What are wages according to the Bible's contrast with a gift?
Wages are what a person works for and earns as a deserved return; they are never a gift. Romans 6:23 contrasts the wages of sin, which are death, with the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A gift is undeserved.
Les explains that Romans 6:23 sets wages and gift in contrast. Wages are something you work for, what you get in return for something you have done, and they are never a gift. The old Adamic nature we are born with has only one direction, death, eternal death, and everything that lost person does, good or bad, is piling up wages for his eternal doom. The flip side is the gift of God, eternal life. Wages are what you deserve, but a gift is something you do not deserve, and that is what salvation is all about. It is a gift, not something you can do one iota of work to earn.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
More Questions
What is the difference between wages and a gift?
The difference between wages and a gift is that wages are earned and deserved, but a gift is not deserved.
What does the word wages mean in Romans 6:23?
Wages are what you work for, so wages are never a gift; a wage is the payment you receive in return for something you have done.
What does Romans 6:23 say about the wages of sin and the gift of God?
Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin are death, while the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.