I would draw your attention to
that last verse of Romans chapter 6. For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus who is the Christ. and He's our Lord. Our subject this morning is quite
simply, God gives eternal life. Here are two very powerful statements. The wages of sin is death. What is sin? Well, we read in
1 John, sin is the transgression of God's law. It is therefore rebellion against
our creator. Never think lightly of any sin. The word sin in and of itself
means missing the mark. You take a bullseye, a target,
perhaps you're shooting a gun or an arrow, And if you don't
hit the bullseye, you've missed that mark. That mark that God demands is
perfection. And anything outside of perfection
is sin. It is missing the mark of perfection. I watched a little bit of golf
yesterday, just to turn it on and see what the score was, and
that was all I had time to do. But one of the announcers said,
and I've heard them say this before, he hit a perfect putt. It just didn't go in. Well, if
it had been the perfect putt, it would have gone in. it would
have found its mark. You see, all of us by nature,
we always miss the mark of perfection. And yet this is what God demands. God's a holy God. He doesn't
say do the best you can, but if you miss the mark, it's okay. I'll excuse you. Just put forth
a good effort and in the end, I'll let you into my holy heaven.
No, God says, Be ye holy for I am holy. Be ye perfect for
I am perfect. I say again that this matter
of sin, it is the transgression, the violation of God's law. Now, how can we sum up the law
of God? Well, the master said this, and
he was speaking to a man who summed it up this way, love God
with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor
as yourself. Anything less than that is sin. You may wonder, well, I wonder
if I have, I wonder if I've sinned today. Wonder no more. Anything less than perfection,
perfect motives, What was your reason for coming here today?
Well, it's the thing to do on Sunday. That's sin. Your motive must be, and my motive
must be, and purely this, to honor God. To worship God. To exalt our Lord Jesus, the
only Savior of sinners. To magnify the Spirit of grace
who reveals the Son of God to us. And yet if most of us are
honest, that probably wasn't even in our thoughts. The Scripture tells us whatever
you do, whether you eat or drink or whatever it is, do all for
the glory of God. And if we don't do everything
solely and wholly for the glory of God, it's sin. And so now
I would ask you how many times have you sinned today? And I
would answer, honestly, for all of us, we have no idea. We have no idea. Because this
matter of sin is transgressing God's law that says, love God
with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Do you love Him
that way? and love your neighbor as yourself.
Do you love your neighbor that way? And all of us, if we're honest,
we have to hang our heads in shame and say, I don't love God
that way and I don't love my neighbor that way. It's sin. And I know we speak
of, some people speak of big sins and little sins. white lie and a black lie. Any deviation from perfection
is sin. Now, I give you this, I grant
you this, all sins, as far as outwardly, don't have the same
consequences. But all sins are against God. Whatever it is. And we know this, that the scripture
says that this matter of sin, when it is finished, when it's
finished with us, it brings forth death. In fact, right here it says,
for the wages of sin is death. Consider wages. If you look this up, if you have
a concordance, and that's a really good book to have, look up the
word wages and it will say, that which a Roman soldier received
after a day's labor. You know what a wage is. You
work, you expect to get paid. Well, if we go through our lives
in sin, missing the mark, then there are wages to be paid
to that one who is really personalized or personified here in Romans
chapter 6, that is sin, which is set forth as a king. And you're
its servant. And you go through your life
as a servant of sin. And you never think about righteousness. You never think about who God
is. You don't really give serious
consideration to how sin can be put away, how it can be atoned. how God's justice could be satisfied. You don't really give great consideration
to those things. And you just live, you go on
and on with your life. Maybe you throw a little bit
of religion in every once in a great while. But know this, you are serving
a ruthless king. An awful tyrant. And that tyrant
is sin. And as our brother read this
passage of Scripture, it talks about how that before conversion,
we were servants of sin. Sin was our king. Sin was our
master. And the master always pays off. He always pays wages. And the wages of serving this
cruel tyrant is death. And so we read that sin, when
it's finished, when it's done with you, that's an awful king. After you've served him all your
life, if you die and you're still serving that cruel master of
sin, here's what he pays you, death. That first statement is a heavy
statement. There's no good news there. That's
bad news. Just keep on going like you're
going. Keep on serving this awful king
of sin. And in the end, there'll be wages
which you'll have to pay. I was preparing this yesterday, and I was reading, of course
I always try to do quite a bit of reading, and I'm running lots
of cross-references in the Word of God. I came to this conclusion
that, and I'll give you my not translation, but transliteration
of this verse. Work your whole life for sin,
and here's what your pension is going to be. It will be death. But God's gift, real life, life
that never ends, This is a spiritual life. This is an everlasting
life. This is an eternal life. God's
gift is eternal life. But this gift always comes through
one channel, through one conduit. Jesus Christ our Lord. You all know what a pension is. Some of you are enjoying a pension. You work for a company, the state, railroad, or board
of education, whatever it is, and you look forward to that
day, When you will walk out the door and say, no more early morning
hours for me or late night hours, whatever the case may be, I'm retiring. Because I have
got a pension. I'm going to be paid wages. I'll
keep getting money. I'm gonna get wages even though
my labors for the company are over. Well, now here's the way
it works when you work, you labor for sin. You labor all your life
and then you die and your labor is ended. But then it's time
for the pension. then it's time for the wages. And it's death. What kind of
death? A death that never ends. An existence that is separation
from God, separation from our Lord Jesus Christ, separation
from everything that is good and noble and holy and righteous. It is separation from Him who
is life. It's an existence in hell. It will never end. And that's
your pension. If you die in your sins, that
ought to get your attention. Oh, what a cruel taskmaster this
sin is. But, let me give you some good
news. But, the gift of God Now notice that this cruel taskmaster
of sin, it pays what you've earned. You'll get what you deserve. You'll actually draw your wages
from sin, which is death. But that which God gives is just
that, a gift. You can't earn it. You can't
merit it to Simon the sorcerer in the
book of Acts. Peter said, you thought that
the gift of God could be purchased. You thought you could buy it.
