Can you explain Romans 6:23?
This is such a great verse for us to meditate on! Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This verse speaks plainly of what everyone deserves by God. When we sin, we earn death. That is our proper wage from the Lord. So, who does this apply to? Who are the ones who have sinned and earned death? EVERYONE! Romans 3:23 tells us, “For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God.” We also read in Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that EVERY MOUTH MAY BE STOPPED, AND ALL THE WORLD MAY BECOME GUILTY BEFORE GOD. ALL THE WORLD stands guilty before God because all have sinned.
“THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH!” The Lord had warned Adam and Eve of the wages of sin. We read in Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Death is the consequence of sin! Listen to the words of the Lord in Ezekiel 18:4, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: THE SOUL THAT SINNETH, IT SHALL DIE.” Isn’t that clear? Everyone who has sinned has EARNED death, and everyone has sinned. Therefore, the whole world stands guilty before God. You, me, everyone!
“THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE.” Instead of paying us our wages, the Lord offers us a gift. Of course, a gift does us no good unless we receive it. Ephesians 2:8 tells us, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD.” A gift cannot be earned. It cannot be paid for. It would cease to be a gift if it could be earned. So, how does one receive this free gift of eternal life?
“THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.” This gift of eternal life comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord, Himself, said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME.” To those who come to the Lord and follow Him, we read in John 10:28, “And I GIVE UNTO THEM ETERNAL LIFE; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 3:36 tells us, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
We all have sinned, and thus we all have earned death! The Lord would rather not pay us our wages. He would rather give us a gift…the gift of eternal life. That life comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If we have faith, or believe on the Lord, we have eternal life. If we do not have faith in Him, we shall not even SEE life, but we receive the wrath of God. Which would you rather have…God’s wrath or God’s gift? Would you rather have eternal death, or eternal life? Your eternity depends on your decision to put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ or not. I urge you with great urgency that you trust the Lord Jesus and receive this blessed gift of eternal life. Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (224.4)