The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death. (Proverbs 10:16)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Today’s passages seem to say the same thing, but a closer look shows that’s not true. Let’s look at the bad news first. Wicked people earn sin and death. My first reaction is agreement. Wicked people deserve… wait… wicked people deserve sin? Sin is what they are paid for being wicked? Isn’t a person wicked because that person sins? Pedophiles, serial killers, rapists, and monsters like Hitler are wicked. They have earned their deaths. But what is this about the wicked earning sin?
This is covered in a bit more detail in Romans 1. Paul explains that as a result of sin, God gives people over to sin. In other words, if you are determined to sin, God will not only step out of the way but allow you to be tempted to further sin. The idea is simple when you hit rock bottom, you are more likely to turn back to Him. This is why claims that some people make that this person or that was born as they are, and God doesn’t make mistakes are at mistaken. They’re right that God doesn’t make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean that God does not allow people to be born less than perfect. And the more sinful a society is, the more members of that society will earn more and greater sins.
No, I’m not saying that your sins will result in your children being born serial killers. I’m saying that the more an individual sins, the more likely he will sin more, and the more a society sins, the more likely the society will produce children will sin. After all, if you keep telling your kids that you are gods, and they are gods, what possible reason would they have to obey the law of God? So, the cycle begins with wickedness. It earns sin. Sin earns death. Death produces wickedness.
Now for the good side. Righteousness earns life. If you are righteous, you generally don’t have to fear the law unless the law has been corrupted. That doesn’t mean that being good guarantees you a long life, because just as any other possession can be stolen from you, others can steal your life. We hit another snag as well. Righteousness earns life. But according to Romans, righteousness does not earn eternal life. We don’t have a this earns that and that earns the other cycle. Righteousness earns life, period. Being good does not earn eternal life. Why? To earn eternal life, our righteousness would have to be one hundred percent. No sin, ever, of any sort. Absolute perfection required.
This is where Christianity differs from other religions. All the other religions depend on our righteousness for eternal life. If we work hard enough, we earn eternal life. The Bible throws that idea out the window, and God earns eternal life and offers it to us as a gift, not a paycheck.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Today’s passages seem to say the same thing, but a closer look shows that’s not true. Let’s look at the bad news first. Wicked people earn sin and death. My first reaction is agreement. Wicked people deserve… wait… wicked people deserve sin? Sin is what they are paid for being wicked? Isn’t a person wicked because that person sins? Pedophiles, serial killers, rapists, and monsters like Hitler are wicked. They have earned their deaths. But what is this about the wicked earning sin?
This is covered in a bit more detail in Romans 1. Paul explains that as a result of sin, God gives people over to sin. In other words, if you are determined to sin, God will not only step out of the way but allow you to be tempted to further sin. The idea is simple when you hit rock bottom, you are more likely to turn back to Him. This is why claims that some people make that this person or that was born as they are, and God doesn’t make mistakes are at mistaken. They’re right that God doesn’t make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean that God does not allow people to be born less than perfect. And the more sinful a society is, the more members of that society will earn more and greater sins.
No, I’m not saying that your sins will result in your children being born serial killers. I’m saying that the more an individual sins, the more likely he will sin more, and the more a society sins, the more likely the society will produce children will sin. After all, if you keep telling your kids that you are gods, and they are gods, what possible reason would they have to obey the law of God? So, the cycle begins with wickedness. It earns sin. Sin earns death. Death produces wickedness.
Now for the good side. Righteousness earns life. If you are righteous, you generally don’t have to fear the law unless the law has been corrupted. That doesn’t mean that being good guarantees you a long life, because just as any other possession can be stolen from you, others can steal your life. We hit another snag as well. Righteousness earns life. But according to Romans, righteousness does not earn eternal life. We don’t have a this earns that and that earns the other cycle. Righteousness earns life, period. Being good does not earn eternal life. Why? To earn eternal life, our righteousness would have to be one hundred percent. No sin, ever, of any sort. Absolute perfection required.
This is where Christianity differs from other religions. All the other religions depend on our righteousness for eternal life. If we work hard enough, we earn eternal life. The Bible throws that idea out the window, and God earns eternal life and offers it to us as a gift, not a paycheck.
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