May I please God to bless us
together this morning as we meditate in his word. Let us turn to the
epistle of Paul to the Romans and chapter six and we'll read
the last verse, verse 23. The epistle of Paul to the Romans
chapter six and reading verse 23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We read together those two chapters
in the Epistle to the Romans, chapters 5 and 6, and perhaps
some of you younger ones wonder why we read the two chapters.
Well of course in the original there were no chapters it just
flowed straight through this epistle like all the epistles
and the books from beginning to end and if you look at the
beginning of chapter six it says what shall we say then well of
course that's referring to all that occurs in the fifth chapter
and in one sense the fifth chapter carries on from the fourth because
that starts and says therefore being justified by faith which
obviously is reference to that which has gone before. So you
all need to be very careful young people when you read a chapter
it can sometimes be taken a bit out of context. You may need
to read perhaps either side of the chapter to get the position
and the full meaning of the truth of the Word of God. Well, we
should be very thankful for the Epistle of Paul to the Romans
because it deals with some great and wonderful truths, very fundamental
to our life and fundamental, of course, more importantly,
to our spiritual life. And no doubt these words in this
23rd verse that right at the end are familiar to many of us,
but they're very relevant For the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And really, we have two things
here. First of all, in the first section,
there is a payment. And in the second, there is a
gift. Of course, those two things are
very different, aren't they? Payment and gift. And so here
we have in the first point, the wages, of sin, the payment for
that, the wages for sin is death. And then secondly, the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So we really
have two very different statements. One is something that we work
for, we get paid for. And the second is that which
we don't work for, in that which is given to us. So what a blessing
it is for us today to realize that we are the recipients of
this great and glorious gift of God of eternal life. There is really no greater gift,
is there? Because it means what it says.
It means the Lord gives life, spiritual life, and that eternal
That means it will never stop, it'll never finish, it'll never
perish, it is forever. And so what a great gift this
is. It's the greatest gift that any
of us can ever receive. Sometimes we're thankful for
natural gifts and it's right to be so. to be thankful for
what we receive. And the Lord gives us also many
natural things to enjoy in our homes and with our friends and
et cetera, many things to enjoy. But the gift of eternal life
far exceeds anything that you and I can receive in this life
in natural things. So always praise God for such
statement as this. But then of course the first
part mentions wages, wages of sin. I think that's rather a
strange statement but it's very relevant because of course we
do sin. Everyone born into this earth
without exception apart from the Lord Jesus Christ has sinned. We are all sinners. None of us are exempt from that
statement. And it's a very solemn position
to be in, to be a sinner and to be before God a condemned
sinner, because no sinner can enter into heaven Every sinner
who enters into heaven is one who has been forgiven of their
sins and who has received this great and wonderful gift of eternal
life. So to think of the relevance
of this statement, the wages of sin, the payment, the payment
for our sin is death, eternal death, in hell what a terrible
terrible thought that should be and it's a good thing if it
today perhaps makes us tremble before a holy god at the consideration
that we as men and women boys and girls born into this earth
possess a never-dying soul a soul that must eventually be found
either in the glorious place of heaven or in the terrible
place of hell. There is no alternative. There is no other way to escape. There is that set before us so
clearly in the word of God. And of course, the great problem
that we face is the devil, the devil who tries to convince us
that of course, what the Bible says is not totally true. The
devil loves to home in on the position that in actual fact,
those who die, if they don't go to heaven, they just disappear. They're just annihilated and
there's no eternal life for such. Well, that's not what the Bible
tells us. The Bible is very solemn in its
statements and it uses the same words for eternity in reference
to hell and in reference to heaven. So we should never expect that
somehow when those who are found in eternal hell will escape,
there is no escape, there is no escape and that forever and
ever and ever. Well, it is a very sobering,
it should be a very sobering consideration to realize the
great truths which are set before us in the Word of God. And Paul
the Apostle, when he wrote to the Hebrews, he made it very
clear in the ninth chapter, the 27th verse, he says, and as it
is appointed unto men once to die. But after this, the judgment. Again, no one will be able to
miss that. No one will be able to hide from
that great and terrible day, the judgment of mankind. When the end of all things and
