Hello, friend. Welcome back to Authorized Sword Ministries.

We're so glad you're here again.

Where We've Been

In Lesson One, we learned a hard truth. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." All of us. Not one of us hits the mark.

But we also promised you something. Sin is not the end of the story.

Today is Lesson Two. It's called "The Wages of Sin and the Gift of God." And friend, this is where the good news starts to shine.

Our Key Verse

Here is our key verse. Romans 6:23.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." — Romans 6:23 (KJV)

Look closely. This one verse holds two things side by side. There's a wage. And there's a gift. There's death. And there's life.

Let's take them one at a time.

The Wages of Sin

First, "the wages of sin is death."

What's a wage? It's what you earn. You work all week, and on payday you get what's coming to you. Nobody hands it to you as a favor. You earned it.

The Bible says sin pays a wage too. And that wage is death.

That's not a new idea in the Bible. God said it plainly through the prophet Ezekiel:

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." — Ezekiel 18:20 (KJV)

And Paul explains how death came to the whole human race:

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" — Romans 5:12 (KJV)

Do you see it? Death came by sin. And death passed upon all men, because all have sinned. That's why every graveyard in the world is full.

But the Bible tells us there's more than the death of the body. There is a death after this life. The Bible calls it the second death:

"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." — Revelation 20:14 (KJV)

Friend, that's serious. We don't say it to scare you. We say it because it's true, and because God loves you too much to hide it from you.

But the Gift of God

Now look at the very next word in our verse. "But."

That might be one of the sweetest little words in the whole Bible.

"But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

A wage is something you earn. A gift is something you don't. You can't work for a gift. You can't pay for a gift. If you pay for it, it's not a gift anymore. You simply receive it.

Paul makes that very point in Romans chapter four:

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." — Romans 4:4-5 (KJV)

Isn't that wonderful? God doesn't save the people who earned it. Nobody earned it. He justifies the ungodly, the ones who believe on Him.

And what is the gift? Eternal life. Not life for a little while. Life that never ends. Jesus said:

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." — John 10:28 (KJV)

Through Jesus Christ Our Lord

So how can God give us a gift when we earned death? The answer is in the last words of our verse. "Through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Remember what Isaiah said last time? "The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Here's more of that same chapter:

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." — Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)

And Peter tells us what Jesus did on the cross:

"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." — 1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)

Friend, the wage was ours. But Jesus took our sins on Himself. He bore them in His own body on the tree. That's how the gift can be free to us. It's free to us because Jesus paid for it.

Which One Will You Have?

So here's the question this verse puts in front of every one of us.

Will you take the wage you've earned? Or will you receive the gift God offers?

You can't have both. And you can't earn the gift. You can only receive it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Next Time

In Lesson Three, we'll look at why God would give such a gift at all. It comes down to one word. Love.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." — John 3:16 (KJV)

A Prayer

Before we go, let's pray together.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for this friend who is listening right now.

Thank You for telling us the truth about the wages of sin.

And thank You, Lord, that You didn't stop there. Thank You for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Help each of us to stop trying to earn what You freely give, and to trust in Jesus, who bore our sins in His own body on the tree.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Thank you for spending this time with us.

We'll see you in Lesson Three.

From all of us at Authorized Sword Ministries, God bless you.

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