Choices!

Choices!

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 KJV

There are two parts or halves to today's extract. When you hear wages, you know it is due reward for work done. Wages are earned, not awarded based on connections, influence or status. Yes, wages may lead to enhanced status and all that, but first of all, wages are tied to work done. In this context, God says the wages of sin is death. It means that sin is the work, and death the due wages. Interestingly, from the fall of man till today, all human beings, born of women, have all sinned. It does not matter what family you were born into, or the quality of the spoon with which you were fed, silver or gold, or even the colour of your skin or the language you speak; all men have sinned, and are entitled to the wages set by God, which is death. As hard as this may sound, it is the understanding of this position that leads to the truth of the second part of today's extract. 

If the wages was the final word on sin, we would have had no hope; nothing to look forward to. Thank God sin does not have the final say in our lives. Yes, we have all sinned, but then in came Grace. Grace provided a way of escape from the due wages of sin. Remember, wages are legal; as long as you have worked, you are entitled to due wages. No court of law will allow an employer deny any employee any earned wages, as long as the employee worked in line with the terms and conditions of the employment. The same applies in the spiritual; as long as I am born of a woman into this earthly plane, I am working for those wages. I must not be deceived into thinking that having good morals or right standing with men is sufficient; there is a place for them, but they cannot stand alone. If they could, then grace, mercy and God's free gift in the second half of today's extract will all be of no use.

That second part of today's extract is the reason I am alive today. If God were to apply the wages for sin, I am not sure there will be anyone alive. God's grace works in such a way that when you receive it, you know it is not what you worked for. This is why it is so different from the wages of sin. One is earned, the other is not. One is legally applicable; the other is graciously given. Look at the word 'free'; I do not earn it by connection, capacity or clout, but simply by grace. That free gift is defined very clearly as eternal life; God does not promise abstract things you cannot understand. Remember also that both the wages and the free gift are eternal in their consequence. Whichever one you earn to the end of your earthly life becomes your eternal reality. No man can give you that free gift; a man cannot give you that which he does not have. Life is of and from God, and He alone gives that which is of himself.

As I take stock right now, I need to ask myself: 'where am I on this scale'? Am I at the end of the first half of today's extract, where I am working hard to earn the wages of sin, which is death? See, this is God's view, not mine. You can pick a quarrel with the viewpoint, or you can seek out the One who speaks and makes clear what the standard is. Am I at the second half, where I have taken advantage of the free gift of God, which is Jesus Christ? The name of Jesus is mentioned; God leaves me in no doubt who He has laid down as the source of eternal life. I can either take God at His Word, or take the dangerous risk that God is wrong. He wants to be the Lord of my life, if I will let Him. He will not force himself on me, but if I let Him, He seals eternal life for me. No matter what happens down here, I am sorted for all of eternity. God's time of favour is here.