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

Many people think that it’s difficult to be “saved.” But Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” You might be thinking, “That’s too easy — too simple.” It is simple to receive eternal life — for one reason: Jesus has done what is necessary. It is not what we have done. It has already been done. We must simply believe that He has done it for us.

If we call upon the name of the Lord, repent of our sins, invite Jesus into our hearts, and confess it boldly with our mouths, the Bible says that we will be saved. Jesus did it all. He paid it all so that we might have inherit eternal life. It is not by our works; it’s by our faith and what He did. It’s salvation by faith; it’s transformation.

When I think of transformation, I think of God taking us as a caterpillar and making us into a beautiful butterfly. This is so evident in the life of Saul. Saul goes from persecuting Christians to being willing to die for the people if it meant they would come to know Jesus. How did this transformation happen? Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and God transformed him into an apostle, which means “sent.” As we see so often in the Bible, even his name was changed to reflect the transformation! He was sent by God to minister to the Gentiles, and because he was sent to the Gentiles, he was given a Gentile name: Paul.

Naturally, the Jews didn’t trust him. They came up with a conspiracy to kill him, but Paul’s followers lowered him in a basket through an opening in the city gates so that he could escape. God always has provision, doesn’t He? Whether it is a basket, a rope, the right people to hold on to the rope, or the Savior Jesus Christ, God always provides a way of escape. First Corinthians 10:13 says:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Romans is out of this world because it really shows us that we have all sinned, but Jesus is the answer for all sinners. We can never do enough because Jesus did it all. When He died on the cross, He said, “It is finished.”

The finished work of Jesus brings transformation and eternal life!