FOR the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So reads the last verse of Romans 6. How far- reaching the influence of sin; how horrible the
anticipation of its payday. Its implications are clear cut; to recognize it is difficult task, yet to its
damning, ruinous ans infamous nature the mind of man seems blinded.
1 John 3:4 defines sin thus: "Whoso sinneth, transgresseth also the law for sin is the
transgression of the law." That the law referred to here is the law of God, no thinking person will
doubt. The transgressions that bring our souls into jeopardy may be in thought, in word or in
action. Whatever the offence, the result is death. Therein is represented the wages paid to the
transgressor. The enormity of sin cab hardly be realized, which fact accounts for the attitude
manifested by the sinner. If our eyes could behold the untold misery of broken homes, broken
hearts and broken lives, we would arise against the tyrant "sin" and take from him his dominion
and power. If, then, we could add to that scene the horrors of a devil's hell, prepared not for man,
yet to be shared by those of us who unwittingly place ourselves under his command, this
discourse would be of greater effect.
The very word itself has a sinister sound. It has in it the hiss of the serpent and the sting of the
devil. The wages of sin is death. Death here, as in other places. Means separation. A person is
said to be dead when his spirit leaves his body. Man was dead in trespasses and sin when, by
reason of his transgression, he was driven from the presence of his maker. What thought of death
could be more impressive than that suggested in the fact that Adam was separated from the God
who made him and that because he had sinned.
Concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God has said, "Thou mayest not eat, for in
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The devil, the father of liars and the
instigator of all sin, said, "God knows that yo shall not die, but that you shall be as God himself,
knowing good from evil." This is not the last case in which the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eye and the pride of life have taken their toll. But when our mother, Eve, observed that the fruit
of the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eye and that it was a tree to be desired to
make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her;
and he did eat. Gen. 3:6
God walked in the garden in the cool of the day and faced his creation with a question, "Hast
thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said,
'the woman whom thou gavest to be with me , she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.' And the
Lord God said unto the woman, 'what is this that thou hast done?' And the woman said, 'the
serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.' And the Lord God said unto the serpent, 'because thou hast
hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly
shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee
and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
his heel.' Unto the woman he said, 'I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in
sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule
over thee.' And unto Adam he said, ' because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and
hast eaten of the tree of which I command thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the
ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorn also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shall
thou eat bread, til thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and
unto dust shalt thou return.'" Nor is that all. In that day man was driven from the beautiful
garden. No longer could he talk with God face to face. Isaiah's prophetic statement is in point
here: "Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that he cannot save; neither is his ear heavy that
he cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins
have his his face from you that he will not hear." Isa. 59:2
Note the result. Thorns, thistles, briers, sickness, disease and trouble of every description have
since plagued the human race. Time and chance happeneth to them all until after a while the
weary body decays and dies. Can there be any doubt that sin is here? Read the death notices in
the newspapers. Every community has its burial plot in which it has placed the mortal remains of
those held dear. Why in every sizeable community is there a jail or a prison house? Think then of
the tortured minds and bodies of those who are kept in chains because of mental illness. Not one
thing of an untoward nature can be sighted but that has come in the wake of sin.
But thanks be to God for his unspeakable gifts. He has not left us without hope. The most
dreaded penalty of sin is eternal death. We cannot hope to escape the death of the body, but by
his grace we may be rescued from eternal damnation. By the offering of Jesus upon the cross,
provision was made which, if accepted into the heart and life of the sinner, will enable him to
attain heaven and miss hell.
The law required that one die for his sins. In some way beyond our poor power to comprehend,
Jesus could bear the sins of us all into the garden of sorrow and to the cross of crucifixion. In
some manner he could thus satisfy divine justice on behalf of every person who is willing to
accept his terms of pardon. Truly it may be said, "He tasted death for every man." Heb. 2:9, and
"He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for for the sins of the
whole world." 1 John 2:2. But his offering, his atonement cannot benefit the person who will
have nothing to do with it. Hebrews 5:9 declares, "He became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey him." There is no hope for the person who will not submit to the gospel
plan. Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For herein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by
faith."Romans 1:16-17 And again, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I
preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are
saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures." 1 Cor. 15:1-2
In the face of these facts it would seem that no person in all the world would decline the gospel
and that all would be saved. But here lies the danger. The devil is still in our midst, beguiling us
with his wily suggestions. He actually has the nature of a roaring lion seeking whom he may
devour (1 Pet. 5:8), yet so often he is transformed into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). The are
two principal difficulties standing between us and the complete evangelization of the world.
