Eternal Life: Adjusting Our Focus

Romans 6:23

Many believers can almost instinctively complete this statement: "For the
wages of sin is ________." Reading that sentence, perhaps you even filled in
the
blank out loud: death. We all know what that means, right? This passage in
Romans 6:23 proclaims what we deserve for our sin. This is how we view
ourselves
from time to time - dirty sinners who have narrowly escaped a horrible
death.

The problem here is that too many believers remember just the first half of
that verse - the part that deals with our sin. When we focus on the sin
rather
than the solution, then our entire spiritual perspective gets off balance.
Emphasizing the sin directs all the attention to self - what I have done,
how
I have acted, where I have been. This self-centeredness will never lead to
the peaceful assurance of salvation that the Lord has provided. When we
focus
on ourselves, we leave little room for God.

So, as we read Romans 6:23, the Lord would have us focus not on our problem,
but on His solution: "But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus
our Lord." You see, this passage is not a condemnation for sin, but a
proclamation of salvation! The apostle Paul boldly declares that God saw our
dire
situation and acted on His own initiative to rescue us from a horrible
sin-death.

The heavenly Father graciously handed salvation over to us as a free gift.
And when almighty God gives a gift, there is no one who can ever steal it
away
and nothing that can interfere with its permanence (Romans 8:35-39). That's
the assurance our Lord wants us to have.


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