How does Romans 6:23 show that salvation cannot be deserved?
Romans 6:23 contrasts wages with a gift: sin's wages are death, and wages are what one works for and deserves. But eternal life is God's gift through Jesus Christ, and a gift is not deserved or earned. Salvation must therefore be received as a gift, not achieved by works.
Les teaches that Romans 6:23 first says the wages of sin are death. Wages are something you work for, never a gift, and are what you get in return for something you have done. The old Adamic nature we are born with has only one direction, eternal death, and everything the lost person does, good or bad, piles up wages for eternal doom. The flip side says the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Les points out the difference: wages are what you deserve, but a gift is something you do not deserve. Salvation is a gift, not something you can do one iota of work to earn; it has to be a gift.
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 gift of God in Romans 6:23?
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, in contrast to the death sin earns.
What is the wages of sin according to Romans 6:23?
Romans 6:23 teaches that the wages of sin is death — spiritual death — which is something you earn.
How are sin and death connected in Romans 6:23?
Romans 6:23 shows that sin and death are connected, because the wages of sin is death.