Sin to Salvation

There was a time, and others, we all sinned.

Come short of glory, trapped without.

The payment owed for wrong? A final breath.

Yeah, the wage for sin is death.

We walked in trespasses, spiritually dead,

Following the world's dark path instead.

Our minds were futile, understanding gone,

Living separated from God's bright dawn.

Our hearts? Deceitful things, a tangled maze,

Lost in empty, self-absorbed days.

Chasing pleasures, fading, brief, and low,

Instead of the only true God we should know.

But then... a stirring. A different kind of ache.

A godly sorrow causing hearts to break,

Leading to repentance, turning wrong around.

I looked within, and this is what I found:

A need for cleansing, wash me through and through.

Against You, Lord, my sin was aimed at You.

So I confess them now, lay bare my soul.

Trusting You are faithful to make whole.

You are just, You purify, You cleanse the slate.

Create a clean heart, Lord, before it's too late.

And how? How can this be? Look! See the proof!

While we were still sinners, far aloof,

God showed His love, a love beyond compare,

For Christ Himself died for us, right then, right there.

He carried all our brokenness and sin,

In His own body on the tree, from deep within.

He took the fall, that we might die to wrong,

And live for righteousness, His victory song.

By the wounds He suffered, we are healed and free.

He was delivered up for our mistakes,

But He was raised to life, for goodness sake!

Raised for our justification, declared right!

Turning deepest darkness into glorious light!

If Christ hadn't risen, friends, our faith? A waste!

Our preaching, useless, hope itself, erased!

But He IS risen! The Firstborn from the dead!

Death has been swallowed up! Its power fled!

Oh Death, where is your victory now? Where is your sting?

Through Jesus Christ, eternal life God brings!

It’s not a wage we earn, but God's free gift!

So if you're in Christ, you're something new.

The old is gone; behold, His life shines through!

Take off that old self, corrupt and worn,

Put on the new self, righteously reborn.

Made like God, in holiness and truth.

Offer your bodies, in your vibrant youth,

And in your age, a living sacrifice,

Holy and pleasing, beyond all earthly price.

Don't copy patterns of this passing age,

But let God's Spirit turn a brand new page.

Be transformed, your thinking made anew.

Walk by the Spirit in all you say and do.

Seek first His Kingdom, His righteous ways pursue.

And all you truly need, He'll add to you.

Let your good deeds, like brilliant light, now shine,

So others see, and praise the One Divine.

And the future? Oh, the promise He secures!

In Your very presence, pure joy endures!

Fullness of joy, no emptiness inside,

And at Your right hand, eternal pleasures hide.

Forevermore, delights that never cease.

He said, "I go prepare a place of peace,"

"And I will come again, it won't be long,"

"To take you to Myself, where you belong."

A place where He will wipe away each tear.

No more death or sorrow, grief or fear.

No crying, no more pain, the old gives way.

Behold! He makes all things new this day!

And listen! Nothing! Not death, nor life below,

Not angels, demons, powers that we know,

Not present struggles, nor the future's dread,

Not height, nor depth, nor anything instead,

Can ever separate us from the love,

Of God that's found in Jesus Christ above!

Restored, Confirmed, Strengthened, Established.

Forever His.