For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
There is a tendency in our world today to overlook our sin, viewing it as insignificant. This false mindset excuses sin, keeping us from taking sin seriously. The truth is, however, that all sin is serious because God takes it seriously. Each and every sin required Jesus to come to earth and, although innocent, die a criminal’s death on a cross so that He could rise from the dead and rescue us from sin. Because God takes sin seriously, we, too, must take every single one of our sins seriously.
The apostle Paul teaches us about sin and its severity in Romans 6. In this passage of Scripture, he tells readers, “Once you were slaves of sin” (verse 17). Indeed, when sin came into the world in Genesis 3, it ruled over us relentlessly. We were slaves to it, according to Paul, and lost without hope. Several verses later, Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death” (verse 23). In Paul’s teaching, things went from bad to worse. Not only are we slaves to sin, but now we see that sin leads us straight on the path toward death. No, we did not immediately die when we first sinned, but we will die one day. It's clear, based on these consequences of sin, that sin is a serious matter that we must take seriously. Praise God that He did not leave us lost in sin. Because the payment we owe to a holy God for our sin is death, He sent Jesus to come to earth, live a perfect life, die on a cross to pay the price for our sins, and rise from the dead, conquering sin and death. That is why Paul finished Romans 3:23 by saying, “the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (verse 23). We have eternal life because Jesus willingly laid down His life to pay the price for our sins. Make no mistake, God takes every sin seriously because our sin led to Jesus’ death on the cross so that He could rescue us.
If we want to have peace with God, we must understand just how serious our sin is. There is no “insignificant” sin to God. All sin leads straight to death. All sin required Jesus’ death on a cross so He could rescue us from sin. Let's choose to take all of our sin seriously, committing to turn away from it, knowing that every sin is serious to God.
After reading the verses from the Going Deeper section below, reflect on what you learned about sin and its consequences from your reading. Then, answer the question, "Do I take my sin seriously, or do I minimize it?" After honestly reflecting on this question, commit to taking all sin seriously, knowing that God does, too.
Prayer Prompt: Use this prompt to guide you as you pray.
“God, as I reflect on the magnitude of my sin and Your great, extravagant forgiveness, I praise You for…”
Romans 6:1-23
1Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
©2026 Sagebrush Church
