Of all the things for which we should be thankful, the salvation of our souls should be at the top of the list. Listen to Paul:

Romans 6:17-18 (ESV)
¹⁷ But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

To be free from sin is to be saved from it. Sin is a cruel master that ruins souls and wrecks lives. Think of all the heartache that has been caused by sin. When it gets a hold of us, nothing but trouble follows, and the truth is, we were all captured by sin at some point. Paul said, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). While there are many physical ailments that plague man because of sin (Romans 1:27), the biggest danger it presents is the eternal dam-nation that comes from those who do not escape it.

The reason we should be so thankful is because we could not have escaped sin by ourselves. Yes, there is a part that man plays in the salvation of his soul. I know many famous religious people teach otherwise, but what they teach is contrary to the Word of God. Even in the passage cited above, Paul said that we were set free when we obeyed from the heart the teaching that was delivered to us. That teaching is the gospel of Christ. and it demands that a person believes (John 8:24), repents (Luke 13:3), confesses Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and is baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27). Still, if it were not for the love, mercy, and grace of God, there would be no gospel to obey. The price for sin had to be paid in order for us to be saved.

What is the price for sin? Paul said that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Could we have paid it ourselves? No, not if we were to have a chance at going to heaven. If we would have paid the price for our sins, we would have died in sin, resulting in eternal separation from God. For man to secure salvation, someone without sin would have to pay the price for all of mankind. Jesus was the only One who qualified. Peter said that Jesus committed no sin (1 Peter 1:22). Paul said that Jesus knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), and the Hebrews writer said that Jesus was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Because of this, Jesus could die in our place and not be eternally damned.

We should be glad that Jesus was willing to pay that price for us. It was a steep price to pay. Jesus had to first make himself nothing by taking the form of a servant and being born in the like-ness of men (Philippians 2:7). He, then, had to endure the mistreatment of man during His personal ministry, which lasted for over three years. Finally, Jesus had to put up with being tried as a criminal in an illegal trial, culminating in being tortured on a cross. We should all be thankful that the Son of God was willing to endure all that, for it was the price of our spiritual freedom, and the only way that we could escape the wrath of God. And, Jesus was not the only one who suffered. Paul tells us that through it all, the Father was commending His love toward us (Romans 5:8), for He had to endure watching His only begotten Son suffer so badly.

Let us be thankful that Jesus was willing to pay such a high price for our salvation. Now, we not only are saved from our past sins, and live with the hope of heaven, but we escape the eternal consequence of sin as well. Because of this, let us not forget to demonstrate that we are truly thankful by being obedient to God in all things.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.