ESTUDIO DEL VERSÍCULO
Romans 6:23 — Wages of Sin and the Gift of Eternal Life
Romans 6:23 caps the chapter by contrasting what sin earns with what God gives: death versus eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Escritura
- 23.Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, mas la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en Cristo Jesús Señor nuestro.For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Qué significa este pasaje
Verse 23 states: "For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The verse is built on a sharp contrast between two terms for what a person receives. "Wages" (Greek: G3800 ὀψώνια) is a soldier's pay — what a person earns or deserves for service rendered. Sin is personified here as a master who pays exactly what is owed. The pay of that service is death (G2288 θάνατος), not because death is arbitrary but because it is what sin's employment produces.
In the second half of the verse, the word "but" (G1161 δέ) sets up the contrast. Instead of wages earned by merit, the verse presents a "free gift" (G5486 χάρισμα) of God. The term χάρισμα is related to the word for grace and stresses that the gift rests entirely on the giver, not on the recipient's performance. What is given is "eternal life" (G2222 ζωή modified by G0166 αἰώνιος), located "in Christ Jesus our Lord" (G5547 Χριστῷ, G2424 Ἰησοῦ, G2962 Κυρίῳ, G1473 ἡμῶν). The life is inseparable from the person of Christ.
The verse therefore reads as a deliberate antithesis. Death is what sin owes its workers; eternal life is what God graciously bestows. Theologically, the verse sets what is earned against what is granted, and shows that the location of that gift is Christ Jesus — the believer receives life not apart from him but within union with him as Lord.
Contexto
Romans 6 argues that believers have died to sin and been raised to new life in Christ (verses 1–11), and then calls them to present themselves to God as instruments of righteousness rather than to sin (verses 12–19). Verse 22 sets up the conclusion: being made free from sin and becoming servants to God yields fruit leading to sanctification, "and the end eternal life." Verse 23 is the climactic summary that ties the chapter together.
Within this movement, verse 23 closes the argument by drawing the final line between two outcomes. The preceding verses contrast the "end" of things under sin (death) with the "end" of things under God (eternal life). Verse 23 restates that contrast with technical precision: sin's paycheck versus God's free gift. It is the chapter's concluding thesis, summarizing what has been argued about slavery to sin and freedom to righteousness.
Palabras clave del original
- G3800 ὀψώνιον (opsonion) refers to a soldier's rations or pay. Its use here frames sin as an employer who gives exactly what is deserved — not generosity, but wages owed for service rendered.
- G5486 χάρισμα (charisma) is a divinely bestowed gift, linguistically tied to the word for grace. Its contrast with ὀψώνιον highlights that eternal life rests on the giver's action, not on the recipient's merit.
- G0266 ἁμαρτία (hamartia) is the term translated "sin," used here as a power or master who employs workers. The verse's logic depends on sin acting as an agent that pays what its service earns.
Preguntas frecuentes
Why does verse 23 contrast "wages" with a "free gift"?
The contrast highlights two different bases for what a person receives. Sin pays wages — what its service earns — which is death. God gives a χάρισμα, a gift grounded in grace, which is eternal life. The point is that the two outcomes do not come from the same source: one is owed, the other is granted.
What does "in Christ Jesus our Lord" add to the promise of eternal life?
It locates the gift within union with Christ as Lord. The verse does not present eternal life as a detached possession but as life received and sustained within relationship to Christ Jesus, who is named both Christ and Lord.
How does verse 23 relate to the rest of Romans 6?
Verses 1–11 establish that believers have died to sin and been raised to new life; verses 12–19 urge them to present themselves to God rather than to sin. Verse 22 names the fruit and "end" of each path, and verse 23 restates that contrast in its sharpest form: the paycheck of sin versus the gift of God.