While reading through the book of Romans, I was detained by the juxtapositions contained in verse 6.23 and by the sight of how the verse unfolds its wonderful divinity. I was made glad to have been held fast for a long time by its connecting links. From this blessed detention two studies resulted. This one is the longest and most elaborate of the two.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6.23.)
After we become self-aware, we begin to think. After we begin to think, we need, more than anything else, to inquire concerning our end. Indeed, but is this not what children do when they start asking questions about God? Because of the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death, this should be our very first inquiry; and this all-important investigation should continue, in spite of discouragers and discouragements, until we are satisfied that we have discovered what this end is. Since I exist, whereas before I did not; and since I am here, whereas I was not here before, some questions to be answered are these: Will I always exist? In what capacity will I exist? Where will I exist? “Before any other knowledge attainable by us in the compass of the universe, it is most essential for us to know what our Creator and sovereign Lord intends to do with us after death” (A. A. Hodge, Evangelical Theology, p. 388.)
To what end is man coming to? Where is man going, ultimately? What is the end of man? Will man attain for himself what the tree of life could have given him? Will man achieve what was thwarted by God at the tower of Babel? Will he find his own way to heaven? Will men of the earth unite and find a way to live forever? Will man master science to achieve this end? Will he rely on artificial intelligence to do it? Will man try to live forever through clones? Will he manipulate his genes in an effort to construct the everlasting man? Will he hope for an alien encounter to solve the crises of pollution, war, and death? Will he trust in a cycle of reincarnations or metempsychosis to lead him to a longer, happier, and more peaceful life? There are some who say that it would be intolerable to live forever. But they only say that to pretend they are not afraid of dying. Man is fascinated by the death of strangers and fictional characters. But he would prefer to never mind, if he could, any thought of his own.
Though man suppresses thoughts of his own death, these thoughts resurface because man is made to exist forever. The spirit of man is centered upon the question of his existence. Man longs to live but is certain to die. He is haunted by death but obsessed with living. Plastic surgery, the cosmetic industry, and the mid-life crisis—these things all speak of man’s desire to defy death. The writing of books and the acquisition of certificates prove man’s burden to leave his mark before going to his ineluctable grave. At the least, man hopes to live forever in his achievements or through his children. But what will be the end of man? The apostle Paul addressed this fateful subject; and, unlike the philosopher, he was simple and straightforward about it, not obscure and speculative. In his letter to the Romans, the great apostle gives a summary of the end to which man is going. The end of man is the theme of Romans 6.23.
The letter in question is addressed ‘to all that be in Rome’ (1.7); that is to say, to all the members of the church there, persons ‘called saints.’ The letter contains a message for the ungodly (1.18-2.16); it has something to say to the unconverted Jew (2.17-29); it is relevant to Israel at large (10.1); but principally, it is for ‘them which are in Christ Jesus’ (8.1.)
Paul the apostle, ‘separated unto the gospel of God,’ wrote the letter to teach the church about the gospel’s blessings and ramifications. He often used contrast as a device to explain his doctrine. This method provokes meditation by making the reader think about two subjects at once for the purpose of noting the associations and differences between the two. Romans 6.23 contains one such contrast. “For the wages of sin is death.” This is the antithesis of, and is therefore set beside: “the gift of God is eternal life.” And the way from the first outcome to the other is: “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The Christians in Rome had already crossed over into possession of eternal life ‘through Jesus Christ our Lord’; this they did through faith in his name for the remission of their sins. Romans 6 is written in order to challenge the members of the church there to live ‘dead unto sin’ because Christ ‘died unto sin’ to free sinners from sin. The Christians of Rome are beseeched to ‘walk in newness of life,’ to ‘yield unto God,’ and to live in the likeness of the death of Christ (as dead to sin), in view of the resurrection to come. At the end of the chapter they are reminded of the end from which they were delivered: death; and of the end which they have received through Jesus Christ: eternal life. The last verse in Romans 6—verse 23—is designed to convict and to prompt obedience. This is evident in what both precedes and follows the verse.
There are two possible ends for man: death, or else eternal life. There is a miserable end that man is going toward. And there is a glorious end that he may receive through faith in Jesus Christ. The emphasis of the verse is life over death because the apostle is communicating to persons who have received this life. The emphasis is on the latter part of the verse, then, which ends with ‘Jesus Christ our Lord.’ There is no person mentioned in the first part of the verse because while man needs the person of Jesus Christ in order to live, he does not need a person’s help to die.
The verse is a contrast of destinies. Really, there are three contrasts: wages and gift; sin and God; death and eternal life. Notice that ‘wages’ implies work, while ‘gift’ implies reception. Notice also that ‘wages’ is plural, while ‘gift’ is singular. We learn from this that there are many earnings that accrue unto death, but only one gift, which is the offered alternative. The gift is eternal life. It is the gift of God. Jesus Christ is the Mediator of this gift. The end of man is this or that, either death or life.
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