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

Me: What in the f*ck?

One of the first churches I stopped at on the East Coast was State Line Baptist Church. It was my first experience at a Baptist Church; animated and fiery as all get out! At least, compared to some of the comatosed church services I had previously attended. Boy, was the Preacher lively! After the service, the pastor kindly took the time to sit with me. What a blessing for a new Believer! To be worthy of the Pastor’s time. Not all churches do this seemingly small action. It speaks volumes. Take note.

The Preacher gathered some parishioner-made brochures listing the events of the week and then dug in his office for a brand-spanking new King James Bible that he so generously gave to me. Then he sat down in a pew with me, real close like and opened up the pew Bible to a handful of scriptures. The one that stood out was Romans 6:23. With such great excitement, with such veracity, the Preacher said, in his deep Southern twang, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” What a delight to witness his boisterousness!

Wow! This guy really believed what he was saying! His energy about knocked me out of the pew! All I could muster in response was “yaaaaah, Amazing, right” only my words fell flat because I had absolutely no idea what the guy was talking about (bless his heart). Like, what the hell does that even mean??? That was the response in my head.

It wouldn’t be until six months later that I truly grasped the gravity of Romans 6:23. Now Romans 6:23 was made truth millenia ago. And always has been truth. And always will be truth. That didn’t change. What changed was my understanding of Roman 6:23. And it wasn’t overnight. I could easily reject this Preacher and his words as craziness and bullsh*t. I mean… come on now. The wages of sin is death? Who says that??? But with time, commitment to the Word by faith and by God’s grace, it became oh so clear. And this passage is truly life, and everlasting life, changing.

I’m so excited for you to find out what it means that “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Until then, just know that if the things you’re doing in life are not bringing about peace, love and joy, and are, instead, leaving you wondering how long you can go on feeling so empty inside, perhaps there just might be a better way to live. And if there was… would you choose it? Peace be with you.

April 13, 2023 6:00am