Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Eternal Life is Not a Reward for Doing Good
A few weeks ago I was preaching a revival meeting at the church of a friend whom I had met a couple of years ago. It struck me just how happy my friend was to be free, free from the sins of the past, free from his old life, free to be a child of God. What a wonderful thing, to see someone enjoying their freedom from sin in Christ.
This friend brought a couple others to the services that week, one of whom got assurance of salvation and one of whom was saved. This was a result not of my friend’s wanting to earn his salvation; it was the result of his gratitude for his salvation.
Romans 6 is all about freedom, either freedom from God, which leads to destruction, or freedom from sin in Christ. Speaking of this, Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The thing that strikes me here about eternal life is that there is no reward for doing good.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that it doesn’t matter what you do, and I am not saying that there are not consequences or fruit from what you do. What I am saying is that when it comes to salvation, peace with God, and eternal life, there is no reward for doing good. This is totally foreign to our natural inclinations.
Romans 5:15 talks about the “free gift,” speaking of peace with God. “Free gift” is redundant. It is almost comical that God would need to say a gift is free, but God knows our natural mindset. We are bound and determined to believe that we could somehow be good enough for Heaven.
You don’t earn eternal life. Jesus Christ did that for you, and either you accept Him or you don’t. You can take Him or you can leave Him, but you can’t add Him to what you have. Anyone who will come to God will come to God on God’s terms, through His Son Jesus. So, every time the Bible talks about what we deserve, our wage or payment, it is always speaking of destruction. Every time the Bible talks about eternal life, peace with God, and salvation, it is always spoken of as a gift.
There are three things that salvation by grace through faith in Christ’s work rules out. First, it rules out wage working. I can’t do right to go to Heaven. Now, I want to do right in gratitude for God’s wonderful grace. I don’t think we realize just how bad we are and just how gracious that makes God.
Second, this rules out worry. It is natural, especially for people of certain temperaments, to always be caught up with the thought, “Am I good enough?” Well, no, you are not. You aren’t now, you never have been, and you never will be. When I realize that salvation is a gift earned by Christ, not deserved, not a wage, payment, or reward, it rules out worry because I couldn’t save myself and I can’t keep myself saved. That is the grace of God.
Third, this rules out pride. If I can’t boast about the most basic, fundamental reality of all eternity, how can I brag about anything else? It is the grace of God. “By the grace of God I am what I am,” Paul said. It is His grace that helps me do what I should.
So, I am a servant of Christ, and I do not need to live as if I am a slave to sin anymore. At the end of the day, “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” There is no reward for doing good when it comes to eternal life. That is a gift, and we accept it when we trust Jesus Christ and acknowledge ourselves as the sinners we are. God’s gift should produce gratitude, and God’s grace should continue to be at work in the way we live our daily lives.