"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: ... so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life" (Romans 5:12-18).
One of the primary words that God uses in the Scriptures to describe His salvation is the word "gift." The fact that this word is used so often teaches us some significant things about how a person gets to heaven:
"Free Gift" means God paid for salvation.
The priceless gift of salvation that God offers to all people was purchased "with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18,19). It cost God the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, who died on Calvary's cross for our sins and rose again. Though the richest of men on earth could never pay salvation's cost, God now makes it available to rich and poor alike as a free gift. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
"Free Gift" means we cannot earn salvation.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Trying to pay someone for something that was given as a gift would be considered an offense. So it is an offense to God when people reject His free gift of eternal life by trying to earn salvation with their good works.
"Free Gift" means the believer is saved forever.
Jesus says, "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:28).
Just as a true gift will never be asked back, so the free gift of salvation, once it is received, can never be taken away from us.
This "Free Gift" must be received.
"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12).
Since a gift does not belong to the receiver until it is first accepted, so God's gift must also be "received." Salvation is a gift and therefore is not a process. You do not become saved over a period of time, but rather at the moment you accept the free gift by trusting Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
Jesus died on the cross to pay the debt for sin that you owe. If you realize that you are a sinner and that you are not worthy of being saved, then you are ready to be saved. All you must do to receive this gift is call upon the Lord. Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Jesus promises "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37).
If you have never received the free gift of eternal life, confess your sins to God and ask Jesus to be your Saviour now.
Take this gift in faith, believing Jesus Christ died for your sins. Then you will be able to say, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15). Then you will know the gift of God is able to meet every need of your soul and fill your life with peace, joy, and every good gift and every perfect gift from above (John 4:10-14; James 1:17).
