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Romans 6:23
Sin, Death and Life
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Why it is worth knowing
- Wages are earned: sin’s consequence is not arbitrary punishment but natural outcome
- Death here is not only physical but spiritual separation from God
- The gift of eternal life is free: it is not earned or deserved
- Eternal life comes specifically “in Christ Jesus”: it is relational, not just future
Where it sits: Romans 6:20-23
For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now, being made free from sin and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Background
Paul uses economic language here: wages are what you’ve earned through work. What sin produces is death, not because God is unjust, but because sin by its very nature leads to separation from the source of life. The contrast with “free gift” is stark and intentional. You cannot earn eternal life any more than you could pay your own wage to live. It is entirely an act of grace.