Romans 3:23 tells us something that many can quickly attest to: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In short, nobody is perfect. We all fall short of God’s holy standards. The first half of Romans 6:23 spells out how that truth impacts us: “for the wages of sin is death.” In Scripture, the concept of death encompasses “separation.” For example, in physical death, the soul/spirit of a person is separated from his/her body. But death isn’t just relegated to physical death. The one true God has explained through the Bible that He is holy and righteous and must be separate from sin. So, in spiritual death, a person is separated from God’s intimacy and is hostile toward God.
So, since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, our sinful state separates us all from a holy God. A person who grows up going to church three times a week is no better than a person who murders another person or than a person who commits adultery. All stand guilty before God. No amount of “good deeds” or penitence will change that. Just like you deserve your paycheck after putting in hours of work, so also the “wages” we deserve for our sins is spiritual separation from God that culminates in an eternity separated from Him in hell.
But Romans 6:23 doesn’t stop there. The second half of the verse says, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What a juxtaposition! Wages vs. a free gift. Death vs. life. So, God gives eternal life as a free gift! Where do I sign up for that? Well, in John 3:16, we read, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” In keeping with Romans 6:23, John 3:16 explains that we don’t earn eternal life. No one is “good enough” to be forgiven of his/her sins. Rather, God (who is presented as triune — one Being in three distinct persons; think of H2O at its triple point: same molecule (essence) existing in three distinct states) took on humanity in the Person of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man at the same time. He alone lived a perfect and righteous life and died on the cross as a sacrifice, a substitute in place of those who would believe in His death alone as being completely sufficient to pay the penalty before God for their sins. If you’re reading this, I am before God in heaven today NOT because of how good I am [if I were so good, I would not need a Savior], but rather because God’s words are true, and because I believe that Jesus died on the cross and took the full penalty for all of my sins (Hebrews 10:10,14; Colossians 2:13-14) so that I could “know that [I] have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
So, I encourage you too, then, to place your faith in Jesus as your Savior. That is the good news: that any sinner who places his/her trust in Christ’s sacrifice alone as being sufficient to pay the complete penalty for his/her sins receives eternal life and becomes a child of God.
Dear Chelsea 