Romans 6:23: "a Badly Misunderstood Verse" Series

When I was a teenager, my youth group taught me something called the Romans Road, which was designed as a tool to help me tell people the good news about Jesus. Romans 6:23 is part of the Romans Road. Let's start by just reading it, in the ESV:

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The way I was trained to explain this verse, went something like this: All us are sin (Romans 3:23). And Romans 6:23 shows that what we earn, because of our sins, is death. However, God has freely given us eternal life in Christ Jesus. This is a "free gift." There's nothing you can do to earn it. It has nothing to do with "good works." It's just given to you." On what basis?

The next step in the Romans Road, I think, is to turn to Romans 10:9. If you confess Jesus as Lord, you will be saved.

So the Romans Road very clearly teaches that the final judgment is based on whether or not you've made a confession of Jesus as Lord.

The awkward thing about this for me, and for many other people, is that this goes against what the church has historically taught about the basis for the final judgment. Churches across all denominations, for centuries, have taught this, instead:

The final judgment is based on the works produced by faithful disciples of Jesus, out of their obedience to Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Good trees bear good fruit. And the final judgment is based on that fruit.

If you've been here a while, you've been exposed to this. If you're newer, all of this may come as a shock to you.

So let me just pause here, and give you a few verses to chew on. I'll read one quote, from a well-respected Baptist theologian, and then we'll return to Romans 6. And if you're still unsure about how any of this is possible, I'd love to talk to more later. Fair enough?

John 5:28-29 (NRSV for both following):

28 Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Matt. 25:21-46:

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[g] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”