“Un cadou gratuit” I say as I approach a stranger on the streets of Craiova, Romania, gift in hand. More times than not, I’m met with a look of utter confusion, followed by a simple “Why?” Or “De ce?” And this response is not because they didn’t understand my courageously pathetic attempt at speaking Romanian. Rather, this confusion stems from the fact that I was standing before them offering them a gift, for FREE. 

Throughout our time in Romania, we learned that the majority of the population here religiously identifies as Romanian Orthodox Christian. Our ministry host, Pastor Raul, was kind enough to educate us on the background and beliefs of the people in order to effectively evangelize during our time serving alongside him and Hope Church Romania. He explained to us that while most Orthodox Christians know who Jesus is, they remain trapped in the laws and the traditions of this religion, that salvation is earned, not freely received. Hence the confusion noted in my story above. 

But what does the Bible say about that?

Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians, “… for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.” Galatians 2:21

Plain and simple, it is not humanly possible for us to obtain righteousness by upholding the law. We will always fail.

“… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23

Was it a coincidence that Pastor Raul and his missionary partners were empowering us to share the gospel through the simple act of giving a free gift to strangers? Absolutely not. 

A free gift is the essence of the gospel. 

Through the faces of confusion, we were able to use our free gifts of food, books, and clothing as a beautiful way to share the free gift of Jesus Christ with the Romanian people. We explained that there was nothing we could say or do to earn our salvation. But that simply because God loves us, he sent his son as the free gift of atonement and because of the work Jesus completed on the cross and his victory over the grave, we are all worthy to receive this gift. 

“… but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9