Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This passage of scripture draws a stark contrast between the results of sin and the result of God's gift to us in Jesus Christ. The gift of God is the person of Christ, and the righteousness and salvation He wrought for us by His life, and death on Calvary. Even though we are all born in sin and shapen in iniquity, yet it is not necessary for us to become deeply entangled in the chains of sin in order for us to experience God's grace. As a matter of fact, one of the greatest accomplishments that can occur in a person, is if we can realize our dire need of the gift of God, without taking any serious, spiritual fall.
There some characters in the Bible in whom this was accomplished by the grace of God, and by the choices they made, even though these persons are few in number. One such person was Daniel, who realized his utter need of the Savior, and came to understand his own sinfulness, yet according to the scriptural record, he suffered no hard spiritual fall, and thereby was able to live relatively free from the shackles of sinful habits. Let's read:
Daniel 9:4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; 21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
What sin of his Daniel is speaking about we do not know, for as far as the records go, he was faithful in resisting temptations through the power of God, yet like any other fallen human being, he had his own struggles against the natural, sinful tendencies we are all born with, which strive to gain the mastery of our minds. The secret of Daniel's success was that he prayed three times a day, asking God for his imputed and imparted righteousness, so that he could live victoriously, and he did. Let's read:
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
The results of Daniel's efforts to access the gift of God daily, paid tremendous dividends in the spiritual realm, and his experience should be an encouragement to all, who have uphill battles to fight against sinful tendencies. Let's read:
Daniel 6:4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
In our day there is a superficial form of Christianity that has taken deep root in society, in which the Gift of God in the person of Jesus Christ does not directly impact a person's life, and therefore many people become Christians in name only, with no real power or stabilizing influence of the Holy Spirit operating in and through them. This sort of Christian experience we should avoid, for it effectively nullifies the work and intent of salvation. The Bible tells us that Jesus was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, and therefore, in all those who sincerely accept God's free gift, the destruction of sin will be seen.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that points our minds to our never-failing refuge in Christ, and if like Daniel, we seek God's face for His righteousness, the fetters with which we were once bound will be permanently broken. Let's read:
Romans 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
May this be our experience for the rest of our lives. "Good night" and God bless!