For sin pays its wage — death; but God's free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 GNB
For you to be paid any kind of wages, you have to be in employment of some sort, either on a full time or part time basis. You invest your life: a summary of time, effort, energy and resources. At the end of a set time, or the completion of the task, you get the agreed wages. Nobody pays you anything for sitting around all day doing nothing. If your job is to sit down and just hold up a sign, you are paid if you do exactly that. Apply that same picture to the spiritual. All men, born of women, took part in Adam's nature. We became sinners at birth because we inherited his sinful nature. We became employees of the man of sin, doing his evil work. You don't teach a child how to steal or lie; it comes naturally to the man of sin, because that nature is always attracted to sin. Since the man of sin works for the devil, guess who then pays the wages? Of course, the devil cannot give you what He doesn't have and if all he is entitled to is death, that is all he has to offer all who work for him.
That is the sobering part of the first part of today's extract, as well as the foundation for the second part of the extract. Sin has its wages, so also does faith in God have its wages. The one you submit to is the one you work for, and is the one that will pay you appropriate wages. There is just one tiny but fundamental difference between these two masters. Sin is a slave driver, who deals in force and habit. God offers His own wages full and free, does not compel me to walk with or work for Him, but he places His gift on the table and leaves it there for as long as human life remains. The devil will steal, kill and destroy to perpetuate his own legacy and brand of work; God offers salvation and redemption free of charge, asking me to just believe in His Son. He doesn't demand a price from me; just simple faith in His Son. It will cost me nothing, but it costs God quite a lot. It will not cost me my life to take God up on His offer; in fact, my decision to accept God's gift seals eternal life for me.
There is a finality about both options, and there are only two options. Don't be deceived by people who talk about several eternal options, especially when none of them has come back to share their experiences of the other options. Men have shared their experiences of heaven and hell and what is clear is that they are real. Both of them have to do with my work on earth. I earned the first by natural birth; I earn the second by spiritual birth. I earn the first by natural genetic makeup; I also earn the second by genetic makeup, but only when I partake in the blood of Jesus, and his blood makes me a member of his own family, whereby I become an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ.
So that you know what both realities represent, please note: both are eternal. Physical death is not really final in the sense that it is only the precursor to the real deal: eternity. What I do with the gift is the gate to that eternal reality. If I reject the gift, I cannot turn around and blame God for where I end up. The gift is on offer and remains so until physical death or rapture comes; then the gift is automatically withdrawn and the wages that fit my choice then apply. While I have time, I had better make the right choice. Eternity is too long a time not to be sure of where you will spend it. His time of favour is here.
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