Wages And Gifts

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

Wages are earned in exchange for work done. They are monetary or other kinds of compensations paid by employers to employees for remuneration, expenses and labor etc. Wage payments may be based on each task or each piece completed, or on an hourly or a daily rate, or on a designated amount of work done.

But gifts are not earned. They are presents given willingly or voluntarily without demanding for any payment. Though they are free, they are not necessarily cheap or of substandard and inferior quality. In fact, some gifts are expensive and priceless.

Therefore a wage is something we earn, and a gift is something we do not earn or are not able to earn. A wage is a matter of debt and obligation. A gift is a matter of favor and grace. We can take our employers to court for not paying wages to us. But we cannot take someone to court for not giving a free gift to us. We deserve our wages, but we cannot demand for a free gift. Though given freely, someone have to pay a price to purchase the gift so as to give to us free of charge.

Just as the wages of employment come after having done the work, the wages of sin come after having done the sin. And the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. This priceless gift of God comes because of His love, mercy and grace towards us! We don't deserve it and yet He freely showers upon us His gift of eternal life when we accept and receive Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.

Salvation is free for us because Jesus paid it all! Suppose you go to an expensive dinner. The bill is so highly priced that you are not able to pay. But a friend pays on your behalf and says that the treat is on him. To you, it is free. But to him, it costs something!

In order to deliver us from death and to give us eternal life, it costs Jesus everything and even His life! He died for our sins, and was resurrected so that we may have life, and may have it more abundantly.

We could not pay the price, and Jesus paid on our behalf! We could do nothing to ever pay for the sins we have done! The price is too costly! Even if we try to redeem ourselves, we will fall short of the glory of God! Our payment is blemished, and thus unacceptable to God. We cannot earn or buy God’s mercy and grace. Thus He gives them to us freely. The gift of God is free to us simply because Jesus had paid the price! Though it is free, it is very costly and precious!

Though God is love, He is also just. His justice demands the wages of sin to be paid. Yes, we deserve death. We deserve to be punished for our sins. Jesus took our place and paid the penalty for our death sentence. In doing so, God forgives us and our sins!

In the death of Christ, God remains true to His divine nature to be both just and loving! The love of God means Calvary and nothing less! The only basis on which God forgives our sins is found in the Cross of Christ where His mercy meets His justice.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God shows how much He loved us by sending His Only Son to die for us, even though we were still sinners. Jesus paid the death penalty for our sins through His death. He loves us so much, and was willing to pay the costly price Himself.

The Greek word for grace is charis. It is God’s divine favor, goodness, kindness, and acceptance freely bestowed on those who are unworthy and undeserving. Motivated by His divine and agape love, God gives it freely to us with no expectation of payment from us.

The grace of God has the power to change us from sinners to saints. His grace redeems us; equips us for ministry; strengthens us in trials and tribulations; transforms us daily from glory to glory into the likeness of Christ; and fills our hearts with His love, joy and peace through both good and bad times.

The gift of God is free because God gives! God is a Giver!

Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

1 Corinthians 2:12
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

Freely we have received, freely give! When Jesus sent His disciples to preach the gospel, He also gave them the power to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons. As these spiritual gifts of God were given freely to them by God, they should also give freely to others! They should not demand for any wages or payments.

In 2 Kings 5, Naaman, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian army, was healed of leprosy by God through the prophet Elisha. But Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, was greedy for monetary gains.

Gehazi said to himself, “My master shouldn’t have let this fellow get away without taking his gifts. I will chase after him and get something from him.”

So Gehazi caught up with Naaman. When Naaman saw him coming, he jumped down from his chariot and ran to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” he said, “but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hills of Ephraim have just arrived, and he would like $2,000 in silver and two suits to give to them.” Gehazi lied because of his greed.

“Take $4,000,” Naaman insisted. He gave him two expensive robes, tied up the money in two bags, and gave them to two of his servants to carry back with Gehazi. But when they arrived at the hill where Elisha lived, Gehazi took the bags from the servants and sent the men back. Then he hid the money in his own house.

When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”

“I haven’t been anywhere,” he replied.

But Elisha asked him, “Don’t you realize that I was there in thought when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to receive money and clothing and olive farms and vineyards and sheep and oxen and servants? Because you have done this, Naaman’s leprosy shall be upon you and upon your children and your children’s children forever.” And Gehazi became a leper, and his skin was as white as snow.

Today, there are some famous preachers that charge exorbitant or unreasonably high prices for speaking engagements and special appearances. Like some motivational and inspirational speakers or gurus, they also demand to fly first class and stay in luxurious suites in 5 or 6 star hotels. These people are mostly takers and not givers! They will be paid the wages as agreed.

However, these standards of the world are not acceptable in the kingdom of God. To be reimbursed for airfares, hotels, food, and other travelling expenses are reasonable. Love offerings and freewill gifts are okay. But to demand skyrocketing prices are simply not right.

The Bible teaches that those who labor in the gospel should be provided for.

1 Corinthians 9:3-12
3 My defense to those who examine me is this:
4 Do we have no right to eat and drink?
5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working?
7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?
8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also?
9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about?
10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.
11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?
12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.

Paul and Barnabas were entitled to reap materials things after sowing spiritual things. Nevertheless they didn't exercise their rights so as not to hinder the gospel of Christ. However there are people who preach the gospel with wrong motives, particularly for the love of money. They peddle the gospel for financial gain in the same way that the world does business.

2 Corinthians 2:17
For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

1 Timothy 6:3-7
3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,
4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,
5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

We should be godly and contented men of integrity. As God’s eyes are upon us, we are not to be like some greedy peddlers who sell the gospel or cheat people with false teachings and messages just to make good money and become famous.

Freely we have received, freely we give. Under this circumstance, what is our reward? It is the special joy we get from preaching the Good News without asking for any payments or demanding any rights or special privileges.

1 Corinthians 9:18
What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.

• Freely we have received salvation, freely we share the Good News with others.
• Freely we have received His grace and mercy, freely we are gracious and merciful to others.
• Freely we have received His forgiveness of our sins, freely we forgive others of their transgressions against us.
• Freely we have received encouragement from Him, freely we encourage others.
• Freely we have received wisdom from Him, freely we share godly wisdom with others.
• Freely we have received His love, freely we love others.

When we have received freely from God, we give freely to others. When we give freely to others, we will receive more from God. And the gifts and blessings go on! And we will never have any lack!

Written on: 25 May 2018