Compare Jeremiah 8:3 with Romans 6:23. What insights can be drawn? The Two Texts at a Glance • Jeremiah 8:3 – “ ‘Death will be chosen over life by all the survivors of this evil family who remain wherever I have banished them,’ declares the LORD of Hosts.” • Romans 6:23 – “ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Context of Jeremiah 8:3 • Judah has persistently rejected God’s law (Jeremiah 7:25–26). • The Babylonian sword, famine, and exile loom (Jeremiah 8:1–2). • The remnant will be so despairing that “death will be chosen over life”—a vivid picture of sin’s devastation. Context of Romans 6:23 • Paul has argued that believers, united with Christ’s death and resurrection, must not let sin reign (Romans 6:1–14). • He contrasts slavery to sin with slavery to righteousness (Romans 6:15–22). • Verse 23 sums up the stakes: sin earns death; God freely grants life in Christ. Shared Themes: Sin, Death, Life • Sin’s payday is death in both passages. • Death includes physical ruin (Jeremiah) and spiritual separation (Romans). • Life is God’s design, but rebellion forfeits it (Deuteronomy 30:19; John 10:10). Contrasting Attitudes Toward Death • Jeremiah: the people prefer death because sin has stripped life of hope. • Romans: death is not desired but deserved; Christ offers an alternative. • Together they reveal sin’s deceit—either making death seem preferable or leaving it inevitable. Gospel Resolution • Jeremiah 8 exposes the problem; Romans 6 declares the cure. • God’s gift overturns the chosen/deserved death by offering eternal life. • The transition from exile to restoration foreshadows the cross (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:10–12). Personal Application • Sin always pays in death; don’t glamorize it (Proverbs 14:12). • When despair tempts you to give up, remember Christ has paid the wage and opened the gift (John 5:24). • Choose life daily by presenting yourself to God as “instruments of righteousness” (Romans 6:13). |
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