:22 NASB1995 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
In the first verse, Jesus called Peter and Andrew. They left their nets (livelihood) and followed the Lord.
In the second verse, Jesus called James and John. They left their boat (livelihood) and their Father (relationships) and followed the Lord.
What have you left behind to follow the Lord? When we give Jesus Lordship over ourselves we are essentially giving up our rights to make decisions for our life., or at least we should be. From that point forward we should follow no one or anything but Christ.
Adrian Rogers once said, “My life is to please Jesus. If I please Jesus, it doesn’t matter whom I displease. If I displease Jesus, it really doesn’t matter who I please. And the way to please Jesus is to obey the Lord Jesus Christ.” Whatever He tells you to do, do it.
What have you paid to have the Lordship of Christ?
Have you given up anything? You should give up everything.
If we do this we will realize that what He blessed us with is FAR GREATER than anything we give up. Therefore the cost is nothing. However, first, you must give up everything.
If you question if this is true go read the book of Job. God will never leave you with nothing when He is Lord over you. We have heard the story of the man who brought his most precious gold to heaven only to be asked why he brought pavement to heaven.
Jesus paid for your salvation in full. It is our greatest need and it cost us nothing. However, we cannot receive Jesus' salvation while denying who He is. Jesus is Lord!
If He is Lord (and He is) then we must pay with our pride and selfishness to have His Lordship.
What have you paid for His Lordship in your life?
Pay everything for His Lordship, it will cost you nothing. That is a promise from Jesus!
Love Bro. Scott