When God sets forth salvation, He doesn’t say, “Wait till I come do something.” He says, “Here it is, it is a free gift.” Do you know what you are supposed to hear in “free gift?” I mean come on! If I pull a little child aside, just a three or four year old, one of the little children in the church, and I said, “It’s a free gift.” That little child can look and say, “That means if I go over and get it it’s mine.” You say, “It can’t possibly be that easy.”
Brethren. It is that simple, and yet to men and women who are just absolutely bent on saving themselves, it’s impossible! To the man or the woman who wants to offer something to God that he has done. When a man comes along and says, “I will not be saved that easily. If you told me to walk on my knees until they were bloody, I could do that, but that’s…” And you know what, you say, “That’s ridiculous, that sounds absurd.” The sad fact is most men would rather try to earn their salvation and go to hell. Men are so proud and so bent on offering God something, some performance. Something that they can do, that most men would rather perish, than simply say, “I have nothing to offer God.” You see, to walk over and take a free gift, means you don’t have anything to offer. You gotta have it free, or you’re without hope.
Oh! It’s the best news in the world! For the person who realizes, “I have tried, and every attempt has just be failure. Lord, if You don’t save me, I can’t be saved.” To the person who gets to that point, and they realize, “I gotta have it totally aside from anything I do.” God says, “Here it is, for free. My Son, by His obedience,” (We are going to see that next week) “My Son, by His obedience earned the righteousness you don’t have. That’s the basis for Me, able to give you this salvation, I’ll count His righteousness to you. I sent My Son to the cross to suffer in your place for your sins. He’s done everything that needs to be done for you to be accepted into everlasting paradise. Here it is, just come take it for free. It’s a free gift.” May God give you ears to hear, IT’S FREE! You say, “Yeah but I have to wait till God…” It’s a free gift, come take it, receive it. That’s the word, that’s the word in vs 17. Receive! You’ve got to receive it. “To as many as received Him.” That’s what it says in John Chapter 1, “to as many as received Him.” He gives the full honors, to become a son of the Most High, “to as many as receive,” take it! It’s a free gift.
You say, “Is it that easy, can I come and can I take it, and I’ll have it, and I’ll have all that you just talked about?” If you want to be saved from your sins, absolutely! Here it is! You take it, not in my hands, in His. You say, “But I see you but I don’t see Him.” It says, “Call upon the name of the Lord.” You won’t be ashamed, He turns none away, He says, everyone who comes to Me, He does not turn them away, He does not cast them out. You say, “How can I come to Him?” He’s right here, He’s in our midst. He’s Almighty God, He knows no bounds. He’s near to all of us. If you call, He hears you. You can say it inside. You can cry out to Him without making audible noises with your mouths, He hears, He knows the thoughts. Many have cried out to Him on the inside, He’s heard and come and rescued them immediately. You call upon Him. It’s that free, and it’s to be received by whoever is thirsty. If you’re thirsty, you go to Him and drink. Well may God give us all ears to hear.