when the end of time has occurred, then all will come and stand
before that judgment seat of Christ to be judged for the things
done in the flesh and so might be a very solemn consideration
to us and i think therefore the payment the payment for our sin
is eternal death in hell well that's the it's very sad and
very terrible thought of such a situation because the The Lord
tells us when the apostle wrote to the Thessalonians and he says
this in the second of Thessalonians in the first chapter of the ninth
verse, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. You see there will be a complete
separation, a complete separation. who shall be punished for their
everlasting destruction in the presence of God." Well, it's
a very real truth. It's not something that you and
I should think is irrelevant or of no real purpose. It is a very great statement. It is a very important statement. And just before that ninth verse,
we read, He says, seeing it is a righteous
thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble
you and to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming
fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his power. The word of God doesn't mince
matters, does it? It speaks very clearly and also
very, very solemnly. And so may we be rightly concerned
about such a word as this, the wages of sin is death. That's what we all deserve by
nature. We were born in sin, shaped in
iniquity and we all deserve this eternal death. But what a blessing
then, if we can look on the other side and see this wonderful favour
that God has said the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord. And in that fifth chapter of
the Romans that we read together In the 12th verse we're told
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. Well that's a great statement
that's very true and may it penetrate into our hearts and realize the
solemnity of such a statement. But just a couple of verses further
on, in verse 15, the apostle tells us, but not as the offense,
so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of
many, of one, many be dead, much more the grace of God and the
gift by grace which is by one man, Jesus Christ hath abounded
unto many. So this gift, which is here,
this gift, the eternal life, the gift of God is eternal life. It's by grace, which means the
free unmerited favor of God. None of us deserve to receive
this great and glorious gift. What a mercy it is if the Lord
does come and gives us it, it is because of his grace. Nothing that you and I ever could
deserve because we are sinners of the earth and we are condemned
because of our sin. we are condemned because of our
sin to this terrible state of death eternally in hell. What a mercy if God has come
and shown to us his grace to see death entered in to the world
when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden because the Lord
had told them in the day thou eatest thereof Thou shalt surely
die. Well, they died then on the spot
spiritually, but they also inherited that body of death. And eventually,
although they lived long lives, they died. Yes, that's the great
significance. Death comes from sin. Well, we come now to think of
this wonderful truth of this gift of eternal life. And the Apostle Peter speaks
about it in one verse, verses three to four in the first chapter
of the first epistle, when he tells us, blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy, this is it, isn't it? Abundant mercy, why should
God have had mercy upon you? Why should he have mercy upon
me? Do you know the reason? Because
he loved us ineternally, he gained something beyond our comprehension,
which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again,
that means born again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you. That is a
wonderful prospect for the Church of God. That is a wonderful prospect
for all those who've been blessed with the grace of God to receive
this gift of eternal life. And it's brought about only in
one way, through Jesus Christ our Lord. It's only through the
Lord Jesus Christ's life and death and resurrection, that
you and I have any hope of receiving this great gift of eternal life. And the reason? Because without
the Lord Jesus Christ dying upon that cross at Calvary to take
away our sins, we would have had no hope of receiving this
gift of eternal life. so what a mercy today sinners
as we all are guilty sinners wretched sinners wicked sinners
every one of us because we all sin against god we all sin against
god sin is within us and it grabs hold of us and it's with us we
can't free ourselves from it this side of the grave it's with
us all the time What a mercy it is then to know that this
great truth stands firm, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, yes, frees us, delivers us from all sin, every sin taken
away, every sin from the moment you and I were born until the
day we pass out of time, every sin atoned for, by the Lord Jesus
Christ see how clear it is the gift of God is eternal life but
only through Jesus Christ our Lord and surely that's the reason
why we should praise and honor and glorify our great Savior
the Lord Jesus Christ to think what he what he did what he did. The two sides, those who are
left to die in their sins should go away into everlasting punishment
and the alternative but the righteous into life eternal. Well that's the words in Matthew
