Grace of God • theillumined.one

The big picture of what lies ahead for all of us

One of the themes that is discussed in great deal in the Holy Bible is the idea of eternity. The Bible is absolutely clear that, ultimately, there are only two options for where you go when you die: heaven or hell. The verse is one of those references to this quintessential concept. It summarizes the inevitable destiny of mankind (death/hell) as well as the way of escape (life with God). It’s important to carefully consider what God is telling us in this passage. Of course, we need the grace of God.

“For the wages of sin is death; the grace of God is everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Holy Bible, Romans 6:23

The above verse broken down and explained

“For the wages of sin is death:

The definition of “wage” is: what the earner is paid for work or services.
God tells us in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Sin is nothing less than a conflict against God.
God tells us in Ezekiel 18:4b God tells us “The soul who sins shall die.”
The “death” here is eternal separation from God in hell – as contrasted to “eternal life” mentioned later in the sentence.

the grace of God is everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The definition of “grace” is: a free gift of undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor.
“everlasting life” is NOT the wages of our righteousness; we do nothing to earn God’s favor. It is the gift of God.
The Greek word for “in” can also be translated “by.”
“in Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Jesus is the righteous channel of grace.

Summary

Because all of mankind is sinful, all of mankind has earned eternal separation from God. However, God made a way for us to avoid that wage of sin, and have everlasting life with God, and that way is through Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross He took the wages that we earned upon himself. When we believe in Jesus, and believe in what He did for us by His death, it is evidence that we have this grace, this unmerited favor of God. The noose of condemnation that was once around our neck has been removed by the hangman. By the grace of God, we have been set free through faith in Christ.

Contrariwise, if we don’t believe in Jesus then the wages of our sins will be eternal separation from Him. Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” Now is the day of salvation. If you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Come to Christ. Believe in Christ.