January 7 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"Thanks be unto God for his inexpressible gift." (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Devotional

The atoning work of Christ itself rules out any idea of human merit. From its very nature, it proclaims that it is free.

Consider the grandeur of the atonement. Contemplate what it cost—incarnate Deity; perfect obedience; spotless purity; unparalleled grace and love; severe and mysterious sufferings; wondrous death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of the Savior! All of these together conspire to make it the most eminent sacrifice that could possibly be offered!

And is there anything in the sinner to merit this sacrifice? Shall God so lower the dignity of the atonement, underrate its value, and dishonor himself as to "barter" it to the sinner? And even if God were so inclined, what is there in the sinner that could possibly afford to purchase it? Where is the counterpart? Where is the price?

"Alas!" exclaims the convinced soul, "I am a spiritual bankrupt! I lost everything in my first parent who fell. I came into the world poor and helpless. And to the sin of my nature I have added actual transgressions that terribly multiply my guilt. I have nothing to recommend me to the favor of God! I have no claim upon his mercy! Nothing! I have no price with which to purchase it! If redemption is not free—without money and without price—then I am undone."

The very costliness of the atoning death of Christ, then, puts it beyond all price and stamps it with infinite freeness.

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ my God:
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down:
did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

(Isaac Watts, 1707, text of 1709)

Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.

Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2025.