And many people think the gift of God, which is eternal life,
salvation in Christ Jesus, many people think, well, I have to
earn that. As long as you entertain that
kind of thinking, it is obvious you're still the servant of sin. Because that which God gives,
you can't earn it. You can't merit it. He gives. He gives eternal life. And He always gives it. And there
are no exceptions to this. He always gives this eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You know, I have no difficulty
making this statement. If you perish in your sins, if
you remain all through your life, a servant of sin. You will perish,
you will pay the wages, which is death, and it will be all
your fault. We got to preach it that way. I know there are some people
who don't, they don't want sovereign grace people to ever speak about
man's responsibility. but we're responsible to our
God. Now don't confuse responsibility
with ability. We lost the ability to repent
and believe in Adam's transgression, but that doesn't relieve us of
the responsibility. You read sometimes at your leisure. In fact, let's just turn over.
Look at Proverbs chapter 1. I don't know the reason why people, sovereign grace people of course,
I don't know why they deny man's responsibility. I preached a
message on this portion of Scripture one time, and a gentleman in
the congregation to which I was preaching, He was sitting about
halfway back. Not here. About halfway back
on this side. He just got up and he turned
his back. He said, I don't have to listen
to this. Man's responsibility. You're responsible to God. You're
going to answer to God. Don't you understand that? You're
going to stand before God. You can't blame God. You go through
life a servant of sin, you can't blame God. He gave you a preacher.
He gave you a Bible. He gave you people who prayed
for you and were concerned about you. But you weren't interested. You weren't interested. Look at here in Proverbs chapter
1. This is a solemn passage. Look at verse 24. Proverbs 1.24. God says, Because I have called
and you refused, I've stretched out My hand, and no man regarded But you've said it not all, my
counsel. I told you salvation is by grace
in Christ. Come to my Son. Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But you wouldn't hear
my counsel. This is your own unwillingness
and rebellion. You wouldn't honor my reproof.
I called and you wouldn't listen. He calls through the preacher.
He calls through His Word. He calls through providential
experiences. And you just pretty much turn
a deaf ear. God says, now look at verse 26,
I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh.
When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then
shall they call upon Me, but I won't answer." Read in the
book of Revelation chapter 6, at the judgment they'll call
on the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and hide them
from the face of the wrath of the Lamb of God. Our message
is look to the Lamb of God. Believe on the Lamb of God. The
Lamb of God smitten for sinners. This is the Savior you need. Look and live. But you're not
looking. You're not looking. Why don't
you look? God says, now there's going to
come a day when they shall call on Me. I'm
not going to answer. They shall seek me early, won't
find me. For that they hated knowledge,
they heard the gospel, they heard of Christ crucified, they heard
of salvation by grace, but you kept on thinking, these people
kept on thinking, there's something I gotta do, I wanna work, I want
merit, I want my wages. Well, you're going to get your
wages. It's death. Look at verse 29. "...For that they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord." Oh, my dear friend, beg God that
He won't leave you to your own unwillingness. Ask God, don't
leave me in my rebellion. Lord, do something for me. Like
that Fanny Crosby song. Why don't others thou art calling? Don't pass me by. Don't leave
me like this. Look at verse 30. They were none of my counsel.
They despised all my reproof. Therefore, Therefore shall they eat of the
fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own devices."
That's just another way of saying they're going to get wages. Go ahead and take your wages.
