Gospel Minute 8: Wages or Gift
2024-08-23
We saw a verse previously that we will now see in its entirety. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Wages are something that we earn by working. When we work, we receive a paycheck. Likewise, we earned eternal death by our sins in this life.
But a gift is entirely different. If someone is giving you a “free gift” but you need to pay even a few dollars for it, it ceases to be a gift. If someone is giving you a “free gift” but you need to wash his car for it, it also is not a gift. If the one giving you a gift later comes and takes it back, it also is not a gift. The giver of the gift alone pays for it.
Likewise, God’s gift of eternal life is a real gift that we do not earn. We do no performing, paying, or working for it, and God does not come and take it back. The Lord Jesus tells us, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).