If the "Wages of Sin is Death", What are the Wages of Obedience?

2/15/20    Walter

If the "wages of sin is death", what are the wages of obedience?

This comes from a familiar passage to those with a Christian upbringing: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

This simple and concise passage captures the heart of the Gospel, but why is it so easy to drift away from it's central point?

We understand the “wages of sin” part well enough. Sin leads to death. It’s the natural result of a life lived in rebellion to God.

But at this point many people forget what the text says and start leaning on their own understanding. If the wages of sin lead to death, then the wages of our good deeds must lead to eternal life, right?

Of course, a church upbringing teaches us to preface our statement of faith with a reference to “accepting Christ as Lord and Savior”, but there are plenty of people who pay lip service to Jesus; so what really seals the deal must be our good deeds, right?

I think that may be what a lifelong churchgoer named Walter was thinking when I asked about his hope for salvation. He started out talking about his faith in Jesus, but quickly turned to a focus on his own good works. It sounded like receiving Jesus was but the first of many good deeds that could earn eternal life, and although I’m pretty sure Walter knew one can’t “earn” salvation, I wondered how he might come across in explaining his faith to others.

The text of Romans 6:23 says nothing about earning salvation. It doesn’t even mention the wages of good deeds. What it does say, is something about “the free gift of God”. It couples eternal life with being “in” Jesus our Lord, and contrasts the wages of sin and the free gift of God.

So how could I help remind Walter of the simple but profound truths of the Gospel? He clearly understands that the true Gospel involves a changed life and good works, but I think he just forgot that that these are the result, not the cause, of salvation. We receive the gift of eternal life in Jesus, and that life motivates us toward love and good deeds.

Years later, we look back on the positive changes Christ has brought to our lives, we can be reassured that our faith in Jesus was and is very real. We realize that we had already received and begun eternal life as a gift from God. But sometimes we just need a friendly reminder of those familiar Gospel truths that are all to easy to drift away from.

Thanks, Walter, for allowing me to record our conversation! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/jRp9XKE3C_s on my YouTube channel.