Romans 6:23 Meaning
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What does Romans 6:23 mean?
Romans 6:23 sets two things side by side and lets the contrast do the work: what sin pays, and what God gives. Once you see the difference between the two words, the whole gospel opens up.
“The wages of sin is death.” Wages are earned — they are what you have coming, the honest result of the work. Paul is saying death is not an arbitrary punishment but the natural pay-out of a life run on our own terms, apart from God.
“But the gift of God is eternal life.” A gift is the opposite of wages: unearned, undeserved, freely given. Eternal life cannot be worked for, because if it could, it would be wages too. It can only be received. And it comes “through Jesus Christ our Lord” — he is the channel through which the gift arrives.
The verse leaves you with a simple, clarifying choice: keep collecting wages, or receive a gift. One you earn; the other you could never earn — which is exactly why it is such good news.
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