25 verse 46 and how necessary they are for us to ponder and
to Consider the great truth of such words. Well, today then,
we have to really come back to this great question, don't we,
as to what we think of Christ and what the Lord Jesus Christ
thinks of us. Are we indeed those who he has
graciously come and redeemed, graciously loved with an everlasting
love. Yes he tells us in this fifth
chapter about this position as sin, if for if when we were enemies
we were reconciled to God by the death of his son much more
being reconciled we shall be saved by his life. That means
being reconciled means being brought to God. Yes it's not
something that you and I can do ourselves. God brings us to
himself. What a mercy it is then to be
blessed with this wonderful favour of this great and glorious gift
of God. The apostle speaks of this blessing
which is brought about when he tells us in the fifth chapter
four when we were yet without strength we had no strength to
turn to God without strength in due time Christ died for the
ungodly for scarcity for a righteous man will one die yet perventure
for a good man some would even dare to die Then we read, but
God commendeth his love toward us. His love toward us when? While we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. Much more
than being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only way that you and
I can be saved. from this condition the wages
of sin is death and blessed to be a partaker of this gift of
God which is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. What a mercy then to know that
we are recipients of this wonderful gift of the atonement toward
us. You see the Apostle speaks to
us about this reconciliation and then he goes on to say in
the 11th verse of the 5th chapter, and not only so but we also join
in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received
the atonement. There is joy, there is joy in
our hearts when we are blessed with the evidence by the Holy
Spirit that we are amongst those who have received this gift of
God, this wonderful gift of eternal life and it's only through the
Lord Jesus Christ and it's only through his atonement and that
means when he shed his blood upon Calvary's cross he made
us at one with himself. It's a great truth isn't it? It's a wonderful meditation to
have on union with Christ, blessed with that wonderful favour of
union, union with the Lamb from condemnation free. Well as we read in this 15th
verse about the offence also it's the free gift. Rest for
the offence of one many be dead much more the grace of God and
the gift by grace which is by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded
unto many. Well what a mercy if it has abounded
you and to me. It's not something which is just
as you might say something is passing by. It's something so
important. Concerns are eternal state. to realize that it's abounded
toward us. We rejoice in it. We praise our
God for it. We're thankful for it day by
day. And it is all of his grace and
all of his mercy. And it is this wonderful blessing
of free gifts. He goes on in the 16th verse
of this fifth chapter. And not as it was by one that
sinned, so is the gift. For the judgment was by one to
condemnation, But the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death
reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace,
and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one Jesus
Christ. Isn't there much reason today
to praise and bless our God for this great salvation. If you and I have the evidence
that it's toward us and that we are partaker of it, do we
not have reason to rejoice today as we journey on, as we pass
on through time? Now we read together, of course,
this sixth chapter And the apostle tells us, if we have been planted
together, as the fifth verse of the sixth chapter, in the
likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his
resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man,
that's our old nature, is crucified with him, put to death, that
the body of sin might be destroyed, and henceforth We shall not serve
sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. This is the prospect for the
Church of God. It's a wonderful favour and a
wonderful blessing to know the Apostle John in the first epistle
in the fifth chapter verses 11 and 12 he says and this is the
record that God has given to us eternal life and this life
is in his Son he that hath the Son hath life and he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life well that's a very plain statement
it means this you and I need to have the knowledge that we
are united to Christ, and that Christ is united to us. It's a wonderful mercy, it's
a wonderful blessing. And if we are, you see, we are
then amongst those who receive this gift of eternal life. The Apostle John knew the wonderful
benefit of it, the wonderful blessing of it, and indeed desired
that he might know it again and again. So he goes through the
epistles and he wrote, and you can read the epistles of John,
they're very beautiful. And they speak so much of the
love of Christ to sinners. Well, it is a great and glorious
gospel, the love of Christ to sinners. And it all emanates
from God's mercy toward us, his love in time past. But bids me
to think he'll leave me at last in trouble to sink. No, God is
faithful. God doesn't change his mind.
