The Wages of Sin

My first thought as I sat down to write this article was begin by wishing everyone a Happy New Year.  However, God, in His sovereignty brought an event into my life that caused me to change directions.

“The wages of sin is death”  (Romans 6:23a).  The truth of that statement by Paul was brought home all to clearly for me this past week.  Our pet rabbit, Mocha, died.  She was an elderly rabbit, eight and one half years old.  Most rabbits don’t live much past 4-5 years.  God brought Mocha into our lives just before our lives were about to get rather chaotic.  During that time, especially, she brought smiles to our faces and, like most pets, helped us to take a break from what was happening all around us.

So how is it that Mocha’s death drove home the point of sin causing death and grief?  If it weren’t for Adam and Eve’s sin of disobeying God, death would never have entered our world.  The day that they sinned, to all of Adam’s progeny was added a sin-nature.  No human being has escaped it except for Jesus.   And it is to Him we look for a pardon from the wages of our sin.

As I spent the hours after Mocha’s death grieving, crying and even weeping, the heinous nature of sin became much more clear.  The consequences of sin are never, ever confined to the individual committing the sin.  For example, when someone has an affair and commits the sin of adultery, the consequences of that sin are catastrophic.  More often than not, a marriage dies; trust is obliterated; and grief is overwhelming.  If there are young children, they are caught in the middle and don’t understand why their parents are no longer living in the same house or why mommy and daddy are no longer married.  The consequences of this particular sin will affect the children, literally, for the rest of their lives.  If you doubt it, just ask someone whose parents divorced when they were young.

How many friendships have been destroyed because of sin?  How many friends have lost their close relationship because of sin?  How many families have been torn apart because of sin?  How many churches have split because of sin?  How many neighborhoods are destroyed because of sin?  How many countries are left impoverished because of sin?  How many people are dying as a direct result of sin?  Those are tough questions to think about and, most of the time, we don’t want to discuss it because we would have to be willing to admit that there is a God who sets the standard of righteousness; we would have to acknowledge that sin is real and the consequences are real and far reaching.

“… but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 6:23b). The last part of the verse brings us the reason for rejoicing.  This same Jesus, who is the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, the Savior of the world, who would take away the SIN OF THE WORLD, He is still actively interceding on behalf of all believers.  He is still talked about and shared with a world that is in desperate need of the Savior.   

As we begin a new year, it is my prayer that all believers will rejoice in their deliverance from the penalty of their sin:  death.  Secondly, that we will be ever cognizant of the fact that sin can, and does, have far reaching consequences.  All of us still struggle with our sin nature but if we will live our lives yielded to the power and guidance of God’s Word and His Holy Spirit, we can avoid a lot of the grief, sorrow and pain that is caused by our sin.  Thirdly, there are people, real people, who need to know about Jesus and His amazing sacrifice on their behalf.  Tell them about Him; ask the Father to draw them to Himself that they, too, would know the love, forgiveness, mercy and grace that is found only in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

May the Lord bless you and keep you as you seek to serve Him all the more in 2016.

By His Grace,

Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D.