Wages of sin

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 6:23

This verse is one of the steps we use in the Roman Road to Salvation.  It is preceded by Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory on God.”  What does that mean really?  We sinned…we aren’t as good as God wants us to be…we don’t live up to the biblical standards of life.  Oooh, how bad.  When we present this to young people and unfortunately adults we down play this to the point of not facing the reality of what it is to sin or more importantly…what the wages really are.  There are countless times when God delivered the wages to people of communities.
 

Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan,
put live coals in it, added incense, and presented it to
the LORD. But this fire was not holy, because the LORD
had not commanded them to present it. Suddenly the
LORD sent fire, and it burned them to death there in the
presence of the LORD.
                                           Leviticus 10:1,2

This is just one example of how serious God is when he says, “the wages of sin is death.” If you were to take a loaded pistol and put it to your head…then pull the trigger each time you sin against God.  First of all it would only happen once, second this would be the reality of what the wages of sin is!  You ONLY get one opportunity!  Did the citizens of Sodem and Gamora get multiple opportunities?  No, God was not happy with the direction they were headed and just said, “I’m done!”  Then he utterly wiped them OFF the face of the earth.

So, what is sin really? Dictionary.com has this to say:

Sin

-noun
1. transgression of divine law: the sin of Adam.
2. any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.
3. any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense: It's a sin to waste time.
–verb (used without object)
4. to commit a sinful act.
5. to offend against a principle, standard, etc.
–verb (used with object)
6. to commit or perform sinfully: He sinned his crimes without compunction.
7. to bring, drive, etc., by sinning: He sinned his soul to perdition.

It’s no wonder that we have to work so hard at sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  As a people we have downplayed sin to the point of near nothingness!  We would probably consider a murderer as being more guilty than a person who stole a dollar.  They are one in the same in God’s eyes!  We draw a separation in severity due to the human laws that create a punishment scale based upon the severity of the crime. God uses His own scale.  And in either case it is an act that separates us from His will; thereby, the punishment being the same for both crimes, “the wages of sin is death.”  To put it in simpler terms just pull out the word sin and replace it with anything that is not in God’s will.  The wages of murder is death…the wages of lying is death…the wages of not sharing the gospel is death…the list can go on.

God is very clear in His message.  We are not worthy to be in His presence.  He doesn’t care how we measure sin…He despises ALL of it!  “For the wages of sin is death.”  By truly understanding the meaning of this simple little phrase we can now appreciate the rest of the verse, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  God gave the ultimate sacrifice for us to be forgiven!  People may say that we sacrificed animals because we (mankind) were barbaric and lacked the intelligence that we have today.  I say we no longer sacrifice animals today, because Jesus shed His blood so that ALL mankind could be saved!  At this point you need to ask yourself in this day and age of modern society…”do I find this relevant now?”  The answer MUST be a resounding YES!

If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and would like to do so please send an email to customerservice@romanroadonline.com.  Or you can contact your local church, as they will help you as well. It's as simple as praying the sinners prayer:

Heavenly Father:

I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my Sins.  I confess with my mouth and believe with my heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the Cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven and have Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my Sins and will Worship you all the day's of my Life!. Because your word is truth, I confess with my mouth that I am Born Again and Cleansed by the Blood of Jesus!

In Jesus Name, Amen.

If you are in need of a bible then The Roman Road Christian Bookstore is currently running all bibles at 20% off.  If you are unable to purchase a bible you may also contact your local church or send us an email with your mailing address. We will also be running a contest in March through Facebook that will be giving away a study bible to one of the fans of The Roman Road Christian Bookstore Page. So, make sure you LIKE our page!

A Tale of Two Gods?

And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. (Exodus 11:5)

Suddenly the LORD rained burning sulfur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them and the whole valley, along with all the people there and everything that grew on the land.  (Genesis 19:24,25)

"If I am a man of God," Elijah answered, "may fire come down from heaven and kill you and your men!" At once the fire of God came down and killed the officer and his men. (2Kings 1:12)

The list from the Old Testament could go on and on. We clearly see God’s power and wrath carried out. He sent the Israelites into battle with instructions to kill every male among them along with male children and women that were no longer virgins. This was a God that had a goal in mind and carried out that goal.  When nations were told to “fear the Lord” they did.  All through out the Old Testament we see examples of the power of God along with His might.  Yes we also see His love, but that isn’t really preached about from the Old Testament.  Instead we hear of the love through the New Testament.

May God, our source of peace, be with all of you. Amen.  (Romans 15:13)

For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."  (Galations 5:14)

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God.  (Ephesians 5:2)

It is only natural that we would hear of His great love toward us throughout the New Testament because the focus is the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  After all that was what God intended for mankind since the beginning.  He would sacrifice His only son in order that we may be free from sin.  The gospel is built around this.

My question is this.  What disservice are we doing to ourselves and those around us by ignoring the God from the Old Testament?  There IS only ONE  God after all.  His wrath, power and might are still as relevant now as they were then.  We need to quit focusing on the “feel good gospel” and start looking at the reality of things.  The reality is this:

□        God is the same in the past, present and future…do not discount this!
□        God’s love and forgiveness were fulfilled through Jesus Christ
□        We have to accept that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins
□        God is coming again and we will witness His wrath once again

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  (Revelation 19:15)

Christians wake up!  We are at war!  We can not continue to sit in our churches and “feel good” about ourselves.  We have a job to do!  Help reach people for Christ and allow Him to deliver them out of Satan’s grasp!