“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In plain words: What we earn by turning away from God is death, but what God gives is a gift: life with Him that never ends, found in Jesus, our Lord and Master.
What Romans 6:23 means.
The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. What we earn and what God gives are opposites.
Common questions about Romans 6:23
What does sin mean here, and why is the pay death?
Sin is choosing our own way instead of God's way. It is missing the mark of what God made us to be. In the Bible, death means more than the body stopping. It also means being cut off from God, who is the source of all life. A wage is pay for work done, and Paul uses that picture to show that sin has a real cost. Romans 3:23 says everyone has sinned, so this is not only about a few bad people. The good news comes in the second half of the verse.
Apply it today: Take a quiet minute today to tell God honestly where you have missed the mark.
Can I earn this gift by being good enough?
No. If you could earn it, it would be a wage and not a gift. Ephesians 2:8-9 says we are saved by grace, which means kindness we do not deserve, through faith, which means trusting Jesus. Jesus took the cost of our sin when He died on the cross, and He rose again. Romans 5:8 says God showed His love by sending Christ while we were still sinners. Your part is to receive it, the way you would take a present someone holds out to you.
Apply it today: Read Ephesians 2:8-9 slowly and thank God for a gift you could never earn.
What is eternal life, and does it only start after I die?
Eternal life means life with God that never ends. But the Bible says it begins now. In John 17:3, Jesus describes eternal life as knowing God. So it is not only about the future. It is a new kind of life, close to God, that starts when a person trusts Jesus. John 10:10 says Jesus came so that we could have life to the full. After this life, that life with God goes on forever, because Jesus rose from death and promises the same hope to those who follow Him.
Apply it today: Ask Jesus today to help you know Him better, even with a simple prayer of a few words.
Ask anything about it.
Every question gets a clear answer in seconds, and a way to live it today.
Live it today.
Thank God today for the gift you could never earn.
Pray it back.
Father, thank You for the gift of eternal life in Jesus.
Carry it all day.
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One verse every morning at 7 a.m. your time. Leave any time.