A familiar Bible saying, checked in context
The wages of sin is death
Word for word
Romans 6:23 begins with this exact KJV phrase and ends by contrasting it with God's gift.
By @The..Mustard..Seed · Updated
Read the relevant KJV passage
Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Compare the evidence
The previous verse speaks of being made free from sin and having fruit toward holiness, preparing for Paul’s contrast.
Romans 6:22But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Earlier in the chapter Paul contrasts service to sin with obedience, setting up the wages-and-gift contrast at verse 23.
Romans 6:16Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
What the context adds
The familiar words are exact KJV text from the first half of Romans 6:23. Paul sets wages earned by sin against a gift from God through Jesus Christ. Leaving off that second half changes the shape of the sentence from a contrast into a standalone threat. Chapter 6 discusses service, freedom, and the outcome of different allegiances. The first half remains serious, while the second completes Paul’s contrast with a gift. A reader who follows verse 22 into verse 23 can see how the wage-and-gift comparison fits the argument around it.
A question to carry forward
What does Paul put opposite “wages,” and why does that second half matter?
Keep reading
Read Romans 6:20–23 and compare what is earned with what is given.
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