Romans 6:23a "...The wages of sin is death..."
Well here we are at our second stop along Romans Road. Last week we learned that we are all sinners and need a savior. No amount of good works could ever be enough to reach God's glorious standard.
So what next? What happens?
This verse tells us what we deserve because of our sin. We deserve death. Not just physical death but a spiritual death - Eternal separation from God forever.
There is a false idea that God "sends" people to hell. That is not true. We are already heading there on our own if we do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. The choice is ours.
Do we get off this highway to hell (thank you AC/DC) and take that exit for the eternal rest area that is in Christ Jesus?
The word "wage" in this verse means that we are given something we deserve. If you have a job, you earn a wage or a salary. You are paid for the work you do. You deserve it, therefore you get it. It is the same way with sin. We sin therefore we deserve to die.
That is the bad news...
Romans 6:23b "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus"
Here is the Good News. The good news is that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and has paid for them in full.
Notice the difference in words here. "Wage" versus "Gift". We said a wage is something that you earn, right? Well a gift is something that is given to you. You didn't earn it. You didn't work for it. You didn't ask for it. It was just given to you by someone who cares about you.
They always say that "it's not the gift but the thought that counts." But in this case, the thought and love that was put in the gift is reflected BY the gift. God loves you so much and cares about you, that He sent Jesus to bear YOUR sin, become sin and die on the cross that YOU should have been nailed to. That is love and that was a free gift. Next week we will talk more about the love of God and what He did for us.
Look at the difference in the words in the two parts of this verse and you will see the two choices you are faced with:
Wage --------------Gift
Sin-------------------Eternal Life
Death---------------Jesus Christ
The choice is yours...