In this episode we want to take a look at Romans chapter 6 and examine the uses of contrast in the chapter and how Paul uses two different words that are often translated in English with the word ‘But’.
What we will see if that our English translation doesn’t always tell the full story.
So, the starting passage is found in verse 23 of Romans 6. Here Paul seems to be contrasting to points.
Let’s look at each part of the comparison…
First, the wages of sin is death and
Second, the gift of God is eternal life (through His son Jesus)
“For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23)
In verse 23, Paul uses the Greek word ‘de’ which is translated in our English Bibles as “but”. However if we look at verse 11, the same Greek word is used, but is translated “and”. That is because the word ‘de’ means, “and, but, now” and sometimes expresses a contrast while at other times the focus is more on connecting two statements together with a mild emphasis on the contrast. If two or more similar statements were being joined then the word ‘kai’ would have been used, so there is a contrast being made here, but not necessary the primary focus.
For example, if Paul had used the word ‘alla’ then it would be clear that a string contrast was being made, but in our case verse 23 is more mild.
The reason for this is the word ‘alla’ implies opposition where the second point is almost eliminating the first point. But that is not the case here. The wages of sin is still death, but the other half is that eternal life is given by God.
What should this tell us about verse 23? Paul is not attempting to make a emphatic statement here. Rather, he wants us to realize that while we deserve death because of our sin, we can have eternal life through Christ. The penalty for sin is not gone or something we should forget. Instead we need to remember that while we deserved that penalty, God gave us what only He could give, eternal life.