Here's your pension. Forever in hell. Don't deny responsibility. Like
I say, it's not the same as ability. We lost the ability, but you
are responsible to God who is sovereign. You will answer to
God. Do you understand that? You must
stand before the judge someday. The judge who judges righteously. Who demands righteousness. You
must stand before Him. And if you stand before Him dressed
in your filthy rags of unrighteousness, He will say, depart from Me.
I never knew you. Collect your wages. Oh my. Oh my. I don't want you to hear that. You're responsible to believe. And somebody might object, say,
but Jim, if people don't have the ability to believe, then
they have no responsibility to believe. Surely God can't expect
a man to do is impossible for him to do. There you go turning to human
reasoning. That's logic. That's logical. If you don't repent, you're going
to perish. God help you. If you don't believe
on Christ, you will perish. God help you. Yes, some deny the responsibility
of everyone to believe the gospel of Christ. And then others deny that God is absolutely sovereign
and that He has to give the gift of eternal life. And he not only has to give the
gift, he has to make you willing to
be thankful and receive the gift. See, let's put it this way. Somebody asked me recently, and
I don't, whatever you want to believe on this is your business,
but somebody asked me, do you believe in double predestination? Some men are predestinated to
heaven, and some men are predestinated to hell. Well, first of all,
you don't read that language in the Bible. In fact, as you
read about predestination in the Word of God, it always pertains
to God's people. And whether we can understand
or comprehend these things or not, It still remains true. He that believeth is not condemned. He that believeth not is condemned already because
he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. Don't deny responsibility and
don't deny the also reality of the necessity of the sovereign
free gift of grace to sinners through Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh may God make you willing.
We read in the Psalms, Thy people shall be willing. Oh God make
me willing. Oh God, break my will. Oh God,
break my stubbornness. Make me willing to be saved by
grace alone through the doing and the dying through the blood
and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, do something
for me. Oh, that ought to be our cry. I don't want wages of sin. I don't want them for you either.
What kind of pastor would I be if I said, well, let come what
may? What kind of preacher would I
be if I didn't warn you? We're admonished in the Word
of God to warn people. Oh God, help me to believe. Yes, our text says, over here
in Romans chapter 6. For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord. One is wages that's merited or
earned. The other is a gift that's freely
given. based on the merits and the work
of somebody else, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, wages is what you earn,
a gift. And the Holy Spirit is very careful
to make this distinction. A gift is that which God freely,
sovereignly, effectually gives. And what is it that God gives? Well, what's the opposite of
death? It is eternal life. Well, when is this eternal life
given to us? Well, really, it was given to
us in Christ Jesus before the world began. 2 Timothy 1 and
verse 9 says that. And it was earned for us. This
salvation, this forgiveness, this righteousness, it had to
be earned. It can't be earned by you. But
there's somebody who worked for it. That's our Lord Jesus. His bloody death. That was the
demand of God's justice. Death for sin. And be sure you
understand this. And this is true with every last
one of you and all of you who are watching. In your case, there
will be death on account of sin. Now somebody's going to die. Because that's the wages of sin.
Somebody's going to die. It's going to be you or a suitable God-approved substitute. You say, well, Jim, how can I
know Christ died for me? There's only one way you can
know. I'm telling you, there's only
one way you can know Christ died for you. If you believe Him. Do you believe Him? Have you given up all efforts
to save yourself, to put away your sins? Do you look to Jesus
Christ alone, God's Lamb that He killed on the cross? Divine
justice dealt so severely with him. And God was satisfied with his
death. Justice was served. And the only way you can know
that He who died and rose again and ascended back to heaven,
the only way you know He died for you is if you believe Him. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All of it. I take my stand on
the rock, don't you? Because the wages of sin is death. but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And you know, the faith
to believe him, that's a gift. Ephesians chapter two, verses
eight and nine, for by grace he is saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. Not of works,
lest any man should boast. Our Lord said to that woman at
the well, the Samaritan woman in John 4, He said, if you knew
the gift of God and who it is that says to you, give me to
drink, you drink the water of life that I give you. Oh God,
help you to drink of the water of life. Christ is the water
of life. And no wonder that we read in
the book of 2 Corinthians. Thanks be unto God. Not only for eternal life, which
is the gift of God. Not only for the water of salvation
that we drink. Not only for faith. Thank God
for the unspeakable gift. Our Lord Jesus Christ. We praise You, Father. We thank
You. Here's a verse of Scripture that
is applicable either one statement or the other to everybody under
the sound of my voice. Dying who sins, there's the pension
you can look forward to. Did I look into Christ believing
Christ only? Eternal life. Oh, I like the
sound of that. Let's sing a closing song. Let's get our songbooks and turn
to 280, 280 moment by moment.