Romans 6:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NIV: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NASB: For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

CSB: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NLT: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

KJV: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

NKJV: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul sums up this section of his letter, and the entire gospel, in this one famous verse. He compares the two types of lives he has been describing. Those without Christ are slaves to sin. Their work of sinfulness earns a paycheck of death. In other words, they earn eternal death, eternal separation from God. No matter how good a person may think they are, their work can never be good enough (Isaiah 64:6), and ultimately, they have only themselves to blame for sinning against God (Romans 1:18–20; 3:10, 23).

There is another way, however. Paul has described the possibility that we can become servants of righteousness by trusting in Christ. This is not something we can do on our own. He wrote in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. No, eternal life can only be given; it cannot be earned by human beings (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Paul describes eternal life as God's free gift in Christ Jesus our Lord. When we trust in Christ, God gives us credit for Christ's perfect, sinless life and accepts the payment of Christ's death for our sin. The result, eternal life with Him, sharing in His glory, is given to us as a gift.

Paul seems to be asking, "Which life do you want?"

Romans 6:15–23 asks why we should not keep sinning once we have come to faith in Christ and are no longer under the law of Moses. Paul answers that we can continue to lead lives of volunteer slavery to sin if we don't resist it. Instead, we should live as if righteousness was our master, which, in a sense, it is. We should obey righteousness instead of our sinful desires, in part, because we now understand the consequences of sin. Instead of shame and death, we should serve God who gives eternal life as a gift.

In Romans 6, Paul answers the question of whether Christians should continue to sin. His answer is emphatic: we absolutely should not. First, when we came to God by faith in Jesus, we died to sin. We are not slaves to it any more. Second, what did living for sin ever get us? It led to shame and death. The righteousness given to us for free by God in Christ Jesus leads to becoming like Jesus and to eternal life. We should serve righteousness instead of sin.

After comparing Adam and Christ and what their choices brought into the world, Paul now turns to ask if Christians should continue in sin once they have been saved. He gives several reasons why we must not: we died to sin's power over us; we are now servants to righteousness; and what good did sin ever bring to you, anyway? Paul will transition in Romans 7 to a discussion of what it means to be released from the law of Moses.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.