"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

The title of this devotional may sound a bit strange to a Christian since one of the fundamental truths of the gospel is that forgiveness is a free gift from God. It is free to us but it is not free to Jesus or the Heavenly Father.

 Jesus did not simply decide to say "I forgive you," He bore our sins Himself. What did those sins do to Jesus? The Bible says that He suffered more than any man. That He was so literally torn to pieces by a beating that He was unrecognizable as a man. His bones and internal organs were exposed. He was nailed to a wooden cross in such a way that to breathe He had to push His body up against the nails in His feet. And then, worst of all, He was abandoned by His Father as our sins were placed upon His shoulders.

While on earth, Jesus charged His would be followers to count the cost. He, Himself had to count the cost of paying for our sins and was willing to do so. Likewise, Christians must count the cost of being followers of Jesus.

You see, your salvation has been paid for and all you have to do is receive your pardon. How? By confessing your sins to God. Tell Him how sorry you are for your rebellious past and express your commitment to stop practicing sin. God promises to forgive the person who turns from their sins.

But there is a cost in following Jesus. It will cost you your old way of life -your old sinful habits and ways. It will mean that you must be willing to yield to God’s standard of living as given in the Ten Commandments and as magnified by the teachings of Jesus. The cost is obedience to God. Jesus said that those who love Him will keep His Commandments. Ultimately, it means that you must be crucified with Christ - your old self must die.

To follow Jesus is to obey Him. That is the only cost of discipleship. Following Jesus will cause you to be persecuted and hated by the world. It may cause the loss of family and friends as well. But Jesus promised that whatever we lose for following Him will be repaid a hundred times over. And in the end we receive, glory, honor and eternal life with pleasure forever more.

When we understand that the price of our forgiveness has been paid by the cruel execution of God’s own Son, we can better understand God’s question, -"How can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Heb.2:3)