They are, first, the love of and pleasure derived from sin and, second, the lack of love for and
devotion to the truth. Perhaps the greatest hindrance of the two is the pleasure derived from the
practice of sin. Can it be, you will inquire, that there is pleasure in sin? Our own experience
teaches us that it may for a brief moment be most palatable, but with the passing of time it will
bring bitterness of soul and agonizing regret. In addition to our own personal experiences which
testify to the pleasure of sin, the Bible affirms that it is for a time enjoyable.
In Hebrews 11, the roll call of the faithful, we find the name of Moses. Verse 24 says, "By faith
Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season;" It would have been pleasurable for Moses to have continued as a prince in Egypt. There
was power, wealth, prestige, many of the pleasures for which men sell their souls, but Moses
knew that his rightful place was among his own people. They were captive slaves. Belonging
with them, it would have been sin to have refused their cries. Moses suffered rather than enjoy
the pleasure of sin. Verse 26 speaks of him as "Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches
than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." There is
pleasure in sin. It is but for a moment, but nonetheless pleasant, and that is one of the reasons
why it is so difficult for us to turn our backs upon it. Once, however, having sincerely tasted the
kindness and mercy of God, we are enabled to say with David in Psalm 84:10, " For a day in thy
courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to
dwell in the tents of wickedness." Persisting in sin, against our better judgment, and over the
protests of one's conscience, is a very dangerous practice and may result disastrously. Read 2
Thess. 2: 8-12. Here the return of the Lord is anticipated at which time "... that wicked shall be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming." Now who is the wicked one? We read on, "Even him whose coming is
after the working of satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. And with all
deceivablness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the
truth, that they might be saved."
Here then is introduced the second hindrance to a full acceptance of the gospel. Some who
receive the truth treat it so lightly and do not give it first place in their hearts until after a while it
becomes meaningless to them. They do not learn to love that truth and just as surely as they fail
here prejudice and false teachings will crowd into their heart. By and by they reach the sate of
mind in which all conviction dies. 2 Thessalonians 2:11 declares this to be a result of the fact that
they "received not the love of the truth." Paul says, "for this cause God will send them strong
delusions, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." Here again we see that there is a certain pleasure in
wrongdoing against which we must ever be on guard.
In the parable of the sower, recorded in Matt. 13, it is said that some seed fell among thorns, and
the thorns sprung up and choked them. Our Savior's own explanation follows in verse 22, "He
also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world,
and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." Friends, we must
flee the pleasures of sin and the prejudice which forbids the wholehearted acceptance of God's
grace. Paul warns, "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his
devices."(2 Cor. 2:11) Hear Paul again, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye
should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead,
and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.For sin shall not have dominion
over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.What then? shall we sin, because we are
not under the law, but under grace? God forbid " (Rom 6:12-15).
The strict nature of the law of Moses required that punishment for sin came surely and swiftly.
Under the New Testament law of Jesus Christ, God's justice is tempered with mercy. The grace
of God has been bestowed upon us through Christ, but this does not allow us to take advantage of
that grace and to sin intentionally and carelessly. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience
unto righteousness?" (Rom 6:16).
Here we are considered as having been in bondage to sin. Then being bought by Christ from that
slavery we should give ourselves entirely to the doing of his pleasure. He will not force our
allegiance, however; you may even now present yourself as a servant of sin or as a servant of
righteousness as you may choose. To whom ye yield yourselves as servants, his servants you are.
"But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that
form of doctrine which was delivered you." (Rom 6:17). Paul is not thanking God that Christians
had one time sinned but rather that such practices has been terminated. They, Christians, became
such and were made free from sins when they obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine. From
the heart means simply after serious consideration, prayerful thought and meditation. No one is
freed from sins unless he wants to be and unless he conforms to the pattern presented. The
doctrine delivered was the death of Jesus Christ for our sins, his burial and resurrection.
The doctrine, of course, one cannot obey. The form of it is seen in our separation from sins and
sinful practices, burial in water in full faith in the atoning blood of the Savior and in imitation of
his burial and resurrection. "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness." (Rom 6:18). And again, "But now being made free from sin, and become
servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." (Rom 6:22).
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isa 1:18).