We are saved by grace but our salvation was not free. We were bought with a price. That price was set by God Himself. So high was the price that no commodity in this world could suffice. God sent His only Son from heaven to earth to die on the cross of Calvary for our sins. The one who knew no sin was made a sin offering for us.
Our fate seemed hopeless but love found a way. God the Creator came down in the person of His Son and subjected himself to a barbaric death on the cross. This He did because there was no human redeemer in the entire earth. All on earth were sinners, worthy of death. The only alternative was for God to look to heaven for a solution.
So now what? Since we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, do we just go about living for ourselves? Oh, did I forget to say that the self-pleasing lives of humanity is what caused Jesus His life in the first place?
God forbid that henceforth we should live as we please.
“You are not your own,” Paul writes (1 Cor. 6:19, NASB). “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (verse 20).
We love talking about our individual rights. These days, we have and advance the causes of gay rights, civil rights, abortion rights, etc. Each group is passionate about its cause. But there is a mandate that trumps all of these so-called rights. We have been purchased with God’s own blood. We belong to Him. We are no longer our own. Our obligation to glorify Him in our body and spirit overrules our self-focused motivations.
Christians and Non-Christians Were Bought with a Price
Perhaps there are some unbelievers who would argue that the verse above applies only to those who claim to be a Christian. In other words, why am I not free to live my life as I choose since I have chosen not to give my life to Christ?
But it does not matter whether a person has accepted Christ or has chosen to reject Him. The fact remains that Christ died for all. Accordingly, no one is his own. In the end, all will be accountable to Christ.
Now for the Christians. Consider the words of the verse above, in light of the grace covenant. Yes, we are saved by grace. No, we can’t do enough good works to earn salvation. Nevertheless, we are not free to do what we want to with our life. Our life is not our own. It belongs to the Lord.
Being the one who bought us, God gets to call the shots. He has a plan for each of our lives. We will not fulfill that divine purpose, however, if we persist to live the way we want to. That’s why we must die to ourselves so we can live for Him.
Did I say this was easy? No sir; our flesh does not want to die. It wants to live (God calls that death). It wants to do whatever makes it feel good. On top of that, we like how we feel when we get to do things that please us.
But we have been bought with a price. We are indebted to a higher calling. It is to glorify God in our body.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.