Death is the penalty for my sin, but God's gift can change all that!

Part 1

“For the wages of sin.”
In our lost world these days, a person’s pay generally seems too high, if we ask the boss, it is too low if we ask the worker.  God’s Word promises a fair wage to every sinner.  Yes, our sin pays wages!  The word “wages” is only used four times in the New Testament, and each time it is talking about the same thing, a payment that is earned for work done.

“… ‘wages’…properly denotes what is purchased to be eaten with bread, as fish, flesh, vegetables,… it means the pay of the Roman soldier because formerly it was the custom to pay the soldier in these things.  It means… what a man earns or deserves; what is his proper pay, or what he merits”[1] (Barnes).

No sinner will ever be paid what they have not earned.  The payment earned,

“Is death.”
When we apply the word “wages” to our sin, it tells us what our sin has earned us.  What does our sin merit?  What is fair pay for our transgressions?

According to God’s Holy Word, it is death!  It is unmistakable and irrefutable.  God has set the rules and the penalty for their violation.  A lost sinner will well deserve every pain inflicted upon their souls; they are warranted.  “Not a sinner will die, who ought not die”[2] (Barnes).  Sadly, the sinner in hell will be treated just as he/she deserves, for they have spent their life earning it.

This is not some young hell-fire preacher’s new idea.  God, in His Book, has been saying this for eons.

“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).

God will not give anything more to the sinner that He has not already promised.  Death is what God has threatened the sinner with all along, and death he/she will receive.  This is just.

“Every sinner earns this by long, sore, and painful service.  O! what pains do men take to get to hell!  Early and late they toil at sin; and would not Divine justice be in their debt, if it did not pay them their due wages?”[3] (Clarke).

This “death,” the Word speaks of, is the opposite of “eternal life.”  This shows us that “eternal death” lasts just as long as “eternal life.”  Is eternal suffering worth all the excitement of a few years in sin?  This is not a wise tradeoff!  Contrary to postmodern thinking, there will be no parties in hell, no meeting up with old friends.  Hell is where sin is paid for.

Thank the Lord that this is not the end of the verse!  There is more, there is hope!  Come back tomorrow, and we will talk about God’s gift!

Quote:  “Sin does not necessarily result in physical death right away.  [For the wages of sin is death] … is not telling us that when we sin, we will physically die.  Rather, it is referring to spiritual death.”[4]

[1] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Albert Barnes, ibid.
[3] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[4] Quote borrowed from gotquestions.org.  Downloaded:
Tuesday, October 6, 2020.  From: https://www.gotquestions.org/the-wages-of-sin-is-death.html.