The Gift of Life

Understanding that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8), the next stop along the "Romans Road" is Romans 6:23, which says plainly, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The contrast is a life with God over against a life of sin. It is the gift over against wages. It is eternal life over against death, which is spiritual separation from God.

On the one hand, there is the old life of sin. It has its wages which is death, or separation from God—a just compensation for a life of sin and rebellion against God. Left to its own devices, a life of sin soon turns into an eternal separation from God in hellfire and brimstone. The term "wages" (v. 23a) is found mostly in a military context and refers to the pay of a soldier. Again, these are wages that are well earned by our sin.

On the other hand, there is the new life which we experience through faith in Christ—a life of righteous living in fellowship with God. This life is a gift from God to all who believe, with its final reward, eternal life. Again, this life comes as a free gift from God. It cannot be earned in any way. It is God's gift of grace to all who believe and receive Him by faith.

Jesus Christ is God's only way from sin to righteousness, from eternal death to eternal life. When you trust Christ, you begin to experience this new life, a life that is totally transformed by Christ. It is a life in which the old life of sin is done away with. It is a life in which you live by faith in Christ who indwells you by His Spirit and leads you into a life of righteousness—His righteousness.

It shouldn't be hard to decide which is the better way to go. Yet so many people feel that their old life of sin is unshakable. They find it impossible to break away from sin. Somehow it seems to them that their obligation to righteous living is optional and, therefore, their faith is tentative.

However, for the believer, the exact opposite is true! You do not have to go on sinning. You do not have to treat your new life of righteous living in Christ as a good thing if you can get around to it. Rather, by faith in Christ you must live a righteous and holy life. You must live a life that is triumphant over sin in the power of Jesus—a life of faith, where Christ lives His life in and through you. Your new life in Christ demands it!

Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matt. 16:24-25). Jesus calls you to Himself, so that He might inwardly transform your life into a life of righteousness—into a life that follows after Jesus each and every day. He calls you to let Him transform your old life into a new life that is completely Christlike. He calls you to give up your old life of sinfulness for His holiness. He calls you to trust Him and let Him transform your life. Amen.