Yes—sin and death are inseparably linked: sin earns death, but God's gift is eternal life in Christ.
Scripture says the wages of sin is death and the sting of death is sin. Les Feldick teaches that the law of sin and death operates daily, but Christ's substitutionary death is the loophole that frees believers from that sentence.
Romans 6:23 — Directly contrasts sin's wage—death—with God's free gift—eternal life in Christ.
Genesis 2:17 — Records the original divine penalty of death attached to disobedience.
1 Corinthians 15:56 — Explains that sin is the sting of death and the law is sin's strength.
Scripture establishes death as the penalty for sin from the very beginning. In the garden God warned Adam that the day he ate of the forbidden tree he would surely die. Ezekiel later restates the same principle: 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' Death is not arbitrary; it is the divine consequence of sin. Romans 6:23 states the relationship in terms of wages: 'For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Death is what sin has earned, while eternal life is God's gift. Paul also connects sin and death in the resurrection chapter: 'The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.' The law exposed sin's true character and made the death sentence clear. Victory over this death-sin complex comes only through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Les Feldick teaches that sin and death are inseparable realities. He calls death and sin 'almost synonymous' and says the law of sin and death is operating every day. Mankind lives under the curse and under satanic power. He points back to the first law God gave Adam—'the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die'—and he shows that Ezekiel repeated it: 'the soul that sinneth shall surely die.' Since everyone is born in sin as a son of Adam, everyone faces that death sentence. Les explains that God provided a loophole: Christ died in our place. By faith and identification, when Christ died, the believer died. This substitution satisfies the law's demand while allowing believers to escape eternal doom. He repeatedly stresses that religion, good works, and church membership cannot provide victory; only the resurrection power of the gospel can. On the positive side, Les contrasts what sin's wages earn—death, even the second death—with what God gives: eternal life through Jesus Christ. Eternal life is a gift; if you contribute to the cost, it ceases to be a gift.
Les describes it as a fundamental absolute—a law of sin and death operating every day. Mankind is under the curse and under satanic power. He connects this to 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, where the god of this world blinds the minds of those who do not believe, hiding the gospel from them. The law of sin and death is not a remote doctrine; it is the daily condition of the lost world.
Paul writes that the motions of sins, which were by the law, worked in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. Les says that is all the flesh can produce. He also notes from 1 Corinthians 15:56 that the strength of sin is the law, because the law showed sin for what it really is. The law makes the link between sin and death explicit.
Les calls Christ's death a loophole to the law that the soul that sinneth shall surely die. Every son of Adam must die, but by faith the believer died in the person of Christ on the cross. This substitution satisfies the death sentence. Les stresses that no other path—religion, good works, or church membership—can accomplish this; it is only through the resurrection power of the gospel.
Romans 6:23 contrasts the wages of sin—death—with the gift of God—eternal life through Jesus Christ. Les emphasizes that wages are earned by labor, so death is what sin has worked for. A gift, by definition, cannot be paid for. If you contribute to the cost, it is no longer a gift. This is why salvation cannot be earned.
The law of sin and death is a daily reality
Les says the law of sin and death is an operating fact of life under the curse, and the lost are blinded so the gospel cannot shine in.
Death was attached to sin from Adam
Les traces the death penalty to God's first law to Adam and shows the only escape is dying in Christ by faith.
Sin's wages vs God's gift
Les explains that death is what old Adam's sin earns, while eternal life is the opposite gift through Jesus Christ.
Sin is death's sting
Les says death and sin are almost synonymous; the law reveals sin's strength, and only Christ's resurrection power gives victory.
The Spirit convicts under the death law
Les describes the Holy Spirit convicting sinners that they have broken the law that says the soul that sins must die, and God supplied a substitute.
Wages are earned; gifts are not
Les points out that wages are earned, so eternal life as a gift cannot be earned or partially paid for.
Fleshly works bear death
Les says the motions of sin produced by the law work in the body to bring death, while God's wages are life.
Substitution as the loophole
Les says the law declares every son of Adam must die, but Christ's substitutionary death is the loophole—we die in Him.
Genesis 2:17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Shows that death was the original penalty attached to sin from the garden.
Ezekiel 18:20: The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Repeated the death sentence for the sinner and is cited by Les as the law all humanity faces.
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The central verse contrasting earned death with the free gift of life.
1 Corinthians 15:55: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Asks death's sting and grave's victory, setting up Paul's explanation.
1 Corinthians 15:56: The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
Identifies sin as the sting of death and the law as sin's strength.
1 Corinthians 15:57: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Gives the only source of victory over sin and death.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Shows how the god of this world blinds the lost so the gospel does not shine.
Romans 7:5: For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Shows that fleshly sin under the law produces fruit unto death.
Romans 8:2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Contrasts the law of sin and death with the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
The Bible says the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). God's original warning to Adam attached death to disobedience, and Ezekiel repeated that the soul that sins shall die. Les Feldick says every person is born in sin as a son of Adam, so everyone faces that sentence.
According to Les Feldick, the loophole is Christ's substitutionary death. When Christ died, the believer died by identification and faith. This satisfies the law that says the soul that sins must die.
No. Wages are earned, but the verse calls eternal life the gift of God. Les says if you contribute anything to the gift, it ceases to be a gift.
Watch the Teaching: Romans 8:2 Explained — Free from the Law of Sin and Death