Gifts are received, not earned

If you have ever received a Christmas gift, take a moment to think about where it came from. Did you pay for it? Did you work even a second of your life for it? How did you obtain the gift? The truth is, you did nothing to obtain it. The whole point of a gift is that it is given to you by another person. A parent, a family member, a friend, a coworker, whoever gave you the gift is the one who worked for it. The only thing you have to do with your gift is its reception, and you can hardly claim credit for that.

According to the Bible, salvation is a gift. Romans 5:15 even goes as far as clarifying that it is a free gift. Salvation is not something you have to pay for or work for. The only thing you have to do to be saved is receive that salvation. The gift of salvation. Like any gift, the cost is paid by the giver, not the receiver. In this case, Jesus.

This is the problem with works based "gospels". Whereas the Bible repeatedly affirms that salvation is a gift given by God, these fake gospels seek to take credit away from God and give it to the worshipper. My friends, we do not "go halfsies" on our gift. We don't lend Jesus a few pennies to make up for Him falling slightly short. As sinners, we are so filthy that we're not even worthy to contribute to the price of the wrapping paper. Just like any earthly gift, the only thing we do to obtain salvation is receive it. The works have already been done, and so I'd like to thank God for the greatest gift of all time, and so should you.