Where is My Pay Raise

Sin is hard work. Ever since the days of our greatest grandfather, Adam, we have been working hard at sin. Of course hard work should never go unpaid. So there are indeed wages for the hard work of sin.

But oh what injustice!  In spite of the tremendous effort put forth in sin, man has continued to be paid the same rate as always for this work. Starting in the Old Testament book of Genesis and running through the New Testament times of Jesus even unto our very days, sin has continued to be compensated with death. Now the sinner should not feel wronged or mistreated by this lack of pay raise. After all, death is a pretty hefty salary. Not much more can be paid when compared to death.

Of course a sinner may complain that the compensation for his work in sin, all be it grand in nature, is not very palatable from the standpoint of a living being. Death is death after all. But who is a sinner to complain. If you don't like the wages, don't do the work.

Now there is a contrasting transaction to sin for death. This transaction is also mentioned in the Bible which states "the free gift of God is eternal life...". So eternal life, which I would suggest is the only life worth having, is a gift - not only a gift - but a freely given gift. That just does not seem very equitable. The sinner, hard at work, receives death for her labor.  The saint, does nothing but says yes to God and gets the gift of eternity. Travesty of travesties.

Seriously, here is the kicker.  The death for sin traction was established and agreed to by man before the very first sin was ever committed. Man acknowledged and understood that to sin would institute the payment plan of death. At that time he was enjoying the better transaction of eternal life. But man decided that sin was the way to go and chose to work at it.

You are likely saying " I didn't agree to that. How can I be held accountable to the death for sin arrangement?"  But you did agree to it. That same transaction established in the beginning was proposed to you a ways back in your life and you chose ... to sin. That put you in the same standing with the same compensation as every other sinner in history. Death was your wages. It still is if you continue in unrepentant sin.

So how about this free gift thing of eternal life. How does that work?  According to that scripture reference the free gift of eternal life is given by God,  who of course is the only one who could give such a gift since He is the only one who possesses it,  through Jesus Christ.  Oh so that is the fine print, the legalise at the end of the contract, the catch!  You have to do the Jesus thing - believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. That would be the thing that must be done.

So how can that be considered a free gift?  I am giving up ... what?  What does a person give up when trusting in an eternal Savior that loves them. What is a person giving up when believing in a loving God to save them?  The only thing I know of is sin - that crappy job that pays with wages nobody wants.

So here is the question: are you going to work for death or accept the free gift of life?

Romans 6:23