"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, ESV)

“Life is not fair!” I mumbled to mom. I wanted a pair of shoes that cost more than I could spend and I was not happy when I was told to pick another, more affordable pair of shoes. Most likely the next thing I said was something like, “When I am old enough to make my own money I’ll spend however much I want on whatever shoes I want.” 

The truth of the matter is, however, that life is not fair. Fairness occurs when a person gets what they deserve, when a person gets what he or she has earned. In terms of spiritual economics Romans 6 is clear: people who sin have earned spiritual death. Why is eternal death the payout for sin? Good question. 

Let us always uphold and treasure the truth that God is holy. God is perfect, brilliant, full of splendor, mighty, completely and undeniably good. God is the extreme and exact opposite of evil. God the Father does not sin nor create sin. Christ never sinned nor could have sinned. The Spirit leads believers away from sin and frees from the power of sin. God is holy; God is the essence of holiness. As such, He utterly hates sin. God despises evil, injustice, corruption, wickedness. The sobering reality is humanity as a race has grossly offended the Almighty by sinning and being sin. God must, due to His holiness, deal with sin and sinners. The payout of sin is hell and God is just in this punishment. 

Here’s where the “unfairness” comes in to play: Although you and I are deserving of death, hell, and the fullness of God’s wrath we are actually spared of this! In a most unfair turn of events, Christ is the one treated unfairly by God! Christ suffers the harsh, agonizing, brutal torture of the Cross in order that we might become recipients of grace. The beauty of grace is that it makes life unfair. Who are we to have heaven bought for us? Who are we to be bought by God? 

We deserve punishment from God, yet through Christ (by grace through faith in Him; Ephesians 2:8-9) we are given His reward. He buys what we could never afford! Just as I could not afford shoes as a child and was reliant on my mom to buy them for me, we are fully reliant on Jesus to purchase our salvation. And this is far more costly than any pair of shoes. Salvation carries a price NONE can ever afford - EVER - apart from faith in Jesus. Christ buys our eternal salvation with His perfect life, gruesome death, and powerful resurrection. 

Read Romans 6:23 again, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” To be “in” Christ Jesus our Lord is to believe in Him, repent of sin, and follow Him. Have you embraced Christ and are you following Him? Please do! Life in Christ is life eternal. 

“You stand before God as if you are Christ because Christ stood before God as if He were you.” ~C.H. Spurgeon