Romans 6:23-the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ

The inward area is the first place of loss of true Christian life, of true spirituality, and the outward sinful act is the result.” – Francis Schaeffer

I hate being a bad news bearer. But there’s no getting around it. This passage is the sad sequel to Sodom’s destruction (Genesis 19:1-29).

You may read Genesis 19:30-38 here: Bible Gateway.

The angels—who admonished Lot to flee to the mountains—granted Lot’s request to flee to a nearby town instead (Gen. 19:18-22). But fear prompted him to move further away from the burning sulfur’s ashes. With his wife gone—turning into salt for disobediently looking back—he and his two daughters finally settle in a lonely mountain cave.

Neither daughters’ future grooms from Sodom had believed Lot when he warned them to flee because of God’s impending judgment, (Gen. 19:12-14). They died along with all the others.

So out of desperation, Lot’s daughters (who also adopted Sodom’s morals) stoop to manipulation and incest with their father to preserve their family line.

And both daughters become pregnant. The older daughter births Moab, while the younger daughter births Ben-Ammi. These two boys’ descendants would become two of Israel’s greatest enemies, the Moabites and the Ammonites. But interestingly, Ruth—David’s great-grandmother and ancestor of Jesus—was from Moab.

This section (verses 30-38) has similarities to Noah’s last days after his rescue from the flood.

Layman’s Bible Commentary observes: “In Noah’s case, he became drunk with wine and uncovered himself in the presence of his children. In both narratives, the act has grave consequences. Thus, at the close of the two great narratives of divine judgment—the flood and the destruction of Sodom—those who are saved from God’s wrath subsequently fall into a form of sin reminiscent of those who die in judgment. This is a common theme in the prophetic literature (Isaiah 56-66; Malachi 1).”

Reflect

We are more apt to sin when we find ourselves in a desperate situation.

Why didn’t Lot help his daughters find husbands? Abraham’s family wasn’t far away. But Lot’s lack of initiative and habitual compromise only complicated matters.

Jesus ~ The greatest gift of all!

Although this passage simply reports these events without openly condemning the sisters’ actions, Scripture elsewhere clearly condemns incest: Leviticus 18:6-18; 20:11, 12, 17, 19-21; Deuteronomy 22:30; 27:20-23; Ezekiel 22:11; 1 Corinthians 5:1.

We may never stoop to this kind of sin, but we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). Compared to our holy God even our best efforts “are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). And the wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23).

But the great news is that God remedied our sin problem through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ. He stepped down from heaven’s glory into our dark, sinful world and offers us the gift of forgiveness and life (Romans 6:23), along with transformation of the heart.

For young children, chocolate bunnies and colorful egg hunts mark Easter. But for many, Easter reminds us of the implications of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Questions arise as we sift through the facts, including:

Was Jesus’ death really necessary?
Why do people die in the first place?
And if God is so good and loving, why is there so much suffering in this world?

Genesis 1-3 brings clarity to these common questions, including our need for a Savior.

Summary of Genesis 1-3

God created a perfect creation in six ordinary days. There was no death. In fact, God looked at His creation and declared it, “very good”.

Then why did death enter the scene?

Our Great, Great, Great (many, many “Greats” . . . .) Grandparents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God’s command.

(irisheyes2490.deviantart.com)
As illustrated with the two trees in Genesis—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life—God repeatedly holds out two options for us throughout the Bible: life or death. Like our ancestors, Adam and Eve, it’s an individual decision.

Consequences of Sin

Knowing the consequence of their actions, Adam and Eve took the fruit and ate.

Enter painful childbearing (3:16).
Enter painful toil (3:17).
Enter thorns and thistles (3:18).
Enter death (3:19).

Alongside the good and beauty in this world exists suffering and pain. Sin, disobedience to God’s command(s), marred God’s good and perfect creation. And, “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pains together until now” (Romans 8:22). But one day, God will restore His perfect creation, banishing all pain and suffering (Rev. 21:1).

Adam and Eve started this downward spiral of sin and decay. As their descendants, we’ve inherited their sin nature. But before we point our fingers at them, we need to examine our own lives. We are free to make our own choices. And our perfect, holy Creator God—who searches our hearts—has declared: “We, all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way,” (Isaiah 53:6). Every one of us has rebelled against God’s commands at one point or another (Romans 5:12).

Not one of us is worthy to join the Creator of the universe. Romans 3:23 says, “the wages of our sin is death.” This gets uglier, because this death refers to spiritual death: eternal separation from God in hell.

Our holy God will not, (can not), dwell with our rebellious, sinful nature for eternity.

Of the tempter, Satan the serpent, God declared: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel,” (3:15). “You will strike his heel” refers to Satan’s repeated attempts to defeat Jesus during His time on earth. Fortunately, Jesus didn’t waver. God foreshadowed Satan’s demise and salvation offer through Christ with: “He [Jesus] will crush your head”.

Life in the Blood

After the Fall, God killed an animal(s) to clothe Adam and Eve. But animal blood (bulls and goats) can’t take away our sin. The Israelites later sacrificed animals repeatedly. Why? God gave this picture to summarize what was to come in His Son, Jesus: the Last Adam and final sacrifice (Hebrews 10).

Although God owes us nothing, the sinless Jesus—both God and man—stepped down into history and took the death penalty we deserved for our sin. “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” (Isaiah 53:6).

“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive,” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Because of Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross, God offers us His righteousness and new life through faith: “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 6:23.

It’s free for the asking.