WAGES AND PAYMENTS
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I've worked a lot of jobs since I was 15 years old. I once figured my hourly wages while guiding and outfitting.... That wasn't a good idea. If I counted all the hours I worked, there were quite a few weeks when I earned less than $3 and hour. Ministry isn't much different, but I've learned that the rewards are far greater than a paycheck. Generally we get paid in accordance with what work we've done.
How many times have I read the verse above, Romans 6:23? Thousands? How many times have I used it in speaking and writing? Hundreds? Yet one morning, as I studied, I saw something new, something that changed the way I look at salvation.
The first part of the verse tells us that the wage we've earned for our sin is DEATH. The word translated to "wages" here comes from the original language, "for the food and pay that a soldier earned for serving". So, according to this verse, we "earn" death in our life by serving sin. BUT, there is a big difference in the second part of the verse that can never be earned... "The GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus...". Because it was (and still is) a gift, a TOTALLY FREE GIFT, That cannot be earned, we have to do nothing but believe and accept it.
What an amazing contrast... We earn our eternal death by serving the sin that is killing us... But we can change all that by accepting a totally free gift and spend eternity in heaven... That gift can not be earned, just accepted!!!! Wow!
A.C. Dixon wrote of sin and atonement this way...
"Through the death of Christ on the cross making atonement for sin, we get a perfect standing before God. That is justification, and it puts us, in God's sight, back in Eden before sin entered. God looks upon us and treats us as if we had never sinned."
What an awesome gift that is, that a Holy God looks on us a perfectly clean and holy.
Generally when I speak to groups and give a salvation message I emphasis the first word in the second part of Romans 6:23, the word "BUT". It's one of my favorite word in the entire Bible. It connects our wage to our payment. Our wage (what we deserve to be paid) DEATH, to what payment is made on our behalf, the GIFT from Christ. If it wasn't for that little "but", we would remain paying for our sin with our eternal death.
If your sins have been paid, because you've accepted the Gift of Christ Jesus, are you sharing that gift with others? If you have accepted that gift, the reason you are still here is to share that good news with those that will listen.
Share that little word, "but". It turns our death to life.
Help achieve the mission - GIVE today
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