“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 6:23
We may miss the deeper implications of this
verse because we have associated the word
“death” with physical death. If the payment
for sin were truly, physical death would any
of us still be alive?
“For all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God.” Romans 3:23
Yet if immediate death is not the result of
sin, what did the Apostle Paul mean?
Consider Adam and Eve, they sinned and
did not immediately die. So, what did
happen as a result of their sin?
They were cast out of the Garden of Eden
and separated from God. No longer could
they walk with Him in the garden and
experience His presence. Their
disobedience caused a breach in their
relationship with God. Life would never be
the same. The serpent was partially right.
By their disobedience they had learned
about good and evil. The irony is that they
could have learned the same lesson by their
obedience. Had they said “no way” to the
serpent’s temptation, they would have
experienced and understood sin from the
positive side. Obedience would have drawn
them nearer to the Lord.
When asked, “Why did Jesus have to die on
the cross?” Most respondents will answer
“He had to die for the forgiveness of our
sins.” This is true but begs the question,
why is the forgiveness of our sin worthy of
His death on the cross?
The answer lies in the rest of the verse: but
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Life is a gift of God. We are not here by
accident, but for a purpose. God created us
for fellowship. We were created to be in
relationship with God the Father. Just as sin
caused Adam and Eve to be separated from
God, we are separated from God because of
sin. The result of sin is the death of our
relationship with God. This creates a void in
our lives we seek to fulfill in many different
ways: fame, fortune, material things, or
sensual things, to name a few. But none
satisfy. Only will we find fulfillment when
we are restored to fellowship with God
through forgiveness of our sin. Think of
Jesus’ words: I came that they may have life
and have it to the full (or abundantly). (Jn
10:10) It wasn’t physical life Jesus was
referring to but a spiritual life with God.
True life is found only in relationship with
God. “In Christ, God was reconciling the
world to himself, not counting their
trespasses against them.” 2 Cor 5:19
We have a choice to be eternally separated
from God or eternally connected. Which do
you choose?
Blessed by you….Bro. Sherman
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