“20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. 21 So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. 22 But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification — and the outcome is eternal life! 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
All throughout Romans Chapter 6, Paul has been teaching us what it means to live as a Christian. In verses 1-11, Paul taught us that we must both put off sin and put on Christ’s righteousness. Verses 12-19 taught us that while we are still slaves, we are no longer slaves to unrighteousness and impurity, but to grace and obedient righteousness. The verses in today’s devotional serve as a great summary and conclusion to these topics.
In his conclusion, Paul reminds us that we cannot be slaves to two masters at once. Jesus tells His followers the same thing.
“‘No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.’” — Matthew 6:24
If we are slaves to sin, then we are free from the things of righteousness, yet if we are slaves to God, we are free from sin. One cannot serve both sinful flesh, and be obedient to God. You must choose one or the other, and you will reap the consequences of your decision.
“because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” — Romans 8:13
“For whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” — Galatians 6:7b-8
Paul discusses the fruit of both the righteous and the unrighteous. He tells us the way by which we can identify those who are walking in obedience and those who aren’t. We can also use this as a diagnostic tool for our own hearts. Paul uses the analogy of a tree that produces fruit. You can determine the kind of tree by the kind of fruit it produces. So, you can determine the heart of a person by the actions they take and the behaviors they display. What do we see in our own lives and the lives of those around us in the church? Do we see Christians bearing the fruit of righteousness? Are we outwardly displaying the works of righteousness that come from our salvation in Christ, or are we producing the fruit of impurity and unrighteousness? Is sin still present in our lives? If so, it will work its way into our fruit one way or another. Are we holding others accountable for the fruit they produce? Do not be fooled. Do not allow yourself to continue producing unrighteous fruit! The fruit of those things for which we now ought to be ashamed leads to death, but the fruit of righteousness that comes from living as obedient slaves to God leads to eternal life! These are real and eternal consequences. Jesus, speaking of those who are not saved, reminds us of this:
“‘And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’” — Matthew 25:46
The final verse of the chapter perfectly and succinctly sums up Paul’s thoughts: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (v. 23) Note here how Paul here uses the word “wages”. Death is not an unfortunate consequence or an inconvenient byproduct of sin. It is earned, just as a worker earns his wages. Death is deserved, even owed to the sinner. Conversely, eternal life that comes to us through Christ Jesus our Lord is not a “wage”, but rather a “gift.” Nothing can earn us our right standing before God. It must be gifted to us by God. He is the only one who can make us right.