What God has said is done, is eternal. And we can rest in the
promises of God, if God has come and touched our heart. And what
that means is this, all things have become new. All things have
passed away. All things have become new. We see things with different
eyes. The eyes which God gives are
spiritual eyes. We see things spiritually. We see the blessings of God,
which he has ordained for his people and for his church. And
we rejoice in that great and glorious finished work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The born-again sinner never tires
of coming to Calvary, never tires of viewing the death of the Saviour,
because we know that in that death, that sin, atonement death,
is all our hope of eternal life. So what a blessing it is today
to be able to come and rejoice together in this great truth. And you know, the first verse
in this fifth chapter is so wonderful. It says, therefore, being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only way you and I
receive peace. That's the only way that you
and I receive the evidence that we are the recipients of this
great and wonderful gift of eternal life. It's that which God gives. What a present. Just think of
it, you know, you and I look forward to presents, don't we? On our birthdays, perhaps on
Christmas and perhaps other times. But this gift, this present,
oh, it exceeds everything else by so, so much because it will
never perish. And you and I will be blessed
eternally in that glory of heaven with the Savior and with the
whole church of God around the throne of God in heaven, praising
him forever and ever, praising him for that gift which he's
given us, which we will then be enjoying, enjoying without
anything to impinge upon it, anything to stop the peace which
exists and the joy and the fellowship the union. It's a situation which
is beyond our natural mind to fully comprehend, but what a
blessing it is if we are those then who are truly justified
by faith. God gives faith, God gives grace,
God gives eternal life. It's all give isn't it? And if we rightly appreciate
that. If we rightly understand that,
it means that we owe a debt to God that you and I will never
be able to repay. But in pondering such the truth,
should it not really greatly influence our lives? Every day
we may realise we're not our own. No, because we're bought
with a price and that price is the death of the Saviour, the
death of the second person in the Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ
well what a wonderful truth that is something to think upon to
meditate upon and to desire to walk it out every day of our
life and not to be carried about with all the vanities of this
life realizing that eternity is before every one of us none
of us can escape eternity you see don't we people really take
it from this world, this virus, a very little warning and other
people we see just passing away very quickly without time to
really consider their latter end. Well what a blessing it
is for us today because we are in time and if as yet we don't
know the blessings and the freedom of the gospel may be found calling
upon the name of God that he might come and reveal himself
unto us as that sin atoning saviour to redeem us from all our sins
while we are still in time. Once you are out of time and
in eternity either in this position of this place of eternal death
or in this place of eternal bliss with the Lord Jesus Christ, having
received the gift of eternal life? Well, it is a very relevant
and important consideration. How few people today consider
it. How very few people today meditate
upon it. How few people today are concerned
about it. May we all be concerned with
that great question, where shall I spend eternity? It's not the person next to me. It's not the person down the
road as it were. It's where should I spend eternity. Real religion is always personal. It's between our soul and God. No one else. Between our soul
and God. So what a mercy today. If the
Holy Spirit shows to us the vast difference which exists in this
verse between the wages which we earn of sin is death and the
alternative is nothing that we earn is given to us the great
and glorious gift of God of eternal life and remember it's only through
Jesus Christ our Lord That's why Jesus should be to
each one of us more precious far than earth and all its comforts
are. So today, may we have the evidence
that we are amongst those who are blessed with having received
this glorious gift of eternal life and desire to truly praise
and honor our God. It's not without relevance at
the beginning of this chapter speaks to us about baptism. It speaks about the significance
of it and the importance and he tells us know you not that
so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized
into his death therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also shall walk in the newness
of life. Well, that in a nutshell describes
to us the relevance and the blessing of believers' baptism and the
wonderful figure that it presents to us. Well, may we think on
these things and ponder these things and rejoice in the great
and glorious truths that the word of God contains for our
eternal good and be found looking forward to that great day when
we shall be with Christ which is far better for the wages of
sin is death but what a blessed but it is the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.